MORE THAN 1 EVERYTHING?
VIDEOS [below]
I posted a few news articles that I mention on the videos-
on facebook.
I talk some physics on this post- I think I covered the same
on these I made in New Jersey.
UPDATE- Today [2-10-16] I read a news story on ‘Einstein
vindicated!’. Now- I actually said on the videos that ‘I’ll stick with
Einstein’- meaning- I think he will be right- in the end.
I just thought it strange that there was top news- today-
about him being right.
To be fair- the breakthrough the news talked about was the
possible discovery of gravitational waves [technical- I know].
In short- on the videos I talk about the disagreement
Einstein had with Niels Bohr [another scientist of his day].
Bohr- in short- believed that in Quantum physics [the study
of real small particles] that there was no real order/design to what was
happening- but things happened ‘by chance’.
Now- I did a whole video in the past why ‘nothing ever
happens BY CHANCE’.
Because CHANCE itself is simply a word that describes the
mathematical possibilities of something happening [coin flip- etc.]
But the reason this debate- about whether or not at the
level of sub atomic particles- there is ‘no order/design’ is important-
Is because it violates the actual goal of science itself-
which is to test stuff- observe things- and find out ‘how/why they work’ [cause
and effect].
So- Einstein famously used the phrase ‘God does not roll
dice’- when debating Bohr.
And Bohr responded ‘don’t tell God what to do’.
Ok- I just found it funny that this was on today’s news- the
possible discovery itself is considered major in the field of physics- if it’s
found to be true [The gravitational waves].
And scientists are saying it could be the biggest scientific
breakthrough for this century [maybe?]
So- it would be big.
In the end- design is in everything we study- look at- in
science.
And even if we do not yet understand how/why particles ‘act’
a certain way- this does not mean that therefore they are acting ‘by chance’-
no- nothing- ever- acts- or is made ‘by chance’.
Chance is never a cause to an effect.
Yes- like I said on the videos- I’ll stick with Einstein.
On the video titled
‘Code enforcement n Pops’- I thought I was ‘being targeted’. I realized I was
wrong [you’ll have to watch to get this]- they were targeting others![If I
remember I’ll add the link]- In short the local media ran a story on how the
city did a crackdown in my neighborhood because lots of people were complaining
about the rampant crime [drive by shooting- etc.].
So people were cited for violations like their fences were
too high- and must be fixed [lowered] in a week- by penalty of law! [Lien on
your house- it says that on the code violation paper they leave on your door].
Many residents said they felt like THEY were being targeted
because they complained. Ok- funny in a way.
ON VIDEOS-
MORE THAN 1 EVERYTHING- Physics and more.
https://youtu.be/gvx1TUlBahA More than 1 everything
MOSES- This would be good for Pastors.
CODE ENFORCEMENT N POPS- House numbers too small?
https://youtu.be/V1DovwciuN8 Code enforcement n Pops
MERCY N JUDGMENT- Talk about a local case of a girl who died
and the boyfriend facing charges.
https://youtu.be/h5o2qT5G1SU
Mercy n Judgment
.VA letter
.$81 dollars- for shipping n handling!
.Moses prayer answered?
.Me meet Easter morning
.Code enforcement n Pops
.Albert Einstein
.Niels Bohr
.Aphrodite
.Temple hookers!
.Being single is ok
.Viagra?
.Cheap meat ok
.Go out on top
.Fire dept. stuff
PAST POSTS [Verses below]-
. (958)1ST
CORINTHIANS 6: 1-7 Paul rebukes them for taking each other to court. He tells
them ‘don’t you have any wise people among you who could handle this? Why go
before unbelievers!’ he also tells them ‘plus, why even fight for your rights,
if you think you have been wronged in some way by your brother, then simply see
it as part of the cost of carrying your cross’. Paul contradicts the prevalent
mindset in much of Christianity today. He doesn’t teach ‘get what’s yours, know
your rights!’ he teaches the ethos of self denial, of living with the
expectation of giving up your rights and dreams. Of taking loss, if it
glorifies the Father. Now we get into some ‘stuff’. Paul appeals to them by
saying ‘don’t you realize that we shall judge angels some day, we shall judge
the world’. A few years back there was a debate going on in theological
circles. Some theologians popularized a new way to look at God’s sovereignty.
