preacherman481,

I'll try to make this short and quick to the point as I know people really don't seem to like lengthy postings (I'm a preacher and I'm very analytical, so it's hard for me to just say something without showing at least a little background... Believe it or not, I've tried very hard to keep these short).

I'm not sure why you made your last comment, but you are right... whether one religion is superior to another is an arrogant argument for me to make.
The context is argument, not preaching, teaching, or expressing. Expressing something and arguing about something are two distinctly different actions. One is somthing of a joy to me. The other is a waste of time.

But what about discernment? It is important for us to use our reason and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to distinguish between right and wrong and truth and error.
Whether I discern something to be wrong (according to my beliefs) or not, it still won't cause me to argue over it. Express, yes (as the Lord may lead, because sometimes, He won't)... Argue? No thanks. Again, the bottom line for me is this, "Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. " Anything beyond expression is judgment (whether it be of pride or arrogance).

If we really believe Jesus is the Savior, shouldn't we tell other people about him?
Again... Express, yes... Argue, no.

Also, I really don't think people have to become Greek and Hebrew scholars to have a basic understanding of the Bible. A child can understand it's basic message. And I feel that most of the Bible should be taken at face value unless there is a good reason not to. One of the basic rules of Scriptural interpretation is to accept a passage for what it says unless it is clearly allegorial.
It doesn't take a degree to pick up a Hebrew and Greek index. Furthermore, if you get everything from reading the Bible at face value, then more power to you. That's something that I've not been able to do. (no, I'm not offended... I've just grown up in a Church that crammed a bunch of religion down my throat, and it wasn't until I was long gone from that setting that I actually "unlearned" everything I "knew" to be true and actually began having a relationship with the Lord. That's when my learning process actually began.)

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... There's a lot of stuff that mainstream Christianity teaches that I flat out will never believe again because it's simply not in the scripture (it's only in what people tend to think the scripture is saying). So yes... I have to say (at least for myself) that taking the time to do the reasearch (HB Index, history, prayer) definately has it's advantages.

Peace

Rev