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  THE BANE OF 'RELIGIOUS TALK'
  by A.W. Tozer
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Summary: A.W. Tozer emphasizes the importance of spiritual experience
and the validity of words in our faith, warning against 'religious talk'
that lacks real meaning.

Topics: "Authenticity in Faith", "The Power of Words"
Scripture References: Matthew 15:8, John 4:24, Romans 12:2, 1 Corinthians 2:14, Ephesians 4:15, Colossians 3:2, 2 Timothy 3:5, Hebrews 6:5, Hebrews 11:1, James 1:22

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DESCRIPTION
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A.W. Tozer emphasizes the danger of empty religious talk that lacks
genuine meaning and connection to reality. He argues that while we
cannot physically walk with Christ, we can experience the essence of
faith and the spiritual truths of God's kingdom. Tozer warns that many
words spoken in religious contexts may simply be hollow phrases without
true substance or understanding. He calls for a deeper comprehension of
faith that transcends mere verbal expressions, urging believers to seek
authentic experiences of God's presence. Ultimately, he challenges the
church to ensure that their words reflect true spiritual realities
rather than mere phonetic sounds.

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CONTENT
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Now, while we cannot project ourselves backward through time and walk
again in Galilee with Christ and His disciples, we can by faith actually
experience "the substance of things hoped for"; we can have every
sufficient "evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1, KJV); we can
taste "the powers of the coming age" (6:5); we can "know" and
"comprehend"; we can have the inner witness, the spiritual illumination
that brings out the typography of the kingdom of God as clearly as any
earthly landscape is revealed by the rising sun. Then every word will be
like a sharp, clear shadow thrown by the objects on the terrain, not to
stand in place of reality, but to outline it and set it in relief.

A word is valid only when it refers to some reality in the mind of the
user.

It must submit to definition as used by the speaker. Its dictionary
meaning cannot save it from semantic fraud. It must have a real meaning
in its limited context at a given time. By this test an alarmingly great
amount of our religious talk is phonetic breath, no more.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/aw-tozer/the-bane-of-religious-talk/
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