tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71273950387214718572024-03-07T21:30:09.606-08:00Phroneo ThinkingHusband to Terri of 36 years, father to Blair 25 years old, daughter Macall 24 years old and a son Skyler 22 years old.Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-28109045634969845872014-02-02T22:26:00.001-08:002014-02-02T22:26:56.658-08:00Love; 1Cor:13<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_54 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_63 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_58 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_59 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_60" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Love:</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #333333;">As distilled first from 1cor13: </span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">Let love be your highest goal. </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Love is always concerned with what is true in any matter. Love never to settle for the the contrary, called falsehood.</span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_612" style="color: #333333;">Love doesn’t demand its own way but must always demand the just way. For <span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_615" style="font-weight: bold;">God is Just.</span></span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_608" style="color: #333333;">Love is never glad about <span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_611" style="font-weight: bold;">injustice</span> – it always works toward <span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_621" style="font-weight: bold;">justice</span>. How God defines <span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_618" style="font-weight: bold;">justice in His Law</span>.</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_61 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_78 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_77 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_78 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_79" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_623" style="color: #333333;">Love always is exceedingly glad when the truth wins out; love always pursues that evidential truth.</span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_607" style="color: #333333;">Love endures through every circumstance - it desires to finish the good as God defines good.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">If I love others in these particular ways, what I do has value.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_83 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_84 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_86" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_606" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt;">Love doesn’t give in to error or the bad or to foolishness. Love is not childish.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Love doesn’t participate in wishful thinking, mythological tale tales and immature childish behaviors.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333;"><b id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_429">Love as it must be expanded and given distinction from these statements:</b></span></i></div>
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<i id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_437"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_436" style="color: #333333;"><b id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_432"><br /></b></span></i></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_456"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_476" style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">Give honor to your neighbor as you would have honor bestowed to you - with the necessary condition - if true honor is deserved. </span></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_476" style="color: #333333;">Feelings of love have no direct link or place with these prior stated moral disciplines of love in this chapter.</span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_425" style="color: #333333;">The mind is the seat of love for it is the seat of morals – not the heart as defined by emotions and feelings. The heart flows forth from these requirements. It does not lead the way.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Love is about being morally self-aware – which are acts of the will to what is good and just. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">To have moral outrage should not be equated with being unkind or impatient or rude. Expressing concern is squarely in the realm of Love.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Are we loving if we violate the law as God commands it? </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">The question then is about what is true in each situation: and example is would you save your dog or a stranger if both were in need of rescue? This is about knowing willful love and having moral clarity about the differences and distinctions in God’s created order.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Love the other [neighbor] by defending those who are innocent; no equivocation.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Love the other by wanting for them justice in any situation.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Love one another [enemy] by stopping those who are doing evil.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Love the enemy by acting on what is truly good for the perpetrator; which will correspond by necessity to the good which must be done for the victim.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Loving the stranger is primarily worked out in God’s original order - by loving the opposite sex you are married to.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Loving is an act of our will; sentimentalism is about feelings and has no place in superior love of 'agapao'; for feelings are often blind to what is good.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">A value system that is good will be higher than our own feelings and passions.</span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_597" style="color: #333333;">Love <span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_600" style="font-weight: bold;">justice</span>. Do not show favoritism or partiality between different people; you will pervert justice. [lev.19:15] Justice shall you pursue. Social justice is very different than justice. Social <span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_603" style="font-weight: bold;">justice</span> is about favoring one over the other. Therefore, if you favor one group over another, it is unjust.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Loving is seeking what is good for your enemy; good from God’s perspective and demands.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Loving is permitting only that which is right to prevail.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Loving is an act of the will so must be judged and implemented properly as each situation dictates.</span></div>
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yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_133 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_133 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_136" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_589" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_591" style="color: #333333;">Loving is doing good to the enemy – but loving is not appeasing the enemy. Don’t do what they wish for or want ultimately, do only good, do only that which is true to the law of God – that which is right, the Lex Eternitatus. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">5<sup>th</sup> command says that there is a distinction for one’s parents; not to love parents but to honor them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_592" style="color: #333333;">Love must always be distilled and processed through what <span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_595" style="font-weight: bold;">Justice</span> is. If you love and it results in injustice, then, you are not loving but perpetrating injustice.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Loving isn’t letting someone walk all over you. Though there may be a rare circumstance to allow it sometimes for a short period. So loving depends on something else for it to be ‘true’ love. Love is never alone. It must be coupled with goodness and truth.</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_93 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_145 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_147 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_147 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_150" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;">Love never infers we should let people 'walk all over us.' To turn the other cheek is a particular 'fos' or expression that describes not becoming overly angry to soon and without taking in the true motivations of the perpetrator. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Love is not naive idealism, it is not social equality, it is not monetary equality…</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Loving cannot be worked out justly through pacifism. That is, being a pacifist is not loving someone. Pacifism cannot be good.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">You aren’t loving others if you have a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of humans. Meekness is not passivity. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">If you are doing unto others what they should be taking care of for themselves, you are in a relationship of co-dependency and not of love.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">If God is love; that is, if He is loving; If God has love as a part of what makes up His full character, then, the eternal Law of God, the Lex Eternatalis, must be a part of God’s love for mankind.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Loving God does not make for a hate free life. Loving is not the absence of hating. Because we have to do something with acts of evil. When you hate evil you will not hate anything else. Hate evil not the person is what God states and displays. For example: you must hate racial bigotry because it is about haters of a race. There is an increase in certain people who hate pollution, over population and over sized soda's but these aren’t about evil. Proper hate is for deliberate infliction of unjust suffering. If you are moved to goodness then you will love God by hating evil. If you don’t discriminate properly in this quality then you don’t love God. (1,2,3 John)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">It is said by some that because we love mankind, we uphold the true nature of love, and as such we should love the murderer and oppose capital punishment. But according to every book of the Pentateuch God dictates that capital punishment is just when merited. Therefore those who say they care and love the murderer by wanting him alive are upholding sanctimonious falsehoods about what God Almighty expects for us to have as values.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">The barometer of moral discernment is weakening in this time. As such people speak untruthfully about love in this time also.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Can you love truly if you have a fundamental misunderstanding of people?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_109 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_177 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_179 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_179" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_458" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_460" style="color: #333333;">To contend for the truth would mean to contend for love, for love is always about truth. Understanding this is a gift of God. Or it may be a fruit.</span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_462" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_109 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_177 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_186" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_458" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_465"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_628" style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">Therefore, it would be untrue about love: to let your neighbor enslave others as he may because you have the same regard as he. There are moral 'oughts' for your neighbor as there are for you. The nature of 'active love = agape love' is not blind. the imperative to love as unbound to the goodness of God. Which abhors the opposite of goodness. Because if God is good, then He is not including 'anti-goodness' as apart of His attributes. </span></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_109 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_177 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_183 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_183 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_187" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_458" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_471" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_109 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_177 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_189" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_458" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_185 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_185 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_190" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_474" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt;">It would be unloving to say that this 2nd law is unbounded. There is a </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">precision</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333;"><b>The Hebrew rendition of love and what an enemy is:</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Lev.19:18 says love your neighbor as yourself. But not that only, almost all chop the quote short. It should be quoted as saying, ‘love your neighbor as yourself, for I am God.’ The difference being ethical monotheism vs. secularized non-binding ethics; which are just opinions tailored to today’s thinking norms.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">The Hebrew should be translated to mean, “show love ‘to’ your neighbor.” A command of behavior; how you act. Not an emotion of perfect affection toward someone.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">When Jesus spoke of in terms of someone as an enemy, what was Jesus referring to? The story he went on to tell to give us a description what an enemy was that of a decent person who was of a different ethnic group; someone who’s culture was demeaned and had a tragic things happen to him. One group preying over another group is not to be lived out on an individual basis and given sanction. The enemy Jesus describes is a neighbor or stranger in your local area who is different in either race or ethnicity or religious temperament. Don’t prejudice your conduct because of these ethnic, cultural or blood line conditions. Love that 'enemy'. For Jesus makes the case that that person is not an enemy. This being said, an enemy, as just described, has nothing to do and is not in the same category with wickedness or evil doing. That kind of an enemy is never to be tolerated and accommodated but decently brought to the authorities who will stop his evil. We must distinguish what the 'enemy' is.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Some resources to verify this would be 1. Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, and the people of Israel would sing songs when they defeated their hostile and evil enemy; 2. Proverbs 12:10; 3. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Proverbs 13:24 makes the contrasting case that love isn’t about being nice but about right activities versus wrong activities. Love is about knowing justice and the discipline it takes to take charge of your children promptly.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Proverbs 11:9-12 speaks of evil being illuminated and dealt with as an outcome of being just and lovely. When we act this way we have our moral clock in alignment. If we do that which is unjust we do not love.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Be decent to your neighbor and you will fulfill what true love is.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">The Gospel of John states that Jesus was asked if you were either to do Love or Justice. But Jesus new this was an error and fallacy of the mind in limiting what the true answer may be. A fallacy the false dilemma or the excluded middle; it is not either or, but both together. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">There is a war against common and spiritual ‘sense’. There is the lack of being able to distinguish between love-compassion versus objective standards. The micro of private life and the macro of public life. This is detailed in ethical monotheism. This modern principle of love has been set up as a shibboleth to obfuscate what it was intended to be. But these confusions have always been apart of the human condition.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;">Proverbs:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333;"><b>What does perfected in Love mean? Is perfected love synonymous with Gods wisdom of Proverbs?</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_460" style="color: #333333;">It is written that God is Love; God is good; God is just. Also it says He is Holy. But unlike any of the other attributes of God in the Hebrew; it exclaims that God is Holy – Holy – Holy. It should be understood that saying something ‘three’ times is as an exclamation point to the 10<sup>th</sup> degree and a superlative of the highest order in the Hebrew language.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_485"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">Is loving, in the biblical sense, having to do with appeasing your neighbor or confronting your neighbor? Is it both or something else? Isn’t loving your neighbor shorthand for the discipline to do what is right by them? Not in a </span><span style="color: #333333;">reciprocal</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"> manner, untethered by moral standards but a 'right </span><span style="color: #333333;">relationship</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">'. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Is the concept of Love in both Testaments about behaving in certain ways as opposed to what your raw nature tells you to do? Isn’t this reflected well in Proverbs that your personal nature can be most detrimental to the nature of love?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_462" style="color: #333333;">Proverbs 1:3; Could this reception of instruction of being disciplined, good in conduct, of doing what is right – or just and acting unbiased and fair be the same in configuration as the outward behavior in life called love?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Proverbs 4:6; states to love wisdom, to let it protect you, let it guard you, never let up on getting it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_465" style="color: #333333;">Proverbs 8:1-17; the love of wisdom lives together with good judgment. All who love wisdom will understand what love is. Always search for more wisdom.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_467"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">Proverbs 12:6,10; says that loving or showing kindness to the wicked is cruel and foolish. Wisdom always must reflect God's truth. So to love correctly is in fact to have wisdom that is more precious than refined gold. From 5:9 and the warning and </span><span style="color: #333333;">chastising</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"> to approbation:</span></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_149 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_259 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_269 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_269 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_277" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_150 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_261 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_271 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_271 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_279" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_151 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_263 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_281" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_507" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Galatians</span><b class="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_274 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_274 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_283" style="color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_501" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;">:</span></b></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_151 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_263
yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_276 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_276 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_285" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_507" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<b id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_515"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_512" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_151 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_263 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_287" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_507" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_526"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_531"><span class="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_278 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_278 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_288" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt;">From 5:9, from warning and </span><span style="color: #333333;">chastising</span><span class="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_280 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_280 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_290" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt;"> to approbation:</span></span></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_151 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_263 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_281 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_281 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_291" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_507" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<b id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_538"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_537" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_533" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_151 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_263 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_284 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_284 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_294" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_507" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<b id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_545"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_544" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_540" style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;">Genuine love is a combination of: </span></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_151 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_263 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_297" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_507" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<ol id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_564">
<li><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_556" style="color: #333333;">conflict and confidence</span></li>
<li id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_563"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_561"><span style="color: #333333;">willing to argue and encourage; the mind is appealed to</span></span></li>
<li id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_563"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_567" style="color: #333333;">destitute of quarrels is destitue of depth and growth</span></li>
<li id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_563"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_572" style="color: #333333;">is not mere docility and peaceful coexistence</span></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_151 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_263 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_291 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_291" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_507" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal
yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_151 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_263 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_292 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_292 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_303" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_506" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_151 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_263 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_294 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_294 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_305" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_506" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<b id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_505"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_503" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14pt;">Good:</span></b></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal
yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_152 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_265 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_296 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_296 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_307" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_153 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_267 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_298 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_298 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_309" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;">It is good to make correct judgments.</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_154 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_269 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_300 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_300" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal
yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_155 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_271 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_313" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;">It is good to have standards.</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_156 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_273 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_304 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_304 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_315" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_157 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_306 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_306 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_317" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;">Accuracy is our first responsibility to being good.</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_158 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_277 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_308 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_319" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_159 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_279 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_310 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_310 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_321" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;">To do good is not to just 'to mean well' in the intent, but when one tries, it doesn’t turn out well. Therefore, meaning well is not good, in and of itself. </span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_160 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_281
yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_312 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_312 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_323" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_161
yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_283 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_314 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_314 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_325" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;">It is not good to lie; lying is at the root of evil and the opposite of goodness.</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_162 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_285 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_316 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_316 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_327" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_163 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_287 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_318 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_318 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_329" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;">It is a good in treating male and female nature differently but each person with equality.</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_164
yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_289 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_320 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_331" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_165 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_291 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_322 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_322 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_333" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;">Self-delusion is not good and it is not true to reality.</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_166 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_293 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_324 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_324 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_335" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_167 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_295 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_326 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_326 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_337" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;">Nature doesn’t tell you anything about being good. Because nature is not about good versus bad. About the tree of 'Knowledge...'</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_168 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_297 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_328 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_328 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_339" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_169 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_299 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_330 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_330 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_341" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;">To do good is to abandon infantile desires. Be childish no more.</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_170 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_301 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_332
yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_332 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_343" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_171 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_303 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_334 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_334 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_345" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;">Goodness is kindness is service is behavior.</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_172 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_305 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_336 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_336 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_347" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Feeling for other people is not in itself a value system. It is a fine human sentiment to feel for the poor, disabled, for animals and trees but, these are not in themselves about transcendent values. </span><span style="color: #333333;">We have a mind, given by the Creator, which sets us apart from the animals and all other life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_481" style="color: #333333;">To be good one has to know what ‘good and evil’ are and the keen distinctions between them. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">To be good one has to know where rights come from.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
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<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_484" style="color: #333333;">Their is no statute of limitations on getting to the truth. For goodness demands what the whole truth is.</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_179 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_320 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_353 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_353 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_364" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_482" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_576" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_179 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_320 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_366" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_482" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_579"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_583" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">Within the goodness of who God is, is the declaration to hate that which it is not! To hate that which is the </span><span style="color: #333333;">antithesis</span><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_587" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"> of good, that is evil - this is a part of goodness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333;">Goodness and forgiveness:</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Forgiving is not allowing…</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333;">Examples of Love in our culture and history:</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">1. ‘Restorative justice’ and Rwandan ministers who go into prisons and speak proper repentance</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">2. “Irena‘s Vow” the movie.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">3. ‘Love your dog more than the stranger’ example by Dennis Prager</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">4. Mary Graham said, “’No’ is a complete sentence.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">We have 2 things that that are eternal: the word of God and a soul. Also, my friend says there is Music which comes through.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Some 40 times this word is used in the scripture. An example is 1 Peter 3:1-10</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">For the <b>Gunay</b>: 1. Hupottaso: voluntary attitude of cooperation, conciliatory and assuming responsibility, but with all attributes of wisdom and justice so you come under no disadvantage.</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_198 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_358 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_394 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_394 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_406" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;">2. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">Phobeo: veneration, treating with deference. utmost respect.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">For the </span><b class="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_399 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_399 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_412" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt;">Aner</b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">: 1. Gnosis: an advanced and enlarged knowledge set regarding her, moral wisdom as seen in right (not personal opinion or cultural norms) living in association with dwelling, living with her.</span></div>
<div class="yiv436050080MsoNormal yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_201 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_365 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_400 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_400 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_413" style="background-color: white; color: #2d2d2d; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333;">2. Tee-nay: honor, having precious value or sum, is shown by one's behavior with marks of respectful submission, deference, yielding to the opinion of the other.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Greatly Loved</span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The vision in <cite class="yiv436050080bibleref" style="font-style: normal;" title="Daniel 8"><a class="yiv436050080lbsBibleRef" href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/esv/Daniel%208" rel="nofollow" style="color: blue; cursor: text !important;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Daniel 8</span></a></cite> is appalling. The great beastly enemy of God is allowed to kill a huge numbers of saints.</span></div>
<blockquote class="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_389 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_374 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_409 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_409 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_422" style="color: #5b5b5b; font-size: 12pt; margin: 1em;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">His power shall be great...and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. (<a class="yiv436050080lbsBibleRef" href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/esv/Daniel%208.24" rel="nofollow" style="color: blue; cursor: text !important;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Daniel 8:24</span></a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Daniel is made sick by the vision. But in spite of being sick and appalled, he does his work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. <i>Then I rose and went about the king’s business,</i> but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it. (<a class="yiv436050080lbsBibleRef" href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/esv/Daniel%208.27" rel="nofollow" style="color: blue; cursor: text !important;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Daniel 8:27</span></a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">That is the way it is for us. From one day to the next the news changes. Some hits home so close it makes you sick. Some is global and makes the heart tremble. But we press on in the work we are given to do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">How can we do this? One way is to know that we are “greatly loved.” Three times an angel tells Daniel he is “greatly loved.”</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">"You are greatly loved.” (9:23)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">“O Daniel, man greatly loved.” (10:11)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;">"O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” (10:19)</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Everyone who believes in Christ experiences the same:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">“But God...because of the <i>great love</i> with which he loved us...made us alive together with Christ.” (<a class="yiv436050080lbsBibleRef" href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/esv/Ephesians%202.4-5" rel="nofollow" style="color: blue; cursor: text !important;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Ephesians 2:4-5</span></a>)</span></div>
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<div class="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_217 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_386 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_434" style="font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px;">
<span class="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_392 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_387" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_437"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">One would think you would be thrilled and embrace this 'work of God' that is upon me. And find the brilliance of the rigorous 'background checks', the search for </span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">provenance</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">, the required nature of contending for God's truth. </span></span></div>
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<div class="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_219
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<span class="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_394 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_99_1379915144899_391 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_425 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_425 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_439" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px;">Who God is in Genesis 1, 2</span></div>
<ul class="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_107_1379915144899_426 yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_426 yui_3_7_2_82_1391193808066_440" id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_424" style="font-family: 'bookman old style', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 10pt;">
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: x-small;">Above nature and the universe</span></li>
<li><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_514" style="color: #333333; font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: x-small;">Created nature, time, space, force, matter, action</span></li>
<li><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_511" style="color: #333333; font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: x-small;">Oversaw the development and transformation of earth for the condition of life</span></li>
<li id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_487"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_452" style="color: #333333; font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: x-small;">The universe had a beginning</span></li>
<li id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_478"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_476" style="color: #333333; font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: x-small;">Has a firmament (raiia) called outerspace, or in scientific terms - the fabric of space.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: x-small;">oversaw the process and timeline for biological speciation. </span></li>
<li><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_508" style="color: #333333; font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: x-small;">The universe and the earth and everything therein is good.</span></li>
<li><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_441" style="color: #333333; font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: x-small;">Man and women were made in a particular time when all phases of earth were 'just right'. Were made in the Creator's likeness but were provided ground rules of what they could and couldn't do.</span></li>
<li id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_454"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_446" style="color: #333333; font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: x-small;">this relationship that God strikes with 'Adahm' (humankind), is to be taken seriously the demands placed before them. </span><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_457" style="color: #333333;">He has the right to place obligations on each human.</span></li>
<li id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_452"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_450" style="color: #333333; font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: x-small;">the weighty and seriousness of God, who is holy. It is seen in this theology of creation and the subsequent fall and alienation of humankind. God had a purpose for creation, 'Adahm' refused these conditions. </span></li>
<li><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_495" style="color: #333333; font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: x-small;">God is an eternal being and created derived and contingent beings.</span></li>
<li id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_507"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_505" style="color: #333333;">His intelligence works thru design rather than chaos and chance. </span></li>
<li id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_524"><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_30_1371789444093_458" style="color: #333333; font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: x-small;">It taught a distinction between a Deity who is personal - and a tree or the sun. The axiom being, there is nothing Divine about a tree.</span></li>
</ul>
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<div id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_531" style="margin: 0px;">
<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_533" style="color: #333333; font-family: bookman old style, new york, times, serif; font-size: x-small;"><div id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_540" style="color: #5c5c5c; margin: 0px;">
Hebrew scholar John Walton of Wheaton College takes this view in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Lost-World-Genesis-One/dp/0830837043/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y" rel="nofollow" style="color: #222222; cursor: text !important; outline: none;" target="_blank">The Lost World of Genesis One</a> (IVP 2009). Other works by proponents of Old Earth Creationism include <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Days-That-Divide-World/dp/0310492173/ref=pd_sim_b_8" rel="nofollow" style="color: #222222; cursor: text !important; outline: none;" target="_blank">Seven Days that Divide the World</a> by John Lennox (Zondervan 2011) and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/In-Beginning-We-Misunderstood-Interpreting/dp/0825439272/ref=pd_sim_b_22" rel="nofollow" style="color: #222222; cursor: text !important; outline: none;" target="_blank">In The Beginning We Misunderstood: Interpreting Genesis 1 in Its Original Context</a> by Johnny V. Miller and John M. Soden (Kregel 2012). B<span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_548">y the ministries </span><a href="http://www.evolutionnews.org/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #222222; cursor: text !important; outline: none;" target="_blank">The Discovery Institute</a> and <a href="http://www.reasons.org/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #222222; cursor: text !important; outline: none;" target="_blank">Reasons to Believe</a><span id="yiv436050080yui_3_7_2_36_1381366948735_545">. </span></div>
