Website owner: James Miller
Leo Tolstoy on reading religious literature:
"I have never been able to understand the mania some people
have for confusing their judgement by devoting themselves to
mystical books which only arouse their doubts and excite their
imaginations, giving them a bent for exaggeration utterly
contrary to Christian simplicity. Let us rather read the
Epistles and the Gospels."
War and Peace, Penguin Classics, p. 105
How much truth is there in this criticism? Are evangelicals
guilty of self-deception? To what extent and how? Do people
confuse their judgment by the tendency to read Christian
literature (i.e. "mystical books"), literature with particular
theological slants, rather than sticking with the Bible itself?
Let us pick an evangelical song. Any one. Let's pick the song
"He Lives". We sing "He walks with me and talks with me."
Is there perhaps some exaggeration here? Are we being totally
honest in singing these words. Are we deceiving ourselves a
little? Are, at least, a great number of people deceiving
themselves when they sing this? In what sense does he walk
with us or talk with us? How does Christ's presence in a
Christian manifest itself? In any supernatural feelings or
experiences? Is his presence "in us" manifested in any other
way than simply through the peace and serenity that comes from
being at ease with oneself and with God (that peace that comes
to one's soul when one turns from the world and sin and turns
to God --- seeking the approval of God only and forgetting what
the world may think)?
Nov 1976
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Role of habit in formation of character
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Love of God and love of virtue are closely united
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Wisdom, Reason and Virtue are closely related
Knowledge is one thing, wisdom is another
My views on Christianity in America
The most important thing in life is understanding
We are all examples --- for good or for bad
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The Prime Mover that decides "What We Are"
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Sin is serious business. The punishment for it is real. Hell is real.
Self-imposed discipline and regimentation
Achieving happiness in life --- a matter of the right strategies
Self-control, self-restraint, self-discipline basic to so much in life