I believe that together we can change the world for the better; even if you and I don't agree on many issues, we can still work together to bring positive, constructive change to our world. If you and I will exchange ideas there is hope.
Feel very free to disagree with me. We can be good friends and disagree with each other on important issues. Never be afraid to challenge anything I have said. I could be wrong on some points; if so I want to re-examine my ideas and reform them if they are proven wrong.
Unlike alot of people I know, I do not know everything; but I am searching for the truth in every area of knowlege as far as my ability will allow me to go. I want you to know that I respect you, no matter what your view point is on any issue. I also hope that you will return that respect and respect others who disagree with you. Let's work together and make a new world where people have learned to respect each other even though they disagree. Now that does not mean you need to respect my ideas, surely not. If you think my ideas are wrong, and it proves to be the case that they are wrong, then I will change them.
No one should ever respect a wrong idea; if the idea is wrong it should be thrown out in the incinerator, and said good bye to. The last thing we need on earth is wrong ideas, wrong theories, and wrong doctrines floating around on our planet. That's why I say never be afraid to challenge an idea if you think it is wrong.
I think the worst kind of pollution that we have in world is mind pollution.
I agree that air and water pollution is bad, but maybe the reason the air, water and land got polluted in the first place was mind pollution, wrong ideas. So let's all work together, whether we agree on this or that issue, and clean up the mind pollution that exists in our world.
Let's not insult other people because their ideas are wrong, but very compassionately and lovingly explain to them why they are wrong and ever so gently guide them into the truth that you have discovered. I am so tired of hearing that those of the opposing view are stupid or are a bunch of idiots. Most likely they are not a bunch of idiots; but they may be decieved or misguided by their friends and teachers.
If you show them that you really respect them and care about them; and you know they are really intelligent, you may have a good chance of showing them that their ideas are wrong; but you are not blaming them or condeming them for having wrong ideas.
Wrong ideas, theories, doctrines, philosophies influence all of us. But if we are gentle, loving and compassionate with one another and realizing that many of our own ideas may also be wrong, then there is indeed much hope that we can change our own ideas and adopt true and correct ideas. If we have that gentle and loving attitude you and I can make friends with our enemies; yes we can make friends with those of opposing views, and respect each other.
I am filled with hope for a bright and happy tomorrow where all people learn to love and respect each other; but are not afraid to challenge wrong ideas. Let us forever bannish the idea that you have to agree with me in order to be my friend. Let us cultivate a hunger for the truth in every one who has an ear. Let us try to be open to the truth wherever we find it, and not stick our heads in the sand and try to hide from the truth.
Do we want to be free? Well, only the truth can make us free; so let's not hide from it. I don't want to hide from the truth; I may have the truth in many areas of my thinking, but there could be some areas where I am lacking in insight or knowledge. Here's where if you have the courage, the care, and the understanding you may be able to help me along in coming closer to the truth in those areas where I am lacking. Are you ready? I hope so; let us also first be willing to examine our own ideas and see if there might be some error lurking there; then let us go ever so gently forward first reforming our own ideas where they need reformation; and then so very gently and lovingly; not arrogantly challenging and correcting if possble those wrong ideas, philosophies, doctrines and isms that we see floating all around us.
Look for the open ear, and when you find it try to have prepared yourself well to fill it with the the very best ideas that have been tried in the furnace of fire an not found wanting. None of us want to live in a world ruled by false ideas do we?
We know that false ideas are causing death and destruction all around the globe, so let us never tolerate them to exist where we find that we have the means to destroy them. The incinerator is where they belong.
There should never be any mercy or tolerance for false ideas or doctrines. Yes, there should be love and respect and mercy for those who hold those wrong ideas. With love in your heart for those held captive by wrong ideas you can be a means by which liberation can come.
Wrong ideas have brought death and destruction, suffering and pain to so many millions of people throughout history and continuing up to now. But you and I and our friends and acquaintances can do something about it.
Where ever we see wrong ideas we must seek to vanquish them; maybe not immediately but
strategise a plan whereby they may eventually be defeated; and they will be defeated. Error and falsehood can not stand forever, and will eventually fall flat on its face.
The truth will ultimately triumph; so let us each one invite truth to come into our hearts and change us into new radiant beings filled with love and compassion for all of mankind in every
country and every culture; and never forget that falsehood may be lurking within our own breasts; and each one open our own selves up to open heart surgery of the mind, the soul, the intellect. Working in such a manner we can make great progress towards a world in which all
people are respected and given every opportunity to be healthy and happy just as you and I have been given those opportunities.
I have been listening to left wing talk shows for about 15 years. I listen to right wing or conservative talk shows. I find that both the right and left have some good ideas that are worth
thinking about. They both also have some ideas that are not worth thinking about which should be thrown out with the bath water. I never want to throw the baby out though. Babies should never be thrown away.
For many years before I heard left wing radio I was reading leftist literature back in the 60s and 70s. I also read conservative right wing literature.
