quote:

Originally posted by Searcher:
I know the principles, they're laid out clearly enough in the book,

I apologize.

quote:

but how about my question from my last post about our faith having to be airtight?

Should I answer you already know the principles or that they are laid out clearly?
By the way,
"Also,faith is born of gratitude"
"Every wave of gratitude increases faith"
"When you realize that your desires for riches is one with the desire of the living substance for more life,your faith becomes invincible"
I didn´t quote word by word,but the meaning is the same.

quote:

"In other words, I get the impression there's no room for practice, it must be perfect, airtight, all or nothing."

I can´t be sure what you mean"there is no room for practice".
I got the opposite impression.
It´s ALL about practice.

quote:

Originally posted by Searcher:
I know the principles, they're laid out clearly enough in the book, but how about my question from my last post about our faith having to be airtight?

"In other words, I get the impression there's no room for practice, it must be perfect, airtight, all or nothing."

Hi Searcher ~

You ask about faith and whether one’s faith must be “airtight” at all times. Consider what it means to actually have faith. One dictionary defines faith as “an attitude of the entire self, including both will and intellect, directed toward a person, an idea, or—as in the case of religious faith—a divine being.”

Compare this to the Bible's definition: “Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Stop and really think about these words. By means of FAITH we are ASSURED of receiving the things we HOPE for, even though they have yet to manifest themselves physically in our life. We can realistically EXPECT to receive these things. Such are the principles of SOGR. But, we must be very careful not to forget that these words in the Bible came long before SOGR. Mr. Wattles did not originate this way of thinking. In his writings he was just putting into expression what he came to understand as truth. Prophetic promises that were recorded for our benefit in the Bible were many times recorded as IF THEY WERE ALREADY FULFILLED AT THE TIME THEY WERE MADE.

Mr. Wattles quotes from the Bible many times throughout SOGR. And what he writes makes sense to us because as we ponder the idea of impressing our thoughts on a thinking stuff from which all things are made (or created), it helps us appreciate that if something is made (or created) it must, by all sense of reasoning, have a maker (or creator) in whom we can confidently and without reservation put our hope and faith. Faith is based on evidence, not gullibility, and hope is akin to faith. The Bible distinguishes between the two: “Now, however, there remain FAITH, HOPE, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

The original language words used in the Bible that are translated “hope” mean to wait eagerly and to expect good. Hope involves the DESIRE for something good as well as the BASIS for believing that good will come. Hope, as clearly outlined in the Bible, is not mere wishful thinking. It has a solid basis in fact and evidence. Mr. Wattles was a wise man who came to appreciate this fact.

Many times factors in life are beyond our control, but as long as we continue to practice and maintain a hopeful outlook and act in harmony with our faith to the very best of our ability (even if it sometimes feels like we might not be doing it completely right or it’s not “airtight”) we can still rest ASSURED and BE IN EXPECTATION of receiving the things we hope for.