Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Monday, December 5, 2016
Heaven and Gifts
When I started reading Boethius, the first thing I noticed was that is was a lot about happiness, and that reminded me of Aristotle. Aristotle wrote of happiness a lot as well. However, Boethius and Aristotle seem to have very different opinions on happiness. The main difference that I noticed right away is that Boethius seems to be writing about happiness as a state of being, while Aristotle was describing happiness as more of an action. They both had different views on what happiness actually was. Boethius seemed to think happiness was a state of perfectness, in which nothing is missing; you have everything you could possibly want, and not desire anything more. Aristotle seemed to think happiness was a final goal, a thing that everybody worked toward but nobody could truly obtain. These two concepts of happiness seem very similar, but Boethius just seemed a lot more agreeable to me than Aristotle.
When I think of Boethius' definition of happiness, I think of heaven: "Now, the good is defined as that which, once it is attained, relieves man of all further desires. This is the supreme good and contains within itself all other lesser goods. If it lacked anything at all, it could not be the highest good, because something would be missing, and this could still be desired" (pg. 38). This seems to be exactly what heaven will be like. Everything without anything missing. The connotation of heaven was why I agreed with Boethius way more than with Aristotle. Aristotle's version of happiness was more about different opinions. He did mention a "supreme good" a few times, but didn't really go into it very much. He more wrote about how different people have different views on what happiness was. This, of course, is true, but it doesn't really resonate with me very well. It's a very boring statement. Boethius, on the other hand, just states exactly what he thinks happiness is. Boethius' approach, I think, was better, if only because I have the same opinion on what happiness is as he does.
As humans, loved by the Lord, saved by Him, created by Him, we ought to devote our lives to bringing as many people to heaven, to this "supreme good," this ultimate happiness, as we can. One of the last commandments that Jesus gave to us while on the earth was to go make disciples (Matthew 28:19). That is our purpose: to get as many people to follow Jesus as we can. A lot of the times, it can be difficult to share your faith with other people, but when you think about the stakes, it should be easy. If you don't share the gospel with them, they might never hear it. I don't know about you, but I definitely want all of my friends to go to heaven. Especially when the alternative is Hell. Think about the opposite if the supreme good. The supreme evil. Nobody wants to go there, and nobody should want anybody to go there. But that is where everyone is headed unless they trust in God. And how can they if they don't even know who God is, or what He did for them on the cross.
Going further into Boethius, I want to emphasize the point that wealth and fame do not lead to happiness. No matter how much you have, you will always be left wanting more. True happiness comes only when you are completely satisfied. A lot of wealthy people find satisfaction in giving. They feel good giving to people in need. I'm not saying that giving to the needy is a bad thing, in fact it is the opposite, but sometimes more wealth isn't what people need. Giving people more stuff will in turn make them want even more stuff. They will never be truly satisfied, and neither will you from giving. Keep that in mind as we go into this Christmas season. Do not give gifts just to give. Give gifts to make people happy. Give someone something meaningful that won't leave them wanting more. And keep in mind the real reason why we give gifts around Christmas. One thing that really annoys me that I've been hearing a lot recently is that we give gifts because the wise men gave gifts to Jesus. That couldn't be more wrong. We give gifts because God gave us the greatest gift: Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate gift because without him we'd never get to heaven, we'd never have that ultimate happiness. We'd be stuck in Hell, suffering for an eternity. Obviously we can't give gifts as amazing as Jesus, but model your gift giving after God, just as you should model everything else in your life after him.
I would like to conclude with a prayer, as this is the last blog post. "Father, you are amazing. You gave us the greatest gift of all time, and that is sending your only son to die for us because you loved us so much. We thank you for that amazing gift, and we ask you to help us show people they need to accept that gift. I pray that everything that we learned this semester, everything we read, from Plato and Aristotle, to Confucius, to Moses, to Paul, to Boethius, and others, that we would take what we learned and apply it to our lives. I pray that in everything we do we would glorify you. In your holy name, Amen."
