10. December 2017

Sunday sermon

SUNDAY SERMON 12-3-17

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Sunday Sermon- https://youtu.be/d9GVMQwf6sE

https://vimeo.com/246592849

ON VIDEO-

.Gas pump

.Law and Grace

.Sons of God

.Advent

.The ants

.Great awakening

.Eye has not seen

.New science radio show

.Ethics

.Aliens?

.Religion- Philosophy- Science

.The floating globe [I show it at the end of the video]

.Aristotle

.Ex-nihilo Nihil-fit

.Fabric of the cosmos

.Einstein

.Point of singularity

.Quantum Leap

.Necessary being

.Historical- Documentary evidence

12-7-17 Local- World news

https://youtu.be/ZsZTsoTtTYw

https://vimeo.com/246307058

12-7-17 Word Press!

https://youtu.be/l-h7SXlEdMs

https://vimeo.com/246330201

12-7-17 Radio Machine

https://youtu.be/e63VO5csNe0

https://vimeo.com/246354808

SNOW! https://youtu.be/XRcHOelhTh8

https://vimeo.com/246430613

Snow- 2 https://youtu.be/NwI0Oq8gcfs

https://vimeo.com/246435178

NEW-

I covered a lot on the video-

Just a few points-

Jesus called us to yoke up with him- meaning we receive the grace of the new covenant in his blood-

We are no longer under the yoke of the law- or bondage- but have been joined with him in new life-

This is the ‘easy yoke’- he himself is doing the work by his Spirit which resides in us.

God has given to us the wisdom and knowledge to carry out the task he has called us to do-

We speak [utterance] and do the works of the kingdom- because in actuality it is God doing it thru us.

I also got into apologetics- mentioned a new science show that has come on one of the local talk radio stations.

I’m grateful for the show- but talked about some of the contradictions the good men made.

This is not the first time I have dealt with the issue- but it shows us the limitations of science-

I tried not to do this critique in a critical [or negative] way- but attempted to give a balance to the limits of science.

I gave a little example form a ‘floating globe’ that my daughter bought a few weeks ago-

Science now teaches us that there was a time when ‘nothing was’ [Big Bang]-

We did not always know this- that there was an actual starting point to time- matter- space and energy.

But science [not religion] has now proven this..

We also know- thru science- that nothing comes from nothing.

So- because we do indeed have something today- creation- by necessity there must have been a cause for this [necessary being]-

This cause had to have been outside of the created order- he had to be non- matter- and he himself had to have no beginning point-

This is a logical- scientific statement- because all things could not have come from no thing [nothing].

So thinkers- scientists- theologians- all of them have to answer the question of First Cause.

The only logical conclusion is a being who himself has no beginning- this being by necessity has to have immense knowledge- wisdom- and creative ability.

Christian thinkers have called this being God-

Who according to Christian tradition does indeed posses all the attributes mentioned above.

Some atheists have credited all things to some type of alien being- and they have also attributed these same attributes to their ‘alien’-

Simply showing us that even the greatest scientific minds realize it is not possible for there to be anything today [world- universe- etc.] unless something started it- created it- did it.

This is not a religious belief-

This is the only logical explanation for why things exist today [Law of cause and effect]-

Remember- nothing comes from nothing- ever.

Ok- I talked about much more on the video-

And will try and add my past teachings below-

John

PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that relates to today’s post- Sunday Sermon- 12-3-17]

http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/overview-of-bible-story-abrahams-kid.html

http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/james-2015-video-links-included-james-1.html

http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/john-complete-links-added.html

https://ccoutreach87.com/qm/

https://ccoutreach87.com/overview-of-philosophy/

https://ccoutreach87.com/atheism-apologetics-links-added/

https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ [see link for chapter 11]

https://ccoutreach87.com/mark-links/ [See link for chapter 13]

http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2017/12/sunday-sermon.html

http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/st-2-nd-corinthians-9421-st.html

http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/acts-links.html

MARK 13

Mark 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,Mark 13:25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.Mark 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

ON VIDEOS-

MARK 13- https://youtu.be/vYBGKqDp5aE

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/7-18-17-mark-13.zip

https://ccoutreach87.com/7-18-17-mark-13/

FRIENDS- https://youtu.be/-NmAm67q4BU

[Made the 2nd video the other day with some friends- figured I would post it now]

.Olivet discourse [End times]

.Herod’s temple

.Ventriloquist

.Demon possession

.Signs of the end

.A.D. 70- Titus

.Qumran community listened

.Dead sea scrolls

.Anti- christ

.Preterism

.2^nd coming

.Rapture?

.What generation?

.Hal Lindsey- Harold Camping

.Prophetic clock?

.End of age [not world as you might think]

.Man of sin

.Reductionism

.Salvation from what?

.John Nelson Darby

.Tacitus- Josephus

.End times- according to Jesus

FRIENDS-

.Furman- Andy

.George- Craig

.Cassie

.2 Bobby’s?

NEW-

Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple- which took place in AD 70 under the Roman General Titus [who later became an emperor]-

Mark 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

In Mark’s Gospel the disciples ask ‘when will this be’- talking only about the destruction of the temple-

Mark 13:4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?

In Matthews gospel they ask 3 things-

Matthew 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Luke follows along the line of mark-

Luke 21:5 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said,Luke 21:6 As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.Luke 21:7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?

John’s gospel has no end times passage- possibly because he wrote an entire bible book on the end times- Revelation.

Jesus gives us the basic signs that most of us are familiar with.

Wars- persecution- those who endure to the end will be saved.

Jesus also speaks of his second coming-

And he says this happens after the tribulation-

He sends forth his angels and they gather together his people-

Mark 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

On the video I tried to explain the various ways bible teachers have approached the end times teaching.

Some view the fulfillment as having happened in the 1^st century [Preterists].

The historic belief of Christians is there will be centuries of difficulty for the church.

The gospel will go to all the nations-

Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

There will be a great shaking of many things.

After all these things- Jesus will come back again- bodily- and there will be a Resurrection of the dead-

KJ21

And I have hope in God, which they themselves also hold, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

Acts 24:15

All will stand before God and give an account-

Revelation 20:12

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

There will be a new heaven and earth- all will be made new-

New International Version
Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. Rev. 21:1

There will be no more curse-

Revelation 22:3

And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

There will be many false prophets- men who claim to be Christ himself- we are to avoid them-

Mark 13:5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:Mark 13:6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

The only one who knows when Jesus will come back is God the Father-

Mark 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

We are to avoid setting dates for the 2^nd coming.

There have been many wicked men in the history of humanity that have been types of the anti- christ.

There will be more to come-

John himself said he [the spirit of anti christ] was already in the world- in the 1^st century-

1 John 4:3

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Our eyes should be fixed on Jesus- we should not become fixated on the figure of the anti- Christ.

