Theologians

well so far not many people admit to reading theology so I might be ok taking them all off the shelves..and just having Bibles.

Im sure some people would argue no we have to have some theology about God as we understand Him but Im not running a twelve step program for alcoholics anonymous at the church either. so no Big books except the Good Book.

Calvin has been thoroughly debunked with Scripture, but that won't make any difference to his followers.

Calvin, Luther, and all the reformers plus many before them were Augustinians. They did not originate the doctrines. But the Council of Ephesus in 431 affirmed Augustinianism was true to scripture. And free will was heresy, in condemning Pelagianism. Like Calvin or not, he and the rest teach biblical Christianity.

How can free will be heresy when the Bible clearly reveals that mankind has free will? As to Pelagianism, no one teaches that nonsense either.

The fact remains that Five Point Calvinism (which is embedded in Reformed Theology) has been THOROUGHLY DEBUNKED. However, since you prefer man-made doctrines over Bible truth, you will continue to believe that nonsense.

We dont have any books by Jean Calvin in our church and I would probably chuck them in the bin if there were.

I remember a visitor came into our church he loudly proclaims he goes to a reformed church and said our church library was 'too liberal' . Well if he ever wants to exercise his free will he can check out any of our liberal copies of the Bible.

The bible teaches the truth makes us free. And we cannot know spiritual truth unless first born again.

that was the transfiguration which wasnt the same as the resurrection ya know.

You like to nit pick dont you?

my pastor suggests Ada Ruth Habershon, M.R. Dehaan, and A.W. Pink are a good place to start. we got Mme. Habershon's 'study of the types' for Christmas but i haven't started reading it yet. Dehaan is good, easy introduction to seeing Christ portrayed in the OT - a way of thinking that doesn't even occur to a lot of people. Pink is a bit harder to read, and more technical, but relatively thorough and deep.

it can still be of value to read the people you disagree with, because it can help you clarify the truth by being challenged to refute what they say - and if you can't refute it, you might find out what you thought wasn't quite right in the first place. you may also discover that what other people have told you these people believe doesn't really match with what they actually say..

not entirely like browsing the BDF here

whether you agree or disagree with people's musings on theology, at the very least reading them will keep your mind thinking about the things of God.

Im sure some people are getting TULIP backwards and calling it PILUT. And confusing everyone.

The horse goes before the cart right? Or is the cart pushing the horse?
Or hold on, is it the chicken came before the egg, or the egg before the chicken.

Its like how some people will read the NT before the OT and then claim the OT is irrelevant so go read some theology lol.

Free will = you can save yourself. You don't need Christ to save you.

hmm heres something...why not just read the OT?
Im sure God preserved it so we could understand it. I dont think He was making anyone else a prophet after John the Baptist.

commentaries of the Bible arent quite the same as theology books but...they can be biased.

With theology books sometimes the footnotes over take the text. But they make quite good doorstops or flower presses. Im sure in the tradtion of ancient greeks one philospher wrote a book about theolgy and there another decided he would refute the first one and publish one and then someone else decided they would write another to refute that one and it just went on from there.....

um no free will just simply means you are free to obey God or not. Its not really got anything to do with salvation which is different. God will love you even while you are yet a sinner as Jesus is open to whosever believes in Him.

You need to read te Bible from the beginning, like in Genesis to understand that Adam had a choice to obey or disobey God, thats what free will is. Of course God wanted Adam to exercise his free will to obey him, but no Adam exercised his free will to disobey Him. Do you get it?

Free will = you can keep the law and save yourself.

I am inclined to believe that the Lord will lead a person toward men and women that will expand the direction he is taking them in.

Theological study on it's own is too "dusty" for my tastes.

I cannot speak to all, but it is reasonable that some answers wouldn't just be "given" to you. In this line of thinking it is helpful to think about what makes for a good teacher. Also consider why have the body at all and why some would be teachers if the Lord were just going to give it all out at your leisure.

Does not the Lord work in the lives of others also? Do we not sharpen each other's iron?


I'm thinking of a game hunt. I can hunt squirrels and track lots of evasive creatures just fine (fleeting tangents)...but taking down a mammoth? I'd need help. For sure. Meat in this instance being the focus.

