"Has God said ...?"

 Doubt in its place can be a good thing:  "Tell me your certainties, I have enough doubts of my own"  (Goethe).
Skepticism goes all the back to the Greek philosophers of antiquity, so it is not new--they wondered about knowing anything at all.
David Hume, the extreme skeptic philosopher, was known for doubting the very possibility of miracles, saying they were a violation of natural law (thus personifying science):  He repudiated the idea of certainty.
Rene Descartes, the father of modern philosophy in an age of Rationalism, refused to believe anything unless provable: Cogito, ergo sum was all he could muster (I think, therefore I am).
Has anything ever not rung true to you?  Read on!

"It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel:  (Proverbs 20:3).
First three paragraphs are an introduction, disclaimer, and platform:

My goal herein is to provide a rationale for avoiding unnecessary conflict whether by specious (questionable and dubious) argument or even by cogent, rational assertion.  I'll attempt to keep the rhetoric at bay and won't engage in a war over ideas (the only war worth fighting at all costs is the gospel and constituent truths).  (Some argument is better suited to the open marketplace of ideas and not between loved ones.  If you can't say it in public, it might not be worth saying.)  This is based on personal experience and what the Lord has taught me, and is not intended to offend anyone.  We must be prepared to have an answer for the hope that is within us, yet with gentleness and respect according to 1 Peter 3:15; otherwise we lose by default and confirm them in their ignorance.  (Refutation and rebuttal ability are acquired skills through practice and are not as necessary as a thorough knowledge of the Word of Truth--knowing the Bible is more valuable than an education.)

This is my dialectic about being skeptical and putting skepticism in its place.  I am hoping to shun animosity and discord, but I have found it necessary to blog on this matter and not concede without saying my peace of mind and getting it off my chest about what I know something about.  In the final analysis, I hope you will ascertain your position and, if you disagree, be tactful, kind, and loving in your reaction, comment, or response (it is the spirit that something is done in that matters and is apparent).  A final word to the wise is sufficient:  An opinion is something you hold, but convictions hold you and you are usually willing to make sacrifices for them, to die for, that is, even the ultimate sacrifice itself.

In the so-called great quest or pursuit of truth and thirst for knowledge, I endeavor to make an intelligible discourse to delineate my stand on argumentation and skepticism (I believe there comes a time when we must make our position known and stand up for what we believe).  I intend to tone down the rhetoric and be as coherent and lucid as I am can.   Sometimes we are not presenting the offense of the cross, but being offensive and obnoxious jerks in our interpersonal intercourse.  I am aware that some of the great philosophers and theologians have declared that "all truth is God's truth," but in my nomenclature, the truth is divine revelation that changes lives and gives life to the soul.  All of us err on occasion as Augustine said, "If I err, I am."  Also, "to err is human...."  Finally, these views are what I espouse and subscribe to and I do not claim to be inerrant, or infallible, neither do I speak ex-cathedra, nevertheless,  I am articulating my own viewpoint.

You may recall that this is what Satan said to Eve when he so slyly introduced the concept of skepticism to her.  Some people are born skeptics and are naturally inquisitive or inquiring, even too curious or doubtful for their own good--there is a place for faith and all knowledge begins with it.  There are some things we ought to be skeptical about, like politicians who act out of expediency (Goethe said politics is a dirty business).  But there is a time and place for every matter under heaven and one should know when to be skeptical and put it in its place.

Gen. George C. Patton's book Patton's Principles:  A Handbook for Managers Who Mean it says we should "pick our fights" because there may be more to lose than to gain.  We can win an argument and lose a friend--I personally believe relationships are more important than showing off your debating skill.  Proverbs says, that a brother offended is harder to win over than a fortified city.  Sometimes wisdom tells us not to go there because we have more to lose than to gain.  Arguments can generate more heat than light and people are rarely won over by argument--you cannot argue someone into the kingdom, for instance.

R. C. Sproul says that the Bible forbids being argumentative, divisive, contentious, or judgmental.  This is true because Paul says in 2 Tim. 2:24 that "the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome [must not strive]."  We are peacemakers, not troublemakers, and one of the six things God hates listed in Prov. 6:19 is sowing discord (one of the fruits of the flesh listed in Gal. 5) among brethren.  I'm not saying we cannot disagree, but the Lord exhorts us to agree in the Spirit and be of one accord.  We can agree to disagree without being disagreeable, as the cliche goes--but this is a vital one too--we don't want to be known or pegged for being a contentious, contrary, or disagreeable person.

"Endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," Paul says in Ephesians 4:3.  A fellowship is when two fellows are on the same ship, so how can the fellowship be about two people trying to prove the other wrong (which is my definition of an argument)?  Usually, people stop seeking the truth and just get stubborn and step into a belligerent or attack mode, picking a fight, as it were, even judging and resorting to ad hominem attacks (insulting the person rather than the facts themselves)--and I am as guilty of this as the next guy.  Mea culpa!

It is beautiful when brethren get along in the Spirit and can calmly discuss matters without it escalating into something undesirable and uncalled for among believers.  Most tiffs are the result of misunderstanding j(a failure to communicate!) and especially of semantics or diction where we don't know where the other party is coming from.   The better we know someone, the more we know or should know, how to get a rise out of them, know how to push their buttons,  or what offends them--and to not go there.  There will be disagreements (Augustine's dictum, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity" applies) and they are inevitable because we are human ("to err is human, to forgive divine").

We don't want to be "yes-men" or sycophants that encourage someone in their error.  An honest answer is a kiss on the lips according to Proverbs; that is to say, it is better to be honest sometimes, though the truth may hurt. Proverbs also say that the wounds of a friend can be trusted.  The truth can hurt, so we have to learn tact and be sensitive when necessary. We can do a person more of a favor sometimes by disagreeing and telling the truth as we see it!

There is a command to stand up for the truth (but this is only for absolute truth found in Scripture); Jude urges us to "earnestly contend for the faith" in Jude 4.  Jesus said that he didn't come to bring peace, but a sword, and to set a fire and he wishes it had already been kindled!  Families often divide on religion and Christ predicted this, but they need not do so on the basis of politics for example.   The rapprochement or reconciliation after a fight is harder than to avoid it in the first place and we have to learn to be tactful, sensitive, and political in family or friendship circles.  The truth is always fighting for, but only the Bible is called "truth."

Jesus claimed to be the personification or embodiment of truth itself (that means there is absolute truth)--other things may be true, but cannot legitimately be called truth--it is the truth that sets us free spiritually (John 8:32).   We are sanctified by the truth  (John 17:17), and Jesus purpose in coming was to" bear witness of the truth" as he gave the testimony to Pilate (John 18:37).  This is our calling and commission as Christians, not to turn people into our political persuasion, et alia.

The church has had many splits and factions because of contention (this is why there are so many denominations) and after the reformation contention arose because Catholics gave equal authority to tradition as to Scripture.  The best way to diffuse an argument is to admit you could be wrong!  Be the humble one who is not stubborn and seek the truth of the matter.  Paul says to Timothy:  "The man of God must not strive [quarrel] ...."  There is a place for debate now, which is another ballgame.  Like in the Senate chambers where a bill must be discussed and the pros and cons weighed.  The purpose of debate is to win and there is a moderator and judge to decide this--sometimes a vote transpires.  In an argument, the purpose shouldn't be to win, but to seek the truth, if one stays objective and has an open mind.  Remember, Satan is at work and his chief strategy is to divide and conquer.

Now to find the truth you must go with the flow (the direction of evidence and argument) and be willing to admit you are wrong (before you can be educated, you must admit your ignorance), which you may be, because no one has a monopoly on the truth and has cornered the market so that they have the right to be intolerant of disagreement.  "Behold how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity" (Psalm 133:1).    The best way to discuss a matter is to have it based on the truth, which is Scripture, and use the Bible to back up your ideas.  "Then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me..." (Psalm 119:42).  Jesus also quoted Scripture to defeat Satan:  He said, "It is written...."

When you disagree it may be wise to just change the subject and pursue it no further--it may not be worth the argument or being disagreeable about--people's feelings get hurt even if we are just being ourselves or telling the truth--sometimes the truth hurts and we are not being tactful--we may also be hypersensitive ourselves and carry our feelings on our sleeves--we should be ready to take anything our friends dish out in confidence that they love us and are not perfect.  We are all "works in progress" and will make mistakes--no one can say he has arrived at perfection.

In summation:  Keep it in check and under restraint--don't ever knowingly and willingly jeopardize a close and meaningful relationship!    Soli Deo Gloria!

Critique Of The Blame Game

Premise:  God is the sole, ultimate, First Cause of the universe.  You need to see the Big Picture!
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk...then your light will rise in the darkness..." (Isaiah 58:9).

God is sovereign through Providence, but cannot be charged with wrongdoing or be responsible for evil, though He uses secondary causes as vessels of dishonor to accomplish His will and even turn curses into blessings ("The wrath of man shall praise thee," says Psalm 76:10).  Joseph said, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (Gen. 50:20).

