What is enlightenment? What does it mean to be enlightened? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines enlightenment as "the state of having knowledge or understanding." In Plato's allegory of the cave, he plays with the idea of enlightenment. Of course, the person being enlightened is the person going outside of the cave. This implies that Plato believes that to be enlightened a person must work for it themselves. It doesn't just happen on its own. The person on the outside of the cave must have realized at some point that the shadows on the wall aren't reality and there is more out there in the real world. From Plato's point of view, this "leaving the cave" or "enlightenment" represents pure knowledge. Knowledge like mathematics, sciences, arts, language, etc. Personally, I am convinced that true enlightenment comes not with plain knowledge, but from knowing the Lord Jesus Christ.
Enlightenment is all about "knowing" rather than "learning." For this reason, I disagree with Plato about what enlightenment is. Enlightenment is not about the pursuit of information, it is about the obtainment of knowledge. Plato, in the rest of The Republic text, seems to believe that pursuing knowledge is a choice; however, the person being let out of the cave is using help to come into the light. They are drawn to it, they want to see what lies beyond it, but it is painful. In the same way, we are drawn into the knowledge of our Savior. We cant come to Him on our own; we need help from Him. He leads us to himself. Other believers help us in our journey to know the Lord. And once we finally know him, we want others to know what they are missing out on, just like the man who escaped from the cave. While I very much agree with Plato's allegory, I understand it in a different way, a way that I think makes a lot more sense.
From Plato's point of view, enlightenment is the training of the mind. However, just as the man in the cave needed to do, people must train their body in addition to the mind. In the Timaeus, Plato writes about the problems that come with training the mind without training the body, and vice versa. "From these conditions there is one way to preserve oneself, and that is not to exercise the soul without exercising the body, nor the body without the soul, so that each may be balanced by each other and be sound" (Plato 84). In the allegory of the cave, the man who escaped must have had to train both his body and his mind extensively to be able to live outside of the cave.
This idea also has spiritual implications. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” Wisdom is also mentioned in the bible many times, and it is portrayed as a very positive thing to have. Many people in the bible are working towards wisdom. So you must train your body and your soul. However, Plato is missing one key aspect of the human being: the spirit. The three parts that we all are made of are: body, soul, and spirit. It is obvious what the body represents. The soul represents the essence of who a person is, how they think. And the spirit represents a person's conscience, for lack of a better word. The spirit is where true enlightenment comes from. As Christians, our sinful spirit has been taken over by the Holy Spirit. While we still make bad decisions due to our sinful body and soul, the Holy Spirit helps us make better ones because we know and are aware of God. We want to please the one that loves us so much that he sent his only son to die so that we can have life.
The spirit is the most important part of the human being, over both body and soul. We must train our spirit in the Word. True enlightenment comes not from learning about the world, but from knowing the Lord. And once we know the Lord, It is much easier to pursue knowledge of the world. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). So to conclude, I will again say that I think Plato was right about the cave allegory, but wrong about enlightenment. Pursuit of knowledge can only get a person so far in life, but pursuit of the Lord gets one to an eternal life in literal heaven.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Monday, September 19, 2016
Heroism
Everybody has a hero. Whether it be a parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, pro athlete, musician, actor, actress, or something else, everybody has a hero, or more than one. Growing up, one of my biggest heroes was my youth pastor, Nate. He was a very godly man and he guided me in my relationship with Christ. Your hero may be somebody similar, they may be somebody completely different, but to you, they're a hero. In Homer's The Iliad, there is an underlying theme of heroism, conveying feelings of the culture at that time.
During Homer's life, Greece was in a sort of dark age. The people looked up to the heroes of old, such as Achilles and Odysseus. Stories like The Iliad were told to give people hope. Achilles was a huge hero of the people. They looked up to him and wanted to be like him. In addition to having heroes, we want to be heroes. That is another part of what being human means. We all want our lives to mean something. That is a choice that Achilles faced in The Iliad. He had to choose whether he wanted to live long but not be remembered, or die and be known as a hero everywhere. Achilles, of course, chose heroism.
