Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee ?and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

Lead him I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, have not lived in vain.

- General MacArthur (May 1952)

“What is a sensuous christian?  One dictionary defines sensuous as, ‘pertaining to the senses or sensible objects: highly susceptible to influence through the senses.’  The sensuous christian is one who lives by his feeling rather than by the Word of God.  The sensuous christian cannot be moved to service, prayer or study unless he feels like it.  His christian life is only as effective as the intensity of his present feelings.  When he experiences spiritual euphoria, he is a whirlwind of godly activity; when he is depressed, he is a spiritual incompetent.  He constantly seeks new and fresh spiritual experiences and uses them to determinie the Word of God.  His ‘inner feelings’ become the ultimate test of truth.

The sensuous Christian doesn’t need to study the Word of God because he already know the will of God by his feelings.  He doesn’t want to know God; he wants to experience Him.  The sensuous christian equates ‘childlike faith’ with ignorance.  He thinks that when the Bible calls us to childlike faith, it means a faith without content, a faith without understanding.  He doesn’t know that the Bible says, ‘In evil be babes, but in your thinking be mature’ (I Corinthians 14:20).  He doesn’t realize that Paul tells us again and again, ‘My beloved bretheren, I would not have you be ignorant’ (see for example Romans 11:25).

The sensuous christian goes his merry way until he encounters the pain of life that is not so merry and he folds.  He ends up embracing a kind of ‘relational theology’ (the most dreadful curse of modern Christianity) where personal relationships and experience take precedence over the Word of God.  The highest law of the sensuous chrisitan is the bad feelings must be avoided at all cost.

The Bible is addressed primarily, though not exclusively, to our understanding.  That means the mind.  A sensuous christian has established his feelings as his standard for life.”