"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."
I think the quote is nice, if not a little towards that famed 'experience' we all chase after when we drop our guard. Plus, I've come to find the gospel of grace through research. Of course I believe God had a helping hand. But I have to directly contradict this, "Sheer scholarship alone cannot reveal to us the gospel of grace." I turned everything off, picked up the Book, and read, read, read. I also read plenty of "scholarship" and found a great deal of help. I don't think the quote is sidelining scholarship, but it is certainly in danger of downplaying it.
That's cool Danny. Yet, your statement above says "God had a helping hand" which immediately adds an element beyond "Sheer scholarship alone."
Dogmatism is the comfortable intellectual framework of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is more decadent than the worst sexual sin. ~ Dan Allender
I should try to qualify that. Any description of God's hand would be ambiguous at best. All I know is that God heard my plea. The only "experience" I have had is of my heart filled with joy when I was discovering some things. That is what I mean when I say "experience" on another thread. What part did God play for me over the last couple of weeks? I don't know. It's impossible to pin down. That's why "experience" for me is fraught with ambiguity when one is trying to champion this.