When I think of Boethius' definition of happiness, I think of heaven: "Now, the good is defined as that which, once it is attained, relieves man of all further desires. This is the supreme good and contains within itself all other lesser goods. If it lacked anything at all, it could not be the highest good, because something would be missing, and this could still be desired" (pg. 38). This seems to be exactly what heaven will be like. Everything without anything missing. The connotation of heaven was why I agreed with Boethius way more than with Aristotle. Aristotle's version of happiness was more about different opinions. He did mention a "supreme good" a few times, but didn't really go into it very much. He more wrote about how different people have different views on what happiness was. This, of course, is true, but it doesn't really resonate with me very well. It's a very boring statement. Boethius, on the other hand, just states exactly what he thinks happiness is. Boethius' approach, I think, was better, if only because I have the same opinion on what happiness is as he does.
As humans, loved by the Lord, saved by Him, created by Him, we ought to devote our lives to bringing as many people to heaven, to this "supreme good," this ultimate happiness, as we can. One of the last commandments that Jesus gave to us while on the earth was to go make disciples (Matthew 28:19). That is our purpose: to get as many people to follow Jesus as we can. A lot of the times, it can be difficult to share your faith with other people, but when you think about the stakes, it should be easy. If you don't share the gospel with them, they might never hear it. I don't know about you, but I definitely want all of my friends to go to heaven. Especially when the alternative is Hell. Think about the opposite if the supreme good. The supreme evil. Nobody wants to go there, and nobody should want anybody to go there. But that is where everyone is headed unless they trust in God. And how can they if they don't even know who God is, or what He did for them on the cross.
Going further into Boethius, I want to emphasize the point that wealth and fame do not lead to happiness. No matter how much you have, you will always be left wanting more. True happiness comes only when you are completely satisfied. A lot of wealthy people find satisfaction in giving. They feel good giving to people in need. I'm not saying that giving to the needy is a bad thing, in fact it is the opposite, but sometimes more wealth isn't what people need. Giving people more stuff will in turn make them want even more stuff. They will never be truly satisfied, and neither will you from giving. Keep that in mind as we go into this Christmas season. Do not give gifts just to give. Give gifts to make people happy. Give someone something meaningful that won't leave them wanting more. And keep in mind the real reason why we give gifts around Christmas. One thing that really annoys me that I've been hearing a lot recently is that we give gifts because the wise men gave gifts to Jesus. That couldn't be more wrong. We give gifts because God gave us the greatest gift: Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate gift because without him we'd never get to heaven, we'd never have that ultimate happiness. We'd be stuck in Hell, suffering for an eternity. Obviously we can't give gifts as amazing as Jesus, but model your gift giving after God, just as you should model everything else in your life after him.
I would like to conclude with a prayer, as this is the last blog post. "Father, you are amazing. You gave us the greatest gift of all time, and that is sending your only son to die for us because you loved us so much. We thank you for that amazing gift, and we ask you to help us show people they need to accept that gift. I pray that everything that we learned this semester, everything we read, from Plato and Aristotle, to Confucius, to Moses, to Paul, to Boethius, and others, that we would take what we learned and apply it to our lives. I pray that in everything we do we would glorify you. In your holy name, Amen."
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Good Works
I did not like The Rule of St. Benedict. It was long and boring, with difficult language. Plus, I didn't agree with most of it. I will admit, I did not intensively read the whole thing; some parts I just skimmed. The one theme that I saw come up many times throughout was the theme of good works. It makes sense, of course, because he is writing to monks, and monks have dedicated their lives to good works. This theme of good works is one of the major differences between Catholics and Protestants.
Although they are both Christianity, Catholicism and Protestantism are inherently different in many ways. Catholics believe that good works are what get you into Heaven. Benedict says on the first page: "If we desire to dwell in the tabernacle of His kingdom, we cannot reach it in any way, unless we run thither by good works" (pg. 2). I also know quite a few Protestants who believe the same thing. They just can't wrap their mind around the fact that someone can live a "good life," doing nothing but help other people over themselves, but still go to Hell because they didn't believe in God. Therein lies the problem.
We can do absolutely nothing to get ourselves into Heaven. The standard for Heaven is perfectness. Nobody can get to heaven unless they lived a perfect life. Jesus is the only one who ever lived a perfect life. Good works don't do anything because "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Everybody has sinned, which means nobody has lived a perfect life, and therefore nobody is going to Heaven. We don't deserve it, no matter how many good things we have done. Good deeds don't cancel out sins. That is why Jesus paid the price of death on the cross. Because of Him, the "nobody is going to Heaven" is now "everyone who believes in Him" (John 3:16).
