Showing posts with label Pride. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pride. Show all posts

Saturday, August 06, 2022

Mining the Minors: Hosea (39)

The Bible condemns a proud, independent spirit from Genesis to Revelation and everywhere in between. And where men prosper, pride often follows.

This sort of defective thinking first shows itself in Cain, who found ways to work the earth with some degree of success despite the curse. Cain knew what sort of sacrifice was acceptable to God but thought offering the evidence of own his success in his chosen field a better idea. Pride.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

My Contingent Ego (or A Matter of Pride)

You can’t discuss a matter effectively unless you really understand what the other side is saying.

Mischaracterizing the other position is extremely common in theological disagreements. I try very hard to avoid it here by quoting people directly, linking to context, and reading and contemplating an argument before I reply to it. I try even harder to avoid speculating about the motives of those with whom I disagree, since these are irrelevant to the truth or error of a person’s viewpoint.

But even these precautions cannot guarantee I have really heard and comprehended what the other side is trying to communicate.

Tuesday, April 07, 2020

A Tale of Two Rebukes

One generation and three chapters of holy scripture apart, two powerful men experienced God’s correction. One handled it right. One didn’t.

Both were good men with a notable character flaw. One accepted instruction, while the other became offended and died obdurate.

Perhaps in comparing their stories we may see ourselves in one or the other.

Monday, October 07, 2019

Anonymous Asks (61)

“Is low self-esteem better than pride?”

Pride is very, very bad. God hates it, and has documented his hatred of it repeatedly. It leads to destruction; in fact, it was one of the sins for which God judged the city of Sodom. James says God opposes the proud, and the prophet Isaiah reminds us that “the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty ... it shall be brought low.”

So pride is definitely something to avoid. The question is whether low self-esteem is really a whole lot better.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Dear Preacher: On Calvinism and Pride

Dear Preacher Bob:

[Originally presented March 26, 2014]
This isn’t a complaint, just a reflection. My point is not to object, but rather to expand the range of possible answers to a question you raised a couple of weeks back. Would you bear with me while I do that?

You gave a message on the subject “The Sovereignty of God”. I agree that this is an essential topic and for the most part, I found myself rejoicing in your take on it.

Yet I must confess that there was a moment or two in which I found myself hesitant — moments when the language you chose seemed to take the teaching about God’s sovereignty in the direction of what is called in theology “Neo-Calvinism”, and which philosophers call “Hard Determinism” — namely, the view that human freedom is an illusion, and all events are preset by God before they happen. And thus having merged “sovereignty” more-or-less with the interpretation of Neo-Calvinism, you then concluded with the following …

You said, “As far as I can see, the only reason for not believing in it is pride”.

The purpose of this letter is simply to suggest some different ways of seeing things.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

The Greatest Love of All

Pride is a terrible thing.

I give full credit to translators of the Bible and don’t assume for a second that I know better than the least of them. But I have noticed that if translators come to their job with a predisposition to see a particular thing in a passage, as in every area of life, that’s what is seen.