2066-
HERACLITUS- Ok- lets pick up on my philosophy stuff.
Heraclitus
lived in the 6th/5th century BC. - He was from Ephesus
and his key thought was Ever Present Change.
That is he
saw everything as being in a state of continual flux- one of his famous sayings
was ‘No man ever steps into the same river twice’.
He is called
the Weeping Philosopher- sort of like the prophet Jeremiah in the bible- also
called the Weeping Prophet.
Heraclitus
is known for his concept of the Logos- the Word- or thought/reason.
Now- this
aspect of his thought plays a role in the development of the Christian
understanding of Christ himself- in our New Testaments [written in Greek] Jesus
is indeed referred to as the Logos- or Word of God.
The Greek philosophers
understanding of the Logos was not the same as the Christian view- mainly
expressed thru the writings of John [The gospel- the 3 epistles- and
Revelation].
But- some
see the Greek view as a precursor to Christ.
In the work
of one of the early church fathers- Hippolytus ‘The Refutation of all Heresies’
he attacks Heraclitus view of the Logos as an early form of heresy.
The
apologist Justin Martyr is more gracious- he [Like Ulrich Zwingli- the great
Swiss reformer of the 16th century] viewed the early Geek thinkers
as ‘pre- Christian’ or ‘Christians before Christ’.
Though many
reject this view- yet there is some scripture to back it up.
The apostle
Paul said in his letter to the Romans that if the Gentiles [non-Jews] do by nature
the things contained in the law- then they are justified in God’s sight.
Of course these
things are debatable- but I add this to show you that some great Christian thinkers
did indeed view the early Greek thinkers- who did live by a moral code- as
being right in God’s eyes.
And the
bible does teach a theme that we will be judged according to the amount of
light [understanding] that we had at the time.
I should
note that Plato [one of the 3 titans that arose after Heraclitus- from the city/state
of Athens] disagreed with Heraclitus on all things being in a state of constant
change.
When [if?]
we get to Socrates- Plato and Aristotle- I’ll try and cover the ways they advanced-
built upon- the thought of the pre Socratic thinkers.
As a side
note- the most famous student of Aristotle- who was the most famous student of
Plato- who was the most famous student of Socrates- was Alexander the Great.
This goes to
show you how great an influence Greek philosophy had on the ancient world.
A few nuggets
from Heraclitus- ‘all things come to pass in accordance with this Logos’
‘follow the common’ ‘not having their own judgment’.
Recently I
covered Acts chapter 2- and we see some of these ideas in the early Christian
movement.
The first Christians
did ‘follow the common’ they sold their goods- and had ‘all things common’
[communal lifestyle].
The apostle
Paul teaches the early church to all ‘speak the same thing- that there be no
divisions among you’.
And the New
Testament also says the scripture should not be given to Private Interpretation-
meaning- ‘not having your own personal judgment’.
All in all-
we do indeed see a sort of pre Christian thought in the pre Socratic thinkers- they
did indeed speak of the Divine- God- though there understanding of him was not
the same as the Christian church.
In a sense-
Heraclitus idea that in life- the only ‘constant’ is the fact that there is no
constant- that life itself is made up of an ongoing journey- we live day by
day- not ever knowing what ‘the next day will bring forth’- Jesus.
Yeah- the
man had some good points- the later Stoics would consider Heraclitus as the father
of their movement.
And in the
study of Philosophy- the Stoics- who had a good run from a few years before the
Common Era- were overtaken in the 4th century [as the main
influential philosophy of the time] by some new and lasting philosophy- started
by a man named Jesus Christ- who his followers claimed rose from the dead.
Yeah- this
New Way was called Christianity- and this philosophy has endured now for over 2
thousand years.
BAPTIZE THEM
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER- SON- AND HOLY SPIRIT
Yesterday I
spent the morning at the mission- had no meeting scheduled for the day- so I
try and use this time to help the guys.
Lance- one
of the young guys I see as a son- had to take care of some tax stuff- he never
filed his taxes- so wanted to do it late.
I took him to
the IRS building downtown- and he had an appointment for about an hour and a
half later.
So- we drove
down to the water front and hung out for an hour.
I realized I
was right next to the American Bank Center- so I decided to buy the tickets for
the Chicago concert coming next week.
As we sat
next to the Lexington air craft carrier- I said ‘hey kid- why don’t I baptize
you today’.
