Ordinary Disciple: Heretic Hunter: The Folly of Wisdom

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I have noted a disturbing trend among believers. There seems to be an uprise in the use of unsound methods for making decisions. Bible believers far and wide are abandoning proven strategies such as the still small voice for this sorcery known as "wisdom."

This trend greatly concerns me. People have tried to reassure me by telling me that different people hear God in different ways, but I do not think they understand the gravity of the situation. They have not studied out wisdom and its roots like I have. It is dangerous and carnal and liable to lead to a decrease in the overall religiosity of believers. I don't understand why believers would resort to such witchcraft when there are already so many proven methods already available.

Take, for example, the random verse method. Making a decision by opening your Bible to a random passage is almost fool-proof, as the method takes out the human element completely. All is left to chance, which, since it cannot be explained by any other means, must be directly controlled by God Himself (there are those that deny this--they are called "Deists," believing that God does not play an active part in every single little detail of our lives). Albeit, the answer can sometimes come across as cryptic, but in those cases this method can be combined with others.

Or consider the Still Small Voice principle. Rooted in a single verse buried in Kings, this method reaches the pinnacle of spirituality. Even with all the voices screaming at us in our heads, it's easy to pick out the still small voice--you just know it. No need to cross-check it with Scripture or anything (that would be to display doubt which is the opposite of faith and very unspiritual). Some have come with accusations that what one thinks is the still small voice may be actually be a complex mix of emotion, bias confirmation, conscious, and subconscious influence. Rest assured these accusations have absolutely no foundation in Scripture. It is critical to trust the still small voice with utter confidence, without question or waver (unless your still small voice conflicts with mine--in which case mine trumps yours).

These are just a few of the many religiously approved methods for decision making. But wisdom you must absolutely stay away from. There is no spirituality in it at all--it is entirely human and...logical *shudders*. Don't be fooled by their claim that they're using "Biblical principles." It's really putting God in a box, which is very unspiritual. There's no divine intervention involved, nothing miraculous about the way they use a complex network of neurons to sort through a variety of options based on the principles of some ancient laws.

Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of using wisdom, however, is the prospect that you might get it wrong. With the spiritual methods, you are shielded from this possibility by the infallibility of your ability to hear God's voice and the full acquittal from responsibility that comes from perfect faith. Not so with wisdom. When using your own rational brain to apply "Biblical principles" to a situation, you are faced with the full responsibility of that decision. And, God forbid, you could be wrong. Thus the Scriptures says,