</span></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-84110899367097990952010-12-15T17:05:00.001-08:002010-12-15T17:08:45.404-08:00Mary Did You Know?<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; color: rgb(153, 51, 0); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mary, did you know?</span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; color: rgb(8, 8, 8); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">written by</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; color: rgb(8, 8, 8); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; color: rgb(8, 8, 8); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mark Lowry</span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; color: rgb(8, 8, 8); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, music by</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; color: rgb(8, 8, 8); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; color: rgb(8, 8, 8); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Buddy Greene;<span> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; color: rgb(8, 8, 8); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Isaiah</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; color: rgb(8, 8, 8); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; color: rgb(8, 8, 8); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">7:14</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; color: rgb(8, 8, 8); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#080808"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. . . . . Am</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mary, did you know</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span></span> G <span> </span>F<span> </span>E7</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">That you baby boy will one day walk on water?</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. . . . . .<span> </span>Am</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mary, did you know</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span></span> G<span> </span>F<span> </span>E7</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span></span> F</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left:.75in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Did you know</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left:.75in"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">G<span> </span><span></span>C <span> </span>G<span> </span>Am</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left:.75in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">That you baby boy has come to make you new?</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left:.75in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span></span> Dm7<span> </span>F</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left:.75in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This child that you’ve delivered</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left:.75in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span></span> Dm7<span> </span>E7</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left:.75in"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Will soon deliver you</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Am</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">2. Mary, did you know</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Constantia; color:#080808"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Constantia; color:#080808"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mary, did you know<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Constantia; color:#080808"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">That your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Constantia; color:#080808"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Constantia;color:#080808"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Did you know<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Constantia;color:#080808"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Constantia;color:#080808"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And when you kiss you little boy<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Constantia;color:#080808"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">You’ve kissed the face of God?<span> </span>[musical pause, Am<span> </span>G<span> </span>F<span> </span>E7 ] then <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Constantia; color:#080808"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Am<span> </span>E7<span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mary, did you know…?<span> </span>Mary, did you know…?<span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">F<span> </span>[ G<span> </span>C<span> </span>Am ],<span> </span>[ F<span> </span>G<span> </span>C<span> </span>Am ]<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The blind will see<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The deaf will hear<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And the dead will live again<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The lame will leap<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The dumb will speak<span> </span>Am<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The praises of the Lamb ____</span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Constantia; color:#080808"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">3. <span class="apple-style-span">Mary, did you know<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Constantia; color:#080808"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mary, did you know<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Did you know<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">That your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This sleeping child you’re holding<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">F<span> </span>E7<span> </span>Am<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.75in"><span style="font-family:Constantia"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Is the _____ Great _____ I _____ Am.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-67717320095352872322010-12-15T17:02:00.000-08:002010-12-15T17:03:28.603-08:00Let all mortal flesh keep silent<pre><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">Let all Mortal Flesh keep Silence</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#993300">: </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C">Ps. 96:9; Habakkuk 2:20 </span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; color:#1C1C1C">Let all Mortal Flesh keep Silence starts the</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#1C1C1C"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#1C1C1C">text of the Cherubic hymn, part of</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#1C1C1C"> the oldest l</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#1C1C1C">iturgy of the church of Jerusalem by it’s first leader-Bishop; James the Just - who in this is called the “brother of God.”. The approx.time first done could of possibly been close to the writing of Romans or just after 100AD. The hymn symbolically incorporates those present, at this public worship, into the presence of the angels gathered around God's throne. Harmonized to the French folk tune</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#1C1C1C"> Picardy </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#1C1C1C">(1906)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Harkins 06-10</span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#1C1C1C"><o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size:9.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C">1<sup>st</sup> verse: 8.7.8.7</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#1C1C1C">; single chords <o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#000066">Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gsus G7<o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C">Let all mortal flesh keep silence__and with fear and trembling stand__<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#000066">Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gsus</span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C"><br />ponder nothing earthly minded__for with blessing in his hand__<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#000066">Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Ab<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gsus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Fm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C">Christ our God to Earth__de-sce-nd--eth___ our full homage to de-mand__<o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C"><br /></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C">Verse 2: some more ind. notes<o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#000066">Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gm/Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gsus 7</span><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="color:#1C1C1C"><br /></span></span><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#1C1C1C"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>King of kings</span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C"> yet born of Mary__ As of old on Earth he stood__<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#000066">Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gsus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G7</span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C"><br /><span class="yshortcuts">Lord of Lords</span> in human vesture__ In the body and the blood__<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#000066">Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gsus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Fm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C">He will give to all the faith-------ful____His own sheep their heavenly food...<o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C"><br /></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C">Verse 3: modulate high notes to low<o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#000066">Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gm / Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Fm/Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gsus-G7</span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C"><br />Rank on rank the hosts of heaven__Spreads its vanguard on the way__<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#000066">Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Fm7/Ab<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gsus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C">As the light of light descendeth__from the realms of endless day.__<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#000066">Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gsus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm</span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C"><br />That the powers of sheol may va-------nish ___ as the darkness clears away__<o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C"><br /></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C">Verse 4: solo upper register Ab to Cm then going lower start playing below middle c and moving up the scale.<o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#000066">Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gsus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G7<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family: "Century Gothic";color:#1C1C1C">At his feet the six wing-ed seraph__Cherubim with sleepless eye__<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family: "Century Gothic";color:#000066">Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gsus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G7<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family: "Century Gothic";color:#1C1C1C">Veil their faces to his presence__as with ceaseless voice they cry__<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family: "Century Gothic";color:#000066">Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Fm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm/Ab<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb2</span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C"><br />Al-le-lu-ia<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>--<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Al---le----lu----------ia__<br /></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family: "Century Gothic";color:#000066">Fm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Ab<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm</span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C"><br />Al-le-lu-ia___ Lord most high</span><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#1C1C1C"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#1C1C1C"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#1C1C1C">Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm/Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm/Ab<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm/Gsus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Ab<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Ab<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Fm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Ab<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gsus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm<o:p></o:p></span></pre>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-7760398236787349372010-12-15T16:59:00.000-08:002010-12-15T17:01:34.879-08:00I Heard the Voice of Jesus<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#993300">I Heard the</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300"> V</span></span><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">oice of Jesus</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#993300"> S</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">ay</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black">: </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333">words by: Horatius</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"> </span></span><span class="yshortcuts"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333">Bonar</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333">, 1846, Kelso, Scotland; tune: Kingsfold<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#333333">Mathew 11:28, John 4:14, Romans 5:8<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#333333">My rendering or interpretation: the dichotomy of the music - to the words. Having humble melancholy - with our joy and relief.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#333333"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Harkins 9-10<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#333333"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333">Music: </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb6 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>2x<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C/Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bm6 2x</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"> [</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333">upper octave with single bass note</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"> 1<sup>st</sup> time]<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333">Then intro to words: </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">[keys to play on right hand]:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>[*] 1) D-G-A-C, or 2) D-G-A-D, or 3) D-G-A, D-E-A or combination</span><span style="font-size: 9.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#333333"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#993300">6</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family: "Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300"> [*]<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333">I heard the voice of Jesus say,___ "Come unto Me and rest<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#333333"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Lay down, thou weary one, lay down___ Thy head upon My breast."<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm Bb6[*]<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C/Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Em<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#993300">6</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family: "Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300"> [*]<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333">I came to Jesus as I was,___ weary and worn and sad<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">I found in Him a resting place,__ and He has made me glad<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><br /></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">6</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300"> [*]</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Behold, I freely give<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#333333"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">The</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="yshortcuts">living water</span><span class="apple-style-span">; thirsty one,___ stoop down, and drink, and live."<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb6[*]<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C/Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Em<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">6</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300"> [*]<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333">I came to Jesus, and I drank___ of that life giving stream<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,___ and now I live in Him<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333">C/Dm </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#333333">[right hand start on E note]</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C/Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><br /></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb6 [*]</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:#333333"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">I heard the voice of Jesus say,___ "I am this dark world's Light<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise,___ and all thy days be bright."<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300">F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb6[*]<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C/Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Em<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb6 [*]<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333">I looked to Jesus, and I found___ in Him my Star, my Sun<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#993300"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:7.0pt;font-family: "Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><br /><span class="apple-style-span">And in that light of life I'll walk,___ till traveling days are done<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333">End: Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bbmaj7 [*]<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>2x<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm [upper octave with single bass note the 2nd time]<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 7.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:#333333"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic""><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-19446276356450368632010-12-15T16:56:00.000-08:002010-12-15T16:57:09.874-08:00goodcheersongs<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#993300">YOU ARE MY HIDING PLACE:</span><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#993300"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">Psalm 31:19,20; 32:7; 119:114<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span><span style="font-size:8.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#333333">3-10, Harkins</span><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#993300"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#993300"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G/B<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G/B<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F/A<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">You are my hiding place,__ You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Esus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>E<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G/B<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G/B<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">When – ever I am afraid__ I will trust in You,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will trust in You,__ let the weak say,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">F/A<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Esus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>E<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">“I am strong in the strength of the Lord.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I will trust inYou. [repeat]<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:black"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:black"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#993300">ROCK OF MY SALVATION:</span><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#993300"> </span><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">Isaiah 26:4, 30:29, 44:8, 51:1 & Deu 32:4 & 2Sa 22:3; 32; 47 & Ps 18:2; 31:2-3, 46; 27:5; 28:1; 62:2, 7; 89:26; 95:1 & Hab 1:12<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#993300"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">Fm9<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb/C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">You are the Rock___of my___salvation,__You are the strength___of my life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">Fm9<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb/C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7/C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">You are my hope___and my inspir--ation,__Lord, unto You___ will I cry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I believe into <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7 <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">You,__be - lieve into<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You,___for Your faith-–ful love to me.___You have been my <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Fm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Fm/Ab<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G7sus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G7<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">Help___in time of need;___Lord, unto You will I cleave. ---<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">Fm9<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb/C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abmaj7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bb<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cm<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">You are the Rock___ of my____salvation,___You are the strength of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">[repeat]</span><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:black"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:-9.0pt;margin-bottom: 0in;margin-left:-.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:.25in"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:black"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:black"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:-41.4pt;margin-bottom: 0in;margin-left:-.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#993300">SPOKEN UNTO YOU</span><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic"; color:#993300">: </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">John 16:33; 14:27; 20:19 & Luke 24:36 & the Shalom of Isa 9:6; 32:17-18; 48:18; 55:12 & Ps 85:10 and the idea of completeness, soundness and welfare –also- the subjective sense of inner harmony and emotional equanimity of Philippians 4:7, 9; 1:2 & 2Thes 3:16. As contrasted with Colossians 3:11-15 or Micah 4:3, the same word but related to an objective cessation of conflict with God in the human soul through unity and dwelling in Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#993300"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#993300"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">D<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>D<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A7 <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have </span><i><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:navy">peace</span></i><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">D<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F#m<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>D/A<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F#m<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bm/A<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">World you shall have tribulation,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>but be of good cheer, --- take courage, for <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G/D<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>D<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have over – come the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">D<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>D<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bm7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>C<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">These things I’ve disclosed unto you, that in me_ you might have </span><i><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:navy">tranquility</span></i><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">.__<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">D<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F#m<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>D/A<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>F#m<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bm/A<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333">Earth you shall have distress & anguish,_ but be of good cheer,___ take courage, for <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>G/D<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>D <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic";color:#333333"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have conquered this fallen world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-72349598558854479302010-07-09T12:40:00.000-07:002010-07-09T12:56:44.673-07:00Humans come with psychological baggage<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi- font-family:Calibri;font-size:13.5pt;color:#333333;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: bold; font-size:11px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Defendingfaith23, 05-10-10; Defending faith24, 06-10-10</span></p> <h2><span style="color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Humans come with psychological baggage</span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">Last time we explored how the 19<sup>th</sup> century atheists tried to explain why mankind is incurably religious. They came up with multiple theories with which, through the inventive and imaginative frameworks, human beings propelled religious thinking. They conclude because mankind doesn’t have the courage to face the cold hard facts and reality of the meaningless of human life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There is a psychological impulse and need out of which one escapes the grim reality of existence. The religious predisposition comforts these types and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>draws them to a fake God who will rescue them from this futile existence.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: bold; font-size:medium;">It is not just a question of superior intellect</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">Sproul used to teach a course on atheism where he would require his students to read many of the most notable atheists and pick up the prominent epistemological principles they were focusing on. Where in an overall analysis, to a man, they came back to this view of human psychology and the needs humans desire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Sproul wrote a brief book about this topic called <i>“If there is a God why are there atheists</i>?” Speaking on how great thinkers have come to both ends of these poles as it relates to Gods existence and reality. Sartre, Hume and Mill, for instance, were incisive and terrific thinkers and prodigious in their task for atheism. Or on the other pole are Aquinas, Augustine, Anselm and others who were titian’s for theistic thinking. So, it is not just a question of superior intellect. Was there a lack of evidence for some, were there logical inconsistencies or epistemological errors? Of course there are at some point and that is our task.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">So right up front, when it comes to our attempt to get at the existence of God, there is psychological baggage. When you are a referee at a basketball game you and the other ref are the only two people in the vast crowd that have no stake in who wins the game. The two ref’s are unbiased where the crowd sees each play thru the lens of who they want to win. The crowds anticipate or think they see fowls and get irritated that the ref doesn’t blow the whistle. So we all know this going into this subject that we have favorites and will favor one side or the other. I say before the whole world that every bone in my body wants there to be a God. I can’t stand the thought that my life could be a ‘useless passion‘. I admit that I have that desire and know it is possible to construct views and psychological systems on the basis of their own desires, biases and prejudices. To have that cloud one’s thinking. In the final analysis the reality for the existence of God cannot be determined on what I want to be true. I agree with the critics of Kant, that just because life would be meaningless without God - that is not sufficient grounds to argue for the existence of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God or to play as an actor who make believes there is one. All that would be is the state of our subjectivity wishing and desiring for one. It doesn’t prove God one way or the other.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: bold; font-size:small;">An enormous vested interest</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">So, when dealing with the arguments for the existence of God, all persuasions are dealing with psychological baggage. For those who deny the existence of God there is an enormous vested interest on their part to carry the day for denial and nothingness. Because God stands as the greatest obstacle in the universe to my own autonomy. If I want to do my own thing without impunity, then, I know that the obstacle to this is a Self Existent Eternal Being who is righteous and just. I would do anything possible to deny guilt,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>my culpability,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and any accountability to anyone such as this.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: bold; font-size:small;">Let’s clear the air on the issue of objectivity or subjectivity</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi- font-family:Calibri;font-size:12.0pt;color:#333333;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">If there is a psychology for God - that doesn’t prove God. And if there is a psychology against God that doesn’t prove God - that doesn’t disprove God either. Arguments for the existence of God have to be determined by objective means<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and not on the basis of subjective preference. This has been the indication throughout this series. Sproul is bringing it up again to answer the charge that the only reason the people believe in God is out of mental wishful thinking, or wish fulfillment or projection. To make well clear that there is as much psychological pressure or desire for the atheist to deny the existence of God as there is for the theist to affirm the existence of God. So let us say, now, that we have cleared the air on this set of issues.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt;color:#333333;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><h2><span style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size:8pt;">Defending faith24, 06-10-10</span></h2> <h1><span style="color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">It is not a mind problem but a moral problem</span><o:p></o:p></span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">On frequent occasions the New Testament makes clear that it is fallen man, man in his sin laden place will not have God in his thinking. Our natural moral condition is to have a reprobate mind, a darkened mind, so prejudicial to the facts that we dare not open the window a crack and allow any rays of light in. We mustn’t let any revelation in because we know what is at stake. It is at this junction that Paul would speak candidly with the church at Rome. Where he says that God can be known through the universe. Where we have spoken about the collision course between Kant and Paul when it comes to this notion of, not can we know what God is like but do we want to know what he has made. So we find the fact here, even though it may well be inflammatory to speak this way, that our problem is not intellectual, or that there is insufficient information, or that God himself manifests things obscurely. No it is not a mind problem but a moral problem. It is not that God can’t be known it because you don’t want to know. This is the charge at least,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>from the Apostle Paul. So Paul describes in the 1<sup>st</sup> chapter a God of wrath. A word in Greek, ‘orgae’, which refers to an orgy or a violent eruption of passion, or what one would call manifestly furious. God is furious. Take note that is angry presence is not with the righteous or the innocent but with unrighteousness and ungodliness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This a literary form of two words meaning the same thing or a particular essence of God’s anger to boil over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Paul names the charge of this double anger, this activity of man which ‘suppress’ the truth in a repressive way. The word translated suppressed is ‘Katekei’ and can also be rendered, ‘held down’ or ‘hindered’ or ‘stifled’ along with ‘suppressed‘. This radical presentation Paul gives, that everyone knows that God exists is because God has shown him or her this by the things that are around us and made by Him. This demonstration is clear and manifest. But what we humans do, by our nature, is hold it down and stifle it. We so resist this by holding this information and knowledge and bury it.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">So let us talk in psychological categories and translate this phenomenon that Paul talks of in modern categories. What kind of knowledge according to the psychologist do we suppress? Happy thoughts? No, but of painful and traumatic images and experiences. When we have angst or are upset or in some state of fear you ask the doctor what this is. He gives tests and what not to find some place of unrest and repression. For doing this does not annihilate the memory or destroy it but buries it. But it wants to come back even though we hold it down. We apply pressure against this counter pressure.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:#333333;">Where does the authority of the Bible come from in our search for truth? Something that is irrefutable and absolute…</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:#333333;"> </span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi- font-family:Calibri;font-size:13.5pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">Establishing the authority of the Bible is one of our top priorities. It claims that it is self-authenticating. So is open to the charge of circular reasoning and raises all sorts of problems of its trustworthiness. In this day and time and the particularly high influence of philosophical naturalism puts the claims of Bible on a collision course. That is why it is so important to establish at the beginning the reality of the supernatural which we have done in this course. Since we can now allow for supernatural activity we can go on to establish what this eternal God has authenticated about Himself in writings.</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi- font-family:Calibri;font-size:13.5pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi- font-family:Calibri;font-size:13.5pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">What we will do is in this search for truth is to come to an authority that is absolute and irrefutable in scope. The question is whether the content in this book comes from a source which is omniscient, infallible, and incorruptible and right, incapable of lying, or erring or defect. This is what we are trying to find out and establish about this book. As an example if we were in a controversy and I was citing Aristotle and you were citing Plato or I was citing Einstein and you Bohrs and God himself appeared in the room and stated the answer we would be so foolish to challenge him. Because the final word is with Him - He is the only impeccable source. Does this book come from him? Can all of mankind find this source to be true even though their such conflict and contrary thinking? Are we to have our own thinking and the best psychological methods and are these on an equal level as the Bible? The answer will be huge in what kind of counsel and course of action we take in our life’s.</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi- font-family:Calibri;font-size:13.5pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">We are looking on who’s authority determines proper behavior. Today we are a nation that divides on many many issues.</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi- font-family:Calibri;font-size:13.5pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">Historic Christianity has always advanced the notion that we do have an authority that is grounded in the character of God. But in the last 150 years skepticism has grown to this absolute authority. But also within the church a barrage of criticism on the trustworthiness of the Bible has come from many quarters. The late archeologist Albright, who was to his field what Einstein was to his, said in his last interview that he was frustrated, disappointed and disgusted that Hegelian philosophical thinking and later existential categories on biblical scholarship that take radical mindset within the church of casting doubt on the tenants of the Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They take unscientific<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>theories about scripture. Denying the primary canons of historic investigation and empirical research. Such as the ‘Jesus Seminar’ which bases its premises on inventive and imaginative theories of what-ifs one after another to build a case.</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi- font-family:Calibri;font-size:13.5pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">Sproul has studied in schools of higher critical studies and has much to say about these methods of scholarship. We are in a timeframe where this authority is challenged both in and out of the church.</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi- font-family:Calibri;font-size:13.5pt;color:#333333;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi- font-family:Calibri;font-size:13.5pt;color:#333333;">Inspiration or Expiration</span></b></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi- font-family:Calibri;font-size:13.5pt;color:#333333;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">The laborious process of defending the idea that people speak for God and will convey what Paul said at the end of his life. In 2 Tim 3:10-17 among other things, to remember the ‘source’ of the instruction. Consider the ‘source’ because tough times will come. The source is the Holy Scripture. The scriptural source is a universal affirmation. ‘All’ the ‘graphe’ or the writings was the Old Testament. He was saying at least that these were inspired by God. But Sproul says that there is a slight mis-translation here. Inspiration should really be expressed as God-Breathed. The idea has been that ‘graphe’ is communication breathed out by God - the exhaling and breathing words out to his audience to write down. Not God breathing inspiration into the writer with some super intending power to keep them from distorting his words. Here it refers not to the mode of the human authors but of the ‘Source’ and that the original author is God. The source is the breathing out of God to the disciples which breathe it in. that is the point that Paul is communicating. Asking Timothy to remember that source of this instruction. It would be more correct to say that the Bible is based on the Expiration of God. Not through the private insight of the prophets and apostles but by the Holy Spirit. A divine enabling that Jeremiah is given and the one penning or saying it and is not his reasoned opinion. But says that is the Lord that says it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>2 Peter 3:14 says that Paul was writing a body of epistles and he puts it on a level as the Old Testament.</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi- font-family:Calibri;font-size:13.5pt;color:#333333;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:Calibri;font-size:15px;">So far we have described what the authors of the books of the Bible have said about their words, we have not defended the claim yet that they are true and that their words come from a divine origin. So, we now can go forth from these claims to what it is that we trying to do. To see if these claims have any truth to them for anyone can claim authority but what makes it real is to be worked on next time.</span></p>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-45926357003523277982010-05-27T17:00:00.000-07:002010-07-09T12:40:32.506-07:00Can Graham Cooke say these things are from God?<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Tell me if these portions, either underlined or not, are true the way they are expressed in this CD. Can all these declarations be seen in the parallels of scripture? Is this the truth and nothing but the truth, so help us God, so to speak? Are they true in the way he says them and, more importantly, in the context of who he says is telling him to say them?</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; "><i><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></i></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> There are some 22 or more with underlines, but he spoke for a long time and delivered many quotes that I would like answered but didn‘t write down. If you would, give me parallel references in his book with page numbers and paragraphs so you can help me find outwhy he would say them. I’m just a guy trying my best to see if he is consistent to himself and to his over-arching system of authority to say them publicly. Just like anyone should test to see if what one says is so about reality is really so - concretely. Because he does say reality about God is - this and that - in a lovely tone, no doubt, but are these statements constructed from concrete harmony with the biblical words of God? Are we bound to give an account for what we say about the Lord or are we given the liberty of a boundlessness imagination of word and discourse about who the God of Creation and the Bible is?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; "><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><i><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">He,Graham Cooke( GC) says he is speaking for God and these words GC says are what he is characterizing as the Lord’s words. For he speaks them in God’s stead and with His, seeming, imprimatur. He, GC, spoke both with explicitness as if he was acting out what God was saying. But also implicitly, for he acted as if there was no doubt about it, for he was speaking this way for 85 minutes in quite certain plenary terms that this is what the only Wise God was saying to this group. It was new, different than before, almost a new covenant to the humankind.</span></span></span></i></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; "><i><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(Opinions are to be listened to -- everyone is entitled to them. But no one is entitled to his or her own personal and subjective set of facts about reality. For facts are stubborn, objective and true in the open light of day. Facts must be given preeminence in all contexts.)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span></i></span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What GC said in the first 55 minutes of this 90 minute CD:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 1. “‘Presbo’s’ won’t get to do what they thought right about God in heaven. Oh, they are so over. Get away from them, relax, move about, lie down…get the real God.”</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">2. Permission to granted to dream and GC is saying God is giving these hearers who hear him a special opening, </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">outside of the normal</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, to make requests about their problems and special difficulties. Look to God. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Favor is now being actively promoted by the HS. But it will be equally contested by the enemy. Favor is permission to ask. In the certain knowledge that (the audience) will be said yes to . </span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Teaching you to make requests, in such a way, that you will hear the yes. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Your life, therefore, is getting to the place of yes.</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> I will take this favor I’m giving you to a high and deep place. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">3. (GC speaking for the HS) Also</span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, now, after a new favor deposit, a greater faith anointing will come to you</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. In this place of My indulgence, I will teach you how to stand. I want you to feel Me beloved. Feel My intentionality. Fresh, refresh, to hear My heart saying yes to you. I will give you a capacity to receive favor. </span></span></span></span></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Here, listening now, You will want what I want for you. You will see it. You will know it. And revel in it. You will discover my intention for you. I will intensify my intention for you. Oh, that you would know how I see you. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You will walk as Jesus walked in the full knowledge of the Father. <o:p></o:p></span></span></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><u><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What if the only way to know this good news and fantasy is to dream? This is the way to Me, to dream</span></span></span></u><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></span></span></span></span></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 4. (Still speaking for God) </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Logic</span></span></b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> cannot help you to inherit Me.</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You inherit thru your dreams</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. So I will do something away from what has come and I bring My favor and I will birth dreams in you. I have given the HS so you will know who you are. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">He is going to declare your identity. Dreaming is the way to this.</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Logic is </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">gone</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and you’re to feel the anointing</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> in a deep place of receiving out of what this </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">new thing</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> is. Only feeling is the way.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 5. Because when you </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">tell Me you have simple faith, then, that jolly well settles it. It then is not Me but your faith that will identify you to me</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You won’t figure it all out but trust me</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">6. (still speaking for God) I </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">will put you in My position of manifest presence so you will occupy the territory of My heart. </span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Now you </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">will know </span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">that you </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">will know </span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">that you </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">will know</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, yes you. But no logic allowed because it is gone and done away with. So you will know that you will know, without logic but from identity of feeling.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 7. Your poverty </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">is over</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Your fainting </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">is over</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Now you will see </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">provision beyond imagination.</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Now you will be in the land of the living. Now you will be under the sunshine of My smile. I’m grinning and laughing over you. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Trade your sorrows for joy and laughter.</span></span></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Rest, peace and trust and plenty and laughter are such that you can live as a much loved child. I will teach you.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Enjoy the journey.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><u><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Dreaming is the place of your permission</span></span></span></u><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">8. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The enemy will come and he is my sheep dog and he will drive you into a deeper place. For that is the enemy’s function.</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So now adversity will come to unseat you. Now the sheep dog will contend with your promise.</span></span></u></span></span></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">9. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You must not think</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You must only attach to me in the heart. </span></span></u><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">There is to be no head as it comes to honoring me.</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Not headstrong but heart-felt. Be lead from the heart and you will see the way. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You will only see it this way</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My provision will come from your heart</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> because the heart has the eyes. You don’t have to figure this out for God is saying this.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 10. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I will deny you nothing. There is only inclusion</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. You’re the one. You will be astonished. This is the only way you can be in My kingdom, that you are amazed.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 11. This favor I give, </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">now it is an upgrade </span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">which you can receive. But in your heart only. He will give you a new language and vocab. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I will train you to receive fullness</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. “</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 12. Measure no longer exits for you. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Limitation has been cast aside</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">All situations </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">are in agreement with my favor.”</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 13. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">All deliberation is risky; so </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">don’t think </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">about it. Just come without thinking.</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> And no hanging back or you will lose the chance because now is the time of your opportunity.”</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(76, 76, 76); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">14. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If your head rules your heart </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">you will be denied</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> God says so.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 15. It’s My turn now. Now I will bless your name.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 16. Come children up higher. Come up to your elevation. Everything that I have promised the Son will come to you.” </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 17. Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This is heaven on earth</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. This is what the kingdom is like. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You will have it now</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. I will give you these glimpses now. My indulgence is activated in your life. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Allow it </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">to shape your destiny.”</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">18. This is the same as Egypt and the parting of the sea. You Walk toward Me. I’m coming after you. I’m pursuing you. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Your present has been decided and determined</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. It is decided but you must allow it.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">19. Renew not just my mindset but now, it will be the heart. Don’t think. I’m coming and I am coming also. You will know my identity in the heart. Just say yes, - </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">but don‘t think</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Just say and know and come and pursue me. That is it all to do now. The old way is gone.</span></span></span></span></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This word will be a doorway</span></span></span></b><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Beyond anything that has been said before, This is new.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">20. You will </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">not be tired again or weary again or anxious again. </span></span></b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You will understand what heaven is like for you</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. You have access. Go.</span></span></span></span></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 21. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You will understand the heart of the Lord </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and as you soak you will </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">cease to see mysteries but, now, </span></span></u><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">the very heart of God</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It will be new revelation that will transform you.</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> A </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">new season </span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">of the prophetic. New and now revealed for you.”</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">22. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Live from your heart</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. The old is passed away and </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">all things are new - now for you</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. This very hour it is set. The heart is the highest.”</span></span></span></span></u></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Did only a third of the 90 minute CD. I’m done. I could of done more but didn’t want to go any farther. I point these out because they can’t possibly be correct in the sense of God saying them. This seems obvious. I think they are the hopes of a dear man who is going way beyond his bounds as a communicator for the triune God.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> I, Bruce, do this because of a sacred promise. Because I for one have not always taken to study with courage and with the seriousness of asking basic questions of why and how. That no man take me unaware, so I take truth claims very seriously; or at least I should. And these in particular are Graham Cooke’s truth claims. I considered them as wisely as I am able. To not be lead into hysteria, group think, influence thru peer pressure and predictable group dynamics. The beauty of his words is quite appealing. But wait, it maybe a mystic talking and I can‘t grasp this. These words that Graham says here he says are the very impressions of the God of all, and he makes clear, that he has just spoken for God.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Seems to me he is saying that God has changed his position on how he communicates. The past is over and this communiqué we are addressing above is new protocol for what is so about God. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">·</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Today you can hear in every corner of church people speaking about Jesus being presented as the silent gentleman who never goes where He’s not asked. They say it of the Holy Spirit also. Mankind is the butler in the room. I think it wise to consider if this position would provide that they know the difference between that Jesus and the Jesus who lovingly and powerfully invades the rebellious human heart with His light and grace (Acts 16:14)? Plus a hundred more descriptions in scripture if necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">·</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Jude admonishes us to “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3b). It is not our nature to endure sound doctrine; it is something for which we must fight for diligently.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">·</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Then if anyone says to you, ‘_Look, here </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">is </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">the Christ!_’ or ‘_There!_’ do not believe </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">it. </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(Matthew 24:23)</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><b><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A Counterpoint:</span></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><b><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The critical issue is not what the Scripture says. The critical issue is what the Scripture means:</span></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Then, where does scripture end and ‘new scripture language’ start to take over?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> For a moment, let’s be in the role of looking closely at people's doctrine and seeing what's being taught and raising questions in the public arena and asking whether things are sound or accurate or right and true and good, even among members of the Body of Christ, members that identify themselves with Christianity. Some people get very uncomfortable with that. They accuse us of dividing the Body and assaulting other Christians and say that we shouldn't correct each other in public. They think that maybe we're just straining at a gnat and splitting hairs and trying to dance on the head of a pin and making a mountain out of a mole hill. As a matter of fact, we're called, can you say amen, heresy hunters by some in a most disparaging fashion. I don't consider myself a heresy hunter at all. I consider myself a Christian who's concerned with the truth and my attempts are to try and clarify what the truth is and challenge those things that are mistaken.