I think 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 might be more aggressive than usually interpreted. I think this is an offensive strategy, not an internal exercise of the mind.

Subdue the earth--and bring every thought captive! Destroy their arguments with truth! Out-loft their opinions with Truth and the knowledge of God!

just a thought.

"...as he thinketh in his heart, so [is] he..." [Proverbs 23:7]

I don't think this verse has been interpreted (nor, thus, applied) correctly. Some have made it quite psychologically (dianetically/Christian-scientifically) charged. It belongs, I think, with verses such as Matthew 15:8 and 1 Samuel 16:7. Like these others, it's an indictment of dishonesty. That is, his inward thoughts are honest, not necessarily his outward. Integrity is when the inward heart-thinking and the outward-display are 'integrated.' Lack of this is what the Lord opposes--and what, I believe, this verse is all about.

just a thought.

Concerning Christian Liberty. Luther, Martin. 1909-14. Concerning Christian Liberty. The Harvard Classics: "For faith alone and the efficacious use of the word of God, bring salvation. "

"Faith alone and..." seems a paradox, but faith alone means 'faith-not-works' alone. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God; so faith and scripture are tied together inseparably. Yet the word of God, in Luther's context, much resembles prophecy. That word of God was written. Today, do we have no more word of God? If yes, why is it not added to the canon? If no, does this mean prophetic gifts are ceased and all that is left is (all we need, which is) most holy scripture? I am not, nor do I think I will ever be, a cessationist. The fountain has not dried up.

Some men emulate their fathers out of a desperate need for acceptance, approval, or validation. This is the result of some kind of relational vacuum. Others emulate their fathers because the character and vision of the father has been effectively imparted by the father and embraced by the son; which is usually the case where real 'fathering' has occured.

Though the outcome of these situationn is somewhat similar, they are worlds apart. In the former situation the father's attention is the focus, in the latter the character and vision. I am glad to be a part of the latter. Those who would attribute this needy, father-wound-licking, you-were-mean-to-me-as-a-kid-type mentality to me, who has an amazing father (who had no example, no less), do both my father and me an injustice. I am tempted, when such is implied, to defend my father's honor as a father and as a Christian.

For so many years I was to him as those in Romans 1 are to God: knowing Him as my father, but not honoring him as my father. Impenitent, uncaring, unloving, ungrateful. Being a prodigal son is a means-by grace-to have my sin revealed and increased. Being a father, I imagine, is a means to know unconditional, sacrificial, heart-breaking love. I also imagine it helps one's prayer life.