Author: Jay N. Forrest

Dr. Jay N Forrest is a Spiritual Teacher of the Anglican Middle Way, writing on Prayer, Meditation, and Mysticism. Jay became a Christian in 1983, attended Bible school, and eventually earned his Doctorate in Ministry. Jay served as a Protestant minister for 27 years, took catechism classes with the Orthodox Church of America, and spent about a decade practicing Buddhism. In 2005, Jay was baptized and confirmed into the Catholic Church, but has since joined the Episcopal Church.

Biblical Inerrancy

“Biblical inerrancy and infallibility are not accepted by the Episcopal Church.” – The Episcopal Church

Inerrancy and infallibility is the belief that the Bible is without any error whatsoever. They claim that there are no errors in history, science, chronology, or any other area. Most of the time they limit this to the autographs.

The vast majority of Christians are ignorant about scripture, its transmission, its canonicity, and its textual issues. Therefore, they are not in a position to rightly judge the question of the inerrancy and infallibility of the scriptures.

I of course, cannot, in such a short span of time, fully educate anybody on the subject. Suffice it for me to say that the scriptures are not inerrant or infallible. For more information, read The Human Faces of God by Thom Stark or Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman.

Copies of Copies

Firstly, no original manuscript written in the apostle’s own hand exist. All we have is copies of copies of copies. And of these copies, no two exactly agree. Of the thousands of manuscripts that exist, no two exactly agree.

Known Errors

Second, there are known errors in the scriptures. That’s why there are counteractions in the Bible. Denying that these contradictions exist, makes one seem gullible.

Purpose of the Bible

Third, the purpose of the Bible is not to educate us on astronomy or physics, but on salvation. Therefore, it focuses upon the relationship between God and humankind.

Not God’s Words

Fourth, the Bible is not the words of God, but contains the words of God. Notice the Bible quotes the serpent as saying:

“You will not die, ⁵for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4-5).

These are not the words of God and they are not true. The Bible, therefore, is not the words of God. The Bible is the words of humans, from a human perspective, and it is the word of God only in the sense of being the word or message about God accepted by the universal Christian community.

Follow the Evidence

Finally, faith should follow evidence. If we are lovers of truth, we must follow the evidence where it leads. It is clear from the evidence that the Bible is a human book.

The Bible was written by people who were moved by God to express their own thoughts and experiences. God led the church to collect these writings, so that we can learn about these people’s experience, and that it might help us find salvation through Christ.

The Articles of Religion of the Episcopal Church say it best:

Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.

References

https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/inerrancy-biblical/

Healthy Spirituality

“Healthy spirituality has always been a question of putting a number of things into delicate balance and then walking a tightrope so as not to fall off either side.” – Ronald Rollheiser

It is too easy to be pulled off balance. Equilibrium is a state of spiritual maturity few of us reach. Yet, spiritual health is found in balance. It is known as the middle way.

The primary way we get off balance is by going to extremes. By doing one thing really well, yet at the same time ignoring the opposite activity.

When we neglect our home life, we become a workaholic. Dedicated to work, but then neglectful of our private life.

When we neglect our private devotions, we become a person who is religious but not spiritual. We must balance church and home life. Spirituality is about deepening our awareness in the flow of life, not separate from it.

We must balance contemplation and action, passion and purity, duty and self-awakening, community and individuality. You must balance work and home life.

We must balance doing things and being present in the moment. There are so many ways that we can get off balance. It is a human problem, and it is pervasive.

Awareness of a problem is the first step in solving it. Knowing how easy we can get off balanced, let us be watchful of extremes. Beware of becoming focused on one thing only.

The Sign of the Cross

Tertullian, an early Church father, wrote:

In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting on our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupies us, we mark our forehead with the sign of the cross.

Although not mentioned in the Bible, the sign of the cross is very ancient. There are stories in the Middle East that it was the Apostle Paul who first used the sign of the cross. This makes sense, since it symbolizes that one is “crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:19). For the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus symbolizes that “our old self was crucified with him” (Rom. 6:6).

It might be good to explain this. Sin is selfishness, it is placing the good of self above the good of God and neighbor. In order to be united to God, the old self has to die, be buried, before one can be united with God.

The sign of the cross is actually a prayer. One begins their day and activities with the Sign of the Cross: “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen” (cf. Matt. 28:19). It is a dedication of one’s activity to the Source, the Teacher, and the Divine Energy to accomplish it for the highest good.

The Roman Catholic method of signing the cross with the open palm has special meaning. By using the open palm of five fingers, each finger represents one of the five parts of fallen human nature. Namely, the body, the soul, the mind, the heart, and the spirit. Signing the cross with them means putting to death the sin-sick members of our being. So as you’re doing the sign of the cross, think, “the selfish inclinations of my fivefold being must die.”