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> I am very aware that this treatment above is sprinkled liberally with Scripture verses and that's as it should be. However, the critical issue is not what the Scripture says. The critical issue is what the Scripture means. Of course, we get to the meaning by looking at what it says, </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">but it's not enough </span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">to simply quote a verse and assume that we know what that verse means. We must look more closely at it because words can be misunderstood and misused. I want to look a little closer at GC’s explanations to determine what he thinks these Scriptures actually mean. The question is not are these verses valid verses? Every verse that we quote is a true verse. The point is do these verses really substantiate the argument that others are putting forward about the power of the tongue and speaking for God.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> This is why I think we ought to be concerned about this because something very clear is being said here. GC is speaking as a mystical power or oracle for God, that even God must tap into His words as true. Now there are a couple of reasons why this last statement can't possibly be true. The first reason is that God is not contingent upon anything or anybody. God doesn't have to abide with regard to anything outside of Him. The only thing He has to be is with regard to Himself. In other words, God has to live righteously but it's not because He's compelled by some outside moral law to do so. It's because it's His nature to do so and He's not following or obeying His nature, He's merely being Himself. So God is not contingent on anything. God doesn't answer to anyone. God doesn't have to invoke any outside power in order to accomplish anything.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> The second thing is the reason I know that God didn't have to speak in order to create is because God doesn't have a mouth. He has no tongue that can form words. When we read about God speaking it's an anthropomorphism. It is using language that relates to a body to help us understand something. God </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">willed </span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">this is the point. It is not His speaking forth into the universe. Speaking requires a tongue and lips and vocal chords and it also requires vibrating air to make a sound. And according to this passage, all of those things were spoken into being, so how could He speak without the mechanism to speak? You think, "It says He spoke." Well, yes, of course. But it's not saying He spoke like we speak. God willed it. That's all there was to it. He willed it. His term for it was that He spoke, but of course we know that He couldn't have spoken because we know that He doesn't have a mouth.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> By the way, I have heard other people say that because of this statement in the Bible that God must have a mouth and a Body and He walked in the garden with Adam and Eve and it's just a very simplistic look at the text. I guess from that perspective we'd have to say that God is a bird or that He has feathers because Psalm 91 says that He covers us with His pinions (those are feathers). Does God have feathers? Of course not. This is way of describing something that is literally true, His protective nature, but it's an anthropomorphism or simile--pictures to help us understand a literal truth.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> So you may be saying that I'm simply fussing about words. And I have three things to respond to that. First of all, this is precisely Paul's point. We ought to fuss about words. Words are everything to Paul because Paul believes that words are everything to God.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Secondly, this is a legitimate concern about words because words are used to communicate accurate information about God and His world. </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">That is a definition of truth</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. And if our words are wrong then the information those words convey is going to be wrong as well. Words are very important to God because they're a means of communicating. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Third, this isn't a noncritical, arbitrary distinction. In my way of thinking, the word is dependent upon something prior to it. The word that is spoken, the word that God supposedly "speaks," the words that you and I speak are dependent upon something prior to it. They are dependent upon the speaker. God's words are dependent upon God, our words are dependent on us. It's the word of </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">His power</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> that does it. But according to the statements above and since scripture was closed, God seems to be the one who is now dependent upon ‘new prophets’ that will be speaking new instructions from Him. God depends on the word of humans, not the word on which God said were his. It's all the difference in the world. And it's a difference that we should point out on who is speaking for God. </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It's appropriate for us to do this because </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">words are not magic</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. Words are not magic potions. God is powerful and He uses His will to express Himself to accomplish whatever He wants to and we participate in that by an act of our will. Our words sometimes express that will but the words themselves are not magic. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> And by the way, what is wrong with being a hunter of that which is off kilter? Think about that. Would it be better if no one was willing ask the hard questions, if no one were poking around looking for theological distinctions? Is that the kind of church realm that you want to live in? Let all speak for God. Let's get rid of everybody who asks the hard questions or who raises the concern what God’s word really is. Let's get rid of everyone who points the finger. Sometimes pointing fingers land on guilty subjects. And there's only one way to find out. It's to point the finger and then look at the evidence.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Has God not commissioned us to protect His word? Has He not commissioned the church in general, and if He has then He's commissioned individual people to be more alert to that than some others. That's the illustration of the body in 1 Corinthians 12. That's why every part of the body has a particular job. We work together for the fullness of the Body. You've got everybody doing a different job. So it seems to me if God is concerned about truth then there are going to be some people placed in the body that are especially concerned about watching for the nastiness that creeps in. Didn't Paul himself say "Guard the flock"? Didn't he warn the Ephesian elders in chapter 20 of the book of Acts that this kind of thing was going to happen? Didn't he tell Titus to refute those in error? Didn't he tell Timothy that many are causing division and problems? Didn't Jesus Himself talk about this kind of thing? This is a very important part of the church.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Therefore words are everything to God for He uses them for accurate information, to us to have, and by his power they may be trusted as His will.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Summary:</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#4C4C4C;"><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Emotion does not settle issues of truth.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Tradition or new-traditions are not always right.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Do not give human authority figures uncritical allegiance.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Be careful of the way you use words. Words are tools. They must be used properly and carefully.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Do not force people into limited or false options. A</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> dog cannot be both black and white, but it may be neither.</span></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Do not use name-calling or put-downs as a debate tactic (argumentum ad hominem).</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Be careful of accusations based solely on the presumed origin of a given idea or practice (the genetic fallacy). The popularity or unpopularity of something does not make it either true or false.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The fact that something is either an old or a new idea does not automatically make it correct (chronological snobbery).</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Be careful in the use of “guilt by association.” Do not dismiss good ideas or practices by letting your imagination take them to inappropriate extremes.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Be prudent when using the “slippery slope” argument (not all slopes are slippery; i.e. “b” does not necessarily follow “a” in all cases.).</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Be alert to cause and effect errors (post hoc propter hoc).</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Make sure that conclusions follow from adequate evidence and support (non sequitur does not follow). Do not accept clichés or popular slogans uncritically.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Do not “stack the deck,” i.e. only point out observations that support your pet theory, ignoring all evidence to the contrary.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Be wary of generalizing by taking all opinions and splitting the difference. Remember that the truth is often not in the middle. (the law of the excluded middle).</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Do not take ideas or people out of context.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Understand that spiritual discernment means being ready to admit to weakness or limitation in that very gift; being willing to abandon “shortcuts” in return for the demanding spiritual disciplines that produce lasting fruit.</span></span></li></ul></span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#4C4C4C;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Taken and abridged from a G.Koukl article.</span></span></span></p>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-87596449540685514712010-05-24T18:12:00.000-07:002010-05-27T17:11:43.077-07:00Music of the Lamb and Lion of Judah; Revelations<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;margin-right: -0.25in; "><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b>The Lamb</b></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;margin-right: -0.25in; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; color: rgb(77, 77, 77); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Israel’s prophetic hope was that the end of time is really the beginning of time. Isiaiah spoke about it with the expectation of God’s final coming and reign in human history; they frequently described that time in imagery associated with paradise and the original creation. A new creation was going to replace the fallen old creation. Isaiah’s picture of the return of paradise is a striking example of this prophetic expectation.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:-.25in"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;margin-right: -0.25in; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#993300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Isaiah 11:5-10</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><b><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">5</span></span></span></sup></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.</span></span></span></span><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">6</span></span></span></sup><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, </span></span></span><b><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and a little child will lead them all</span></span></span></b><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. </span></span></span><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">7</span></span></span></sup><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. </span></span></span><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">8</span></span></span></sup><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, </span></span></span><b><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">a little child</span></span></span></b><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. </span></span></span><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">9</span></span></span></sup><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the L</span></span><span style="font-variant:small-caps"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ord</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. </span></span></span><b><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">10</span></span></span></sup></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0in; margin-right: -45pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color:white;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, the</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lamb of God</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, who takes away the sin of the world! </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#993300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">John 1:29</span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <h4 style="text-align: left;margin-right: -0.5in; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color:white;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#993300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Revelation 5:</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Scroll and the Lamb: </span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1</span></span></span></span></sup></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. </span></span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2</span></span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "</span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Who is worthy</span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> to break the seals and open the scroll?" </span></span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">3</span></span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. </span></span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">4</span></span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. </span></span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">5</span></span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See</span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, </span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the </span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed</span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals." </span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">6</span></span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Then I saw a Lamb</span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven-fold spirit</span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> of God sent out into all the earth. </span></span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">7</span></span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. </span></span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">8</span></span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And when he had taken it, the four living creatures </span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb</span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. </span></span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">9</span></span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And they sang a new song: </span></span></span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></h4> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0in; margin-right: -45pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 21pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color:white;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"You are worthy</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. </span></span><b><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">10</span></span></sup></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." </span></span><b><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">11</span></span></sup></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. </span></span><b><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">12</span></span></sup></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In a loud voice they sang: "</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Worthy is the Lamb</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" </span></span><b><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">13</span></span></sup></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:27.0pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:12.0pt;background:white"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0in; margin-right: -45pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color:white;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#993300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Revelation 14:4,</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><b><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">4</span></span></span></sup></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">They have kept themselves as pure as virgins,</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">[</span></span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/#fen-NLT-30892a" title="See footnote a"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">a</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">]</span></span></span></sup></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">following </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the Lamb</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">to </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">God and to the Lamb</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><b><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">5</span></span></span></sup></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">They have told no lies; they are without blame.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-right: -0.25in; "><span style="color:#993300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Revelation 19:4-9, 21:22, 23, 22:1;</span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> they cried out, “Amen! Praise the L</span></span><span style="font-variant:small-caps"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ord</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">!” </span></span></span><b><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">5</span></span></span></sup></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And from the throne came a voice that said, “Praise our God, all his servants, all who fear him, from the least to the greatest.” </span></span></span><b><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">6</span></span></span></sup></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: “Praise the L</span></span><span style="font-variant: small-caps"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ord</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">! </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For the Lord our God,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the Almighty, reigns</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. </span></span></span><b><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">7</span></span></span></sup></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the wedding feast of the Lamb</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, and his bride has prepared herself. </span></span></span><b><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">8</span></span></span></sup></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. </span></span></span><b><sup><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">9</span></span></span></sup></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the wedding feast of the Lamb</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.” 21: </span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lamb</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> are its temple. </span></span></span><b><i><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></i></b><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Lamb </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">is</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> its light</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. 22: And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lamb</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.</span></span></span><b><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-right: -0.25in; "><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><b>JUDAH</b></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-right:-.25in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0in; margin-right: -45pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#993300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Genesis 49:8-12:</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></b><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">8</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> "</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Judah</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. </span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">9</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> You are a lion's cub, O </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Judah</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> The scepter will not depart from </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Judah</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. </span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">11</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:-45.0pt;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left: 0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0in; margin-right: -0.5in; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color:white;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Judah</span></span></span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">became the spokesperson for the brothers and volunteered his own life for Benjamin (Genesis 44:33). Joseph would receive the birthright, but, from Judah would come the Ruler, the Savior (1 Chronicles 5:2</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Judges 1) indicates</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Judah</span></span></span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">to be a great fighting tribe. </span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0in; margin-right: -27pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color:white;"><span class="apple-style-span"><u><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The scepter, Shiloh, the donkey, the washing of garments and the lion all seem to be references to Christ.</span></span></span></u></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> It was the Lion of the tribe of</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Judah</span></span></span></b></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">who was worthy to open the scroll and proclaim judgment on the enemies of God’s people (Revelation 5.)</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Judah </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">wouldbe both an eternal spiritual offspring and a faithful temporal tribe.</span></span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0in; margin-right: -9pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color:white;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ephraim has encircled Me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit; </span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">but Judah still walks with God, even with the Holy One </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">who is</span></span></i></b></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></i></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">faithful.</span></span></span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#993300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hosea 11:12</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:-9.0pt;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left: 0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;margin-top: 0in; margin-right: -9pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color:white;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#993300;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Revelation 11:3-8; the two witnesses</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="rdextract" style="text-align: left;margin-top: 2pt; margin-right: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-left: 0.5in; "><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies”</span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(</span></span><a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/nkjv/Rev.%2011.3%E2%80%935" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rev. 11:3–5</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">).</span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="rdbodytext" style="text-align: left;margin-top: 2pt; margin-right: -0.75in; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Revelation is an apocalypse. Not just in the sense of recording an unveiling but also in terms of its composition in what might best be described as a language system or matrix deeply embedded in the Old Testament. As such, to rightly interpret Revelation in general and identify the two witnesses of Revelation 11 in particular, it is crucial to have the background music of the Old Testament coursing through our minds. We must neither attempt to draw exact parallels between the apocalyptic imagery and their Old Testament referents nor attempt to press the language system of Revelation into a literalistic labyrinth such that the two witnesses literally turn their mouths into blowtorches.</span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="rdbodytext" style="text-align: left;margin-top: 2pt; margin-right: -0.5in; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">First, the two witnesses are a metaphorical reference to Moses and Elijah. Old Testament jurisprudence mandated at least two witnesses to convict of a crime</span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> (</span></span><a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/nkjv/Deut.%2019.15" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Deut. 19:15</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">), </span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and in this case the two witnesses accuse Israel of apostasy. The imagery also harkens back to a familiar Old Testament passage in which Zechariah sees two olive trees on the right and the left of a lampstand, which symbolize “the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth” </span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(</span></span><a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/nkjv/Zech.%204.14" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Zech. 4:14</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">). </span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The two witnesses in Zechariah were identified as Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah who returned to Jerusalem to lay the foundation of a second temple, and Joshua, the high priest commissioned to preside over its altar. In Revelation this imagery is invested in two witnesses who preside over the judgment and destruction of Jerusalem and the second temple. Like Moses the witnesses have power to turn water into blood (Exod. 7). And like Elijah they have power to call down fire from heaven to consume their enemies and to shut up the sky so that it will not rain for three and a half years (1 Kings 17–18;</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/nkjv/Luke%204.25" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Luke 4:25</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">;</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/nkjv/James%205.17" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">James 5:17</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">;</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/nkjv/Rev.%2011.6" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rev. 11:6</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">).</span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="rdbodytext" style="text-align: left;margin-top: 2pt; margin-right: -0.5in; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Furthermore, the mission of the two witnesses can rightly be identified with the person and work of Jesus Christ. Like Jesus they are sacrificial lambs. Indeed, their corpses unceremoniously litter the streets of Jerusalem—the very city in which their Lord was crucified</span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> (</span></span><a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/nkjv/Rev.%2011.8" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rev. 11:8</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">). </span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The city is figuratively called Sodom in that it epitomizes human wickedness and heavenly wrath, and Egypt in that it is emblematic of the slavery from which only Jesus Christ can emancipate. Their resurrection after three-and-a-half days parallels the resurrection of Christ in much the same way that their three-and-a-half-year ministry mirrors that of Messiah.</span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="rdbodytext" style="text-align: left;margin-top: 2pt; margin-right: -0.5in; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Finally, the description of these witnesses as “clothed in sackcloth”</span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> (</span></span><a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/nkjv/Rev.%2011.3" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rev. 11:3</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">) </span></span></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">identifies them with the tradition of Hebrew prophets from Elijah to John the Baptist who wore sackcloth in mourning over Israel’s apostasy (e.g.,</span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/nkjv/2%20Kings%C2%A01.8" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2 Kings 1:8</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">;</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/nkjv/Isa.%2020.2" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Isa. 20:2</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">;</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://bible.logos.com/passage/nkjv/Matt.%203.4" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Matt. 3:4</span></span></a></span><span style="color:#4D4D4D;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">). In light of biblical imagery, then, the two witnesses are revealed not as two literal people, such as a future reincarnation of Moses and Elijah, </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">but rather they are literary characters in John’s apocalyptic narrative representing the entire line of Hebrew prophets in testifying against Israel and warning of soon-coming judgment of God on Jerusalem. </span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ultimately, the two witnesses form a composite image of the Law and the Prophets culminating in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of a Prophet and Priest who is the earnest of all who are His witnesses and who will reign with Him in a New Jerusalem wherein dwells righteousness.</span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-right: -0.25in; "><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-Times New Roman";font-family:";font-size:12.0pt;color:#4D4D4D;"><br /></span></p>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-13220945998733264082010-04-24T22:23:00.000-07:002010-04-24T22:52:52.379-07:00Qoheleth<div>Chapter 9, 11: </div><div><br /></div><div>terms and concepts to look up: allegory, metaphor, analogy, fable, parable, epic, symbolism, literalism, soliloquy. </div><div><br /></div><div>Also, at the beginning of the 2nd century what was the first Christian symbol? If it was used as an acronym what did it mean? (without giving the answer this is the best way I could phrase the Q:)</div><div><br /></div><div>Pick a couple of words and give a 42 second synopsis, next Tuesday, of the 2 or 3 you choose. </div><div><br /></div><div>Just answer these with a quick one sentence responses. </div><div>Since the President just spoke in Israel, with all the historical dilemmas facing this region, when was the last period of time in history that there existed a Palestinian state in that region? </div><div>When Jesus comes back, as he promised, did he say that he would arrive at a certain location? Was it Jerusalem? Are you going to be taken there? Or something else? (Oooh, the answers you might give..)</div><div>Does the Bible explain the idea of blind faith -- a type of faith that can't be reasonable or logical but transcendent and personal? </div><div>How often in the NT, when there is evangelism described, is a personal testimony (story of your life) given to make an appeal for Jesus used? Where are the passages? (I know, this is more than a one sentence answer but…) </div><div>In ten words or less can you explain the meaning of life? ( Hint: from one of the Ecclesiastes chapters.) Whether pleasure or achievement or contentment ...struggle, pain, endurance, wisdom etc.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In our brief look at this piece of "Wisdom Literature" here in the OT we have seen struggle and tension between colliding views of life. The Qoleheth is writing of these distinctive conflicting views from the stand point of "under the sun and under heaven." The wisdom of our contemporary culture could be stated as such: " the race is to the swift and the battle to the strong.” With all the epics of literature and man's struggle against fate written about. But this expression is a fundamental denial of something that is spoken of in scripture itself. </div><div><br /></div><div>Ec 9:9-12 --read this portion-- </div><div><br /></div><div>{In verse 18: sin is in the same mode as folly throughout the wisdom literature format. They are equivalent.} Am I correct in this? </div><div><br /></div><div>Appreciation and success in life or…. </div><div><br /></div><div>that is just the way life is: </div><div>As viewed with a good portion of wisdom and perceived-- under the sun. The race is not always to the best, swiftest, cunning, charismatic and such because sometimes the race is fixed. Against the will and desire and choice of the individual.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ec 11 and “investing in the future.” in the ‘bread and water’ poetic phrasing. Looking at life from the vantage of the “long haul.” Rather than trying to find meaning in our life from immediate pleasure and immediate consumption. This is WISDOM. Sowing your seed for the future. Whether labor or money or devotion, we invest these with the future in mind. But in chapters 9 and 11 we can’t and aren’t given this privilege of being able to view the future. Thus, a race isn’t based on cute lock solid ten-point principles to live by. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Here are three men who are my examples for these ideas: </b> come up with some yourself.</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Bach: How did is life and work turn out for his life? Not after word but in life. He published …10, SDG, …</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Mendelssohn: the same. Look him up. Or wait for Tuesday. </div><div><br /></div><div>3. Herman Melville: Here is a fuller answer. </div><div><br /></div><div>(1819 –1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. His first two books gained much attention, though they were not bestsellers, and his popularity declined precipitously after only a few years. By the time of his death he had been almost completely forgotten, but his longest novel, Moby-Dick — largely considered a failure during his lifetime, and most responsible for Melville's fall from favor with the reading public — was re-recognized in the 20th century as one of the chief literary masterpieces of both American and world literature. </div><div>Moby-Dick has become Melville's most famous work and is often considered one of the greatest literary works of all time. It was dedicated to Melville's friend Nathaniel Hawthorne. It did not, however, make Melville rich. The book never sold its initial printing of 3,000 copies in his lifetime, and total earnings from the American edition amounted to just $556.37 from his publisher, Harper & Brothers. Melville also wrote Billy Budd, White-Jacket, Typee, Omoo, Pierre, The Confidence-Man and many short stories and works of various genres.</div><div><br /></div><div>If it is considered by you'll as a good, it is my intention to read the 9th chapter of this epic allegory. In the book Father Mapple is a pastor and former whaler speaking to those attending his fictional seaport town church before the crew leaves port.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, read some. I am not a terrific crafter and delineator of all the tones and nuance of these written words but this is worth the try. It is that good. Why? It works because with the words to look up this week it will shed a dimension on the “story-allegory-parable” of Jonah that is not taken up in the 4 chapters in the book of Jonah. I’ll find out how much each of you knows or remembers about this classic. Should be a rich 8 to 10 minutes. There are some 126 chapters or something close to that in the book. </div><div><br /></div><div>Bruce</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In the Tanakh/Old Testament of the Bible, Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25 (as a prophet in the time of King Jeroboam II) and in the Book of Jonah. Jonah is also mentioned in the New Testament, in Matthew 12:38-41 and Luke 11:29-32. He was the son of Amittai (meaning 'My Faithfulness'), from the Galilean village of Gath-hepher near Nazareth.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>The book of Jonah</b> is read every year on Yom Kippur as the Haftorah at mincha.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Mosul</b>:</div><div><br /></div><div>is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some 396 km (250 miles) northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial areas on both banks, with five bridges linking the two sides. Despite having a large Kurdish population it does not form part of the area controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government.</div><div>The fabric Muslin, long manufactured here, is named for this city. Another historically important product of the area is Mosul marble.</div><div>In 1987, the city's population was 664,221 people; the 2004 population estimate was 2,339,800, and by 2008, population was estimated to be 2,600,000.[1] It is Iraq's second largest city after Baghdad, and substantially larger than Basra, the third largest city of Iraq.</div><div>The city is also a historic center for the Nestorian Christianity of the Assyrians, containing the tombs of several Old Testament prophets such as Jonah and Nahum.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Biblical Nineveh</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The Middle East through the eyes of the ancient Israelites </div><div>In the Bible, Nineveh is first mentioned in Genesis 10:11: "Ashur left that land, and built Nineveh." Some modern translations interpret "Ashur" in the Hebrew of this verse as the country "Assyria" rather than a person, thus making Nimrod the builder of Nineveh.</div><div>Though the Books of Kings and Books of Chronicles talk a great deal about the Assyrian empire, Nineveh itself is not again noticed till the days of Jonah, when it is described (Jonah 3:3ff; 4:11) as an "exceeding great city of three days' journey", i.e., probably in circuit. This would give a circumference of about 100 km (60 miles). It is also possible that it took three days to cover all its neighborhoods by walking, which would match the size of ancient Nineveh. At the four corners of an irregular quadrangle are the ruins of Kouyunjik, Nimrud, Karamles and Khorsabad. These four great masses of ruins, with the whole area included within the parallelogram they form by lines drawn from the one to the other, are generally regarded as composing the whole ruins of Nineveh. It was also mentioned in Jonah that Nineveh was an evil city that needed to be condemned. To fix this problem, God sent Jonah to preach to Nineveh, and they repented.</div><div>Nineveh was the flourishing capital of the Assyrian empire (2 Kings 19:36; Isa. 37:37). The book of the prophet Nahum is almost exclusively taken up with prophetic denunciations against this city. Its ruin and utter desolation are foretold (Nahum 1:14; 3:19, etc.). Its end was strange, sudden, tragic. (Nahum 2:6–11) According to the Bible, it was God's doing, his judgement on Assyria's pride (Jonah Nah). In fulfilment of prophecy, God made "an utter end of the place". It became a "desolation". Zephaniah also (2:13–15) predicts its destruction along with the fall of the empire of which it was the capital.</div><div>Nineveh's exemplary pride and fall are recalled in the Gospel of Matthew (12:41) and the Gospel of Luke (11:32).</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Nineveh in classic history</b>:</div><div>Before the excavations in the 1800s, historical knowledge of the great Assyrian empire and of its magnificent capital was almost wholly a blank. Vague memories had indeed survived of its power and greatness, but very little was definitely known. Other cities that had perished, such as Palmyra, Persepolis, and Thebes, had left ruins to mark their sites and tell of their former greatness; but of this city, imperial Nineveh, not a single vestige seemed to remain, and the very place on which it had stood became only matter of conjecture.</div><div>In the days of the Greek historian Herodotus, 400 BC, Nineveh had become a thing of the past; and when Xenophon the historian passed the place in the Retreat of the Ten Thousand the very memory of its name had been lost. It was buried out of sight.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Week 4</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Kairos</b> (καιρός) is an ancient Greek word meaning the "right or opportune moment". The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. While the former refers to chronological or sequential time, the latter signifies "a time in between",<b> a moment of undetermined period of time in which "something" special happens.</b> What the special something is depends on who is using the word. While chronos is quantitative, kairos has a qualitative nature. </div><div><br /></div><div>In rhetoric </div><div><br /></div><div>Kairos was central to the Sophists, who stressed the rhetor's ability to adapt to and take advantage of changing, contingent circumstances. In Panathenaicus, Isocrates writes that educated people are those “who manage well the circumstances which they encounter day by day, and who possess a judgment which is accurate in meeting occasions as they arise and rarely misses the expedient course of action”. Kairos is also very important in Aristotle's scheme of rhetoric. Kairos is, for Aristotle, the time and space context in which the proof will be delivered. Kairos stands alongside other contextual elements of rhetoric: The Audience which is the psychological and emotional makeup of those who will receive the proof; and, To Prepon which is the style with which the orator clothes their proof. </div><div><br /></div><div>In theology </div><div><br /></div><div>The term "kairos" is used in theology to describe the qualitative form of time. In rhetoric kairos is "a passing instant when an opening appears which must be driven through with force if success is to be achieved. In the New Testament kairos means "the appointed time in the purpose of God", the time when God acts </div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>(e.g. Mark 1.15, the kairos is fulfilled). Metanoeo; met-an-o-eh'-o; to change one's mind and amend with abhorrence one's past sins. and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." kai legwn (5723) oti Peplhrwtai (5769) o kairov (the decisive epoch waited for or opportune or seasonable time, the right time) kai hggiken (approaching, coming near5758) h basileia tou qeou; metanoeite (5720) kai pisteuete (5720) en tw euaggeliw.</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>It differs from the more usual word for time which is chronos (kronos). chronobiology, chronometer </div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>Mathew 2:7: Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared (exposed to view and resplendent). Tote Hrwdhv laqra kalesav (5660) touv magouv hkribwsen (5656) par' autwn ton xronon tou fainomenou (5730) asterov (astare'), </li><li>zeitgeist: the spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation, The general moral, intellectual, and cultural climate of an era, Zeitgeist is German for “time-spirit.” For example, the Zeitgeist of England in the Victorian period included a belief in industrial progress, and the Zeitgeist of the 1980s in the United States was a belief in the power of money and the many ways in which to spend it. </li><li>Yeom or yowm: Day as opposed to night, day as in circadian or 24 hours, a division of time, a 'day's' journey, time in general, a calender year, temporal references of either today or yesterday or tomorrow. A continuation to fullness, ever, whole, age, afternoon, day of days.</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>Asides: The NT never quotes Ecclesiastes. </div><div>Sophists. Sophia and the Italian beauty. Sophoi in their occupation.</div><div>Propaganda and proposition.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Post hoc means "after the fact".</b> </div><div><br /></div><div>post hoc fallacy</div><div><br /></div><div>The post hoc ergo propter hoc (after this therefore because of this) fallacy is based upon the mistaken notion that simply because one thing happens after another, the first event was a cause of the second event. Post hoc reasoning is the basis for many superstitions and erroneous beliefs.</div><div>Many events follow sequential patterns without being causally related. For example, you have a cold, so you drink fluids and two weeks later your cold goes away. You have a headache so you stand on your head and six hours later your headache goes away. You put acne medication on a pimple and three weeks later the pimple goes away. You perform some task exceptionally well after forgetting to bathe, so the next time you have to perform the same task you don't bathe. A solar eclipse occurs so you beat your drums to make the gods spit back the sun. The sun returns, proving to you the efficacy of your action.</div><div>You use your dowsing stick and then you find water. You imagine heads coming up on a coin toss and heads comes up. You rub your lucky charm and what you wish for comes true. You lose your lucky charm and you strike out six times. You have a "vision" that a body is going to be found near water or in a field and later a body is found near water or in a field. You have a dream that an airplane crashes and an airplane crashes the next day or crashed the night before.</div><div>However, <i>sequences don't establish a probability of causality any more than correlations do.</i> Coincidences happen. Occurring after an event is not sufficient to establish that the prior event caused the later one. To establish the probability of a causal connection between two events, controls must be established to rule out other factors such as chance or some unknown causal factor. Anecdotes aren't sufficient because they rely on intuition and subjective interpretation. A controlled study is necessary to reduce the chance of error from self-deception.</div><div><br /></div><div>The form of the post hoc fallacy can be expressed as follows: * A occurred, then B occurred. * Therefore, A caused B. When B is undesirable, this pattern is often extended in reverse: Avoiding A will prevent B. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>More and more young people are attending high schools and colleges today than ever before. Yet there is more juvenile delinquency and more alienation among the young. This makes it clear that these young people are being corrupted by their education. </li><li>"I can't help but think that you are the cause of this problem; we never had any problem with the furnace until you moved into the apartment." The manager of the apartment house, on no stated grounds other than the temporal priority of the new tenant's occupancy, has assumed that the tenant's presence has some causal relationship to the furnace's becoming faulty.</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>It is often shortened to simply post hoc and is also sometimes referred to as false cause, coincidental correlation or correlation not causation. It is subtly different from the fallacy cum hoc ergo propter hoc, in which the chronological ordering of a correlation is insignificant. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Post hoc is a particularly tempting error because temporal sequence appears to be integral to causality</b>. The fallacy lies in coming to a conclusion based solely on the order of events, rather than taking into account other factors that might rule out the connection. <i>Most familiarly, many superstitious beliefs and magical thinking arise from this fallacy. </i></div><div><br /></div><div>Belief in homeopathy and other alternative medicine remedies is based on this fallacy as well. Many symptoms disappear after a while; but if a remedy was applied, <i>it is often thought the remedy "worked" when in fact not using the remedy would have had the same effect. </i></div><div>. </div><div><b>The regression fallacy.</b> Exposure:</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the most common occasions for the Regression Fallacy is illness. People are most likely to seek treatment for an illness—especially experimental treatment—when they are at their sickest, that is, their condition is an extreme one. They take a remedy, and then get better due to regression to the mean, but they attribute their regained health to the effect of the remedy. This is one reason why some people will swear by such bizarre treatments as drinking urine, or psychic surgery. </div><div>"It worked for me", they say, when all they really know is that they took the remedy and they got better. Due to regression to the mean, many people will get better no matter what treatment they take, even none at all. Some will die, luckily for the snake oil salesmen, since the dead won't be around to badmouth the snake oil that they took before dying. </div><div>Regression to the mean is one reason why it is difficult to determine whether a potential remedy is really effective; one cannot tell simply by taking it when ill.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Texas sharpshooter fallacy</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The Texas sharpshooter is a fabled marksman who fires his gun randomly at the side of a barn, then paints a bullseye around the spot where the most bullet holes cluster. The story of this Texas shooter seems to have given its name to a fallacy first described in the field of epidemiology, which studies the way in which cases of disease cluster in a population. </div><div><br /></div><div>Example:</div><div>The number of cases of disease D in city C is greater than would be expected by chance. City C has a factory which has released amounts of chemical agent A into the environment. Therefore, agent A causes disease D. </div><div><br /></div><div>Exposition:</div><div>This fallacy occurs when someone jumps to the conclusion that a cluster in some data must be the result of a cause, usually one that it is clustered around. There are two reasons why this is fallacious: </div><div>The cluster may well be the result of chance, in which case it was not caused by anything. </div><div>Even if the cluster is not the result of chance, there are other possible reasons for the clustering, other than the cause chosen. For instance, in the Example, if disease D is contagious, it may be clustering around some person who carried it into the city.</div><div>At best, the occurrence of a cluster in the data is the basis not for a causal conclusion, but for the formation of a causal hypothesis which needs to be tested. Patterns in data can be useful for forming hypotheses, but they are not themselves sufficient evidence of a causal connection. In short, correlation is not causation. </div><div>Exposure:</div><div>This fallacy lives up to its striking name because the Texas sharpshooter takes a random cluster, and by drawing a target onto it makes it appear to be causally determined, as if the Texan were shooting at the target. Similarly, when looking at data, there is a danger of jumping to a conclusion that a random cluster is a causal pattern. Without further testing, such a conclusion is seldom if ever justified. </div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-962822214591636902010-04-21T21:07:00.000-07:002010-04-22T11:12:14.000-07:00Chapter 7; The Tao of Narnia<div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ecclesiastes and chapter 7: on pain and pleasure, comfort and consideration, wisdom and suffering.</div><div><br /></div><div>Purely on a human level, there are many who seem to find success and prosperity while others who seek rightness before God find suffering and hardship. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Is this picture accurate or does this book say there is something we are missing in this assessment?