Without a doubt, the greatest hero of all time is Jesus. He dies so that we wight have life with him forever in heaven. His death was terrible. He was tortured and then hung on a cross to slowly perish. While extremely different, I couldn't help but notice multiple similarities between the story of Jesus and the story of Achilles, the main one being: Achilles loved his country, so he went in willingly, knowing he would die, just to help his people and avenge his friend Patroclus. Jesus loved us so much that he went in willingly, knowing he would die, to save us from eternal hell. Achilles love for Patroclus was great. When he learned Patroclus was dead: "A black cloud of grief came shrouding over Achilles. Both hands clawing the ground for soot and filth, he poured it over his head, fouled his handsome face... Achilles suddenly loosed a terrible, wrenching cry" (book 18, lines 25-27, 39). Jesus' love for us is even greater. The scene of Achilles screaming reminded me of a scene from Green, a novel from one of my favorite authors, Ted Dekker. Elyon, a personification of God, is looking down on the world from a vantage point high above. The people have turned against him and have into battle against each other. Elyon gives a display similar to Achilles (only with godly proportions) when he realizes many of his beloved people had turned to Teeleh (the devil) and were about to die. "The man [Elyon] lifted both arms and wept at the sky. His shoulders shook with his sobs and tears ran down his face, wetting his beard... And then Elyon screamed, full throated, at the sky. His hands knotted into fists and he trembled from head to foot with such wrath that Thomas [main character] could not stop his own body from quaking" (Dekker 327). Elsewhere, there is an earthquake. This scene shows the love that God has for us.
These sections from these two heroes' stories demonstrate that heroes are most definitely human. Achilles was human, and so was Jesus (although he was also fully God). Just because somebody is a hero doesn't mean they are above everybody else (exception: Jesus). We are all everyday heroes, performing works that people are inspired by, just like the Greek people were inspired by Achilles. We, as Christians, need to “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:5-6). We must be the heroes of the world because we have the greatest hero of all time, Jesus Christ, working in our lives. We will be a light unto the world while it is shrouded in darkness. I pray that we would all be heroes, just like Pastor Nate was to me many years ago. God bless.
During Homer's life, Greece was in a sort of dark age. The people looked up to the heroes of old, such as Achilles and Odysseus. Stories like The Iliad were told to give people hope. Achilles was a huge hero of the people. They looked up to him and wanted to be like him. In addition to having heroes, we want to be heroes. That is another part of what being human means. We all want our lives to mean something. That is a choice that Achilles faced in The Iliad. He had to choose whether he wanted to live long but not be remembered, or die and be known as a hero everywhere. Achilles, of course, chose heroism.
Without a doubt, the greatest hero of all time is Jesus. He dies so that we wight have life with him forever in heaven. His death was terrible. He was tortured and then hung on a cross to slowly perish. While extremely different, I couldn't help but notice multiple similarities between the story of Jesus and the story of Achilles, the main one being: Achilles loved his country, so he went in willingly, knowing he would die, just to help his people and avenge his friend Patroclus. Jesus loved us so much that he went in willingly, knowing he would die, to save us from eternal hell. Achilles love for Patroclus was great. When he learned Patroclus was dead: "A black cloud of grief came shrouding over Achilles. Both hands clawing the ground for soot and filth, he poured it over his head, fouled his handsome face... Achilles suddenly loosed a terrible, wrenching cry" (book 18, lines 25-27, 39). Jesus' love for us is even greater. The scene of Achilles screaming reminded me of a scene from Green, a novel from one of my favorite authors, Ted Dekker. Elyon, a personification of God, is looking down on the world from a vantage point high above. The people have turned against him and have into battle against each other. Elyon gives a display similar to Achilles (only with godly proportions) when he realizes many of his beloved people had turned to Teeleh (the devil) and were about to die. "The man [Elyon] lifted both arms and wept at the sky. His shoulders shook with his sobs and tears ran down his face, wetting his beard... And then Elyon screamed, full throated, at the sky. His hands knotted into fists and he trembled from head to foot with such wrath that Thomas [main character] could not stop his own body from quaking" (Dekker 327). Elsewhere, there is an earthquake. This scene shows the love that God has for us.
