zach wrote:

> (not trying to butt into the argument, but just as an aside)
>
> Many seminaries are supposedly turning out teachers of the Word who
> deny Christ, or are even atheists. Some groups use the academic tools
> of study you describe to twist the Word of God, like pro-"Christian"
> homosexual apologists, or to advance their provincial interpretations
> (like the JWs). Are there not different levels of wisdom? Is not some
> of it a gift of the Spirit? Do not some people need things fed to
them
> didactically as in milk to babes, rather than comprehending or
> digesting it on their own? I do not mean to say that such study and
> study materials are _only_ for such people. However, how much of the
> Bible's wisdom is lost for the non-Bible-educated people? Did Martin
> Luther have his study manuals handy when he made his interpretation
of
> Scripture that subsequently changed Christiandom and the world, or
did
> he just read the Bible as it was written? Perhaps we should be
careful
> not to subjugate the thing studied to the tools used to study it.
>
All excellent points.  I will readily admit that an "unlearned" Bible
student could gain an insight and wisdom from a passage which learned
theologians have missed.  It is certainly not out of the realm of
possibility.  A humble and holy man, simple in his faith yet devout in
his reading and self study of the Bible could have every bit the depth
of understanding of that a learned seminarian -to a point.  The
theologian could provide cultural and linguistic insights which the
"simpleton" could not, but that does not detract from such a man having
a very deep relationship with the scriptures.

I would just say that having the understanding of all the "helps" makes
the process at once easier and yet harder.  My grandfather was self
taught and though he wouldn't understand a discussion between TR vs
Majority Text, he could share his faith with kids and teenagers in a
way most of us more "learned" types should be shamed over.

Often I find the deeper thing I find theologically to have application
only to myself.  Try to teach them to others and either the points are
too fine be appreciated, let alone understood, or they simply have no
interest in the deeper things of God.  So often they only bring new
richness of worship to me, the student.

I feel Dan 2:20-23 is quite profound as pertaining to this discussion.
Especially when you twist the "king" of v 23 to now mean "King,"
personalizing it to have relation to His plan and purpose.  Everyone
should memorize and utilize this passage as a prayer.

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