Brennan is a Catholic Priest who is a recovering alcoholic. He has a beautiful meditational and mystical bent (in a good way) to much of his writings. There are times when he absolutely floors me with some of his insight. Here's the Quote:
Some may feel uncomfortable with this. Note however he's not saying that knowlege, study and exegesis are not beneficial or good in their place and priority. He's saying that there's a "knowing" that goes beyond it. The greek word that often expresses this in the NT is "ginosko"."The Word we study has to be the Word we pray. My personal experience of the relentless tenderness of God came not from exegetes, theologians, and spiritual writers, but from sitting still in the presence of the living Word and beseeching Him to help me understand with my head and heart His written Word. Sheer scholarship alone cannot reveal to us the gospel of grace. We must never allow the authority of books, institutions, or leaders to replace the authority of *knowing* Jesus Christ personally and directly. When the religious views of others interpose between us and the primary experience of Jesus as the Christ, we become unconvicted and unpersuasive travel agents handing out brochures to places we have never visited."
Anyway, this one especially stood out to me and I thought I would share it here as well.
blessings,
bart