Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Categories
- All Categories 13.8K
- General Category 10.9K
- General Announcements 184
- Faith Issues 3.4K
- Coptic Orthodox Church 2.5K
- Personal Issues 1.4K
- Prayer Requests 423
- Random Issues 1.8K
- Introductions 294
- Non-Orthodox Inquiries 232
- Youth Corner 606
- Hymns 2.5K
- Hymns Discussion 2.5K
- Technicial Difficulties 368
- Technical Topics 368
How to Contemplate?
Agape all,
I've noticed recently that I'm lacking something pretty big in my (feeble) spiritual life; the ability to contemplate on the words of the Bible! I find that when I read I tend to take things at face value and I tend not to be able to personally dig deeper into the meanings of the words. I've been given advice on how to deal with this before, such as taking only a few verses at a time and spending more time on them...but I don't seem to be able to hear God's voice. Maybe I'm being too impatient? I don't know, but I'd really like to hear any suggestions from anyone!
Keep me in your prayers,
Matthew
I've noticed recently that I'm lacking something pretty big in my (feeble) spiritual life; the ability to contemplate on the words of the Bible! I find that when I read I tend to take things at face value and I tend not to be able to personally dig deeper into the meanings of the words. I've been given advice on how to deal with this before, such as taking only a few verses at a time and spending more time on them...but I don't seem to be able to hear God's voice. Maybe I'm being too impatient? I don't know, but I'd really like to hear any suggestions from anyone!
Keep me in your prayers,
Matthew
Comments
and trust me, eventually you'll get used to it and u'll find that u have all those wierd but great ideas out of no where...
good luck.. keep trying and dunt give up...
I know it's hard at the beginning... we all go through that sometimes! Just ask God to give you wisdom and guidance as you read His word, and He will. Before I read the Bible, I pray:
"Lord, God, please make me worthy to read your Holy Bible, to understand it, to accept it, and to live by its teachings all the days of my life."
If you ask, God will open your eyes to understand His message. Another suggestion that I've personally tried is to keep a notebook next to you when you read the Bible. Write in it your favorite verses and any questions that you may have (or clarifications), then go ask Abouna or a servant and write down the answers that they tell you beneath the question so you could refer back to it later. This works well as a motivation and to broaden your understanding.
Please let me know how this works out for you and remember me in your prayers always!
God Bless,
Rina
Pray for my weaknesses and sins,
childoforthodoxy
I agree with you that one should not lean on their own understanding and should always stay within the boundries our church has set for us concerning dogma and rites...
But, remember, Jesus talked to normal people as well as Pharisees, who had studied the law. I think the higher your level of spirituality the more meaning you will get out of the Bible and the deeper your understanding of its words will be, but that doesn't mean that people with less spiritual capacities can't read the Bible correctly or have their own interpretations (as long as they agree with the church of course) that they can use in their lives. Look at St Samaan el Kharaas, he did interpret the Bible in a literal way, but still he had a pure heart...
God Bless
The Pharisees were ones who took the law literally; they were "educated," so to speak, in literalism, not in the Spirit of the law. The Holy Spirit is found in the writings of the Church Fathers, as He has guided them into interpreting the Bible. You will see that each Church Father relied heavily on the thoughts of whoever preceded him, as they understood that the Holy Spirit was present in the life of the previous Church Father and was guiding them in their exegesis of the Bible.
For example, if one is to aspire to be an engineer, he must first learn addition, subtraction, algebra, geometry, calculus, etc. It is then that new discoveries are made in solving novel questions. But no one in the world simply skips the basics and believes themselves to be able to solve very complex mathematical equations; indeed, one must learn the language, so to speak, of mathematics in order to be able to function within its realm with ease. It is much in the same way with the reliance on the Fathers. We as Orthodox Christians believe them to be guided by the Holy Spirit in their exegesis, writings, sermons, homilies and so forth. We, therefore, cannot take away from this; indeed, this is part of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church.
The Church is of One Way and One Truth. This singularity of Truth is maintained throughout all of the writings of the Church Fathers, as they were all guided by God. As such, creating a new path by simply starting from the beginning with the Bible and the Bible alone may easily lead one away from that One True Way of understanding. The Holy Spirit is not divided in Himself nor in His thought; so, too, should our Church be. In the case of contemplating on the Word of God, this also holds true.
One will learn of dogma from the Church Fathers, who have elucidated the dogmas for us so as not to fall into the many traps that those who have come before us have fallen in to. Why, then, do we separate ourselves from this and rely only on our selves? One must learn the Way of the Holy Spirit, which has been shown by the Church to have guided the Church Fathers, before one is to become an interpreter. And even then, one does not interpret solely with knowledge but with the Spirit of God. But we, as Orthodox Christians, must be careful to maintain this straight path with all of our efforts.
It is easy to simply rely on oneself; it is also quite dangerous.
Pray for me,
childoforthodoxy
I do agree with you childoforthodoxy about the authority of interpretting scripture resting with those who are chosen to do so by God. Maybe the ability to have good personal reflections and contemplations on the Bible is a talent that God has chosen not to grace me with, but that doesn't mean I won't still keep trying :P
Matthew
I don't think we should ignore the writings of the Church fathers, of course not, but I do believe that through the Bible God talks to everyone on a personal level, which is why one should, in my opinion, within the correct orthodox teaching, be able to read the Bible and see what God is telling them...
God bless