Brother EA, you are a potstirrer extraordinaire. I admire that. I heard somewhere that men should not shave their heads. Should we me worried? Bald men unite!
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Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. — André Gide
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds... - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Me too. It is that extra-Biblical stuff we stand up against
Blessings, Rhoni
I don't stand against extra-biblical stuff. People can design their lives in any way they wish, in an effort to please God, as long as they aren't anti-biblical. If a man wants to forbid himself to chew bubble gum, that's fine with me.
The problem comes in when those personal restraints are foisted off as community or church-wide restraints, to people who not only don't want them, but may not even need them. (In many cases, certainly do NOT need them.)
My personal standards are personal, ergo, I'm not going to put them out there for the whole world to analyze--at least, not today. But IMO, "standards" refer to man-made rules or guidelines (whether for self or others) that are intended as boundaries to keep us close to scripture or scriptural principle.
They're certainly not a bad thing--and in some cases, they can be good and wise--but they're still man-made.
Guidelines found clearly in scripture are commandments. Totally different animal.
Standards are things I live by, but wouldn't necessarily die for. God's commandments are found clearly in scripture, and hopefully are meaningful enough to die for, should the situation become dire enough.
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"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
I don't stand against extra-biblical stuff. People can design their lives in any way they wish, in an effort to please God, as long as they aren't anti-biblical. If a man wants to forbid himself to chew bubble gum, that's fine with me.
The problem comes in when those personal restraints are foisted off as community or church-wide restraints, to people who not only don't want them, but may not even need them. (In many cases, certainly do NOT need them.)
My personal standards are personal, ergo, I'm not going to put them out there for the whole world to analyze--at least, not today. But IMO, "standards" refer to man-made rules or guidelines (whether for self or others) that are intended as boundaries to keep us close to scripture or scriptural principle.
They're certainly not a bad thing--and in some cases, they can be good and wise--but they're still man-made.
Guidelines found clearly in scripture are commandments. Totally different animal.
Standards are things I live by, but wouldn't necessarily die for. God's commandments are found clearly in scripture, and hopefully are meaningful enough to die for, should the situation become dire enough.
You are exactly right (as always)!!!
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Master of Science in Applied Disgruntled Religious Theorist Wrangling
PhD in Petulant Tantrum Quelling
Dean of the School of Hard Knocks
Me too. It is that extra-Biblical stuff we stand up against
Linear Mode