</i></div><div><i>Is there anything to gain from suffering in the book of Ecclesiastes? Would you tell me which verses serve your answer? </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i> Is there a verse where we are to find that we are seek as much comfort and to satisfy ourselves with pleasure where we can find it?</i></div><div><i>Why is it facile (easy) to say God is sovereign but so difficult to live it out? Does this book downplay or avoid this part of His character?</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><b>The most difficult doctrines to get in the blood stream</b></span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>On our survey of Ecclesiastes there are two conflicting perspectives in this book;<b> the site-line of heaven and the other, the world under the Sun</b>. One eternal, under heaven, and one broken and under the sun. There is life with a view to God and there is the other, godlessness which ends in, as we have come to understand from our discussion, a useless and withering of the grass without this thing called <b>“wisdom.“</b></div><div>Dostoyevsky was quoted as saying, “If God is not real, if there is no God, then all things are permissible.” Immanuel Kant said, “we must live as if there is a God. Because if we conclude there is no God then our ethical principles and decisions will ultimately be meaningless.”</div><div><br /></div><div> God ordains things in his own purpose and time and we do things according to those times. There is a motif throughout this book and throughout the Old Testament that states this same thing. <i>That reaffirms, again and again, this central motif that God is sovereign.</i> It is my experience that when asked about it, almost no one thinks that God isn’t sovereign. For they conclude that if God is God he must be sovereign. It is impossible for him not to be sovereign and be less than his whole. As a doctrine this is a facile thing to know and say. Because we all affirm this on the surface. But it is one of the most difficult doctrines to get in the blood stream. To get it into the fiber of daily living. For when bad things start to happen and things befall us or others we care about, we start to question whether the sovereignty of God or the goodness of God is warranted. And we will ask -- WHY -- would a good and sovereign God allow these things to happen. Many of the theologies that flourish in our land are designed to side-step this problem. To absolve God of any responsibility for the tragedies of human life. To ultimately turn the sovereignty over to the human soul and heart. Which is, they will say, what, an error or goof of logic on God‘s part, or a part of his being away on vacation. Is this a pagan worldview?</div><div><br /></div><div>Let’s start with Ecc 7 where it starts out, like Proverbs, with aphorisms that are short and succinct. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>{We will read the chapter then discuss these together. But I’ll write a little about them here and you can write your thoughts down also.}</div><div><br /></div><div>In verse 1:</div><div>Where there is the contrast between a good name and precious ointment. (Today ointments are inexpensive but in that day the general cost was quite high while also being rare and hard to get.) Next, the contrast is between death and birth. But here it could be taken in the pessimistic view or the transcendent view. The nihilist must curse the day of his birth. For he sees life as “Ex Nihilo.” But like the nihilist, Job when he was on the verge of his torment, said cursed be my birth. Also Moses and Jeremiah had that pessimism about circumstances at times in their writing. And yes, from the perspective of this world we can get very tired of living. We have both views available to us.</div><div><br /></div><div>The song from Kern and Hammerstein and the 1927 musical “Show Boat” called “Ol’ Man River“ where it says---tote that barge, lift that bail, get a little drunk and you land in jail….it just keeps rollin’ along. Well that is a modern theme of this circumstance in Ecc. The endless flow of the Mississippi river from the view of a dock worker on a showboat.</div><div>…I’m tired of livin’ but scared of dying. </div><div><br /></div><div>Is the Child who seeks God the same way? A little scared of dying? Well, for the HSH (heaven sighted human) your birth was good and your death is even better. We go home. We walk across the threshold. The day we enter in to our Father’s house. That is the day of ultimate triumph. Yet, honestly, it is a day we fear and a day we dread. We say in our heart, let’s postpone this as long as possible. Let us have a full length of days. And I am right there. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now verse 2:</div><div>..of mourning and feasting…sorrow is better than laughter…fools in mirth but the wise in mourning. Wow, this strikes against our sensibilities doesn’t it. (Why do I want to know about this reversal of what is to be desired. Wisdom should be easier.)</div><div><br /></div><div>The way of mourning is the way that God has chosen to move to effect our redemption and our sanctification. Jesus accepted and was given over to the course of his life being destined to the Via Della Rosa. The man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Do we not, really understand joy and the basis for our joy but in the house of mourning and not in the house of mirth. It is in weeping that we learn to contemplate the glory of God. In mourning we understand the peace of God which passes understanding.</div><div><br /></div><div> Verse 3:</div><div>It is not that laughter is bad and the other good. No. This is the comparison of the good to the better. It is better to experience sorrow than laughter. Laughter is to be done often and loved in its place. But it is better for our growth to ….</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b> Why?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, it is stated plainly right here and seems quite simple;</div><div><br /></div><div>…<i>For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.</i></div><div><br /></div><div><i>The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.</i> hmmmm...</div><div><br /></div><div>Verse 8:</div><div>The end is better than the beginning …patience is better than the proud</div><div><br /></div><div>Verse 10:</div><div><br /></div><div>Verse 13:</div><div> Think about the work of God. Don’t just observe it. <i>Evaluate it, think about it. To seek it’s meaning and arrive at some sort of understanding.</i> That is our task. To observe the capacity and doings of God. <b>So we will come to a fuller appreciation of the character of God. </b></div><div><br /></div><div>We have to learn, beloved, how to think theologically. Which we are through the Qoheleth's words.</div><div><br /></div><div>Who can make straight what is crooked…</div><div><br /></div><div>Verse 14:</div><div>Prosperity and adversity…consider the both of them. God has appointed the one as well as the other.</div><div> So, here is the Sovereignty issue coming across again. We are called to, in wisdom, consider the work of God. Not just Creation but the work of God in history. This is a call to reflect on the Providence of God.</div><div><br /></div><div>Who is the author of all things mirthful and joyful?</div><div><br /></div><div>I have tended to always take the stance that when things are good and joyful then my confidence in God is heightened. When good things happen to me. I will then spew forth thanksgiving and praise. Thank you God for this wonderful thing.</div><div>We see the hand of God when we pray earnestly and God says, yes.</div><div>But isn’t it amazing that when we want something and we pray and desire it and the answer is no, we are surrounded by doubt and the notion of---where is He? Here in this verse, if you’re wise, you will consider both. God is as sovereign in the no as He is in the yes. God is displaying His providence as much in tragedy as He is in prosperity. His sovereign rule is manifested either way.</div><div><br /></div><div>Earlier men and women knew a secret that seems less understood today. That these men and women knew pain and tragedy much more closely than we do today. They had a high view of God because they had so much pain. They were forced to see the hand of God in the midst of their difficulties. This is why history has almost always made me run from the fact that God owns history. It is so…</div><div><br /></div><div>And right about now I am getting a little perturbed at all these lessons on this subject. And here it is again in Ecc 7. It comes up again and again and again and again. God’s hand is in affliction. As well as the other. God is made manifest in the dark side of life also. It is said so frequently in scripture that I wonder why it is so hard to get it into my blood stream. To get a hold of it.</div><div><br /></div><div>(Why do I often try to shut myself off from considering this? To avoid this repeated lesson about my life and it’s various situations. Why do I look for an escape when possible. An avenue of pleasure that will dull the fears and the aches that I carry daily while wondering if my life is somehow futile and unprofitable. A blur in the space of time.)</div><div><br /></div><div>But the wise looks for the finger of God. Whether in the house of mourning or the house of mirth. In all things that take place…there is this condition of the perspective of above and below. (This is why you and I are exploring this book. Maybe there is a calling and gifting for you and I to share this with others who want WISDOM like this also.)</div><div><br /></div><div>And finally: Verse 1 of Chapter 8</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Who is like a wise man…interpretation…face shine…</b></div><div><br /></div><div>We are saying and seeing here that we are not being taught here to be doer and stern faced with a sorrowful disposition. Solomon sets us up to encounter the triumph of God’s greatness, the majesty of His purpose and the joy in the heart of those that know this is our Father’s world. When we understand that He is in charge. When we UNDERSTAND the wisdom of God---it changes the countenance of our heart and faith. For example, I’ve seen women I know, radiant in there painful situation. She has something about her. It is not that she is out of touch with her surroundings and dippy concerning her reality but that she transcends it. Those are people that have wisdom. They have an understanding of the things of God. It changes the look on your face. </div><div><br /></div><div>How is my face and demeanor? How wise am I today because I just went over this? </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Parts taken from a book by R.C. Sproul</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">C.S. Lewis</span></div><div><br /></div><div>There are many good books on this deep deep enterprise we are on. Here in scripture we are looking at a source from God’s own Spirit, in writing, sitting there for us to pry open the door and dust off the confusing aspects therein. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li><b>Ecclesiastes 11:5-6</b>: You cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things(v5). Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things. 6 Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Questions:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>in 5---Maker/makes translated from: 'asah; to do, to work, to deal, to produce</div><div> Work/activity: ma'asah See the similarity?</div><div><br /></div><div>‘asah is also a verb in the creation account. Though there are 6 or 7 I think to express different processes of God’s accounting of himself.</div><div><br /></div><div>In 6---Does this imply that we should work all thru our waking hours? Or then, what is he trying to render as true and appropriate in our daily cycles? Here is sowing again. Test me on what sowing here is trying to express.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In 5 there are some things in life that, try as we might, we will never fully understand. This is Solomon's point in the verses before us today. We don't know which course the wind will take, or how bones are formed in a tiny fetus, but it happens anyway. And why? Because God is at work in everything, and the best thing we can do is trust Him. Modern-day science has cleared up many of the things that were mysteries to the people who lived thousands of years ago, but we are still faced with a good many unexplained phenomena. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Don’t Disturb </b></div><div><br /></div><div>In 6 however, whether mysteries can be explained or not - we must carry on living. "Sow in the morning and don't be idle in the evening" is Solomon's next word. He is not saying, of course, that we ought to work all through the day, or that it is wrong to have a time of leisure and relaxation; rather, he is pointing out the benefits of having other interests besides work. There is something wrong in the lives of those who, having finished their day's work, hang a sign on the door of their lives that says: "Do Not Disturb." If, after your day's work, you are too tired to focus on something else then perhaps you ought to re-evaluate that part of your lifestyle. (It's easy for me to tell you that because I've done it. Or it may be that I just thought about doing it. Don’t disturb me, I’ll think about it later.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Some other aphorisms</div><div><br /></div><div><div><ol><li>the essence of good taste is never to be offended by bad taste</li><li>politics is theology applied</li><li>Linus: I love mankind it's people I can't stand. But widom says that mankind or humanity stinks but humans can do good.</li><li>I want to rid evil from the world -- but -- I don't want to get my hands dirty. Here it says work towards something.</li><li>What to say when in doubt: the tough truth rather than the hapless lie?</li><li>Peter appealed to 3 matters on the historical record; 1) miracles of Jesus 2) the resurrection 3) fulfillment of OT prophecy.</li></ol></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><b>The Chronicles of Narnia and Lewis’ Philosophy, “There is a Tao of Narnia.” </b></div><div><br /></div><div>Tao is the term that C. S. Lewis uses to describe “the doctrine of objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false.” </div><div>In other words, the Tao of Narnia is what theologians call natural law—the belief that moral truths are present in the natural world that can be known by all, which, in Narnia, includes dwarves, fauns, centaurs, and mice.</div><div>As Mosteller notes from his book, Lewis does not argue for the Tao in his Narnia books; he illustrates it. Accepting the Tao involves three things: </div><div><br /></div><div><ol><li>“ A commitment to an objective moral order that is independent of what I or anyone else thinks;</li><li> an openness to moral development only within the Tao, and </li><li>a willingness to follow the Tao in all situations.”</li></ol></div><div>The characters in Prince Caspian illustrate various responses to the Tao. For example, the valiant mouse Reepicheep wholeheartedly accepts the Tao and strives to live by it—even at the loss of his tail.</div><div>By contrast, King Miraz denies that loyalty to his nephew Caspian, the true king of Narnia, is a valid moral demand. Yet, he demands unswerving loyalty from his own men. In other words, Miraz tries to pick and choose which elements of the Tao he wants to live by. But as Mosteller notes, this is impossible because “all parts of the Law rest on the same self-evident moral axioms; any moral values the picker-and-chooser may appeal to have no authority outside the Tao as a whole.”</div><div><br /></div><div>We also have the dwarf Nikabrik, who wants to conjure up the White Witch for help in overturning Miraz. Nikabrik is the ultimate pragmatist: To him, moral truth is whatever works. As Mosteller observes, Nikabrik fails to realize that the Tao is not just one morality among many: “It is the only morality—Aslan’s Owner’s Manual for true success and fulfillment, for Humans and Talking Beasts alike.”</div><div><br /></div><div>These days—as in Lewis’s time—schools routinely teach that there is no objective moral truth: Morality is subjective, a matter of just personal preferences. And then they wonder why kids lie, cheat, and steal. As Lewis himself observed, “We make men without chests and expect of them virtue . . . We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Stories like Prince Caspian reveal, in the most exciting and dramatic way, that there is an objective moral law known to, and binding upon, us all. May we see the movie and come away as brave as Reepicheep and noble as the Lion.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div></div>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-65361221638910423282010-04-21T19:44:00.000-07:002010-04-21T20:57:26.104-07:00Chapter 2: Wisdom of Proverbs 8<div><br /></div><div><div>Week 2</div><div><br /></div><div>Please read again Ecclesiastes 2 plus contemplate on the whole rest of the book. Find the places in almost every chapter where Solomon refers to "under the sun" which he uses as a point or demarcation for the reader to focus their lens of understanding on.</div><div><br /></div><div>Read Proverbs 8. If you would, read 1-9, for it is all an overarching theme of wisdom as a 'women'. Then read, below, "Who is Wisdom"</div><div><br /></div><div>Terms to look up: figurative language, literary genre, personification, encomium, proposition, humanism, idealism, Epicureanism, hedonistic, materialist, empiricist</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>WHO IS WISDOM IN PROVERBS 8?</b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I’m an enthusiast for "the Bible as literature." There are, of course, liabilities to this popularized label since in some circles it runs the risk of implying that the Bible is only literature and therefore devoid of the special authority that Christians ascribe to it as a religious book. </div><div><br /></div><div>No less a literary giant than C. S. Lewis expressed that same reservation when he accused those who read the Bible "as literature" of reading the Bible "without attending to the main thing it is about." Two sentences later, however, Lewis asserted unequivocally, "There is a saner sense in which the Bible, since it is after all literature, cannot properly be read except as literature; and the different parts of it as the different sorts of literature they are." What Lewis meant is that the Bible is composed of different kinds (genres) of literature — narrative, poetry, prophecy, epistle (authoritative teaching in the form of a letter), and so on — and each part of the Bible must be read according to the kind of literature it is. It is this principle I propose to explain: literary genre should influence our interpretations, and an awareness of literary genre can spare us from misreading of the Bible (though that is not its only usefulness).</div><div><br /></div><div><b>How to Misread Proverbs 8. </b></div><div><br /></div><div>One biblical text that illustrates this principle is a famous poem that praises wisdom (Prov. 8:22–31). Here are the first five verses of the poem: </div><div>The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. </div><div>Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. </div><div>When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. </div><div>Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, </div><div>before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. (ESV)</div><div><br /></div><div>Who is speaking here? The lead-in to the speech answers the question: "Does not wisdom call?" (v. 1); and in verse 12, we read, "I, wisdom, dwell with prudence." The repeated first-person references (my lips, my mouth, etc.), therefore, are to wisdom. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>How to Recognize Personification. </b></div><div><br /></div><div>As I said earlier, I will make the case for literary genre as an effective way to spare us from misreading the Bible. We noted that wisdom is the speaker in Proverbs 8. Wisdom, someone might protest, cannot speak. Well, yes she can if she is a personification of an abstract concept.</div><div><br /></div><div>Poets have always used personification, and biblical writers did as well. Just recall some famous examples: "</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>Sin is crouching at the door" (Gen. 4:7 ESV).</li><li>"Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Ps. 85:10 KJV). "</li><li>Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:15 ESV).</li><li>My personal favorite is Zechariah’s vision of a woman named Wickedness sitting inside a cereal container (Zech. 5:6–8).</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div><b>How can you know when a writer-poet has used personification? </b></div><div><br /></div><div>It is not complicated: whenever a poet attributes human qualities to some- thing inanimate, often an abstraction, he or she has used personification.</div><div><br /></div><div>This takes us back to Proverbs 8. The main subject of Proverbs chapters 1–9 is wisdom, which is an abstract quality or character trait rather than a person, but wisdom is treated as a woman from the first chapter right through chapter 9. Wisdom is portrayed as:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>a woman of dazzling attractiveness and virtue, who teaches in the marketplace of the town (1:20),</li><li>who is romantically embraced (4:8–9),</li><li>who can be addressed as "my sister" (7:4),</li><li>who utters a long speech commending herself to the public (chap. 8),</li><li>and who builds a house and invites people to an alluring banquet (9:1–6).</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Is Proverbs 8 Literal Fact or Literary Fiction? </b></div><div><br /></div><div>We would make so much more sense of biblical poetry if we would simply acknowledge that poetry is a form of fiction and quite often of fantasy. In its usual pose, it asserts something that we know to be literally untrue and often openly fantastic. Surely personification illustrates this in its pure form. We all know that blood does not literally cry from the ground (Gen. 4:10) and that light and truth are not literally travel guides to Jerusalem (Ps. 43:3). Similarly, in Proverbs 1–9, wisdom is not literally a woman who speaks eloquently about herself and prepares a banquet. Wisdom is a quality of the soul. </div><div><br /></div><div>The purpose of the entire eighth chapter is to praise and exalt wisdom. In conducting this praise, the writer invents a fictional creation story in which wisdom, as an attribute of God, was actually present at creation. Proverbs 3:19 tells us propositionally that "the Lord by wisdom founded the earth." Proverbs 8 turns that statement into a fictional narrative in which a personified wisdom was present at the creation of the world. It is as simple as that.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Proverbs 8 as an Encomium. </b></div><div><br /></div><div>A proper understanding of Proverbs 8 does not absolutely depend on viewing the poem as an encomium, but the dynamics of the passage will fall even more into place if we do so. The encomium, one of the most beautiful and exalted types of literature used in the Bible, is a composition in praise of either an abstract quality or a general character type.</div><div><br /></div><div> First Corinthians 13 is an encomium in praise of love,</div><div> Hebrews 11 in praise of faith, </div><div>and Proverbs 31:10–31 in praise of the virtuous wife. </div><div><br /></div><div>The writer of an encomium conducts the praise by using a standard set of literary motifs (elements): </div><div><br /></div><div>(1) introduction to the subject, (2) the distinguished and ancient ancestry of the subject, (3) a list of the praiseworthy acts and qualities of the subject, (4) the indispensable and/or superior nature of the subject, and (5) a conclusion urging the reader to emulate the subject. Proverbs 8 has all of these familiar motifs. In verses 22–31, we find the motif of the ancient and distinguished ancestry of wisdom, which was present from the beginning and even participated in the creation of the world.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>All Literature Requires Interpretation. </b></div><div><br /></div><div>I can imagine some readers questioning whether what I have said in this article introduces an element of subjectivity into the interpretation of the Bible. After all, whether the speaker in Proverbs 8 is a personified wisdom and whether the passage is an encomium are decisions that the interpreter makes. Yes, they are, but two things need to be asserted in regard to this. </div><div><br /></div><div>First, all texts require interpretive decisions, and the more literary and more ancient the text, the more interpretive decisions are potentially required. </div><div><br /></div><div>Second, all interpretive decisions involve an element of subjectivity. To decide that a statement in the Bible is figurative is no more subjective than to decide that it is literal. This element of subjectivity, moreover, does not mean that all interpretive decisions are entirely subjective. With practice we can learn to recognize what kind of literature we are reading and let that influence our interpretation. We can get a sense of the meaning that was intended in the original autographs.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">N</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">OTES</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1. Leland Ryken, </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2. C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1958), 3.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">3. R.C. Sproul</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">4. F.F. Bruce, Kaiser and …</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">5. Gleason Archer</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ecclesiastes 2:25-26</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I also used to blame this book, unworthily, for what I regarded it as saying, that it was similar to the philosophy of Epicureanism. The frame of mind to eat, drink and be merry for we only go around once. </div><div>But this charge I held is false on several counts. </div><div><br /></div><div>I found that the text is not translated correctly. </div><div>I missed the point that death is not the natural sequel to eating and drinking.</div><div><br /></div><div>The translation issue is corrected by it reading,<b> "There is not a good {inherent} in a person that he or she should be able to eat, drink or get satisfaction from his {or her} work. Even this, I realized, was from the hand {or 'the power' of God."} This translation avoids the phrase "there is nothing better."</b> Even though such a comparative form does exist in somewhat similar formula in Ec. 3:12 and 8:15, it does not appear in the context. Furthermore, the writer is not saying at the point that no other options exist for the race other than to try calmly to enjoy the present. This would, like I thought, be hedonistic and materialistic philosophy of life that would effectively cut God off from any kind of consideration.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Qoleheth's point is not one of despair--"There's nothing left for us to do than the basically physical acts of feeding one's face and trying to get as many kicks out of life as we can." <b>Rather</b>, his point is that whatever good or value is to be found, its worth cannot be determined merely be being part of the human race.</div><div>We mortals must realize that if we are to achieve satisfaction and pleasure from anything in life, even things as base and mundane as eating and drinking, <b>we must realize that it all comes from the hand of God.</b> The source of pleasure, joy and goodness does not reside in the human person, and humanism or idealism would want us to believe. This has been something quite difficult for me to shed.</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>Ec. 2:25 is more adamant on this point. Who will be able to find any enjoyment unless they first find the living God who is the only true source of all joy, satisfaction and pleasure? The text assures us that "without Him" such satisfaction is a lost search. </li><li>Ec. 2:26 carefully sets forth the distribution of joy. It is a matter of pleasing God first. The opposite of pleasing God is "one who continues to live in sin." This same contrast between pleasing god and being a sinner is found in Ec. 7:26 and 8;12-13. Another way to define the one continually choosing sin is "one who does not fear god."</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>God will grant three gifts to those, according to Ecclesiastes, who please him: wisdom, knowledge and joy. but to the ‘marred focused sinner’ who persists in trying to remake God's world, there is also an outcome: "a chasing after the wind." This reference to the chasing of wind is to the frustrating activity in which the person works night and day to heap things up only to find in the end that he must, and as a matter of fact does, turn them over to the one who pleases God.</div><div><br /></div><div>So when Solomon says, “Eat, drink, and be merry.” Is he presenting a</div><div>nihilist, hedonist world view, like the beer commercial, “You only go around</div><div>once in life, so go for all the gusto you can get”?</div><div><br /></div><div>No, if you read Ecclesiastes, you will see that he spends all of Chapter 2</div><div>on the stupidity of pleasure-seeking. He got all the gusto he could get, and</div><div>was empty. What he says in Ecclesiastes is to work and to do good, and to</div><div>enjoy the fruits of our labor. This is a consistent theme in the Bible, that we</div><div>are to work, and we are to rest and to enjoy the fruits of our labor. This is</div><div>what the Sabbath is all about. God rested and enjoyed the fruit of His labor,</div><div>and we are to also. Solomon says, in Ec 6:3, that there is no tragedy greater</div><div>than a person who works his whole life and never enjoys the fruit of his labor. The person who heaps things up in this life, beyond what he can really use or enjoy in this life, is a fool. Solomon is perfectly consistent with Paul, who said, “I have found the secret of contentment in every situation,” (Phil 4:12),</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>“Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it,” and also “Make it your aim to work with your hands,” (1 Thess 4:11) and</li><li> “Whatever you do, do it with all your might, as unto the Lord.” (Col 3:23) </li></ul>Compare this with Solomon, who said, </div><div><ul><li>“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,” (Ec 9:10), “When God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work– this is a gift of God,” (Ec 5:19) </li><li>and “I know there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.” (Ecc 3:12) </li></ul>Solomon is not encouraging great self-indulgence, but rather, enjoying the simple things of life, neither being lazy and wallowing in pleasure, nor working endlessly without ever enjoying ourselves. This is quite different from the type of “eating and drinking” which Paul condemns in 1 Corinthians 15:32, when he quotes Isaiah 22:13. Isaiah 22:13 speaks of the “revelry” of the people at a time when they should have turned to the Lord in repentance.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>5 types of Biblical writings</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Each type of writing has its own special considerations for biblical interpretation.</div><div>The author's intent is somewhat implied by the type of literature. </div><div><br /></div><div>A. Historical narrative (55% OT, 66% NT) </div><div><br /></div><div>Matt: Written with the Jews in mind; starts with a genealogy, presents Jesus as King</div><div>Mark: Written with the Romans in mind; presents Jesus as Servant</div><div>Luke: Written with the Greeks in mind; presents Jesus as perfect Man</div><div>John: The gospel of belief unto eternal life; presents Jesus as Son of God</div><div>Acts: The early church in transition</div><div><br /></div><div>Much of the Old Testament </div><div><br /></div><div>B. Wisdom literature</div><div><br /></div><div>Job</div><div>Proverbs</div><div>Ecclesiastes</div><div><br /></div><div>C. Poetic literature</div><div><br /></div><div>Psalms</div><div>Song of Solomon </div><div><br /></div><div>D. Epistles</div><div><br /></div><div>Written to: </div><div>Individual people: Titus, Timothy</div><div>Specific churches: Ephesus, Philippi, Corinth</div><div>Regions: Galatians </div><div>Groups of people: Hebrews, Romans</div><div><br /></div><div>Generally for the purpose of: </div><div>Solving a problems or... </div><div>Instructing in proper conduct for Christians and Christian workers. </div><div><br /></div><div>E. Prophecy</div><div><br /></div><div>Major & minor prophets</div><div>Book of Revelation</div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-80026722026253977522010-04-21T19:42:00.000-07:002010-04-21T19:43:38.970-07:00Chapter 3: Time-Purpose-Beauty<div>Time-purpose-beauty</div><div><br /></div><div>What time is it? What time is it for you personally?</div><div>Is there another alternative way of telling time in this book?</div><div>The description and concept of Coram Deo--what is it and what does it mean?</div><div>Who are 4 of the more prominent Existential philosophers?</div><div>Is the axiom “ignorance is bliss” true or not?</div><div>What is the answer this chapter provides as an antidote to pessimism?</div><div>Does this chapter deal with the appropriate time to act or not to act?</div><div>Are their exceptions to these timely purposes? Such as hate or kill or war?</div><div>Is there anytime that we should hate? A time of appropriate hate? </div><div>There are at least three different words in the NT (New Testament) for time that I can think of. What are there different meanings? Find a few scriptures in the gospels that use these different words?</div><div>Does this chapter implicitly make reference to the Will of God? </div><div>Is Ecclesiastes a book that Christians should study --but-- its time and place has past. Now, our devotion and pertinence is to the New Testament?</div><div><br /></div><div>Terms to know and research: Beneficence, Benevolent, implicit vs. explicit, informal fallacy of “propter hoc ergo post hoc” (really, It just might be good to know these)</div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>We are living in a revival of ancient skepticism and unprecedented times of pessimism. We are assaulted on almost every side by the theme of negative existential philosophy. </div><div><br /></div><div>Which teaches, among others, one of two things:</div><div>Right now doesn’t count at all</div><div>Right now counts for right now and only now and that’s all.</div><div>And if right now is all we have then there is not a bit of difference of what now means and nothing in the end. Either is a frightening existence.</div><div><br /></div><div>The lasting significance of life. Were all concerned about this. How our effort and production will count, and not wanting to work for what perishes. So Coram Deo is Latin for that which ‘counts forever.’ Everything has eternal significance. Nothing is cyclical here in this truth. Everything we do has this regard in time. If this book, Ecclesiastes is right. Which trust ,in our journey of faith, makes assured.</div><div><br /></div><div>Review:</div><div><br /></div><div>So the 1st chapter deals with vanity or the perishable transience of life.</div><div>The 2nd is regarding the Qoheleth and his speaking on the pain or sorrow in the acquisition of wisdom. The axiom “ignorance is bliss” is true in a way. The more knowledge we acquire the more wisdom we gain the more pain we are alert to. This chapter deals with the vanity of pleasure. For me and all of us, the most common response to pain and the threat of a fruitless life is to seek temporary joy in pleasure. The ancient world and it’s vantage point of the lifestyle of hedonism. But here it says that that also, is vanity. Whatever pleasure is gleaned will in this earth bound pursuit will always be less that satisfying in the end.</div><div><br /></div><div>The conclusion of the 2nd is?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Then on to the profound ideas of chapter 3.</div><div><br /></div><div>read here the 1st part of chapter 3 </div><div><br /></div><div>The folk song written by Seeger uses the poetic repetition of “turn-turn-turn” as it were, a cyclical orientation of life and time. People say there are many interpretations of these verses but here in chapter 3, a season speaks of a time of purpose in everything under heaven. This heavenly perspective brings a timeliness to and a purpose for everything we do. This right here, provides the answer for pessimism. If there is a purpose and a meaning to what I do then and the timeliness of it, then what we do matters. It is not a cycle of just random reoccurring life conditions we must deal with.</div><div><br /></div><div>What is appropriate to do? </div><div><br /></div><div>Fact: We can do the right thing at the wrong time. Or the wrong things at the right time. To solve these problems Wisdom leads us to do the appropriate thing, given the options; given the situation; given the timeliness of it and assessing the whole of it. Ethics and behavior always takes place in a concrete situation. Our life is lived in a very concrete manner. So is this the type of wisdom we must have, the type that we just don’t have at times, how does it come in these concrete junctions in our life? How do we get it?</div><div><br /></div><div>But the author here expounds on a simple yet profound term here in ‘timely purposes’...</div><div><br /></div><div>Verse 2:</div><div>Birth and death. They had time to do something within their time of birth and the time of death. By Jewish terms one’s days are numbered by the Lord. Then, there must be with God no untimely deaths. No premature death. God sets the time. It is His ordaining of a time and a place. (Explain this to me when we meet.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Verse 2:</div><div>Plant and pluck. Cosmology and exploration and the diligent study that the ancients did in astronomy. They saw “wandering stars” and studied them. They named them planets, which is star wander. Phases of the moon the cycles of motion amongst them and their conclusions were that there was an average length of a solar year, average days of a lunar period and so on. All these calculations measure time. Years-days-hours-minutes-seconds were derived from these studies. But there was a very practical motivation for all this work. This wasn’t just all naked and pure scholarly pursuit, there was a commercial motivation as well. </div><div><br /></div><div>People needed to know what time it is --so-- they could survive. They had to know what season and what part of a part of the season it was. For the optimal benefits of planting seeds. And to harvest. Whether in Maine or Oklahoma there is a time that is appropriate.</div><div><br /></div><div>Verse 3:</div><div>Kill and heal. This is not referring to murder. But that there are times when we need and it is appropriate to inflict death. When we are sick and we take a shot we say we are going to kill this disease. </div><div><br /></div><div>Verse 5:</div><div>Build up and bring down. Example of Jeremiah and God telling him this is the time to beak Israel down. He was to be the architect of the demolition. Renewal was to come after this tearing down. And he was so unpopular. </div><div><br /></div><div>When there are times in our life when things must be dismantled it is very painful. To tear down so something better can be put up in it‘s place. We can all see daily in organizations that change is almost always resisted. We all like the security of sameness. Comfort thru what they are accustomed to. It’s always threatening. We always did it this way. Some change is destructive but that is not “appropriate.” We must keep growing or we will die.</div><div><br /></div><div>Verse 4:</div><div>Weep and laugh. Mourn and dance. All these have their good and ill-suited times of use. We learn how not to mix them up and do them at the wrong setting.</div><div> </div><div>Verse 8:</div><div>Time to love and a time to hate. Is there anytime that we should hate? A time of appropriate hate? And your answer is…..?</div><div><br /></div><div>Yes. God says he hates evil and so there are times for us to be filled with repulsion of that which is destructive and hate it. To them who do evil should be hated. But the wisdom here is that one can’t be filled continually with hate, for that too is destructive. Both love and hate have their appropriate times. What do you think?</div><div><br /></div><div>Verse 8:</div><div>War and peace. Is peace our only Godly solution? Are there clear answers for this today?</div><div><br /></div><div>Verse 11:</div><div>Everything is beautiful in it’s time. Wow. What an affirmation of the transcendent nature of God with His sovereignty. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is the Old T statement of “everything is beautiful in His time.” The New Testament has one very similar and Paul say’s it in Romans that “all things are working together for good to those…for His purpose.” There is purpose again, again and again.</div><div><br /></div><div>Verse :</div><div>Put eternity in their hearts. But we can’t find out the works of God from start to finish. This our lot as Christians and children whom God has seen to reveal Himself to. A sense of eternity in our souls and we know it but, as we live each day to day none of us grasps the time frame of God. He seems to just tease us with a little notion of eternity. We have to hear His Word to have some idea of it. This will, in it’s reading and meaning, assure us that there is a time that He has established for all things.</div><div><br /></div><div>So to conclude here, let me ask you; what time is it for you and me? And don’t look at your watch because that is not the vital question. Both in your’s, your spouse, your children’s life, your parents life, in the life of your church, your business. We live in time but we life for eternity. Or that is what I am considering that Ecclesiastes is imparting to me. Can we truly be aware of the real time that it is for us and our world?</div><div><br /></div><div>Extra reading:</div><div><br /></div><div>There are at least three different words for time that I can think of. What are the different meanings? </div><div><br /></div><div>Kairos (Gk)</div><div>Chronos (Gk)</div><div>Yeom (Heb)</div><div>Zeitgeist (Ger)</div><div><br /></div><div>Which scriptures in the gospels use which words? (Use studylight.org and search and look for the Greek translation of each verse)</div><div><br /></div><div>Mark 1:15 </div><div>Mathew 2:7 </div><div>Mathew 25:29 </div><div>Mathew 26:18 </div><div>Luke 1:20 </div><div>Luke 1:57 </div><div>Luke 4:5 </div><div>Luke 4:13 </div><div>Extra time words: epi, tote, eukairoin</div><div><br /></div>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-10860619612297648172010-04-21T19:33:00.000-07:002010-04-24T22:58:27.795-07:00Week 1 & 2: Vanity and Futility<div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">“We're all travelers in this world. From the sweet grass to the packing house. Birth 'til death. We travel between the eternities”</div><div style="text-align: center;">Broken Trails, Robert Duvall</div><div><br /></div><div>Week 1</div><div>A brief overview of the themes: despair, futility, pessimism, nihilism, </div><div><br /></div><div>Hedging your bets is what I see in Greek life, as when Paul observed, they make large artistic marble sacraments to their 'the unknown God.' That is what I used to think Ecclesiastes was about. </div><div><br /></div><div>But, upon further life experience, there are only two options about the purpose of life, and God, within Ecclesiastes. </div><div><br /></div><div>My generation is, to quote my mentor Dennis Prager, is “The age of Stupidity.” And I have been affected by it in a serious way. But all other generations have theirs and are affected by similar foolish outlooks. </div><div><br /></div><div>One is the example is of Hemingway's life and death and it's decidedly macabre finish in which he took. He secretly rose from his bed after his wife had gone to sleep and in the kitchen and with his favorite hunting rifle, there, he set it up to shoot himself. And he indeed did shoot himself. For he was consistent through out his career and adult life, where he took a pessimistic view of life in general. And the nature of his response to this view, was one of our first array of themes. Where he said and wrote that we must get an edge over life because death will creep in sooner or later. He said we should choose the time and place and the method of our death where ever we can see it fit in to this over all view of futility. He preached the doctrine of self-aware suicide throughout his whole life. He said we must take and use your life on one’s own terms and basis. His themes in his books were about the great struggles of life; of deprivation, or violence, or attaining and using power, or evil and of warfare and danger. He wrote about the modern existential hero who is deviant and will take a stand against a Sovereign’s notion of life. And with this view a cosmos that seems to be meaningless and of no great and timeless significance. "The Sun also rises" is his book title which is an exact quote from a book of the OT. Written in Ecclesiastes in the first chapter. </div><div><br /></div><div>In verse 1:1 we read: …..In the opening here of this book; the words in this passage are words that drip with despair.</div><div><br /></div><div>What we have in Ecc (Ecclesiastes) is one of the most difficult narratives of literature in the Bible to handle well. Some have thought it shouldn’t be in the canon of scripture because so much of the message is filled rightly with despair and pessimism of how life is lived. These 3,000 year old ancient writings had their own version of wisdom literature and how to understand it. A type that the Bible would use was called ‘literary pessimism.’ This type of literature was not that uncommon then. For this is the way the ancients used to seek out a way of dealing with human suffering, grief, death, mourning and of pain. Other cultures around Mesopotamia had there own versions of wisdom literature too. It was a universal attempt to try to answer that age old question of 'what's it all about'. </div><div><br /></div><div>How can you find Godly meaning in an existence that is so filled with pain and disappointment, denial of good and flagrant treasonous living? </div><div><br /></div><div>What was so, on the surface, apparent to me earlier in my life, is that the first chapter was written in an almost quixotic sense of perspective. You can do nothing to solve the riddles and calamities in life. Because it suggests an atmosphere of hopelessness and futile aspirations. My question to myself was is this so or is there something else I must imbibe from this statement. </div><div><br /></div><div> But, as a result of much weariness and experience, I believe it to be so and can find firm evidence for it, that God himself inspired this book that reaches us today, was not for that understanding I started with. No. For in an expression that is 500 years old, "the HS (Holy Spirit) is not a skeptic" and is not succumbing to this outcome written for our benefit in Ecclesiastes. And for that matter, the HS is not a pessimist and doesn't deliver and surrender to despair, like I do. </div><div><br /></div><div>So why does the HS inspire a book that starts out in the beginning chapter with "vanity" doubled? </div><div><br /></div><div>So, to tell you in just the briefest language, it was a self conscious literary device used here in the OT as a type of apologetic device. The work of the apologist is usually reserved for technical philosophers and theologians that will formulate intellectual arguments for the truth claims of Christianity and God Himself. So ‘apologia’ is rendered in Greek for ‘a reply.‘ <i> To answer objections that are raised by competing and contradictory worldviews. </i></div><div><br /></div><div>This book sets out to take the theories and views that people take of life from an earth bound perspective and put those ideas on a collision course with the God of A-I-J, i.e. Israel. Which seeks to understand human existence always in “Coram Deo.” Always before the face of God. Always under the Sovereignty of God. Always to be lived to the glory of God. So what we see here is an exposition of these competing worldviews. There are key words that you want to look for in Ecclesiastes and these two phrases are:</div><div><br /></div><div><ol><li><b>Under the sun</b></li><li><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b>Under heaven</b></span></b></li></ol></div><div><br /></div><div>It’s focus is on the tension between the "under the Sun" and it’s human focus and the opposite perspective and side; "under Heaven," a privileged position of ultimate truth. </div><div><br /></div><div>Let’s go back to 1:1 and unravel what vanity is trying to describe.</div><div><br /></div><div> The first meaning of vanity is: My Grandmother had a little table and mirror, a piece of furniture, with a chair and she called this piece of furniture a Vanity. Well, the abstract meaning of the furniture comes from the notion of one being vain and preoccupied with themselves and how the appear and look. The puffed up pride we call vanity. That is about as much as people understand vanity.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second and the weightier and relevant meaning that the Bible wants to convey is as a synonym for the word futility. That which is vain is that which is useless, that which brings no advantage or brings no blessing and brings no profit. It is empty of any value, empty of any significance--in a word futile. </div><div><br /></div><div>I hate the word futile. Because the thing that I fear more that anything else is the possibility our life being futile. Could life be full of futility even for the God-fearers? It is one thing to work ourselves to the bone, to sweat and to labor. To go thru all sorts of anxiety and all manner of effort. We do this, because, we are motivated by the hope or expectation of producing something that is valuable and something that is useful. </div><div>How would you feel about your labor if you came to the conclusion that in the final analysis your labor is futile. All useless. An example is that you are using your computer and writing important information and after an hour it all vanished from your file. Lost. Unrecoverable. My reaction is to so despise the notion of lost labor that you work for hours trying to recover the document rather than cutting your loses and starting all over. But the way I did it, the whole episode was a pure attempt in futility. This is the idea of vanity. It is one thing to go through pain for a ‘purpose’ it is another to go thru pain for no reason at all.</div><div><br /></div><div>So here we have a book that is concerned with reality and starts out and states that life is vanity. But not just one vanity but, bang, vanity of vanity. </div><div><br /></div><div> <b>What does that phrase communicate? </b></div><div><br /></div><div>It is not talking about the futility of doing work in a futile manner, rather, it is using a literary device that communicates ‘radical emphasis.’ For example, we say a man is “a man amongst men.” we say the Bible is not just a book but “ the book of Books.” Jesus isn’t a king but the “King of Kings.” So this literary structure takes the simple word “Vanity” and elevates it to the ultimate degree.</div><div><br /></div><div>So reading here, all-all! Is vanity. This is the creed of nihilism. Everything is futile. Meaningless. In verse 3 you see the regard from the perspective of “under the sun.” Here is the framework for why it is for nothing. Also ‘generation to generation’, ‘sun up and down’, wind to the east and then north thru the circuit again’, rivers run and then run again. Even in verse 9 it says from ancient times which is from Solomon’s backward glance from his time period. Our looking back is 2,900 years.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is the view and was one of the competing philosophies of that age in contrast to the Jewish view of history that it has a definite beginning. And is moving in a definite purpose. With a definite point of consummation. This view is on a collision course with other skeptical views of the ancient world which taught a cyclical view of history. Which was borrowed in the 19th century when Fredrick Nietzsche wrote “The Myth of Continual Recurrence.” Which he borrowed from the Greeks. Which says all of history is a circle or cycle. No beginning or end or significant meaning along the road. In contrast to a linear meaning which the Jew understood. Greeks took the pessimistic view of nothing is new. Aimlessly going nowhere.</div><div><br /></div><div>I love Ecclesiastes because it puts all the marbles on the table or all the chips on the floor (to mix metaphors.) It brings us to a stark reality of the conflicting and ultimately competing worldviews that are offered. From no meaning to eternal purpose. There is nothing in between ultimately. Either we have value or we don’t. If all we know is from the vantage of ‘under the Sun’ then all we really can know is that the Sun rises and it sets but it is not new and it is all vanity.</div><div><br /></div><div>What I got wrong is that this is not just a patchwork quilt of ideas to stop us from full despair. Partial uselessness, fine. This was not the only message of this book. But it is an exposition to the alternatives of biblical revelation. Next week we go on to others.</div><div><br /></div><div>Week 2</div><div><br /></div><div>Please read again Ecclesiastes 2 plus contemplate on the whole rest of the book. Find the places in almost every chapter where Solomon refers to "under the sun" which he uses as a point or demarcation for the reader to focus their lens of understanding on.</div><div><br /></div><div>Terms to look up: figurative language, literary genre, personification, encomium, proposition, humanism, idealism, Epicureanism, hedonistic, materialist, empiricist.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>The contents of Ecclesiastes is a book which f<i>ocuses upon the limits of life to teach wisdom.</i> The point of view, here, is that of Solomon and his name, “Qoheleth” whose wealth, wisdom, and glory placed him at the upper limit of human success. From his royal pinnacle Qoheleth surveyed life and judged it to be vanity because of the inescapable limits God and sin place on even the most successful human being. <i>Thus the book cannot be dismissed as the disillusioned pessimism of one whom life had cheated. </i></div><div><br /></div><div>Human limits are various: </div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>humans cannot make straight what is crooked (Ecclesiastes 1:15); </li><li>what is lacking cannot be numbered (Ecclesiastes 7:13); </li><li>nor can humans remove injustice (Ecclesiastes 3:16) and oppression (Ecclesiastes 4:1-2; Ecclesiastes 5:8) from the earth. </li><li>Sometimes good folk receive evil while the wicked prosper (Ecclesiastes 7:15; Ecclesiastes 8:14; compare Psalms 73:1). </li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>Thus, humans are unable to achieve their dreams and ambitions because of sin and because of their limited knowledge, power, and goodness. In his focus on limits Qoheleth, <i>like Job, attacked those who selectively misuse traditional wisdom to promote a false gospel of unlimited success for the “righteous.”