36 Cindy K,

And I’m glad you’re catching up and specifically said so, as I had a tiny twinge of concern that I might have shut down the discussion, (even though I found that unlikely).

If you were a show-stopper, it would only be because of your wisdom! Not to worry. I have been behind in my responses because my life has been out of the ordinary for weeks now and for periods of time I need to ignore my blog in order to give attention to other pressing matters. I am not quite sure when my life will be back to normal, if I even know what “normal” means anymore!

In the event that I didn’t state it succinctly, my goal here is to see the Word clearly and discern the truth. I take more of an Augustinian approach to things, tending to be less presumptive about God. That has its pitfalls, because one can lean more towards the idea that God is holy other and too mysterious to know. On the other hand, I am very disturbed at the practice of some who put God in a tiny, human box, presuming to have God’s perspective. Aware of the pitfalls of my natural bend, I try to find balance, but it is always a very dynamic process for me.

I can understand your concern. I am one of those who believes that the scriptures are so full of the depth of God’s revelation to us that we can be continually awed when we plumb the depths as we find more and more of what God has revealed. But in plumbing the depths, we need to be cautious not to go beyond what is written.

My other concern is that at certain impressionable times in my life, I drew from the Word of Faith teachers and was taught by my parents that I never had any right to question the teaching of anyone who called themselves an anointed pastor. Sometimes those influences are those things to which we are most blind because they form our first views of things and are the foundation for what we add to them.

We always have the right to question a person’s teaching, no matter who they are. If Paul commended the Bereans for testing him with the scriptures, then certainly no one today should be offended when we take anything that another believes or teaches and test it against God’s word. If it holds up to the test, praise God!

So as much as I am trying to bring up ideas here, I am also trying to make sure that I am letting the Word and the Spirit wipe the scales of flesh from my sight.

I greatly respect this attitude!

That said, my reasons for posting here at all are probably more selfish than anything else. If I come across as hard or pushy, I think that would be more a sign of my own discomfort in trying to sort out right thinking from wrong thinking in myself.

I have never seen you come across as pushy or hard at all. I think you do come across as one who is a truth lover and open to either proven wrong or shown what conforms to the scriptures.

So if I do come across as some kind of bully at any point, I apologize. But it is always pretty terrifying when I look back at some of these things, wondering if I’m clinging to things I like as opposed to truth because they are easy and familiar.

I for one would never consider you a bully. All I see is a precious sister in Christ.

But that consideration has its benefits in this discussion, as this is exactly what we hope that the complementarian will do — consider whether their presuppositions have tainted their reading and understanding of the Word. It is a threatening process to consider that you’ve chosen a foundation stone that needs to be hewn out and replaced. God have mercy on us all as we look at the foundations we’ve chosen with the best of intent.

This sums up the key to what I am trying to do. It is certainly painful to have to rethink things through especially if one has built on the foundation already. But truth should always be more important than our discomfort at having to replace faulty stones that we have used for building material.

I see myself as someone who wants to forcibly pry open my own chest to allow truth to get in even though I am uncomfortable with having to rethink my position. I want truth more than I want anything else. But that truth will only be convincing if it is provable by the only true measuring rod there is. I want to see it from the bible. One can never convince me through logic alone or through history or important men from the past. If the scripture is not a solid foundation for the “truth” then I just cannot accept it. I do not believe that in the judgment that I will be chastised for accepting God’s word as the test. Everything else can be a rubber ruler used alone.

Thanks for all your comments and your participation. I love every opportunity here to challenge others and to be challenged. We can love and respect one another and yet still push for truth. In the end whether one changes their point of view or just agrees to disagree, at least we had the opportunity to dialog with respect. This isn’t always possible in other forums where opposing views are not allowed and people are not tolerated. I love this community!