We should live our lives as if Jesus could come back at any time.

Mark 13:34 For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.Mark 13:35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:Mark 13:36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.Mark 13:37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

Because even if this event does not happen in our life time- we might die any day- and will also have to give an account to God-

Hebrews 9:27

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

On the video I also tried to show you the different views of ‘This generation’ -

Mark 13:30

Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

In your life- you have about a generation- 40- 50 years- in which you will fulfill your destiny.

You will go thru great struggles in life- there will be a time of trouble like never before- you will be hated by people-

Mark 13:12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.Mark 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Mark 13:19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

But if you endure thru all this- then you too will have a role in publishing the good news in all nations-

Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

You too will send out ‘angels’ [messengers] to all the ends of the earth-

Mark 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

You too will be able to show your self alive after your suffering by many infallible proofs-

Acts 1:3

To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

And even in your life- you will have the honor to complete the mission God has given you- and then shall the end [outcome] be-

Matthew 24:14

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

PAST POSTS- [Past teaching I did that relates to today’s post- MARK 13]

http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2017/07/rock-city-c.html

https://ccoutreach87.com/588-2/

https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/07/acts-16/

MARK-

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/28/jersey-city-ride-mark-1/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/02/mark-2-north-bergen/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/04/mark-3-isaiah-61/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/14/mark-4/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/27/mark-5/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/05/mark-6/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/16/mark-7/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/30/mark-8/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/14/mark-9/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/07/mark-10/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/22/mark-11/

https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/07/14/mark-12/

Ok- the ruling empire at the time of Christ was Rome- just prior to the appearance of Jesus- the Roman Emperor- Caesar Augustus- consolidated the Roman Empire under his rule-

Rome was ruled by a senate- some famous names from history were in it- Cicero being one.

Caesar Augustus was the nephew of Julius Caesar- his real name was Octavian [Octavius].

After the death of Julius Caesar- there were some power struggles that took place- between some other famous people.

Marc Antony being one of them [Cleopatra too- he was in love with the girl for sure].

Now- we read about Augustus in the New Testament- and we read in the book of Revelation about the Mark of the Beast- and that those who don't worship- give homage to the Beast- they will be killed.

So- Many Christians would be killed because they would refuse to give homage to Caesar Augustus [meaning son of the Divine].

‘Wow- how did he get a name like that’ [there was more than one Caesar by the way- as well as more than one Herod- who did play a part in these power struggles- it can get confusing- even to me].

When Octavian defeated Marc Antony at Actium [32 BC].

Herod [The Great] had a problem- he had previously sided with Antony and found himself on the losing side.

Yet he was smart- did some ‘brown nosing’ as we say-and patched things up.

Herod had 3 sons- who would eventually take positions of authority in the Roman government at the time of Christ.

Herod Antipas was over the region that we read about in the New Testament where Jesus did most of his ministry- Galilee.

Ok- Octavian claimed deity because of a heavenly sign associated with his rise to power- and this is how he became called ‘Caesar Augustus’.

He sort of saw himself as a ‘re-incarnate’- of his great uncle Julius Caesar.

‘John- what in the heck does this have to do with the Dead Sea Scrolls’.

Ok- good question.

The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times.

Alexander the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered.

They could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule.

Some Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community.

This was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20^th century.

A Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls.

The scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes-

Now- when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along.

I did read up this week- and basically had it right.

The earliest Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament we had previously dated back to around 900- 1000 A.D.

These manuscripts went back about 1000 years earlier- and they contained portions from almost every book of the Old testament- and some complete books.

The only book missing was Esther.

So- this was indeed a very significant find for scholars.

But the Scrolls also contain some of the writings from the Essenes themselves- things we never had before- so this too was significant.

There were Jews at the time of the first century who tried to ‘get along’ with Rome- and with the person in charge of their region [one of the sons of Herod the Great at the time of Christ].

These are referred to as Herodian’s in the bible.

Some wanted a revolution to rid Rome from Jerusalem- these were the Zealots [one of Jesus disciples was in this group].

Some thought if they returned to a legalistic obeisance of the law- that this would bring in a deliverer- like the stories we read about in the Old testament- these were the Pharisees.

And some took more of a political compromise- these were the Sadducees.

Eventually a war with Rome would be fought [By the way- Josephus- the famous 1st century historian- fought on the side of the Jews in the war- and after Jerusalem was sacked in A.D. 70- he went to Rome and wrote his great works- thinking he would make a case for the Jewish people with the Romans. This is why we have his works today- which are very valuable to scholars].

NOTE- In time I’ll try and cover how we ‘got our bibles’ [called the Canon- meaning Rule/ Measurement].

Frankly- there is a lot of confusion in the general public about conspiracies [like the Catholic Church had some type of plot to keep certain books out].

Or stories about how the Church taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute so they could discredit her.

Actually- we read in the gospels that Jesus cast out ‘spirits’ from a woman who was probably living this type of life-

And Jesus had a ministry to the down and out- it is indeed possible that Mary was one of these women-

And if true- it would not demean her in any way-

That’s how this tradition more than likely developed- But- we don’t know for sure.

So a few years back the Church officially said ‘we don’t know’.

Ok- Plot?

No- just being careful.

So there are other misguided beliefs like this- that sincere people have- and over time I hope to get to them.

I’ll do one more in keeping with this post.

I mentioned above that Caesar Augustus did indeed take the title of ‘son of God’.

And some critics of the Church say ‘see- there were all types of religions that had Sons of God’.

I watched one show a few years back- and it stated that these religions had ’12 disciples- a leader named Lord and Savior- and he healed and claimed to be God’s Son- and rose from the dead’.

Ok- that show was ‘fibbing’ to put it lightly- they went too far [historically speaking] in trying to diminish the Christians claim of Christ by doing this.

Now- is there some truth to this at all?

Yes- like I just mentioned above- Octavian did indeed claim deity- a ‘son of god’.

So- how do we explain this?

In the book of Galatians the bible says ‘in the FULLNESS of times God sent forth his Son’.

Jesus came at a set time in history- in fulfilment of the Jewish Prophets- to be who he was- and to do what he did.

Now- this is not special pleading here- but I find it a masterpiece that God’s Son came at a time when the Roman Empire had one sitting on the throne- who too claimed deity.

Yet Jesus was in a region of the lower class- his men were not highly educated- and his followers were people under oppression.

Augustus lived in the wealthy and influential capital of ‘the world’- he had all you could ever ask for- he was worshiped as a god.

Yet in 3 short centuries- one of the heirs of the empire- Constantine- would have an experience – not with a former Caesar- but with a vison of a Cross-

He would convert to Christianity- and declare Christianity to be the religion of the realm.

