NOTE: Today’s other post, “Making Your Own Choice,” is related to this one.

Last week we discussed occult mysticism. We discussed how its popularity is driven by emotion, the rejection of reason, subjective experiences, and relativism. In “Heart and Mind,” we discussed how the Hebrews looked to the belly, intestines, and kidneys for emotions and the heart for the mind. This culminated in a short discussion on how scripture emphasizes the use of the intellect and reason.

First, recall this statement of belief:

We will be addressing this claim in more depth.

Now, recall what John the Revelator said:

This is the only place in the New Testament where the Greek  nephrous; kidney—the seat of emotion—is mentioned. It is a Bible hapex legomenon. Another word, splagchnon; viscera, also refers to the center of one’s feelings and is used just 11 times. By contrast, the heart and mind are mentioned ~200 times in the New Testament.

Contrary to implication of the ‘heart-led way,’ the Bible does not often, if ever, consider emotion in this sense. The word nephros has this meaning (emphasis added):

Let’s stop and ponder the implications.

The Greek language had a word to describe the use of emotions specifically in deciding what a person should say or do, how they should act (or be led). And not only that, but it refers to making decisions with respect to one’s conscience! That includes discernment. And this word was only used once in scripture and never—never—in an instruction on how Christians are to behave or understand the will of God. Rather than being a guide to lead Christians, God takes a person’s emotions into consideration when he judges them. (See Hebrews 4:12)

Now consider the use of the word splagchnon; viscera, which also describes the seat of emotion (what we call the ‘heart’). In 2 Corinthians 6:12, Paul says that the church is held back by their emotions! 1 John 3:17 associates the lack of emotions with being closed to God’s love. In other places, it refers to generally positive emotions regarding good things (Paul uses it in a greeting, for example, and in Philippians 2:1 and Colossians 3:12 uses it for ‘compassion’).

With regards to metamelomai, we find that emotion is associated with repentance, in terms of regret and remorse.

In Biblical terms, feelings are not part of the decision-making process for how to positively follow Christ or to determine the will of God. They are not involved in moral awareness, nor are Christians to be led by them. Emotions are, of course, discussed in many contexts, but they never rule, instruct, or lead one in moral matters.

Emotions can be a help (1 John 3:17) or a hindrance (2 Corinthians 6:12) to loving God and others. Your duty to love, for example, is not dependent on whether or not you feel like it. Our emotions are supposed to be used to show compassion towards each other. And true repentance is associated with the feeling of regret. The Bible also speaks of joy, but it does not use feelings of joy as an indicator of truth or right behavior: it is not a guide that leads.

By contrast, the Bible explicitly commands Christians to apply their intellect and reason to discern the very will of God himself! Do you want a greater moral awareness? Apply your mind to God and His Word. The Bible is very emphatic on this point, with Jesus going so far as to modify the Shema—the central Jewish creed—to make this point.

Here is the original:

Notice that there is no mention of the mind, as such, beyond that which is implied by the heart. In case you were wondering, this matches the Greek Septuagint (see here). Now, here are the versions that Jesus and the teachers of the Law agreed upon:

Jesus added the mind! 

Here is the commentary on the word for ‘mind’ used here:

In case you might have been inclined to think that this included emotion or unreasoned uses of the mind, the language makes it clear that this isn’t just any kind of using the mind, as might be implied by ‘heart.’ It is thinking about both sides of an issue and weighing—or reasoning—through it. It is critical thinking. It is dialectical, of rational debate.

So Jesus and the teachers of the law started with the greatest commandment, the Shema Yisrael—the essence of Judaism—and added critical thinking to the list. This is recorded in all three Synoptic Gospels.

No wonder Paul—who the resurrected Jesus appeared to—had this to say:

What is moral awareness? It is knowing and doing the will of God! Here is what Jesus said about doing God’s will:

Ponder the sheer significance of this. When Jesus spoke of those who entered the kingdom, he said only those who do the will of God will enter. And what did he contrast it with? Those who successfully used occult mystical practices in Christ’s name! This is astonishing.

Jesus said in the greatest commandment that we must love God with our mind—our intellect, reasoning, and critical thinking. Paul said that we determine the will of God by applying our renewed minds to test and approve it.

The New Testament could not make this any clearer. The standard by which one knows the will of God is by applying the mind and intellect in reason and critical thinking. The example given of those who don’t are those who successfully engage in occultic mystical practices in the name of Christ.

As I’ve shown from the Word of God, there is no ‘heart-led’ approach to human moral awareness. This is occultic mystical nonsense.

The appeals of Radix Fidem to the validity of their supposed mystical experiences combined with their obvious rejection of Christ’s teaching makes the situation completely clear.

Lord have mercy!