Quote:
Originally Posted by kappagamma
I had the thought recently, based on my own experience, that if there has been as significant an amount of damage as I believe has been done to “church kids” in regard to the reasonable development of the human soul (mind, emotion, will) and if you believe that the soul and spirit are so closely connected then I would think it would make sense that, until such time real healing of the humanity of the individual has taken place, a genuine access of the spiritual realm could be difficult. Not impossible sure, but could be difficult. I think of it as scar tissue that can restrict movement and activity. I don’t know for others but I think for me there is a crying out of “look at me as a person” “see me as who I am” “care about my humanity” and if the craving is for that and you are only fed something else then eventually the proverbial stomach recoils at what is offered.
I will say though that jumping into this forum has perhaps sparked a small amount of seeking that I have not had in many, many years. I almost bought a Bible the other day but am torn between versions at the moment  |
You could check out Bible Hub or other online resources. They have many versions and other resources online, even a way to go to the original Greek or Hebrew word for study. I really like reading different versions of the NT, but for me they must be without footnotes. Right now I'm reading the Williams NT. The reason I like different versions is because it helps me not to gloss over the words when I read a version I've read for years. Sometimes I found myself realizing I had read a whole paragraph while thinking of something else. When I read a different version my mind pays more attention and I'm more likely to talk or complain to the Lord about what I read. But, that might just be my quirk. I read for enjoyment. There is another book I read called "The Book of God" by Walter Wangerin. It's not really a translation, but a retelling of the bible focusing on the characters. It's probably not something you read for doctrine, but it really drew me into the lives of Abraham and Sarah. Abraham had God's promise, but he had to wait for something like 50 years! Can you imagine Sarai's shock when Abram said God told me to take the family to a land I don't even know how to get to? Can you imagine the conversations those two must have had? Eventually God changed their names to Sarah and Abraham, and even though they had God's promise Sarah says to Abraham I'm never going to have a child so take my servant girl Hagar and make us an heir. Sometime later Sarah chastised Abraham for the very thing she encouraged. In spite of this the Lord blessed them. We all have a human story in our journey with the Lord, for me it's really fun to understand that others before me had to learn to live with God's unfulfilled promises. Anyway, that's just how I roll.