[parts]

I quoted from these too- on today’s video-

https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/

https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-samuel/

https://ccoutreach87.com/nehemiah-isaiah/

ACTS 5 – As the word spreads rapidly, all the surrounding towns bring the sick and vexed to lie in the streets. Even the possibility of Peters shadow passing over them for healing is hoped for. Notice the charismatic reality of this early church. I do realize the many reasoning’s that intelligent people use to explain the miracles as limited to the Apostolic period, but for the most part we see a supernatural church in Acts as well as thru out the epistles and well into the first few centuries of Christianity. The 20^th century story of Pentecostalism and the awakenings just prior, seem to show the reality of a supernatural church existing alongside a theological one! There is much proof to the orthodoxy and giftings of the church all thru out scripture and church history. Peters shadow healed people, how can we explain this away? [p.s. Phillip, who is not an Apostle, will also perform miracles. Just thru this in for those who teach the Apostles were the only miracle workers!] Now, the immediate response of the high priest and religious leaders was ‘if we don’t do something about this, their movement will gain momentum’. They imprison Peter and the Apostles. An angel appears and frees them and tells them ‘go back to the temple and speak the words of this life’. When the authorities realize what has happened they once again warn them about using Jesus name in their ministry. They even say ‘do you intend to bring this mans blood upon us’. Basically Peter says ‘yes’. Peter has been ‘putting it in their face’ ever since Pentecost. He has blamed BOTH the nation of Israel and her leadership for the death of Christ. He does not worry about offending them! During this time some priests become believers. The majority of them do not. Why? What has happened is common among movements. When an initial movement starts up, there is always the question of ‘is it from God or not’? A few years back the church went thru a renewal movement. Some referred to it as ‘the Toronto blessing’ ‘the laughing revival’ and other names. You had those who were 100 % against it and those 100 % for it. Who was right? Well, to a degree both of them! The point is there were some things that were needing rebuke, but to throw it all out was wrong. The defenders appealed to Jonathan Edwards’s writings and how during the first great awakening he experienced many of the same manifestations as the Toronto movement. Edwards left quite a bit of room for God being present in the religious emotions of the people. The critics were offended that the revival guys were appealing to Edwards and they would appeal to other stuff Edwards wrote in concern over the religious affections. You also had the same manifestations a century later under the second great awakening. The revivals in Kentucky had laughter and ‘strange barking’ and other weird stuff. The point is you always have a response to a religious movement. Once the battle lines are drawn, it is very hard to switch sides. In this chapter we see Gamaliel, a very respected Pharisee, stand up for the Apostles and say ‘lets give them some room, others before them rose up and gained a following, they all passed on. If this work is of God you can’t stop it, if it’s of men it will fail’. There was some breaking thru to the religious mind that was taking place in the elite religious thinkers of the day. After all, Peter has been quoting Psalms and Joel in ways that were confounding the religious thinkers. Don’t forget, Peter is an uneducated fisherman. Jesus deposited some stuff in his men that was way beyond the basic understanding of the day. Some ‘thinkers’ and intellectuals were humble enough to listen, most were not!

(1357) I WILL UNCOVER THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN HIDDEN SINCE THE WORLDS FIRST DAY- [Jesus]. Yesterday I read an article in the paper that talked about an amazing dinosaur find in China; they found around 15 thousand fossils in a cave area. The amazing thing was the fact that so many dinosaurs would have been in one place right when they died. I immediately saw this as proof that would back up the creationist cataclysmic view of a worldwide flood destroying all life on the planet. As I read thru the article they explained how much of ‘fossil science’ has been done thru finds in the U.S., but over the last few years China [and the eastern world in general] have undergone their own industrial revolution and this has led to the unearthing of new ground for the purpose of construction and these new projects are unearthing these fossils. Much like what took place in the 19^th century when many archaeologists were discovering ‘hidden things’ that seemed to be buried ‘since the foundation of the world’. In the 19^th century it was popular for the intellectuals in theology to embrace the ‘historical/critical’ method of bible learning. Many began to reject the early dating of the New Testament [early- a.d. 50-70] and began accepting a theory that said much of the New Testament was written in the 2^nd century. These ideas were promoted by men like Rudolph Bultman and were made popular at the German university which he taught at [in Marburg]. So it became ‘intellectually fashionable’ to accept this new way of critiquing scripture. One problem- as the industrial revolution took off in the west archeology rose as a new science and we now had the ability to historically search for clues. A famous historian by the name of Sir Ramsey went on this exhibition to see whether or not the bible was accurate when it spoke about ‘so called’ first century things. Our bibles do have lots of names of political characters and certain historical events that can be measured for accuracy. Ramsey found to his dismay that all the evidence leaned towards the ‘less enlightened’ view of an early dating of the New Testament. This was a tough pill to swallow by the intellectuals who had already formed their opinions on the subject, but in due time most trustworthy scholars would come to accept [for the most part] the earlier dating. So now back to the dinosaurs, as the article went on they admitted that it’s possible that a Tsunami might have caused the dinosaurs to gather in one place before their deaths- A FLOOD! It’s funny because some in the modern scientific community have argued, very convincingly, that the Geologic table and the extinction of the dinosaurs can be attributed to a world wide flood. Others have vehemently opposed this idea [most evolutionists]. And now the new evidence seems to be backing up a flood theory, they simply don’t want to admit it. Like the intellectuals of Sir Ramsey’s day, the smart thing to do is to go where the evidence leads. The facts don’t lie; these are ‘facts’ that are being now uncovered, things hidden ‘since the world’s first day’.

https://youtu.be/uwDi82SICXo History of everything in 1 hour [part 1]

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/6-16-16-history-of-everything.zip

ON VIDEO-

.Did my ‘prophecy’ come true? Watch and see

.They said a rocket hit the plane

.What did Patience say?

.Update on detention center

.Bishop Mulvey

.I was right about Devon Anderson- planned parenthood- the judge said she broke the law

.Where did the animals come from?

.Is the story true?

Mesopotamia

.Palestine

.Aristotle

.They were looking for the ‘LOGOS’

.Ptolemy

.Copernicus

.Cosmology

.Scientific/Industrial revolution

.Sir Ramsey and documentary evidence

.Luke/Acts as historical evidence

.Phenomenological language

.Aquinas- Anselm and Augustine

.Richard Dawkins alien creator

.Einstein and the big bang

.C.S. Lewis

.Everything is proof of God

MY LINKS-

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/overview-of-philosophy/

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/protestant-reformation-luther/

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/qm/

[parts]

Alexander sought to implement the ideals of his teacher- he wanted to unify the known world under one people/culture- a belief that Aristotle held- a sort of ‘unified theory’ [Einstein] that would seek to bring all learning/knowledge together under one supreme [Divine] principle.