What seems to be happening today is that each side has certain truths that they will not even seem to take a look at. I get tired of leftists and rightists saying that those on the other side are a bunch of idiots. The truth is that both sides are quite intelligent; and both seem quite blind about various issues and topics. I will be attempting to reveal what these blind spots are and shed some light on the issues that the Right and the Left don't want to see. My recommendation is that if you are going to listen to political talk radio, listen to both sides, even if it irritates you, because both sides will have some things worth thinking about and other stuff that is basically propaganda. You will learn to recognize the propaganda and prevarications of both sides.
I'll be back.
Radical Thinker
Friday, August 22, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The Good News of Peace
Hi Friends,
I'm interested in your thoughts, so please let me know what you think about this, or my previous posts. Say, I've been listening to a lot of left wing radio talk shows for the past 15 years. It sounds like these left wing talk show hosts are Christians; I mean you would think they are Christians because they are always concerned about Christian values like helping the poor, working for a just society, and achieving it non-violently the way Jesus Christ teaches in the Gospels; as a matter of fact, I have often heard them make references to Jesus and his teachings. It is kind of interesting, isn't it that, it seems, they want to embrace Jesus teachings and his way of life but only as it relates to war and violence and helping the poor and needy. They want to embrace Darwin's theory of evolution and the survival of the fittest which is totally contrary to helping the poor. See my comments on that in my first post. Now Left wingers, I really love you guys and gals out there, but come on lets have some logical thinking here. If we want to embrace Jesus teachings about love and concern for all of mankind, but reject everything else that he teaches about morality such as being faithful to your spouse etc.; come on let's be consistent. If you wonderful leftists want to embrace Charles Darwin's teachings as your philosophical base then to be consistent you would also be in favor of Adolf Hitlers program of helping evolution along by eliminating the weaker elements of society by giving them death and thus improving human evolution by getting them out of the gene pool. That would be logical thinking if you accept Darwin's ideas about biological evolution. Left wingers are constantly characterizing conservatives as the followers of Hitler. Well , your left wing counter parts Stalin and Lenin were known to be mass murderers of humanity also and that stems from the fact that they spring from the same philosophical base of Darwinism as did Adolf. Really there was not a whole lot of difference even politically between Hitler, Stalin and Lenin. They were all socialists and believers in Darwinism. Now, believing in Darwinism has become associated in our mass media with being wise and informed and intelligent; but if you stop and examine it, really put it under a microscope; what it intelligent about it? Is there any factual basis to it? Is there any scientific proof that Darwin's theory of evolution corresponds to the real world? Last time I checked the scientists still have not found any evidence to prove Darwin's doctrines; but our systems of propaganda such as our mass media and public educational institutions constantly affirm Darwinism as factual, so without asking any questions our leftist friends just simply believe what they are told over and over again in the public schools and mass media. In short they have been unwittingly brain washed by the same media which they also are constantly accusing of being conservative and supporting a fascist agenda. Please think about that my dear left wing socialist and communist friends; the same media that you say is conservative and fascist also promotes your favorite theory, Darwinism. Is is quite clear that you have never really studied Darwinism, because if you had you would have found it to be void of facts. It is purely science fiction; if you actually get out in the field and do some real research you will not find any real scientific data to support it.
I agree with so much of what my left wing friends are saying, in fact they are often saying much that you would expect the conservatives to be supporting, like defending the human rights that are given by God the Creator and protected by the the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. That's what I hear the left wing progressives defending! This is truly amazing, because what they are defending are very conservative values. Human Rights are given by God, our Creator! If you were to base human rights on Darwin's theory of evolution, we would have no rights. Left wingers, you don't realize how conservative you really are. When you cry out for compassion on humanity, and helping the poor and champion human rights, you are speaking out of conservative Christian values. You are more Christian than many of the so called conservative talk show hosts of today. They are supposed to be Christian, but if they are they will also cry out for protecting human rights and non-violent resolution of conflicts. Left wing friends if you really care so much about humanity, and I think you really do; then embrace also the Creator of humanity and his teachings. You say that is crazy! Not really, it is crazy not to embrace the Creator if you love his creation so much. If you want peace on earth as you say you do, then follow the Prince of Peace. It is not logical to embrace Darwin, and then constantly defend Christian values like peace, compassion, and human rights. The basis for your beliefs in found in the Holy Bible, so instead of throwing out the Bible, you should become a devoted student of its teachings. The Bible is not fantasy, it is factual history and Divine revelation; and it is the foundation of the ideals you champion: human rights, compassion for the poor, freedom from oppression, all these are based on the Bible, not Darwin. If you think logically and base your thinking on Darwinism you will not care at all about rights and compassion; instead you will believe that the strongest ones survive because they are stronger and have the ability to kill and devour all the weaker elements of society. That is what