Another thing Benedict wrote in the prologue is this: "The Lord fulfilling these words [Matthew 7:24-25] waiteth for us from day to day, that we respond to His holy admonitions by our works" (pg. 3). The verse Benedict is writing about is about doing what God told us to do. I partly agree with him in that we should do what God told us to do. However, Benedict seems to believe that it is for that reason that Jesus died for us. That that is how we get to Heaven. That is not the case at all. He saved us because of His mercy (Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5). Matthew 7:24-25 is comparing doing God's bidding to a wise man building his house on the rock. "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." The verse says nothing about getting to heaven. What it is saying is that if we build our lives on His word, the rock, and do the things that He says to do, our lives will not fall apart.
That leads me into this last thought. I am not condoning good works; in fact, I believe that performing good works is a good thing. It demonstrates the love of God, and helps us live like He did. I'm just saying be careful in believing good works can get you to Heaven. You might miss great opportunities to share the gospel. Just because someone is selfless and only cares about others, dedicating their life to serving, doesn't mean that they don't need the Holy Spirit. Everybody needs to know Him. Not only will they go to Heaven, they will be able to live Godly lives, founded on the rock.
Although they are both Christianity, Catholicism and Protestantism are inherently different in many ways. Catholics believe that good works are what get you into Heaven. Benedict says on the first page: "If we desire to dwell in the tabernacle of His kingdom, we cannot reach it in any way, unless we run thither by good works" (pg. 2). I also know quite a few Protestants who believe the same thing. They just can't wrap their mind around the fact that someone can live a "good life," doing nothing but help other people over themselves, but still go to Hell because they didn't believe in God. Therein lies the problem.
We can do absolutely nothing to get ourselves into Heaven. The standard for Heaven is perfectness. Nobody can get to heaven unless they lived a perfect life. Jesus is the only one who ever lived a perfect life. Good works don't do anything because "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Everybody has sinned, which means nobody has lived a perfect life, and therefore nobody is going to Heaven. We don't deserve it, no matter how many good things we have done. Good deeds don't cancel out sins. That is why Jesus paid the price of death on the cross. Because of Him, the "nobody is going to Heaven" is now "everyone who believes in Him" (John 3:16).
Another thing Benedict wrote in the prologue is this: "The Lord fulfilling these words [Matthew 7:24-25] waiteth for us from day to day, that we respond to His holy admonitions by our works" (pg. 3). The verse Benedict is writing about is about doing what God told us to do. I partly agree with him in that we should do what God told us to do. However, Benedict seems to believe that it is for that reason that Jesus died for us. That that is how we get to Heaven. That is not the case at all. He saved us because of His mercy (Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5). Matthew 7:24-25 is comparing doing God's bidding to a wise man building his house on the rock. "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." The verse says nothing about getting to heaven. What it is saying is that if we build our lives on His word, the rock, and do the things that He says to do, our lives will not fall apart.
That leads me into this last thought. I am not condoning good works; in fact, I believe that performing good works is a good thing. It demonstrates the love of God, and helps us live like He did. I'm just saying be careful in believing good works can get you to Heaven. You might miss great opportunities to share the gospel. Just because someone is selfless and only cares about others, dedicating their life to serving, doesn't mean that they don't need the Holy Spirit. Everybody needs to know Him. Not only will they go to Heaven, they will be able to live Godly lives, founded on the rock.
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Who is God?
"In the name of God, the most gracious, the dispenser of grace:
All that is in the heavens and on earth extols God's limitless glory for he alone is almighty, truly wise! His is the dominion over the heavens and the earth; He grants life and deals death; and He has the power to will anything. He is the First and the Last, and the Outward as well as the Inward; and He has full knowledge of everything. He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness. He knows all that enters the earth, and all that comes out of it, as well as all that descends from the skies, and all that ascends to them. And He is with you wherever you may be; and God sees all that you do. His is the dominion over the heavens and the earth and all things go back unto God [as their source]. He makes the night grow longer by shortening the day, and makes the day grow longer by shortening the night and He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men]" (Qur'an, Surah 57, v. 1-6).