</i> Even if humans do seem to succeed, like Qoheleth himself, had even this is vanity, because their knowledge is limited and imperfect: “no man (adham) can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Moreover, even the best, richest, and wisest life is ended by death. Thus even the greatest goods and achievements, indeed, “everything under the sun” must be labeled as “vanity.”</div><div><br /></div><div>The Hebrew word translated as “vanity” is hevel whose literal meaning is “breath” or breeze. The author used this word metaphorically, often with the added phrase “striving after wind,” <b>to express the transience, weakness, and nothingness of human life</b>. All things pass away. His view of life was much like that of the godly psalmist who prayed, </div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>“Lord, make me to know mine end that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity (hebel)!” (Psalms 39:4-6; compare Job 7:16; Psalms 62:9; Psalms 78:33; Psalms 144:4). </li><li>Elsewhere, the Bible conveys this view of human limits by the imagery of grass, which grows and withers while the Word of God alone endures forever (Psalms 90:5-6; Isaiah 40:6-8; James 1:10-11; 1 Peter 1:24). In this light, it is quite mistaken to translate hevel as “meaningless” as does the NIV throughout Ecclesiastes.</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div> Since life is vanity, what then is good? </div><div><br /></div><div>Qoheleth's answer has two points which are repeated several times in the book (though many commentators overlook this aspect of the book's teaching). </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The first point</b> is summarized by the editor at the end of the book: </div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>“Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). </li><li>God's sovereign actions are beyond human ability to change (Ecclesiastes 7:13); </li><li>God has done this “that men should fear before him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). </li><li>It is God who has set the limits on human life and knowledge (Ecclesiastes 7:14). </li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>Thus Qoheleth's world is “vain,” but only in the sense noted above. It is not a world without God. </div><div><br /></div><div>from God comes, </div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>“who can eat and who can have enjoyment?” (Ecclesiastes 2:25 NAS). </li><li>Even if a person experiences injustice (Ecclesiastes 3:16; Ecclesiastes 5:8; Ecclesiastes 7:15; Ecclesiastes 8:14), </li><li>God is still a just Judge (Ecclesiastes 3:17-18) </li><li>who acts in His own time (Ecclesiastes 8:6; Ecclesiastes 11:9). </li><li>For Qoheleth, worship of God and vows made to Him are matters of utmost seriousness (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2,Ecclesiastes 5:4). </li><li>Since God judges sin (Ecclesiastes 5:6), people should avoid foolish talk and “fear God” (Ecclesiastes 5:7). </li><li>“Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days, like a shadow, because he does not fear God” (Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 NAS; compare Ecclesiastes 7:18).</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Qoheleth's second point is: </b></div><div><br /></div><div><i>humans do not have sovereign control over life</i>, being limited by vanity (habel) in all its forms, especially death. </div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li>Because of this, they should enjoy life and its ordinary pleasures of work and play, food and drink, love and family, all as gifts from God (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26; Ecclesiastes 3:12-13; Ecclesiastes 5:18-20; Ecclesiastes 9:7-10). </li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>If there is resignation in Qoheleth, it is that of one who has left the riddles and <b>painful mysteries of life in God's hands</b>, while accepting its limited joys with sober thanks.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Rom 1:18 and ‘Alethia’ and what is true in any matter under consideration. Evident-faneros-manifest</div><div><br /></div><div>Correction: Rom 1:25 should be 1:21. 1:29 wickedness, unrightness and also evil. What of 1:30 and inventors of…evil? What gives are they the same?</div><div><br /></div><div>Week 2:</div><div>Questions to answer---Discussion topics--movies for Tuesday---Extra reading if interested</div><div><br /></div><div>The Nag Hammadi and gnostic codices: what are they, when and where were they discovered, and are they important today? Were the books of Solomon found there? Just spend ten to 15 minutes or so at markdroberts.com to find the answer. It’s in Volume 3, Section B in parts 24-28. http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:6flxo1E96OkJ:www.markdroberts.com/htmfiles/resources/gospelsreliable3.htm+nag+hammadi&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us </div><div>Is this book Qoleheth getting under your skin and heart yet? </div><div>What does the word 'ecclesia-church-assembly' mean Old Testament to New? How is Paul meaning ecclesia as it concerns who he was writing to? Relate how we should understand this in our time period? </div><div>So, then, what is the New Testament understanding of ekklesia? </div><div>If this word isn't equivalent to "church," what other English word or words might better render the sense of ekklesia?</div><div>Does this have some residual wisdom on how we should understand Ecclesiastes?</div><div>How would the Greek or Roman citizen of the first century understood this word? In other words, is it alright for the meanings of words in scripture to change and morph over the centuries? We just pick up the new meaning and move along. </div><div>What do you think---does Ecclesiastes impart wisdom on how we are to live well in order to die well? </div><div>Does this book stimulate your thinking on the truths about the fragility of human life, what we should do with the life we have left, and what it takes to get to heaven? </div><div>Does this book inspire talk about the existence of God, and how to best number our days?</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are a few more movie tie-ins as I think they relate to Ecclesiastes and wisdom, with my short summaries. I'm assuming we all like a good movie (and they are hard to find) now and then. Come next time with a thought thru opinion on these or one of your own. </div><div><br /></div><div>Citizen Kane: Talk about the idea of money accumulation and buying things to a limitless degree. Discuss pride, hypocrisy, marriage, and what the movie says about 'to love and be loved.' </div><div>Cinderella Man: Am I willing to do right even when times are hard? discuss parental sacrifice and discipline. Bring up the ideals of prayer, humility and counting the cost even when the cost is unknown in the present circumstance. </div><div>Amazing Grace: How does having principle make decision making easier? Talk about acting on principle, a well chosen spouse, and the connection between working and a calling. I think inside the movie there is the idea and need for restitution and heroism. Tell me if you see that also. </div><div>It's a Wonderful Life: Cogitate on the contrasts between values and influence. What it means to live a rich life. </div><div>The Pursuit of Happyness: How do we find strength in the face of short or long lasting adversity. The role in bitterness as a robber of applicable wisdom, how do we overcome, and the power of the tongue.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Extra Reading:</div><div>From Mark D. Roberts blog: I performed a wedding today for a young woman from my church and her new husband. In the wedding they literally tied the knot, taking a couple of minutes to weave together three strands of rope, and then tie the strands together with several knots. The three piece of rope were meant to represent the joining of their two lives together, with the third piece standing for Christ's presence in their marriage. All of this was connected to the text of Ecclesiastes 4:12, which reads, "A threefold cord is not quickly broken." Now this couple has a memento of their wedding, something that reminds them, not only of the wedding itself, but also of the centrality of Christ in their married life.</div><div>As I was preparing to do the wedding homily, I began to wonder where the expression "tie the knot" comes from. So I googled on "tie the knot," and came up with 1,180,000 hits. After poking around a bit I discovered that there are a several theories about the origin of "tie the knot" as a way of talking about getting married.</div><div>One suggestion is that "tie the knot" derives from the time when married couples would need a new bed. Before mattress and box spring sets, beds were made from wooden frames with ropes strung across the frames, upon which were placed straw mattresses. Newlywed couples thus had to "tie the knot" of their marriage bed. </div><div>Another suggestion points to the ancient Celtic wedding ritual in which the hands of the bride and groom were ceremonially tied together to signify their marriage. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Could we hammer home, along with the discussion last week, what the various differences in "vanity" should be understood as. They are of two different word groups in Hebrew. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What is the meaning of the word vanity</b> </div><div><br /></div><div>Should we read vanity anywhere in the Old Testament and New that it is useless, futile and transient? </div><div>What does Paul mean when he writes in Romans 1:25 about vanity?</div><div>What does Exodus 20:7 mean when it is translated vanity? Is it the same as Ecclesiastes 1:2?</div><div>Job, David, Solomon, Jeremiah , Habakkuk and Malachi all wondered why the way of the wicked prospered. Do they have a genuine and clear answer for this fact?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li><b>vanity (shav') </b></li></ul></div><div>job 7:3 </div><div>jonah 2:8 </div><div>exodus 20:7 </div><div>Roman 1:25 </div><div>psalm 119:37</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li><b>Vanity (habel)</b> </li></ul></div><div>Psalms 39:11 </div><div>Psalms 62:9 </div><div>Ecclesiastes 1:2 </div><div>Ecclesiastes 2:1 </div><div>Ecclesiastes 4:16 </div><div>Ecclesiastes 11:10 </div><div>Ephesians 4:17 </div><div>jeremiah 2:5</div><div><br /></div><div>Ex 20:7, "You shall not take (carry, bear, lift) the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. " </div><div>This is not the same word as in Ecclesiastes. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here, it is 'shav' and means: falsely, worthless, deceitfully, lying. 53x </div><div><br /></div><div>#Fw:( shâv'’ covers a range of meaning from falsehood to wickedness and the English translation "do not take the Lord's name in vain" is a bit limp and could better be rendered "do not treat God's name falsely or wickedly", thereby making it worthless, e.g., by making a false oath in his name, or attributing evil to him, either of which destroy God's reputation.</div><div> </div><div>Fortunately, the poetic works offer us some parallelisms of usage. We find #Fw:( shâv'’ occurring in poetic parallelism with: </div><div><br /></div><div>(Fw:a <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>’âven <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>wickedness, vain effort <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>(Strong's #205) <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Job 11:11, Psalm 41:6 </div><div>m:zIMFh </div><div>mIr:mFh </div><div>)FlAe </div><div>)FmAl </div><div>#EqEr </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Isaiah echoes some of the same parallelisms as above when he writes:</div><div>"No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity." (Isaiah 59:4, NKJV)</div><div><br /></div><div>Could we hammer home also the word rasha. wicked-worthless-evil-guilty…</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ecclesiastes 7:15 </b></div><div><br /></div><div>I have seen everything in my days of vanity: </div><div><br /></div><div>There is a just man who perishes in his righteousness, </div><div>And there is a wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ecclesiastes 3:17</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I said in my heart, </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>"God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, </div><div>For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work." </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>râshâ‘ (Strong's #7563) "wicked" or criminal or guilty, often in opposition to God. This word occurs 263 times most frequently in the Psalms (82x), Proverbs (78x), Ezekiel (28x) and Job (26x). It is used in parallel with almost every Hebrew word for sin, evil, and iniquity. It describes the person more as an adjective whilst the noun r#) resha‘ (Strong's #7562) describes the wicked or criminal act itself, "wickedness proceeds from the wicked" (1 Samuel 24:13). </div><div><br /></div><div>Its use is most clearly seen in its being opposed to righteousness. The contrast with righteous/righteousness is most common in the book of Proverbs where over half of the 80 occasions in which the words are used together in contrasting parallelism occur. The first time we find the word in the Bible is in Genesis 18:23 in Abraham's dialogue with God over the innocent in Sodom, "...would You also destroy the righteous cDyq tsaddîyq, Strong's #6662) with the wicked?" (cf. v25).</div><div><br /></div><div>In the legal context we find in Numbers 35:31, "you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death" it seems best to translate as "guilty" but it could equally be "wicked to the death" or "rotten to the core", as the preposition translated "of" is actually "to the" in Hebrew. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the beautiful word picture of Psalm 1:4-6 the wicked (used 4 times in its 6 verses) are compared to the chaff that is driven away by the wind, they are those that are unable to stand with the righteous. </div><div><br /></div><div>Job (12:6, 21:7), David (Psalm 73:3), Solomon (Ecclesiastes 7:15), Jeremiah (12:1), Habakkuk (1:4,13) and Malachi (3:15) all wondered why the way of the wicked prospered. In God's time (Ecclesiastes 3:17), though, the whirlwind will come upon the wicked (Jeremiah 23:19, 30:23) and in their death they will find banishment (Proverbs 14:32) whilst the righteous will find the rest that the raging soul of the wicked will never find. </div><div><br /></div><div>"There is no peace, Says my God, for the wicked" (Isaiah 57:21) </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-30204401291754739142010-03-11T11:25:00.000-08:002010-07-09T12:55:52.373-07:00Vanity of Vanity<span style="font-size:78%;">Defending faith, 03-09-10</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><div align="left"><br /><strong>Vanity of Vanity<br />The case for two antithetical worldviews</strong><br /><br />Last time we looked at Kant’s moral argument for the existence of God where he came to his conclusions from a practical approach. Kant concluding that we must live “as if” God is there. Kant was agnostic from a rational and scientific point of view where Kant said we <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">couldn</span>’t know whether God can be proven. But we must assume that He is for the reasons so life can be meaningful and for society to function and be possible. We looked at how Kant worked through this by his Categorical Imperative. But in his day and beyond not all agreed that you had to act as if He were there.<br /><br />There were many cynics who said that you may think that it would be grim for society if there was no God but that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">doesn</span>’t mean you should pretend it to be so. Now <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Sproul</span> pauses here and says, that in theoretical thought you can distinguish maybe 1,000 philosophical theories and movements through out time. You find these to be along the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">continuum</span> between the two polar extremes on the issues. You have full bodied theism and on the other side nihilism. The ideas taken from nihilism are that there is no God and therefore life is meaningless, no significance and no sense to human existence. All others are on a continuum between these two poles.<br /><br /><strong>The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Qoheleth</span> and Kant<br /></strong><br />You can look at historic Judaism and Christianity where in their scripture in the ‘Wisdom’ literature and find where a writer wrestles with these two antithetical worldviews. Two different approaches are explored where one is ‘under the sun’ and one ‘under heaven’. If we could translate this as we transition back to modern theories of Kant where Kant explores the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">noumenal</span> world, that is the realm of God, and the phenomenal world, that is where we observe things by our senses and where science takes place. Between these two was great wall. This was a divide between the transcendent and our present world. If we take Kant’s view and move it backwards into the Wisdom literature you could compare these two notions with ‘under heaven and ‘under the sun’, the noumenal and the phenomenal. The crux of the conflict that the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Qoheleth</span> is speaking of in Ecclesiastes is that life ‘under the sun’ ends in the final analysis, if there is no God, and is strictly in the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">phenomenal</span> realm, it would be termed and called “vanity of vanity – all is vanity”. Which is an expression depicting a superlative. In Hebrew when you use the term King of Kings or Lord of Lords you are exponentially raising the term to the ‘supreme’. So ‘vanity of vanity’ is an extreme position to conclude that everything is vanity or transient or futility. It is not to be understood for looking in the mirror inordinately. So the author of Ecclesiastes along with the ideas of Kant and the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">phenomenal</span>, i.e. without reference to God -- if there is no god then in the final analysis the encounter would be termed futility of futility. Everything that we do is futile. Life is a vicious circle with no beginning and no purpose, no teleology and no significance. The sun rises and the sun sets, over and over; and as <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Hemingway</span> stated in his book, “The Sun also Rises” he is declaring that we are going nowhere and are of no significance. This is the underlying philosophy of nihilism and the opposite end of theism.<br /><br /><strong>How can cosmic accidents ask for dignity?<br /></strong><br />They’re few philosophers who were willing to go to that extreme. Most who have rejected full-bodied theism have sought to develop a worldview or philosophical system somewhere between these two poles of <strong>“theism <----- or -----> nihilism”.</strong> If you land somewhere in the middle you are borrowing from one or the other polar extremes. There is always this that can be said about humanism, that in the final analysis, “ Humanism which is so popular today is so extremely <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">naive</span>. Because the humanist tells us there is no God and that our origins come from nothing, accidentally, from a meaningless series of events and that our life’s our moving quickly towards annihilation.” So the humanist dwells in the ideas that even ideas are meaningless at our origins and meaningless at our destiny but the humanist fights, in defiance to their core beliefs, for human rights and human dignity or somewhere in between these polar <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">opposites</span>. Where <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Sproul</span> engages and tells them that they have their feet firmly planted in mid air. Or as Francis <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Schaeffer</span> used to say, “you are on a roller coaster ride without brakes.” A humanist wants to have meaning between these two poles but is not willing to go in the direction that they’re atheism must drive them – full bodied nihilism. [This is why we spent so much time in previous sessions with the 4 principles of knowledge and that they should never be negotiated away.<br /><br /><strong>Humanists want to have meaning</strong><br /><br />That is one example where philosophic systems in between these poles will have to borrow the capital of the two. For how can cosmic accidents ask for dignity? Well, they are borrowing from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Judeo</span>-Christianity while totally rejecting the source of where human dignity comes from. We are showing that there’re compromise positions are contradictory but they try to latch onto on or the other when convenient. This is what Kant saw in his moral argument and the Categorical Imperative. This is what <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Fyodor</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Dostoyevsky</span> saw when he said that if nobody is home here in the pole of theism, then, we are to conclude and know as a result of no creator that anything is to be permitted. His saying without Christ: without hope.<br /><br />The apostle Paul said that if I follow and live my life for Christ and Christ is really a dead man, then, don’t hate me but pity me. For we are to be felt sorry for if we behave with out proof. If we are believing, working and devoting one’s time to invisible constructs that have no true evidence then you <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">shouldn't</span> be mad at us – one should console us. For if we can’t have any basis for establishing confidence for the God of the universe then one can have no foundation for hope - what so ever. You must then come to the place of true hopelessness and deal with existence there.<br /><br /><strong>Face the facts of nihilism</strong><br /><br />Albert Camus the 20<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">th</span> century existential philosopher said that the only serious question for existential nihilists to explore was that of suicide. Because when you awaken to the reality that there is nothing to God and no absolutes, then, you have to understand there is no ultimate meaning. Which for many may sound fine. The feeling you might have when School is out and we can go about and do what we like. For a time we have a vacation from the God of the Bible and now we can say we are free from those arbitrary constraints. We can do our own thing. But what is the price tag? If you are not accountable then you really don’t count and it <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">doesn</span>’t matter.<br /><br />John Paul Sartre titled one of his books “Nausea” which spoke to his final thoughts on the human condition. He defined man as a ‘useless passion’. A loaded concept because we are not automatons or robots but are living, caring, breathing, thinking, choosing people. Human life is marked by passion and care. What if all your passions are useless and all your care is meaningless and comes to nothing? Then your passions are futile and your hope is worthless. What if you faced the fact that all your cares come to nothing? This is the methodology of Sartre and his view of Nausea where he said you are a ‘useless passion’. This is the opposite pole to theism.<br /><br />Nietzsche came to his views after Kierkegaard and Kant where he explored the concept of nihilism. Saying if we can’t know that God exists, it is not enough to build our faith by crossing our fingers and hoping someone is up there. If the evidence is to the contrary if it is really true that life has come out of a swamp, then, we need to have the moral courage to face the grim finality of these results. Stare it in the face. OK, you are right, I came from the slime and I will shortly go back to the slime. I’m a germ sitting on one cog of one wheel in the vast expanse of some cosmic machine that is running down towards annihilation.<br /><br /><strong>Don’t escape the razor sharp grim reality<br /></strong><br />So, stare it in the face. Face it head on and don’t turn to religion as an escapist fool. But we must realize that in our modern way escapism is the driving force in contemporary culture. Where the philosophy of hedonism maintains that you find and maximize pleasure and minimize your pain. Tim Leary one of Harvard’s famous <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">faux</span>-thinkers said what hedonism was for himself, “tune in – turn on – drop out.” Let’s go to la-la land where I don’t have to think. For then you won’t have to deal with the nausea of reality. For scientists tell us that we are beasts with clothes on and then resort to telling kids as they grow up this message over and over. You are only material and that is all you are.<br /><br /><strong>Escapism and the opiate of religion</strong><br /><br />Many drown out the consequence of these ideas with various means of escape. So the skeptics and Nietzsche said this was not the only drug of escape. The supreme drug to escape nihilism according to 19<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">th</span> century atheism was the opiate of religion. If you’re a Christian haven’t you been told that you are using your religion as a crutch? They say, get real to your true intentions. It helps you function and be mobile because in reality you are a cripple. This crutch is a psychological source because we can’t bear the message we are being driven to. So we go to religion as the ultimate source of escape. It is the ultimate drug, the narcotic and deliverer of the masses. To escape the futility of the real existential world we will pursue this antidote to pain.<br /><br />The 19<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">th</span> century skeptics were not working that hard to disprove the existence of God through the logic of ideas. Because their first assumption was that there was none. The problem of Marx, Nietzsche, Freud and Sartre among other titanic thinkers was they came to the table with the posture of; “since there is no God why is it that human beings are incurably religious?” They asked why man <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">shouldn</span>’t be described as both Homo <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Sapien</span> and also Homo <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Religiousus</span>. Where ever we go humans are involved in a wide berth of religious endeavors. So these thinkers said that the phenomena that answered the universality of this question of religion came to humans through psychological fear. The main reason for belief’s is they are afraid of the consequences if there might be a God. We create God in our own image as we understand to be. Which ties to nihilism, which if true, we act to escape this even though we are doomed and in a hopeless situation. We can’t bear the idea of being a ‘useless passion’. So we manufacture a bromide and narcotic to dull or distract our senses from this painful fact. This wish for theism was all the result of the psychological need of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">naïve</span> people, according to the great thinkers of the 19<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">th</span> century.<br /><br />Next time <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Sproul</span> will discuss these notions from a Christian perspective and see if these conclusions are not really on the other foot, that the ruse is the other way. </div>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-42506523229135224802010-02-28T13:35:00.000-08:002010-02-28T13:41:38.307-08:00Who is the Owner of the Universe?<strong>Who is the Owner of the Universe?
<br />Is The World Controlled by the Devil?
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<br />"He rules the world, with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness..."
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<br />When error comes, it always rides in on the wings of the skin of the truth.
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<br />Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971), Premier of the former Soviet Union, described a time in the Communist republic’s history when a wave of petty theft was sweeping through the government-owned plants. To curtail the stealing, guards were placed at factory entrances to watch the laborers as they entered and departed. At the Leningrad timberworks, one of the guards spotted Pyotr Petrovich leaving the yard with a wheelbarrow filled with a bulky sack. A guard became dutifully suspicious.
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<br />“Come on, Petrovich,” said the guard. “What have you got there?”
<br />“Just sawdust and shavings,” Petrovich replied.
<br />“Come on,” the guard said, “I wasn’t born yesterday. Tip it out.” Out it came—nothing but sawdust and shavings. So he was allowed to put it all back again and go home.
<br />The same thing happened every night all week, and the guard was getting extremely frustrated. Finally, his curiosity overcame his frustration.
<br />“Petrovich,” he said, “I know you. Tell me what you’re smuggling out of here, and I’ll let you go.”
<br />“Wheelbarrows,” said Petrovich.
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<br />Error has been smuggled into the church under the pretense of truth since the beginning of time (Gen 3:1-7). Jesus warned His disciples not to be led astray by traditions that have the effect of setting “aside the commandment of God” (Mark 7:9). Paul cautioned the “elders of the church” at Ephesus that after his departure “savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:17, 29-30). It’s no less true today than in John’s day that “many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1), many of whom “went out from us” (2:19).
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<br />Keep in mind that false doctrines most often arise from within the church, “from among your own selves,” as Paul admonishes us. Jesus saved his harshest criticism for the religious leaders of Israel for the simple reason that they are religious leaders who carry the weight of authority (Matt. 21:23-46; 23:2-3). While a false doctrine has the outward appearance of orthodoxy, in terms of what the Bible actually tells us, it is rotten to the core (23:25-28). Heresy most often enters the church under the cover of some orthodox position that in reality is either a biblical misperception or half-truth. Irenaeus, a second-century Christian writer, describes the insidious nature of error wrapped in a veneer of truth:
<br />Error, indeed, is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out in an attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to be inexperienced (ridiculous as the expression may seem) more true than truth itself. <span style="font-size:78%;">[3] </span>
<br /><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>The World is off limits</strong></span></p></span>The claim is often made by some well-meaning Christians that the world and the things in the world are off limits to Christians; that the best way to live the Christian life is not to get involved in “the world.” Holiness is defined as an escape from this world, if not physically through some cataclysmic eschatological event like a pretribulational rapture, <span style="font-size:78%;">[4]</span> then certainly by being separated from the affairs of this world in an unwillingness to acknowledge that God has made us stewards of His good creation of which one day He will demand an accounting (Matt. 25:14-30). Instead of following the directive of Abraham Kuyper who said, “there is not one inch of creation of which Christ doesn’t say ‘Mine,’” <span style="font-size:78%;">[5]</span> we often choose, “there is not one inch of creation of which Satan doesn’t say ‘Mine.’”
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<br /><strong>The church shouldn't divide the world into two opposing realms, consisting of sacred/secular, spiritual/material</strong>
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<br />Historically, the church did not divide the world into two opposing realms, consisting of sacred/secular, spiritual/material. More importantly, the Bible does not divide the world this way. The Bible is concerned about the distinction between good and evil, right and wrong, moral and immoral wherever such distinctions can be made. The biblical doctrine of creation tells us that the created order is an arena for Christian activity and ministry. God put Adam and Eve in the midst of the garden to “cultivate it and keep it” (Gen. 2:15). Rulership/stewardship was also given to mankind. While God reserves ultimate rulership and sovereignty for Himself, He delegates a subordinate lordship and sovereignty to mankind as a vice-regent over the created order. God also sets the rules by which man is to exercise that delegated stewardship and sovereignty. In fact, it was the breaking of these established creation laws that got Adam and Eve exiled from the garden. Even so, they were still called upon to live and work in what is now a fallen world (3:22-24).
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<br />The opening line of the <strong>Apostles’ Creed</strong> tells us that God is the “Maker of Heaven and Earth,” of a creation that Scripture describes as being “very good” (Gen. 1:31). God is not the world as in pantheism, nor is He indifferent to or distant from the world as with deism. Neither is the world an emanation from God as in New Age humanism. “The creed confesses a living God; no detached spectator on the world and its fate, God is the leading actor. All powerful, he retains and exercises the initiative. This is the most basic theme in the Christian world view.” [6]
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<br />Sin has affected the world. Even so, God has not forsaken it. His redeeming work in and over this world has a transforming effect on all aspects of our fallen domain. <em>God was pleased to dwell in Christ “and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through His blood; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven” (Col. 1:20).</em> We learn through Scripture that “whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith” (1 John 5:4). “The Christian’s responsibility on earth is to transform the world that ‘thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matt. 6:10).” <span style="font-size:78%;">[7]</span>
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<br />Because God is the One who brought “heaven and earth” into existence and “upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3), this alone should be enough to convince all Christians who recite the opening line to the Apostles’ Creed that this world should count for something. While evil may exist in this world because of man’s sin, the world in and of itself is not evil. “Whatsoever is evil, is not so by the Creator’s action, but by the creature’s defection.” <span style="font-size:78%;">[8]</span> <em>Therefore, we should be skeptical of any theology that defames any part of God’s good creation. “There is no nature originally sinful, no substance in itself evil, no being, therefore, which may not come from the same fountain of goodness.”</em> <span style="font-size:78%;">[9]</span>
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<br /><strong>The Anti-world worldview</strong>
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<br />Some Christians have forsaken the doctrine of creation, not as a belief, but as a practical application of a belief. They contend that while God created the physical heavens and earth, the created order is an encumbrance, a temporary inconvenience this side of the afterlife. Such beliefs have more in common with pagan religions than with the Bible. For example, animists are anti-world. They believe that nature is governed by sprites, spirits, and multiple gods and goddesses. This has the effect of turning nature into a living essence that is to be feared and placated rather than examined, developed, and probed. The result is that science and technology never developed in cultures where animist beliefs prevailed. “Nor could science have originated in India among the Hindus, nor in China among the Buddhists, for both Hinduism and Buddhism teach that the physical world is unreal and that the only reality is that of the world’s soul and that the greatest thing anyone has to learn is that the physical world is not real. Therefore, there would have been no point in spending one’s life fooling with that which had no reality in the first place.” <span style="font-size:78%;">[10]
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<br />While Christians certainly don’t share the worldviews of animists, Buddhists, and Hindus, many who hold an anti-world worldview, as the result of misguided theological beliefs, <em>have the same anti-cultural effect</em>. <strong>The development of culture, art, music, science, literature, medicine would never have developed if Christians had followed an anti-world theology.</strong> <span style="font-size:78%;">[11]</span>
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<br />Gary DeMar
<br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Notes [1] A. Wilson Phillips, “Seeing the Future Clearly,” Hidden Manna (March 2002), 6. [2] Os Guinness, “The Christian and Society,” in James M. Boice, ed., Transforming Our World: A Call to Action (Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1988), 52. [3] Irenaeus, Against Heresies (1.2). Cited in Harold O. J. Brown, Heresies: The Image of Christ in the Mirror of Heresy and Orthodoxy from the Apostles to the Present (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1984), 6. [4] See Gary DeMar, Last Days Madness: Obsession of the Modern Church, 4th ed. (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 1999) and End Times Fiction: A Biblical Consideration of the Left Behind Theology (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2001). [5] Douglas Groothuis, “Revolutionizing our Worldview,” The Reformed Journal (November, 1982), 23. [6] Arthur F. Holmes, Contours of a World View (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1983), 57. [7] Robert E. Webber, Common Roots: A Call to Evangelical Maturity (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1978), 205. [8] John Pearson, An Exposition of the Creed, 2 vols. 3rd ed. (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1847), 1:79. [9] John Eyre Yonge, An Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1887), 27. [10] D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe, What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1994), 95. [11] Alvin J. Schmidt, Under the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization (Grand </span>
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<br />Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-16185079578338275352010-02-28T13:27:00.000-08:002010-02-28T16:30:06.262-08:00A Review of "SoyouDon'tWanttogotoChurchAnymore"A review of the book written by Jake Colsen,
<br /><a href="http://www.jakecolsen.com/index.html"><span style="color:#660000;">"So You Don’t Want To Go To Church Anymore"</span>
<br /></a>
<br />Does the book bring a renewal or a new type of Christianity?
<br />Is Grace being redefined or updated to fix what is wrong? So this book is about either a discovery of new ideas, ideas which are in harmony with the original authors or a bit of both. Oh my, because ideas have consequences.
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<br />Q: Why is the desire to want people transformed, which is a very good motive, met with their answer of degrading the whole church enterprise as it relates to transformation. Here is a book that intends to imply that church systems are negative, deleterious to God and spiritual growth, and to be avoided as far as wisdom serves them.
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<br />The book is what it is, in trying to describe a little piece of truth in a fictional book that addresses issues, in a roundabout way, in having a relationship with the Lord. One would think that Paul and others were clear in their letters that knowing the Lord is about His nature being illumined in us. It is not delivered via a spiritual inner communication systems (voices telling us who god is). Does this book illumine us on who God is? The book is beneficial when it considers why people become entrenched in the institutional church system. The book also helps readers to understand that the most important relationship one can have is the one with God Himself, and if a church system interferes with that relationship in a negative way, it may be time to move on. But on who God is, I think this book mangles the way in which the Triune God and Creator works. I don't think these experienced authors are dishonest or ignorant. So what gives? Well, below is some of the assertions of truths that they convey in the book and what I have to counter them with. John, the player in the book, gives curious expressions that are decadently deceptive, to me, like the Onion website or a candid camera fake survey spoof. I felt like I was taking a Master's program course and the professor was giving me a faked contemporary Montanist book and seeing if I could decipher and spot if John and Jake were pulling my leg. I thought this character in the book must be kidding. Wasn't he joking, jesting, fomenting a little discord but he couldn't be really believing his own fables could he? Doesn't he know that there is a 1,976 year narrative of facts that can't, or shouldn't, be falsified? If he wants another Jesus then he should start a new religion. But don't negate and disparage the historical record of what Jesus' 'church' has said and done.
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<br />What is the difference between divine revelation and divine illumination?
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<br />Who is John really?
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<br /><strong>Principles this book tries to convey are from quotes from the two authors at a video interview they did:</strong>
<br /><em>· you will give up control when you preach this freedom
<br />· you will not be cogs and structures in the 'institution'
<br />· you are scared of the real thing
<br />· the success of the 'inst' breeds the dependence on the system
<br />· It will open up your eyes as to see thru God's eyes and not your need to control it. Who He really is
<br />· don't have to win other peoples approval
<br />· you may relax from all devotional work
<br />· He found it sweet to free some people from the 'institution'
<br />· They want you to think of Jesus as brother and the Father who brought him
<br />· if you follow this plan, the original plan, you won't have to go thru the hoola-hoops that dependency brings
<br />· pastors are nice guys but they build a partial structure and they want you to help sustain it
<br />· from the bondage of religion to the liberty of a transforming life, the heart of the gospel
<br />· you serve and try to be pleasing to the Lord but, somewhere in the course of that journey, you can't sustain it for the ache of the loneliness, and pleasing God is not enough. It doesn't work. When you read what comes out of "John's" mouth is what should be what comes out of your experience. Engage Jesus the way John describes
<br />· this is about hand-grenades blowing up preconceived notions
<br />· taking the hand-cuffs off which you allowed the 'system' to put on you
<br />· the authors say that what this church was teaching, what they were saying, just didn't work for real followers.
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<br /><strong>What will be the expected responses of those who love this new bit of doctrine and wish to shun the old ways? What will they say about me?</strong>
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<br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">They will say of me that I am the dog in dogmatic, the cat in caterwalling, non-emotional in not being swayed, non-intuitive in personal messages of change, unspiritual to new ideas, puts God in a box, an exegete of the text, objectivist in what meaning is, doesn't read between the lines, Colossians 3 means just one thing, context is king, John 8:32 has specific context to unlocking it's meaning...in continuing and obeying - there is truth that sets free, the laws of God are still in effect, I.e. causality and non-contradiction and use of language and sense perception to name a few, ...</span></em>
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<br /><strong>Excellent insights: </strong>
<br /><strong>
<br /></strong>1) page 17-18; "He told me he often wonders if God is even real or if this whole Christianity thing is just a crock.”
<br />“What did you tell him?”
<br />“I tried to encourage him. I told him we couldn’t live by sight but by faith; that he’s done a lot of wonderful things for God and he’ll honor that someday. We just have to be faithful and not trust our feelings.”
<br />“So you told him he didn’t have the right to his feelings, or his questions?”
<br />“No, that’s not what I said.”
<br />“Are you sure?” The question was gentle, not accusing.
<br />Taken back, I replayed what I had said to him.
<br />“Understand something, Jake, this life in Jesus is a real thing. It’s not a game. When people sense something’s wrong, you know what I’ve discovered? Something usually is.” “Do you think you helped him?”
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<br />2) page 44, “Jake, if you listen to anything else I say, listen to this: Don’t use our conversations to try to change others.
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<br />3) Pastors are 'nice people' but when they help build an institution then they are in conflict between building the body of believers and the needs that the institution has. Therefore the authors see an unbridgeable conflict. Whether your are a performer or an attender you will have to respond to this new shift. How do you relate to that institution? What is real discipleship?
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<br />4) "Most people live by their illusions. Never let mere appearances become your reality." "The hardest thing you'll learn in this journey is to give up the illusion of controlling your own life" Page: 59, 78
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<br /><strong>Poor insights: </strong>
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<br /></strong><strong><p>
<br /></strong></p>1) The illusion of John being, perhaps, 2,ooo years old and posturing it in the book even if it is a book of fiction. Make it John from Mosul or John from Cincinnati. That is fiction.
<br />I hope he is not the disciple of Jesus and the one who wrote a few of the books that came to be the new testament, because that John had a problem with faulty information being disseminated to others capriciously.
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<br />2) The book said that Jesus hoped or hopes for people. He (Jesus) is "hoping somehow they would find a way out of their self-inflicted souls to recognize who stood among them." This speaks of people being in charge of their destiny and Jesus acquiescing to his creations actions and will.
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<br />3) John speaks of Ephesus being excellent in everyway except they didn't have their first love. “I’m not talking about what you’re doing. Are you filled with the love of Jesus like you were the first day you believed in him?”
<br />My take is this is poor theology. Shallow understanding of this passage. Love is not a feeling of your first Jesus experience in this example in Revelation. The passage seeks to remind the 'church' that it is to remember who is Sovereign. Always to the one in whom all things are in control of.
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<br />4) this is what the whole thing is about (page 19).
<br />"This life is not some philosophical thought you can conjure up through meditation or some kind of theological abstraction to be debated. It is fullness. It is freedom. It is joy and peace no matter what happens—even if your doctor uses the ‘C’ word when he gives you the results of your MRI. This is the kind of life that he came to share with everyone who will give up trying to control their own lives and embrace his agenda."
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<br />5) The mocking regard for who John is in the beginning of the third chapter. Not believably written.
<br />Jake is a rather dense person. Tries to examine himself but seems unskillful at self-examination (what an incisive comment, Bruce.) Prays some and gets angry because nothing happens. Are there people like him? You bet? But I'm getting the strong inclination that this is via the examples of...the family in the hallway at church...that they are embarrassed...yes, this is, maybe, a church of immature church pleasers and wussies but this is not a lampstand dowser. (page 25-26). Page 20 there is more Jake denseness. And on and on it seems.
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<br />6) If A equals an accounting and openness person to person; B=accounting and openness to God; scripture has no A but only B according to John in this book.
<br /><em>Answering accountability: Is this true that it is a detriment to God's place of ownership (page 40)? Or a most bogus and fraudulent answer that was given by John?</em> Who said,
<br />"All the accountability in Scripture is linked to God, not to other brothers and sisters. When we hold each other accountable we are really usurping God’s place." (page 40) John's conclusion in the next lines: if it isn't working perfectly groups should be jettisoned entirely; group think is anti God.
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<br />Well, below are some refutations of this silliness.
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<br />* judges are accountable to the constitution, state statute's and the people and likewise the Christian has obligations and connections to others, culturally, socially, spiritually and not to be subject only to God.
<br />* Scripture gives us guidelines to keep from getting "way out there"; which includes accounting and connecting to, amazingly, people.
<br />* If all moral accountings are ultimately relative to only each individuals discretion and to God which he can’t see -- if there is no objective accountability to others -- John makes it is a most solitary affair and a most deconstructionist attack on Christian basics. For this is not the history of normative doctrine.
<br />* Stewardship concepts: When it can be observed that a whole lot of folks are going spiritually weird; you are supposed to do what?... Well, these folks found themselves unequipped to deal with the hardship and tribulation that inevitably faces every believer. They become ineffectual and disenchanted Christians. But they should look to God only.
<br />* Some are not sunk by hardship, but by success. At the pinnacle of their ministries they get involved in sexual immorality, misappropriate funds, or simply turn into jerks and numbskulls (Jake.) But nothing should be done to stop it, only God -- John says. Reductio ad absurdum.
<br />* boundary makers and keepers are deliberated thru others. * Concerning the ability of checking the weirdness meter; who checks it for you? You have to be visible to another person. One has to be available for disclosure of their moral habits and challenges.
<br />* Paul said to Ephesus that we were to be subject, mutually, one to the other.
<br />* if you have a healthy sense of vulnerability you will be aware of the need to be accountable. You are then transparent about your liabilities and limitations as a human being. Vulnerability takes courage. As well as a humbleness.
<br />* This is a dangerous allegation to not be real to men but only to Jesus. They are espousing ‘spirituality’ as an icon of self contained power. (Though I like Johns idea and would prefer it in my own life I have come to know that it is a lie.)
<br />* Confess your sins to each other to be healed.
<br />* an immune system and the wisdom of a firewall are both analogies of giving an account for your life to others by virtue of God being at work in you.
<br />* [Jake's definition on being accountable and having standards] -- “it helps people try to live better, doesn’t it?” “It looks like that,” John shook his head and let out a deep sigh. “But it doesn’t work. We’re not changed by the promises we make to God, but by the promises he makes to us." (40)
<br />* Retreats, by the way, are not the answer or are they effective for most people in attaining any measure of freedom or a means of moral convictions lived well. These are the conclusions of what John says.
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<br />7) <em>Does this quote make a bit of sense?</em>
<br />“That’s the worst part of religious thinking. It takes our best ambitions and uses them against us. People who are trying to be more godly actually become more captive to their appetites and desires. That’s exactly what happened to Eve. <span style="color:#660000;">She just wanted to be like God, which is also exactly what God wants for us.</span> It wasn’t what she wanted that got her in trouble, but that she relied on her own strength to get her there." <em>I'm still thinking about this, but I think John jumped the shark and has gone into the ridiculous. It has nothing to do with just relying on God's strength. But a boundary marker not being crossed.
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<br />8) <em>The authors here give Paul (the New Testament guy) new additional information for his portfolio in how to know God. New doctrine, so to say. Here John opens the back door to let the new ooze of freedom flow thru. John addresses the idea that their is no fallen nature to mankind now. If we trust Him we will be like Him. John makes no distinction between Paul’s pre-salvation and post-redemptive stages he writes about. He implies that Paul was anti-law (all law) and sought to tell his fledgling 'church' that ethical transcendent values have nothing to do with God and his attributes for us today.