This new system was called ‘Open Theism’. Scholars like Clark Pinnock and
others held out the possibility that God doesn’t foreordain all future events,
they actually went further and said ‘he doesn’t know all future events’. Well
of course this sparked off a firestorm among the Calvinists. Does scripture
teach that God is sovereign and does know all that will happen? To be honest
about it, yes. But the idea of open theism was saying ‘because God has chosen
to give man free will, he, by his own design, has chosen to limit his knowledge
in the area of knowing all of mans future choices’. In essence that God
purposely ‘does not know’ the future outcomes of decisions that have not been
made by humans. If free will is real [of course the Calvinists say no] then God
must limit himself to knowledge in these areas. I personally do not believe
this, but I think I needed to share it to explain this section of scripture.
Paul does tell them they will judge the world and angels. In second Peter 2,
the apostle says the fallen angels are being held for a future day of judgment.
In Matthew [19-?] Jesus says those who follow him will play a part in a future
ruling over human government. These scriptures do indicate that believers will
play a role in future judgment scenarios. So if we ‘judge angels and the world’
we should be able to arbitrate between ourselves! Now, in the world of theology
you have sincere questions on ‘is it fair for God to judge people who have
never heard the gospel’ or ‘if God is truly sovereign in all things, even in
predestinating certain people to salvation, then this is unfair’. Many have
turned to universalism, or a belief in ‘no hell’ in order to quell these
questions. I want to simply float a scenario to you. Jesus says ‘whosoever sins
you remit [forgive] they are forgiven. Those you retain [not forgive] will be
retained’ while there are differing views on these verses, I want you to see
how these scriptures, in keeping with all that I just showed you, might leave
us room for another possible way out of all the so called questions on Gods
‘fairness’. Say if at the judgment, we are all gathered [Calvinists, Arminians,
Catholics,…] and say if we are all waiting to see who’s right ‘I’ll show that
Arminian…I’ll show that Catholic…’ and we are at the day where the future
destinies of millions are at stake. What will God do? It’s possible that much
of the final decision will rest in the hands of the church. I know it sounds
heretical, but keep in mind all the verses I just quoted to you. Say if all of
our pompous pontificating [wow!] amongst varying theories of the atonement and
universalism and all the other stuff. Say if Jesus turns to us and says ‘You
are now going to make the most important judgment of your lives, you shall
judge the world and angels’ and all of a sudden all of our scrutiny of God’s
fairness turns on us. We see in the crowd of masses, faces of people who we
hate. People who have been demonized by history [Darwin, Hitler]. Those we
always wondered about [eastern religions] and now much of their final destiny
rides on us. Even the possibility of fallen angels being forgiven! [Hey, maybe
Origen was right?] The whole point of this scenario is to simply say we might
have been asking the wrong questions all along. Now for sure, no one gets in
without Jesus and his blood! But there are also a few other verses [Peter] that
seem to indicate a second hearing [or first!] of the gospel before the final
day. The point being how willing are you to really carry out something like
this? Are you really ready for the great responsibility of having someone’s
destiny depend on how forgiving you are? I really don’t believe 100 % in this
scenario I just floated. But Jesus does put us in positions of responsibility
all thru out our lives. He does say ‘whoever’s sins we don’t forgive, these
sins will be held against them by your own choice’ we keep people in ‘chains of
bondage’ today! Never mind the future. God has committed to us great
responsibility as believers, if we are still fighting each other over
insignificant things [taking our brothers to court, if you will] then we are
truly not ready to ‘Judge the world’.
(959)1ST
CORINTHIANS 6: 8-20 Paul paints a ‘canvas’ of those who will not inherit the
Kingdom. The list not only includes the big ones, but also the ‘average Joe’.
Homosexuals, covetous, straight people who commit sexual sin; just the whole
gambit. I do want to stress that Paul is not politically correct, he does
categorize homosexuality as sin. He is not simply saying ‘non monogamous
homosexuality’ but all types. I know there is an honest effort being made to
try as much as possible to be more inclusive of other people’s views and
lifestyles. I am for this approach as much as possible, but we also need to be
honest about sin, all sin. Now covetous is that strong desire to amass wealth,
it is the daily longing and confessing and believing for more material
abundance. Yes folks, it’s what many of us have been duped into thru wrong
teaching. I had a homeless friend who used to tell me how his dad, who was
retired, used to wake up every day and simply consume his day with the stock
market and how his retirement was going, he didn’t realize that he made the
funding of his retirement [an okay goal] the main thought pattern of his life.