Darwinism teaches; it does not teach compassion or respect for human rights or freedom from oppression. Left wing progressive friends, it is time to throw out Darwinism, because it is clearly opposed to what you really stand for. If you want to make progress toward freedom and compassion for all, you will base your thinking on the Holy Bible not Darwin's theory of the evolution of "favored races". Remember your great hero Martin Luther King got all those great ideals about humanity, freedom, and non-violence from the Bible, from Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace; not from Darwin. Darwin's teaching supports the opposite of everything you stand for. It is so ironic that progressives have called creationists fascists, devotees of Hitler. Clearly whoever says that has never really studied Darwin, or the Bible, they are just repeating sound bites that have been drummed into their heads by the public institutions of propaganda (government schools) and mass media. Come on somebody lets be real scholars and not just repeat like parrots what some professor says. Most college professors are just pretending that they know that life emerged by accident out of the primordial pond millions of years ago; but they have no proof. Nobody ever saw that happen, and yet they call that science! My friend, that is not science. It is fiction. So if you love humanity as you say you do it is time to examine your thinking and realize Darwinism must be thrown out with the bath water, but not the Holy Bible, that is the foundation for the values of human rights, freedom and Peace. I heard a left wing divinity graduate on left wing radio say that Answers In Genesis [answersingenesis.org] is a fascist institution dedicated to oppression of humanity. I challenge anybody to go there; I'm sure you will find out that these people are not devotees of Adolf Hitler as our left wing divinity student says. Like all of us human beings I'm sure they have a lot to learn and that's why they are studying; and perhaps you can help them learn some things, but are they just a bunch of robotic dummies? I don't think so. Please go there, meet the people, get acquainted, and report back to me if you found them to be the followers of Hitler, because they believe that we are created by the Creator and not by random chance in the primordial pond as Darwin teaches. Our divinity grad really has it backwards; it was Adolf Hitler who was a devotee of Charles Darwin. Please look into it, as far as I've heard history verifies that; but hey if you think I'm wrong on that please clue me in on what the facts are. Thank you very much.
Now the Bible really has the answer and the solution for all the problems that my left wing friends are concerned about - peace, justice and compassion. I've jotted down some notes here from the Bible just for a start to see what the Bible has to offer. If you love peace, humanity, and justice, and compassion, then you should really love this.
Yours for the Truth and Logical Thinking,
Radical Thinker
Now Check this out:
I'm interested in your thoughts, so please let me know what you think about this, or my previous posts. Say, I've been listening to a lot of left wing radio talk shows for the past 15 years. It sounds like these left wing talk show hosts are Christians; I mean you would think they are Christians because they are always concerned about Christian values like helping the poor, working for a just society, and achieving it non-violently the way Jesus Christ teaches in the Gospels; as a matter of fact, I have often heard them make references to Jesus and his teachings. It is kind of interesting, isn't it that, it seems, they want to embrace Jesus teachings and his way of life but only as it relates to war and violence and helping the poor and needy. They want to embrace Darwin's theory of evolution and the survival of the fittest which is totally contrary to helping the poor. See my comments on that in my first post. Now Left wingers, I really love you guys and gals out there, but come on lets have some logical thinking here. If we want to embrace Jesus teachings about love and concern for all of mankind, but reject everything else that he teaches about morality such as being faithful to your spouse etc.; come on let's be consistent. If you wonderful leftists want to embrace Charles Darwin's teachings as your philosophical base then to be consistent you would also be in favor of Adolf Hitlers program of helping evolution along by eliminating the weaker elements of society by giving them death and thus improving human evolution by getting them out of the gene pool. That would be logical thinking if you accept Darwin's ideas about biological evolution. Left wingers are constantly characterizing conservatives as the followers of Hitler. Well , your left wing counter parts Stalin and Lenin were known to be mass murderers of humanity also and that stems from the fact that they spring from the same philosophical base of Darwinism as did Adolf. Really there was not a whole lot of difference even politically between Hitler, Stalin and Lenin. They were all socialists and believers in Darwinism. Now, believing in Darwinism has become associated in our mass media with being wise and informed and intelligent; but if you stop and examine it, really put it under a microscope; what it intelligent about it? Is there any factual basis to it? Is there any scientific proof that Darwin's theory of evolution corresponds to the real world? Last time I checked the scientists still have not found any evidence to prove Darwin's doctrines; but our systems of propaganda such as our mass media and public educational institutions constantly affirm Darwinism as factual, so without asking any questions our leftist friends just simply believe what they are told over and over again in the public schools and mass media. In short they have been unwittingly brain washed by the same media which they also are constantly accusing of being conservative and supporting a fascist agenda. Please think about that my dear left wing socialist and communist friends; the same media that you say is conservative and fascist also promotes your favorite theory, Darwinism. Is is quite clear that you have never really studied Darwinism, because if you had you would have found it to be void of facts. It is purely science fiction; if you actually get out in the field and do some real research you will not find any real scientific data to support it.