Alexander’s experiment was called Hellenization- which was the Greek worlds attempt to impose Greek culture/language on all their conquered enemies- and at the same time allow them to hold on to the their own culture too. Alexander did amazingly well at this experiment- at the young age of around 24 he had accomplished most of his mission. The cities were a sort of composite of Greek culture mixed in with their own culture- this is where we get the modern term Cosmopolitan.

Alexander died young and his kingdom was divided between 4 generals- one of them- Ptolemy- would himself make it into the history books because of his keen intellect.

The system of cosmology developed under him would last [and work!] until some 17-18 hundred years later when it was overthrown by the Copernican revolution during the time of Copernicus and Galileo.

Alexander’s generals would do their best to carry on the system of Hellenization- and other nation’s generals would keep the system going even after Greece fell. One of them- Octavian [Roman general] makes it into the history books by another famous name- Julius Caesar.

Alexander established a great library in the Egyptian city of Alexandria [named after him] and many of the great writings were preserved during this time.

The writings of Aristotle would be discovered again during the time of Thomas Aquinas [13^th century Catholic genius/scholar] and this would lead to Scholasticism [a peculiar school of thought developed/revived under Aquinas] and give rise to the Renaissance.

Okay- before the birth of Christ- the Jewish people resisted the imposing of Greek culture upon them- you had the very famous resistance under the Jewish Maccabean revolt- where the Jews rose up and fought the wicked ruler Antiochus Epiphanies- and till this day the Jewish people celebrate this victory at Hanukah.

Eventually Rome would conquer the Greek kingdom and the Jewish people were allowed to keep their culture and temple- yet they were still a people oppressed. Hassidism [getting back to the beginning] developed during this attempt to not lose their Jewish roots- the Pharisees of Jesus day came from this movement.

Alexander was pretty successful in his attempt to unify language- even though the bible [New Testament] was written by Jewish writers- living under Roman rule- yet the original bible is written in the Greek language.

Bible scholars till this day study the Greek language to find the truest meaning of the actual words in the bible [I have a Greek Lexicon sitting right in front of me].

It would take a few centuries before a Latin version appeared on the scene [the great church father- Jerome- would produce the Latin Vulgate].

Yet it would be the re- discovery and learning of the Greek texts [under men like Erasmus- and the Protestant Reformers] that would lead to the Reformation [16^th century] and other movements in church history.

The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times.

Alexander the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered.

They could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule.

Some Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community.

This was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20^th century.

A Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls.

The scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes-

[parts]

In the last Philosophy post I hit on the 10^th-14^th century development of modern thought- today I want to jump into the 16^th-18^th centuries. Like I said in a previous post- after the Renaissance and the Reformation and the great scientific revolution- you had the world in somewhat of a tailspin.

What I mean is for hundreds of years people trusted in the old institutions [like the Catholic Church] to tell them what was true or false- then with the development of all these modern movements people began questioning stuff.

Was it good to question things? Sure. But some challenged the very foundations of thought and knowing [called Epistemology] and went a bit too far.

Some thinkers went back to the thought of Plato [400 years BC] and said that the mind is the main source of all knowledge- these were the 17^th century Rationalists.

Rationalism- as a philosophy- was an outgrowth of all the great strides that man was making in all these other areas of life. The Scientific Revolution totally challenged the age old beliefs of many in the church.

Math became a sort of new ‘god’. How so? As science invented the Microscope and Telescope- man was able for the first time to peer deeply into the heavens- and to see deeply into the microscopic world.

As the great minds [Copernicus] showed us that the Universe was different than what we thought [Heliocentric versus Geocentric] man was able to do mathematical calculations and to say that a specific planet or star [or Comet] would show up at an exact date- or spot- and Walla- it would happen [you could look thru the Telescope and sure enough the math was right- the object that was calculated to be there- was.]

These calculations were mathematical formulas- so math began to be seen as the new religion in many ways.

There are even some thinkers in the modern day that still say the only ‘real truth’ that exists is mathematical formulas. Yeah- one guy wrote an entire book on the subject- the problem? Well- his book was not written in math- but words.

Yes- even the extreme deniers of Objective truth do make mistakes.

Now- what’s wrong with rationalism? Of course being rational is okay- but the philosophy itself denied real Objective truth. Truth that corresponds to some other ‘outside’ reality.

This form of thinking [rejecting outside reality] is called Relativism/Subjectivism. While there is some truth to all the various fields of thought- yet extreme Relativism denies ‘reality’ as most of us understand the term. There was a strong resistance to the 17^th century rationalists- we call this Philosophy Empiricism.

The main thinker in this field was John Locke. Locke lived most of his life in the 17^th century- but his thought laid the foundation for the 18^th century Empiricist.

This philosophy says that the mind does indeed play a major role in the knowledge of things- but this knowledge does not originate in the mind [Plato] but in the ‘thing’ itself [Aristotle- remember when we covered these men? Plato was an idealist- Ideas were more real than matter. Aristotle was a Realist- closer to the thought of Locke].

Locke developed a theory called the Correspondence theory- that truth that the Mind discovers corresponds to real things that actually exist apart from the mind.

Locke was a practicing doctor- and most of the other thinkers of the day had room to speculate about reality in a way that Locke could not.

He lived in a real world with real patients who had real symptoms- in a nutshell Locke had to diagnose his patients based on his findings- he could not deny that there was a real problem- he had to have his ‘feet on the ground’ [based in reality] while engaging with his head up high.

Okay- I think we’ll end with this. Maybe you can go back and read some of my previous posts on this subject- just to become a little more familiar with it.

As Christians- we are not ‘required’ to know Philosophy- or current events- or science- but it helps us engage the culture when we do educate ourselves in these areas.

Go slow in learning [not too slow!] and try and see how the Christian Worldview agrees with- or rejects certain aspects of these different felids of thought.

Most Christians would reject Rationalism as a Philosophy- because it denies real objective truth- it says truth is relative- whatever the mind can conceive- or think- can be defined as truth [Unicorns?]

Biblical truth is based on real historic events- 1^st Corinthians chapter 15 says that if we deny the physical resurrection of Christ- a real event- then our faith is in vain.

Christians base their faith on a real historic event- not simply on a belief system.

[parts]

Aristotle did not believe that something comes from nothing- a phrase that will come up a lot as we progress in this study is ‘ex nihilo nihil fit’- meaning Nothing comes from Nothing.

He was also what we refer to as a Teleolologist- he believed that there was design and purpose in the created order of things.

He saw design in the universe- world.

Many today embrace an idea that there is no purpose or design- that the design we see in the material world is by accident- and furthermore some say all that we see- CAME FROM NOTHING.

I can’t stress enough that this is simply not possible- I don’t say this from the Christian view point alone- but from a scientific one.

Science deals with the observation and testing of things- we look into the material world and come to certain conclusions based on what we see- observe.

One of the most fundamental observations that science SEES- is what I quoted above- NOTHING COMES FROM NOTHING.

