Adelynn

I guess that this is where I would disagree then . If we only read and listened to those that we agree with in our faith would never be challenged, we could never refine what we believe and don't believe, we would become "weak" in faith and may even miss out on something good.

I read and will continue to read from ALL view points, I will not restrict myself to one viewpoint in an effort not to be mislead. First, and FOREMOST, I must be grounded in the Scriptures so that I can recognize a lie when I see it, but I can also recognize TRUTH when I come across it because I have been grounded in the Word and have the indwelling of the Holy Spirt. I will choose to applaud and appreciate the TRUTH in every form that I find it, and reject the lies without losing respect for the teacher, we are ALL deceived in some form. I sometimes wonder if that is a "God"-thing, so that NONE can boast in their perfect theology, and to keep our faith firmly based in His grace and mercy rather than our doctrine and open to refinement .

In the epistles where Paul tells us to flee False Teachers, I am sure that he was referring to those whose very fundamentals of the Christian faith were lies meant to cause people to be caught up in a "works" based faith, - NOT in how we work out our grace-based faith . Jesus himself, told His disciples to leave alone those who were preaching and doing miracles in His name, who they didn't even "know" and Jesus told them to leave them be, that whatever was not against Him was for Him. I don't see him telling his disciples to "stay clear of their false teachings".

I read and listen to multiple teachers, I read "gasp" the Pearls, I want to KNOW what they are saying. I read Doug Phillips, Bill Gothard, I want to KNOW what they are teaching. There are often GOOD things in their words, where God has actually given them an insight that could be overlooked if I chose to look at them only through the lenses of judgemental glasses. And when I have absorbed something not quite right, the Spirit is able to set me straight again, and then I again can lovingly and respectfully disagree when that topic may come up in my life.

I even read and listen to teachings of other faiths - Muslim, etc. I want to KNOW what they are preaching, so that when I come across someone who believes that faith, I will know what to speak on with LOVE rather than just tearing down their belief system, I can lovingly lay seeds and let the Holy Spirit water them without coming across as negative. I think that this is easier when I am already practicing it with my Christian brothers and sisters.

This idea that we must limit ourselves is eerily like the conditions of cults and extreme fundamentalist - don't listen to anyone else than "our" ideas, we are only trying to protect you from the "false" teachings out there. I grew up there - extreme fundie, and I have seen the great amount of energy spent on "exposing" the lies of all the others, and in reality it only fills our spirits with suspicion and fear, poor breeding grounds for the fruits of the Spirit. I normally don't frequent this forum, because it gives me those old negative feelings of "trashing" the enemy .

I will CHOOSE to applaud the positive in every place I find it , I will CHOOSE to lovingly disagree with my brothers and sisters in Christ , keeping the lines of communication open and in the process keeping my own heart in a place where the Spirit can freely direct me to ALL that He has for me. And I will CHOOSE to LOVINGLY disagree with you today .