I agree with so much of what my left wing friends are saying, in fact they are often saying much that you would expect the conservatives to be supporting, like defending the human rights that are given by God the Creator and protected by the the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. That's what I hear the left wing progressives defending! This is truly amazing, because what they are defending are very conservative values. Human Rights are given by God, our Creator! If you were to base human rights on Darwin's theory of evolution, we would have no rights. Left wingers, you don't realize how conservative you really are. When you cry out for compassion on humanity, and helping the poor and champion human rights, you are speaking out of conservative Christian values. You are more Christian than many of the so called conservative talk show hosts of today. They are supposed to be Christian, but if they are they will also cry out for protecting human rights and non-violent resolution of conflicts. Left wing friends if you really care so much about humanity, and I think you really do; then embrace also the Creator of humanity and his teachings. You say that is crazy! Not really, it is crazy not to embrace the Creator if you love his creation so much. If you want peace on earth as you say you do, then follow the Prince of Peace. It is not logical to embrace Darwin, and then constantly defend Christian values like peace, compassion, and human rights. The basis for your beliefs in found in the Holy Bible, so instead of throwing out the Bible, you should become a devoted student of its teachings. The Bible is not fantasy, it is factual history and Divine revelation; and it is the foundation of the ideals you champion: human rights, compassion for the poor, freedom from oppression, all these are based on the Bible, not Darwin. If you think logically and base your thinking on Darwinism you will not care at all about rights and compassion; instead you will believe that the strongest ones survive because they are stronger and have the ability to kill and devour all the weaker elements of society. That is what Darwinism teaches; it does not teach compassion or respect for human rights or freedom from oppression. Left wing progressive friends, it is time to throw out Darwinism, because it is clearly opposed to what you really stand for. If you want to make progress toward freedom and compassion for all, you will base your thinking on the Holy Bible not Darwin's theory of the evolution of "favored races". Remember your great hero Martin Luther King got all those great ideals about humanity, freedom, and non-violence from the Bible, from Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace; not from Darwin. Darwin's teaching supports the opposite of everything you stand for. It is so ironic that progressives have called creationists fascists, devotees of Hitler. Clearly whoever says that has never really studied Darwin, or the Bible, they are just repeating sound bites that have been drummed into their heads by the public institutions of propaganda (government schools) and mass media. Come on somebody lets be real scholars and not just repeat like parrots what some professor says. Most college professors are just pretending that they know that life emerged by accident out of the primordial pond millions of years ago; but they have no proof. Nobody ever saw that happen, and yet they call that science! My friend, that is not science. It is fiction. So if you love humanity as you say you do it is time to examine your thinking and realize Darwinism must be thrown out with the bath water, but not the Holy Bible, that is the foundation for the values of human rights, freedom and Peace. I heard a left wing divinity graduate on left wing radio say that Answers In Genesis [answersingenesis.org] is a fascist institution dedicated to oppression of humanity. I challenge anybody to go there; I'm sure you will find out that these people are not devotees of Adolf Hitler as our left wing divinity student says. Like all of us human beings I'm sure they have a lot to learn and that's why they are studying; and perhaps you can help them learn some things, but are they just a bunch of robotic dummies? I don't think so. Please go there, meet the people, get acquainted, and report back to me if you found them to be the followers of Hitler, because they believe that we are created by the Creator and not by random chance in the primordial pond as Darwin teaches. Our divinity grad really has it backwards; it was Adolf Hitler who was a devotee of Charles Darwin. Please look into it, as far as I've heard history verifies that; but hey if you think I'm wrong on that please clue me in on what the facts are. Thank you very much.
Now the Bible really has the answer and the solution for all the problems that my left wing friends are concerned about - peace, justice and compassion. I've jotted down some notes here from the Bible just for a start to see what the Bible has to offer. If you love peace, humanity, and justice, and compassion, then you should really love this.
Yours for the Truth and Logical Thinking,
Radical Thinker
Now Check this out:
Announcing the Gospel of Peace! Romans 10: 15
Jesus preached peace for all in the world. Ephesians 2:11 – 22
His apostles announced peace by Jesus Christ to all nations. Acts 10:36
The Kingdom of God has come. Matthew 12: 28, Mark 1: 14- 15, Luke 8: 1, John 3: 3-8
Jesus Christ is the door to the Kingdom of God. Jesus said, “I am the door” John:10:7 Many have entered into the Kingdom of God. While yet living on earth they are seated in heavenly places with Christ. Ephesians 2:4 - 6
They have been delivered from darkness and translated into the Kingdom and redeemed through Jesus Christ (Colossians 1: 12 – 13) who died for all mankind and rose up from the dead that we may live in resurrection power.
(Romans 6: 4, Colossians 2:12, Acts 2:37-39).
All power in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus. He is seated on the throne and is ruling. Matthew 28: 18
The fullness of the Godhead is in him; he is the head of all principality and power. Colossians 2:6-10
Everyone shall acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of all. Philippians 2:5 – 11
The Creator has already established this Kingdom in the days of ancient kings.
