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    Finding God's Will in Spiritually Deceptive Times
    Finding God's Will in Spiritually Deceptive Times
    Finding God's Will in Spiritually Deceptive Times
    Ebook176 pages3 hours

    Finding God's Will in Spiritually Deceptive Times

    By Neil T. Anderson

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    About this ebook

    Who has authority to speak for God? Does His message come through other people, through Scripture, or both?

    According to Neil Anderson, answers to these common questions must be based on two powerful truths: We are alive in Christ, and we are God's children. He examines

    • the danger of counterfeit messages
    • the roles of Scripture, the Spirit, and other believers
    • ways to guard against Satan's deceptions
    • the freedom that can replace fear of wrong decisions
    • true spiritual discernment

    This confidence-building resource will help readers listen for God's word to their own hearts. Questions for group study or discussion are provided at the end of each chapter.

    Some material previously released in Walking in the Light.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarvest House Publishers
    Release dateOct 1, 2003
    ISBN9780736938891
    Finding God's Will in Spiritually Deceptive Times
    Author

    Neil T. Anderson

    Dr. Neil T. Anderson is founder and president emeritus of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He was formerly chairman of the Practical Theology Department at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University in the USA. He holds five degrees from Talbot, Pepperdine University and Arizona State University. A former aerospace engineer, Dr. Anderson has 20 years of experience as a pastor and has written several best-selling books on living free in Christ.

    Read more from Neil T. Anderson

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      Book preview

      Finding God's Will in Spiritually Deceptive Times - Neil T. Anderson

      ONE

      Balancing Reason

      with Intuition

      We’ll find truth somewhere between the extremes of

      Eastern mysticism and Western rationalism.

      WHILE SHARING WITH A COLLEGE group, I could sense that a young man representing the popular set wasn’t buying what I was saying. Rather than ignore him, since he was distracting the group, I asked him what he believed. He said, I believe in this, putting his arm around his girlfriend. I only believe in what I can see, smell, feel, hear, and touch.

      I asked him if he had a brain. Of course, he responded.

      Have you ever seen it, smelt it, felt it, heard it, or touched it? I asked.

      I know it’s there because I can sense its effect, he said with confidence.

      I said, Look around, and you will see the effect of God’s hand everywhere. The Bible says, ‘Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse’ (Romans 1:20).

      Another young man from the other side of the room entered into the discussion. I think it’s silly to argue about what is true, he began. What is true is what you want to believe. I believe that whatever we perceive we can achieve.

      It was the same classroom, but the students were at the opposite ends of the philosophical spectrum. One believed that he could control matter with his mind. He was trying to function as the Creator. The other believed only in what he could observe and reason out. He focused only on created things. Eastern mysticism was squaring off with Western rationalism. They represented two opposing ways of defining reality. Both are counterfeit, and both are contrary to the Word of God. To understand these diverse ways of thinking, let’s briefly consider how they have developed in our culture.

      The Shift from God

      During the Age of Enlightenment, Western civilization began to focus on the glory of humanity at the expense of God’s glory. Human reason and scientific research became more authoritative than divine revelation. Humans decided they could get along quite well without their Creator. This desire to determine for ourselves what is right and wrong and act as our own god is the same desire that caused the fall.

      Humanism’s goal was to gain freedom from religious superstition and the authority of the church, but it brought with it fatal flaws. There was no longer any purpose or meaning in life other than pursuing self-interest. People were no longer perceived as being created in the image of God, and theories of human origin by random chance devalued human life.

      The Western Mind

      In searching for truth, the Western world came to rely on observation and experimentation, a process known as empiricism. That is, all that needs to be known can be learned through the scientific method of investigation. Philosophers assumed they had the capacity to correctly interpret the data and draw the proper conclusions.

      Having been an aerospace engineer and having completed a research doctorate, I understand the process. To the scientific mind, empiricism and rationalism are two sides of the same coin. Conduct the research, then make the analysis. For the rationalist to accept something as true, it must be systematic and fit the facts. If A equals B and B equals C, then A must equal C.

      The Dangers of Empiricism

      Christianity has accepted the fact that there are God-given rules of logic that govern the universe since God is a rational God. Some are tempted to think that God’s general revelation in nature justifies looking at the cosmos through the eyes of empiricism. They point to such passages as, The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands (Psalm 19:1). Since all truth is God’s truth, they conclude that whatever we discover by observation and experimentation must be true, and that it is all that is true.

      There are natural laws that govern the physical universe, which God has created. However, nature doesn’t provide any answers concerning purpose and meaning in life. The purpose of special revelation, the Word of God, is to explain and give meaning to natural revelation. The scientific method of investigation, by nature and design, does not take into account the reality of the spiritual world.

      When the scientific method is applied to social sciences, there is even greater cause for concern. The social sciences are not precise. We cannot accurately predict how people will react in any given situation, and we cannot control all the factors that influence human behavior. In addition, most research projects study the behavior of only fallen people. How can such research provide definitive truth for the children of God, who are spiritually alive and designed to live by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit?

      In a practical sense, however, our secular society treats the social sciences as precise sciences. For instance, a judge may appoint a court-ordered psychiatrist or psychologist to determine whether a person is mentally competent to stand trial. But I would ask, Which psychologist or psychiatrist are you asking? Does this person have a biblical view of humanity? Which psychological theory does this person adhere to? Psychological theories abound, and they can be very diverse. Each has some partial truth, else it would have no adherents, but none is a basis for infallible judgment.

      There’s another danger in empiricism. The laws of nature don’t apply to the spiritual world. You may be able to get some cooperation from people for research, but don’t expect the kingdom of darkness to comply. Even God doesn’t submit to our methods of investigation. This doesn’t mean that the scientific method is wrong—it’s just incomplete, and it’s insufficient as a reliable basis for our faith.

      Revelation Gives Light to Reason

      Our best reasoning is always biased because of our culture, education, and personal experience. None of us is a totally objective observer. We all look at reality through the grid of our own knowledge and experience. Wisdom, on the other hand, is seeing truth from God’s perspective.

      We need to interpret research and observations through the eyes of God’s revelation. Research does not validate revelation; revelation validates research. Research sheds light on what is— revelation sheds light on why it is, what it should be, and what it will be.

      Our ability to reason is limited on three counts. First, we can never be sure we have all the facts. Second, we can never be sure we are perfectly interpreting the facts. Finally, we can never be sure what the consequences of any certain course of action will be. Consequently, we need divine guidance because there is only One who is all knowing. We will never know so much that we will no longer need God. In fact, the more I know God and His Word, the more dependent on Him I have become. Paul’s words illustrate this great need:

      Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:20-21).

      Eastern Mysticism

      The Eastern cultures have a different worldview than we have in the West. Their philosophies are more subjective or intuitive. Some Eastern mystics see rationality and the mind as the problem. According to Guru Maharaj-Ji, the mind must be bypassed:

      Ignorance is only created by the mind, and the mind keeps the secret that you are something divine away from you. This is why you have to tame the mind first. The mind is a snake, and the treasure is behind it. The snake lies over the treasure, so if you want that treasure, you will have to kill the snake. And killing the snake is not an easy

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