That is- every effect has a cause.

This is important for our day- because many have capitulated to the view that all things CAME FROM CHANCE.

Not only is this statement illogical [chance is simply a word- this statement ascribes Ontological status to a word- which is impossible].

But it is scientifically not true.

Why?

Because science shows us that things do not ‘pop into existence’ without a cause- from nothing.

True science in no way contradicts belief in God- no- it backs it up.

Aristotle- as well as most of the great thinkers we shall cover- came to the conclusion that there had to be some immaterial thing [being] that was the cause of all other things.

Now- why did he argue for a PRIME MOVER?

Because he believed that the universe was eternal- if there ever came a time when science showed us that the universe had a beginning point- then the argument would be over.

The Theists [those that believe in God] would win.

Sure enough- in the 20^th century that’s exactly what happened.

Today Physics teaches us that time- space- matter did indeed have a beginning point- what we refer to as the Big Bang Theory.

If the early thinkers had this knowledge- then the argument for a Prime Mover would be moot- because instead we would have a Prime Starter- see?

Aristotle is credited with writing the second greatest work on Ethics from the ancient period- called Ethics [the first one being Plato’s Republic].

He wrote on political theory- believed that Aristocracy [rule by the excellent] was the best form of government [sort of like Socrates Philosopher Kings].

Aristotle’s most famous student was Alexander the Great.

During Alexander’s conquests- he took a huge team of scientists with him- they collected all types of specimens from these conquests- and Alexander brought them back to Athens and they were used at the Lyceum for further study.

It has been said that this was the most expensive scientific enterprise up to the day of the modern space program.

He taught that the intellectual virtues can be taught directly- but the moral ones HAD TO BE LIVED FIRST.

The bible says ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom’.

I agree.

Proverbs 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

Proverbs 3:20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

Unfinished study- will complete over time.

JOHN LOCKE- JESUS- AND MONEY.

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/5-22-15-john-locke-political-theory-and-jesus.zip

Today’s video [and post] is one of those ‘spur of the moment’ ones-

I made the video/post yesterday- ‘off the cuff’-

I’m at the ranch as I write- and have no WiFi out here- or I’d post it now- I also don’t have my on-line concordance- so I’ll try and remember exactly where some of the verses are and add them in [I do have my on-line bible saved to the drive!]

This video/post is in keeping with some of the stuff I’ve been recently teaching.

[parts]

1869- THE GOD PARTICLE [and Mayan flag day]

Hope you ‘all’ had a good 4^th of July.

I actually flew the flag for the 2^nd time in so many months.

For years I never had a house flag- I hung them up daily at the fire dept for 25 years and it never dawned on me to get one.

So when I woke up on Memorial Day and saw my neighbor’s flag flying high- yea- it made me feel like a commie.

So I went and bought a flag.

I asked my wife- ‘where did you put the flag’ ‘it’s in the closet’.

I get the flag- it’s around 7 or so- and I walk back into the room ‘let’s go hang the flag’.

My wife says ‘what do you mean- you need 2 people to hang it’?

No.

But I want you to stand next to me and recite the pledge.

I thought it was funny- she didn’t seem to think so.

Yeah- I’m one of those types that get the most use out of a purchase as possible.

I’ll probably be flying it on that Mayan calendar day- I think it’s coming up pretty soon?

So- as I debated about what we should discuss today- I picked up the paper [yesterday morning] and the front page headline read ‘JUSTICE DEPT SUES CITY’.

I mentioned this the other day- about the fire dept not hiring enough women [they say].

I read about half of the article- I read the stats- we actually hired more women than other comparable cities.

I really did not want to do another whole post on the thing- but it was sad to see that as a front page headline- I don’t think we have ever been sued by our own govt. before.

[in the post the other day- I think I used the word threat- maybe not- but now I know they did sue].

I have written about our attorney general before- Eric Holder- this guy has politicized the justice dept to no end.

I could give you example after example- even his past dealings are very shady- the Mark Rich pardon- a pardon he recommended when he worked in the Clinton days.

By all accounts- Clinton pardoned a crook because he had connections- Holder used his influence to get the dirty deed done.

Pure- 100% Chicago politics- corrupt to the core.

Okay- instead- let’s do the other big news story- the so called God Particle.

Yeah- I heard/read a bunch of stories on the so called breakthrough discovery.

Now- I am not ‘anti science’.

I am not a person who believes the earth is only 6 thousand years old- or that kids rode on the backs of dinosaurs.

But- in the historic setting of apologetics- and the role that science has played in the debate- I must say there are lots of misconceptions floating around in the air.

Okay- a brief history of the scientific method and how it came to be.

The past year or so I covered lots of posts on philosophy and physics and world history in general.

We covered how during the middle of the last millennium [500years ago] the world began a break thru in many areas- and we often refer to this as the modern era.

Man- science- thought- all of the fields we see as part of the modern era- they began at around this point.

Science/philosophy and religion all played a big role in the debate.

One of the big boys was a man named David Hume- he was a thinker who questioned what we talked about the other day- the law of cause and effect.

This law simply says that every effect has a cause.

Hume challenged the popular idea that we can know causes.

He said we think we can know the cause of something- but in reality we can’t be sure.

The example Hume gave was the Pool table.

He said we see a person hit the q ball- the ball hits another ball and it goes into the pocket.

Hume said it might look like this a string of cause and effects- but we don’t know for sure.

Maybe there are other reasons why the balls are reacting like this.

Another famous example is the Rooster crowing- the guy couldn’t sleep in because the sun kept shinning in his window- so every morning right before the sun rose he heard the darn rooster crow.

So he shot the rooster.

Just because one act precedes another- this does not mean that is the cause.

Okay- we got it Hume.

But some began to doubt all possible knowledge- they said you can’t make any judgments at all- because we don’t know for sure what the real cause is.

Okay- this led another great thinker- Kant- to challenge Hume [the famous quote from Kant was ‘he woke up out of his dogmatic slumber’] and Kant said even though we can’t be 100 % sure- yet for any possibility for science to function- we do need to be able to have some type of way we can settle on knowledge- science does need to be able to say ‘okay- we have looked at this long enough- we think this is what’s causing this’.

Okay- this whole debate is called Epistemology- how we know stuff.

Now- the God particle.

As I listened to the various reports the last 2 days- I could tell right off the bat that there was some funny stuff going on.

The actual statements form the scientists are saying ‘well- we haven’t ACTUALLY seen the particle [also called Higgs Boson] but- we have detected enough other particles- so we think the Boson is more than likely there too’ or ‘it’s like looking in the distance- and you think you see someone- but maybe you’re looking at his twin instead’.

Okay- what kind of argument is this?

This is what we call a Metaphysical argument.

