Has education expanded your listening tastes?

Mapman, soldiers do and have done the bidding of man is a truth. Soldiers can also do the bidding of God. Yes, this truth has been perverted by man with all kinds of unspeakable things being done in the name of God and God was no part of it. Man's error however does not nullify the truth that God has and will continue to move as He pleases through soldiers in this fallen world.

If the Bible is understood as relevant, truth, and inspired by God, then no other conclusion is possible. If one does not think the Bible is truth, then yes I suppose any thought can be perceived as truth.

Over and over in scripture soldiers were used by God to carry out
His purpose, not man's. This is undeniable, thus one must not believe in the authority of scripture to question this truth.

We are free to believe or not believe in the Bible and what it shares about our Creator. I happen to believe it and to stay consistent with it .

Wow - some very interesting posts since I have checked in. If I may ask Schubert something. I originally thought I knew exactly where you were coming from, but I am not at all sure anymore. Perhaps I am totally misunderstanding what you are trying to say. You wrote a while back:

"Germany, like the USA, has no shortage of ignorant people.
If I ask the recovering addict, 8th grade drop-out painting
my room in WI if he listens to Beethoven the reply likely will be, I don't listen to that crap.
If I ask the 8th grade drop-out recovering addict in Germany painting my room ,who knows no more about LvB than his american counterpart, the reply will likely be ahh, Beethoven , a great man.
Makes a LOT of difference."

I would submit to you that the reason the German kid says what he does is indeed education, not just cultural difference (though that of course affects the educational system). He would certainly know quite a bit more about him than his American counterpart, especially nowadays. I am therefore not quite sure what your ultimate point is here.

Photon, no offense taken at your comments, which are good ones. No one is arguing that someone should be silent if they are not an expert - as you say, that is ridiculous, and I also agree that "there is nothing wrong with having less than fully formed opinions about art forms they are a fan of." This is not what Frogman and I are objecting to at all. What I do not understand is the folks who are obviously afraid that educating themselves more about music is somehow going to decrease their emotional enjoyment of it. Exactly the opposite occurs, in every single case of which I am aware. Yet some refuse to even consider the possibility. They don't know what they are missing, and maybe never will, which is saddening, and their attitude also makes it much more difficult to discuss music seriously with them, which is a shame. That said, that will not stop me from attempting to discuss music with them if they clearly have a desire to do so.

Last night I pulled out HvK's 1963 Eroica and gave it a listen. I thought about how much more I like this recording than almost all of the other Eroicas I have. If someone were to ask me, "Why do you like this version best," the most candid response would be because I do.
Learsfool and Frogman could probably entertain me for 2 hours talking about why they do or do not like that particular recording better than another. Everyone has a right to an opinion, but not all opinions are of equal value.
During a pre concert lecture the lecturer (a local music professor) played a part of a chamber work from Brahms and another one from Beethoven. She asked me to briefly describe the difference. I answered that the LvB went straight to my heart, while the Brahms engaged my mind. That was a valid answer, but an utterly subjective one devoid of any particular value to any one but myself. When I retire, perhaps I will have time to educate myself more on that which I love so much. I really can't fathom how anything bad could come from that.

Learsfool, I agree with your thoughts regarding the reluctance of certain types of listeners to educate themselves. It is baffling, but the longer I live, the more I am amazed at the profound differences among humans in the way we process information, relate each other, and prioritize values. In America, we are generating humans who increasingly value the individual's raw and unformed subjective response to aesthetic stimuli above informed and educated insight. I know this sounds like the griping of an old man who's shaking his fist at the younger generation. However, decades of education and cultural values that has emphasized self-esteem and self-empowerment has skewed many peoples sense of need for education regarding the arts. Unlike Brownsfan, I suspect the majority of people DO feel that when it comes to aesthetics and art, one opinion is as good as another.

*****I would submit to you that the reason the German kid says what he does is indeed education,*******

I would say it's because Beethoven was German.

Cheers