Daily Encouragement: Day 346

Adapted from Handbook to Spiritual Growth

WORLDVIEW & PRESUPPOSITIONS

More often than we think, our unconscious presuppositions and unquestioned axioms influence our theology. Each of us has a set of theological, cultural, and emotional “filters” that affect our perception and interpretation of the things we see and experience. We seem to be caught in a vicious circle: our experience influences our theology, and our theology influences our experience. Furthermore, our theology affects the way we interpret the Bible, and the way we interpret the Bible affects our theology. Because of this, it is necessary to reassess both our experience and theology on an ongoing basis; if we fail to do this, we get locked into a system that is impervious to new insights. Those who use Scripture to defend rather than challenge their cultural presuppositions may ignore or resist the biblical affirmation of the reality of the spirit world.