It’s an argument that is made- not because you actually detected the thing- but you have come to a conclusion based on the Scientific Method of Induction/Deduction.

You looked at- observed- and tested various things- and you now say ‘well- it must be there- because look at all the other stuff’. [layman’s terms].

Okay- is there anything wrong with this.

Not really.

But- here’s the catch- many in the modern field of physics refute the argument for the existence of God because in the end it is a metaphysical one.

That is- the materialist scientist [one who says we only deal in facts that we can actually see\detect] uses metaphysical arguments all the time- he just does not realize he is doing this.

Remember the other day- I posted about the many contradictions good men make when mixing science with apologetics and the laws of argumentation [or logic].

They often do not realize they are contradicting themselves- or making out right nonsense statements- because they are scientists- not logicians.

So what we have in the Higgs Boson case- in the Dark Matter- Dark energy case- in the entire Multi Verse theory [many universes].

In all these theories- which now make up the majority of modern physics- they are all the same type of argument that the materialist scientist says are not good arguments- at least when it comes to the argument for the existence of God.

In a nutshell- if we agree to accept that a certain particle must exist- not because we have actually detected it- but because ‘well- it must be there- because if not- then how do we explain everything else’?

If these arguments are being used in all of the above scenarios- and trust me- they are.

Then we can’t exclude the Theist from the table- we can’t say ‘no- you silly Christian- you deal in things we DON’T SEE- we deal in things we do see.’

Actually- you don’t.

All of the above theories are conclusions based on how the other things around them respond.

The reason many think Dark Matter exists- is not because we have found it- we haven’t.

But because in order for the standard model- well- to stand- then Dark Matter simply ‘must be’.

Okay- this is the same type of argument the Theist [one who believes in God] uses.

If you want to exclude the believer from the table- on the grounds that he appeals to a ‘non detectable’ being.

Then we must ditch all of the above.

And it seems- Higgs Boson too.

NOTE- all scientists are not materialists- many are believers- and even many non believers are not materialists. If you are a pure materialist scientist- one who says we cannot accept any other non material arguments [things we don’t actually see/detect] then you also would not be able to accept any of the major theories of physics today- that is if you were consistent in your thinking.

Also why did the researchers at CERN release this as some great new finding?

The ‘discovery’ was made at the new 10 billion dollar Hadron Collider.

This is the world’s largest Atom smasher.

In order for the Europeans to justify the cost- they had to convince people that this was the best chance to actually discover this long elusive particle.

Now- Europe is in a near depression- as most of you know.

This underground ‘particle smashing tunnel’ [I think it’s right on the French Swiss border?] when first opened- had a bad day.

It leaked oil into the tunnel and it was shut down- and had to be repaired at the cost of millions of dollars.

Okay- all of these guys realize- if you do not justify the cost of this thing- in the midst of a European depression- then what are the odds that your gonna keep getting funded?

I don’t know if this was the main reason they came out with the statement now- but for them to have come out- and kinda have fudged on it- makes me wonder.

www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to ‘click’ the note App on my Facebook Profile- I have posted lots.

THE 5^TH ELEMENT.

Ok- let’s talk philosophy today- the last post on this subject I traced what we normally refer to as the beginning of Greek philosophy- a man by the name of Thales- 6^th century BCE.

We said that Thales had an idea that water was the principle element- water seemed to have the ability to move [motion] by itself- so Walla- maybe water is the principle thing.

He was what we refer to as a Monist.

Monists believed that there was one principle element- responsible for all other things.

Now- the pre Socratic philosophers debated about this- some said it was air- others earth- some said fire- as a matter of fact- some said all 4 of these elements were responsible for existence.

Now- some sought a 5^th element- some yet to be discovered thing that would explain it all.

A man by the name of Anaximander described it as ‘the boundless’- something that has no origin- he said it was ‘both unborn- and immortal’ ahh- you can already see the attributes of God in this [boundless- what Theologians call omnipresent- God having no limits- he is everywhere [but not everything- get to that in a moment] and ‘unborn’ that is he himself has no beginning].

Ok- this 5^th element [some called it Ether- or Aether- a sort of wave theory- that light travels along this ether- this idea lasted till the day of Einstein- who showed us that Ether does not exist [in this way] but that light itself is made up of particles- photons- this was one of the major breakthroughs of modern physics].

A few years ago the movie ‘the 5^th Element’- Bruce Willis- hit on this theme- sort of like the ‘God particle’- that is they were in search for some type of being that was eternal – self existent.

The term Quintessence [quint- 5] came to be defined as this 5^th element- and today we use the word Quintessential to describe the pure essence of a thing- the perfect embodiment of something.

Over time the Greek thinkers would arrive at the idea that yes indeed- there was one main thing- Monism- that could be the source of all other things.

It is interesting to note that the Jewish prophets- and wisdom literature- which predates these guys- already started from the standpoint of Monotheism- one God.

Now- Monism is not Monotheism.

Monism is really a form of what we call Pantheism [in the study of religion].

Pantheism says that God is ‘everything’- some eastern religions hold to this concept.

The Christian view is that God is separate from creation- that he is indeed the original source of creation- but not the creation itself.

The Geek philosophers even described this 5^th element as ‘The One’- see- they were getting close.

In today’s debates- some espouse an idea that there was no beginning point- that the universe is either eternal [something Einstein disproved with the Big Bang theory] or that there is a sort of infinite regress- that there is no one starting point- but that there have been a never ending [or beginning] series of ‘big bangs’ that go on forever.

This defies the laws of logic- and math.

Math?

Yeah- many of the great physicists were also great mathematicians [like Einstein- and Max Plank- who was first a mathematician].

If there was no beginning point- mathematically it doesn’t ‘work’.

You would never be able to arrive at the present time- if there was no starting point to measure from [I know this might sound strange- but this is indeed a proof- that there had to be a starting point].

What these thinkers show us is that even thru the ancient field of Philosophy- you still arrive at some type of ‘thing’ that is responsible for all other things.

Some Christians reject the Big Bang theory- but in my view it gave the Christian apologist the greatest tool to argue for the existence of God.

For many centuries it was believed that the universe was eternal- and if that was true- then indeed you did not have to have an outside source that was responsible for it.

But Einstein showed us that there was a beginning point- that the universe is in a continual expansion mode- and if it is getting ‘bigger’ by the second- then yes- it did have a starting point.

Many today think that it ‘popped’ into existence on its own- this is both scientifically and logically impossible- it violates the law of Cause and Effect [every effect has to have a cause also ‘out of nothing- nothing comes’].

There was a famous Christian who abandoned the faith- Bertrand Russell- he said ‘if everything has to have a cause- then God must have one too- and if God needs a cause- then why not see the universe as the cause’.

Tough Russell was a good man- he made a mistake here.

The laws of logic do not say that everything has to have a cause- but every effect has to have one.

