Pisgah National Forest – Poetry, Short Prose and Walking

Sunday Walk 43 – Fruits of the Spirit

ο δε καρπος του πνευματος εστιν αγαπη χαρα ειρηνη μακροθυμια χρηστοτης αγαθωσυνη πιστις
πραοτης εγκρατεια κατα των τοιουτων ουκ εστιν νομος
Galatians 5:22 and 23 with various translations

It is not merely that I can know them by the way they express, or don’t, the fruits of the Holy Spirit, but I can know myself by the way I express those fruits as well.

These fruits do not come from consuming therapies, taking drugs or following self-help programs to not behave badly. They are not my fruits, but the fruits of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit.

There is nothing easier than expressing them in stillness. There is nothing harder than giving up the addiction to my own spoiled fruits since faithlessness suggests that’s all there is.

For more on this, see The Brew Is A Musing’s Spirit-Led Lifestyle.

Keith and Kristyn Getty – Still, My Soul Be Still

Weekly Bible Readings: Genesis (Audio: King James Version read by Alexander Scourby)
Commentary: David Pawson, Genesis Part 3 of 7 and Part 4 of 7, Unlocking the Bible

Sunday Walk 42 – Greek Influence On Christianity

I used to find Plotinus, a 3rd century Platonist, interesting. His idea of the One suggested a kind of naturalistic or pantheistic spirituality. To the extent I understood any of this, the One was like a force field having the attributes philosophers might assign to a deity.

Little of this is attractive to me today, but that earlier exposure has kept me wary of Platonic or even Aristotelian influences. When I hear discussions of God that do not lead to repentance, salvation or a personal relationship with Jesus grounded in the special revelation of the Bible I wonder if there aren’t hidden presuppositions underlying the arguments that might be coming from ancient Greek, rather than Jewish or Christian, sources.

I’ve noticed these hidden ideas within various Christian traditions going back to Augustine or earlier. Some of them are fine, but it’s easy to forget that even the acceptable ones are cultural additions. So, I try to distinguish what is in the Bible from what is outside trying to get in. Then I put scripture over tradition should a conflict arise between the Word of God and that other stuff.

For those who wish more information on this especially as it pertains to questionable Greek cultural influence, see David Pawson’s lecture on “de-Greecing” the church:

David Pawson, De-Greecing the Church

Weekly Bible Readings: Genesis (Audio: King James Version read by Alexander Scourby)
Commentary: David Pawson, Genesis Part 1 of 7 and Part 2 of 7, Unlocking the Bible