Imagine a tracker in the forest vs a trackless tundra...I probably would only hunt there for the sake of it, or perhaps the Lord wants to mature someone into an all-arounder. I've only got an hour...I'll go anywhere no matter how hard it is, I need a field guide. Who has been here before? Oh this person has been here for a decade? Definitely I can learn from them! Through the filter of my own relationship of course.


Or another referring to the gem/treasure within scripture consider prospecting.


Think of all the ways a teacher can teach...and then take it a step further with how the Lord has us in community to grow and mature together.

People are going to have different priorities, battles, fancies, "make"/vintage, so it makes sense to understand it as gleaning. Some fields are full of chaff and little grain. I may be more full at the time I'm walking the path that I don't stop because it doesn't seem worth it. I feel led to...fine! *picks a bit* *chews* ok, not bad, moving on...I can be somewhat lazy. Then another person happens along and is hungry and strips the field.

It is also reasonable that if these men and women were believers (that's the hard part) then they are built on the Chief cornerstone and since you are also building it makes sense to understand other blocks.


Oh, btw...while not related, I wrote this in blocks...It's a tricky topic for me, so apologies if it's a bit scattered. A lot of this is related to Christology blended with Theology. There's a mountain of discussion but in my personal experience, a small percentage is useful outside the "Ivory tower".



That said, there's too much junk to slog through out there that (much like posts) it may be that it only connects with one person throughout history. It is such a hopeless search by oneself that without the Lord it'd be impossible.

I find it of utility to season the meat I've already found sometimes also. I may not have any pepper and some of these men/women had stores of salt that is still salty today...





Great caution should be exercised as there is a stout bit of yeast as well. I only turn to it when I have felt the Lord in a trail I'm on, but I'm inexperienced in certain things. There's plenty I can't learn on my own due to time constraints...they already did the busy work and availing oneself of that has wisdom in it. It's also something of a move against pride for me personally.

Reading the books over and over they said the greatest people they knew were just humble men of God who read just the Bible over and over and prayed over the Word...you don't need any man to teach you and the Holy Spirit will teach you all truth...it took me 15 years of spending long long days for months and years reading just the Bible and praying long hours and then spending all my money abdvtome helping others and leading many to Christ...sowing seed and watering...and traveling with money and without and learning to hear God and know when the devil was talking...the apostolic miricales started when I was saved 10 years and now I have been saved 26 years and I can easily explain the whole Bible....people come up to me I don't know and tell me God sent them to tell me it's all true....but I did not get it without work...but I love to read the Bible....i can read the NT in one day slowly...now...so I read Isaiah one day Jerimiah the next and after 25 years I know all 66 books by memory what is there....and Jesus said when I come back will there be faith on the earth and the answer was no....so God does not lie....people want TV and internet etc...but the key is giving that up...and just having a pure life away and reaching and loving people everyday like Jesus did

Oral tradition of men can make the word of God, as it is written, God's tradition without effect. We must be careful how we hear or say we hear.

Jerimiah give us a example of those who do make the word of God to no effect and see "no evil" in doing . Having received the strong delusion from God they continue to believe the lies.

Jeremiah 44:16-17 King James Version (KJV) As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we "will not" hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw "no evil."

I would think we can learn by looking at the private interpretations of each other. But in the end of the matter the loving commandment to Study rightly dividing the word of God comes from seeking the approval of God not seen . Evem jesus followed that order seeking after the will of the unseen.

I do not think he would command us to seek his approval and not give us the proper prescriptions.

So then I would suggest its not so much what do men say but again; "how do we hear what the Spirit says to the denominations or churches" . Unlike that of the Nicolaitans who gave ear to their leader Nicole and lost their first love . Hearing God as he gives us ears. His understanding

Whenever I see the words "the apostolic" a red flag goes up .How are you using that phrase? Would it include say Abel one sent by God the first recorded martyr?

Well really there were only like 19 apostles listed in the NT including Christ I think...so not Abel as wonderful as he was...but no where does the Bible say that the top two offices ended at 100 AD...i know in Charismatic circles they may have more prophets and apostles than people on the planet lmao...but an apostle...a real one is a rare sent individual...and...I'm careful with the prophet thing too...but to say that apostles...prophets and all the gifts can't exist is never taught...they are rare always but not absent...