In essence- somewhere along the line- going back to the beginning- there must be an initial cause- that has no beginning- Anaximander’s Boundless One.

Ok- I won’t do too many of these posts in a row- because as you can see- this takes time- and you lose people along the way.

But- over the next few weeks I’ll slip a post like this in- it helps when dealing with those who have sincere objections to the faith- and it also debunks some common misconceptions.

https://youtu.be/NiQdGyM6mjk History of everything- 2

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/6-17-16-2-history-of-everything.zip

MY LINKS-

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/russia-u-s-world-events/

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/atheism-apologetics/

https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/overview-of-philosophy/

ON VIDEO-

.I hit the jackpot!

.A.A.

.Renaissance

.Erasmus

.Copernicus

.Spontaneous Generation?

.Darwin

.Aquinas

Locke

.Kant

.Latin Vulgate- Jerome

Luther

.Church fathers

.Henry the 8^th

.Marx

.Freud

.Einstein

.Law of cause and effect

.Fossil record?

.Scientific method ‘invented’ by the Catholic church- true [Jesuits]

.The $200 dollar sign to AA

.Recovery

.You all have your own TV channel- for free

.Social media- use it for good

NEW- [past posts- versus below]

On today’s video I fill in some blanks-

As time progressed- and man advanced in knowledge- he also thought we would arrive at a time where advanced civilization would ‘through off’ the harmful effects of the church.

Yet- they struggled with the idea of how a society could regulate itself [moral aw] without ‘God’s law’.

So- some thinkers like Kant- Locke talked about ‘natural law’ which actually is one of the ‘proofs’ of God.

Because where did man- on his own- have this innate understanding of morality?

It’s not simply what they came up with- but it’s imbedded in his conscience [which is another proof of God- why do humans have this conscience? - or self-awareness- where did that come from? Why can’t we really create a computer with this characteristic? A.I.]

This is the period of the Enlightenment- and the Philosophers on the rise.

Men Like Freud [later] would do a grand experiment- saying ‘actually the cause for man’s problems- is this very thing- him trying to deal with the guilt of sin’ [which he denied] and said man should act out on his desires- which we refer to as the philosophy of Hedonism.

He taught the idea of sexual revolution- and died as a victim of his own thinking.

Eventually man came to the end of his new journey- without God in his thoughts- and wound up back at the beginning.

God indeed was the creator- and his laws are the only possible way for society to regulate itself.

Jesus Christ came to redeem man- from the very thing he could not do for himself.

Through the death and resurrection of ‘the Logos’ we are now brought back into right relationship with God- and all the pieces of the puzzle come together [Overblog- see the rest here- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ ]

Not that hard- is it?

RUSSIA-

2 days ago- Russia bombed- killed many of the troops we raised up in Syria. Our planes were flying overhead- to guarantee their protection.

Russia has not been bluffing- they flew 2 planes- right next to ours- and bombed them.

Defense secretary Carter was livid- because Russia [like I said recently] is ready to have a real- HOT WAR- with the U.S.

Both on their border with the NTAO states- as well as over Syria.

I’ll add the news link on this or the next post.

It didn’t get a lot of play in the media- because it is what Russia said all along- they are not ONLY going to kill ISIS fighters- but all the rebel/terrorists on the ground.

A great majority of those groups are backed by the U.S.

Carter- in an interview makes it sound like ‘what are they up to- they are deceiving the world because they said they would only bomb ISIS’.

THAT’S A LIE- Lavrov [the defense guy from Russia] said from day one- we will bomb them all- even the terrorists the U.S. is backing [news link at bottom

[parts]

Okay- I am skipping a bunch of stuff to jump into the thinkers who represent the most popular forms of atheism- Marx, Nietzsche and Freud. But first we need to take a look at Ludwig Feuerbach. L.F. [Ludwig Feuerbach] laid the groundwork for these other more famous rejecters of God and Christianity. During the enlightenment period it was rare for the critics of religion to hold an outright atheistic view- men like Hume and Voltaire- though true critics of the church- did not come out openly and deny the existence of God. It was also difficult [impossible?] to hold professorships in the universities if you were a doubter of God. Both Hume and Voltaire did not hold positions. F.S. was Hegelian in a way [he followed Hegel’s idea that ‘God’ comes to self consciousness thru the development of humanity] but F.S. was a Materialist- Hegel was an Idealist. Remember- idealism is the philosophical system that sees reality existing in forms/ideas first- then later comes the material thing. The great ancient philosophers- Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were all Idealists. F.S. espoused the idea that reality starts with the material existence of man first- and thru religion man ‘projects’ the idea of God/spirit into society- and as man and

[parts]

NEW STUFF- Sartre is one of the most famous 20^th century philosophers- also described as the father of existentialism.

I say ‘also’ because when we covered Kierkegaard- I said the same of him.

How can this be?

Well- Kierkegaard was a Christian- Sartre an atheist.

So you can divide existentialism between ‘Christian existentialists- and atheistic’.

Ok- it would be a lot to try and cover all of his ideas- but what I want to do is sort of contrast the thinkers who trended away from God with those who continued to believe in a creator- while at the same time engage in the intellectual world [many I could name- Descartes- Kant- etc.].

Though Sartre- like Camus- was indeed an intelligent man- when they tried to develop philosophies- ways to explain man- his purpose- what ‘it’s’ all about.

They have difficulty giving any real purpose or meaning to man.

Why?

Because if you believe [and teach] that man is really some sort of a cosmic accident- with no creator who made him- then how do you teach ‘that man’ that he has a purpose?

This would apply to all the great thinkers- who rejected God.

In the end- if you were born without a preceding purpose [which Christians teach is to glorify God] and when you die- there is no after life- then it’s common sense to see your life ‘without purpose’.

Sartre's most famous work ‘being and nothingness’ says it all in the title.

Some of his most famous ideas are ‘no essence before existence’.

Now- Christians usually criticize him for this [which I just did in a way].

But he sort of tried to apply this idea- and say ‘because we are not predetermined- then we are indeed responsible for our actions- we are ‘left alone- without excuse’.

When you study Philosophy- along with Theology [the study of God]. A big thing that is debated is predestination.

Many misunderstand the historic reformation doctrine of Predestination –and they see it as a form of fatalism- meaning ‘whatever will be- was meant to be’.

You can do a whole debate on this subject- in studying theology alone.

Yet it also ‘bleeds’ into philosophy- because many thinkers were trying to figure out the problems of man- and some thought the doctrine of original sin taught a form of fatalism.

Actually- it does not.

But that’s why you see these ideas pop up – that we can act without our past having power over us.

So- in a sense- though Sartre was an atheist- this was an attempt [I think] to try and give man the ‘freedom’ to act on his own will.

But without belief in God- there really is no grounding authority to values- ethics.