I also just saw a story similar to this on some business channel. We need to be
‘ware’ of covetousness. Now Paul makes special mention of the destructive
nature of sexual sin, he says ‘it destroys you’. I have been reading Proverbs
the last month or so and there are many warnings about sexual sin. It says ‘he
that does this destroys his own soul’. A few years back I watched [or read?] a
local story of a professor who came down with a disease called Dementia. As
they shared his story they described the progressive nature of him slowly
losing his mind, and how his family eventually brought him back home [he was
not married, his parents took him in] as they shared the sad story, they
kinda tactfully said ‘one of the
possible signs of this disease is obsessive compulsive sexual behavior’. They
basically were saying part of this mans history included obsessive sexual sin.
I wonder if the dementia in some way is a result of the behavior, as opposed to
a symptom. There was also a study done years ago that showed the difference in
the brain scans of Homosexuals and Heterosexuals, they seemed to have found
some real physical brain distinctions. But once again, is it possible that
sexually engaging in certain sinful behaviors is actually ‘destroying the
soul’, or causing a change in the brain? Paul singled out this sin [not just
Homosexual behavior, but all sexual sin!] as causing actual damage to a
person’s physical make up in a way that was more damaging than other sins. I
think we all need to heed his warning. [note- sexual sin is a common struggle
in life. Many believers do struggle and have fallen into this sin. Paul
actually is addressing these sins because of the prevalence of the problem. I
don’t want to condemn any one who reads this site and struggles this way, Paul
is offering hope and forgiveness thru out this letter. He seems to be extra
harsh with the Corinthians because of
their lax attitude towards this sin].
(961)1ST
CORINTHIANS 7:1-15 Paul addresses divorce. It is interesting that Jesus himself
actually raised the bar from the Old Covenant practice to the New. In most
other areas he emphasized grace as opposed to law ‘the Sabbath was made for
man, not man for the Sabbath’ but in this area Jesus said ‘Moses made an
exception under the law for divorce, but from the beginning this was not Gods
plan’ and Jesus restricted divorce to the cause of adultery [fornication-
actually the word for pornography] only. Here Paul gives some direction. First,
you shouldn’t divorce. You also shouldn’t be married to an unbeliever. Well,
what should happen to those who were unbelievers when they married, but now one
is a believer? Paul says if the unbeliever is ‘pleased’ to stay in the union, then
that’s fine. Well what does ‘pleased’ mean? If the unbeliever is physically
abusing his spouse, then that doesn’t seem ‘pleasing’ to me. Paul will say if
the unbeliever departs, let them go. The believer should not feel condemned by
this. He/she had no control in this case. But if there is a divorce, let the
one who left remain unmarried. So what happens if you were forced into it, can
you re marry? Paul does not specifically say. He does say to the one who left
the marriage, they should not remarry. Divorce is a tricky issue. When
attending the fundamental Baptist church they taught that if one were divorced
they could never be ‘a Pastor’ [even though no one was ‘a pastor’ in this way
in the first century church!]. Many teach that Paul’s instructions on Bishops/Elders
said a divorced person should not be an overseer. Paul actually said ‘they
should be the husband of one wife’. This most certainly could simply be saying
they shouldn’t be in a plural marriage. This was common in the first century,
so you could take it this way. Overall I find it strange that someone could
have been a murderer [Paul] or any other type of sinner, but the divorcee'
seems to be the only sinner that is excluded. The other problem is how much of
‘a believer’ were you at the time of your divorce. There have been well known
preachers who initiated the divorce from their wives, they remarried and later
wanted this to be treated as any other sin, just forgive and forget. The
problem is if you were wise enough in the lord to have known better, then true
repentance would entail making things right. Whether that’s reconciliation or
simply remaining single, but it sure seems like these types of brothers who
went into the whole remarriage thing with their eyes wide open, they should be
held to a higher standard. Overall, we should not be in bondage to things that
were out of our control. Those who were victimized and the partner left you,
you should not be condemned for something that was out of your control.
Believers who initiate the divorce from someone who was willing to stay in the
marriage, they should not remarry. There have been too many cases where
believers divorce other believers, without biblical grounds, and then remarry
someone from the church. These situations are not permitted. If the believing
spouse was simply ‘difficult to live with’ then that doesn’t cut it. In
situations where there was actual physical abuse, well I don't believe the Lord
wants you to stay in the house under these circumstances. But the only biblical
excuse for divorce, according to Jesus, is adultery. In all of these gray
areas, wisdom must be applied. The high profile ministers who have initiated
their divorces and remarried, without the proper biblical grounds, should not
be simply ‘forgiven’ and permitted to continue in their public role in
ministry. True forgiveness and restoration would entail some sort of repentance
and a public change in the situation. Like Paul says ‘to the rest speak I, not
the Lord’. I am giving you my opinion on some of this stuff, but I too think I
have the Spirit of Christ.
