The imperative, then, if it is to have any possibility of success whatsoever, it must have as a prerequisite a personal belief and acceptance, at face value, of the words, "But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and your soul" [Deuteronomy 4:29] Total commitment and a supreme search, not for evidence of, but for God Himself is essential because,. "In failing to do so, we are arguably missing the point entirely. Refusing to take the course which God Himself recommends may be the equivalent of refusing to use the scientific method to do science !" [Kitty Ferguson]
I have heard Christians talk about intellectual assent before, but your comment about atheists giving their assent but not their faith connected some dots I hadn't seen connected before thanks. Before the idea was that people think they are Christian because they give intellectual assent. But now atheists are aware of their unbelief even when they see the benefits of Christianity.
Also, in the past I went to a Christian counselor who used this verse as the theme of his ministry. He would say that our thoughts should be unmixed with the world. Our attention should be given to God, and then we would see Him. He didn't mean that in a physical sense. He meant it more like you will see God's effect on your life and perspective. He also would link that to the idea that there is joy and healing in God's presence. We "see" God when we experience Him spiritually, when we pray, when we meditate, when we worship.
The imperative, then, if it is to have any possibility of success whatsoever, it must have as a prerequisite a personal belief and acceptance, at face value, of the words, "But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and your soul" [Deuteronomy 4:29] Total commitment and a supreme search, not for evidence of, but for God Himself is essential because,. "In failing to do so, we are arguably missing the point entirely. Refusing to take the course which God Himself recommends may be the equivalent of refusing to use the scientific method to do science !" [Kitty Ferguson]
I have heard Christians talk about intellectual assent before, but your comment about atheists giving their assent but not their faith connected some dots I hadn't seen connected before thanks. Before the idea was that people think they are Christian because they give intellectual assent. But now atheists are aware of their unbelief even when they see the benefits of Christianity.
Also, in the past I went to a Christian counselor who used this verse as the theme of his ministry. He would say that our thoughts should be unmixed with the world. Our attention should be given to God, and then we would see Him. He didn't mean that in a physical sense. He meant it more like you will see God's effect on your life and perspective. He also would link that to the idea that there is joy and healing in God's presence. We "see" God when we experience Him spiritually, when we pray, when we meditate, when we worship.
https://thecrosssectionrmb.blogspot.com/
This is an old handle that came back for some reason. This is RMB from the old blog.