Where would they come from? [that’s a long debate- but if in effect ethics- right and wrong- were simply some sort of value system that was majority rule- then when the majority gets it wrong- slavery- abortion- etc.- then these values do not really ‘mean’ anything].

From the Christian view [they do debate between predestination by the way] Values- worth- purpose- do indeed ‘precede’ existence.

God had a purpose for us before we were born- and values are the revealed ‘rules’ that God gave to man.

The Nihilistic thinkers [those who admit that there really is no purpose] in the end have a hard time teaching their ideas- and at the same time instilling self-worth in people.

Camus summed it up when he said-“There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide” (MS, 3).Oct 27, 2011

Sartre [like Kierkegaard] wrote plays- poetry- etc.

One of Sartre’s dramas was called ‘NO EXIT’

He depicted Hell as a place where people are forever ‘observing’ one another- with no way out [obviously he did not really believe in Hell].

But why would he see it this way?

Sartre had a unique insight [though an atheist- he was indeed smart].

One of the things that Sartre believed- was subjectivity- he taught that if man were to be truly Free- he could not be an Object [lots has been said in the last few years on objectifying people- seeing them as objects degrades them].

So in Sartre's mind- belief in God objectifies people.

How?

If there is an ‘all seeing’ creator who is always looking/seeing into people’s lives [and intents- hearts] then they are not truly free.

All the thinkers who rejected God- did not do so for the same reasons.

Freud- and those who taught Hedonism- said it was the moral constraints on man [from God and the church] that was the problem.

So in Freud’s mind- we should deny God- and man should live out all of his most base desires.

It was a failed idea for sure- but that was the Hedonists view.

Sartre did not espouse unrestrained passion- actually even though he was an atheist- he believed that men should live with some type of ethic.

So his rejection of God was based on the idea that God is always ‘watching you’ and a man cannot truly be free- if someone is always watching him. It was an interesting idea [and yes- God is always watching- but from the Christian view he is not watching as some type of cosmic voyeur- but as a Father watches over his children.

Or- as the bible says ‘as a mother hen watches over her chicks’. So Sartre was right about God always seeing us- but he disagreed with the Christian view of omniscience [all knowing God] and said this ‘constant watching’ makes us an object- and to Sartre- the basic attribute of human character is subjectivity- if he is not a subject- with no previous ‘essence’ [remember- his other famous idea was ‘existence precedes essence’] he is not truly free.

So to Sartre- man and reality are simply things- and we develop life from this materialistic view.

He rejected universals- there is not a universal category of ‘mankind’ but simply individual people.

Another famous atheist thinker was Camus [‘there is only one really serious question left- suicide’].

Even though some of the atheistic thinkers ‘meant well’ yet- in the end- as Kant said- if there is no God- then society cannot function without the basic understanding that we are all accountable- and will someday give an account.

In Kant’s view- he rejected the classical idea that you could ‘prove God’ from reason and nature.

But some said he ‘let God in the back door’.

Because for Kant- if you reject God outright- then society cannot function.

For instance- if there is some type of injustice- maybe framed for murder and you sit in jail your whole life- never being vindicated.

For Kant- the person can survive- because he knows- in the end- the truth will come out [if there is a God].

And not only will it come out- but those who wronged the man will give an account.

So Kant saw the need for there not only to be an ‘all seeing God/judge’.

But that Judge had to also have all power- so he could carry out justice in the end.

But for Sartre- and Camus- and the other atheists- they grappled with the problem of where moral laws come from [or if there is even such a thing].

How can we really define ethics if there is no real meaning to our existence?

If ‘nothing matters’ [no essence before existence] then in the end- WE don’t matter.

And you come to the same conclusion as Camus.

The question of suicide has been pondered for centuries- it has made it into the plays of Shakespeare [below]

Many are familiar with this famous line- but read it carefully- it’s Hamlet’s struggle- whether it’s nobler to ‘go thru stuff’ or- end it.

That’s why I think the Camus’ and Sartres of the world don’t help- in the end.

To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep,
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause—there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th'unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovere'd country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action.

Hamlet

PAST POSTS I WROTE THAT RELATE-

TELOS [What’s your purpose?]

https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/7-3-15-telos-or-jack-nichols-n-the-3-dollar-tip.zip

A telos (from the Greek τέλος for "end", "purpose", or "goal") is an end or purpose, in a fairly constrained sense used by philosophers such as Aristotle. It is the root of the term "teleology," roughly the study of purposiveness, or the study of objects with a view to their aims, purposes, or intentions. Teleology figures centrally in Aristotle's biology and in his theory of causes. It is central to nearly all philosophical theories of history, such as those of Hegel and Marx. One running debate in contemporary philosophy of biology is to what extent teleological language (as in the "purposes" of various organs or life-processes) is unavoidable, or is simply a shorthand for ideas that can ultimately be spelled out nonteleologically. Philosophy of action also makes essential use of teleological vocabulary: on Davidson's account, an action is just something an agent does with an intention--that is, looking forward to some end to be achieved by the action.

In contrast to telos, techne is the rational method involved in producing an object or accomplishing a goal or objective; however, the two methods are not mutually exclusive in principle.

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God,[1] and to enjoy him forever.[2]

1Peter 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, all evil speakings,

1Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may

[parts]

VERSES- [These are the verses I either quoted or taught on today’s post- Sunday Sermon]

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Psalm 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Psalm 1:5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

Psalm 1:6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

John 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Proverbs 30:25

The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

John 4:34

Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Isaiah 11:1

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem ofJesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Isaiah 11:10

And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Romans 15:12

And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

December 3, 2017

« December 2 | December 4 »

First Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 2

Reading 1IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7

You, LORD, are our father,
our redeemer you are named forever.
Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
with the mountains quaking before you,
while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for,
such as they had not heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you
doing such deeds for those who wait for him.
Would that you might meet us doing right,
that we were mindful of you in our ways!
Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful;
all of us have become like unclean people,
all our good deeds are like polluted rags;
we have all withered like leaves,
and our guilt carries us away like the wind.
There is none who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to cling to you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have delivered us up to our guilt.
Yet, O LORD, you are our father;
we are the clay and you the potter:
we are all the work of your hands.

Responsorial PsalmPS 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Reading 21 COR 1:3-9

Brothers and sisters:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

AlleluiaPS 85:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Show us Lord, your love;
and grant us your salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMK 13:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Be watchful! Be alert!
You do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man traveling abroad.
He leaves home and places his servants in charge,
each with his own work,
and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
Watch, therefore;
you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'"

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Thanks- John.

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Sunday sermon

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

December 3, 2017

First Sunday of Advent Lectionary: 2

Reading 1IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7

Responsorial PsalmPS 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

Reading 21 COR 1:3-9

AlleluiaPS 85:8

GospelMK 13:33-37

First Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 2