I have been
meaning to start baptizing the boys again- it’s been around 24 years since I’ve
done this.
Lance came with
me to our new Kingsville meeting the other day- David Buentello hosts this one.
He was part
of the original church I started in Kingsville back in 1987- David told the
guys ‘yeah- many years ago John baptized us in the ocean- there were jelly fish
all around- and John said ‘don’t worry- lets just do it’.
We did!
It was
funny- these guys have long records- my original Kingsville crew did many years
in prison- not like most of the Corpus guys.
I remember the
faces of these ex-cons- when they realized we were swimming with jelly fish- they
panicked- I laughed.
So- we went
back to the IRS building- and took care of business.
Before we
came back to the Bluff- I drove over the harbor bridge- and yeah- we jumped in
the bay.
I’ll post the
pics- this will be our designated spot for baptisms- North beach.
They just opened
up a Philly Cheese steak spot about 6 months ago right here- I took my wife
about a month ago.
I remember
feeling uncomfortable that day- when we went in I talked to the girl at the counter
‘Hey- I’m from New Jersey- do I get a discount’?
Of course I
was joking.
As I walked
out with my wife- I heard ‘by John’.
Real loud.
I thought
she was talking to some else- no- she was saying by.
I mean I
don’t know the girl- but it was a little strange- my wife was right there!
Anyway- me
and Lance waded into the surf- and I baptized him.
The water
was nice- we swam for a bit- sure enough- I realized I was bumping into Jelly
Fish.
I didn’t say
anything at first- but after a few minutes I said ‘kid- you know we are
swimming with Jelly Fish’.
The look on
his face was just like the day I baptized the Kingsville guys here 20 years
ago- I mean it was funny.
Lance- a kid
with quite a bad rap sheet- panicked a bit- I’m sorry- I had to laugh.
I told him
‘don’t worry- I’m claiming that verse- no deadly thing will hurt you’.
Actually- I don’t
feel any stings- I don’t think Lance did either.
He said
‘John- I was petting them’.
He said this
after he realized we were in the water with them- he didn't know he was ‘petting
them’ at first.
About a month
ago I was driving the boys back from our Bishop meeting- had Whistler with me.
I took the
Joe Fulton road- it’s a little out of the way- but you can see the deep water
Port from this road- and all the big tanker ships from around the world.
We drove right
past the area where I baptized Lance.
Whistler just
got out of jail and told me he had some strange dreams in jail.
He said he
had a dream that he was in the water- kind of preparing the way for others to follow-
he said at one point he was in the middle of a bunch of jelly fish- they were
stinging him- but he kept going.
Sort of like
taking the stings for others.
I have not
seen Whistler in over a month- Lance thinks he might be dead.
I hope not.
Whistler was
the one who ‘gave the interpretation’ of his dream- he told me he felt like he
was a fore runner in a way- and others will come after him.
Yeah- me and
Lance did- and thanks Whistler- we felt no stings.
1Corinthians
15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
1Corinthians
15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
1Corinthians
15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
LOVE NEVER
FAILS
Just a note
before I do the teaching for this week.
Yesterday-
right after I wrote the last post [you know- swimmin’ with the jelly fish] I
took the boys to Bishop for our meeting.
I knocked on
the door of Eli’s house- and Little Rudy opened-
‘Wow- brother
John!’
Rudy is the
son [grandson] of the original group of guys I started the ministry with 25
years ago.
His dad has
been in prison for a while- and the Kingsville meeting with David B- well he
used to run with Rudy- not only friends- but Big Rudy [aka FuFu- don’t get this
wrong- FuFu is not weak- or girly!] was also married to David’s sister Mary.
I know- it’s
hard for me to keep track of all this.
So- I
haven’t seen little Rudy in about 15 years.
As we did
our meeting- Little Rudy tells the guys ‘Yeah- brother John baptized me in the
ocean- and there were Jelly Fish stinging us’!
Funny- I
told him I just wrote on this earlier in the day.
Ok- in the
meetings this week [and tonight] I have been teaching the famous love chapter
penned by the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth [1st Corinthians
13].
The Apostle
tells us that Love is the principal thing.
He says
Knowledge- though good to have- is only in part- meaning there will come a day
when ‘we shall know- even as we are known’ and at that time- we will all be on
the same level- perfect knowledge in the presence of God.
