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“As the rest of the world grew stranger, one thing became increasingly clear.…our Bible was the center of an ever-widening circle of help and hope. Like waifs clustered around a blazing fire, we gathered about it, holding out our hearts to its warmth and light. The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer and more beautiful burned the word of God.” ~Corrie ten Boom
This is a central classic.
It is the book that gives your life meaning; the book that tells you who you are, why you are on earth and where you will go after death. It governs the choices you make. It tells you what is real. It is the book that is so important to you that you would, like Corrie, risk even life to have it. To you, it is the truth.
Mission driven men and women throughout history have always chosen to make their central classic the center of their lives. In this way, they adopt a truth higher than their own opinions, emotions and tendencies. Through their central classic they become grounded in true principles from which to govern their lives – creating stability and leading them ever closer to peace and happiness.
In this podcast, Audrey discusses not only the importance of making your scripture of utmost importance in your life, but she also gives tips to help your study of scripture come alive. As you emulate the greats in this way, you will watch your life become happier, more joyful, more faithful, and more hopeful.
Listener’s Guide:
Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast.
2:16 We are moral beings
3:09 The importance of a central classic
6:00 The ten Boom family’s commitment to the Bible
8:30 Choosing a central classic
12:07 The “most read book”
14:52 James Madison
17:18 Why live by a central classic
17:58 How we wrongly use the scriptures
19:13 Recommendations for studying your central classic
21:25 Using the Five Types of Questions
Quotes from this episode:
“This is a central classic. It is the book that gives your life meaning. The book that tells you who you are, why you are on earth and where you will go after death. It governs the choices you make. It tells you what is real. It is the book that is so important to you that you would, like Corrie, risk even life to have it. To you, it is the truth. ” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher
“The Bible was a whole literature, a library. It was an anthology of poetry and short stories. It taught history, biography, biology, geography, philosophy, political science, psychology, hygiene, and sociology (statistical at that), in addition to cosmogony, ethics and theology. ” ~Jacques Barzun
“The Holy Scripture is to me, and always will be, the constant guide of my assent; and I shall always hearken to it, as containing the infallible truth relating to things of highest concernment…and I shall presently condemn and quit any opinion of mine, as soon as I am shown that it is contrary to any revelation in the Holy Scripture.” ~James Madison
“While the Bible has served as the central classic for the West, there are also central classics in the East—The Vedas, Bhagavadgita, The Koran, Writings of Confucius and others. Other civilizations such as the American Indians and the early Hindus have had oral traditions… All of these central classics, written or oral, have taught about the beginning of the world, how man came into being, why he is now on earth and what he should do with his life. These are timeless questions that all human beings have sought answers to. And a central classic lies at the center of whatever belief system you adopt. ” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher
“One day, in heaven, we will have complete insight and knowledge, but here below we have to grasp many things without fully understanding them. We have to make a clear choice between man’s scientific criticism and the declaration, “It is written.””~Casper ten Boom
“It is essential…that you should form and adopt certain rules or principles, for the government of your own conduct and temper. Unless you have such rules and principles, there will be numberless occasions on which you will have no guide for your government but your passions…It is in the Bible, you must learn them, and from the Bible how to practice them.” ~John Quincy Adams
“Dive into your scripture. Make it a daily routine and activity. Then watch how your life becomes a happier, more joyful, more faithful, more hopeful life. Make your scripture reading really come to life.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher
“That is our mandate; that is our challenge; that is our joy – to put a central classic at the center of our lives to help us have that divine center we so desperately need.” ~Audrey Rindlisbacher
Books from this episode:
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