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed….. it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Though all the presidents and kings plot to overthrow him to dethrone him, their plans will fail. Psalms:2:1: Why do the heathen rage…
/ Col. 2:15 / John 6:33 / Revelation 18 – 19:9
Jesus taught his followers to love their enemies and do good to those that hate them. (Matthew 5:38-48) In so doing they have conquered the world by love (Romans 8:37); Not by might, but by the Spirit of God (John 18:36, Zechariah 4:6 / 8:19) and they will continue to conquer until every wicked work is gone (Romans 16:20 / I Corinthians 15: 21-26). We overcome evil with good. Romans 12: 17-21
Jesus taught us to seek first his Kingdom and all of our needs would be met. Matt. 6:33
It is a really great that we can bring the wonderful Gospel of Peace to the whole world until the knowledge of the LORD covers the earth, (Isa. 11:9) and the Spirit of God is poured out on all flesh (Acts 2: 16-17) Those who embraced the Gospel of Peace were given the commission by the Lord Jesus bring the message to all nations and tribes. Matthew 28:18-20 \ II Corinth 5:17-20
Thank you much for reading.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Hi there!
Today I’m going to give a commentary on a portion of Greg Bahnsen’s Defending the Christian Worldview Audio Series 1 Disc 1. Greg Bahnsen an able apologist for the Christian Faith died in 1995. As with all authors and speakers there are some areas where I disagree, but the vast majority of what he says I am very pleased to recommend.
I’m sketching out here basically what Greg is talking about; but I’m putting it in my own words and adding some content while leaving out some, and improvising so if you want Greg’s exact words you’ll have to buy the CDs. I got them from Gary DeMar. If you notice any error's or mistakes they will be credited to me since this is my commentary.
Greg starts out with a story about a lady at the airport who was worried about getting on a plane that was going to a place where she did not want to go. He then compares that to people with secular worldviews that are going to land them in a place where they don’t want to go, but they seem deluded into thinking that the plane or worldview they are riding will get them to happiness or some place and they don’t realize their plane or worldview really can’t fly; really can’t get them where they want to go or adequately explain the way things work. The way they have chosen to think is headed for a crash or better yet can’t even get off the ground. The secular way of thinking not only leads to a future hell, but it lands them in a hell on earth, a way of living and thinking that does not lead to happiness, nor does it even harmonize with itself.
As a Christian it is not hard to demonstrate that these secular views are false, contradictory and do not lead to the imagined paradise which secular thinkers envision. On the college campus or the street we are dealing with worldviews or philosophies and not necessarily with actual facts. These worldviews usually claim to be based on fact, but upon examination the facts don’t prove to exist. It turns out to be a fabricated illusion of reality purporting to represent the truth; but is it? No, usually these college professors and gurus are so self deceived that they really aren’t interested in facts. They are just having their own little party, playing their own game and their own arrogance and cockiness blinds them to the fact of the phoniness of their own views.
As Christians we should be very studious and know the facts about reality just in case we find someone who is interested in the truth. Yes, it’s a lot of work but well worth the effort. College professors or self proclaimed know it alls; (there seems to be a lot of them running around) will try to fool you into thinking they are in the know; they’ve read all the important books, experienced everything and so on. Well, the reality is they usually don’t know what they are talking about; they may just be parroting something they heard their professor say, or something they saw on television or the movies and just assumed it was true.
Also they generally tend to isolate themselves and only read material that supports their pet view so as to maintain the illusions that their point of view is true; but they are going to try to give you the illusion that they are really in the know; but do the facts really support their point of view? They are usually just bluffing and they really don’t understand the philosophical implications of their own position. They are usually from one moment to the next making some comment about how stupid and ignorant Christians are, or mentioning something horrible that Christians do or have done and so we are supposed to assume that Christianity is evil and at best false. The problem here is that the college professor usually has never studied the Bible or the Christian faith and so he really doesn’t know what the Christian faith is all about; so how can he be in a position to tear it apart? He is just revealing his ignorance by parroting usually what some other misinformed philosopher, historian or newscaster said. They are just playing the game of superiority without the benefit of self-criticism. Greg says that in his long academic career by which he obtained a PhD in philosophy he is very sure that at least 90% of all the attackers against Christianity that he encountered as teachers and professors did not know what they were talking about. They simply assume the role of critic of Christian faith without having studied what they are trying to destroy. They have decided that the Bible or Christianity is not true on the basis of what some other skeptic said, but have they seriously studied the Bible? Give them a quiz to see if they know anything about the Bible and Christianity. Also the fact is that they do not have any facts with which to destroy the Christian Faith. They can point out evil things that Christians have done, true; but then to be fair they should also inform their students about all the evil things that have been done by pagans and atheists; but no, they would have their students think that Christians are the ones who have done evil and if atheists have done evil that is not important to know about it seems. No, they would rather cover up all the evil done by secularists and pagans; nor are they aware that their philosophies are self-defeating masses of contradictions that can’t stand the light of examination.