The same
goes for Wisdom- the gift of Prophecy.
He says even
if we have faith to move mountains- and have not love- it does not benefit.
If we sell
all our stuff and give it to the poor- without love- it doesn’t mean anything.
If we give
our bodies to be burned [see- once again dying for God- in the early church-
was also seen as noble!].
All of these
noble things- without love- don’t really count.
A friend of
mine shared some bible chapters with me a while back- and this past year I have
been trying to ‘hear God’ thru the things my friends share.
So one day
David says ‘yeah- I went to the mission church the other night- and they talked
about Hosea- the first 3 chapters’.
Being I do
the halfway house with David- and these verses came from a sort of street
preacher- I knew they would have significance.
As I read
the chapters later that night- to be honest- I really wasn’t getting anything.
Then in chapter
3- God tells the prophet ‘go- love a woman loved of her friend- yet and adulteress-
with the love of the Lord’ [I’ll try and post the exact verse at the end].
Hosea was
given a hard task- he would marry a hooker- love her- and she would learn to be
faithful to him.
God did this
strange act as a sign- he said this was the way God’s people treated him.
They were unfaithful
to God- they sought spirituality [which is in the heart of us all] thru other
means [occult- false god’s- even Lucifer himself!].
Now- when
people do this- they are convinced that ‘their god’ is just as legitimate as
the Christian God.
Paul told
the Corinthians that satan has blinded the minds of those that don’t believe
[in the Christian God- as revealed thru Christ].
So- God’s
people- well- were blinded.
They thought
seeking after other god’s was ok- it wasn’t.
The letter
of James says ‘the Spirit that dwells in us gets jealous- know ye not that to
love the world is to reject God’.
So God gets
jealous- he loves us- he made us- and then we go after other sources of spirituality-
and it hurts him.
What Hosea
did- in a way- was what Jesus did.
In the gospels
we read about the great miracles of Jesus- actually all the things that are in
the love chapter quoted above.
Jesus did miracles-
spoke prophetic words- gave his body to ‘be burned’ [died on the Cross].
Yet- the
thing that hooked people- was his love.
Mary
Magdalene was one of his closest followers- she saw him every day- how he gave
his life for others.
She saw how
he gave voice to people- to the women who were ‘silenced’ by the culture of the
time.
When a
hooker cried- poured oil on his feet- wiped them with her tears.
The religious
leaders saw this- they said ‘if he were a prophet he would know what type of
person this is’.
He did
Know!!
That’s the thing-
he loved her anyway- he forgave- he accepted- he let their side of the story be
told- for the first time.
These women-
they saw all the miracles he did- the raising of the dead- opening up of the eyes
of the blind.
I mean they
were part of the crowd too.
But then he engaged
with them- he went out of his way to talk to the Samaritan woman at the well [John’s
gospel- chapter 4].
Even she was
shocked that he gave her the time of day.
These past
few weeks I have been posting some intellectual stuff- that’s ok.
I have been
helping out the guys- giving my time [and spending my money] on this stuff.
But God spoke
to me- most people can tell when I get irritable- or out and out mad.
Then I read
the love chapter- love doesn’t respond like this.
It’s not
irritable- or rude- it doesn’t seek its own welfare- but that of others.
Jesus showed
us love- he gave his life for people- people who never felt like they had value.
People who
couldn’t seem to find purpose in life.
Mary
Magdalene is said to have a pretty bad past- like the woman Hosea loved- by
God’s command!
After the
death of Jesus- Mary was distraught.
She went to
the grave- and even though she thought his body was still dead- she hoped to at
least get it back.
When she
realized Jesus was alive- and speaking to her- he said ‘don’t touch me- I have not
yet ascended to my Father’.
She was
wanting to hug him- hold him- show affection to him.
Why?
He was the
first one who really loved her- that’s why.
Hosea 3:1
Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an
adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel,
who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.
Hosea 3:2 So
I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley,
and an half homer of barley:
Hosea 3:3
And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the
harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.
1Corinthians
13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not
charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.1Corinthians 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
1Corinthians 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
1Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
1Corinthians 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
1Corinthians 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
1Corinthians 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
1Corinthians 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
1Corinthians 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
1Corinthians 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
1Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
1Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. [note- charity is love- this is the old King James version].
Note- Do me a favor, those who
read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read
them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [FaceBook#]
- I have posted lots.
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