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Discussion Forum : General Topics : The Struggle of the Paradigm Shift

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twayneb
Member



Joined: 2009/4/5
Posts: 2256
Joplin, Missouri

 The Struggle of the Paradigm Shift

Have you ever gone through a paradigm shift?

Every one of us, whether we admit it or not, are the product of our training and experiences. We tend see things the way we see them because someone else saw them that way before us and taught us to see them that way as well. I have found this to be very true of the body of Christ as we relate to doctrine and/or theology. We all view the word of God through our own unique set of glasses that are colored according to the teachers that have influenced us.

But what happens when we are faced with a apposing paradigm? What happens when what we think we know so well and are so very convinced of is challenged? How do we react?

I have found that most of us, myself often included, have a tendency to react very strongly. Our understanding was ordered, we had become comfortable in what we "knew", and we are not a little bit disquieted at the idea of those things being challenged.

I recall being raised in a denomination that was very fearful of outside influence. There was a general idea that we were right in our interpretation of the word and of our doctrines and if we allowed ourself to be influenced by teachers from the outside we were apt to be led into some kind of error. (Don't worry. This group was NOT a cult or any of that weirdness. They simply felt the need to protect what they saw as the correct interpretation of some of the smaller points of doctrine.)

My wife began to listen to tapes by a teacher I was not familiar with. My initial reaction was to tell her that I was not at all OK with it and that, because she did not know this man, she was about to be led into error. That is until I began to listen. I realized that what I was hearing was very solid Biblical teaching. Then many of my long held paradigms were challenged and I had to make a choice about how I was to handle it. I could reject it outright, argue with it, get upset, try to dig deeper to prove that I was right, or I could simply lay my long held paradigm on the shelf along with this new one, and search the scriptures prayerfully to see what was the truth. Thank God I chose the latter. I began to study as though I had never been taught.

You see, when we open the word and study it, we often filter everything through a predetermined system of interpretation. We can even hunt for scriptures that seem to support our view. Or, we can read the word for what it says and decide to throw out any of our own ideas that fail the test.

It is not easy. It is painful. It requires a lot of wrestling with the word, with our own ideas, and even with our own attitudes. But, if we will hold no denominational or non-denonimational interpretation sacred and hold the word of God as absolute truth, we will grow in ways we cannot imagine.

I have seen many differing points of view on SI. I have seen these differing paradigms discussed gently, humbly, and with love, and I have also seen the teeth bared, the gloves come off, and the particular interpretation defended to the death. I want to encourage us all to hold our particular slants loosely and hold to the word of God tightly. I also pray that we would have the wisdom and discernment to know the difference between the two. A person who wears glasses eventually gets used to seeing the world through them and eventually forgets that their what they are seeing is really a distortion of the world around them. They forget they are wearing glasses.

May God richly bless all of my brothers and sisters on SI as you seek to draw closer to Him. May the love of Christ dwell in you richly. May you be bereans and search the scripture with a willingness to conform to whatever it is you find there.

God bless you all in 2010

Travis

p.s. There is not a single one of us who has it all right, nor will we ever until Christ returns and we know all things.


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Travis

 2010/1/16 20:06Profile
tjservant
Member



Joined: 2006/8/25
Posts: 1658
Indiana USA

 Re: The Struggle of the Paradigm Shift

Amen. You have expressed very well something I too have went through; it was indeed very painful.

Quote:
p.s. There is not a single one of us who has it all right, nor will we ever until Christ returns and we know all things.



This is the truth. I was wrong before and am sure I will be wrong again. This does not mean I am not convinced of my beliefs, just aware that they are not perfect and that I am more than capable of making mistakes.

I ask forgiveness from all I have sinned against here on SI.

This is a great post brother. Thank you for sharing this.


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TJ

 2010/1/16 22:25Profile
Goldminer
Member



Joined: 2006/11/7
Posts: 1178
Alabama

 Re: The Struggle of the Paradigm Shift

This is a very good word Travis.

We need the full counsel of God. It is of no private interpertation. I have found that if we listen to the various teachings prayerfully we become more balanced. One stream has revelation on love, another baptism, another the prophetic. When all the parts come together we have a much clearer picture of the whole. Each part supplies. Sure there is error out there, but if we are truly seeking His face, He will reveal error to us.

Again great admonition.


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KLC

 2010/1/16 23:48Profile
Areadymind
Member



Joined: 2009/5/15
Posts: 1042
Pacific Ocean

 Re: The Struggle of the Paradigm Shift

"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not on your own understanding, but in all of your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall make your paths straight."

"For God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Truth is absolute, but an absolute truth is that we are to be humble and willing to admit we are wrong about things. That is not to say that we become shifty about truth at all, but I agree with you brother Travis. There are some things in the Bible that many people differ on, and a lot of the things that are differed on are not the most important things. Having seen the kinds of attitudes you spoke of, I have concluded that there is a lot of faith-lacking when it comes to John 16:13. We tend to try to protect people from the Spirits leading in truth. I recently read this in a book by J. Edwin Orr, and it bears repeating.

"'If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar.' 'By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.' 'Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.' And yet many Christians are easily offended by, cherish bitter thought of, hold grudges against quarrel with, dislike, and even hate their brothers and sisters in Christ. My heart is sad when I hear of some new quarrel, some new dispute, some new bickering, some new lovelessness which convulses some assembly of saints. And strange to say, quite often the people who have the most light show the least love. 'If you are a fundamentalist,' I said once 'don't forget that the greatest fundamental is love.' No one need question my loyalty to the essential doctrines when I say that I am disgusted with the type of fundamentalist who would almost assassinate another Christian who dared to believe that the 'mark of the beast' was placed on the right hand side of the forehead instead of the left." -J. Edwin Orr, "Prove me Now." pp. 116-117, Fourth Impression December, 1935 Purnell and Sons LTD

A lot of times I think these Paradigm shifts you speak of can be a form of maturity that Christ is bringing to your walk, some times we need to get out of Ur of the Chaldees to realize there is a land of promise in the offing.

I hope the Lord works His amazing character into your heart as you grow in Him.

In Christ

-Jeremiah


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Jeremiah Dusenberry

 2010/1/17 0:59Profile
IWantAnguish
Member



Joined: 2006/6/15
Posts: 343


 Re:

We are, outside of the grace of God, conformed to the mold that the world / flesh / Satan has placed us in... whether we like it or not.

Our desires, thinking, convictions are all tainted by this mold.

Only by the grace of God can we change our very nature, the very heart of who we are.

What but the mighty hand of God can reach forth and change the deepest convictions of man... those convictions which at first do not seek Him?

All we can do is humbly admit our lack of conformity to the Spirit which was in Christ...

Christ in YOU, the hope of glory, no?

A hunger for hunger for God.

Great word, thanks for this.


_________________
Sba

 2010/1/17 10:05Profile
MattSmith
Member



Joined: 2009/11/19
Posts: 31
Webster, Texas

 Re:

Quote:
A hunger for hunger for God.



That's great. It seems backwards but yes, we need to pray for more hunger, more desire to pray, and more of His Holy Spirit working in us. This was a great post. I have and seem to be continually having notions challenged. I think it's a mark of a teachable spirit. Of course there must be discernment when hearing ideas that challenge us.

I have read many threads that got ugly quickly and it's really a shame. There are so many people on SI that have so much to offer and these efforts get hijacked at times. Some people do get touchy when their ideas of the Faith and world are challenged. I think they are normally people who either don't fully understand their position, or have put their faith in that position. 1 Corinthians 3:4-7 & 1 John 2:27, I think these scriptures are fitting to the discussion. Great post.

 2010/1/17 21:55Profile





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