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<br />“Paul recognized there are three roads in this life, when most of us only recognize two. We tend to think of our lives as a choice between doing bad and doing good. Paul saw two different ways we could try to do good—one makes us work hard to submit to God’s rules. That one fails every time. Even when he described himself as following all of God’s rules externally, he also called himself the worst sinner alive because of the hate and anger in his heart. Sure he could conform his outward behavior to fit the rules, but it only pushed his problems deeper. He was, you remember, out killing God’s people in God’s name.”
<br />“Paul is talking about religion—man’s effort to appease God by his own work. If we do what he wants he will be good to us, and if we don’t then bad things will happen in our lives. On its best day, this approach will allow us to be smugly self-righteous which is a trap all its own. On its worst days it will heap guilt upon us greater than we can bear. Your ‘New Testament principles’ are just another way of living to the law. You’re still caught up in the process of trying to get God to reward you for doing good.”
<br />“So trying to do good can be a bad thing?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
<br />“If you go about it that way, yes. But Paul saw another way to live in God’s life that was so engaging it transformed his entire life. He knew that our failures all result from the fact that we just don’t trust God to take care of us. As Paul grew to know God better, he discovered that he could trust God’s love for him. The more he grew to trust God’s love, the freer he was from those desires that consumed him. Only by trusting Jesus can anyone experience this kind of freedom and those who know him do. It is real freedom.”
<br />“Won’t people just use that for an excuse to do whatever feels good and ignore what God wants?”
<br />“Sure some will. Many already have. But those who really know who God is will want to be like him.”
<br /><em>(that, I’m afraid to say, is the bogyman Gnosticism raising it‘s fateful head again.)
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<br />9) <em>The authors establish here that God has no standards and systems that we need to comply with. No ethics for man and no justice required by God. God gave away his justice and there is a newer and more improved God acting and transmitting His information today. The book makes Jake a naive dufous.. But stating that him doesn't make what he understands about Gods eternal attributes to be nonsense. Jake might be slow to apprehend his deeper growth potential but he still may know right from wrong and these verities never change. </em><em>
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<br /></em></p>“[Jake] We have to have a standard, though, so people can know what that is.” That’s when he dropped the bombshell that exploded every remaining preconception I had of this Christian life.
<br />“Jake, when are you going to get past the mistaken notion that Christianity is about ethics?”
<br />What? "I looked up at him and could not get one coherent thought from my brain to my mouth. If it isn’t about ethics, what is it about? I had been raised all of my life to believe that Christianity was an ethic for life that would earn me a place in God’s heart (only half true). I didn’t even know where to put this last statement, but he seemed content just to let it hang there."
<br />Finally I found something to say. “I don’t even know how to respond to that. I’ve lived my whole life in Christ thinking this was all about ethics.”
<br /><em>Jake may not quite get what ethics is but John should. A strong moral compass is what you get when you are born a second time and continue in the disciplining process of Christ. Why does man always prefer to change Him from what He is into a more similar representation of what we wish Him to be?</em>
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<br />10) <em>The authors say everything you learned about Christian disciplines is wrong and is the opposite of what you should be doing. Sort of a 'doing-nondoing' duality. You' all have it backwards. John must be very wise. But his assertions are utterly without evidence.</em>
<br />“That’s where you have it backward, Jake. We don’t get his love by living up to his standards. We find his love in the most broken place of our lives. As we let him love us there and discover how to love him in return, we’ll find our lives changing in that relationship.” “How can that be?” Don’t we have to walk away from sin to know him?” “Walking toward him is walking away from sin. The better you know him the freer from it you will be. But you can’t walk away from sin, Jake. Not in your own strength! Everything he wants to do in you will get done as you learn to live in his love. “It sounds so easy when you say it, John. But learning to live that way would be the opposite of everything I’ve been taught.”
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<br />11) <em>You guys and gals are missing it entirely John says.
<br /></em>“And that is why you’re missing it. You’re so caught up in a system of reward and punishment that you’re missing the simple relationship he wants to have with you.”
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<br />12) <em>The authors new definition of sin and how to be free from it.
<br /></em>
<br />"Every act of sin results from your mistrust of his love and intentions for you. We sin to fill up broken places, to try to fight for what we think is best for us, or by reacting to our guilt and shame. Once you discover how much he loves you, all that changes. As you grow in trusting him, you will find yourself increasingly free from sin.”
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<br />(Is there any more the authors can say and pile on about the muddled and depressing nature of this church in Kingston.)
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<br />13)<em> John who said that standards of ethics don't matter (Ch. 7,8,9,10) and that even practicing good can be bad. There are no ethics in Christianity therefore no truths which matter. So...why would he say this? Oops, John shouldn't be bothered with ethics as he trusted Jesus.
<br /></em>But he said, in page 51, “Or just tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may. It seems to me you’re not being asked to choose between Jim or Ben but between the truth and a lie.” Would you betray the truth just to hold onto a paycheck?”
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<br /><em>If standards and ethics are not about Christianity, as John said, then why the need for an ethical decision here? John jumped the shark. Which is becoming the case about every other page.
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<br />some of my standards: you must keep yourself learning, teachable, firm on convictions, precise, accurate, integrating, virtues growing, lovely, truthful, meek (controlled strength), ...
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<br />14) <em>More erroneous derivatives of the whole truth: </em>
<br /><p><em>
<br /></em>· “Scripture doesn’t use the language of need when talking about the vital connection God establishes between believers. Our dependency is in Jesus alone!" 53
<br />· "Religion survives by telling us we need to fall in line or some horrible fate will befall us." 53
<br />· "And that life isn’t fighting over control of the institution, but simply helping each other learn to live deeply in him."
<br />· John says we even use things like ‘doctrinal unity’ to control people by stifling any disagreement. [Would John say that Jesus was having a bad day when he said to the Sanhedrin's leaders that they "...were not the children of Abraham." To much doctrinal judgmentalism and saber rattling for John's taste, I would assume.]
<br />·
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<br />15) <em>John talks of just loving, that is all you need. He talks of this selfish controlling institution and those church people who sustain the system. But he tells Jake that it is just fine if you are selfish but to learn from the messes you make. If you hurt people, no one is perfect. Carry on.
<br /></em>“Whether or not you make a mess of things really isn’t the issue, is it? Neither is being certain. You can only be responsible to do what you think is best. If you make a mistake you will see it in time and learn from it. At least you’ll learn to be more dependent on him than on this thing you call church. No one is perfect, Jake, and when you give up trying to look like you are, then you’ll be free to follow him." 54
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<br />16) <em>The authors contend in the book that Jesus “became sin itself.” I feel like I'm harping endlessly and am quite discouraged by the waves of ‘new truths in this book. But this statement is crucial to the very nature of who God is. Can He, God, become sinful? Well, He can pay the penalty for it, He can step in and take the place of another but can He be the sin? No. No. No. God is not now or never has been sin stained, as if he were the actual doer of the deed; god sins. You could say, He "became" the punishment so we would not have to become the punished. (Is my test this professor is giving me over yet?)
<br /></em>
<br />17) <em>John is failing to understand the fallacy of the false dilemma or excluded middle. Love or justice is John's seeming choice and he chooses love. That naughty old testament god is gone for good in Jesus. Nice try but John would be cast off the 'who-is-God' game show, for the answer John gives is not right. It is both. God is not one or the other but are both a part of His very being. Jesus dealt with questions like these in the 4 gospels that the questioner made it seem like there were only choices between two options. Jesus said to them, no, there was another choice they hadn't thought of or brought to the dialogue.
<br />Another example would be the conundrum of the biblical notions of freedom or determinism. Many would say there are just these two choices. But not so fast. There are not just two but more distinctions that must be brought into play. And so on.
<br /></em>If I was to say that all manufacturing jobs are going to China would I be correct? No, I wouldn't.
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<br /><strong>Conclusion:
<br /></strong>
<br />This book wars against both, common and spiritual sense.
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<br />This book gives us a place called "The Stepford Church of Kingston" where unconscious slavish automatons go about their daily lives in a haze of constrained tyranny and hidden fascistic tendencies.
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<br />Chuck Colson said, "Human beings have an infinite capacity for self-deception." That my friend, is a real Colson.
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<br />Bruce Harkins</p>
<br />Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-35128738014936096512010-02-27T11:21:00.000-08:002010-02-27T13:42:05.956-08:00Power or Truth?2 pieces in this series<br /><br /><strong>1. Chimera's and looking for demons in India - is it about Power or Truth?</strong><br /><strong>2. What does subtle, crafty, cunning, sensible, shrewd and prudent mean?</strong><br /><br /><br />When I was listening to someone who spent time in India he described a lot about what I would consider well-meaning but overly zealous Christians from America looking for demons in India. As a matter of fact, the local Christians in India were concerned because it bothered them, that Americans thought they knew where they were. Certainly there is demonic activity there and it needs to be dealt with, but there isn't a demon under every bush even in India. Some of the team would come back from the field and tell how they cast out demons. The speaker asked how they knew the person was demonized and they said they "could see it in their eyes." Maybe a person is demonized, but it seems to me that it's very difficult to know what to look for in a person's eyes to know if there's a demon in there. Were their eyes big? Were they wild-eyed? Is it possible to have wild eyes and big eyes without being demonized?<br /><br /><strong>What is an unclean spirit?<br /></strong><br />Now a very easy way to resolve this problem and find out what a demonized person looks like is to go through the Gospels and the book of Acts. There are a number of illustrations where we see demons being cast out. In the process we are given details of what that person looked like. Some were mutilating themselves. Others were living in a bizarre fashion, like living in the tombs. Others were speaking with strange voices or were clairvoyant and had supernatural information. <em>Others were called unclean spirits which referred to their foul sexual references and filthy language</em>. Others were being thrown down into the fire in epileptic fits. There was one case where one person was mute because of the demon. What you can do by simply going through the text and finding these illustrations is make a simple list of the characteristics of demon possession. I'm not suggesting that this is exhaustive, there may be other characteristics. But at least it gives you something biblical to begin working with before you start claiming that people are filled with demons.<br /><br /><strong>Our operations manual</strong><br /><br />Most of the times that people tell me that they think someone is demon possessed it usually means that this person was just basically weird so they assume that there is a demon living inside them. My appeal is to simply judge these things with biblical criteria. If we have a guideline and have listed eight or twelve things and see somebody with one of those things it may not mean that they're demon possessed; but if we see someone with five or six or seven of these characteristics, well it's a pretty safe call that there's a demon in them and we'll know what to do. <em>My conviction is that most people who are weird are not demon possessed, they're just weird.</em> Christians throughout history have not dealt with spiritual warfare in this fashion.<br /><br />I'm not contending that there is no spiritual warfare; there's intense conflict in the heavenlies. <em>The issue is how do we fulfill our soldierly duties; how do we take part in the battle?</em> For that we must go back to the text, to our operations manual. It's hard to imagine a time of history that was more demonic than the Third Reich. During the Third Reich two Christians who stood out more than anyone else were Dietrich Bonhoffer and Martin Niemuller. These men stood in the gap and proclaimed the truth. They didn't bind and loose. They didn't cast out demons. They didn't plead the blood over the nation of Germany or over the guns of the Allies. They spoke the truth.<br /><br /><strong>Truth encounter or power encounter?<br /></strong><br />I am convinced in my assessment of Scripture, and I've looked carefully through the New Testament on this issue, that <span style="color:#660000;">spiritual warfare is not principally a power encounter but a truth encounter</span>. I have in front of me maybe fifteen or twenty different verses that talk about the weapon that Christians wield in spiritual warfare. The <em>principle verse as far as I'm concerned is 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 and the verse says this, "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses."</em> Many people read that and they look for their Holy Ghost machine gun to shoot out great balls of fire at the enemy. It's usually accomplished by using a certain type of, what's in my mind, an incantation. Say the right words of binding and loosing and pleading the blood of Christ and you've done the job.<br /><br />But what does Paul describe in 2 Corinthians? He doesn't describe that kind of thing. He says something entirely different. He continues, "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." <em>Paul is saying that speculations are destroyed against the knowledge of God by taking thoughts captive.</em><br /><br /><strong>20 texts on how the True God wants us to battle</strong><br /><br />You never see Paul binding and losing. In fact, he avoids encounters in the book of Acts and when he does he deals with it in a word. But I see all through the text words about the True God. <em>There are phrases about "true knowledge" in Colossions 2 and 3. Then in 2 Peter two references to "true knowledge." "True grace" in 1 Peter 5. "True light" in 1 John 2. "Sound doctrine" in Titus 1 and 2. In 2 Timothy, "Retain the standard of sound words." "Holding fast to sound doctrine," Titus 1:9-11. In 1 Timothy 1. "sound teaching with which we have been entrusted." Titus 1:9, "the faithful words and exhorting in sound doctrine." Titus 2:1, "sound doctrine." Titus 2:7, "the purity of doctrine." Ephesians 4, "renewing in the spiritual of our mind." Romans 12:2, "transformed by the renewing of our minds." </em><br /><br />Time and time again the Apostles hammer away at us <span style="color:#660000;">that the way to do spiritual conflict is to use true knowledge.</span> Spiritual warfare is not power encounters, my friends. It is truth encounters. It is really very easy to resolve these problem. First, what are the disciplines specifically teaching in the Scripture? Second, how do we see these disciplines actually practiced by the disciples, or do we even see them at all?<br /><br />What we do see is the disciples in the process of doing effective work and teaching us sound doctrine. But do the Apostles bind and loose, pray against territorial demons, free people from generational bondage and demonic influence, plead the blood over inanimate objects, cast out demons for different maladies or sins? No. Is this possible but not recorded? Not likely. What is the standard? Is it a spiritual discipline? Is it necessary according to the teaching and the example of the text? The answer is no.<br /><br />If you want to know, you've got to do the study in the text. Sound doctrine is not as easy as adopting an idea from a T.V. prophet or a charismatic Holy Ghost revivalist and then starting to sling spiritual darts back at the devil. It involves spending time to know the truth. You're not going to get a quick fix from a book on the rack. It's got to be a life's commitment. But without that kind of commitment your life will be spent tilting at windmills.<br /><br /><strong>Do you want to grow?</strong> Peter says, "Long for the pure milk of the Word in order that by it you may grow with respects to salvation."<br /><br /><strong>Chimera's and warring with Quixote Windmills<br /></strong><br />Here's the problem with challenging windmills. First, we fight the battle where the battle isn't. Have you heard the joke,"What if they gave a war and nobody showed up?" One's establishing a war footing and nobody's showing up for the real battle. Second, we aren't placing our forces precisely where the battle is waging: the battle for our minds over the issue of truth. Third, in the process of jousting at his imaginary dragons, Quixote got beat up by the windmill, wounded, disabled. Sometimes we get so beat up jousting at chimeras that we are unable to do real battle.<br /><br />Like Quixote, and I can't fault the sentiment, this is a divine quest; but like Quixote many of us are jousting at imagined enemies; like Quixote, and this is very unfortunate, there is often disdain or condescension for those who do not see what they think is plainly before their own eyes.<br />I talk like this and people say, "Poor me, his great learning has driven him mad. He's using his mind too much. He ought to get into the spiritual realm of things." Well, friends, I will. Chapter and verse. My chapter and verse says "renew your mind." That's how you'll know truth from error.<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>2. What does subtle, crafty, cunning, sensible, shrewd and prudent mean?<br /></strong><br />"Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" (<a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=ge+3:1&t=nkj&sr=1">Genesis 3:1</a>, NKJ)<br /><br />In its first use in <a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=ge+3:1&t=kjv&sr=1">Genesis 3:1</a> the original King James Version rendered the word ‘ârûwm, "subtil", like the French, Middle French soutil, Middle English sotil/sutil and Latin subtilis - literally sub + tela, referring to the cloth on a loom and having to do with weaving. So it involved craft in the sense of manufacture rather than craft in the sense of cleverness or craftiness. Yet this is where craftiness comes from, cleverness and ability and design.<br /><br />Of the 11 occurrences of ‘ârûwm (<a href="http://www.studylight.org/lex/heb/view.cgi?number=06175">Strong's #6175</a>) just the one is rendered "subtil", the remainder are covered by "prudent" x8 and "crafty" x2 in the KJV whilst the NAS translates 3 of them as "sensible" and 1 as "shrewd" and chooses "crafty" here. The Latin Vulgate translated it as callidior "crafty", in this instance, a word deriving from callere "to be thick-skinned, hardened, practiced", and from which we derive "callous" and the rarely used word "callid".<br /><br />So is the serpent "crafty", "sensible", "subtle", or just good at needlework? It was certainly able to "weave" a good tale and convince Eve to doubt God. The root verb ‘âram (<a href="http://www.studylight.org/lex/heb/view.cgi?number=06191">Strong's #6191</a>) can be taken two ways. It only occurs 5 times, twice in Proverbs (<a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=pr+15:5,19:25&t=kjv&sr=1">15:5; 19:25</a>) where it is used to good intent and twice in <a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=1sa+23:22&t=kjv&sr=1">1 Samuel 23:22</a> where the import is negative as it is in <a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=pse+83:3&t=kjv&sr=1">Psalm 83:3</a> [Heb.v4]. It can mean "to uncover" or "make naked", or "make manifest", which is exactly what the serpent ultimately did, finally causing the most famous fig-leaf "cover-up" of all time once Adam and Eve realized their nakedness.<br /><br />Indeed, the Hebrew wordplay between <a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=ge+3:1&t=kjv&sr=1">Genesis 3:1</a> and the preceding verse <a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=ge+2:25&t=kjv&sr=1">2:25</a>, given that the chapter and verse divisions are not original, portrays the full contrast between Adam and Eve's, "And they were both <span style="color:#660000;">naked...", innocence</span>, rendered by the Hebrew ‘ârôwm (<a href="http://www.studylight.org/lex/heb/view.cgi?number=06174">Strong's #6174</a>) and the following <span style="color:#660000;">"naked nastiness"</span> of the serpent described by ‘ârûwm ).<br /><br /><strong>Jesus told his sheep to be serpents<br /></strong><br />Apart from <a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=ge+3:1&t=kjv&sr=1">Genesis 3:1</a> every other reference to ‘ârûwm is found in either Job or Proverbs. In Job, probably older than Proverbs and more contemporary with the writing of Genesis (to some traditional scholars, at least), the word is generally negative referring to the "devices of the crafty" (<a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=job+5:12&t=kjv&sr=1">Job 5:12</a>) and the "tongue of the crafty" (<a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=job+15:5&t=kjv&sr=1">Job 15:5</a>). By contrast, every reference in Proverbs (<a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=pr+12:16,23,13:16,14:8,15,18,22:3,27:12&t=kjv&sr=1">12:16, 23; 13:16; 14:8, 15, 18; 22:3; 27:12</a>) is positive and is more appropriately translated as "prudent" or "wise". Indeed, had Eve the same ‘ârûwm as the serpent she would have followed Solomon's advice "A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself; The simple pass on and are punished." (<a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=pr+22:3,27:12&t=kjv&sr=1">22:3; 27:12</a>) and hidden herself from the serpent's cunning rather than from God's coming.<br /><br />Curiously, Jesus commands his disciples to be as "cunning as serpents and as innocent as doves" (<a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=mt+10:16&t=kjv&sr=1">Matthew 10:16</a>), using the same Greek word as used to translate ‘ârûwm in the Greek Septuagint Old Testament of <a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?passage=ge+3:1&t=kjv&sr=1">Genesis 3:1</a>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-69899933779905100062010-02-24T10:34:00.000-08:002010-02-27T11:35:56.066-08:00What does Mathew 18 really mean<strong>What does Mathew 18 really say?
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<br />By far, the favorite doctrine of all Word of Faith teachers, used over and over again by those asking for money to fund their organizations, is claimed to be found in Matthew 18:19 where the following is stated:
<br />"Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven." (NAS)
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<br />The claim is made that if two or more Christians agree about a specific issue, then whatever that issue might be, when stated to God in faith as a prayer request, it must be accomplished by God according to the wishes of the believers. This is claimed to be the Prayer of Agreement or "bringing our faith into agreement with yours" or "releasing the power of the prayer of agreement." When used by the leadership of Word of Faith organizations, it is stated that they and their associates or organization will agree with the prayer requests that are made known to them, and that the power of their Prayer of Agreement with those requests will cause those requests to be fulfilled by God, according to what they claim is stated in Matthew 18:19. This is a remarkable claim and, if it is true, would place tremendous power into the hands of Christians worldwide. However, is the Prayer of Agreement what Matthew 18:19 actually teaches? The premise sounds so good and is based on the Scripture, so how could anyone disagree with that teaching? The difficulty with the Scriptural foundation is that many Word of Faith teachers base their doctrines on "proof" texts which they claim support their beliefs. In many instances the single verse provided appears to confirm the teaching, but on closer examination it is revealed that the verse has been pulled out of the context in which it was given and the verse is claimed to say what it does not. A fabrication is perpetrated, which covers an ulterior motive by the teacher, and the Scripture is used in order give credibility to what is being taught. This is true in the case of the Prayer of Agreement. Sadly, many people have been deceived by the claims and have expressed disillusionment because of the false promises that have been made, using the doctrine of the Prayer of Agreement as the basis of authority.
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<br />Matthew 18:19 is not a verse isolated within itself, because it is part of a group of 6 verses, beginning with Matthew 18:15 and ending with Matthew 18:20. These verses deal with a single subject, are a single unit and comprise a teaching spoken directly by Jesus Christ to His disciples, so it is imperative that leaders present the verses as Jesus Christ intended and taught. If the verses are claimed to teach what they do not, then the teachers are claiming that Jesus Christ was a liar and they are speaking the truth, which assumes that they are of better moral and spiritual character, and have greater understanding than Jesus Christ. This is not acceptable. Verse 19 cannot be separated from that unit of six verses and must be interpreted within the confines of that unit.
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<br /><span style="color:#660000;">WHAT VERSE 19 IS NOT</span>
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<br />1. Verse 19 has NOTHING to do with requests to God by a believer, in relation to health, wealth, happiness or any other aspect or desire in their own life.
<br />2. NO request is made to God by the individuals in the verses.
<br />3. God is NOT asked to agree with or grant any request that is made.
<br />4. The subject of verse 19 is NOT about prayer and prayer is never mentioned.
<br />5. The two persons of verse 19 are NOT individual Christian believers making requests for themselves.
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<br /><span style="color:#990000;">WHAT VERSE 19 IS</span>
<br /><span style="color:#990000;"></span>
<br />1. It is part of the unit regarding the subject of the DISCIPLINE of sinning Christian believers, introduced in verse 15.
<br />2. There are FOUR people in verse 19, not just 2 - there are people who ASK and people who AGREE. It must be determined:
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<br /><em>A. Who are the people who ask?"...about anything that THEY may ask..."The subject of THEY refers back to verses 15, 16, 17 18. Jesus is speaking to His disciples and they are the subject of THEY and are identified in verse 1, "At that time the disciples..."Chapter 18 is entirely dedicated to teaching by Jesus Christ to His disciples. The people who ask are His disciples who are placed in the teaching, as examples, in the roles as leaders of the church.
<br />B. To whom do they make their request?"...that if two of YOU agree..."The subject of YOU refers back to the previous identification in verses 15, 16 and 17. Again, the TWO are the disciples in their example roles as leaders of the church.
<br />C. For what do the people ask?Verses 17 and 18 provide the answer in relation to the sequence of events in verses 15-17. They ask in relation to the sinning brother introduced in verse 15, and their request is for the approval of the means of discipline to be administered by the leadership of the church.
<br />D. To what do they all agree?Verse 19 is the answer, "...that if you agree on earth about anything that they may ask..." It is the request for the type of discipline to be applied against the sinning brother that is to be agreed to by the leadership of the church. </em>
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<br /></em>So, when the text is actually read and verse 19 is properly retained and viewed within its context, the passage reveals its true meaning, as it is seen that the unit refers to the method and process by which a sinning Christian is confronted by other Christians and the manner in which church discipline is to be administered by the leadership. There is a specific process and order to be followed when the administration of discipline is found to be necessary.
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<br />The order is as follows:
<br /><ul><li>Verse 15 - Sin is recognized by a fellow Christian in the life of another Christian, and that person goes to the sinning individual and confronts that individual regarding the sin. If the sinning person repents, all is forgiven and well. If the sinning person does not repent, then: </li><li>Verse 16 - The fellow Christian is to take ONE or TWO more other Christians and confront the sinning individual again. If the sinning person repents, all is forgiven and well. If the sinning person does not repent, then: </li><li>Verse 17 - The entire fellowship church is to be told. If the sinning person repents, all is forgiven and well. If the sinning person does not repent, then: </li><li>Verse 17 - The person is to be exiled from the fellowship of the church. That is the meaning of the binding and loosening on earth (verse 18) that is also taken out of context by Word of Faith and most charismatic teachers. The leadership had the power to exercise discipline and their decision was final when based on the proper application of the disciplinary process. Witnesses were available and testified as to the facts of the case, the words of the sinning Christian were stated and a judiciary decision was made by the leadership of the church, in relation to that person's connection with the fellowship. It was NOT A DECISION IN RELATION TO THE SALVATION OF THE SINNING CHRISTIAN, but only in relation to their association with the fellowship. </li><li>Verse 18 is a comment by Christ indicating the authority granted to the leadership of the church in relation to establishing the final judgment against the sinning Christian who refuses to repent. Their decision was binding and their authority was just as great as if God had made the same decision in heaven. </li><li>Verse 19 - The AGREEMENT is in relation to the process employed in verses 15 through 17 that results in the decision to expel the sinning person from the fellowship. A decision was made after meeting with the sinning person by the TWO individuals who accompanied the first Christian to confront the sinning believer. Their decision was in regards to the disciplinary measures to be applied to the sinning believer. These TWO individuals then made a request, based on the decision that they made (verse 19), to the other TWO individuals mentioned in the text, the leaders of the fellowship, who are the ones that must AGREE (verse 19) about what the other TWO have ASKED in relation to what disciplinary measures should be taken against the sinning believer.</li></ul><p>It is the TWO Christians (who confront the sinning believer) who ASK, and it is the two DISCIPLES (the leadership of the church), who must AGREE as to what was asked by the other two. If the principles of discipline were followed correctly and the DISCIPLES (the leadership of the church) agreed as to what the request for discipline required, then the request was granted, applied and carried the same weight as if it had been spoken in heaven by God, based on the authority given to the DISCIPLES in verse 18, regarding the binding and loosening. The binding is the discipline applied and the loosening is the discipline removed when the sinning believer repents and is restored to the fellowship.</p><p>So, it is the two or more Christians who ASK the leadership of the church to exercise a certain type of discipline against a sinning believer, and it is the leadership of the church who must AGREE as to how appropriate the request for discipline is, in relation to the sinning believer. If the leadership AGREES with what the two or more Christians ASK, then the discipline is applied. </p><p>
<br />There is NO Prayer of Agreement being taught in these verses. In fact, there is no prayer noted or described at any point in the entire passage. The two or more Christians do not ASK in relation to requests for themselves, but in relation to disciplinary measures to be applied against a sinning believer. The leadership are the ones to AGREE, but they must AGREE, not in relation to personal requests by the two or more believers, but as to the propriety of the request for discipline which the two or more Christians had ASKED in relation to the sinning believer.</p><p>Those Christians who continue to accept the teaching of Word of Faith leaders at face value, are lacking in discernment, because they do not search the Scriptures to see if what is being taught is truly what is stated in the Scripture. In the case of the Prayer of Agreement, people are deceived by the teaching of Word of Faith leaders, because they willfully refuse to read the Scripture to see what it plainly states. Lack of discernment always leads to self-deception.</p><p>It is a dangerous circumstance when teachers misapply the Scripture in order to support their own teachings and attribute to God actions in which He is not involved. Word of Faith leaders, who claim to be anointed teachers and healers who speak for God, deliberately ignore the true message of Matthew 18:15-19, preferring to teach a false message regarding the direct words of Jesus Christ, and by such action reveal themselves to be false teachers. Teaching the Prayer of Agreement from Matthew 18:19 is not just a simple error or difference of interpretation, but it is a deliberate, premeditated and intentional presentation of a falsehood that is claimed to be truth. </p><p>God is not forced, and will not be forced, into fulfilling the desires and requests of Christians based on the "power" of some "agreement" between two or any number of persons. If one wishes to believe that He does operate on those principles, then the doctrine must be found elsewhere in the Scripture, because it is not taught in Matthew 18:15-19. Those who use Matthew 18:19 to teach that God grants prayer requests of any type based on the "agreement" of two or more Christians, or that it teaches the release of spiritual power regarding some alleged Prayer of Agreement, deliberately teach false doctrine. The number of religious leaders who teach this doctrine are legion, but among the more recognizable are, <a href="http://www.ondoctrine.com/10hickey.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Sarah Bowling (daughter of Marilyn Hickey)</a>, <a href="http://www.ondoctrine.com/10cerull.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Morris Cerullo</a>, <a href="http://www.ondoctrine.com/10copela.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Kenneth Copeland</a>, <a href="http://www.ondoctrine.com/10tbn.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Paul Crouch (TBN)</a>, <a href="http://www.ondoctrine.com/10duplan.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Jesse Duplantis</a>, Kenneth Hagin, <a href="http://www.ondoctrine.com/10hickey.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Marilyn Hickey</a>, <a href="http://www.ondoctrine.com/10hinn.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Benny Hinn</a>, <a href="http://www.ondoctrine.com/10robero.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Oral Roberts</a>, <a href="http://www.ondoctrine.com/10roberr.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Richard Roberts</a> and R. W. Schambach.</p><p>The Prayer of Agreement doctrine fits in very well with the Word of Faith assertion that the words that Christians speak in faith have force and authority that is so powerful that even God must obey the request that is made. It is taught by them that Christians can create a world unto themselves by learning to use faith and words, and assuming the right faith and the right words are used, God is subject to that faith and to those words. This is seen in the teaching of <a href="http://www.ondoctrine.com/10copela.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Kenneth Copeland</a>: </p><p>
<br />"Those things are governed by law and the thing that governs those laws are words, say it with me, we've been saying it in our daytime class 'faith filled words', say that, 'faith filled words dominate the laws of death', now say it again 'faith filled words dominate the laws of death'."
