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I have no empirical knowledge that would cause me to believe the miracles.
I believe them because the word of God presents them.
I have no empirical knowledge that would cause me to know salvation (forgiveness of sin--Lk 1:77).
I know that through God's word and the Holy Spirit bearing witness with my spirit that I am a child of God.
Keeping in mind two things:
1) It is Hebrew scholars who have translated the OT of many of the English translations,
as well as Greek scholars who have translated the NT in them, and
2) Jesus does not teach us in some vacuum, but
Jesus teaches us in the words spoken by the Son in these last days (Heb 1:1-2) through the NT writers,
and if our wisdom and understanding is not in agreement with the NT, it is not from Jesus.
Ur dub'lin me over again! . . .
Yu musta' got mah share o' da quick-wittedness. . .'cause I just ain't gots dat neet turn o' speech thang.
I have no empirical knowledge that would cause me to know salvation (forgiveness of sin--Lk 1:77).
I know that through God's word and the Holy Spirit bearing witness with my spirit that I am a child of God.
God would not be graceful if He didn't give us warning and the capability to identify. We are to love Him with our mind also. All things come through Him, not us. I could see your point if we had not been informed.
"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." John 7:24
We are commanded by Christ to discern, but not to condemn. Speaking of love, have you considered the finite instructions? Leviticus 19, and Deuteronomy 6 to begin.
I wouldn't disagree on those matters, but I do know that even in the face of all that evidence, I would not have been convinced. . .just wouldn't have. . .it just didn't matter to me. . .I am one of those you describe above.Not many people I know, personally, would agree, though there are scholars I don't know personally who would. And even Adrian Rogers said one thing I don't agree with, that you can't prove God. A statistical analysis anybody can get on the web of fulfilled prophecy proves, beyond any empirical doubt, by accepted, statistical scientific methods, Bible future prophecy is a fact, and impossibly otherwise, this beyond any randomness. Of course, only God could know things hundreds or a thousand or more years that will come to pass, in even the smallest details. The Bible is proven supernatural.Elin said:I have no empirical knowledge that would cause me to believe the miracles.
I believe them because the word of God presents them.
I have no empirical knowledge that would cause me to know salvation (forgiveness of sin--Lk 1:77).
I know that through God's word and the Holy Spirit bearing witness with my spirit that I am a child of God.
There is also the overwhelming legal case, including accepted historical standards, that if one were to try Jesus Christ for being the Son of God, He would be convicted, worlds beyond any minimal burden of proof: witness accounts, the complete veracity of the witness persons within the framework of their accounts, the events themselves interlaced with incidental events pointing to complete truth things did happen as they did: only the OJ jury would miss it.
On very close and analytical scrutiny, the Bible is supernatural, real evidence of God, enshrined in black, white and red, and therefore the word of that God completely credible. People choose disbelief, which is a function of blindness, not lack of evidence. Jesus didn't expect everybody to just believe, rather proved to those in His time on earth His power and authority as coming from God. Then there's the testimony of those of us who KNOW God by the Holy Spirit, and how Christianity didn't just vanish off the map, either, like any fake circus show would. Jesus Christ would be a footnote in history, had He not risen from the dead. I think there's a lot of tangible proof.
So, there. I said mah peace in this here matter, and y'alls jus disagrees, per usual. Cain't all us be right, ah reckin'.
I wouldn't disagree on those matters, but I do know that even in the face of all that evidence, I would not have been convinced. . .just wouldn't have. . .it just didn't matter to me. . .I am one of those you describe above.
So I tend to come from that former place of unbelief when I deal with the matter of belief.
None of that evidence would bring me to belief.
I recommend that you go back to the Greek, because the English that you useclose but no cigar.
english is not good language to understand this, but is still possible if one has the Spirit(as it is written below) .....
the Spiritual Truth is not understood by study.
1 Corinthians 2:12-14Revised Standard Version (RSV)
[SUP]12 [/SUP]Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.
[SUP]13 [/SUP]And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit.[SUP][a][/SUP]
[SUP]14 [/SUP]The unspiritual[SUP][b][/SUP] man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
Footnotes:
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 - Or "interpreting spiritual truths in spiritual language; or comparing spiritual things with spiritual "
- - -Elin notes there is no "to those who possess the Holy Spirit" here in v.13.
- 1 Corinthians 2:14 - Or natural
Revised Standard Version (RSV) Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
We shouldn't be looking at the curse of the law if we are not going to see the blessings. Why are we so negative in that respect?
