I will not judge a person to be spiritually dead whom I have judged formerly to have had spiritual life, though I see him at present in a swoon (faint)as to all evidences of the spiritual life. And the reason why I will not judge him so is this -- because if you judge a person dead, you neglect him, you leave him; but if you judge him in a swoon,(faint) though never so dangerous, you use all means for the retrieving of his life.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of hope and support for those who appear to be struggling spiritually.
In this quote, John Owen expresses the belief that one should not deem a person spiritually lost or dead, even if they seem to be in a dire state. Instead of abandoning them, it is essential to recognize that they might just be in a temporary state of spiritual distress, which calls for compassion and efforts to help them regain their spiritual vitality.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a support group meeting to inspire hope.
Because he is; that is, because he is an infinitely glorious, good, wise, holy, powerful, righteous, self-subsisting , self-sufficient , and all-sufficient being; the fountain and author of all being and good; the first cause, last end, and sovereign Lord of all; therefore, he is to be worshipped: therefore, are we to admire, adore, and love him; to praise, to trust and to fear him.
If I have observed anything by experience, it is this: a man may take the measure of his growth and decay in grace according to his thoughts and meditations upon the person of Christ, and the glory of Christ's Kingdom, and of His love.
Mortification is the soul's vigorous opposition to self, wherein sincerity is most evident.
The growth of trees and plants takes place so slowly that it is not easily seen. Daily we notice little change. But, in course of time, we see that a great change has taken place. So it is with grace. Sanctification is a progressive, lifelong work (Prov 4:18). It is an amazing work of God's grace and it is a work to be prayed for (Rom 8:27).
Free will is "corrupted nature's deformed darling, the Pallas or beloved self-conception of darkened minds"
A man may be carried on in a constant course of mortification all his days; and yet perhaps never enjoy a good day of peace and consolation.
I think it is wrong to expect certainties in this world, where all else but God that is Truth is an uncertainty. All that appears and happens about and around us is uncertain, transient. But there is a Supreme Being hidden therein as a Certainty, and one would be blessed if one could catch a glimpse of that Certainty and hitch one's waggon to it. The quest for that Truth is the summum bonum of life.
God is not something I think about but something I experience as an energy, a Presence. I do find it easier to pray to a female Presence or an androgynous Presence.
You can't have a value structure without a hierarchy. They're the same thing because a value structure means one thing takes precedence over another.
Sympathy will have been increased through natural selection
To begin with, we put the proposition: pure phenomenology is the science of pure consciousness.
The body cannot be cured without regard for the soul.
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