These sections from these two heroes' stories demonstrate that heroes are most definitely human. Achilles was human, and so was Jesus (although he was also fully God). Just because somebody is a hero doesn't mean they are above everybody else (exception: Jesus). We are all everyday heroes, performing works that people are inspired by, just like the Greek people were inspired by Achilles. We, as Christians, need to “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:5-6). We must be the heroes of the world because we have the greatest hero of all time, Jesus Christ, working in our lives. We will be a light unto the world while it is shrouded in darkness. I pray that we would all be heroes, just like Pastor Nate was to me many years ago. God bless.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Children of God
This week I will be exploring another aspect of what it means to be human. Last week I wrote about love and freedom of choice. Another part of the answer to the question "What does it mean to be human?" lies in the second book of the Bible: Exodus. In chapters 1-23, we are told the story of how God used Moses to lead the Israelites, God's people, out of slavery in Egypt. This passage shows the importance of following God's commands. As humans, we were created to be God's people, and He our King.
"This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son," (Exodus 4:22). Israel was chosen to be God's people because they followed Him, while everyone else followed false gods. God showed his dominance as the Lord, the one true God, through delivering His chosen people from the clutches of Egypt and slavery. He performed miraculous signs through Moses including, but not limited to, turning the Nile into blood, filling the land with gnats, flies, and locusts, and finally, killing the firstborn son of every Egyptian household. None of these plagues happened to the Israelites. Once the Lord established his sovereignty, Pharaoh eventually let the people go and they escaped into the desert. After a while, Pharaoh decided he'd made a mistake and rounded up his army to go chase after the Israelites and bring them back. They came to the Red Sea and Moses parted the sea with the help of the Lord so that the Israelites could walk across on dry ground. Then, as Pharaoh's army was crossing the sea, God let the waters fall back into place and the entire army was drowned.
While they were walking through the desert, the Hebrews needed food and water. They had many mouths to feed but no food. But they prayed to the Lord and He provided for them with manna and quail (Exodus 16). He also provided water that came from a rock (Exodus 17). The Lord provides for us because we are his people. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1). We are God's children. If we follow him, he will reward us. However, if we go against him, he punishes. Going further, in Exodus chapter 32, while Moses is up on the mountain, the Israelites create a golden calf and start worshipping it. When Moses came down the mountain, God punished the people by having them fight and kill one another and then sending them a plague.
As one can surely see, the Lord rewards those who follow him and punishes those who go against him. As humans we are His children. We are to follow our heavenly Father, and when we do, He will reward us. As you go about this week, I encourage you to act in a way that honors your Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died so that we might have life eternally with him.
"This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son," (Exodus 4:22). Israel was chosen to be God's people because they followed Him, while everyone else followed false gods. God showed his dominance as the Lord, the one true God, through delivering His chosen people from the clutches of Egypt and slavery. He performed miraculous signs through Moses including, but not limited to, turning the Nile into blood, filling the land with gnats, flies, and locusts, and finally, killing the firstborn son of every Egyptian household. None of these plagues happened to the Israelites. Once the Lord established his sovereignty, Pharaoh eventually let the people go and they escaped into the desert. After a while, Pharaoh decided he'd made a mistake and rounded up his army to go chase after the Israelites and bring them back. They came to the Red Sea and Moses parted the sea with the help of the Lord so that the Israelites could walk across on dry ground. Then, as Pharaoh's army was crossing the sea, God let the waters fall back into place and the entire army was drowned.
While they were walking through the desert, the Hebrews needed food and water. They had many mouths to feed but no food. But they prayed to the Lord and He provided for them with manna and quail (Exodus 16). He also provided water that came from a rock (Exodus 17). The Lord provides for us because we are his people. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1). We are God's children. If we follow him, he will reward us. However, if we go against him, he punishes. Going further, in Exodus chapter 32, while Moses is up on the mountain, the Israelites create a golden calf and start worshipping it. When Moses came down the mountain, God punished the people by having them fight and kill one another and then sending them a plague.
As one can surely see, the Lord rewards those who follow him and punishes those who go against him. As humans we are His children. We are to follow our heavenly Father, and when we do, He will reward us. As you go about this week, I encourage you to act in a way that honors your Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died so that we might have life eternally with him.