(962)1ST
CORINTHIANS 7:16 -24 ‘Were
you circumcised when you were called into the Christian life? Then don’t become
uncircumcised’ [that would be quite a feat!] ‘Were you uncircumcised when
called? Don’t get circumcised’. What’s Paul saying? Basically he is keeping the
decrees that were made at the Jerusalem
council [Acts 15]. He is stressing the importance of Christ’s spiritual
kingdom. To the Jew, he is not saying ‘keep trying to become justified by the
law and sacrifices’ but he is saying ‘I am not trying to wipe out your culture
and heritage, I am trying to bring you into the fullness of what the Prophets
have foretold’. This is Paul’s ongoing defense in the book of Acts ‘I stand
condemned because I believe that what the prophets said would happen, did!’.
Paul says the thing that matters is ‘the doing of Gods commandments’. When we
studied Romans I showed how Paul did say ‘the hearers of the law are not
justified, but the doers shall be’. Here again Paul stresses the importance of
the Christian life being one of true conversion. Those who believe are changed
and become doers of Gods law by nature. The mechanism of conversion is Faith,
the outworking of that conversion is obedience. So even though Paul is not putting
the law on the gentile converts, yet he does teach that they will by nature
keep the law [Romans again]. Now he says ‘were you a slave when called? Seek
not to become free. Were you free? Don’t become a slave’ and ‘be not the
servants/slaves of men’. We actually have hit on this a few times in recent
months. Once again Paul says ‘don’t see this new faith as an opportunity to
mount a civil disobedience campaign’ but at the same time he makes it clear
‘don’t put yourself under servitude either!’ The New Testament does not justify
the institution of slavery or racism! The basic ethos of this new kingdom is
freedom from bondage, it was only a matter of time before this new movement
would shake the foundations of society and uproot this evil. Make no mistake
about it, the anti-slavery movement was instigated by the people of God
[William Wilberforce, Charles Finney and many others].
(963)1ST
CORINTHIANS 7: 25 -40 let’s
be a little unconventional today. This passage deals with Paul’s counsel on
celibacy and marriage. The historic church has had a bad rap on this issue. It
is common today to say the church devalued marriage [and sex] and therefore we
should exalt it. Sometimes this attempt at trying to correct the perceived
imbalance puts a stumbling block in the way of those who are truly called to
live the single life. Though marriage is an honorable thing, a true gift from
God, yet living the celibate life can also be considered a very noble thing. It
is rare in contemporary evangelicalism to leave this option open. Paul does say
this option is not only available, but a noteworthy calling! He also makes it
clear that only those who are called to this single lifestyle should attempt
it. The church should not force celibacy on people. Now, do our catholic brothers
force it upon the Priests? In a way, yes. But don’t forget that no one is
‘forced’ into the priesthood. Some feel like the scandals of catholic priests
who abused children can be blamed on forced celibacy. The problem with this
idea is many protestant ministers have also fallen sexually, and they were not
celibate! The point being we need to be careful when we brand any Christian
denomination with an accusation. Now, Paul also makes an interesting statement
that we need to look at. He says ‘for the present distress I give these
guidelines’. Is it possible that Paul's seeming harshness on marriage was due
to the fact of some type of distress that he saw coming? Possibly the Neronic
persecutions? If so, Paul could be saying ‘because of the upcoming severe persecution
I recommend everyone just laying low for the time, if married, seek not to be
single and vice a versa’. This is possible, we need to keep this in mind when
reading this section of scripture. But most of all I think the modern
evangelical church needs to retool her message in this area. Marriage and sex
are good, God ordained these things in their proper place. But living single
and celibate is also considered a very noble calling, we do not normally
reflect this balance in the present atmosphere. Also as an aside, a few years
back it was common to teach ‘the world/public schools have taken sex and taught
it to our kids. They have usurped the job of the family/church’ while there is
some truth to this, the problem was some well known TV evangelists began to
discuss sex in the Sunday morning setting that was improper in a way [If you
local Pastors who read this have done this, be assured I am not talking about
you!]. I remember watching a national minister speak openly, with grandma’s and
children in the service, and say ‘now speaking about sexual climax’ Yikes!!
