http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:...-Sign_web.jpg?&k=Railroad+Grade+Crossing+Sign
I have to say i’ve been a loss to know how to answer, P7. I mean, i feel the same–who am i to judge such great men? But that’s the fix i’m in. I mean, before this train gets to it’s destination, i have to know whether i’m getting off with the rest of you and Parish Junction, or getting a round-trip ticket back to Prodigal City. So i have to judge, don’t i? If not who they are, i have to at least judge what they say to see if it is true! Like it or not, i’ve no choice but to judge.
“But how, Lord?” i pray as i stare out the window of the dining car. Then i see the sign from God–ironic that it really is a sign! It’s a railroad crossing sign, with two Rs. And immediately i’m reminded of the two Rs that have gotten me this far. How could i forget? The first R is reason.
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
(Isaiah 1:18)
God has given me a part of Himself, i think. For reason is part of what makes Him. Thinking rationally, not irrationally. Thinking logically, not illogically. Thinking soundly, not fallaciously. Thinking like God, not like an unthinking, emotional ape. Reason will guide me, as long as i allow God to reason with me. But how can He reason with me if i don’t hear Him? That’s where the second R comes in.
The second R is revelation. Truth revealed by God Himself. Who am i to receive such a prize that i do not deserve? No one. What have i done to earn it? Nothing. So why do i think God would give it to me as He gave it to those more deserving than myself? Because He says so, when He speaks through James:
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
(James 1:5-8)
Seems too good to be true–a nobody like me having the same access to the revealed wisdom of God that a somebody like Peter would have. But that’s what James says. It’s not just the somebodies; it’s the anybodies who will receive wisdom from God. Anybody, that is, who meets these conditions:
*]He knows he is not wise and does not know the truth
*]He asks for wisdom he knows he does not have and the truth he knows he does not know
*]He believes God gives such wisdom to those who do not deserve it, for God gives it without finding fault
*]He does not doubt–not for a moment–that God will not fail to give him the wisdom for which he asks
So it seems to me, P7 that the reason so many Protestants appear to be deceived is that they are into partisan religion. And partisan religion, like partisan politics, does not ask whether the position one holds is true. The religious partisan knows he knows he knows the truth, and has no need to ask for wisdom. So if he is self-deceived, God’s hands are tied to help him, for he does not think to ask God to show him the truth that he already thinks he has!
**But the religious philosopher, who knows he is not wise, is in a better position to receive wisdom from God. First, because he feels his lack–like a starving man feels his hunger. He knows he is not wise and desperately seeks relief from his ignorance. So he asks God to show him truth, and God brings people into his life to speak the truth in love to him. And those he meets who are self-deceived and think they have the truth–even they are a help for him. For some of them pray earnestly for him a prayer they don’t think to pray for themselves–that God would open his eyes. **
So i will really on reason and revelation to decide who i should trust as the religious authority to guide me, P7. For what else can i rely on but the two Rs in that sign from God?