If we shouldn't be instructed by the law's blessings why in the world are we talking and concentrating on its after effects such as defining the law as a curse? Both curses and blessings are after the fact, not the fact. The law came first with curses, and blessings. If in Christ we define the curse, why not also define the blessings and neglect the curses the same as we do God's law? If we acknowledge the one as positive in Christ, why talk about the opposite without Christ? That makes little sense. Blessings are defined in the law and so are cursings. If we neglect those things as we do the law, we are also neglecting the definitions of blessings by the rejection of the law.![]()
Empirical knowledge is observation and experience rather than theory or pure logic.I do, for empirical knowledge is verifiable by experience rather than theory or pure logic. So, to me, the Holy Spirit bears witness to the unseen hope that God given experiences instigate.Elin said:I have no empirical knowledge that would cause me to know salvation (forgiveness of sin--Lk 1:77).
I know that through God's word and the Holy Spirit bearing witness with my spirit that I am a child of God.
I know the drill. . .was all over it for a long time. . .and he wasn't there. . .after that there wasn't anything that could convince me.No doubt about that, a whole other topic, and quite the mystery to me. Spiritual blindness overwhelms intelligence, by what means I don't know, that is, how that blindness is worked on our minds. I've been Christian since so young and of such a disposition when young to more be an observer of life, not as much a thinking participant, was one of those children that just went with the flow of things. I don't have a reference for being intellectually developed and rejecting these obvious truths. So I can't understand what seems to me people failing to see obvious, objective facts. For instance, I can learn science, find understanding of the mathematics upon examination, learning, nothing keeping me from learning. If somebody told me to look in this or that book to get what I need, I'd do it, check it out, find out what's there. For crying out loud, if somebody told me you can see God there, I'd be all over it!
It's never for lack of knowledge, it's always for lack of belief.But it gets worse. You present the facts and statistics, and it's like you're showing people hieroglyphics. Completely bizarre and inexplicable to me, though it's just like not understanding scripture without the Spirit I suppose. Still,
facts and stats, there in black and white?
Elin said:I recommend that you go back to the Greek, because the English which you use for v. 13 adds what is not in the Greek; i.e., "to those who possess the Spirit."Jeff_56 said:close but no cigar.
english is not good language to understand this, but is still possible if one has the Spirit(as it is written below) .....
the Spiritual Truth is not understood by study.
1 Corinthians 2:12-14Revised Standard Version (RSV)
[SUP]12 [/SUP]Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.
[SUP]13 [/SUP]And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths
to those who possess the Spirit.[SUP][a][/SUP]
The Greek states "comparing spiritual things with spiritual things" or
"expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words."
The Greek does not state "to those who possess the Spirit."
You're right. . .your wrong "English is not good to understand it."
And the Holy Spirit gave to Paul (not us) the very words (v.13) he used to express the understanding which the Holy Spirit gave to Paul (not us) of what God has freely given us (v.12),
and then the Holy Spirit gives us understanding of the words of Paul in the word of God.
There is no path to true understanding from the Holy Spirit apart from going straight through the word of God.
Then you erroneously think the born again study the word of God apart from the Holy Spirit?
You erroneously think the born again understand the word of God apart from the illumination of the Holy Spirit?
You erroneously think the Holy Spirit gives understanding not based in the word of God?
That is a serious misunderstanding of the NT.
Elin notes there is no "to those who possess the Holy Spirit" in this footnote to v.13.[SUP]14 [/SUP]The unspiritual[SUP][b][/SUP] man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 2:13 - Or "interpreting spiritual truths in spiritual language; or comparing spiritual things with spiritual "
Oh, I'm run over with the help of Jesus in his Holy Spirit giving me to understand that God's truth is in the words of Scripture, not in words added to Scripture, or apart from Scripture.jesus might help you. but like corrie ten boom said, the only people jesus can't save are those who think they are good.....1 Corinthians 2:14 - Or natural
Revised Standard Version (RSV) Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Empirical knowledge is observation and experience rather than theory or pure logic.
I use the term of the natural order.
I have no natural empirical knowledge (observation and experience) that would cause me to know salvation.
I have much experience in the spiritual order which causes me to know salvation.
Then we also shouldn't be looking at the curse of the law if we are not going to see the blessings. Why are we so negative in that respect?
If we shouldn't be instructed by the law's blessings why in the world are we talking and concentrating on its after effects such as defining the law as a curse? Both curses and blessings are after the fact, not the fact. The law came first with curses, and blessings. If in Christ we define the curse, why not also define the blessings and neglect the curses the same as we do God's law? If we acknowledge the one as positive in Christ, why talk about the opposite without Christ? That makes little sense. Blessings are defined in the law and so are cursings. If we neglect those things as we do the law, we are also neglecting the definitions of blessings by the rejection of the law.![]()