<br />Kenneth Copeland's teaching states that there are certain laws that are superior to God, one of those laws being faith. In fact, the law of faith is so superior, that God had to use faith to create the universe, according to Kenneth Copeland. When it is seen how things begin to tie together in Word of Faith doctrine, then the logical conclusion is inescapable. If there are laws that are superior to God, and Christians can learn how to use those laws, then Christians can at least cause God to supply every want and need, and at best those Christians can become gods themselves, possibly even being superior to the God of the Bible.</p><p>Leaving the theological nuances of those doctrines aside and dealing with the practical aspects of Word of Faith teaching, it becomes quite apparent how the system operates. The core is the Prayer of Agreement doctrine. If God is subject to the law of faith and to the law of words, then Christians, agreeing with each other, praying in faith with the right words, can make God into a spiritual genie in which every desire must be fulfilled by Him. When coupled with the "Seed Faith" doctrine, in which money given to a Word of Faith ministry will activate the faith used in the Prayer of Agreement, and the money given will be multiplied and returned to the giver many times over, then the reality of the goal is seen. The ulterior motive behind the teaching of the Prayer of Agreement doctrine is to obtain money from adherents. Money is the goal and heart of virtually every Word of Faith "ministry". Adapted from Gary A. Hand.</p>
<br />Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-20088250011019061462010-02-24T09:48:00.000-08:002011-06-28T20:50:31.601-07:00Cured by another poison<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Cured By Another Poison</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></strong>1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Corinthians 12:7<br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.<br />25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.<br />7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.</span></em><br /><br />A Devil<br /><br />I do believe there is a devil. I probably do not assign to Satan the power that others may credit to him. Satan is a fallen angel, not a fallen deity. I do not believe Satan is ubiquitous (omnipresent), nor omnipotent, nor omniscient. The Bible tells me that if I resist him he will flee James 4:7); that greater is He who is in me that he who is in the world (1 John 4:4); that I am not to give him a foothold (topon—place or opportunity) in my life; and that the means by which <strong>I deny him that foothold is by not giving into my own sins</strong> (Paul gives the examples of lying, anger, stealing, unwholesome words, etc.; see Ephesians 4:25-29). It would be wise of us not to overestimate or underestimate the power of the devil.<br />I reiterate, I do believe there is a devil. The Bible teaches that he is a as a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Since Satan is not ubiquitous, I don’t think that when we consider ourselves being attacked by him that we actually have his personal attention; perhaps we have the attention of one of his multitude of demons (Revelation 12:4). Nonetheless, there is a devil. He is the father of lies (John 8:44), the accuser (Revelation 12:10), the source of great evil, and one who seeks to disrupt the lives of God’s children.<br /><br /><strong>Heightened Sense of Attack</strong><br /><br />Since the devil is not omniscient, omnipotent, or omnipresent, it is reasonable to conclude that his attacks come in waves. Although it would be almost impossible to discern which enemy (the Bible speaks of three, the world, the flesh and the devil) is at the fore of any particular dilemma, there are times when there seems to be a heightened sense of attack—what I call ‘peak season for sin and disaster’.<br />This heightened sense of attack might be a single dark and disastrous event, or a series of events, that make you think you’re somehow in the devil’s crosshairs. You might find yourself the victim of illness, accidents, gossip, financial disaster, increased temptation, you name it! These are the types of things that can be paralyzing when it comes to boldly advancing the word of God (Acts 4:29). These are the types of things that make us feel weak and ill-equipped. I remember going through a period like this many years ago just prior to a speaking engagement. I had to address 200 men on how to be better husbands. I remember feeling like that was the last place in the world I wanted to be. So what do we make of these seasons in our lives? Are we being punished for disobedience? Is Satan angry with us because we do not give him the credit he deserves? Is God angry? Should this launch us into a period of introspection and self-examination to find out just what it is about us, or what is wrong with us that we would be the target of such difficult times? Are there mystical and magical prayers, incantations, or disciplines that I’ve been neglecting in order to ward off the devil?<br /><br />I believe self-examination is a healthy thing (Psalm 139:23, 24). And certainly, since sin has consequences, we might seek to determine if our current difficulties are related to specific transgressions on our part. People who lie and steal shouldn’t think it an odd thing to lose friends. But it may be none of these types of things.<br /><br /><strong>Does Job Fear God For Nothing?<br /></strong><br />One possible reason for difficulties is that God is demonstrating that the truly faithful are truly faithful by His grace and not because of His circumstantial comforts. In Job we read of the Lord saying something to Satan in regard to Job that we hope He will never say in regard to us.<br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."<br />9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."<br />12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.<br /></span></em><br />Not Always A Judgment<br /><br /><strong>First of all</strong> we see that this eliminates the idea that difficult times are necessarily the judgments of God on unrighteousness. By God’s own definition Job is "blameless and upright" (Job 1:8). I don’t know how many of us God would say that about, but it is comforting to know that the difficulties we incur are not necessarily a result of God’s judgment upon us.<br /><br />Why Do We Fear God?<br /><br /><strong>Secondly</strong>, we learn here that God will test people to determine and refine the substance of true faith. In doing so, God brings glory to His own name because the faith we have is His gift to us (Hebrews 12:2). Why do people truly fear God? Why do we continue to walk in faith? Is it because of the things God gives us? Are we faithful because of the creature comforts with which we are surrounded? Are some faithful simply because they are stronger or more righteous than others? One of the most detestable heresies permeating our current Christian culture is the ‘name it and claim it’ or 'faith is a force' cult. This brand of quasi-Christianity promises both health and material prosperity to those who are truly faithful and no the secrets of how to have authority. The promise of health and wealth and healing is used to attract its members, and the subsequent lack of same is, no doubt, a main cause of its attrition.<br /><br />So during our trial we must ask ourselves <strong>why we fear God or why we walk in faith.</strong> If God were to remove our every sense of comfort, our every source of joy, our job, our families, our health and any sense of well-being, could Satan say to God in regard to you and me "Does Paul fear God for nothing?" One commentary suggests, Satan responded by attacking Job’s motives: Does Job fear God for nothing? "For nothing" is rendered "without any reason" <strong>Because Satan could not deny God’s assessment of Job’s godliness, he questioned why Job was pious. The accuser suggested that Job was serving God not out of love but only because of what he got from God in return.</strong> If Job’s rewards were removed, out would go his reverence.<br /><br />No Mood to be Faithful<br /><br />Some of us are barely hanging in there on many occasions and for a variety of situations. The commentary continues, Satan’s subtle suggestion that worship is basically 'a selfish pursuit' hits at the heart of man’s relationship to God. The Book of Job does more than raise the question of the suffering of the righteous. It also, through Satan’s words, deals with the motives for godly living. Will anyone serve the LORD if he enjoys no personal gain from it? Is worship a coin - a credit card - that buys a heavenly reward? Is piety part of a contract by which to gain wealth and ward off trouble? Satan suggested that if God removed His protecting hedge around Job and removed everything he owned, then Job would curse God. Job, Satan claimed, would no longer insert his coins of worship if nothing came out of the machine. Job, in other words, was worshiping for selfish reasons. This accusation also attacked the integrity of God, for it suggested that the only way He can get people to worship Him is to promise them harmony or wealth. Perhaps this indictment against His character is one of the reasons God let Satan buffet Job. Surely God knew Job’s heart, but He used Job as a demonstration to silence Satan. In addition, <strong>God wanted to deepen Job’s spiritual insight. Not an easy or enjoyable endeavor for Job</strong>. But God was honored and Job was refined—and the devil made it all possible. We learn here that God can use the devil to accomplish in us what we are incapable of accomplishing on our own. The devil, like the ungodly king of Assyria (Isaiah 10), is an apparatus in the hand of God. In a moment I will seek to demonstrate how the devil is a profitable utensil in the hand of God, but first I would bring our attention to the Christians’ call to be holy (1 Peter 1:15).<br /><br />Be Ye Holy<br /><br />As a Christian, we are called to be holy. We are to play an active role in our growth—our own sanctification or holiness. We are called to put off the deeds of old man and put on the new (Colossians 3:8; Ephesians 4:20-24). We are called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Paul uses the illustration of an athlete: Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. <span style="font-size:85%;"><em>25 And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).</em></span><br /><br />Paul states that he buffets his body and makes it his slave. To buffet means to handle roughly and in a servile (slavish) manner. The Greek word (hupopiazo) means to beat black and blue, to smite so as to cause bruises and livid spots. Like a boxer one buffets his body and makes it do what it ought to do. This is to be an aggressive action on our part. The call to holiness is a two-fold call: it includes the avoidance of transgressing God’s law and the pursuit of obeying God’s law. The athlete doesn’t just avoid doing wrong things, the athlete must also do right things in order to win the contest. In this battle the Christian seeks to avoid the evils of selfishness, ungodly anger, lust, gossip, outburst, laziness, stealing, etc. The Christian also pursues that which God call us to. We are to study His word (2 Timothy 2:15 and fellowship with His saints (Hebrews 10:25), etc. And we are to engage this pursuit of holiness, as Jesus taught, with all <em>"your heart, with all our soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30b NKJV).</em><br /><br />But we, more than not, find that our own pursuits of our own holiness woefully inadequate. It is for this reason, <strong>God’s desire to make us holy, that He reaches into His toolbox and produces one of His most effective contraptions, the devil. </strong><br /><br />God’s Instrument—The Devil<br /><br />Paul wrote of buffeting his body. Though a sinful man, he had overcome so much: dangers, tortures, and other evils. He had triumphed over multiple enemies of Christ, had driven away even the fear of death (Philippians 1:21), had renounced the world. But there was a trait—that most evil of traits—that Paul’s own buffeting couldn’t cure. He could not subdue that baneful quality of pride. What medicine would the reat physician use to cure Paul of the deadly disease of pride? Paul would be cured by another poison.<br /><br />Cured By Another Poison<br /><br />We have a medicine in our society called ‘antibiotic’. ‘Anti’ means against, ‘biotic’ refers to life. It is a medicine that is against life—it kills. There are many such medications (such as chemotherapy) which might cause great destruction to the body in order for the healing to take lace. We see in this next passage that what Paul could not accomplish in his own disciplines, God accomplished for him. Paul’s temptation to exalt himself was due to wonderful and godly things God had revealed to him.<br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me to keep me from exalting myself! (2 Corinthians 12:7)</span></em><br /><br />Again we see buffeting. And although the actually word for buffet in this passage (kolaphizo) is not the exact same word used earlier, the idea is the same—to maltreat, or treat with violence. <strong>When Paul became ineffective at buffeting himself, God sent one who would strike him with greater effectiveness.</strong> The obvious question (one that is seldom asked when this passage is quoted) is what concern Satan has with the humility of Paul.<br /><br />Why would Satan wish to keep Paul humble?<br /><br />Obviously, Satan’s motivation was not to humble Paul but to destroy Paul—to ruin his ministry and, if possible, his life. But, my brothers and sisters, Satan can not ruin our lives. He can only tempt us not to trust God. But we, like Paul, must learn that the grace of God is sufficient," for His "strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV) And we must learn this—and this is of critical importance—that Satan is the poison by which God cures. As Augustine stated, "the poison of pride... cannot be cured except by poison."<br /><br />Calvin states,<br />But what does this mean -- that Satan, who was a man slaver from the beginning was a physician to Paul, and that too, not merely in the ure of the body, but -- what is of greater importance -- the cure of the soul? I answer, that Satan, in accordance with his disposition and custom, had nothing else in view than to kill and to destroy, and that the goad, that <strong>Paul makes mention of, was dipped in deadly poison; but that it as a special kindness from the Lord, to render medicinal what was in its own nature deadly.</strong> Similarly, after Joseph was mistreated by his brothers, sold into slavery, endured false accusations and imprisonment understood who was ultimately in control.<br /><br />And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive (Genesis 50:20).<br />And cannot the same thing be said of the cross itself? Were not the events of the cross both the deadliest poison and the greatest cure? It was the devil’s plan to destroy (Luke 22:3); the actions of Herod, Pilate, the Gentiles and the people of Israel standing "against" God’s "holy Servant Jesus" (cf. Acts 4:27). Was there ever a more poisonous conspiracy? But it was all God’s "predetermined purpose" (cf. Acts 4:28) to save the souls of the lost and bring glory to His own Name.<br /><br />Conclusion<br /><br />In conclusion, let us take to heart that God is forming Christ-likeness in us (Galatians 4:19). And the holy dispositions that trials, even from the hand of Satan produce in us are something that we could never produce in ourselves. I remember standing before the brothers and sharing how husbands ought to love their wives. I remember a special sense of brokenness—one that my own personal disciplines could not accomplish. This was God’s design in terms of my disposition. This is how He wanted me to feel when I stood before the audience. And though it may have been the employment of <strong>Satan that brought these discomforts to me, it was ultimately the design of my Father in heaven</strong> - not only consoling, but encouraging. We may never, in this life, find out what it is that God is working in us through these trials. But that doesn’t matter. We know that He is working. And as C.S. Lewis stated, "We don’t need to know what vitamins are in the meal for the meal to nourish us, we need merely eat the meal."<br />The practical application for me at the end of the day is simple. Study, prepare, and go on and give the day it's due; no matter how many hound dogs bark at the moon, it doesn’t keep the moon from its course. It should be the same with you and me. It is our Father who owns the world and all it contains (Psalm 24:1). <strong>Satan, as far as you and I are concerned, is to be considered a scalpel of the hand of God.</strong> The only disaster is when that defeated foe, through his lies and subtlety, briefly wins a battle by tempting God’s children to depart from their present course of trusting Christ and pursuing holiness.<br /><br />Adapted from a piece by, Paul ViggianoBruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-76608272061392881142010-02-22T14:38:00.000-08:002010-02-27T11:47:23.097-08:00Imitation: 5 steps to embarking into Satan's subtlety3 pieces in this series<br /><br />1. Imitation: 5 steps to embarking into Satan's subtlety<br />2. Spiritual Counterfeits<br />3. Defining Discernment<br /><br /><br /><br />Imitation: 5 steps to embarking into Satan's subtlety<br /><br />In Bruce Walke’s Old Testament Theology he writes about man’s fall into sin and discusses the way Satan’s first temptation took shape. He suggests that this original act of temptation is an archetype of sorts. All of the temptation that would follow through the long line of human experience would mimic this one. Satan tempted the second human being in the same way he tempts the 20 billionth (or whatever I happen to be). It is not just Satan who works in this way, though, but all human beings. We are prone to following Satan in luring others into sin in the same way.<br /><br />Here are five steps to leading another person into sin.<br /><br /><strong>Be a theologian with a twist</strong>. There is little doubt that Satan is a theologian, and a skilled and outspoken one at that. He has had a very long time to study God and, as a leader among angels, once enjoyed free access to him and close communion with him. Satan knows God and knows about the character of God. But unlike the theologians we seek to be, Satan is a theologian who despises God with every bit of his being. When he turns to Eve and says, “Did God really say…?” <em>he brings Eve into a dialogue that opens her mind to a new realm of possibility, one she would not have thought of on her own. He knows God well enough to know what God has said and done.<br /></em>But there is more. Satan is not only a student of God but also of men. From the moment God first spoke of man, Satan must have been watching and observing. Knowing that man was the crown of creation, Satan was surely looking for an opening, a way to destroy this jewel. He became a student of the ways of men. As a theologian, a psychologist and an anthropologist, Satan has unique skill at leading men astray.<br /><br /><strong>Turn commands into question begging</strong>. Satan takes the command of God and rephrases it as a question. “Did God really say?” What was a clear statement suddenly becomes hazy. Posing as a theologian he asks, “Are you sure about this, or is this only Adam’s testimony as to what God said? Are you sure? How do you know? Is this really a command? Can we discuss this a little bit? Is it possible that you misinterpreted what God said? Is it possible that there is some context here we’ve ignored?” Waltke says, “Within the framework of faith, these questions are proper and necessary, but when they are designed to lead us away from the simplicity of childlike obedience, they are wrong.” And so we see Satan raising questions of interpretation and authority necessarily designed to create doubt and confusion and to lead away from the simplicity of a childlike obedience.<br /><br /><strong>Emphasize the one prohibition over abundant freedom</strong>. Satan carefully and deliberately distorts, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden” into “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?” He overlooks the great freedom God gave Adam and Eve and instead overstates the one prohibition. He gets Eve to focus on the prohibition rather than the gift and the freedom. Instead of focusing on the Tree of Life, from which she was free to eat, and on the millions of other trees available to her, Satan got her to focus her heart on that one tree from which she was not allowed to eat. And Eve began to focus not on what she had been given, but on what had been forbidden. And suddenly nothing but what was forbidden could satisfy her.<br /><br /><strong>Doubt God’s sincerity and motives</strong>. Satan casts God’s motives as self-regard rather than love. “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” He convinces Eve that God is limiting her, that he is not giving her the full measure of humanity. He is holding back, reserving for himself things that she deserves to know and to experience. As Waltke says, we hear this message all around us today. “Be liberated! Be free! Self-actualize! Unleash your inner potential! The Serpent’s message even echoes in the church. Instead of sanctification, the church seeks self-improvement. Instead of holiness, the church seeks happiness.” When you hear such things, you can rest assured that the Serpent is once again at work seeking to convince you that you need to be something other than what you were created to be.<br /><br /><strong>Deny what God says is true</strong>. In the final step, Satan flatly denies what is true. “You will not surely die.” The fruit of all of the doubt and the resentment is unbelief. If God’s words happen to hinder us from becoming what we want to be or from doing what we want to do, Satan convinces us that we can safely ignore them. In the church today many people de-emphasize sin because it may hinder the quest for self-actualization or it may make people feel guilty or damage their self-esteem. “Sadly many evangelical churches are in the process of buying into a guilt-free, pain-free, judgment-free gospel.”<br /><br />In the face of such temptation, the woman yields to Satan’s denials and half-truths. “Having stripped Eve of her spiritual defenses, Satan’s work is done.” Without God, the decision will be made purely on the basis of pragmatism, of what works best to bring about the desired end, on the basis of aesthetics, of what is beautiful, and on the basis of self-improvement, of what will bring her supposed wisdom. It is only one short step from here to outright disobedience.<br /><br />And <strong>so Satan works through questioning, doubt, focusing on what is forbidden and finally on outright denial of the truth.</strong> And Eve is only the first to be drawn in and to succumb to the temptation. Every one of us has fallen for the same old trap. If you think of your own life, I’m sure you will think of examples where this pattern was used against you, perhaps just in your own thoughts or perhaps in a book you have read (and there are many books in the bookstores, both Christian and non- where this same pattern is used). Satan’s first tactic worked so well that I don’t think he has ever felt it necessary to modify it too much. The shape of temptation has not changed.<br /><br /><strong>2. Spiritual Counterfeits: Jn1:1, Eph6:13-25, Lion Witch and Wardrobe<br /></strong><br />Last week I received an interesting email from a member of a mailing list I participate in. He asked whether it is true that <strong>Satan works primarily by counterfeiting what is true.</strong> This is dedicated to understanding why discernment is so difficult to merge into. I show that there are internal, spiritual and cultural influences that seek to keep us from being men and women of discernment. It is the spiritual force that underlies the others and which seeks to keep us enamored with mere counterfeits of the truth. Satan, once the mightiest of the angels, is now the devil, on the prowl for those who have forsaken him and who are seeking after God. Satan seeks to lead us astray. His tactics rarely change for since the dawn of human history they have proven remarkably effective. Satan seeks to lead us astray, to deceive us, by <strong>offering us a counterfeit version of the truth.</strong> Satan offers <strong>something that resembles the truth but is actually error</strong>. He is crafty and subtle, offering something that seems so close, and still is so far away. <strong>“Did God really say?”</strong> were his words to Eve and they are the words he continues to use today. The Apostle says “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” and regards it as no surprise that “his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (<a class="lbsBibleRef" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 18px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; COLOR: rgb(61,92,112); PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; outline-color: initial; outline-width: 0px" rel="nofollow">2 Corinthians 11:14-15</a>).<br /><br />I recently read C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe again. I had not read it in many years and had forgotten many of the details. As I read it aloud, I was struck time and again by the insightful ways in which Lewis describes sin and evil. Significantly, The White Witch, <strong>the story’s evil character, seems to be unable to create but relies instead on imitation</strong>. Part of her magic is “that she could make things look like what they aren’t.” The winter imposed upon Narnia is not a real one, but a mere imitation or perversion of a real winter; the Turkish Delight she gives to Edmund is her imitation of ordinary food; the sledge she rides in is understood by many to be a deliberate imitation of the one used by Father Christmas. It is “a counterfeit, exactly like the real thing but a cheat. … <strong>Evil can only parody goodness, it cannot invent new forms of real beauty</strong> and joy. That is why in fairy tales you have to beware of attractive disguises—nice old crones selling apples in the forest, say, or angels of light.” A recurring theme in this story is that of the forces of evil attempting to deceive the innocent by counterfeiting what is good and right and true. By looking to the world of Narnia we see that C.S. Lewis had profound insights into the way evil functions in our world. This point is critical to my understanding of the work of Satan: he cannot create so merely counterfeits what has already been created, twisting and perverting what should be good and true and pure.<br /><br />Satan is capable of perverting anything. Lewis makes this point in his Screwtape Letters. In Letter Nine, Screwtape addresses Wormwood on the subject of counterfeit pleasure.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;">Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and<br />normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy’s ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures, yet all our research has not enabled us to produce even one. All we can do is to encourage humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced and indulge them in ways which He has forbidden. We always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least mindful of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever-increasing craving for an ever-diminishing pleasure is the formula. It is more certain; and it’s better style.</span></blockquote>One Example:<br /><br />Consider an example of Satan’s subtle works of counterfeiting and undermining the truth. The book of John begins in this way: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (<a class="lbsBibleRef" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 18px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; COLOR: rgb(61,92,112); PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; outline-color: initial; outline-width: 0px" rel="nofollow">John 1:1</a>). We learn a great deal from these few words. We see that Jesus is eternal for He (the Word) existed in the beginning, so that before God created anything, Jesus already was. We learn about Jesus’ divinity, for He was with God and really was God. These verses are critical to the Christian understanding of the Trinity and the person of Jesus. But let’s now look at the translation of these verses used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in their New World Translation. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.” Once again, we can learn a great deal from these few words. We see that Jesus existed in the beginning, that Jesus was with God and that Jesus was a god. And right here, though it is a single word, a single letter, a single indefinite article, the word “a” makes all the difference. Where <a class="lbsBibleRef" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 18px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; COLOR: rgb(61,92,112); PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; outline-color: initial; outline-width: 0px" rel="nofollow">John 1:1</a> clearly affirms the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Bible of the Jehovah’s Witnesses denies this critical doctrine, teaching instead that Jesus was merely one of many gods created by the Father. Where an accurate rendition of this verse teaches that Jesus is eternal, the counterfeit translation makes Him a created being. The difference is subtle but profound. It is the difference between beautiful truth and gross error. It is the difference between salvation and damnation. And this is how Satan works, always subtle, always crafty, always seeking to draw us away from what is true.<br /><br />Satan is fully committed to our downfall and is committed to keeping us confused. He seeks to cause chaos and destruction by leading us away from discernment. He and his hordes of fallen angels seek to blur distinctions, to introduce subtle error and to introduce what is ungodly to the church. In our fight for discernment we must battle against the spiritual forces arrayed against us. Thankfully Scripture is not silent and describes for us the “whole armor of God” provides our defense.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;">Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication (</span><a class="lbsBibleRef" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 18px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; COLOR: rgb(61,92,112); PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; outline-color: initial; outline-width: 0px" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-size:85%;">Ephesians 6:13-18a</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">).</span></blockquote><br />We have truth, righteousness, faith, salvation and the Spirit to guard us. We have the word of God to battle for us. Through it all we pray to the Spirit to protect and guide us against the schemes of the devil. In this way we can fight against and overcome the spiritual forces that are set against us and committed to our downfall. Through the power of the Spirit we can wage war against and defeat the spiritual forces that seek to lead us away from discernment by offering a clever and subtle counterfeit of the truth.<br />As Christians who value discernment, we need to be watchful for Satan’s counterfeits. It is important that we understand how he works that we may ensure that we do not allow him to overcome our defenses with his subtle counterfeits of the truth.<br /><br /><br /><strong>3. Defining Discernment<br /></strong><br />Through the months I’ve spent writing my book on spiritual discernment, I have wrestled with various definitions of the word. While several definitions have been offered by other authors, none struck me as being quite right or quite complete. I have offered a definition on this site and was glad to receive some good feedback on its shortcomings. I went back to the drawing board and eventually arrived at a definition that really seems to accurately represent what the Bible means by discernment. So here it is with a brief breakdown of its component parts. Of course much of the definition’s context is missing, but I do trust this will still prove useful. So here it is:<br />Discernment is the skill of understanding and applying God’s Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong.<br />When we practice discernment, we are applying the truths of the Bible to our lives. We are attempting to understand the words of the Bible and trusting God’s Word to give clarity so we might see things as God sees them. Our goal in discernment is to do just this: to see things through God’s eyes through the Bible and thus to see things as they really are. Like wiping the steam from a mirror, we seek to remove what is opaque so we might see with God-given clarity.<br />To aid our understanding, we’ll now unpack this definition, looking at each of the individual components.<br /><br />Discernment is…<br /><br /><strong>…The Skill…</strong><br /><strong><br /></strong>Discernment is a skill. It is not an inherent ability like breathing or chewing, but a skill like reading or public speaking that must be practiced and must be improved. There is not a person on earth who has been born with a full measure of discernment or who has all of the discernment he will ever need. There is not a person who has attained a level of expertise that allows him to move on and to leave discernment behind. Like the master musician who practices his skills more as his acclaim grows, in the same way a discerning person will see with ever-greater clarity his need to increase in discernment. He will want to sharpen and improve this skill throughout his life.<br /><br />God graciously enables and equips us practice discernment with increasing accuracy and confidence. Like other skills, discernment increases with practice. An apprentice to a tailor will at first make slow, hesitant cuts to a piece of fabric. His experienced tutor, though, will confidently make accurate cuts in one smooth movement. In the same way, what is at first difficult can, with practice, become more natural. The more we know of truth, the more our ability to discern will increase.<br /><br />While the Bible does not make it entirely clear, it is likely the God did not immediately bestow upon Solomon the full measure of his eventual wisdom and discernment. It is more likely that God gave Solomon ability but required that he continually sharpen this skill. After all, God also granted Solomon “both riches and honor,” but these surely did not come in full measure that very day. Just as we are required to invest effort in learning what the Bible says and just as we are to strive after holiness, in the same way we are to work at the skill of discernment, attempting to become better at it through practice. This is clear from <a class="lbsBibleRef" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 18px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; COLOR: rgb(61,92,112); PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; outline-color: initial; outline-width: 0px" rel="nofollow">Hebrews 5:14</a> which reads “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Distinguishing good from evil, and doing so correctly and consistently, requires dedicated, ongoing practice. It is a skill. "What at first is difficult, can with skill, become more natural."<br /><br /><strong>…of understanding…</strong><br /><strong><br /></strong>The Hebrew word most commonly translated as discernment is otherwise translated as understanding. Discernment is closely related to understanding and depends upon a right understanding of God and His ways. Because we can only base what we do on what we know, we must first understand who God is and how He wants us to serve and honor Him. Understanding must precede both interpretation and application. This is clear throughout the Bible, but especially in Proverbs were Solomon continually ties knowledge, wisdom and discernment, not as separate disciplines, but as related. And so to be people of discernment we must be people who dedicate ourselves to studying, knowing and understanding God.<br /><br /><strong>…and applying…</strong><br /><strong><br /></strong>Discernment involves not only understanding, but the application of that understanding. This is where we see the interrelated nature of wisdom and discernment and where we see how difficult it can be to separate one from the other. Discernment is wisdom in action, wisdom applied, and here we seek to apply the skill we have been practicing. We do not only know (understand), but we also do (apply).<br /><br /><strong>…God’s Word…</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />God’s Word refers to two aspects of God’s revelation: revelation of Himself through the person of Jesus Christ and revelation of Himself through speech, and in particular, the words that were recorded in the Bible. Though in days past God revealed Himself through words of prophesy and other forms of personal address, today we know Him through the Bible which God has given to point us to the Word of God as it exists in the person of Jesus.<br /><br />God’s Word is Truth. In <a class="lbsBibleRef" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 18px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; COLOR: rgb(61,92,112); PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; outline-color: initial; outline-width: 0px" rel="nofollow">John 17:17</a>, as part of His High Priestly Prayer, Jesus affirmed to His Father, “your word is truth.” God’s Word is the very source of infallible truth. God’s word is our measure; it is our source. <a class="lbsBibleRef" style="BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 18px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; COLOR: rgb(61,92,112); PADDING-TOP: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: inherit; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; outline-color: initial; outline-width: 0px" rel="nofollow">Hebrews 14:13</a> says that “everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.” Conversely, then, those who are mature are those who are skilled in the word of righteousness. The word of righteousness, those doctrines that are fundamental to the Christian faith are synonymous with the word of God.<br />We can only worship and glorify God on the basis of what we know of Him. In order to be discerning, we must know and understand what is true about God. To do this we turn to God’s Word. And so, to be discerning, we must first be students of the Bible. We must study it, we must read about it, and we must hear it taught from the pulpit.<br />When we engage in discernment we attempt to use God’s Word to rise above our own limitations so we can see as God sees. Through the truths contained in the Bible, God allows us to see things with His eyes.<br /><br /><strong>…with the purpose of separating…</strong><br /><strong><br /></strong>God’s word is the standard we use to differentiate between what is true and what is false. The concepts of separating and distinguishing are inherent in the words of the original languages translated as discernment. Discernment implies that we are to separate things in order to understand their differences.<br />Like the laser level that shows with perfect clarity any deviations from what is straight, the Bible teaches what is true, leaving what is false standing out with glaring clearness. We use God’s Word as a tool to separate what is true from what is false. We use it to make the light appear lighter, leaving the dark to appear ever darker.<br /><br /><strong>…truth from error…</strong><br /><strong><br /></strong>A constant theme when discussing spiritual discernment is the importance of distinguishing truth from error. The Bible makes it clear that doctrine is either true or it is false. We are called by God to examine all theology and to make such binary distinctions. When we speak of truth and error we speak of doctrine and theology - about ways of thinking rightly and truly about God. We think about how we think, knowing that we what think inevitably affects how we act. What we think of God will necessarily impact how we serve Him. If we want to serve him in a way that is true and pure, we must think of Him as He really is, thinking of Him without error. Only when we have separated truth from error are we able to rightly worship God.<br /><br /><strong>…and right from wrong.</strong><br /><strong><br /></strong>At times discernment will be concerned with truth and error. At other times it will be concerned with right and wrong, words which indicate a moral dimension to discernment, for this practice concerns itself not only with doctrine and theology, but with the practical application of those disciplines to our lives. Discernment is a skill we need to live lives that are morally and ethically pleasing to God. We need to be discerning first in what we believe and then in what we do. Where the concepts of truth and error concern what we believe, the associated concepts of right and wrong concern what we do and how we live. In this way we see discernment as a discipline that applies to all areas of life. As I wrote just two days ago, there is treasure everything. Discernment allows us to see and to form a theology of everything, a theology that touches and impacts all areas of life. Tim Calles.Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-3711211131871110992010-02-19T23:15:00.000-08:002010-02-25T16:12:36.107-08:00Kant’s moral argument & the Categorical Imperative<span style="font-size:78%;">20th, Defendingfaith, 2-10-10</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Kant’s moral argument & the Categorical Imperative </span></b></div><br /><br />Early on in this series there was mentioned the revolutionary impact of Immanuel Kant’s critic of the traditional argument for the existence for God. That watershed event was in his book ‘The Critic of Pure Reason.’ He was agnostic in the ability to prove if there is the existence of God through theoretical thought even though he was a theist. ‘The Critic of Practical Reason’ was another book where he discussed more practical ways of proving His existence. Sproul likes say, “one the one hand Kant v was to have ushered God outside the front door of the house, he then runs around to the kitchen and opens up the back door to let Him in.” In his ‘Practical’ book he gave his famous moral argument for the existence of God. Which we are going to look at. But first let us look at some moral arguments from the New Testament.<br /><br /><strong>Paul and Romans meaning</strong><br /><br /><br />When Paul writes to the Romans from Corinth in the first chapter [which we worked on in a prior lesson], he says the invisible things are known by the things which are made. Now going to a later part of chapter 1 he is making an indictment against the whole human race in their fallen and corrupted state, he says in v28, “even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting. To do those things which are, 1. Unrighteousness, 2.…etc.” It is not an exhaustive list but he catalogues many of the ways in which human beings violate each other with immoral behavior. But the kicker is in v32, “Who [those humans that practice] knowing these things that doing them are deserving of death, do the same and approve of those others who do them also.” God, therefore, has revealed His character to all creatures. Every human knows that God is right and commands from us to know the difference from right and wrong. We know how we ought to behave sexually. We know that we ought not rob from others or murder or be malicious etc. We know that they are wrong. Yet despite our knowing that we don’t want God in our minds eye. We behave this way and yet we approve of this even knowing this is wrong. We enlist the support of other people and encourage participation by others. Name any moral transgression and you will find some group militating for it’s acceptance and tolerance.<br /><br /><br />Now in chapter 2:12 he says also…{not written]<br /><br /><br />He says that not only does he give the law to Israel but he also writes his law in the heart of every creature that is born. The proof that He does this is the apparatus that we have called a ’conscientious.’ It is part of the constituent makeup of every human being. Conscience’s can be corrupted and seared and callused and all the rest. At the extreme, If anyone is devoid of a conscience we call them a sociopath. Doing wicked things without feeling of guilt. So to recapture what we are saying is that God bears witness to Himself by planting His moral law in the minds of every human creature. There will be many who say it is not a conscience but either a taboo, or Freud’s notion to freedom and sexual liberty, or puritanical leanings or Victorian constraint, but, the true conscience will not go away. Everywhere in any continent is the construct of an ethical moral structure which is a necessary for social interaction in society and civilization to work.<br /><br /><br />So in keeping with today’s society some have called it a ‘post-Christian society, some ‘neo-paganism’ but Sproul would call it ‘neo-barbarism’. Meaning that at least 50% act amorally. Including educated barbarians which are apart of the moral revolution in our time. But you cannot extinguish the conscience.<br /><br /><strong>Kant, The Critic of Practical Reason</strong><br /><br /><br />Now is where Kant’s moral argument comes in. He said it is a universal phenomena that every single person has a sense of ‘oughtness.’ We might call it an internal native sense of right and wrong. <b>He used the phrase the ‘Categorical Imperative’ is a absolute command or duty and requires and obligates them to behave in a certain manner</b>. You can deny it, you can flee from it but you can’t get rid of it. And this leads to the conundrum that you cannot solve for is guilt. When someone says they are an atheist, Sproul will stop and ask them what do you do with your guilt? He has yet to find someone who says they don’t have any. And when each of us knows the other knows that each of us have this, we move onto another plane of speaking about problems and such.<br /><br /><br />Now Kant says that guilt comes when we fail to do our duty, what we are morally obligated to do. In his reasoning he came to this from a definition of transcendental, which is key to his whole approach of philosophy. This Transcendental approach, even his epistemology, of how do come to knowledge at all, was very innovative. He didn’t say how does knowledge take place. He didn’t start out even saying knowledge is possible. <b>He starts out with a question. If knowledge is possible what would have to be?</b> What are the necessary ingredients to make knowledge possible? He then constructs his philosophy upon this by transcending or getting above the problem and wrestles with the questions of possible knowledge. Saying that if it is possible, what would have to be and proceeds on that premise.<br /><br /><br />So when he comes to the question for the moral argument for God he comes to this place of a ‘universal sense of oughtness. Now, Kant says, it maybe a glitch in the composition of human beings and as the nihilist would argue, that moral sense is meaningless. And as such, we really should get rid of it because it has no significance. <b>So Kant is saying here that he doesn’t know if it is meaningful but if it is meaningful what would have to be and take place. </b>What would be necessary for true ethics and morality to be, that which imposes obligations on each human for this to be meaningful? He asks another question from the practicality of an objective standard behavior, that in the final analysis, if it is not there really, then culture and society is impossible. Laws, are then, by shear preference and is none other than might makes right or the law of the jungle. Which after some time must destroy civilization. Which is close to where we are today as a society.