After being bitten by a snake and taking no harm, Paul did not then decide to change his ministry into looking for snakes to bite him so he could demonstrate God's power. He thought an actual ministry might be a better idea.
I'm pretty familiar with the Bible, thanks. Matthew 4:6-7. As I said, Paul did not seek out snakes and poisons to demonstrate his faith. When such things happen we rejoice.
There's a lot of stuff people think comes from the Bible that is actually more properly understood as coming from 19th C New Thought
I've only recently converted to eastern Orthodoxy and am interested in the history of Christian ideas. To begin with piggybacking on your comment on 19th C New Thought, what books would you suggest to begin studying the history of that New Thought?
I would just start with the Wiki, which is pretty good in this case. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Thought. But that will mostly give you the purer form of the philosophy, not how it influenced some Christians later.
On the connection to brands of Christianity these days I would try Daniel McConnell's A Different Gospel. I haven't read it for years but remember liking it in the early 90s. He came out of the Oral Roberts tradition, but saw that line back through the Word of Faith Movement - Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin,then EW Kenyon farther back, as too influenced by New Thought ideas rather than fully Christian teachings. One key is their reliance on what are called "proof texts," individual verses to make a point. Sometimes that is valid, sometimes not, but solid interpretations will find support in other, longer texts in the Scriptures.
You can find it in milder forms all through Christian denominations, especially in Charismatic circles.
6 comments:
Handling snakes and drinking poisons without harm are signs of true faith. Read Mark.
The Bible is full of stuff that Christians and Jews ignore.
I'm pretty familiar with the Bible, thanks. Matthew 4:6-7. As I said, Paul did not seek out snakes and poisons to demonstrate his faith. When such things happen we rejoice.
There's a lot of stuff people think comes from the Bible that is actually more properly understood as coming from 19th C New Thought
I've only recently converted to eastern Orthodoxy and am interested in the history of Christian ideas. To begin with piggybacking on your comment on 19th C New Thought, what books would you suggest to begin studying the history of that New Thought?
I would just start with the Wiki, which is pretty good in this case. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Thought. But that will mostly give you the purer form of the philosophy, not how it influenced some Christians later.
On the connection to brands of Christianity these days I would try Daniel McConnell's A Different Gospel. I haven't read it for years but remember liking it in the early 90s. He came out of the Oral Roberts tradition, but saw that line back through the Word of Faith Movement - Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin,then EW Kenyon farther back, as too influenced by New Thought ideas rather than fully Christian teachings. One key is their reliance on what are called "proof texts," individual verses to make a point. Sometimes that is valid, sometimes not, but solid interpretations will find support in other, longer texts in the Scriptures.
You can find it in milder forms all through Christian denominations, especially in Charismatic circles.
The only snake-handling I do is when my toilet stops up. It doesn't bite.
Thank you! Really appreciate it.
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