Posted on 06/03/2021 11:11:56 PM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established" (Proverbs 4:24-26).
There was a day that guys had to walk behind a mule or an ox all day long, and they didn't have a Walkman, and they didn't have this, that, and the other; and apparently what they did do during that time was to think. It might just be a wise thing to go back to that. You probably don't buy an ox or anything; but it might be wise to go back to some of that because right now all folks are doing is wasting time. “Redeem the time,” Paul commands.
“Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”
“Turn not to the right hand nor to the left,” now, plainly that lesson is to stay straight on. We also can draw from it what we think of as right and life, liberals and conservatives. Have you ever noticed that it seems like we, Bible believers, are always somewhere betwixt and between somebody's position? Did you ever notice that in this world there is no place where we quite fit? I really hope none of you are rabid Democrats or anything. Don't tell me if you are, but it’s probably just as well that you’re not rabid Republicans either; because I have news for you. They all don't reflect Bible-believing Christianity.
Sometimes you get a little bit hooked and all of a sudden it's easy for you to listen to Rush Limbaugh for a while, or some of those guys like Sean Hannity or whatever and get to thinking, “Yeah, you know, they are on our side.” But if you listen closely to them, you learn that they're really not on our side. Notice what happens when the caller begins to quote scripture or speak of biblical truths. The demeanor of the host becomes negative and often the caller is abruptly hung up on. They are not on the Lord’s side by any degree. If they are religious at all, they are loyal to the traditions of their Roman Catholic upbringing. Rome has never been fond of Bible believers. We just don’t quite fit in.
Have you ever noticed that there is really no position this world takes that is quite the Bible position? Do you think that's a mistake? That's not a mistake, “the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not,” so you gotta be careful with that stuff. There’s nothing wrong with leaning toward the right. It’s okay to take a little here, a little there, and spit out the bones. That's fine. Vote for somebody that stands as close to what’s right and honest as you can.
“Turn not to the right hand nor to the left,” stay dead center of truth, “remove thy foot from evil.”
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Most of these proverbs in "Proverbs" seem to be mere platitudes and anodynes. If comparable proverbs were to be written today, they would probably admonish us to
"Place not thy Iphone into thy microwave, neither attempt to dry thy Pekinese therein, for it profiteth thee not.
So what is the actual "added value" which these proverbs provide? How do they differ from any commonplace truism which the average bag-boy at Safeway has already mastered?
Regards,
“Proverbs bears no unscientific statement or inaccurate observation. For example, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). This is a remarkable statement, because it was about 2,700 years later that Harvey found that the blood circulates and that the heart is the pump.
In contrast, in an apocryphal book called the Epistle of Barnabas, mention is made of the mythical phoenix, a bird that consumes itself by fire and rises in resurrection. Such a fable does not appear in the Book of Proverbs nor anywhere else in the Bible.
It is strange that this is an ancient book containing hundreds of proverbs and not one of them is unscientific today. That in itself ought to alert any thinking person to the fact that the Book of Proverbs is God-inspired.
2. Proverbs is a book on a high moral plane. You simply will not find in its pages the immoral sayings which occur in other writings. Justin Martyr said that Socrates was a Christian before Christ—which, of course, would be an impossibility. And his admirers say that he portrays a high conception of morals. However, Socrates also gave instructions to harlots on how to conduct themselves! The best that can be said of him is that he was amoral.
3. The Proverbs do not contradict themselves, while man’s proverbs are often in opposition to each other. For example: “Look before you leap” contrasted with “He who hesitates is lost.” “A man gets no more than he pays for” contrasted with “The best things in life are free.” “Leave well enough alone” has over against it, “Progress never stands still.” “A rolling stone gathers no moss” versus “A setting hen does not get fat.”
The proverbs of man contradict each other, because men’s ideas differ. But there is no contradiction in the Book of Proverbs because it is inspired by God.”
— Thru the Bible - by J. Vernon McGee
However, I don't accept your observations as conclusive.
"Contains no unscientific statement or inaccurate observation - is hence from God."
Well, neither does my multiplication table contain any errors; and any of a number of books containing nothing but really "safe" observations like "If you drop a stone, it will fall" - "If you plant a seed, you cannot be sure that it will sprout" are still not "inspired by God."
"Other books contain errors."
Further, the mere existence of SOME OTHER books (like the apocryphal book called the Epistle of Barnabas) containing errors does not mean that some other books (like my multiplication table, or like "Proverbs") are automatically "inspired by God."
Not really very powerful evidence.
"Do not contradict themselves."
Again, not really powerful evidence that they are "inspired by God." By sticking to really platitudinous observations - "The Moon shineth not as brightly as the Sun" - it's easy to generate a multitude of non-contradictory statements.
But I did find at least one troubling statement: "I [the Lord] also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh." - Proverbs, 1:26
And one unnecessary repetition: "It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house." - Proverbs, 21:9 AND 25:24
Didn't want to provoke a debate, so you needn't attempt refuting my observations.
Again, thank you for trying to enlighten me.
Regards,
FAITH in God is easily destroyed when you apply worldly measure . The deceiver is very good at what he does.....The word feeds the spirit . Child like FAITH is a good phrase that is highly recommended from THE source.
Yes... But Cottonpatch was the first to employ "worldy measures" by advancing several rational arguments in support of a belief that "Proverbs" was inspired by God. He was at least attempting to prove the divine provenance of "Proverbs" using classical Aristotelian techniques.
So make up your minds: Either it is permissible and valid to employ one's (God-given) powers of reasoning to deliberate on the legitimacy of a given text claiming to be divinely inspired, or it must be taken on blind faith.
I am actually grateful to Cottonpatch for motivating me to pick up one of my Bibles and re-read the Book of Proverbs.
Though the author's constant obsession with "strange," "brawling," "angry," "contentious," and "odious" women (2:16-18, 5:3-5, 6:24-26, 7:5-27, 21:19 22:14, 23:27-28, 25:24, 27:15, 30:20, 30:23) was a little off-putting.
Regards,
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