<b> Dostoevsky said that if there is no God then all things are permissible</b>. If there is no ultimate ground for rightness, then all things have to have permission. Then, after this, it is just a battle over preferences. My preference over your preference. Similar to a time when ‘everybody is doing what is right in their own mind.’ Which brings conflict which eventually brings warfare between states, borders, husbands and wife’s etc. There are no preset rules that have any foundation to the creature.<br /><br /><br />Kant is acutely aware of this and he knew what was at stake here in his philosophical questioning. No less than Western Civilization was to be defined by this.<br /><br /><br />So he asked another question; what is necessary for the Categorical Imperative to be meaningful? <b>The first thing for this to be meaningful is justice.</b> For ultimately if crime pays then there is no practical reason to be virtuous. There is no reason but to be selfish. There must be justice involved to reward right behavior and punish bad actions. Then he asked the question as to what would be necessary for justice to take place? Well if this were to be so then you would have to have life after death. Because we know that this world does not dispense justice perfectly. There are innocent people who perish at the hands of the guilty. The OT writes of the wicked prospering and the righteous suffering. That can only happen in an environment where justice is not perfectly carried out. Since in this world there are only approximations of justice then you must have life after death. <b>1. So we have to survive the grave to find true justice. </b><br /><br /><br />But you may have in the next life the same results as you find right now. <b>2. So along with this you have to also have a judge that is morally perfect and right.</b> If the judge who ultimately judges is not perfectly right then he may render imperfect justice. Because he is bribable, corruptible, selfish and on and on. Above reproach and corruption. But suppose you had a judge who was upright and he was doing the best he had in him but he didn’t have complete knowledge and because of these limitations he makes mistakes. He errs by virtue of working from limitations.<br /><br /><br />So the<b> third factor is he must be Omniscient and know all of the facts. </b>So now, the judgment that is rendered is without error. So now you have 1. Life after death 2. Final judgment <b>3. A judge who is perfectly right and knows everything</b>. Will that now ensure justice? Not yet! There is still one more element that has to be present in order to insure that justice prevail. <b>4. He must have the power to enforce his judgment. If he were restricted in anyway, by some outside agency, to bring true justice bear it would not be possible for justice.</b> So the last feature is he must be omnipotent. Kant his arguing transcendentally that your sense of ‘oughtness’ is going to matter, that means you have to matter. It means you have to survive the grave - you have to be held accountable for everything you do in your life. Every deed, thought, virtue that you left undone is known by one who is not blind in any way and holy and perfectly good, and is strong in power to make this perfect judgment.<br /><br /><br /><b>So, morality, if it is true, makes the affirmation of God a practical necessity. </b>Kant said, ‘we must live as if there is a God, because if there isn’t, we have no hope for civilization. The dissidents who came after him said that even though this sounds grim, all is still meaningless and there is no hope. But most people who don’t want to believe in this moral God are working off of the moral capital inherent in the God. No, they don’t want God but they want morality. Which will bring them significance and a place for their desire for fairness. But Kant says through this argument that you can’t have both.Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-77622639779251775082010-02-19T23:10:00.000-08:002010-02-25T16:09:45.722-08:00The God of the Bible versus the God of the Greek philosophers<span style="font-size:78%;">19th, Defendingfaith, January 11, 2010</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b>The God of the Bible versus the God of the Greek philosophers</b></span></div><br /><br />Over this series we have been looking for <em>a sufficient reason to account for reality as it is</em>. In the last for sessions we have looked at four possibilities for one could look at reality. We came to see that it was not illusion and it was not that reality is self-created. Of the last two on deals with a self existent eternal “something” and the other deal with a self existent eternal “transcendent being.” In philosophical terms transcendence means a higher order of being. We left this last session with the question the notion if we come to this understanding it is a long way from the ‘personal being’ we encounter in Judeo-Christian scripture. All we have been able to establish so far is something akin to the ‘God of the philosophers.’ An abstract concept of a ‘seeb.’ That leaves us with two serious problems that we have to look at briefly. 1. The differences of relationship between what we have established so far and what is promoted in the ‘God of the Bible’ and 2. How do we get from a seeb to a personal God. We will start with the first one.<br /><br /><br />In the early church Tertullian was noted for saying, “I believe because it is absurd.” Tertullian at that point was trying to show the radical difference between the God of the Bible and Greek philosophy. He raised a rhetorical thought of ‘what does Jerusalem have to do with Athens‘? and his rhetorical answer -- Nothing. There is no real point of contact between the God of Israel and the vagueness of principles found in the Greek philosophers. So this objection to dealing with this question was held by early Christians but also in 19th century with the liberal school of theology. And certain of these schools objected and said that early Christians were corrupted by this intrusion of Greek philosophy. You can go back to the council of Nicea where the Trinity was defined. Stating, as they did in Nicea, that God was One in essence and Three in person were using categories to define the Trinity and the two natures of Christ, the term Homo-usesious, was laden with Greek concepts. <em>These 19th century liberal’s said we should break free of the strangle hold of this philosophy that was apart of the theologians of that time period. This view has made enormous inroads into the contemporary evangelical church of today where we have this new sense of the rejection of systematic philosophy because it seeks to have a rational coherent understanding of the whole scope of scripture</em>. Today’s churches fight against the same concepts as they did in general. Because they say the systematician imposes a philosophical thread on the bible to fit into a preconceived system that is borrowed, they say, from the Greeks and their philosophy.<br /><br /><br />Sproul, with a smile, says that he is a systematic professor and he ‘represents’ that remark. He here’s these criticisms all the time. But Sproul says that his task is never to impose a foreign system on the scripture and then force the scripture to fit its form.<em> But rather what true systematizing try to do is to look at the whole scope of scripture and have a coherent understanding by finding the system of thought that IS in the Bible</em>. That does presuppose that when God speaks He speaks coherently. It presupposes that God has given us minds that can understand coherently what He gives. In rational measures and not absurd ways of thinking which are disjointed and irrational. Yet this very mainline anti-systemic concept today is linked to this antipathy that people have to Greek philosophy.<br /><br /><strong>God the Holy Spirit chose the Greek language</strong><br /><br /><br />This is a must to understand: that for better or worse, God the Holy Spirit chose the Greek language to have the New Testament written. And as long as that is the language then it will always be with us. In terms of our understanding the gospel. It doesn’t mean that you interpret the scripture, the new testament in the Greek language, in terms of Greek philosophy. No, the concepts developed come from the Hebrew world. They were simply communicated through the Greek language. It is true that the Hebrew language tends to be more ‘imaginative, more pictorial and graphic than abstractions, it would be a mistake and an insult to the Jews to say that the Greeks were coherent but the Hebrew’s were incoherent. The Hebrew mind was rational and sought to be coherent. The mind was of supreme importance to the Jewish understanding of the things of God right along with the Greeks.<br /><br /><br />A. Having conveyed this we are still left with the problem of concepts in Greek philosophers, such as Aristotle, and the ideas put forth in Christianity. Where Aristotle defined God as 1. thought -- word and thinking was his cause. 2. He defined God as the unmoved mover or the first cause of all things. 3. He says that God doesn’t voluntarily create but creates out of necessity but remains completely remote and impersonal and removes Himself from his creation. 4. All human beings, by nature, desire to know. 5. All human beings, by nature, desire to know.<br />B. While the Bible and Christianity describe God, even in the first sentence of the Bible, 1. as one who acts to create all that is. 2. He acts in a reasonable propulsive manner to bring things to pass. 3. That which is created is sustained and committed to. 4. It is a story of creation and redemption. Is intimately involved with the affairs of history. 5. He is committed to managing the universe.<br /><br /><br /><b>There are then, sharp differences in these views of God beyond the ‘first mover‘ similarity.</b><br /><br /><br />There is also the concept in philosophy of the Logos referred to as the ‘word or logic.’ For Greeks it functions as an abstract idea that is necessary for giving order and harmony to the world. Where as in biblical Christianity the Logos is the incarnate word of God and a person. A great difference in regards to the pre-Socratic’s and their representation.<br /><br /><br />So when R.C. Sproul hears Christians object to this type of apologetic in that it only gets us to a “first cause.” To the front door of Lyceum School of Aristotle where this eternal self existent being is demonstrated. Which those who object will say that all you have done is find Aristotle’s God. And on this regard of this assumption agreement will reject the process of apologetics that Sproul has been laboring on. So Sproul has to remind people that one of the first principles in the ‘doctrine of God’ in systematic theology is the “incomprehensibility of God.” Which means that none of us, either now or at anytime, will have an exhaustive and comprehensive knowledge of God. Being that God is infinite in His excellence and we are finite we will not be able to have limitless understanding.<br /><br /><br />The case against the construction of a self existent eternal being is false and the conclusions are false because it is not the compete picture; but it is just a partial picture. The question Sproul asks is do we have to have a comprehensive understanding of God to have ‘true’ understanding of God?<br />So you go back to our 1st principle and do you have to have total comprehension? For we certainly don’t have or can have full comprehension. Partial knowledge doesn’t mean that our principle is not true. It is true as far as it goes. We grant that what we have achieved so far in our reasoning process is that we have got to a seeb and that is part of what the Bible reveals to us about the character of God. It discloses that He is eternal and self existent and the one responsible for what is made. This position is the same as the biblical notion of who God is.<br /><br /><br />At this point, where we have come to in stating this claim, a man like Aristotle would say - amen. Detractors, is Aristotle wrong in his reasoning? Of course not. Just because he is a 2,400 year old pagan philosopher and agrees that there has to be a seeb does not vitiate the truth of the Christian claim of the same insistence. The fact is he agrees with the claim. <b>Therefore, the both agree that there has to be a first cause, that first cause has to be self existent, that first cause has to be pure actuality, that first cause is caused by pure being, the first cause has to be eternal. So thank you very much Aristotle</b> we agree with you, you agree with us on the cardinal point - which is only a partial point - of our knowledge of God. But this partial point is crucial to our knowledge of God because, ladies and gentlemen, precisely this aspect of Christian understanding of God that is constantly under attack by atheistic systems of thought. Where atheists attack Christianity is at the point of Creation or at the point of a Self existent eternal Being. So Sproul thinks there is great value in establishing the faith as well as the reason that demonstrates for the logical necessity for having a seeb. So the battle field over which the doctrine of God wages is one where the Christian comes out victorious rather surrendering so much of his truth claims.<br /><br /><br /><b>We are not playing philosophical games </b><br /><br /><br />In summation, Sproul is granting that getting to the conclusion that there must be a seeb does not get us to a full understanding of God or even as much as the God of the Bible supplies. But what this does is under gird the most crucial aspect of the doctrine of God that the bible does reveal. The bible reveals, along with our agreement with Aristotle, that there is a self existent eternal being. We are not doing this for philosophical gamesmanship we are defending crucial aspects of the biblical doctrine of God, to this point.<br /><br /><br /><b>How do you go from abstraction to personality?</b><br /><br /><br />The question then is how do you get from a self existent eternal ‘something’ to a personal God. Well that will take a more complex and difficult investigation. One of the most famous arguments for the existence of God is the <b>‘teleological’ argument.' </b>From ‘telos’ for end, puporse or goal. The argument from design. We should remember that 2 of the greatest skeptics in history were Immanuel Kant and David Hume and they both thought that the strongest argument from history was found in the Teleologic argument. Kant said that he couldn’t get past 2 things, “the starry skies above and the moral law within.” Kant was not only a philosopher but a scientist. He was overwhelmed by the manifest evidence of design in the world of nature. It is extremely hard to speak of design in nature without begging the question of a ‘designer.’ Saying, “can you have design unintentionally.” A contemporary philosopher Anthony Flew has a story about explorers going through uncharted territory and cutting their way around dense brush and rainforest and came to this opening with a beautifully manicured garden. Rows and rows laid out in perfect order and symmetry. They said there must be a gardener somewhere and when they couldn’t find one they speculated that he was gone or invisible or something. Flew says that what is the difference in a God and no God that can be found. Well, the obvious answer is the garden. The story didn’t account from the garden that it had design. All enlightenment philosophers couldn’t get away from this argument and went from Christian theism to Deism. Because they couldn’t naysay the implications of design. For they say it ran like a perfectly constructed clock. So whether it is the eye or anything else, the designs had intelligence purpose to them and couldn’t find an answer for to cover their thinking. Going back to Aristotle where he said, ‘ the single most important characteristic for personality is ‘intention.’ Something to act with intention needs a mind and a faculty of choosing what the mind plants. <b>The essence of intention is found in mind and will.’</b> Impersonal forces have no mind or will and cannot design anything. When we try to reduce God to a mere force of unintelligence and unintentional is to escape judgment of the indictment and try to find an escape hatch.<br /><br /><br /><b>You cannot have purpose accidentally. You cannot have intelligence from unintelligence. Impersonality cannot produce personality. </b>For that would be unintentional intention. Which bears to our possibility of Self Creation which we found to be absurd. So as we look at these things more closely and if we find design in the universe then this self existent eternal something that is responsible for generating the universe must be a self existent eternal ‘intelligent’ being. And if intelligent, then, personal. And if personal, then, we have moved away from abstraction and landed squarely on the pages of Sacred scripture.Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-58589855236044357182010-02-19T23:08:00.000-08:002010-02-25T16:03:30.120-08:00Self Existence<span style="font-size:78%;">18th, Defendingfaith, 12-18-09</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;"><strong>Self Existence</strong></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><br /><br />The Big Bang theory is not a constant and fully understood theory but some 14-18 billion year ago, give or take a couple of billion years. At that beginning time all that existed, as said by some, is there was a point of ‘Singularity.’ This consisted of a compacted point of all energy and all matter that may be currently found in the universe. All the stuff of reality was in this infinitesimal piece of Singularity. It existed from eternity in a state of organization. In a stable and ordered way. And for ways we can’t know it exploded and from that nanosecond it exploded outward. Everything is moving from that state from organization to disorganization. Which is the process where it moves toward what is called ‘equilibrium.’<br /><br /><br />So from this explanation, whatever was, was in a state of organization but the laws of thermodynamics are such that it indicates that it is going back to a state of disorganization.<br /><br /><br />So this raises all sorts of questions. If the state of nature is to move towards disorganization, you have to ask the question, <em>how did it become organized in the first place?</em><br /><em>The law of inertia is another thing we have to question.</em> The law being the things in motion tend to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. Also, things at rest to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. Golf is a good example. A ball placed on a tee is at rest. The golfer is at rest when he addresses the ball. He sets a club in motion and this outside force strikes it and then the ball goes into the air. Then it is acted upon by air which resists the balls flight because of friction so it hit’s the ground and further friction brings it to a stop. Outside sources acting against the ball traveling indefinitely are why the game can be played at all. So we know what the force was that struck the ball but in like manner we have the Big Bang and we need to ask what caused the Bang?<br /><br /><strong>What caused the Bang?</strong><br /><br /><br />So we find people saying we don’t have to ask that question for that is out of the scope of science and deals with philosophy and theology. But RC Sproul says that if you are going to pin all your hopes on a concept of an initial Bang why don’t you answer this question of what causes the Bang. <strong>Science is innately concerned with causality. And this question is the Big Question of causality</strong>. It is an intellectual cop out to not want to go there. If you are going to postulate this thesis for the origin of Everything then you are begging the question of what it is that is the outside force that causes this monumental change in this tiny point of ‘Singularity.’ That causes the movement to begin.<br /><br /><br />Christianity has the answer to that readily available. This is exactly what is involved in the doctrine of creation. We have a self-existent eternal being who has the power of motion and has the capacity to move that which is not moving. This is what Aristotle understood in antiquity when spoke about the ‘unmoved mover.’ He understood that their had to be an origin to motion. That which has the power of motion must have it within himself. It must have the power of Being within itself. That is why we attribute these attributes to God.<br /><br /><br />We have the idea that this matter is compacted at the point of Singularity but what about the matter and energy itself being the ‘self existent eternal being’. this is what is assumed in Materialism. The universe is not 15+ billion years old but is just the present incarnation of energy and matter. The stuff of reality is eternal.<br /><br /><br /><b>Materialism’s description of self existence</b><br /><br /><br />What is it in the universe that is eternal? Is it this piece of chalk - in its individuated form or my car keys or Sproul. A materialist will say, no, the sun or the chalk is not eternal. They will say the chief characteristic of matter is it’s mutability, that it changes from one shape to another state. It is not stable eternally. It is in a state of ‘becoming’ and not in a state of pure Being. Anything that we find in the universe that is changing that manifests contingency and is dependent or derived from something else cannot be the ultimate core of being of the universe. That is what we are describing here about ‘Self existent something.’ The materialist will say they grant that this piece of chalk or a key chain is not eternal reality that is self-existent. But that it is made up of elements that are generated by a self existent eternal ‘something.’ But this self existent eternal something, contrary to you religious people, is not transcendent. But rather, it is immanent. You don’t have to appeal to something above and beyond this world to account for this world. For the teaching of the Judeo-Christian worldview is there is something outside the creaturely universe and transcends it. But the materialist says that their must be something that is self existent, not self created for they know that that is absurd, and is apart of the universe. The sum total of the universe is some eternal pulsating force that is the cause of the existence of everything that is in this universe. It is an undiscovered part of the universe where it accounts for all the Bangs and the generating of the power from Singularity. An isolated unknown point within the universe is the pulsating power which generates everything from that beginning.<br /><br /><br /><b>Immanence view</b><br /><br /><br />Notice in describing this view Sproul uses the term, <em>Generated</em>. Yes, and Genesis comes from Genaoho which means to Be or to Become or to happen and cause to be. To make something to come into existence is to generate it. So back to this view that there is a hidden unknown point, <em>within</em> the universe, that is the pulsating core of all reality that generates everything from the beginning. The point being there is no God who lives outside the universe, above and beyond the universe, but within the universe itself. This is called the “Immanistic view.” This is very popular in science and philosophy in some circles today. They say there is a ‘self existent eternal power’ for without this there can be nothing. <em>Their challenge to the Transcendent view is why does it have to come from beyond the universe? Why is it not possible to be a part of the universe?</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><blockquote><em>Sproul’s answer to these questions is that it can be apart of the universe itself. Depending on how you define ‘universe.’ If you mean by universe, all that is, then, if God is - then he would subsumed under the term ‘universe.‘ Because ‘universe’ is then described as ’all that is.’ </em><br /><em>If, on the other hand, you mean by universe, the created universe, then obviously you can’t subsume God into the meaning of the term universe. You have to be able to distinguish between God and the universe.</em><br /></blockquote><br /><br /><br /><b>Transcendence</b><br /><br /><br />The way we distinguish in theology about God and the universe is God transcends the universe. But what we mean, and this is critical that you get this - <strong>transcendence is not a description of God’s location.</strong> Transcendence is not a geographical location. We are not saying that God is transcendent in that he lives somewhere out there east of the Sun and west of the moon. What is meant by transcendence in philosophy and theology is something is a higher order of Being. That is rather than transcendence being a geographic location it is a ontological description. Therefore He is a higher order than we are. He is a higher order of Being than a piece of chalk or keys or the Sun or pure energy. We don’t care where He lives.<br /><br /><br />As opposed to the immanent idea, where there is a pulsating unknown point in the universe where a beginning happened. Some core within the universe that is self existent and eternal from where everything else is generated. Ultimately, is there something within the universe, that transcends everything else in the universe, from that point of generation? To answer this you must distinguish between the ‘point where the core-being is’ from all else that is in the universe that is not at the point of generation. What is that core-source-point and how is it different from the whole universe, from all other matter that is derived, dependent and contingent from the place of generation.<br /><br /><br />Now if this is true, then we are just arguing over ‘it’s’ name. Whether the name of it is X or YHWH. No matter how you slice it your forced back to a self existent eternal being. From whose Being and from whose power all things come into existence. Immanence or Transcendence are to be understood by a self existent eternal power source.<br /><br /><br />Now Christians will object at this point and say to me that we grant that philosophy and reason argues and demonstrates that you have to have a SEEB but, after this is dealt with, how do we get to the God of the Bible. All we have demonstrated, so far, is Aristotle’s ‘unmoved mover’ thesis. All we have is an abstract idea, a SEEB, but not a God who is depicted in the biblical account. This is a legitimate objection and it brings one to the question of what is the difference between the God of the Bible and the God of the philosophers. As you know, all that I have been saying in the last few lectures has been based more on philosophy than on biblical exegesis. And Sproul grants that that is true. Sproul’s burden that he has for the Christian community is going to be addressed in our next lecture. About the relationship between the God of the Bible and the God of the philosophers.Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-57378223391948892702010-02-19T23:00:00.000-08:002010-02-25T15:58:18.275-08:00A self-existent-eternal-being<span style="font-size:78%;">17th, defending faith, 11-09</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Self existence</span></b></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">A self-existent-eternal-being</span></b></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Necessary Being</span></b></div><br /><br />This has and is a course on apologetics and we have been discussing the options or alternatives to give us a sufficient reason to explain reality as we encounter it. Our first one, Illusion has been eliminated. We then looked at self-creation and we found that from a logical and analytical perspective that this is a self defeating idea. That is, it is absurd by definition and therefore rationally impossible.<br /><br /><br /><em>We have already established that somewhere, somehow, something is self-existent</em>. Because we have eliminated the other two by the impossibility of the contrary.<br /><br /><br />Is it possible for anything to possibly be self-existent? It is logically impossible for something to be self-created because it would have to exist before it was. It would have to be and not be at the same time and same relationship. But is this question of eternal self-existence possible?<br /><br /><br />There have been times in the past when people have gone so far in philosophical terms that if it can be thought up in the mind then it can exist in reality. That is not what we are going to demonstrate here now. For example I can conceive right now of a unicorn. We can use abstract thought combine and reassemble thoughts then disassemble them again and construct something. All things can be conceived of with some creativity. But just because its possible does not mean that this animal-type exists. This question we posed goes along with this idea: is it possible for self-existence to be rational?<br /><br /><br /><b>Can we conceive of an idea of a self existent being without violating rationality?</b><br /><br /><br />Sproul mentions that the everyday person will describe both Self Creation and Self existence as so similar, but are they? One may say, ‘they must both be irrational and impossible for there is little difference.‘ At least from the outset, we can say, there is nothing illogical about a self existent eternal being. A being can exist that is not caused by something else. Back when we spoke of cause and effect people tend to misunderstand this by saying that “everything has a cause.” No, the law of causality says that every effect must have a cause. An effect by definition is that which has produced by something outside itself or beyond itself. The idea of an uncaused being is perfectly rational. Now, just because we can conceive of an uncaused being doesn’t make it so. All we are saying up to this point is that we can conceive of this without violating the laws of logic and rationality. Reason allows for the possibility #3 while not allowing for #1 and 2.<br /><br /><br />It is conceivable but it may not exist. We could say that it is rationally conceivable that nothing would ever exist. But if ‘something’ exists that changes everything. If a self existent being exists it becomes not only possible but necessary. Sproul says it again:<br /><br /><br /><b><blockquote>If anything can exist, now the idea of the possibility of something being self existent becomes not merely a rational maybe but a rational necessity.</blockquote></b><br /><br /><br />Let us go into detail about this. We call self-existence the attribute of Aseity. Something exists in and of itself that is uncaused and uncreated. It differs with everything in the universe that has a cause and is dependent and derived. This being, therefore, has the power to Be in and of itself. It doesn’t gain something of itself from something antecedent to itself. It has it inherently. Because it has it inherently, it has it eternally. There was never a time when a self existent being did not exist. If these things aren’t true then if wouldn’t have these descriptions said of it. It would have been created. The definition of a self existent being is one who has always been.<br /><br /><br />We are now saying that it exists, not only possibly, from the viewpoint of reason, but necessarily. Now when Thomas Aquinas was arguing for the existence of God in his time, one of his arguments from his 5 was from the principle of ‘necessary being.’ In Theology God has been called the ‘Ens Necessario.’<br /><br /><br /><b>It gets complicated - pay attention closely</b><br /><br /><br />The 1st: When theologians and philosophers speak about God as necessary being there are 2 distinct way in which God is described as a necessary being. The first way is:<b> He is necessary by virtue of Rationality</b>. Or to say that the existence of God, that if anything exists, is rationally necessary. If something exists now then reason demands that we come to the conclusion that something has always existed. Then something somewhere has always had the power of Being within itself. Or we could not account for the existence of anything.<br /><br /><br /><br /><blockquote>Again, I will remind you, if ever there was a time when there nothing - absolutely nothing - what could there possibly be now - except nothing. Because, Sproul says, ‘Ex Nihilo Nihilo Vit’ or out of nothing, nothing can come. (Unless it can comes by itself, creating itself which is a rational impossibility.)<br /><br /></blockquote><br /><br />Now Sproul knows that there will be immediate objection to this and will say that science has now within quantum physics and quantum mechanics something coming from nothing. But on the contrary, it shows no such thing. Science shows things that are mysterious, that you can’t fit into your present paradigms but to say that nothing made something is not only bad theology it is bad science.<br /><br /><br />We know that something exists now. That means that there could never have been a time when there was absolutely nothing. There had to always be something. So far we have not demonstrated that it is God, but <b>we are only arguing at this point that there must be something that has the power of Being within itself and that it has always been there.</b> Therefore it is a Being whose Being is necessary logically. It is a logical necessity, now, that we postulate of such an idea of self existent Being. In review: we began this as a rational possibility, of a self existent being -- and given the thesis that there is something that exists now -- rather than nothing -- takes us to the next level and step which brings us to a self existent being through rational necessity.<br /><br /><br />When we talk about God being necessary; in the first instance, what we mean by that is it exists by rational postulation. Reason demands the existence of a SEEB. This is very important to the Christian who is trying to defend faith. [Here Sproul has an aside: the guns of criticism against Judeo-Christianity are aimed and focused, almost exclusively, at the idea of creation - and the idea of a creator. If you can get rid of creation and a creator you can get rid of the whole concept God and it collapses. People argue if you are going to be rational and scientific then you have to believe in a universe without God. What we are trying to do is turn the guns around and propose to them that they need to turn the guns around at themselves and realize what they are postulating as an alternative to full bodied theism is manifest irrationality and hence, absurdity. It is reason that demands that there be necessary Being.]<br />This is the first way of defining and describing necessary Being. That is - rationally necessary.<br /><br /><br />The 2nd way of defining necessary <b>Being as Aquinas gave is what we call Ontological necessity.</b> Here it gets a little bit more abstract. More difficult if you are not a student of philosophy. Ontology is defined as the study or science of Being. So when we say the God is ontologically necessary, we mean by that, he exists by the necessity of His own Being. He doesn’t exist because reason says he has to. He exists because he has the power of being in himself in such a way that this being - cannot - not - be. The difference between a human being and a supreme Being is…….Being. Our human existence is ‘creaturely’ , that is, dependent, derived and a contingent creature. We cannot sustain myself forever. There is a time when I was not, there will be a time when creaturelyness will transition to something else. That being death. We need things right now to continue to exist; water, air, blood etc. All these things make us dependent. Our life, when we are alive, is a constantly changing existence. This is the supreme attribute of ‘contingent being.’ Creatures change. Constantly. Where as a SEEB is changeless. It never looses any power. It never gains any in the scope of its Being. It is never in a state of becoming as Plato and others understood things. It is what it is - eternally. This is what is meant as a self-existent-eternal-being. It is ontologically necessary because it cannot help but Be. Pure Being is dependent upon nothing.<br /><br /><br />This is the link we have been discussing, with biblical theism. This how God explains and reveals himself to Moses in the Middianite wilderness. Out of a fire he speaks to him. When Moses asks who he is and how should he say to others who he is. And God says, Yahweh. Which translated means, ‘I Am - who I Am.’ It isn’t I Was or I am in the process, or I am becoming but I Am. Without this Being nothing else could possibly be.<br /><br /><br />Does this God have a name or is it the universe itself? Is it matter itself? This will be our next session.Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127395038721471857.post-74452744442779825982010-02-19T22:58:00.000-08:002010-02-25T11:44:38.933-08:00The concept of Self Creation<span style="font-size:78%;">15, defending faith, 09-11-09</span><br /><div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><strong></strong></span> </div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><strong>The concept of Self Creation</strong></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b></b> </div><div><b>Why is there something rather than nothing?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>We have been looking to some of the possible alternatives to account for reality as we encounter it. There are four and last time we dealt with the possibility of ‘Illusion.” We eliminated this by the Cartesian manner of reasoning, that is, by a skeptical view of how everything is. How doubting, in the end, made us give way to the existence of ‘Self.’ “If I doubt, therefore I am.”</div><div><br /></div><div>The second one our short list is, ‘Self Existence’. It is not the only one of the alternative that atheists offer against full bodied theism. But this one is the most frequently given explanation proffered by opponents of theism. It is rare, however, that someone will just come out and say that the Universe is ‘self created.’ Sproul is using this phrase as a generic principle under which there are several types. So even when people say they are not referring to this, they do ultimately mean their concept must be defined by this idea of ‘self creation.’ </div><div><br /></div><div>Self creation is a concept in philosophy which we say is ‘analytically false.’ That is it is false by definition. Sproul reminds us that we looked earlier at those basic principle of knowledge and principles of epistemology, that are crucial for understanding truth of any sort. And we should never negotiate these 4 away as theists or agnostics of any rational variety, because to reject theism, one will reject, along the way one of these 4 principles of knowledge.</div><div><br /></div><div>When we look at the idea of ‘self creation’ it is manifestly absurd. </div><div><br /></div><div>Because, for something to create itself, to be an effect which is it’s own cause, <em>it would have to exist - Before - it existed. </em></div><div>Or to put it another way,<em> it would have to Be - before - it Was. </em></div><div>Or something <em>would have to Be and not Be at the same time and in the same relationship</em>. </div><div>For something <em>to create itself it would have to antedate itself.</em></div><div><br /></div><div>Clearly, this violates the Law of no contradiction, our first law of the four, and puts this idea into the level of pure irrationality and absurdity. </div><div><br /></div><div><strong>The idea of ‘Self Creation’ is by logical analysis a false premise</strong>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before we continue, let us contrast between number 2 and number 3. Between self creation and the concept of self existence. To say that something is ‘self existent’ is to say that it is ‘Eternal.’ It has the Power of Being within Itself. That is, it is Uncreated. So we must right now speak of the rational and within this process, the logical framework of rational methodology. There is nothing of absurd or irrational contained in the idea of ‘self existence’ or ‘eternal existence.’ That is, #3 is at least a rational possibility. Because it violates no law of reason or logic (The why we will get to next time.) But the concept of ‘self creation’ does violate rational and logical standards because of the law of non contradiction. Sproul is suggesting that nothing can be ‘self created.’ </div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Did God make Himself?</strong></div><div><br /></div><div>The example being the story of two kids talking and the one says ‘Who mad the trees? God made the trees. Well then, who mad you? God made me. Well then, says the girl, who made God? Well the boy declares, God made himself! Now that might be a cute story but it is not sound. This is a thing God cannot do….He cannot make Himself. Because that would mean that He would have to Be before he Was. Same as we said a little earlier about the 4 statements about what is absurd and contradictory. Hamlet understood in his question, ’to Be or not to Be.’ You cannot have it both ways at the same time in the same relationship.</div><div><br /></div><div><strong>How do different theories on Self Creation pan out?</strong></div><div><br /></div><div>There are several theories that have been articulated in the past. One of the most widespread attempts to use ‘Self Creation’ as a substitute for notion of the Creation of the Universe by a Self Existent Eternal Being took place during the Enlightenment. Although the period was not monolithic in it’s teaching and debate on theism and other forms of premises. The French Encyclopaedic Movement had names like Diderot and others who vociferously argued against the existence of God. And for these the chief outcome or principle of ‘enlightenment’ that swept through Europe was the idea that now, with modern science, the God Hypothesis was no longer deemed necessary in order to explain, or to account for, or to provide a sufficient cause for the universe. They argued that in place of the God Hypothesis, which former generations believe was a rational necessity, a logical necessity to account for reality as we encounter it, but now, that can be released with impunity. Because the French said, ‘now we know that material things in the universe come into being from ‘Spontaneous generation.’ </div><div><br /></div><div>They thought that this was an explanation for things ‘beginning’ on their own. Suddenly and without any developmental period. Things just come into being. They would take as their explanation a mud puddle in the street and they would look down and see tiny little fish eggs and later they would be tadpoles and would conclude that life just ‘appeared.’ came spontaneously out of a puddle of water. They didn’t analyze all the phenomena that the water was adjacent to and the ecosystem it was apart of; as we would call it today. For them the causes were not visible to the naked eye. There was a period of time in history people believed that there was physical ex-nihilo, things came on their own. But the fundamental law of science was ignored with the axiom, ‘ex-nihilo nihil fit.’ Out of nothing, nothing comes. And science states that out of nothing - nothing can come. It doesn’t come because it cannot come. Nothing doesn’t produce something; because nothing cannot produce something.</div><div><br /></div><div>This full throated logical impossibility lasted from he middle 1700’s to even into the early 20th century. Science was now certain that reality cannot give birth to itself. But they then made the concept more sophisticated and refined. They called it ‘gradual spontaneous generation.’ So, amazingly, even the learned men of our day can believe nonsense statements. Because this means that you can’t get reality to produce something out of nothing quickly, but it takes time to create it. An evolutionary process of time can do it. If you have enough patience it will yield a result. Sooner or later reality will create reality.</div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Gradual generation: universes exploding out of nothing</strong> </div><div><br /></div><div>This is where science and philosophy butt heads. For at this point the scientist has left the scientific method back in the laboratory. He took the empirical half, the inductive half with him, but left the deductive side hidden in his trunk. The scientist has to take both of these methods and look at these statements which butcher rationality. It brings to mind the axiom that ‘a rose by any other name is still a rose.’ If you analyze these concepts of either gradual or spontaneous generation you will find a sophisticated attempt to articulate the idea of ‘self creation.’</div><div><br /></div><div>When the Hubble spacecraft was launched as strategic scientific enterprise in America, that very same day a famous astro-physicist was on a radio broadcast and was quoted as saying this is an important day for science. It will expand our understanding by virtue of this new technology. He went on to explain that the beginnings of the universe were some 13-18 billion years ago when the universe exploded into Being. Here is where a scientist used language heavily conditioned by philosophy and said there is a beginning point and it then had Beingness. That is curious and what does he mean? What was it before it exploded? Was it the antithesis of being? Which in philosophic categories is called ‘non-being’ or in the form of a synonym is called ’nothing.’ So from our discussions a few minutes ago it is said that it takes great amounts of time for ‘something to come out of nothing.’ That ladies and gentlemen, is philosophical nonsense! Sheer irrationality of this physicists thinking and if Sproul had a chance to interview him he hopes he would say he misspoke and would apologize. That there was a previous state of being and it changed at the time of this great explosion -there must have been something before this. [pay attention to the verbiage and manner of what people say]</div><div><br /></div><div>So we see what spontaneous generation is and what gradual generation is. Now we come to what we come into contact most in modern culture; which is…</div><div><br /></div><div><strong>Creation by chance</strong></div><div><br /></div><div>The universe comes into being by some power attributed to ‘chance.’ </div><div>The formula is: space + time + chance; will = something. Our third type of self-creation.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because this method is used so often today Sproul is going to spend the next lecture presentation on it. He has written a whole book on it titled “Not A Chance.” We will see how this relates to quantum mechanics, physics and astronomy. Theories that try to teach us that at the sub-atomic level we have things that are coming into being out of nothing. Based on the Heisenberg indeterminacy principle and other theories set forth by Niels Bohr.</div><div><br /></div><div>To summarize: there are 4 possibilities to explain the presence of anything. Remember, the oldest question in either science or philosophy is why is there something rather that nothing? I’ve tried to labor the point with you , that if ever there was time when there was nothing; absolute nothingness, -- no God -- no matter -- no anything; what could there possibly be now?</div><div><br /></div><div>If there ever was a time when there was nothing, well then, the only explanation is, the presence of something is through self-creation. </div><div>Something coming out of nothing by itself. Sproul wouldn’t assign this task of conquering Being from non-being to: an amino acid, neutrons, dark matter, mathematical constants or any of the pantheons of Gods.</div><div></div></div>Bruce Harkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11770994466497716591noreply@blogger.com0