This excerpt from the Qur'an describing God is very accurate. We believe all of these same things of God. It is basically describing God's power and his sovereignty. As I was going into the Qur'an, I was wary. I wanted to be discerning, as this is the holy book of another religion. This passage, as the first thing I read, totally disarmed me. It read just like something that could be in the bible. There are a lot more similarities between Islam and Christianity than I thought. I became even more wary. The fact that it seems so similar to the bible is dangerous. Christians must be very discerning when reading the Qur'an.
All of that aside, I thought that the similarities between the Qur'an and the Bible were very interesting, as were the differences. As I read through, I started to compare every section to the bible. The quote above was the most obvious example. Another good example is this: "Never can there be a secret confabulation between three persons without His being the fourth of them, nor between five without His being the sixth of them and neither between less than that, or more, without His being with them wherever they may be" (Qur'an, Surah 58, v. 7). This quote is about God's omnipresence. He is everywhere. It is very similar to this bible verse: "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:20).
However, there is a key difference between these two verses, and that difference is the meaning. That difference is God. In the Qur'an, specifically in the verses surrounding the quoted verse, God is described as knowing all. So while at first glance this verse may seem like it is about God's omnipresence, it is actually about his omniscience. The verse is not about God being with you, it is about God knowing what you are doing in secret. I think it is meant to instill fear in the hearts of the readers. So that they will always think about God watching them before they do something sinful. It paints a picture of a God who is like a police officer watching a criminal, just waiting for them to do something wrong so he can arrest them. The bible is very different than this. Rather than being about God watching you to see if you will do anything wrong, it is about God being with you at all times. Whether you are lonely, scared, depressed, or even happy, He is there, watching over you. Not watching like a police officer watching criminals, but like a shepherd watching over his sheep. Rather than fear, this verse is meant to make readers feel comforted, safe.
The main thing that the Qur'an is missing is God's love. While I was reading through, I did not see one mention of God's love. It did mention it a few time, but it wasn't real love. It said things like: God loves people who do this, or: God does not love people who do that. That isn't love, that is approval. In contrast, love is mentioned in the bible (NIV) 551 times. God's greatest commandments to us is to love Him and to love others (Matthew 22:37-39). However, there is a direct contrast in the Qur'an: "Do not take my enemies-- who are your enemies well-- for your friends, showing them affection even though they are bent on denying whatever truth has come unto you" (Qur'an, Surah 60, v. 1). The bible tells us to love our enemies and those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). The Qur'an tells us to keep them as our enemies and not to think of them as our friends. Not only that, but it goes on to say that your enemies are anyone who denies the truth that has come over you; in other words, anyone who is not a Muslim. They are also God's enemies, too. This is not right. God loves everybody equally, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist. He doesn't reject anyone who doesn't believe in Him. He wants everyone to believe in Him. He wants us to love Him back. That is the God I know and love. I don't want a God like the one in the Qur'an. The fact that He loves us is what makes the Christian God, the one and only God, the God I want to follow.
All that is in the heavens and on earth extols God's limitless glory for he alone is almighty, truly wise! His is the dominion over the heavens and the earth; He grants life and deals death; and He has the power to will anything. He is the First and the Last, and the Outward as well as the Inward; and He has full knowledge of everything. He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne of His almightiness. He knows all that enters the earth, and all that comes out of it, as well as all that descends from the skies, and all that ascends to them. And He is with you wherever you may be; and God sees all that you do. His is the dominion over the heavens and the earth and all things go back unto God [as their source]. He makes the night grow longer by shortening the day, and makes the day grow longer by shortening the night and He has full knowledge of what is in the hearts [of men]" (Qur'an, Surah 57, v. 1-6).
This excerpt from the Qur'an describing God is very accurate. We believe all of these same things of God. It is basically describing God's power and his sovereignty. As I was going into the Qur'an, I was wary. I wanted to be discerning, as this is the holy book of another religion. This passage, as the first thing I read, totally disarmed me. It read just like something that could be in the bible. There are a lot more similarities between Islam and Christianity than I thought. I became even more wary. The fact that it seems so similar to the bible is dangerous. Christians must be very discerning when reading the Qur'an.
