Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
I will admit that I have provided some initial thoughts. But they are far from solid. Let's look at the word experience first. Define it. Find it in scripture. ... look at what should be the "experience" of the normal Christian life (not the book).
And maybe this just sits quietly and is ignored. That is OK.
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Ha. I bet you wish it had sat quietly, ignored. (humor, there).
I've been following this from afar, and this quote, below, caught my attention:
Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
Question. What is it to "hold to" teachings? If we want to call anything "experience" that brings truth, that would be it. So what is it?
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It brought to mind the idea of the Christian experience as analogized by a race. Common, right? We've all heard this; it's so true it's trite. But there may be insight, there. Think of, for example, two runners, one who does excellently, then falls into a deep hole about a hundred yards from the finish line and disappears. Occasional weak cries emerge, with extended gaps of silence, which gaps grow ominously long. The second runner does a terrible job of it. Manages to trip over every uneven spot. Hits every obstacle, and gets weary and sits down often, complaining loudly and threatening to quit. But at the end, he gets up and roars off like a rocket and has Peter's proverbial "rich entrance" at the finish line.
So who did well? The second guy. But all during the race, if we wanted to assess the "experience of Christ" of the runners, we'd bet on the first. This indicates to me that ultimately, our assessment means nothing or nearly nothing. We can't truly assess our "experience of Christ", except to press on. It's only truly assessed by God, at the finish. So forget about it, and carry on. The only thing that you can really do is assume that if you have in any way "experienced Christ", then you're probably among the least of all the saints. Other than that, ignore it. Your evaluations, enroute, simply are not trustworthy.
So I tend to side with
OBW in this conversation. Not that I'm taking sides or promoting antagonism, but his objections to the notion of the generic "experience of Christ) carry more water with me. Carry on (and that's where the "hold to" part comes in).