I have created this blog solely because people have requested me to. In it I will do my best to remain as close to Biblical doctrine as I can without imposing personal opinions onto the texts. The questions I will answer here, at least initially, are the ones I have had before. As such, you can be assured that I will give justice to them as best as I am able. Know that I will post nothing on here without fervent prayer and study in regards to the question. I believe that every word of the Bible is the truth of God, the foundation of all true reason. Because of this, if you have a counter-point in regards to something I post, please provide Scripture to back up your position. In the words of Martin Luther, "Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the Pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen." To this end, to make better use of time, if you have questions on the inspiration, authority, infallibility, inerrancy, canonicity, and sufficiency of Scripture then I direct you to D.A. Carson's Collected Writings on Scripture or John M. Frame's The Doctrine of the Word of God. If these men can't clear up why you must accept God's Word as true to be a Christian then your problem is not with men but with God and I cannot help you there. I am a philosopher, so I can entertain philosophical questions, however, if the question is a good one know that you probably won't get the answer in one sitting. If you could then you wouldn't need other people's help to grasp it. For this reason, don't expect me to answer questions with one liners. I will simplify things as best I can and hopefully, by the grace of God, it will help you in your understanding. The best thing any person can do is pray. Pray without ceasing.
I prefer to start all Bible studies with a prayer to get my heart and mind in a state of humble, respectful reverence for the Word of God. I don't memorize prayers or anything like that, but they usually go something along the lines of,
"My God, thank you for blessing us with this time to reflect on your Word. May your Spirit, from whom all understanding flows, open our eyes to see your truth that we may come to know you more. In our growing understanding of your truth may we become transformed into a beacon of light to others, reflecting the Light of the World into a world that desperately needs Him. Let everything we do and everything we say bring honor and glory to you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen." (btw amen means 'I testify that this is true' so if you want to replace that with 'true dat,' if you feel like amen is too religiously ceremonial, that's perfectly fine.)
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