ONLY rule of faith and practice - is this necessary?

[potato]

Potato,

Let me ask you a sincere question. Do you think that holding fast to faith in Jesus is equal to being afraid of looking at other points of view? You didn't say that. . . . so, I assume nothing here, :) I am just curious about the wording.

</snip>

I know there are devout christians who are inclusive, not exclusive, who have empathy rather than egotism regarding their beliefs. so yeah, I wasn't implying that faith in jesus is equal to being afraid of looking at other points of view.

the brand that twi taught us was so incredibly exclusive. we were taught to avoid anything that contradicts it, in other words to reject it as a valid source of information. without even considering it! because you know, Eve got in trouble by considering the words of the serpent. so you keep a certain rule of faith and practice intact, with no room to adjust according to Truth. because, you know, we can't know the Truth, just bits of it. so how will we learn more, if we isolate ourselves from the rest of the world? because the MOG has a direct line to god, so we're covered, people!

when Mike made his call to get back to vpw's teachings as they concern the "only rule of faith and practice", I realized that what he was saying was probably simply no longer valid, even for those who continued to embrace christianity. I mean I assumed at least some of you guys decided to expand your understanding of your own faith, and that's what I'm finding to be true in the responses here. it applies to christians and non-christians, really. twi demanded narrow-mindedness from all of us. that's just not healthy, no matter what your spiritual beliefs.

[waysider]

twi demanded narrow-mindedness from all of us. that's just not healthy, no matter what your spiritual beliefs.

It may not have been spiritually healthy but it kept the ABS flowing to P.O. Box 328------

[geisha779]

Unlike some posters, I have never doubted your sincerity nor your honesty.

You type what you think and feel no matter what that is.

On the one hand, I find the candor refreshing.

I am nothing if not candid! :) You should meet me in person. . . .didn't know there were others who doubt my sincerity and honesty. . . thanks for the heads up. . . But, I have made some nice friends here. . . . Even some unitarians. . . . gotten the cutest PM's from the most diverse bunch. . . and am glad to have met the people here. Even met up with a few people who knew me in TWI.

But, we all have detractors, we may just not always hear of them.

My only disagreement was with your singling out ONE doctrine as "too dangerous to READ" while the others

all got a free pass. However, hey, your approaches to doctrine, Scripture, books about doctrine, and

anything else you read are not subject to my approval. We disagree on approaches just as we disagree

on doctrine. Personally, I'm MORE concerned about your APPROACH than about your DOCTRINE.

However, there's nothing I can do about that other than tell you I think it's unsafe, and that Mark

recommended a more sound approach. What you do with my opinion's up to you.

Please don't be concerned. I appreciate it. . . . and I am also thankful you helped me out in the past. But, I have a wonderful church, a great pastor, Dr Juedes has been helpful in the past, Hubby is pretty handy. I know some pretty good people, and the Lord has blessed me with many good Christians in my life.

Word Wolf . . . I never said it was too dangerous. . . .here is what I said to Mark.

"Thanks, I appreciate the concern and the critique of my study habits. I don't wish to be offensive in anyway, truly, but I am not interested in biblical unitarian theology. I understand this is your belief. This reflects your understanding of scripture and who you believe Jesus really is. . . .For me, this is unthinkable to ever consider again or return to. . . I know you don't understand why. . . but trust me when I say. . . I could NEVER deny the deity of Jesus again. You have my permission to pat me on the head. . . .and consider me doing "the best I can."

I said I have no interest. I don't. I just said who I do like to read, but that is the short list. :) Another person I like to read is Sam Shamoun who ministers to Muslims.

I could never return to this because for ME it is an empty faith.

I was just trying to avoid putting it to bluntly here. Geisha trying to be tactful. Shocking but true. :)

http://www.forananswer.org/Top_Uni/Scholars_Buzzard.htm

http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=1434

http://www.answering-islam.org/index.html

Edited February 27, 2009 by geisha779