tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269573587631126943.post4022519205797585524..comments2023-06-07T08:05:44.732-07:00Comments on The Right Word: Philosophy in PerilDr. Michael Baumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013245754748702406noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269573587631126943.post-72402926421551433562012-08-22T12:25:38.261-07:002012-08-22T12:25:38.261-07:00Thank you for the distinction between the two type...Thank you for the distinction between the two types of knowledge and for the distinctions between regeneration and salvation. Your reply satisfies my questions. <br><br>I see that if people have come to God it is not because they saw God in the world, nor is it because they found Him in the scriptures, it is because He revealed Himself to them and regenerated them. This way, all glory truly goes to God.<br><br>Jonathan Vander Houthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14081765034238834130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269573587631126943.post-53940079595844292252012-08-22T04:33:37.307-07:002012-08-22T04:33:37.307-07:00Jonathan,One might interpret a Bible passage corre...Jonathan,<br><br>One might interpret a Bible passage correctly and not know God because (A) the "know" involved here is relational rather than merely informational and (B) the content of revelation is God Himself, not simply information about Him. In revelation, God (literally) reveals Himself. Satan, for example, has a great deal more information about God than we do, but Satan does not know God. Knowing God is something made possible only through Christ via the work of the Holy Spirit. Being correct about a Bible passage is not the same as knowing God.<br><br>The sort of knowing we mean here is the sort of knowing involved when the Bible says that Adam knew Eve. It's deep, intimate, interpersonal, experiential knowledge. In this case, if you know God, you love Him, serve Him, obey Him, and worship Him. If you do not, you do not know God. All these things, in His sovereignty, God Himself not only makes possible, but does.<br><br>Yes, "regeneration" is just the one-word way of saying "being born again." Being born again is something God does, not something we do. It is done to us, not by us. Grammatically speaking, in regeneration, God is the subject, we are the object. Regeneration and salvation are deeply and closely related, but they are not identical. Salvation is deliverance from sin and from the ultimate and final consequences of sin. Regeneration is being born again; it's God making a new you, and granting spiritual life where none was before.Dr. Michael Baumanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05013245754748702406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2269573587631126943.post-25566175221436905522012-08-21T20:59:32.177-07:002012-08-21T20:59:32.177-07:00Hello Dr. Bauman,Here are a few questions I had. S...Hello Dr. Bauman,<br>Here are a few questions I had. <br><br>Since the “radically debilitating effects of sin on the human mind and heart” make knowledge of God beyond our reach, how do we interpret and understand the Bible when we are in this state? If a fallen human cannot understand the revelation in the creation, how is it that he can understand the revelation in the scriptures? <br><br>You mention both radical regeneration and revelation as our only way to know about God. What specifically is this revelation? It seems that if we all start in the completely fallen state you describe, then we will need God’s intervention in our hearts and minds if we are even going to be able to know Him though the scriptures. Is God’s intervention in our minds and hearts the same thing as this radical regeneration you speak of? Is this regeneration the same thing as salvation? <br><br>I greatly enjoyed your post, and, as far as I can see, I agree with it completely. These are just some questions that are on my mind, and I think they could come up inside some of my friends’ minds when I describe this position on philosophy.<br>Thanks,<br>Jonathan Vander Hout<br>jonathanvanderhouthttp://jonathanvanderhout.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com