All of that aside, I thought that the similarities between the Qur'an and the Bible were very interesting, as were the differences. As I read through, I started to compare every section to the bible. The quote above was the most obvious example. Another good example is this: "Never can there be a secret confabulation between three persons without His being the fourth of them, nor between five without His being the sixth of them and neither between less than that, or more, without His being with them wherever they may be" (Qur'an, Surah 58, v. 7). This quote is about God's omnipresence. He is everywhere. It is very similar to this bible verse: "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:20).
However, there is a key difference between these two verses, and that difference is the meaning. That difference is God. In the Qur'an, specifically in the verses surrounding the quoted verse, God is described as knowing all. So while at first glance this verse may seem like it is about God's omnipresence, it is actually about his omniscience. The verse is not about God being with you, it is about God knowing what you are doing in secret. I think it is meant to instill fear in the hearts of the readers. So that they will always think about God watching them before they do something sinful. It paints a picture of a God who is like a police officer watching a criminal, just waiting for them to do something wrong so he can arrest them. The bible is very different than this. Rather than being about God watching you to see if you will do anything wrong, it is about God being with you at all times. Whether you are lonely, scared, depressed, or even happy, He is there, watching over you. Not watching like a police officer watching criminals, but like a shepherd watching over his sheep. Rather than fear, this verse is meant to make readers feel comforted, safe.
The main thing that the Qur'an is missing is God's love. While I was reading through, I did not see one mention of God's love. It did mention it a few time, but it wasn't real love. It said things like: God loves people who do this, or: God does not love people who do that. That isn't love, that is approval. In contrast, love is mentioned in the bible (NIV) 551 times. God's greatest commandments to us is to love Him and to love others (Matthew 22:37-39). However, there is a direct contrast in the Qur'an: "Do not take my enemies-- who are your enemies well-- for your friends, showing them affection even though they are bent on denying whatever truth has come unto you" (Qur'an, Surah 60, v. 1). The bible tells us to love our enemies and those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). The Qur'an tells us to keep them as our enemies and not to think of them as our friends. Not only that, but it goes on to say that your enemies are anyone who denies the truth that has come over you; in other words, anyone who is not a Muslim. They are also God's enemies, too. This is not right. God loves everybody equally, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist. He doesn't reject anyone who doesn't believe in Him. He wants everyone to believe in Him. He wants us to love Him back. That is the God I know and love. I don't want a God like the one in the Qur'an. The fact that He loves us is what makes the Christian God, the one and only God, the God I want to follow.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Discernment
I remember that, when I was kid, there were a lot of Christian parents, including my own, that wouldn't let their kids read Harry Potter. The books were very popular, and parents were worried about the negative influence that the theme of magic would have on their kids. I remember wanting to read the books. All my friends read them and talked about how good they were. I was always asking my parents why they wouldn't let me read them. I told them that they didn't have to worry about me thinking magic is real after I read the books. I knew that it wasn't real. However, that's not what my parents were worried about. They knew that I wasn't going to start believing in magic when I read the books. What they were worried about was my young age. I didn't have enough discretion. Once I was old enough, and they let me read the books, I was bewildered by how childish they were. I was expecting mysterious witchcraft, but they seemed so innocent and inviting. I think that is why parents were so worried about them; they make wizardry and witchcraft look normal. When dealing with pagan sort of literature, Christians need to be discretionary and wary.
"We Christians, young men, hold that this human life is not a supremely precious thing, nor do we recognize anything as unconditionally a blessing which benefits us in this life only. Neither pride of ancestry, nor bodily strength, nor beauty, nor greatness, nor the esteem of all men, nor kingly authority, nor, indeed, whatever of human affairs may be called great, do we consider worthy of desire, or the possessors of them as objects of envy; but we place our hopes upon the things which are beyond, and in preparation for the life eternal do all things that we do" (Basil II). I love this quote because it illustrates in detail that this life is temporary. Not only temporary, but very short. Pagan literature is useless other than as a form of entertainment. I'm not saying entertainment is a bad thing, I'm just saying that we need to be wary of things that don't benefit us. One might say that reading does benefit us because it can be intellectually challenging. But one could also say that challenging yourself intellectually on evil things such as magic, is a bad thing.
Obviously, as Basil admits, there can be some good things that come out of pagan literature. Under most stories lies an important message of virtue. We've read the Iliad (pagan literature) in class. There are good things that we can take out of that story and apply to our own lives. However, because the author is not a Christian, and not writing with Christian intent, we must be wary.