Just because the family/church dropped the ball on these issues, this doesn’t
mean there are no barriers at all while dealing with these issues. Those who do
this type of stuff seem to be saying ‘sex is not a dirty thing, therefore we
need to bring it out into the open’ while this is true to a degree, there are
also age appropriate subjects that should be taught in a private setting. If
the church feels the need to delve into these subjects, we need to be careful
that we are not crossing boundaries when doing it.
(964)
MORE PROOF FOR GOD- Okay, what’s up with ‘dark
matter’? In the 20th century the amazing breakthroughs in science
showed us that what we thought was a limited universe, was actually a growing
universe that was expanding at a faster rate every day. The further out you
got, the faster it was expanding. This discovery [Hubble] worked in harmony
with Einstein’s theories. This discovery also created a problem. If the
universe is so much more vast than previously thought to be, then the amount of
known matter needed in the universe in order to maintain the proper
gravitational force was not there. Basically you need so much matter to exist
in order for this newly discovered expanding universe to hold together and
function right. The problem is that the matter is not there![some say it is
still not detected]. So the theory of ‘dark matter’ [unseen, undetected matter]
has been floated. This invisible matter is supposedly the single greatest matter
in existence, though we have no proof that even one tiny particle exists! Ahh, when stuff like this happens, we
need to pay close attention. Why? Well some who defend the young earth theory
of creation use this to back up their claim of a young universe. It’s kinda
technical stuff, but this ‘dark matter’ has to be there to defend the old age
theory [for some!]. Another problem is we have absolutely no proof that this
dark matter exists. It is simply believed in because the naturalistic
explanation demands it! Sort of like coming to a part in a puzzle where a piece
doesn’t fit, so you simply make something fit. Now, the bible does teach that
the vast universe is held together [a key role of so called dark matter] by
Christ’s absolute power. The other explanation for how the vast universe is
able to function smoothly, without the needed matter to create the huge amount
of gravity, is that God himself is holding all things together by his
omnipotence. In essence, we need God for this puzzle to fit. I am not saying
the idea of dark matter is totally false, but as far as we know today, there is
no proof that it exists. We as believers should not take an anti scientific
stance on everything, to the contrary, true science always backs up the
Christian world view [in general] but we also need to be suspicious when
science floats an idea that can be explained by the existence of a creator. If
the idea is simply out there, with no proof at all [the multi-verse] then we
certainly have the right to challenge whether the whole thing is a bunch of
‘dark [invisible] matter’!
(965)1st
CORINTHIANS 8- Once again Paul will deal with the issue of what’s clean or
unclean, the Christians convictions. Corinth
not only had low sexual standards, but also much idolatry. This led to a
problem of whether or not believers should purchase the meat sold in the market
that was used for idol worship. After the sacrifice was made, whatever good
meat was left could be sold on the streets. Now, Paul says the believer knows
there is only one true God, so with this knowledge you are not sinning because
you know the meat really wasn’t used to worship other gods, because there are
no other Gods! But he also says that every man does not have this knowledge. So
just like he taught the Romans, he teaches the Corinthians that in all of your
freedom, the highest standard is whether you are building others up or tearing
them down. If you have a free conscience to eat the meat, then fine, it is no
sin to you. But if this liberty is offending the minds of those who are weaker
in the faith, then your freedom just became a stumbling block and worked
against the main goal of building others up. So the real question isn’t ‘can I
do this with a clean conscience’ but ‘does my practice offend or build others
up’? Many years ago I had a friend who smoked cigars, he was a believer and
simply saw nothing wrong with it. We had a mutual friend who found out about it
and bought some cigars and gagged on them. His conscience was emboldened to
‘eat the meat’ and by doing it he sinned. Why was cigar smoking sin to the
weaker brother? Because he really wasn’t doing it out of a pure heart with a
clean motive. Though the cigar smoker felt he had the freedom to smoke [it
wasn’t an every day thing] yet his freedom caused another to fall. So Paul
consistently takes this position in his letters. Some day we will get to other
verses like ‘the things the gentiles offer to idols are being offered to
demons, so don’t partake with them at the same table’ this is dealing with a
different thing, I’ll explain it at another time. Paul also says ‘knowledge
puffs up, but charity builds up’. One of the side trails believers can easily
fall into is thinking the Christian life is simply an exercise is learning
things. That is knowledge for knowledge’s sake. While Paul was not advocating
ignorance, he was dealing with carnal believers who walked in pride. He was
showing them that those who think they stand should be careful lest they fall.
