I appreciate Pascal's wager argument. I'm not sure it would stand up to Christ's words in Matthew 7:21-23. Many shall come to me in that day, but I will say I never knew you. The one thing that stands out to me about Jesus is that he gets under everyone's skin. Is it a religion or a relationship? In John 5:39 - 40, Jesus said You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. Is Scripture valuable? Certainly, but we cannot make it an idol to be worshipped. It points us to something greater.
You matter no matter what you've convinced yourself needs to be done for you to matter in this world. Letting go and allowing God into my life helped me to understand how connected we all are and that we're loved beyond words. There's so much information about who we really are that's been hidden from us by evil entities and organizations. Instead, they've replaced it all by dogma under the cloak of religion and/or education. They think they've hidden the answers from us, but the answers have been inside of us the whole time.
Fascinating argument, Kevin. I consider myself a non-traditional (some would say heretical) Christian. This article merits more of my contemplation. Thank you.
I'm a Christian. I love God for my relationship with him daily. It is the massive strength and guidance in my life that brings joy and meaning. Religions haven't sent their devotees to source in a long time. If you're curious just pick up the Bible. I bet you can't just take one (minute).
Look even silicon valley is digging into Revelation 12 and 13 and wondering how John 2k years ago wrote what they're working on now. I think Christians get excited to have others understand and be in God's love. I have three post secondary degrees, have had a productive career. I am the author of World on Mute. But it's the Bible that humbles all of that.
You know, Paul talks about this very thing. Here's 1 Cor 12-19:
12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
The thing is, you don't have to wait until you die to find out the truth. If Jesus rose from the grave, then He's alive now. And if He's alive now, then His words can bring life - His words as written in scripture - but also His words in the various ways He can speak to us today. Like take the moon for instance. If we didn't have the moon we have, we wouldn't be here. Earth would be tidally locked to the sun. One side always hot, the other side always cold.
But the moon is more than just what made our lives possible. It's literally a sign in the heavens. Just how many planetary / moon systems do you imagine there are in our universe that form a perfect solar eclipse? And do so right when humanity happens to be able to observe? The Earth / Moon pair may be the only one of its kind in the entire universe.
Or take the Shroud of Turin. No one can create that image even today, let alone some medieval artist. The image on the shroud contains 3D height information in the grey levels of the image, which shows us how far the cloth was from the body when Jesus was resurrected. The shroud is veritable proof that Jesus is alive. At least to me it is.
You can certainly work on building a better future. Long term, it usually doesn't work out very well. Just read your bible - which is also a history text.
But really, step back for a moment and ask yourself what is the whole point here - even if Jesus is alive and we don't perish to oblivion? What is God up to anyway?
This is where I like what my favorite bible teacher, David Pawson, said, "The bible is the story of a Father, searching for a bride, for His son." That's it. That's why we're here. God is searching for a bride, and each of us has the unique privilege to become that.
The thing is, the heart of the bride knows when she is being called. There is no oblivion in the heart of the bride. And this goes way beyond faith and belief.
The best argument for atheism is to read the New Testament. A bit of Bible literacy goes a long way in throwing cold water on any mystique that may exist for Jesus. In his erratic behavior, in the triviality of his miracles, in the incoherency of his preachings it’s clear that the historical Jesus was a schizophrenic. The two most common schizophrenic delusions are (1) that one is speaking to God and (2) that one is God.
We literally have examples of Jesus-like movements springing up all the time. David Koresh at Waco. Jim Jones at Jonestown.
It's wonderful that you are digging into these things, Kevin. I pray you become enthralled not with Christianity in the abstract, but with the marvelous person of Christ the singular God-man Himself who uniquely and efficaciously lived and died to rescue individuals who do not deserve it one bit.
No one can be reasoned into such saving faith, a.k.a., trust (Greek: pistis/pisteo)
Paul deals with this in 1st Corinthians 1, starting at v. 18, extending through chapter three. Why can't we be reasoned into it? He lays that out best in Romans 1, starting at v. 18, extending through the end of that chapter.
Basically, summarizing both, man 'naturally' (in sin) is not the neutral reasoner which his instincts or which any grand philosophy would have him to be. (Thus Aquinas' reliance on it is foundationally problematic). We each and all actively suppress the truth. Why? Because we trust our own worldly ways (darkness; sin; unrighteousness; fleshly expediency; whatever seems right in our own eyes) over His ways (see Isaiah 55) which He uniquely reveals in Scripture.