God can find ways to speak to us through literature other than the Bible. While reading Plato, Aristotle, and Confucius, I found many Christian ideas in their writings, even though Christianity didn't even exist yet. If a philosopher is writing about spiritual things, it only makes sense that they would stumble upon Christian ideas because of God's sovereignty. The same thing can be true for Christian writers. I read a biography of C.S. Lewis, a Christian author, once, and one of the most interesting things was about the Chronicles of Narnia. If you've read the series, you would know that there are a lot of Christian themes in it. However, Lewis was not trying to write them as Christian books; they just turned out that way.
All of this out of the way, what we need to realize is this: all we really need for literature is the Bible. I think what Basil was saying is that pagan literature is best left up to people who can discern and understand what going on, and the rest of people can learn from them. The Bible is what we should be focusing on, since it is the Word of God. In the other reading, "Go with God," Hauerwas writes about how, as Christians, going to college is our "calling." I think that this "calling" is to learn to be the discerning people Basil was talking about. Hauerwas says our calling is to "meet the needs of the church" and we are doing that through getting an education.
I want to conclude by driving this point home: we really need to be wary of the things that we read and watch. We have to be careful of unbiblical ideas, and in order to do that we must be grounded in God's word. His word is the foundation for all truth.
"We Christians, young men, hold that this human life is not a supremely precious thing, nor do we recognize anything as unconditionally a blessing which benefits us in this life only. Neither pride of ancestry, nor bodily strength, nor beauty, nor greatness, nor the esteem of all men, nor kingly authority, nor, indeed, whatever of human affairs may be called great, do we consider worthy of desire, or the possessors of them as objects of envy; but we place our hopes upon the things which are beyond, and in preparation for the life eternal do all things that we do" (Basil II). I love this quote because it illustrates in detail that this life is temporary. Not only temporary, but very short. Pagan literature is useless other than as a form of entertainment. I'm not saying entertainment is a bad thing, I'm just saying that we need to be wary of things that don't benefit us. One might say that reading does benefit us because it can be intellectually challenging. But one could also say that challenging yourself intellectually on evil things such as magic, is a bad thing.
Obviously, as Basil admits, there can be some good things that come out of pagan literature. Under most stories lies an important message of virtue. We've read the Iliad (pagan literature) in class. There are good things that we can take out of that story and apply to our own lives. However, because the author is not a Christian, and not writing with Christian intent, we must be wary.
God can find ways to speak to us through literature other than the Bible. While reading Plato, Aristotle, and Confucius, I found many Christian ideas in their writings, even though Christianity didn't even exist yet. If a philosopher is writing about spiritual things, it only makes sense that they would stumble upon Christian ideas because of God's sovereignty. The same thing can be true for Christian writers. I read a biography of C.S. Lewis, a Christian author, once, and one of the most interesting things was about the Chronicles of Narnia. If you've read the series, you would know that there are a lot of Christian themes in it. However, Lewis was not trying to write them as Christian books; they just turned out that way.
All of this out of the way, what we need to realize is this: all we really need for literature is the Bible. I think what Basil was saying is that pagan literature is best left up to people who can discern and understand what going on, and the rest of people can learn from them. The Bible is what we should be focusing on, since it is the Word of God. In the other reading, "Go with God," Hauerwas writes about how, as Christians, going to college is our "calling." I think that this "calling" is to learn to be the discerning people Basil was talking about. Hauerwas says our calling is to "meet the needs of the church" and we are doing that through getting an education.
I want to conclude by driving this point home: we really need to be wary of the things that we read and watch. We have to be careful of unbiblical ideas, and in order to do that we must be grounded in God's word. His word is the foundation for all truth.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
The Gospel
The gospel of Jesus Christ is very important. In fact, I would argue that it is the most important news in the universe. I think many Christians don't see the gospel for the beauty of what it is. People just think "Jesus died for me and I believe in Him so I'm covered." That simple explanation of the gospel doesn't bring it the justice it deserves. The word gospel is defined as "good news." And it's more than just good news, it's the best news! In the first chapter of Romans, verse 16, the apostle Paul writes: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile." That verse sets up the premise for the rest of the book. In the book of Romans, Paul essentially walks us through the gospel multiple times over.
