Opus 2016-119: The Glorious Pagan

I salute those who have no faith but keep fighting the good fight. 

You know who you are.  You might have vaguely Christian standards but you don’t see the point in getting carried away with all the extreme stuff.  There is probably a god out there somewhere but you will worry about that later, if ever.  And yet, like me, you get up and go about your business.  You do the best you can.  You practice courtesy and help your neighbor when there is a problem. 

I don’t understand how you keep going but I see it.  It renews my faith in God that you keep on in spite of nihilism. 

Nihilism means that there is no real reason for life, intelligence or anything.  Nihilism says we are just an accident in a universe of chance and since in infinite time there will be infinite combinations of possibilities we are bound to happen.  If there is no God who created then it makes all of this nothing, nil, thus nihilism.  In reality it doesn’t matter what you do because what chance caused, chance can uncause.

Yet you still are good to live by. 

Thank you for the encouragement.

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-118: Thanks Thoughts: Boiler Plate Discussions

I was having one of those coffee shop discussions.  We were commiserating about how the world is desperate.  Things are falling apart.  I was looking at going into the classroom filled with wet kittens and trying to herd them toward responsible adulthood.  He was looking at going to his small business and try to make enough money to pay his taxes and buy tomorrow’s coffee.  You know the discussion.  It is boiler plate and a staple of life.

In spite of that I have a hope.  I know that no matter how bad things look there is a glorious future for me because God is ultimately in charge.  Yes, it is a matter of faith and a choice to believe.  No, it is not pie in the sky.  It means that I don’t need to get upset about the guy who beats me to the 10 items or less line with a cart full of groceries, wants three totals so he can use his EBT card and WIC coupons and wants help to his Mercedes. 

According to Jesus the gate to heaven is narrow but the line will be short.  My goal.  You are welcome to join me.  I will even give you cuts in line.

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-117: Rejecting B.F. Skinner

I was listening to a podcast from William Lane Craig.  He was on a tangent that involved the question of free will verses the concepts of irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints.  For those of you not into theological terms that is a question of whether you have free will or not.  I believe in secular philosophy B.F. Skinner taught the idea that everything is predetermined.  He was trying to explain how God can know what you will do and at the same time you can make free choices.

He mentioned his wife.  He postulated a situation where she was presented with two plates.  The first plate offered a choice of liver and onions.  The second plate was filled with chocolate chip cookies.  She had to make a choice.  He said he knew what she would choose.  I can also tell you now which I would chose.  She has free will in the matter.  Noone is compelling her.  He knew what she would choose. 

In the same way, God can know what we will do because He knows us.  If we in our limited knowledge can make sound predictions then God with His infinite knowledge can certainly do as well.

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-116: Middle Class Morality: Truth

Remember the old opening for the original Superman series?  It included the words, “Truth, Justice and the American Way”.  You could feel that the words were in capitals.  The concept of truth is part of America’s Middle Class Morality (MCM).

(Proverbs 12:17 KJV)  He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.

Actually, the word still exists in the lexicon of our post modern era but the meaning has been changed.  In modern thinking truth is what you want it to be.  We can all have our own truths.  We can redefine words to fit our goals.  Truth is relative.

That is not Middle Class Morality.

MCM is based on absolute truth.  Thus when you say that the earth is getting warmer you actually need real numbers, objectively collected over a long period of time to show that.  You don’t just need the desire for a federal grant or to have Al Gore get off your back.  The facts need to match up one-to-one with reality.

The reason for this is that MCM is based on the God of the Bible.  Truth is important to one who defines Himself as truth.

(John 14:6 KJV)  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

It is important to cling to truth.  Without it you cannot rely on anything.  Life would be total chaos.  If you don’t believe that look at the post modern era we live in.  How is relative truth working for you?

Viva la Middle Class Morality.

To be continued...

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-115: The One Eared Man

You have heard it said that in a land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.  That is not true when it comes to hearing.

I feel like I am the only person at my school that has working ears.  I hear announcements made, for instance that cell phones will not be tolerated.  They are to be turned off and out of sight.  I have heard it in a school wide assembly.  I have heard it over the PA system.  I have seen it in print multiple times. 

Yet if you are a student and do not have your cell phone out, you are a weirdo. 

Am I the only one with ears?  I feel like a shrill harpy.  I feel like the only cop in California writing speeding tickets.

I am learning to ignore the rules.  I just hope it doesn’t come back to bite me too hard.  I know the consequences will continue to mount.  If we kick the can down the road far enough I will be gone before it blows up.

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-114: Discernment Watch: Freedom Isn’t Free, Neither Is Bread

One of the ongoing discussions I am having at school is “What happens when everything is free?”  This is generated by the Bernie Sanders campaign rhetoric.  If you think the millennials that flock around the aging socialist are naive, you need to meet the next generation. 

My short answer is that when everything is free we will all starve to death in a few days.  I try to get them to understand that if everything is free no one needs to get paid.  If no one needs to get paid then no one will work.  That means that no food will be produced, processed, delivered, or offered for sale.  When the currently stocked grocery shelves are emptied all that is left to eat is each other.

Welcome to the Bernie Sanders Utopia.  Remember that fasting is a way to cleanse the soul.

homo unius libri

Opus 2016-113: Me Tarzan, You Jane?

I was formatting the following Bible verse.

(Isaiah 64:8 KJV)  But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

By that I mean I was going through and adding the italics that are in the KJV.  It then becomes,

(Isaiah 64:8 KJV)  But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

Why is this an issue?  The translators of the KJV put words in italics to show readers that the words were not in the actual Hebrew or Greek but were added to give clarity to English readers.  It is amazing how often the verb “to be” is not used in the Hebrew, but assumed.

If you leave out the “to be” verbs it becomes, “You father, me clay.”

Sounds like the movie version of Tarzan

homo unius libri