{"id":196,"date":"2005-04-14T07:40:00","date_gmt":"2005-04-14T11:40:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2005-04-14T01:24:14","modified_gmt":"2005-04-14T05:24:14","slug":"elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\/","title":{"rendered":"Elisha: The Elevation of Preconceived Doctrine"},"content":{"rendered":"

I?m skipping ahead a bit, but I felt that this bit of
\nhistory pressing heavily on my mind. <\/span>Elisha has just witnessed some of the most life-transforming events of
\nhis life, and now sat having a discussion based on preconceptions and majority
\nrule. It wasn?t a web-forum.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The last the sons of the prophets saw Elijah and Elisha,
\nthey had been crossing the parted Jordan going East. They knew that Elijah was
\ngoing to be taken away and proudly said as much to Elisha. They even knew the
\nvery day that Elijah would be taken and strutted before Elisha in Jericho,
\nflashing their immense knowledge. Elisha knew this already and put a stop to
\nit?he would be parting company with his teacher and friend?why were they
\npricking his heart with their heady knowledge? (2 Ki 2:5)<\/p>\n

As it is, he still shouted in awe when the chariot and
\nhorses of fire came down and the whirlwind lifted up Elijah into Heaven. As he
\nshouted and looked heavenward, he tore his clothing and approached the mantle
\nof Elijah which had fallen down. He claimed it but when he got to the rocky
\nshore he stood there looking at the Jordan River<\/st1:place>. (2 Ki
\n2:11-13)<\/p>\n

Striking the water and asking God to show Himself, the river
\nparted this way and that and he was able to cross over land, back to Jericho<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>
\nto the school of theologians. There they were developing their theories but
\nseeing evidence of what God has performed. They acknowledge Elisha and the
\npower given by God but once they got that out of the way, they proceeded with
\ntheir preconceived notions. (2 Ki 2:15)<\/p>\n

They were the sons of prophets and they had been taught by
\nthe best. Reared in the traditions of those great theologians who were their
\nforebears, they currently sat under the tutelage of such masters as Elijah and
\nElisha. Perhaps they had even had guest speakers like Micaiah (1 Ki 22) or that
\nother Man of God (1 Ki 20) who had been around. <\/p>\n

They knew their history and how Moses was buried by God and
\nno one knew where (though perhaps they had some ideas). So, it was with a
\nstudied stance that they were able to say that Elijah?s body was cast onto some
\nmountain or into some valley. They would look for him.<\/p>\n

Elisha had to tell them not to bother, but they insisted
\nuntil he was ashamed. These theologians were rejecting his words even though
\nGod had miraculously authenticated his ministry before their eyes. (2 Ki
\n2:16-18)<\/p>\n

So he let them go look while crisis loomed in the near
\nfuture. He let them go running about, here and there, wasting precious time and
\nupon their return he points out their error and receives the news that the
\ncity?s water has gone bad and produced no fruit. The water was dead (2 Ki 2:19).<\/p>\n

Theological discussions (not debates) are great. Just going
\nthrough the Word and discussing the wonders of God. Nothing stupid like in the
\nmiddle ages where people would argue about how many angels could fit on the
\nhead of a pin but open forums where Christian views are expressed and
\npracticed. <\/p>\n

How sad is it then when theologians take their
\npreconceptions and elevate it to the point that even the Word of God becomes
\nmere background to their position. Theologians ticking off big names of other
\ntheologians while the Word of God winds up being used as just another proof.
\n?Barth says [X], Hodge agrees with [X] but denies [Y] and there is some
\nevidence in [Bible Passage] that Paul believes the same.?<\/p>\n

I?ve seen some downright horrid examples of this online. In
\nsome places I?ve seen doctrine being made part of a second election?a knowledge
\ngiven only to some. In other places I?ve seen doctrines purported to be
\nBiblical while denying swashes of the Scriptures. In other places I?ve seen
\npeople copy \/ paste a string of verses that seem to support their case right
\nuntil you read the next verse. Theologians running around in circles looking
\nfor further proof of their ideas while ignoring the Word of God and the fact
\nthat the water all around has gone bad.<\/p>\n

The Lord promised His Spirit (John 14 -16) and the Spirit
\nwas given (Acts 2). The Lord?s public ministry ended at the cross?but the
\nChurch?s public ministry began at the Lord?s command. Each of us as believer
\nnow walks with the mantle of Christ within us?His Spirit?sent to help us and
\nteach us and intercede for us. Let?s not bank on our preconceptions or
\npresuppositions but listen to the Word of God and realize that those things
\nwhich are not seen will be fully known. Now, focus on the Words of Christ, look
\nto the Author and Finisher of our faith, address the problem that is evident
\naround us?that people need Living Water?and fulfills the task that was given to
\nus to complete.<\/p>\n