First of all, God is the creator, and he created us to be with him. However, our sins separate us from God. "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Romans 1:20-21). In the beginning, when Adam and Eve were in the garden, they were constantly with God, literally, and it was beautiful. God created them perfectly and they lived a perfect life. That is, until they ate from the one tree God told them not to eat from. From then on, they were separated from God. They were ashamed of what they had done, and they hid. God banished them from the garden and from then on, their lives (and ours) were far from perfect. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "There is none righteous, no not one" (Romans 3:10). Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden and the ultimate punishment was given for their sin: they were now going to die. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds, or anything similar. We see this theme all throughout the Old Testament. People everywhere would try to do things to atone for their sins, but nothing could do it. Perfectness is God's standard. In order to be with God, we have to be perfect. Obviously, this is not an attainable goal. God gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites to show them that they could not live up to his standards; they had to rely on faith in him. However, many of them thought they could do things on their own and tried to impress God with good deeds. But "our righteous acts are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) and there is nothing we can do to get rid of our sins.
BUT
"God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). While we were still sinners! No matter what we do, what we have done, what we will do, He loves us! He loves us so much that he sent his only son down to die so that we might have life in Him. (John 3:16). Continuing Romans 6:23 from above: "For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. He was the perfect sacrifice. In order to pay the price for sin (death), it had to be somebody perfect. This meant that Jesus was the only way it could happen. And the best part is, He defeated death! He rose from the grave on the third day! "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you" (Romans 8:11). We are no longer chained by sin, we belong to Him. "You also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God" (Romans 7:4). This verse is not saying that we don't have to follow the law anymore; It is saying that, from now on, we should not focus on what we shouldn't be doing, but what we should be doing, and that is bearing fruit for God. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22). (I won't go into more detail on this, it is a topic for another time, but one of my favorite Bible passages is John chapter 15, look it up.) Everyone who trusts in Him and Him alone has eternal life. "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). And this is the good news of the gospel. Someday we will live with Him in heaven and it will be perfect, just as it was meant to be. Going all the way back to the beginning, God created us to be with him and it will be so.
I will leave you with this one truth today: "Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). There are no special religious rituals, no crazy practices. No matter who you are or what you've done, all you must do is call His name and confess that He is Lord and you will be saved.
First of all, God is the creator, and he created us to be with him. However, our sins separate us from God. "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Romans 1:20-21). In the beginning, when Adam and Eve were in the garden, they were constantly with God, literally, and it was beautiful. God created them perfectly and they lived a perfect life. That is, until they ate from the one tree God told them not to eat from. From then on, they were separated from God. They were ashamed of what they had done, and they hid. God banished them from the garden and from then on, their lives (and ours) were far from perfect. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "There is none righteous, no not one" (Romans 3:10). Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden and the ultimate punishment was given for their sin: they were now going to die. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds, or anything similar. We see this theme all throughout the Old Testament. People everywhere would try to do things to atone for their sins, but nothing could do it. Perfectness is God's standard. In order to be with God, we have to be perfect. Obviously, this is not an attainable goal. God gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites to show them that they could not live up to his standards; they had to rely on faith in him. However, many of them thought they could do things on their own and tried to impress God with good deeds. But "our righteous acts are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) and there is nothing we can do to get rid of our sins.
BUT
"God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). While we were still sinners! No matter what we do, what we have done, what we will do, He loves us! He loves us so much that he sent his only son down to die so that we might have life in Him. (John 3:16). Continuing Romans 6:23 from above: "For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. He was the perfect sacrifice. In order to pay the price for sin (death), it had to be somebody perfect. This meant that Jesus was the only way it could happen. And the best part is, He defeated death! He rose from the grave on the third day! "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you" (Romans 8:11). We are no longer chained by sin, we belong to Him. "You also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God" (Romans 7:4). This verse is not saying that we don't have to follow the law anymore; It is saying that, from now on, we should not focus on what we shouldn't be doing, but what we should be doing, and that is bearing fruit for God. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22). (I won't go into more detail on this, it is a topic for another time, but one of my favorite Bible passages is John chapter 15, look it up.) Everyone who trusts in Him and Him alone has eternal life. "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). And this is the good news of the gospel. Someday we will live with Him in heaven and it will be perfect, just as it was meant to be. Going all the way back to the beginning, God created us to be with him and it will be so.