Paul was calling them to a higher purpose than just learning scripture and
applying it for personal satisfaction, he was calling them to live
sacrificially, to take the wrong done to you [legally in court stuff]. To give
up the freedom to ‘smoke cigars’ if you will, for the sake of others. Paul was
teaching them that it was possible to be right and have the answers to back up
your position, but if you are truly not dieing to self, you are simply getting
‘puffed up’.
(966)1ST CORINTHIANS 9:1-14 Paul defends his
apostleship and gives a strong defense for the New Testament doctrine of
financially supporting Christian leaders. Now, I never want to be one of those
types of teachers who skews or bypasses scriptures that seem to contradict
previous teachings. It’s common for good men to do this, all leaders need to
avoid doing it. Recently I added my comments to a debate that raged in the
blogasphere. You had Frank Viola put out the book ‘Pagan Christianity’ [good
book, I read and do recommend it] and another good theologian, Ben
Witherington, gave a good critique [I also recommend Bens site, you can find
both Frank and Ben’s sites on my blog roll]. Part of the debate hinged on the
financial support of elders/ministers. I must admit I fell on Ben’s side in
this argument, though I probably would agree with Frank around 90 % of the time
on all the other stuff. Ben argued for the biblical mandate to support elders,
frank seems to teach the support of apostles [itinerant workers]
[parts]
these areas will ‘abide forever’
that is your impact will affect many generations to come. Right after the 16th
century Reformation you had what is referred to as the Enlightenment, or the
‘age of reason’. Many thinkers began to challenge the institutional church [and
institutions in general] and believed that reason and rationality would lead
the way. In France [1700’s] Paris became a center of thinking for these Deists.
These men were smart enough to realize that the total denial of God was too
ridiculous to accept, they instead embraced Deism. Deism is a type of belief
that said God started the ball rolling, but he left the rest on auto pilot; the
same belief that the Greek philosophers embraced. Now, one of the famous
‘Philosphes’ [sic] was a man by the name of Voltaire, he is well-known as an
infamous atheist today, but he did not totally reject God. These men did have
tremendous influence and they produced the French Encyclopedias which backed up
their cause. Eventually they would overthrow the Catholic Church and kill the
king in their mad rush towards ‘reason’. They were wrong on their basic understanding
of reason and rationality as they applied it to the church. They believed that
rational thought meant ‘naturalistic
thought’ that is in order for things to be rational, they could not be
supernatural. They were wrong, in fact those who would later take the next step
into full atheism would deny the laws of reason and logic all together. I saw
Richard Dawkins do an interview the other day, he is one of the popular
atheists of our day. These men who reject God accept a view of creation that violates
the laws of logic; they teach/believe that all things came from ‘no-thing’ a
scientific impossibility. This idea violates the law of ‘reason’ known as the
law of ‘non contradiction’. This law states that a thing cannot be and ‘not be’
at the same time and in the same relationship. For all things to have come from
nothing [self creation] would mean that all things created itself. It would
have to 'have been’ before it was. This common system of belief is absolutely
irrational, even though the atheist believes it to be rational. To believe that
God is a self existent being who created all things does not violate the laws
of logic, you might think it does, but it doesn’t. For someone to have existed
forever does not violate the classic laws of logic. So these thinkers who
thought that their rejection of God was ‘rational’ were in fact wrong. Their
ideas led to effects that were horrendous, they in effect ‘planted seed’ [bad
doctrines] that would outlast them and their generation, their bad ideas had
bad consequences. But the truth of God and his kingdom have also been ‘planted’ in the world, these seeds will last
forever. If you want to effect society for good, then plant the seeds that will
have an eternal impact, for ‘he that does the will of God will abide forever’
[1st John].
I have a catalog sitting here- from the company that I order
courses from. A few years ago I got on their mailing list [How- ?] and ever
since I have been bombarded with monthly catalogs.
I mean every month- a bit much. Then I realized that one
month out of the year they put a bunch of courses ‘on sale’ for around 70% off
the regular price- and that’s probably where they do their best business [I now
only buy from the discounted monthly catalog].
