Yep Rockrz if God's word isn't studied alongside the holy spirit then you don't learn anything worthwhile,or do people so soon forget who put the knowledge in our heads to begin with to be so called "smart" you know He who plenty of people overlook yet blame for all their problems,oh yeah,God,hmmmm funny I don't see where he has a phd yet he created us all! he doesn't have some club to boast of his superiority yet he has done many things we can't! sure I could say I have an SAB,Saved And Baptized,but what use is boasting about such things? what use is knowledge if you overlook it with pride? I know what you mean Rockrz, too long have people been putting themselves on pedestals,I've read the entire bible once yet it doesn't make me superior to anyone,real knowledge is of God not of man,(yeah heard the whole alien theory and evolution theory,funny stuff but not real knowledge,that's the trouble with too much philosophy,eventually you start to believe the stuff you overthink about!) as it's written if the blind leadeth the blind then surely they shall fall into the pit together,pride is very blinding as well as that theorizing before learning "Truth" is misleading,sure you can speculate all day but if it leads nowhere or worse yet overlaps the truth then what have you to be so proud of? of course the bible answers this phenomenon of people giving themselves too much credit as well speculation,in Ecclesiastes chpapter 3 it says,"The Lord set the world in their heart so that no one may know how the Lord made all things from beginning to end" now I'm not a college genius or some great philosopher yet I understand that this means that only God knows about all creation including our knowledge and how it should be used,not merely for self gain but ultimately for God, that is,if you want to learn "TRUE WISDOM"!
This is just so ignorant, shows a total lack of understanding of both who God is, and anthropology. In other words, we are NOT God. To say the Holy Spirit just leads and guides me, and I don't need anything else, is the starting point for all heresies.
Anyone can follow God all the days of their life with no education. And I'm talking not being able to read and to write. Although, of course, reading the Bible is so important for us all, if we have the ability to read. God certainly leads and guides us in our lives, through the power of the Holy Spirit! No disagreement there!
BUT, theology is a different ball of wax! If you want to start coming up with new doctrines, even a basic knowledge of the original languages can lead you astray, as I am constantly finding in the BDF. People use Strong's, do a word search, and come up with a new revelation! Can you say, never!!?
Theology is very complex. Even the top Biblical scholars in the world do not agree on every point. BUT, they can agree to disagree. Orthodoxy has been established since the early church. Why on earth would God reach down to some Joe Blow, and give him some totally new revelation that no one has ever thought of in 2000 years, and tell him to set up a church, and preach the new gospel??
And yet, that is what happens every day in the BDF. And all of them supposedly led by the Holy Spirit. So why are these revelations not necessarily from God? Man is not God. We hear, see, and remember imperfectly. We see things through our own filters, our personal and sociological background. If we were raised to believe one thing, we might stick to it like glue, or we might totally reject it, thinking that indigestion we got the other night was "sign" from God to walk the other way.
It is the utmost arrogance to think that God is giving us personally a new revelation for the body of Christ. Now, everyone loves to cite Martin Luther, who started the Reformation, as breaking with tradition. But, he had a Ph.D in theology. He was fluent in both Hebrew and Greek, and translated the first Bible into German. He studied the Bible, prayed, and sought God for salvation his whole life.
THEN, this learned man, this humble man, did have a revelation from God. The Holy Spirit revealed to him the truth of salvation in Romans 5:1. And so, the Reformation began. But he made mistakes! His writings on the Jews was horrific. Why? Because he was a product of his time. Because God's purpose was for him to reveal the true way we are saved - we are justified by faith, not by indulgences or the Catholic or any other church body. That was the world changing revelation God gave Martin Luther.
Yes, the Holy Spirit guides and directs us. Yes, a good education is important to any preacher and vital for a theologian. But no, we don't NEED an education, but no matter whether Ph.D or grade 6 we need to be humble and submit to God, and remember he is in charge, not us!