Yet we are are held responsible for perceiving, all around us the marvel of His creation and how it works (sweet fall air; hot coffee; puppies; babies; a good steak), and enjoying God's 'common' grace. We sense His supreme power and sublimely perfect character but our reasoning is fatally warped, along with every other aspect of our being. Presuming we are the best judge of things, we dethrone Him.
As such, the way to salvation (from God's proper wrath, under which we all 'naturally' exist--see John's gospel, chapter three, in its entirety) is to re-throne Him in our heart... to agree with Him that we are wicked, wretched sinners, wholly deserving of eternal hell... and to plead on His bounteous mercy and grace, exhibited in and by Christ alone.
example through action is the essence of leadership. words are easy and not inherently bad, but when words and actions conflict you innately know that the action likely reveals truth.
An interesting article not least because it demonstrates how much of Western Christian theology is based on the assertion of double-false binaries, basically double-strawman fallacies bolted onto fallacies of the excluded middle. This is what Buddhists are too polite to call “barbarian logic” but it is barbarian logic. Dualistic logic. Our damaged heritage from Aristotle. Our entire public debate is consumed by the assumption that everything does or doesn’t have a single cause and then debating either side of that false dual with an unwarranted passion that belies our total ignorance of causation. It infects our politics, our crude philosophy, our cultural view of “common sense”, and most of our “science”. We are Klingons shouting at a warp drive to get it to go faster. We are a barbarian culture.
Try Buddhism. It doesn’t dangle the immortality carrot. It just says, nobody knows what is going to happen tomorrow or in a trillion years. So in every moment, do no harm, don’t be ruled desires. They said this not out of ignorance of the alternative (do evil, indulge desires) but from extensive observation that the wrong path harmed everyone including the one taking it.
Christianity in its more mature form is exactly the same. The immortality carrot is to sway the weak-minded. People like Pascal.
Seems more like an ignorance is bliss process. "I don't know or can't know so I won't think about it." How do you deal with people who claim to have come back from the dead? Jesus and his disciples? Lots, not all, of people who share near death experiences? Deny that it happened? Just neurochemistry occurring in the death process? Then we are back to wagering our soul on something that possibly we have not fully examined.
You asking about Buddhists? They’re well acquainted with near death experiences and reincarnation. They are just wary of drawing overly strong conclusions from these events.
I appreciate Pascal's wager argument. I'm not sure it would stand up to Christ's words in Matthew 7:21-23. Many shall come to me in that day, but I will say I never knew you. The one thing that stands out to me about Jesus is that he gets under everyone's skin. Is it a religion or a relationship? In John 5:39 - 40, Jesus said You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. Is Scripture valuable? Certainly, but we cannot make it an idol to be worshipped. It points us to something greater.
You matter no matter what you've convinced yourself needs to be done for you to matter in this world. Letting go and allowing God into my life helped me to understand how connected we all are and that we're loved beyond words. There's so much information about who we really are that's been hidden from us by evil entities and organizations. Instead, they've replaced it all by dogma under the cloak of religion and/or education. They think they've hidden the answers from us, but the answers have been inside of us the whole time.
Fascinating argument, Kevin. I consider myself a non-traditional (some would say heretical) Christian. This article merits more of my contemplation. Thank you.
I too am a devout heretic at best. I appreciate your kind words.
I'm a Christian. I love God for my relationship with him daily. It is the massive strength and guidance in my life that brings joy and meaning. Religions haven't sent their devotees to source in a long time. If you're curious just pick up the Bible. I bet you can't just take one (minute).
Look even silicon valley is digging into Revelation 12 and 13 and wondering how John 2k years ago wrote what they're working on now. I think Christians get excited to have others understand and be in God's love. I have three post secondary degrees, have had a productive career. I am the author of World on Mute. But it's the Bible that humbles all of that.
You know, Paul talks about this very thing. Here's 1 Cor 12-19:
12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
The thing is, you don't have to wait until you die to find out the truth. If Jesus rose from the grave, then He's alive now. And if He's alive now, then His words can bring life - His words as written in scripture - but also His words in the various ways He can speak to us today. Like take the moon for instance. If we didn't have the moon we have, we wouldn't be here. Earth would be tidally locked to the sun. One side always hot, the other side always cold.
But the moon is more than just what made our lives possible. It's literally a sign in the heavens. Just how many planetary / moon systems do you imagine there are in our universe that form a perfect solar eclipse? And do so right when humanity happens to be able to observe? The Earth / Moon pair may be the only one of its kind in the entire universe.