Christians know that many have done deeds in the name of Christ that were not righteous or holy deeds as well as many abominations and horrible things while pretending to be Christians. Christians repudiate those evil actions. We know that many pretending to be Christians really are not Christians. Jesus himself even warned us about this in the Gospels and the Apostles as well warn us about this very thing; so people having abused Christianity can never discredit or destroy the truth of the Christian faith. There are always imposters, but there also exists the real thing. Atheists and Darwinians have committed mass murder and genocide, but when they do such things they were acting in harmony with their worldview or philosophy; Christians on the other hand were violating their own worldview and the teachings of Christ if they did such things. When atheists and secularists require people to live morally responsible lives they are barrowing from the Christian teachings and worldview, because their own worldview does not support morality.
Everyone does philosophy but not everyone does it well; so philosophy itself is not the problem; the problem we face is that everyone has there own philosophy, but it is generally one that is self contradictory and therefore a self invalidated philosophy. What we want to do here is learn how to spot the errors and contradictions of the various non-Christian worldviews and demonstrate how they are not consistent with the facts or the truth or with their own stated beliefs.
Well, what do you think? Let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Is Violence Permissible?
Is violence permissible as a means of resolving a matter?
What is a Christian to do? Christians are followers of Jesus Christ and his teachings. So, next question is: What does the Bible and Jesus teach us about how to live? Christians must follow the teachings of Jesus and his apostles found in the New Testament. The New Testament is the final revelation of God’s truth to man; and the Old Testament is to be seen in the light given by the New Testament. The Apostle Paul tells us that the Law and the Prophets are the shadow, but Christ is the real thing. The Old Testament was a school master to bring us unto Christ. Once Christ is come we now enter into the reality to which the Law and the Prophets were pointing.
Now what does the New Testament teach us about Jesus and how we are to live. Christ lived as an example of how we are to live and to overcome evil as Christ did. Luke 9:56 says, referring to Jesus, “For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” This is the opposite of what happens in the wars waged by men in the flesh; human life is always destroyed. Satan comes only to steal, kill and destroy, so those who participate in war are doing what Satan is pleased with, since he is constantly plotting to destroy human life anyway that he can.
Jesus informs us that the two greatest commandments are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:30,31). I Thessalonians 5:15 says,” See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.”
Jesus said, “ But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Luke 6:35-36
Jesus taught forgiveness rather than returning evil for evil. Matthew 6:14-15
When human governments demand actions of men that are contrary to God’s instructions we must yield to God rather than to mans systems. Peter and the apostles answered to the officials who commanded them not to preach in the name of Jesus, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29
Obeying God may land us in prison at times, as we have the accounts in the Bible of Daniel and the Hebrew boys, Joseph, and the example of the disciples, and apostles of Jesus Christ and thousands of Christian martyrs throughout history who have suffered for the cause of Christ. Following Christ was never presented as an easy path; but on the other hand the way of the transgressor is hard; and there is no rest for the wicked.
Jesus and his apostles came preaching the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is a universal kingdom. Jesus command was to take the Good News of Peace to all nations and make disciples of all nations. However the weapons of this kingdom are not carnal. We can’t protect or build this kingdom with carnal power.
When Peter tried to protect Jesus with the sword, Jesus said, “ Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” Matt. 26:52 Also the Apostle Paul tells us that, “ the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” II Corinthians 10:4-5.
The Kingdom of God will never come to an end; there is no foe that can overthrow it; and it is the kingdom to which we pertain. Since carnal warfare does nothing to protect the Kingdom of God it is very silly to use it. The weapons of love, forgiveness, prayer, kindness and many other spiritual weapons are much greater; and they will get the job done whereas fighting a carnal war with guns, bombs and tanks will not get the job done; they only make things worse. Therefore, let’s leave carnal warfare behind and instead follow the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, and spread the Good News of Peace and the Kingdom of God to all the world
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Okay, I'm back.
So Doug mentions Tony Campolo as a great popular speaker in
Christian circles these days. Doug thinks Tony is wrong in claiming
that there is some truth in Marxism. I think Karl Marx stole a basic
idea from the Holy Scriptures, which is that we should remember
the poor, and help them when they are in need. That is a Christian
and Biblical teaching; but then Marx adopts a totally anti Christian
method of meeting the needs of the poor, which actually does
nothing to help the poor.
The Bible and Gods prophets exhort the rich to give to the poor
from a compassionate heart, a repentant heart. The philosophy
that Marx adopts as the basis for his system, Darwinism, is totally
contrary to helping the poor, since Darwin's teaching is the survival
of the strong. Therefore consistent Darwinists have argued that
nothing should be done to help the poor, rather let them die off so
as not to weaken the humane gene pool. Darwinists have undertaken
efforts to eliminate the weak and poor, not help them.