Anyway- I read the intro to their course on Dark
Matter/Energy- these teachers are really good- they are professors from the
premiere universities of the world [Oxford, Harvard, etc.] and to get the
courses at this price- well it’s really a bargain.
But over the years- studying various disciplines [Theology,
Apologetics] it’s easy to see when some smart men- make really bad mistakes.
Especially when dealing with the whole ‘proof for/against
God’ type stuff.
In this short intro to the Dark Matter course [Physics-
these courses cover everything- history- science- religion- the whole 9 yards]
they start out okay- they explain that according to the standard theory of
modern physics- that there is about 95 % [wow- that number has jumped these
last few years!] of matter ‘missing’ in the universe.
What do they mean by ‘missing’? They go on to explain that
the effects that we see in the universe- the gravity and function of the
universe- well according to standard theory- there is simply not enough matter
to explain how all this is held together- how everything actually works.
Okay- so they admit that there are a whole bunch of
phenomena- that we see taking place- that modern science has no idea how it’s
taking place.
Now- as the intro continues- they say in order to ‘fill the
gap’ they have come up with the idea of Dark Matter.
Dark Matter is simply a name given to nothing- that is
nothing that we can detect thru the means of modern science.
Okay- by definition- it is a Metaphysical reality- something
that science has espoused as a possible cause for the effects we see in the
universe- and by their own definition- its invisible- undetectable and unseen-
it is metaphysical [just like the argument for the existence of God].
So they go on to say ‘we know that this matter exists-
because how else could you explain how everything works’- now- to those who get
into these debates- the guy who wrote the intro- I’m sure he means well- but
his whole argument is a materialistic one.
He is saying that there is no chance that some type of ‘non
matter’ can be making this happen.
So he then says ‘because WE KNOW that there has to be a
material explanation for this- no ‘God stuff’ here- therefore its Dark Matter.’
Okay- and what is Dark Matter again? O- it’s this non
detectable- unseen matter- that just happens to make up 95 % of the universe.
Okay- Mr. smart guy- you don’t go for those Intelligent
Design guys- the ones who argue that some non material force might be behind
this- you rejected their argument because you say they are arguing from a non material
realm [called metaphysical].
So how again have you proven that your idea- all this
missing matter- exists? O- easy- because we see the effects OF IT all around
us.
Actually- no we don’t. We see the effects of SOMETHING- that
is- modern science has this huge gap- there are effects taking place in the
known universe- that have no materialistic explanation for- we can’t find a
material, observable cause for these effects.
The Christian says ‘Okay- I stick God in that gap’ [which
many materialists accuse us of doing- they call it the ‘God of the Gaps’
approach].
But the materialistic scientist [one who says there can only
be a detectable- material cause to things- in order to classify it as science]
he then comes up with the whole Dark Matter argument- an argument based on non
detectable- unseen- unproven matter.
And he then says ‘it must be there- because how else can you
explain how everything is functioning?’.
[1582]
HITCHENS-PIRATES AND M THEORY- Let’s talk a little more about
Christopher Hitchens book- God is not great. As I’m reading thru the book- and
also doing some studying on Modernity- it’s obvious for me to see the errors in
the arguments Hitchens is making in trying to refute the existence of God.
Instead of attempting to refute each argument he makes [and to be honest- he
does make many classic mistakes- things that are not really hard to show as
false]. Let me give you just a few points- Hitchens comes at you from all
angles- history, science, historical criticism [a view of the bible that tries
to undermine the historical accuracy of the faith] politics- he basically
covers all the angles that I too like to engage in. He is smart- no doubt about
it- and he mocks Christians, Jews, Muslims- and he does it in a way that says
‘you are all idiots’. So that’s why when attempting to refute him- when I see
him doing
[parts]
Now- we will read how John gets himself into some hot water.
Not only is he preaching about The Lamb of God- he starts saying ‘Herod [the
Roman ‘king’ figure that was over the Jewish people] you have take your brother
Phillips wife- you can’t have her!’
Herod was the son of Herod the great- we read about ‘the
great’ as being the king at the time of Jesus birth- he was the one who had all
the babies killed because he heard that Christ was born and he wanted to wipe
out the competition- this Messiah who would be ‘The King of the Jews’.
The funny thing was- Herod wasn’t a Jew. Yet he saw himself
as the actual Messiah to the Jews- Rome gave Herod [the great] this figure head
authority- and it literally went to his head. Now- Herod died soon after the
slaughter of the kids- and his son would ‘reign in his place’.