You have to go back to the Garden of Eden to see how Operation Fig leaf started and the blame game began.  Eve blamed the serpent, Adam blamed Eve!  Today we cannot put the culpability on them, not only because Adam was the head of the race, but we would've done likewise--it was such a representative sin that all are guilty of.  God is our judge then, and we are not His:  God is the moral center of the universe, not us!  He is accountable to no one.  All creatures owe accountability to their Maker.

"Every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything" (Hebrews 3:4) [one proof text referring to God's primary causation and being called the First Cause].  Nothing can be its own cause no more than its own creator-but it is possible for something to be self-existent and have no cause logically, scientifically, and theologically.  God had no beginning and needs no antecedent cause because of not being an effect.  We conclude that something must be "uncaused" or self-existent for anything to exist today because there couldn't have been a "time" when nothing existed--there would be nothing now (ex nihilo, nihil fit or out of nothing, nothing comes; an ancient axiom). [So cites R. C. Sproul concerning Immanuel Kant's proofs for God.]

God micromanages the universe from the smallest molecule to the largest galaxy to be under His care and control.  He even orchestrates history to turn out the way He wills it and has never lost control or given up His throne to Satan, though he is the ruler of this age under the limiting restraint of God and cannot do anything apart from divine permission.  Everything is going according to Plan A and there is no Plan B.  

He merely uses everything and everyone as His tools and vessels of honor and dishonor to accomplish His good pleasure and glorify Himself.   For instance, you look at all the evil in the world and wonder why God hasn't done anything about it:  Well, God made you--what is your excuse?  If God were to eradicate all evil from the universe no one would be left--so He has to work with evil to glorify Himself.  No one ever does anything that he doesn't want to (he always does what seems good for him at the moment) and God never makes someone do what they don't want to do:  That would be coercion or determinism and like being forced to do something against your own will--God doesn't interfere with your free will in this respect [however, ultimately He can change your beliefs and make a believer out of you at will by His sovereignty over all]; however, our will is only a small part of our decision-making process:  for instance, our nature given by God (sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic, etc.); our environment; our family; our genes; our education, et al.

Daniel 4:35; cf. Job 9:12, says:  "Who can stay his hand, or say to him:  'What hast thou done?'"  John Wesley used to read the newspaper and when asked why:  "So I can see what God is doing in His world."  Yes, He's got the whole world in His hands.  If you want to start blaming someone, there's enough to blame in you--a good place to start and to also pray for the corporate sins of the nation or body.   When Daniel prayed in chapter 9 he confessed "the sins we have done," to paraphrase him.

There is a vast difference between a link or correlation and a cause:  The former cannot be proved, and the latter can and is without a doubt.  Smoking used to be linked to cancer, now it is a known cause!   Diet soda and obesity are linked, but not yet proved to be the cause.   Freud saw a link between religion and neurosis.  We are too apt to jump to the conclusion and believe what we want to after only examining the evidence that we are prone to believe.

I regard to causation and assigning blame or credit, there are other mistakes in thinking apropos:   The mistake in diagnosis is the so-called "common-factor fallacy."  One merely looks for something in common and assumes that it is the cause.  He drank water and aspirin, water and a laxative, water and a sleeping pill:  Water must be making him sick.  Reality is usually more complicated than a simple formula.  People don't use proper empirical methods or analytic thinking such as induction and deduction.  [In deduction we deduce particulars from universals and go from effect to cause; while in induction we find generalized or universals from the particular or go from the effect to the cause or the converse,  a posteriori reasoning (or after the fact) is going by experience, and a priori (before the fact) are by logic or inference like Sherlock Holmes used to do.]

To this day the basis of logic dates to Aristotle who formulated its laws, and all knowledge is on the premise of logic and that there is reason or logos behind the cosmos.  The enemy of science is chaos according to R. C. Sproul and we must assume order and design in the universe to study it.  Bear in mind:  There would've been no science had not Christians believed in a rational universe governed by a universal reason to be discovered and applied.  Science is the daughter of Christianity.

When we look at the evidence we look at chief indicators and what is major and minor because not everything has equal causation.  I am referring to the law of causality or cause and effect which says that everything that begins to exist or has a beginning must have an antecedent cause. Nothing happens by itself!  Who is the Beginner?  The Big Bang must have someone who fired it and set it off to motion and programmed it with all the universal constants, such as the force of gravity, charge of the electron, and speed of light, among almost fifty other ones, i.e., the fine-tuning of the cosmos.