-r-<\/span>
Firstly<\/span>, Doug has an excellent <\/span>post <\/a>with a lot of common sense and grace although he links to a post I find disagreements <\/span>with<\/a>. Mind you, I’m neither Calvinist nor Arminian and I see Brother Tim as a dear fellow believer, so please don’t start a flame war against me or our Brothers. Secondly<\/span>, please don’t presume that I’m talking about being at peace with doctrinal error. Doctrinal error is to be dealt with before it breeds more error: but if the two bits of error have been around for several hundred years and they still haven’t weeded themselves out of the system and God has decided to bless the work at the hands from both camps, I’m not going to try to resolve it. Lastly<\/span>, all doctrinal error doesn’t have to be hunted down and stamped under foot. Sometimes, by doing that you can shatter a young believer’s conviction (not young in age, but spiritual maturity). You may personally want to go around and rip out pages from the old hymnbooks and calling fire down on people who slip while praying and confuse the trinity, but I just won’t go there.
<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I?m skipping ahead a bit, but I felt that this bit of history pressing heavily on my mind. Elisha has just witnessed some of the most life-transforming events of his life, and now sat having a discussion based on preconceptions and majority rule. It wasn?t a web-forum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nElisha: The Elevation of Preconceived Doctrine - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Elisha: The Elevation of Preconceived Doctrine - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I?m skipping ahead a bit, but I felt that this bit of history pressing heavily on my mind. Elisha has just witnessed some of the most life-transforming events of his life, and now sat having a discussion based on preconceptions and majority rule. It wasn?t a web-forum.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reyreynoso\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reyreynoso\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"rey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"rey\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e8c55a4aab6df13bed13eae5edfab9aa\"},\"headline\":\"Elisha: The Elevation of Preconceived Doctrine\",\"datePublished\":\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1040,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e8c55a4aab6df13bed13eae5edfab9aa\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\\\/\",\"name\":\"Elisha: The Elevation of Preconceived Doctrine - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Rey Reynoso and The Bible Archive\",\"description\":\"Notes and Thoughts from An Unabashedly Plymouth Brethren Blogger\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e8c55a4aab6df13bed13eae5edfab9aa\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e8c55a4aab6df13bed13eae5edfab9aa\",\"name\":\"rey\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/cropped-tba_banner.jpg?fit=1000%2C288&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/cropped-tba_banner.jpg?fit=1000%2C288&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/cropped-tba_banner.jpg?fit=1000%2C288&ssl=1\",\"width\":\"1000\",\"height\":\"288\",\"caption\":\"rey\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/03\\\/cropped-tba_banner.jpg?fit=1000%2C288&ssl=1\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.biblearchive.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/reyreynoso\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/reybeez\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/biblearchive.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/biblerey\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Elisha: The Elevation of Preconceived Doctrine - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Elisha: The Elevation of Preconceived Doctrine - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive","og_description":"I?m skipping ahead a bit, but I felt that this bit of history pressing heavily on my mind. Elisha has just witnessed some of the most life-transforming events of his life, and now sat having a discussion based on preconceptions and majority rule. It wasn?t a web-forum.","og_url":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\/","og_site_name":"Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reyreynoso","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reyreynoso","article_published_time":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","author":"rey","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"rey","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\/"},"author":{"name":"rey","@id":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e8c55a4aab6df13bed13eae5edfab9aa"},"headline":"Elisha: The Elevation of Preconceived Doctrine","datePublished":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\/"},"wordCount":1040,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e8c55a4aab6df13bed13eae5edfab9aa"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\/","url":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\/","name":"Elisha: The Elevation of Preconceived Doctrine - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/elisha-the-elevation-of-preconceived-doctrine\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/","name":"Rey Reynoso and The Bible Archive","description":"Notes and Thoughts from An Unabashedly Plymouth Brethren Blogger","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e8c55a4aab6df13bed13eae5edfab9aa"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e8c55a4aab6df13bed13eae5edfab9aa","name":"rey","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/cropped-tba_banner.jpg?fit=1000%2C288&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/cropped-tba_banner.jpg?fit=1000%2C288&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/cropped-tba_banner.jpg?fit=1000%2C288&ssl=1","width":"1000","height":"288","caption":"rey"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/cropped-tba_banner.jpg?fit=1000%2C288&ssl=1"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.biblearchive.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reyreynoso","https:\/\/x.com\/reybeez"],"url":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/author\/biblerey\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbR50-3a","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}