Or take the Shroud of Turin. No one can create that image even today, let alone some medieval artist. The image on the shroud contains 3D height information in the grey levels of the image, which shows us how far the cloth was from the body when Jesus was resurrected. The shroud is veritable proof that Jesus is alive. At least to me it is.
You can certainly work on building a better future. Long term, it usually doesn't work out very well. Just read your bible - which is also a history text.
But really, step back for a moment and ask yourself what is the whole point here - even if Jesus is alive and we don't perish to oblivion? What is God up to anyway?
This is where I like what my favorite bible teacher, David Pawson, said, "The bible is the story of a Father, searching for a bride, for His son." That's it. That's why we're here. God is searching for a bride, and each of us has the unique privilege to become that.
The thing is, the heart of the bride knows when she is being called. There is no oblivion in the heart of the bride. And this goes way beyond faith and belief.
The best argument for atheism is to read the New Testament. A bit of Bible literacy goes a long way in throwing cold water on any mystique that may exist for Jesus. In his erratic behavior, in the triviality of his miracles, in the incoherency of his preachings it’s clear that the historical Jesus was a schizophrenic. The two most common schizophrenic delusions are (1) that one is speaking to God and (2) that one is God.
We literally have examples of Jesus-like movements springing up all the time. David Koresh at Waco. Jim Jones at Jonestown.
It's wonderful that you are digging into these things, Kevin. I pray you become enthralled not with Christianity in the abstract, but with the marvelous person of Christ the singular God-man Himself who uniquely and efficaciously lived and died to rescue individuals who do not deserve it one bit.
No one can be reasoned into such saving faith, a.k.a., trust (Greek: pistis/pisteo)
Paul deals with this in 1st Corinthians 1, starting at v. 18, extending through chapter three. Why can't we be reasoned into it? He lays that out best in Romans 1, starting at v. 18, extending through the end of that chapter.
Basically, summarizing both, man 'naturally' (in sin) is not the neutral reasoner which his instincts or which any grand philosophy would have him to be. (Thus Aquinas' reliance on it is foundationally problematic). We each and all actively suppress the truth. Why? Because we trust our own worldly ways (darkness; sin; unrighteousness; fleshly expediency; whatever seems right in our own eyes) over His ways (see Isaiah 55) which He uniquely reveals in Scripture.
Yet we are are held responsible for perceiving, all around us the marvel of His creation and how it works (sweet fall air; hot coffee; puppies; babies; a good steak), and enjoying God's 'common' grace. We sense His supreme power and sublimely perfect character but our reasoning is fatally warped, along with every other aspect of our being. Presuming we are the best judge of things, we dethrone Him.
As such, the way to salvation (from God's proper wrath, under which we all 'naturally' exist--see John's gospel, chapter three, in its entirety) is to re-throne Him in our heart... to agree with Him that we are wicked, wretched sinners, wholly deserving of eternal hell... and to plead on His bounteous mercy and grace, exhibited in and by Christ alone.
example through action is the essence of leadership. words are easy and not inherently bad, but when words and actions conflict you innately know that the action likely reveals truth.
An interesting article not least because it demonstrates how much of Western Christian theology is based on the assertion of double-false binaries, basically double-strawman fallacies bolted onto fallacies of the excluded middle. This is what Buddhists are too polite to call “barbarian logic” but it is barbarian logic. Dualistic logic. Our damaged heritage from Aristotle. Our entire public debate is consumed by the assumption that everything does or doesn’t have a single cause and then debating either side of that false dual with an unwarranted passion that belies our total ignorance of causation. It infects our politics, our crude philosophy, our cultural view of “common sense”, and most of our “science”. We are Klingons shouting at a warp drive to get it to go faster. We are a barbarian culture.
Try Buddhism. It doesn’t dangle the immortality carrot. It just says, nobody knows what is going to happen tomorrow or in a trillion years. So in every moment, do no harm, don’t be ruled desires. They said this not out of ignorance of the alternative (do evil, indulge desires) but from extensive observation that the wrong path harmed everyone including the one taking it.
Christianity in its more mature form is exactly the same. The immortality carrot is to sway the weak-minded. People like Pascal.
Seems more like an ignorance is bliss process. "I don't know or can't know so I won't think about it." How do you deal with people who claim to have come back from the dead? Jesus and his disciples? Lots, not all, of people who share near death experiences? Deny that it happened? Just neurochemistry occurring in the death process? Then we are back to wagering our soul on something that possibly we have not fully examined.
You asking about Buddhists? They’re well acquainted with near death experiences and reincarnation. They are just wary of drawing overly strong conclusions from these events.