In troubleshooting one always checks out the obvious first!  Experience and wisdom to use your knowledge are next in line--it usually is not a matter of sheer brilliance or an epiphany or serendipity! There isn't always a smoking gun or obvious indicator of what's wrong--the culprit may take trial and error and elimination of variables one by one in a controlled situation.

God had no beginning, and therefore no cause because He is not an effect and has always existed as the "uncaused cause."  It has been said that to discover the truth you must eliminate the impossible, and whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. God is totally uninfluenced by man and does not need Him as the unmoved mover.

Where am I going with this?  God is also sovereign over salvation (Rom. 5:21).  Faith is the key to knowledge; we understand through faith!  Faith is the means by which we are saved by grace alone and not merit--it is a gift whereby God quickens faith within us.  It is God's gift to us, but we have to believe ourselves--God doesn't believe for us!   Faith began to exist in us and had an external cause which Reformed theologians call "irresistible grace."  An example of God doing something else that is irresistible that is an analogy is when you see a pretty girl that you can't resist and it is your hormones, genes, and nature that were God-given that made you feel that way.  [God was in charge of that, not you. N.B. that you can cause something in a negative way by withholding influence or action or withdrawing guidance or grace!  This is what God does in "judicial hardening" like what He does to reprobates who reject Christ and harden their own hearts.]

But you did nothing against your will and you weren't forced to like this attractive girl that just happens to be your type!  Get the big picture of God in your belief system or worldview.  Our virtue is God's gift to us, not our gift to Him.  Get the equation with respect to the fact that all good things come from God (James 1:17).

Faith is the instrumental cause of justification, but God is the primary cause who planned it, authored it, accomplished it, executed it and applied it on our behalf.  Faith is a gift and not a work as Romanists believe (it would be a basis for merit, as they maintain one must have).  It is the work of God that we believe according to John 6:29: "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."  Acts 18:27 says that we "believed through grace."  It has been granted us the ability to believe according to Philippians 1:29.  We have received a like faith according to 2 Peter 1:1.

Why faith then?  Faith is the beginning of all knowledge and some philosophers deny the certainty of any knowledge, but only probability.  They say, "All truth is relative."  This statement is nonsensical because it would make itself also relative and to have no value as a truth claim.  In fact, "All truth is God's truth" and the gift of God as John 8:32 says:  "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."  Jesus came to "bear witness of the truth" (John 18:37).  The so-called assertion that truth is relative and not absolute is the prevalent idea currently among the elite of academia.  ("You can know nothing for sure.")  [I refer to Allan Bloom's book, The Closing of the American Mind.]  What may be true for you, and not for them:   No wonder Pontius Pilate said, "What is truth?"  A common greeting: "What do you know for sure?"  Tell them that Jesus is alive and well.  We believe in order to understand according to Aristotle and not vice versa.  We are seekers of truth with a capital T. It is true regardless of who believes it or objectively true and absolutely true for all times, peoples, cultures, situations, et al.

Our faith must be tested by fire:  it is more precious than silver or gold.  The same sun melts the butter hardens the clay.  In all of Job's troubles, he did not charge God with wrongdoing but was patient in affliction.

Faith is the thing that pleases God according to Hebrews 11:6 and it takes faith no matter what your position; in fact, it takes more faith to deny God and Christ than to affirm Him (you cannot disprove a universal negative and say there is no God with certainty--it is an act of faith--Norman Geisler says he doesn't have enough faith to be an atheist. You cannot disprove God either--both stands take faith!

It takes more faith to deny God than to believe in Him because he more questions and fewer answers to account for.   No one has all the answers, but you don't need all the answers to believe; you merely go in the direction of the preponderance of the evidence like any legitimate jury would.

Is there proof for faith to be based on?  There is such a phenomenon called "properly-basic belief" whereby the proof is in the pudding--taste it and see for yourself that God is Good, and don't just take my word for it! Psalm 34:8 says:  "Taste and see that the LORD is good...."  Jesus can be experienced and Christianity is not just some pie in the sky faith that has no relevance.  When we invite Christ into our hearts we experience Him and He lives in our hearts; we love Him with our hearts and it's not all in our heads.   Jesus lives in our hearts but this feeling and experienced is based on objective historical fact (the resurrection of Christ the basis)--it is not a totally subjective and personal feeling, but one shared and given a testimony of.

