Introduction to Discernment (New Format For Blog)

 

Author’s Note

“I have naturally formed the habit of restraining my thoughts. A thoughtless word hardly ever escaped my tongue or pen. Experience has taught me that silence is part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth. We find so many people impatient to talk. All this talking can hardly be said to be of any benefit to the world. It is so much waste of time. My shyness has been my shield and buckler. It has allowed me to grow. It has helped me in my discernment of truth.”

 

Mahatma Ghandhi

Reflections

 Discernment is the ability to decide between truth and error and the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. The concept of discernment appears to be an important concept to early Christian authors because the Greek noun diakrisis occurs three times in the New Testament (Romans 14.1, 1 Corinthians 12:10, and Hebrews 5:14) and means distinction, explanation, discerning, or differentiation between good and bad.

 

I will share with you, my new journey trying to discover what the ultimate truth is through this form of discernment. This journey will not be for the “faint-hearted.” I will be focusing on subject matter not from a fundamentalist Christian view, but predominantly from a historical perspective, wherever that might lead, exploring the deep meaning of our existence. I will look at the meaning of life through a historical lens, trying to determine the truth that can be gleaned through honest and thoughtful investigation, listening to all the voices, non-Christian and Christian alike.  We will be exploring and investigating extreme DIAKRISIS!

 

Silent Prayer

 Creator God, please give us the discernment to understand what you would have us to do, to honor you as our creator!

 

Music

 

 

Canon in D – Pachelbel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jSLH9CDPPQ

 

Barry