AN OUTREACH OF IOM AMERICA | INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF EXCHANGED LIFE
January 7, 2015 - In This Issue:
INFORMATION ON JIM FOWLER

Jim Fowler has been a pastor at the Neighborhood Church in Fallbrook, California for the last twenty-three years. His wife, Gracie, and their five children (Philip, Charis, Kirsten, Sarah and Sandi) have been very supportive in Jim's teaching, preaching, and writing ministries.

Jim's educational background includes Manhattan Christian College, Friends University, New College-University of Edinburgh, Bethel Theological Seminary, Palomar College, and Jubilee Theological Institute.

In recent years, Jim has spent much of his time writing, as can be viewed within the resources of his website. He is currently researching and writing several other articles and books.

 Feel free to contact him at [email protected] 

 

Practical Studies
"The purpose of Jesus' incarnational advent and His ministry here on earth as a man was not to establish a new religion, nor to inculcate a new teaching, nor to lay down a new morality system. Jesus came to bring Himself, the presence and dynamic of His own divine being, expressed in the humanity of one perfect man, so that He might be expressed as divine, eternal life in the humanity of all men. The gospel that Jesus brought was entirely Christocentric. There is no message of "good news" apart from the ontological reality of the very Being of God in Jesus Christ who is the essence of Christianity. Christianity is Christ!" - Jim

 Learn More About Jim's Studies:
"This book details the primary discussion of this year's World Grace Summit. I considered the discussion of "Dialectic Formatting" to be of the highest priority of dispelling Universalism in its attack on the true Church of Christ."  
"When Christians say the Christ-life is in them, they do not mean simply something mental or moral. When they speak of being "in Christ" or of Christ being "in them," this is not simply a way of saying that they are thinking about Christ or copying Him. They mean that Christ is actually operating through them..." ("Mere Christianity" Macmillan Publishing. 1978. pp.64-65). -C.S. Lewis

HISTORICAL CHRISTIAN BIBLES 
For over a decade now, Jim Fowler has been collecting Bibles for an exhibit that shows "The History of the Christian Scriptures." A new website has been developed to show featured items in this collection. View at www.fowlerbiblecollection.com 

Spirit Union and Behavior
By Jim Fowler

Behavior Evaluation in Conscience

 

The conscience functions prior to our decision to act, serving as a warning indication of decisions and actions that would be contrary to established attitudes. And then, functions subsequent to our choice and action to evaluate whether our behavior was consistent or contrary to our established attitudes. Evaluating our behavioral choices, the conscience either commends us for acting in a manner consistent with our established attitudes, or condemns us for acting in a manner contrary to our established attitudes.

 

When our conscience condemns us, we feel guilty. But there is a difference between "feeling guilty" and "being guilty." The Greek word for "guilt" is enochos, "to be caught in" the violation or trespass of a standard. A person can be objectively guilty of the trespass of God's character, or the violation of a civil law, or of transgressing social mores, and not feel guilty subjectively because he has not developed established attitudes concerning such laws or standards, or is unaware that he has violated such. On the other hand, a person can feel guilty because he has violated his established attitudes; but those established attitudes may not be founded in legitimate understanding of divine, civil, or social standards, in which case their guilt feelings in the conscience are a form of false-guilt. Since many Christians have established attitudes that are based on the recommendations of family, society, and religion, or on the expedience of personal reflection, there is an abundance of false-guilt experience in the consciences of Christians. They may feel guilty for drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, wearing makeup, or uttering an expletive. Because they have been encouraged to love and do good for others, they may feel guilty for not having done more for others - for their parents, for their children, or for their church. There may be guilt feelings for not attending church services every time the doors are open, for not serving on church committees, for not putting more money into the offering plate, or for not spending more time reading their Bible, praying, and evangelizing.

 

Various methods have been proposed for dealing with our guilt feelings. Some chastise themselves masochistically, thinking that such self-beating will remind them not to repeat the action. One form of this reaction is to penalize oneself by volunteering and working harder for charity, or giving more to the church. To apologize for our action may be in order if we have wronged another, but apology is not necessarily repentance or confession. The world often encourages us to minimize our guilty feelings; "It's nothing, forget it." Or we may be advised to rationalize that "Everybody's doing it. You didn't get caught, so don't worry about it."


Encouragement to compromise is a method proposed by many psychological counselors, for they understand that if you lower your standards, and get a more "enlightened" attitude, you will no longer feel guilty. Sigmund Freud considered all guilt feelings to be false-guilt necessitating the compromise of falsely imposed moral standards. Christians need to recognize ... Read Full Article 

 

Permission obtained from writer to republish Spirit Union and Behavior. Copyright � 2004, 2015 by James A. Fowler. Articles or portions of articles may be used only with written permission from James A. Fowler. WWW.CHRISTINYOU.NET  IOM America's editorial changes to original approved by author.

 


Jim Fowler
P.O. Box 1822
Fallbrook, CA 92088-1822

e-mail address:

[email protected] 

 


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