Karl Marx advocates violent overthrow of the rich and redistribution
of the goods to the people. This is no help at all to the poor, of course,
because many thousands of them are killed off in the violent revolution;
and many of the rich may be killed as well. This does nothing to help
humanity; it only makes life much more dangerous for all.
Only God's way of reaching and helping the poor will work -
transforming the hearts of people by the love of God so that they want
to help the poor; and they come to understand that Jesus teaching on
giving to the poor is true: It is more blessed to give than to receive.
So Karl Marx starts with a Christian idea, helping the poor, but he
transforms it into an antichristian system that actually destroys both
the rich and the poor. So if Tony Campolo thinks there is some truth
in Marxism, I wonder what that truth is. We agree that the poor should
be helped because God loves them and has given us the opportunity
if we have means, to be a channel of help to the poor remembering
that everything we have is a gift to us from God.
What is there that is true in Marxism other than the idea that the
poor should be helped? I agree with that, but if the whole system
and method that we adopt to help the poor actually destroys them
and the rich both, I don't think there is much truth in it. What do you
think? Hey, if I'm wrong on this, please correct me. This is my
understanding from what I've picked up in this universe
(which some Darwinists say is a random universe of chaos where
everything happens by chance. Is that true? Where's the proof?)
I'll be back.
Radical Thinker
Here's a note on T. Campolo:
Wikipedia states," Despite his criticisms of the evangelical
community, Campolo has also criticized the more liberal mainline
Christian denominations because "they fail to emphasize a
personal, transforming relationship with Jesus Christ."
So Doug mentions Tony Campolo as a great popular speaker in
Christian circles these days. Doug thinks Tony is wrong in claiming
that there is some truth in Marxism. I think Karl Marx stole a basic
idea from the Holy Scriptures, which is that we should remember
the poor, and help them when they are in need. That is a Christian
and Biblical teaching; but then Marx adopts a totally anti Christian
method of meeting the needs of the poor, which actually does
nothing to help the poor.
The Bible and Gods prophets exhort the rich to give to the poor
from a compassionate heart, a repentant heart. The philosophy
that Marx adopts as the basis for his system, Darwinism, is totally
contrary to helping the poor, since Darwin's teaching is the survival
of the strong. Therefore consistent Darwinists have argued that
nothing should be done to help the poor, rather let them die off so
as not to weaken the humane gene pool. Darwinists have undertaken
efforts to eliminate the weak and poor, not help them.
Karl Marx advocates violent overthrow of the rich and redistribution
of the goods to the people. This is no help at all to the poor, of course,
because many thousands of them are killed off in the violent revolution;
and many of the rich may be killed as well. This does nothing to help
humanity; it only makes life much more dangerous for all.
Only God's way of reaching and helping the poor will work -
transforming the hearts of people by the love of God so that they want
to help the poor; and they come to understand that Jesus teaching on
giving to the poor is true: It is more blessed to give than to receive.
So Karl Marx starts with a Christian idea, helping the poor, but he
transforms it into an antichristian system that actually destroys both
the rich and the poor. So if Tony Campolo thinks there is some truth
in Marxism, I wonder what that truth is. We agree that the poor should
be helped because God loves them and has given us the opportunity
if we have means, to be a channel of help to the poor remembering
that everything we have is a gift to us from God.
What is there that is true in Marxism other than the idea that the
poor should be helped? I agree with that, but if the whole system
and method that we adopt to help the poor actually destroys them
and the rich both, I don't think there is much truth in it. What do you
think? Hey, if I'm wrong on this, please correct me. This is my
understanding from what I've picked up in this universe
(which some Darwinists say is a random universe of chaos where
everything happens by chance. Is that true? Where's the proof?)
I'll be back.
Radical Thinker
Here's a note on T. Campolo:
Wikipedia states," Despite his criticisms of the evangelical
community, Campolo has also criticized the more liberal mainline
Christian denominations because "they fail to emphasize a
personal, transforming relationship with Jesus Christ."
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
What is radical Thinking?
Let's just pretend for a moment that we live in a world of chaos.
Everything happens by chance; there is no original intelligence
in the universe, no designer, no mind. Well I can sort of relate
to that because as I think of starting a blog I feel as though I am
without intelligence, without a brain, and am totally overwhelmed
with the prospect of starting a blog, because after all
what am I going to say?
Well how about, if we just start out with original stuff, radical,
in other words primitive. Radical, what does it mean? Radical
means relating to the root or proceeding from the root of
something; original, fundamental, reaching to the center or
ultimate source; affecting the vital principle or principles,
according to Webster.
Okay, so if we are going to have radical thinking we have to
go to the origin of all things and the original or fundamental
sources of knowledge. In this blog we want to examine our
thinking and the thinking of others in the light of the original,
fundamental starting point of all things, or the universe. So,
how do you get there? What or who is the origin of all things?
