That kept me awake last night trying to see how that would work. I considered truth, is one persons truth different from what someone else would consider truth. Is what I consider good only good to me or is it really good. Is what I consider wrong only wrong to me or is it really wrong. So what someone considers wrong I may feel that it is alright. Am I understanding? This would make a good blog!!

Interestingly, it sounds a lot like what Paul wrote to the Romans when he said in 14:14, “I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.” In that context, though he was talking about differences of opinion about dietary laws of the clean and unclean foods (i.e. Kosher).

In Paul’s other letters he does write about behaviors that are inherently “unclean,” i.e. greed, covetousness, sexual immorality.”

At the same time I’ll bet a point could be made that all unclean behaviors actually involve a misuse of something good that God has made. In that sense also couldn’t it be said that a wrong attitude, like a bad conscience, is what takes something that God made good and uses it for something harmful.

Actually, though, I’m just thinking off the top of my head now.. Don’t want to deny the implication of your question which is that somethings (choices, attitudes, behaviors) are not only unclean but evil.

And sorry, plumbape, if I misrepresented your point….

Do you really believe that?

I also notice that the division in churches take some of the bible and use it to develop their denominations.

I have also noticed that a people group that may have never read the bible still have a part of God in their cultural behaviors. For instance the native americans before western influences. It is all so very interesting to just step back and look how God will be known in all the earth with our help or without. Or even the damage we can cause in the name of God because of wanting to impose our culture on another. By the truth!!

Some say that everyone’s truth is different. I say Blah Blah Blah!! LOL Sometimes we loose it all by not having any truth to stand on.

As a rule, I find that the Bible can help us find a “seed” of truth in the thinking or “wisdom” of others even if it is only a fragment– twisted–as when Satan tempted Eve in the Garden.

The challenge is to use our knowledge of the Bible to see how truth is applied, misapplied, spun, twisted, or fragmented in us– or in the world around us. For example, in the Lockhorn “smile” of, “Sure I spend more than you make, I have confidence in you.”, I think the smile is based on the misuse of the truth that i.e. (1) what we do reflects our faith in someone or something, (2) we live from the hand of our Provider, (3) when it comes to our relationship to God, we can act in faith that God will supply–when we need it– at some time in the future– more than we are now able to see… Or (4) one of our ever present inclinations is to try to live on our own desires– without regard for the pattern and boundaries (budget) of God’s provisions.

If you think my examples are a stretch, they may be :-). But, for me, the value of the “thought” is to use the Bible as the reference point for measuring/evaluating all we see and hear around us. At the same time, I’ve found that thinking outside-in also gives us a chance to think over and over, in fresh ways, about the Bible.

The danger of course comes if we take an idea we find outside of the Bible and try to make it our standard of truth. That’s the danger–on the other side of the challenge.