Monday, September 5, 2016
Love
What does it mean to be human? The answer to this question is not as simple as we might like it to be, or as some people make it out to be. To begin to answer this question, I will take you into the first chapter of the first book in the best selling book of all time: the Bible. Imagine that, after 6 days of work (creating the sun and moon, the plants and animals, the entire earth) God decides he needs something to have dominion over the entire earth. So he creates man. Genesis 1:27 says "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." We are created in the image of God. Now, you might ask, "Well, what does it mean to be created in the image of God?" One answer to that question is explained extensively in one of my favorite chapters in the Bible: 1 John 4. Multiple times in this chapter, John states that "God is love." One thing that humans have that no other living things do is the capacity to love. Love, I believe, is one part of what it means to be human.
What is love without freedom of choice? Without the ability to choose freely what we do and don't do, do we really have love? Imagine if God had not not created the forbidden fruit. He could've told Adam and Eve that they could eat from any tree in the garden whatsoever. They would never have sinned and we would all be living in the Garden and loving God unconditionally. Or would we? Would it really be love if we had no alternative? We'd be like robots, doing everything he told us without having the capability to choose otherwise? That's not love, that's slavery. We are given free choice because God wants us to love him.
In today's society, I believe that it is getting increasingly harder to love because we are not letting ourselves have free choice. People are letting the opinions of others smother their own free will, beyond mere influence. We need to learn to train our minds to resist the weakening of our freedom. According to John Dewey, author of "How We Think," "genuine freedom, in short, is intellectual; it rests in the trained power of thought." We must be able to "look at matters deliberately" and look at all the evidence, then decide for ourselves. How do we discipline our minds? The author of "The Liberal Arts: What and Why," Arthur Holmes, believes that an education, specifically a liberal arts education, "prepares a man for the wise exercise of the God-given freedom he can enjoy." We must use the intelligence God has given us to discipline our minds in the liberal arts and therefore retain our freedom of choice and our capacity to love.
While the two authors certainly weren't writing specifically about love, I couldn't help but notice the underlying theme of free will and think about our love for God and his love for us. We remain independent in our thoughts. We must remain loving toward God and others. And most of all, we must remain in the Word of God. "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). If we abide in Him and His Word, all these things will come easy.
We need to love. I cannot emphasize this point more. We were created to love, so that is what we should be doing. When we are demonstrating the love of God, others will notice it and wonder what is so special about us. We will be his light unto the world. And remember: "remain in me [Jesus], as I also remain in you" (John 15:4).
What is love without freedom of choice? Without the ability to choose freely what we do and don't do, do we really have love? Imagine if God had not not created the forbidden fruit. He could've told Adam and Eve that they could eat from any tree in the garden whatsoever. They would never have sinned and we would all be living in the Garden and loving God unconditionally. Or would we? Would it really be love if we had no alternative? We'd be like robots, doing everything he told us without having the capability to choose otherwise? That's not love, that's slavery. We are given free choice because God wants us to love him.
In today's society, I believe that it is getting increasingly harder to love because we are not letting ourselves have free choice. People are letting the opinions of others smother their own free will, beyond mere influence. We need to learn to train our minds to resist the weakening of our freedom. According to John Dewey, author of "How We Think," "genuine freedom, in short, is intellectual; it rests in the trained power of thought." We must be able to "look at matters deliberately" and look at all the evidence, then decide for ourselves. How do we discipline our minds? The author of "The Liberal Arts: What and Why," Arthur Holmes, believes that an education, specifically a liberal arts education, "prepares a man for the wise exercise of the God-given freedom he can enjoy." We must use the intelligence God has given us to discipline our minds in the liberal arts and therefore retain our freedom of choice and our capacity to love.
While the two authors certainly weren't writing specifically about love, I couldn't help but notice the underlying theme of free will and think about our love for God and his love for us. We remain independent in our thoughts. We must remain loving toward God and others. And most of all, we must remain in the Word of God. "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). If we abide in Him and His Word, all these things will come easy.
We need to love. I cannot emphasize this point more. We were created to love, so that is what we should be doing. When we are demonstrating the love of God, others will notice it and wonder what is so special about us. We will be his light unto the world. And remember: "remain in me [Jesus], as I also remain in you" (John 15:4).
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