Originally Posted by Wayne@purpose
You said:
Perhaps you should explain how your perception of the modern church has concluded that it lacks love?
I say:
My perceptions are limited to one man’s “part time” view of the subject and therefore not really important. God’s word on this subject is infinitely more accurate and important:
But it is YOUR understanding and application of God's Word that is being discussed and questioned, and not God's infallible Word that is being questioned. wink

Originally Posted by Wayne@purpose
You said:
Even more helpful would be if you stated your definition of Biblical love. That would certainly go a long way to then considering your concern of the lack of love in the modern church.
I say:
I do not have “a definition” of Christian Love. I believe the Holy Spirit has helped me construct a summary.
Ancillary to what you wrote above, you have gone even further and now apparently you are attempting to give serious weight to your view(s) by bringing in the "help" of the Holy Spirit. What it seems you are now stating is that God Himself, in the person of the Holy Spirit is behind what you are espousing. Thus, I nor anyone else should be too hasty to disagree with you. scratchchin

I could just as easily state that my disagreements with your view(s) aren't simply my own, but the Holy Spirit has helped me see their error(s) and/or inconsistencies with Scripture.

Originally Posted by Wayne@purpose
You said:
Your syllogism is grossly fractured and illogical, unfortunately. Your 4th statement is contradictory to your 2nd statement and it is seriously heretical: Love is the Holy Spirit.
1. God is Essential,
2. the Holy Spirit is God,
3. God is Love,
4. Love is the Holy Spirit,
5. Love is Essential
I say:
Hummm, I believe the thing you are missing is how the Holy Spirit works in the heart of the believer. When God’s love shines through us, it is the shinning of the Holy Spirit. In this sense, “love is the Holy Spirit” and in this sense “it is essential”.
I must tell you that it grieves me to see you trying to defend a most serious heretical statement after it has been pointed out to you. Are you so obsessed with your thesis that you would deny the doctrine of the Trinity to promote it?

Once again, the statement, "love is the Holy Spirit" is heresy of the first order. And I'll try to explain this in very simple terms:

1. A "predicate nominative" in linguistics refers to a sentence where the subject and the predicate are one and the same. For example, "John is the President." is equivalent to "The President is John." We have a biblical example in John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." It would be and is 100% correct to then state that "God was the Word". In short, the PERSON named "the Word" IS the PERSON named "GOD".

2. In contrast, you have stated, "God is love, the Holy Spirit is God, love is the Holy Spirit". The error should be more than perspicuous at this point? "Love" is an attribute of God, Who is a being consisting of three PERSONS. The Holy Spirit, being one of those PERSONS, shares the ATTRIBUTE of love. But it is totally incorrect, therefore to conclude that the person IS the attribute. If "love" (an attribute) IS the Holy Spirit, then the Holy Spirit is not a PERSON, thus effectly denying the third person of the divine Trinity. Even more simply put, love and the Holy Spirit are not equivalent.

Originally Posted by Wayne@purpose
You said:
Perhaps it would help to remind you that no one can "love" someone or something that they do not know. Could your perception of a lack of love in the modern church be somehow related to this fact?
I say:
As I said above, my perception of the modern church does not matter. It is God’s perception of the modern Church that matters.
My response would be the same as #1 and #2 above.

Proverbs 1:2-5 (ASV) "To know wisdom and instruction; To discern the words of understanding; To receive instruction in wise dealing, In righteousness and justice and equity; To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion: That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; And that the man of understanding may attain unto sound counsels:"

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simul iustus et peccator

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