If we want to be really radical we can look at the stars, the sun,
moon, the trees, land and everything we see around us, and we
can see that it is all very amazing and regular. Did all this happen
by random processes in a chaotic universe? Things do not happen
in a random fashion. The sun rises in the East every morning,
never the West. Summer comes after Spring, and Autumn before
Winter etc. DNA gives precise instructions as to how living
beings are formed.
Now understand, I don't necessarily agree with all that
Douglas W. Phillips is saying; but earlier today I, randomly
it seemed, just happened to pickup a DVD by Douglas W. Phillips,
founder of Witherspoon School of Law & Public Policy. He went
to George Mason University School of Law and studied under
Judge Bork, Judge Ginsberg, and other Supreme Court nominee rejects.
He says that in his very first class at law school the professor told
the class that law has nothing to do with truth or defending peoples
rights. It's just a way to make money, a means of being an arbiter
or negotiator, but it has nothing to do with God or truth, and if you
think it does you have no business being here in law school.
Now tell me is this really true that law has nothing to do with truth
or God? Where does law come from? Phillips gives John
Witherspoon as an example of an educator with a different point
of view; he believed that God was the law giver.
Back in the 1970s singer, songwriter Bob Dylan discovered that
there is something in the universe besides time, chance and space.
He expressed it in his albums Saved, Slow Train Coming, and
Gotta Serve Somebody.
Christianity, not as practiced by many but what the Bible actually
teaches in the Light of the New Testament and the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the thesis or basis of truth. Charles
Darwin's teaching or Darwinism and Atheism are the antithesis;
but do they even have a leg to stand on?
We live in a society so drenched with Darwinist propaganda that
many just take it for granted that his writings are true without ever
examining it, or asking any critical questions as to whether it is true
or not. The whole public educational system just takes it for granted
that Darwinism is true and presents it as a fact. No questions are
asked as to whether actual evidence supports the theory of Darwin;
and the public schools only present the Darwinian story excluding
any other view of origins. Ask yourself, is that open minded education?
Does that encourage intellectual development and stimulation?
I'll be back.
Radical Thinker
Everything happens by chance; there is no original intelligence
in the universe, no designer, no mind. Well I can sort of relate
to that because as I think of starting a blog I feel as though I am
without intelligence, without a brain, and am totally overwhelmed
with the prospect of starting a blog, because after all
what am I going to say?
Well how about, if we just start out with original stuff, radical,
in other words primitive. Radical, what does it mean? Radical
means relating to the root or proceeding from the root of
something; original, fundamental, reaching to the center or
ultimate source; affecting the vital principle or principles,
according to Webster.
Okay, so if we are going to have radical thinking we have to
go to the origin of all things and the original or fundamental
sources of knowledge. In this blog we want to examine our
thinking and the thinking of others in the light of the original,
fundamental starting point of all things, or the universe. So,
how do you get there? What or who is the origin of all things?
If we want to be really radical we can look at the stars, the sun,
moon, the trees, land and everything we see around us, and we
can see that it is all very amazing and regular. Did all this happen
by random processes in a chaotic universe? Things do not happen
in a random fashion. The sun rises in the East every morning,
never the West. Summer comes after Spring, and Autumn before
Winter etc. DNA gives precise instructions as to how living
beings are formed.
Now understand, I don't necessarily agree with all that
Douglas W. Phillips is saying; but earlier today I, randomly
it seemed, just happened to pickup a DVD by Douglas W. Phillips,
founder of Witherspoon School of Law & Public Policy. He went
to George Mason University School of Law and studied under
Judge Bork, Judge Ginsberg, and other Supreme Court nominee rejects.
He says that in his very first class at law school the professor told
the class that law has nothing to do with truth or defending peoples
rights. It's just a way to make money, a means of being an arbiter
or negotiator, but it has nothing to do with God or truth, and if you
think it does you have no business being here in law school.
Now tell me is this really true that law has nothing to do with truth
or God? Where does law come from? Phillips gives John
Witherspoon as an example of an educator with a different point
of view; he believed that God was the law giver.
Back in the 1970s singer, songwriter Bob Dylan discovered that
there is something in the universe besides time, chance and space.
He expressed it in his albums Saved, Slow Train Coming, and
Gotta Serve Somebody.
Christianity, not as practiced by many but what the Bible actually
teaches in the Light of the New Testament and the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the thesis or basis of truth. Charles
Darwin's teaching or Darwinism and Atheism are the antithesis;
but do they even have a leg to stand on?
We live in a society so drenched with Darwinist propaganda that
many just take it for granted that his writings are true without ever
examining it, or asking any critical questions as to whether it is true
or not. The whole public educational system just takes it for granted
that Darwinism is true and presents it as a fact. No questions are
asked as to whether actual evidence supports the theory of Darwin;
and the public schools only present the Darwinian story excluding
any other view of origins. Ask yourself, is that open minded education?
Does that encourage intellectual development and stimulation?
I'll be back.
Radical Thinker
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