tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17596486.post4073407478312381950..comments2023-10-18T08:36:38.926-07:00Comments on Not Noteworthy: "Pious scholars are rare."Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08932010485918756589noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17596486.post-13696774090814928632008-11-13T05:57:00.000-08:002008-11-13T05:57:00.000-08:00Thank you for the book review, and Matt, thanks fo...Thank you for the book review, and Matt, thanks for the practical suggestion. 'Pious scholars are rare': to be a scholar isn't difficult but when I think of scholars who have achieved much, they are pious and prayerful. It is only with the mind of Christ that we can grow in understanding and love. I'm constantly affected by this: the thought that I can do okay in terms of scholarship alone, but without God I'll never be able to achieve all that I could... .<BR/><BR/>I'm in the midst of writing a pastoral essay on 'discipling new Christians'. Reading Bonhoeffer's 'Cost of Discipleship' I'm trying to understand what it means to be a disciple and therefore what it means to disciple someone else. All I can come up with is that a disciple is a Christian and in one way the question fades away into nothingness: 'making new Christians Christian'. In another way, it brings it to the fore: to be a disciple is to understand exactly what it means to be a Christian.<BR/><BR/>Back to Bonhoeffer: 'only he who believes is obedient and only he who is obedient believes'. Maybe we just need to be obedient...?Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11570017109048600770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17596486.post-60515659177574542762008-11-11T11:30:00.000-08:002008-11-11T11:30:00.000-08:00I think it would be pretty easy for you to start p...I think it would be pretty easy for you to start praying while engaged in your daily hygiene ritual. That way, you don't feel as though there is a deprivation of concern or conflict of interest in your preparation for the day. Prayer can equal preparation in the morning and can be about appreciation before you go to bed at night. Start simple by thanking God for what you already have. Thanks for today's food, the running water, the electricity, the bed. Goodnight. <BR/><BR/>And after a while prayer becomes more attractive than the brushing of one's teeth. ;)Matt of CGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10170852231685602251noreply@blogger.com