This Herod would be the king at the time of Jesus earthly
ministry. This is the king who John the Baptist was preaching against.
One time they came to Jesus- to kind of intimidate him- they
said ‘you know- Herod knows about you- he will get you’. Jesus- you know- we are supposed to respect
authority- right? He says ‘go tell that fox- that today and tomorrow I do healings
and great works- and on the 3rd day I will be perfected’.
Perfected means ‘come to maturity’. This was a reference to
his death and resurrection on the ‘3rd day’.
So Johns out there preaching against what he sees as
corruption in govt. and one day they finally had enough- Herod puts John in
prison.
Now John’s sitting there in prison- right at the time of
this great ministry of Jesus. I mean Jesus is healing people left and right-
raising the dead. I mean John must have felt vindicated- right?
John’s sitting in jail- and day after day- in this prison-
he starts to think ‘geez- I have been stuck here for a while now- I mean I was
the forerunner- Jesus said that about me- I’m the voice of one- the guy who
proclaimed the truth when no one else was willing to take the risk- what the
hell am I doing here- sitting in prison!’
John must have thought he was getting a bad deal. He sends 2
of his disciples to ask Jesus ‘are you the one- or should we look for another?’
Was he having doubts? Come on- Jesus is raising the dead for
heaven’s sake- John was basically saying to Jesus ‘are you the one? If so- why
am I still in the damn jail!’
John was being sifted. Peter will be- Job was too. For some
strange reason- this is how things work. The bread has to be broken before it
can feed people.
Of course we know the rest of the story- Herod's daughter in
law will do a dance for the king- and the wife will get the head of John the
Baptist on a platter- she got tired of hearing him.
Soren Kierkegaard- the 19th century
Christian/Philosopher is considered to be the Father of Existentialism.
Existentialism is the philosophy that says you start with ‘existence’ that is
you begin the journey with real life passion- real interaction in life. Your
failures and your high points- all these real things we experience in life-
these are the things that shape us- that make us real.
Soren lived in a day where the Danish state church was dead
and formal- and he spoke out against the dead lukewarm orthodoxy of his day.
One time he would say when he got tired of all the religious
formalism- the fake plastic face we all put on so other people can’t really see
our struggles- he said he would go read the Old Testament- the stories of
murder and adultery and covering up crimes- he said these were real stories- of
failure and success- of sitting in jail and thinking you might get out- but
instead you get your head taken off.
These are the real stories of some of the most hallowed
saints of history- yes- human frailty runs right through it all- like some
scarlet thread.
One time Jesus said to Peter ‘I have prayed for you’ that
sounds great when it stands alone- but when you see it in the context of the
whole verse- then you realize that you just might be in for something that you
never expected would happen- you might be getting ready to go through a real
existential moment- face to face with your own failures and humanity.
Peter will later write ‘beloved- when you go thru trials-
don’t think it strange. Realize your brothers are also going through them’ and
‘it is not only our privilege to believe on the name of Jesus- but it is also
our privilege to suffer with him’.
Yes Peter went on to get past the sifting- the memory of
being the disciple who denied Jesus. I mean Peter was the only one who walked
on water [ besides Jesus]- he raised the dead in the book of Acts-
[parts]
But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we
were held; that we should serve in newnessof spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. Rom. 7:6
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament;
not of the letter, but of
the spirit: for theletter killeth,
but the spirit giveth life. 2nd Cor. 3:6
VERSES-
Hebrews
11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of
God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Hebrews 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Hebrews 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Hebrews 12:10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. Jn 8:34
Deuteronomy
31:22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children
of Israel.Deuteronomy 31:23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.
Deuteronomy 31:24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
Deuteronomy 31:25 That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,
Deuteronomy 31:26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.
Deuteronomy 31:27 For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?
Deuteronomy 31:28 Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.
Deuteronomy 31:29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
Deuteronomy 31:30 And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.
Deuteronomy 32:44 And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.
Deuteronomy 32:45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:
Deuteronomy 32:46 And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 32:47 For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
Deuteronomy 32:48 And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,
Deuteronomy 32:49 Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:
Deuteronomy 32:50 And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:
Deuteronomy 32:51 Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of MeribahKadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
Deuteronomy 32:52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren,like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. Acts 3:22
Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. Jer.
Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Heb 13:4
4 Now the
Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking
lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3 Forbidding
to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be
received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
1st
Tim. 4Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Rom. 12:7
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