I appreciate that my blog was one of the ones to survive the purge. Thanks for your support.

“I have read some of your posts at your blog and you do seem to exhibit an anti-intellectual attitude; if I am wrong, I apologize.”

I am not anti-intellectual, what I am against is the thought that only the “intellectual” can get any good out of the bible. What I am against is men using their “itellect” as a crutch. Men of old, who were great thinkers, and godly men, are not what I am against. What I am against, is all the fluff and nothing else. If a person can exegete every scripture properly, and does not have the fire of God burning within, what’s the use. This is what I am trying to say.

I personally have a library of over 200 books (not very many by most standards) and I read constantly. I have read books by reformed writers. I have read books by Arminians (I don’t know if that is spelled right). I have read contemporary writers, and writers of old. Some refered to as mystics, others as bible scholars. My favorites are Moody, Ravenhill, Murray, Torrey, Bunyan, Schaeffer, Wurmbrand, Tozer, and on and on. These men move me, they get thinking, they inspire me to pray, they make me hunger for revival.

I love to read thought provoking literature, but I like to see the fire of God illuminate the page. If it does not, then I wonder what good it is at all.

“I don’t know if your playing the “humility card” is genuine or not. If not, then don’t do it; if so, then that is a sad state of affairs, since it means that I believe in you more than you do yourself. I am – and have been – arguing that you are capable of more than you think. I seem to have more confidence in you than you do.”

I’m not playing anything. Unless I am being sarcastic or joking, which I usually follow with one of these , I mean every word I write with everything I have. I am a passionate man, and emotional, not a good combination when trying to reason through something I know. But nevertheless, I am what I am. I desire to be sharper, Torrey said something like this, “I’ve seen rather dull-minded individuals become mentally sharp by grinding their minds against God’s word.” This is my desire, as I am sure it is yours. What I am advocating, nothing more nothing less, is that it is God’s word that does the sharpening, not the teaching of other men. It would be like sharpening the lawn mower blade with the instructions of the grinder and not the grinder. The instructions are of much importance, and greater achievments can be had by following them. But to get in there and actually use the grinder is the only way to sharpen the blade. (I know this is crude, but it is kind of what I am saying in a nutshell.)

If you have any confidence in me whatsoever, you def. have more than I do. I think the difference is; I know me better than you know me.

“You can do whatever you want with that, but I think it’s true, i.e., I think you are selling your self short and settling for less than what you could be.”

What I shall do is this; Thank you for some kind words, and even a hint of encouragement. I feel much better about leaving our discussion like this. Not because I want to have the last word, but that I think we are at better peace between one another. I want to do more with what God has given me. I hope I do. I hope that you also do much with what God has given you; inspire some under achievers out there, you have the intellect to do this.

There are those out there that have lost all hope with Christianity, because they see more thinking than doing. People like you are not only capable of doing, but thinking also, this is a great combo. May God’s peace be with you.

P.S. As far as accusing you of Open Theism, I wasn’t. And touching the “tell me what you know about it”, all I can say is this; I have a dear family member who holds to this system of thought. I have personally talked with him for over 100 hours, I would say, about salvation and things like that. So as far as knowing all the in’s and out’s, I don’t. But as for seeing the effects of it on someone you love; I do.

Whether I am smarter than you or not, I do not know: I don’t even know for sure that I have done more with my intellect than you have. My point is this: we have been entrusted with many talents, our intelligence being one. To neglect it is not a good thing. That’s my point.

I have read some of your posts at your blog and you do seem to exhibit an anti-intellectual attitude; if I am wrong, I apologize.

I am not suggesting, either, that your position on being “led by the Spirit” is novel; I am suggesting that there are other ways to understand that phrase.

Mark Twain said something to the effect that a man who doesn’t read good books is no better off than the man who can’t read good books. Reading the books of biblical scholars is like taking classes from them or listening to their sermons. Is that a bad idea? I don’t think so.

I don’t know if your playing the “humility card” is genuine or not. If not, then don’t do it; if so, then that is a sad state of affairs, since it means that I believe in you more than you do yourself. I am – and have been – arguing that you are capable of more than you think. I seem to have more confidence in you than you do.

You can do whatever you want with that, but I think it’s true, i.e., I think you are selling your self short and settling for less than what you could be.