In conclusion of the matter in question about believing God no matter what:  We should start the blame with ourselves and realize that God is still in control and rules over the nations.  As Dostoevsky said, "If there is no God, all things are permissible."  In other words, there is no one to blame and there is no such thing to contemplate.  Wycliffe's tenet that "all things come to pass of necessity" means that we are not to question God's wisdom and sovereignty.   Soli Deo Gloria!

One Day At A Time...

By definition "time" is only a corollary of space and matter/energy and is part of God's creation; therefore God is sovereign over it, not bound by it, nor defined, or limited by it--it is irrelevant to Him!  Let's perceive reality from the divine viewpoint!  That is to say:  Put God in the equation!  You don't see the Big Picture apart from Him!

I used to like the TV show of that title in the '70s and it is a valid philosophy even for unbelievers--psychiatrists would acknowledge this too.  I'm not saying that reminiscing has no place in our lives, but where our daily focus is.  Remember the TV series "Happy Days?"  People tend to think of the olden days as the good old days, and Solomon warned us against doing this in Eccles. 7:10 saying: "Do not say, 'Why were the old days better than these?'"  God has "set eternity in the heart of man" (we have the unique ability that animals don't have to anticipate the future, but a side-effect is that we also can worry about it!) but we are not meant to live oriented only for the "here and now." "Where there is no vision, the people perish," according to Proverbs 29:18 and we must look ahead in making plans, but not in presumption or preoccupation.  ("Commit whatever you do to the LORD, and He will establish your plans.")  "There is a proper time and procedure for every purpose under heaven."  "He makes everything beautiful in its time," so it is said:  Go by God's timetable, not yours!

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).  The older we get, it seems like time is more of the essence (Ernest Hemingway said,  "Time is the thing we have the least of.").  Time goes faster and the birthdays even are a blur. Tempis fugit (time flies).   The Bible says, "As thy days, so shall thy strength be" (Deut. 33:25).  Our life is but a "vapor" that vanishes! Like the grass that withers!

Depression is rampant today: It is mainly caused by people living and dwelling on the past; misinterpreting the present; and anticipating the future.  But we should always remember the words of wisdom:  Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not yet given to us, so why not live today!  We get ahead of ourselves and make plans thinking that tomorrow is guaranteed, but we are to live one day at a time and commend the future to God's care. "Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth" (Proverbs 27:1).  Jesus taught us to pray to "give us this day our daily bread" for a reason.  Psalm 118:24 says:  "This is the day that the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Some people do the extreme of just living for the "here and now" and "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die [quoting 1 Cor. 15:22, ESV, cf. Isaiah 22:13]."  This philosophy dates back to antiquity and Democritus who espoused us to seek "man's fulfillment in the here and now of this world."  We are to live each day to the fullest, but in light of eternity, doing God's will--which is revealed one day at a time, i.e., we don't know God's will for our whole life like a rolled-out revealed agenda.  "My times [future] is in thy hands"  (Psalm 31:15).

We trust God for the future and make our plans "but the LORD establishes [our] steps" (Prov. 16:9). Since we are given one day at a time and live it one day at a time let us heed the advice of Matthew Henry:  "Live each day as if it were your last."  If you aren't prepared to die, you are not prepared to live; for it is in the fear of death that the devil holds people captive to do his will. No one is guaranteed tomorrow!  However, seeing the spiritual dimension gives you a whole new outlook.

Providence is manifest:  "A man's steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?" (Prov. 20:24);  "I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps" (Jeremiah 10:23); "Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established"  (Prov. 16:3).  God is never frustrated and we do not ever interrupt His plans according to Ephesians 1:11 which says:  "[We are being] predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will." Daniel 4:35 says:  "...none can stay his hand, or say to him, 'What doest thou?'"

God orchestrates history and "...he does whatever he pleases"  (Job 23:13).  From God's perspective there is no time element; for He is outside, not defined, nor limited by the time-space continuum which He created for us:  This means He is all-wise (pansophic) and we must trust Providence and not try to think we can predict or see the future.  Hindsight is always 20/20 and we are all geniuses at this, so we shouldn't feel guilty and regret the past as believers.

It is time to take inventory and assess our way of life:  Are we getting what we expected and what we want out of life--life is empty without God in it (enthusiasm means putting God into it).  Nature abhors a vacuum and boredom indicates a lack of purpose and fulfillment and humans are known for this propensity whereas animals aren't.   Socrates said that the "unexamined life is not worth living."  The Latin saying carpe diem or seize the day is pertinent!  In summary:  There is no Plan B, but everything is going according to God's glory and being cognizant of Providence gives us great faith and patience in everyday events.  Soli Deo Gloria!