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Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

This blog will be written from an orthodox Christian point of view. There may be some topic that is out of bounds, but at present I don't know what it will be. Politics is a part of life. Theology and philosophy are disciplines that we all participate in even if we don't think so. The Bible has a lot to say about economics. How about self defense? Is war ethical? Think of all the things that someone tells you we should not touch and let's give it a try. Everything that is a part of life should be an expression of worship.

Keep it courteous and be kind to those less blessed than you, but by all means don't worry about agreeing. We learn more when we get backed into a corner.

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Opus 2025-237: Out of Control

At one end you have the French statement que sera sera, which means “whatever will be will be”.

At the other end, you have the Arabic statement inshallah.  It basically means that God will do what God wants to do and it’s all in His hands.

And between you have a more biblical statement.  It involves both of those to some degree.  It involves both free will and God’s sovereignty.  It could be many different verses, but I decided to focus on, “Seek ye , first, the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added onto you.”

The philosophy you pick makes a radical difference in how you live life.  The West is living in the French world at this point.  People have no sense of responsibility to much of anything except their own goals in life.  It means that right is what advances my agenda and truth is totally flexible depending on my needs.  It is a recipe for the end of liberty and prosperity.

Islam, like the behaviorists in psychology and some extreme Calvinists, blams everything on a force they cannot control.  The phrase I liked to quote, “I am a helpless pawn in the hands of fate” is their mantra.  God will do what He wants or the physics of cause and effect will work its inexorable will.  Either way it demands no responsibility from you and excuses just about any behavior.  It is a recipe for the end of liberty and prosperity.

The picture in the Bible is a mixture of total power and free will.  God has the power.  He could fit into the total control picture but has given human beings the power to make moral choices.  When the two line up you have both liberty and prosperity.  When they work at odds you have the same results as the other philosophies.

The choice of believing is in your court.  The responsibility for your actions is only in one line of thinking.

homo unius libri

2 comments:

Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.