I will leave you with this one truth today: "Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). There are no special religious rituals, no crazy practices. No matter who you are or what you've done, all you must do is call His name and confess that He is Lord and you will be saved.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Sincerity
What is sincerity? What does it really mean to be sincere? The dictionary defines it as "the quality of being free from pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy." In other words, sincerity is essentially unbiasedness (if that's even a word). In the third part of the excerpt, Confucius talks greatly of sincerity. However, I believe his definition of sincerity is more than the simple dictionary definition. It is more than just a synonym for genuineness. It carries connotations of righteousness, wisdom and heaven.
In the first part of the text, Confucius mentions a sort of axis or center. "Happiness, rage, grief, delight. To be unmoved by these emotions is to stand in the axis, in the center; being moved by these passions each in due degree constitutes being in harmony" (Page 101). What I think he is saying is that we need to be in tune with our emotions, positive and negative, so that we can be in harmony with the world. He says that the axis is the harmony that heaven and earth are built around. The axis is very hard to work toward. "The master man finds the center and does not waver; the mean man runs counter to the circulation about the invariable."
Confucius doesn't seem to talk much about what this "master man" is until later, when he says "the sincere man finds the axis without forcing himself to do so" (Page 167-169). In this way, sincerity is like righteousness or perfectness. In my mind, it seems like Confucius is describing a Christian without knowing it. When a person has the Holy Spirit, they will find it much easier to love. As Confucius teaches about the sincere man, I believe that the sincere man is someone who loves others as themselves. And when you love God above everything else, it is even easier to love others. That's what a sincere man is. People will notice that person and like that person and trust that person. It's hard not to like someone who loves other people as much as themselves. Through their love, they will be a light to the rest of the world.
In addition to love, sincerity is about trust. A person who knows their identity in the Lord will be much easier to trust. They won't go back on their word, especially since they have love. When you love someone, and they trust you, you won't want to hurt their feelings by going against what you said. You will want to be truthful. When you have the love and the truth of God, people will tend to trust you. You can be a light through trust.
While their teachings don't fit perfectly with Christianity, I think it is kind of cool that so many ancient philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Confucius write about some very Christian ideas. To me, this is even further proof that God exists. Christianity technically didn't even exist at that point in time, so there is no way they could've gotten so many Christian ideas without the Lord guiding their thoughts. It is amazing how God can work through people.
In the first part of the text, Confucius mentions a sort of axis or center. "Happiness, rage, grief, delight. To be unmoved by these emotions is to stand in the axis, in the center; being moved by these passions each in due degree constitutes being in harmony" (Page 101). What I think he is saying is that we need to be in tune with our emotions, positive and negative, so that we can be in harmony with the world. He says that the axis is the harmony that heaven and earth are built around. The axis is very hard to work toward. "The master man finds the center and does not waver; the mean man runs counter to the circulation about the invariable."
Confucius doesn't seem to talk much about what this "master man" is until later, when he says "the sincere man finds the axis without forcing himself to do so" (Page 167-169). In this way, sincerity is like righteousness or perfectness. In my mind, it seems like Confucius is describing a Christian without knowing it. When a person has the Holy Spirit, they will find it much easier to love. As Confucius teaches about the sincere man, I believe that the sincere man is someone who loves others as themselves. And when you love God above everything else, it is even easier to love others. That's what a sincere man is. People will notice that person and like that person and trust that person. It's hard not to like someone who loves other people as much as themselves. Through their love, they will be a light to the rest of the world.
In addition to love, sincerity is about trust. A person who knows their identity in the Lord will be much easier to trust. They won't go back on their word, especially since they have love. When you love someone, and they trust you, you won't want to hurt their feelings by going against what you said. You will want to be truthful. When you have the love and the truth of God, people will tend to trust you. You can be a light through trust.
While their teachings don't fit perfectly with Christianity, I think it is kind of cool that so many ancient philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Confucius write about some very Christian ideas. To me, this is even further proof that God exists. Christianity technically didn't even exist at that point in time, so there is no way they could've gotten so many Christian ideas without the Lord guiding their thoughts. It is amazing how God can work through people.
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