Interests:I like...stuff, I guess. Don't have much of an answer for this yet...get back to me in 6 months. Expertise:Expertise? ummm I am good at introspection, even though I mostly never get past that. Occupation:Other Industry:Education/Research
In a completely unrelated skein of thought, I recently heard a blurb of the Screwtape Letters on the radio, and one thing leaped (shouldn't that be spelled "lept") out at me. Any sermon, or Bible lesson has the potential the grow and teach if only we have an open and learning heart to it! Too often we approach a church service as a critic rather than a supplicant.
Understand me here, I am not saying we shouldn't strive for better and more educated content in our sermons and services. What I am saying is we stand in the congregation thinking to ourselves, "That organ is too loud." "This preacher doesn't exposit enough" "That worship leader dances too much" instead of pleading "Lord, hear I am, I beg your mercy and wisdom."
That Lewis, he got me again. In the last year I have read several books by CS Lewis I always meant to read and never got around to it (The Space Trilogy, The Great Divorce, A Grief Observed). While I have always loved his other works I have read (Narnia, Till We Have Faces) these recent books have shown me what a hero the man was. I would have to strongly state that, second to my father, CS Lewis was likely one of my biggest heroes, and I have never even met the man. He has touched and moved my life so many times in that last couple years, it often brings such a feeling of overwhelming to me and I am almost reduced to tears (ALMOST, I am still tough).
So, that being said, if you haven't read CS Lewis extensively, you need to. I would state you need to read (in this order), The Space Trilogy, Till We Have Faces, The Great Divorce, and A Grief Observed) I have also heard that Mere Christianity can move mountains as well, but have not read it. It is next on my list.
A small ending note, I am also reading The Gathering Storm. It is book 12 in the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. He died in 2007 of a blood disease, but this is the first book released since then, and is being finished by Brian Sanderson. I am about 250 pages in and each new page feels like stepping back into my teen years. I feel like I am reading about childhood friends. It is very satisfying. (I have been reading his books since the early 90s.)
First off, I want to make it known that I believe the Bible to be inerrant and the inspired Word of God. I don't budge on this point. It's a whole other argument, and discussion in itself.
Second all, I want to briefly touch on the difference between Wisdom and Morality. Morality is black and white (for the most part, and the sake of our argument). It is wrong to lie, It is wrong to kill, it is right to love God, it is right to stand up for your faith, etc. Wisdom is about what is better to do, ie what is the wise decision. Wisdom may dictate that you shouldn't allow yourself to surf the web alone with no accountability. But is it WRONG to surf the web like that? No. (you may disagree with me here, but thats another argument as well) Is it Wise to smoke (pipes, cigars, cigarettes) no, it isn't. But is it wrong? no. Is it wise to eat junk food? no, not really. But is it wrong? Absolutely not. Basically. Just because something is unwise, doesn't make it a sin, ie a morality issue. The reverse is likely true though, if something is wrong, it is always unwise.
"A sinner is always a fool, but a fool is not always a sinner"
That being said, Proverbs, in general, is a book of Wisdom. It isn't intended to be a covenant or a set of commandments. There are some obvious Wisdom statements in there that deal directly with morality (ie. Stay away from whores) but others that don't necessarily (ie. don't pierce your body). When dealing with a specific passage, that's where the debate comes in. But Proverbs should not be used as an end all be all argument for morality. As in the case of the issue of Spanking. Just because Proverbs suggests that sparing the rod is a bad idea, doesn't necessarily mean that sparing the rod is a sin. With that in mind, it becomes more of an argument of what is the best thing to do, not necessarily what is the right/wrong thing to do.
Also, assuming that it IS more of a command than a issue of wisdom, even then, it is debatable what "the rod" means here. It could easily be argued that the author is referencing systematic discipline in general and uses the term "rod" as it would be a culturally accepted term at the time. I am not saying I 100% agree with that argument but it has validity.
So that is my view, very briefly on the book of Proverbs. I hope I didn't bore you, and if you have any response thoughts I would welcome them.
I found a new social networking site that I actually like called www.goodreads.com . It basically looks sorta like Face Book, and the format is quite similar...except its all about books. You can rate, review and read about just about any book ever on there. You can create your own "bookshelves" of books you have read, or want to read. You have friends on there and can suggest books to them, or check out their ratings and reviews. It's quite neat. There is even a status update part that you can list which books you are reading, and what page you are on and a brief thought.
So far, I have enjoyed it, and have even found several books I didn't know were out and now need to read! I invited a bunch of you to join as well, so I can make fun of your reading habits, but if you didn't get an invite and that sounds interesting to you, go to their site and sign up.
