"What are the conditions of admission into Christ's Kingdom? Simply practical recognition of the authority of the sovereign."
- A. A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology
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"The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)
The Fourth Way is a school of Christianity. Of reality. It is the spiritual warfare and development of being of a Christian eschatologically with Christ in Heaven while yet in the midst of the fallen creation until the return of the King.
The pure spring for the ideas, practices, and goals of the Fourth Way are Ouspensky's books: Fourth Way, Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution, and In Search of the Miraculous. Thomas Boston's Human Nature in its Fourfold State comes closest, as an on-the-mark work of biblical doctrine, to giving direct insight into Work teaching from the Christian foundation of it. Berkhof's Manual of Christian Doctrine and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress as well. The Homeric epics embody, foundationally, the teaching in higher visual language. The Word of God, pure and whole (AV 1611, i.e. the King James Version) is obviously necessary for regeneration - which is, of course, the main thing - and the necessary armor of God for the spiritual battlefield. Without regeneration you won't value or understand Work teaching (or Calvinist, Reformed doctrine for that matter). The Work language and Christian language can't be mixed, thus it is easy to mock Work language from a shallow Christian point-of-view. The two languages are intentionally not meant to be mixed. This requires discipline and understanding. The Work is not for everybody, but it's available to anybody. Shallow Christian environments are shallow because of pervasive man-fearing. Fear God alone, and not man, it is the beginning of wisdom.
The pure spring for the ideas, practices, and goals of the Fourth Way are Ouspensky's books: Fourth Way, Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution, and In Search of the Miraculous. Thomas Boston's Human Nature in its Fourfold State comes closest, as an on-the-mark work of biblical doctrine, to giving direct insight into Work teaching from the Christian foundation of it. Berkhof's Manual of Christian Doctrine and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress as well. The Homeric epics embody, foundationally, the teaching in higher visual language. The Word of God, pure and whole (AV 1611, i.e. the King James Version) is obviously necessary for regeneration - which is, of course, the main thing - and the necessary armor of God for the spiritual battlefield. Without regeneration you won't value or understand Work teaching (or Calvinist, Reformed doctrine for that matter). The Work language and Christian language can't be mixed, thus it is easy to mock Work language from a shallow Christian point-of-view. The two languages are intentionally not meant to be mixed. This requires discipline and understanding. The Work is not for everybody, but it's available to anybody. Shallow Christian environments are shallow because of pervasive man-fearing. Fear God alone, and not man, it is the beginning of wisdom.
CHIEF FEATURE
Dismissive (Contemptuous, Arrogant, Insolent)
Useful Work Lists
Influences
Holy Bible, AV1611
Iliad & Odyssey - Homer
On War - Carl von Clausewitz
Wealth of Nations - Adam Smith
Fourth Way - Ouspensky
HPW - Thucydides
Lives - Plutarch
Athletics
Music
Iliad & Odyssey - Homer
On War - Carl von Clausewitz
Wealth of Nations - Adam Smith
Fourth Way - Ouspensky
HPW - Thucydides
Lives - Plutarch
Athletics
Music
Followers
Self-Remembering
Non-Identifying
Become a Fused, Conscious Center-of-Gravity
Non-Identifying
Become a Fused, Conscious Center-of-Gravity
2 comments:
Can you write something about what "practical" recognitions means?
I think by practical Hodge is getting at, though he might not use this language (but the Puritans would have) not just having a philosophical or theoretical belief that Jesus is King and that His Kingdom exists, but actually having a level of belief that truly challenges one's vanity, worldly pride, and self-will. Getting to where you can actually recognize something higher than 'I', and 'me'. Higher than false personality, using the language of the Work.
From God's side He would be able to recognize that you are trustworthy. Not a 'wobbly', believing and accepting Jesus as King today, but being in a 'different place' regarding it all tomorrow.
But just that basic practical recognition of the *authority* of the Sovereign defines the crucial inner change and reorientation regarding faith. It defines a real change and defines faith in that way Jesus defined it in the Gospels: as recognition of and acceptance of chain-of-command, and recognition of the Commander-in-Chief at the top of that chain-of-command.
That inner change from vanity to faith, worldly pride to repentance, rebellious self-will to acting from descent-of-the-dove God's will.
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