Dying to self may not be a popular teaching, but it is essential if one is to be united to God. As long as you cling to the illusion that you are an independent entity, you cannot be joined to God. And as long as you are not united to God, you will continue to suffer both in this life and the next. Eliminate the self, and you can no longer have selfish desires, and once you no longer have selfish desires, you will awaken to the fact that it is God in whom “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

Sin is Selfishness

“The root of all sin is selfishness, separating first from God and then from man.” – Andrew Murray
“We hold the essential principle of sin to be selfishness.” – A. H. Strong
“We have also seen, that all sin is selfishness.” – Charles Finney

This agrees with the Bible. It says that “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4 KJV). The law is love (Matt 22:37-40), that is why “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom 13:10 NKJV). And we know that “Love isn’t selfish” (1 Cor. 13:5 CEV), therefore sin is selfishness. It is refusing to love God will all our heart, but instead loving ourselves with all our heart.

Sin is a wrong aim. It is the aim or motive to look out for oneself first and foremost. It is making oneself the center of the universe, the supreme good, the most important person in the world.

In other words, everyone must bow to the whims and wishes of the self, whether by force, guilt, or playing the poor me card. “My way or the highway,” is the philosophy of selfishness. I must be the center of attention, whether by being good or by being bad. It is all about I, me, and mine.

People confuse sin with sins. Sin is the aim of the will, sins are the acts of the will. Sin deals with the motive, the root from which all actions flow. Sins deal with the motion of the will, the fruit of the root, seen in thoughts, words, and deeds.

Selfish acts reveal a selfish aim. Too many people try to stop the selfish acts without changing the selfish aim. You cannot serve self and please God. You cannot serve two masters. Either God sits on the throne of your heart, or self sits on the throne.

Repentance is about changing the aim of the will. It is not about being sorry, although that is a part of it. It is also not about doing better. Rather, it is about changing the aim, not just the acts. For if you change the aim of the will, you will automatically change the acts. A good tree will naturally produce good fruit. The tree is the aim of your will. The fruit are the acts that are thereby produced.

If you are repeatedly doing things that you know are wrong, it is because you have not put God first in your life. You have not died to self. You have not blown out your selfish desires. You are still attached to the illusion that you are an independent entity. You are still spiritually blind.

Tozer’s Recommended Reading List

The following is a list of books recommended by A. W. Tozer. It was published by David Fant in his biography of Tozer. It was through A. W. Tozer that I was introduced to the mystics and it forever changed my life. Here are the 35 books that were recommended.

1. The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage by Jan van Ruysbroeck

2. The Amending of Life by H. L. Hubbard

3. Ascent of Mt. Carmel by St. John

4. The Ascent of Mount Sion Being the Third Book of the Treatise of That Name Translated with an Introduction and Notes By E. Allison Peers by Bernardino and E. Allison Peers De Laredo

5. A Little Book of Eternal Wisdom by Blessed Henry Suso

6. Centuries of Meditations by Thomas Traherne

7. Christian Perfection (Christian Classics) by François de Salignac de La Mothe- Fénelon

8. The Cloud of Unknowing by Anonymous

9. Confessions by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

10. Dark Night of the Soul: A Masterpiece in the Literature of Mysticism by St. John of the Cross by Saint John of the Cross

11. Goad of Love by Walter Hilton

12. A Guide to True Peace; or The Excellency of Inward and Spiritual Prayer by Guyon, Molinos and Others Fenelon

13. Hymns of Ter Steegen and others classed as “Friends of God.” by Gerhard Tersteegen

14. The Imitation of Christ (Dover Thrift Editions) by Thomas à Kempis

15. Introduction to the Devout Life by Saint Francis de Sales

16. Letters of Direction: Thoughts on the Spiritual Life by Henri de Tourville

17. On The Incarnation by Saint Athanasius Patriarch of Alexandria

18. Saint Bernard on the Love of God by of Clairvaux Bernard

19. Poems by Frederick William Faber

20. The Poems of Isaac Watts by Isaac Watts

21. The Practice of the Presence of God and The Spiritual Maxims by Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection

22. Lancelot Andrewes and His Private Devotions by Lancelot Andrewes

23. Works of St. Anselm: Proslogium, Monologium, An Appendix in Behalf of the Fool, and Cur Deus Homo (Forgotten Books)

24. The Quiet Way: A Christian Path to Inner Peace (Spritiual Classics) by Gerhard Tersteegen

25. Revelations of Divine Love (Dover Value Editions) by Julian of Norwich

26. The Scale of Perfection (Middle English Texts) by Walter Hilton

27. Johannes Tauler: Sermons (Classics of Western Spirituality) by Johannes Tauler

28. On the Song of Songs I (The Works of Bernard of Clairvaux, Volume Two) (Cistercian Fathers Series, Number Four) by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

29. The Spiritual Combat and a Treatise on Peace of Soul (Tan Classics) by Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

30. The Spiritual Guide (Library of Spiritual Classics) by Michael Molinos

31. The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart by Meister Eckhart

32. A Testament of Devotion by Thomas R. Kelly

33. Theologia Germanica by Susanna, translated Winkworth

34. The Vision of God by Nicholas of Cusa

35. Jacob Boehme: The Way to Christ (Classics of Western Spirituality) by Jakob Böhme