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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2007 4:11:05 GMT -7
Hi folks, Prior to reading Mike's book, I think the book "Sense and Sensuality" - a small book by Ravi Zacharias touched me most : Below I link to a conversation about the book between Ravi (the author) and Janet Parshall : A Conversation with Ravi Zacharias - Janet ParshallBelow I am copying a couple of sentences (from the link above) where Ravi is responding to a caller's question (he is speaking about Solomon) [line][indent]He said, “In all of this, my wisdom still stayed with me.†And meaning, he still knew which was the right way to go, but never went in that way himself. And here’s the point I think we need to bear in mind: ethical systems in and of themselves can-not transform the human spirit. It takes the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit who gives you the power and the will to do that which is right. And Solomon never became that kind of person who drew that power and drew that will in his relationships. He refashioned his hungers, and the love of many women turned his heart away from God. So it is knowledge and will, and only God’s law and God’s indwelling that can bring both together. [line][/indent] -Dennis |
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Post by Steve on Jul 3, 2007 9:12:04 GMT -7
It usually boils down to the head versus the heart, doesn't it?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2007 11:10:38 GMT -7
Hi Steve, Well, maybe they don't have to be in competition .... Here's a couple of concepts that come to " mind", or should I say, are near to my " heart" <grin> 1. Psalm 51:9-11[indent] which includes: 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; [/indent] 2. Colossians 1:17-19[indent] which includes: 18 And he is the head of the body, the church:[/indent] ................. I guess I'm hoping His head will direct a clean heart He creates in me!
-Dennis
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Post by Steve on Jul 3, 2007 11:24:44 GMT -7
Ah, my mistake in word usage.  Yes, yes, yes, it's head and heart. But usually for the Christian sex addict, it's a lot of "head" and not much "heart." Thanks for starting this thread. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2007 15:08:33 GMT -7
Thanks Steve, It's my pleasure to start a thread about this particular book - I would feel good suggesting this to anyone (and I have) - not only Christians, but also atheists and agnostics - just about anyone reacts strongly to it. Concerning Oscar Wilde - (sort of like with Jesus) folks really seem to feel very strongly one way or the other about him. Some don't like how Ravi has taken the liberty of speculating about what he might say to Jesus (and Pascal). To Ravi's credit though, he uses a lot of Wilde's direct quotes and of course anyone is always free to read Wilde's own words independently (a lot of it is available for free on the internet). However, by chasing this kind of rabbit trail - I think it's easy to get away from the principle ideas the book explores. One of the principle points (at least the one that got my attention the most anyway) is the importance being careful about what we seek for our personal pleasure, because some pleasures can lead to pain (consider even Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray"). Avoiding our own pain is one thing, but of even more importance (at least I wish I had thought this way a long time back), is considering how we can avoid the pain of our innocent loved ones (e.g. often pain springs from ill-gotten pleasures, pleasures we never felt would "backfire" and rip at the hearts of those we love). Many ideas about Art are discussed in this booklet. For instance, one of the things briefly mentioned is how Michelangelo decided to paint people minus their clothes (Artistic license?). You can read some about this on page 50 by clicking on the following link (to the amazon.com page for the book) Sense and Sensuality: Jesus Talks to Oscar Wilde on the Pursuit of Pleasure (Great Conversations Series) Then you can put your cursor on the picture of the cover of the book and use the "Search inside" feature to look for the words: "as God sees man". (I think it's possible you may need to have a login userid and password with Amazon before you can use that feature, but I'm not certain about that). Basically the gist of what is being said on that page is something about how Michelangelo's teacher questioned him about painting people in the nude - and when M said he wanted to paint people the way God sees them - his teacher replied something to the effect " Yeah but you are not God". (Maybe his teacher could have wondered whether many who would later admire the paintings might likewise have less self-control than God?). Well -- that's only one of many subjects the small booklet touches on. I think an audio version of it can be purchased somewhere on the net also (I like to "hear" a book that way - it helps me to stay awake when driving and I feel better when I reach my destination! ) Nothing like still being alive and in one piece when I reach my destination to help me feel better!. -Dennisl |
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