Nopolis.

Old Man

noreply@blogger.com (Brent) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:21:00 +0000

Recently I was reading Your god is too small by J.B. Phillips. This small booklet is a collection of Phillips' essays looking at common constructions/perceptions of who God is in both general society, as well as Christendom. One that resonated with me was an essay in which Phillips speaks of a conceptualization of God as an "old man".
This essay paints a picture of a society which largely conceives of God as an old gentleman who enjoys sitting in heaven making rules, and eagerly watching humanity-hoping for the slightest screw up so that he can, in all his infinite crotchety-ness, slap us down or punish us. With this conceptualization of God, one can logically conclude (though perhaps fallibly so) that God is also "old fashioned".
Perhaps sociologically speaking, we have been given a number of reasons to think of God in this way; when taught of God as children we view superiors (i.e. rule-makers) as old, and are consistently told that we might understand something "when you are older". Additionally, as society and humanity progresses and evolves, we tend to look at rules or regulations as "out-dated" simply because they don't fit into what social evolution and the majority indicate as the norm. While these simple ideas may be cause for concern, it is not these that are my primary concern-one could argue that it is difficult, if not damn near impossible to combat these seemingly automatic trains of thought-it is that there are aspects of the Church which not only reinforce, but actively contribute to these thought patterns.
First, the thought might become that if God is an old man (or if we treat him as such) then he is incapable or unwilling to understand modernity. Clearly this is not the God of scripture, but when we consider the percentages of "Christians" in our society who study their Bibles to root themselves in truth, God's understood nature, as opposed to his true nature may become the norm.
This idea has far-reaching implications; that A) God is judgemental only and not seeing to know and relate to humanity, and that B) If God is incapable of knowing, understanding, and relating to modernity, we are, in one fell swoop, undermining God's Omniscence, and truly, his very nature.
A second problem arises when we view God in this construct because we see him solely as a god of antuiquity-either seperate or non existant from modern life. This could then easily have us grouping YHWH along with Baal, Ra, or the likes.
Essentially, Phillips states, this view is continually upheld and reinforced psychologically by the Christian church and it's tendency throughout it's existence through the use of old language (such as the translation commissioned by King James), church service structure and mode of worship. Because of this, many modern, young people may have simply a reverence for God and the Faith, but remain locked in disconnect from the worship and service to the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.
This presents additional concerns for Evangelism, in that many of these individuals with either; little concept of God, or little chuch background might be disinclined to entertain the idea of salvation and Christ as Lord because they automatically percieve what they observe as archaic and non-applicable.
This is why I see a main mission of today's church as cultural relation and engagement. This certainly is not to say that we should neglect the true message of Christ, but to present it in a culturally applicable manner, truly examining scripture and the message of Jesus. Jesus spoke in parables which make little sense to many today because he was examining and presenting the truths of his father in a way that the culture could understand. For us to grasp the true meaning of these parables we need to research and understand the cultural context of his message. Just as Christ presented many truths in parable form, so should we be attempting to engage our culture with Christ's message in a way that we will understand and flow with.

Omnipotence.

noreply@blogger.com (Brent) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 04:24:00 +0000

Who is God? This is a question that has plagued numerous individuals and has been a point of discussion and dissension amongst scholars and philosophers for many years. Feel free to call it naivete', ignorance or stupidity, but tread carefully upon the label of misinformed when I state that this much debated issue has a truly simple resolution.
In essence, the person of God is one that is complex and seemingly incongruent to the individual who does not seek to know the HEART (or motivation) of God. It is this dissonance between knowing ABOUT God and knowing God's character that has continued to cause disbelief, frustration, and even wars amongst humanity throughout history. Since the beginning of time-regardless of geographical location and sociological, philosophical, or technological advancement, man has maintained a concept of God. From the gods of the sun, thunder, rain and earth to the modern concept of ancient astronauts or Scientology, we have continually searched for meaning.
Is man's search for meaning as simple as Frankl postulates? I say no. Instead, I think that our search for meaning IN belief is a fundamental component of humanity, and indeed, an aspect of being-in-humanity. Truly it is a human condition to look outside of ourselves, and no, even as a psychotherapist I do not see this as being a function of ill-reconciled early life struggles as Freud or Erickson might state. Rather, due to the universal leanings and sociological discoveries of our time, many cultures have come to separate concepts of god, in which they explain the unknown. It is because God's existance is a basic and universal psychological and sociological concept that I state God does, in fact, exist.
Concomitantly, if there truly exists a God in control of the universe, then that God must be all knowing and all powerful. I make this statement because there is no indication of how any God might exist WITHOUT the attributes of omnipresence and omnipotence if we submit that due to humanity's continual philosophy across cultures that there is a god in control, or looking after humanity. Truly the God of gods must dwell in the dimension of separateness; both from humanity and from humanity's conncection of who God might be.
As such, it is my contention that Christ Jesus is, in fact, the one and true God of the universe. This statement is not made in haste or without due consideration-it is made because of the overarching story and message of the Christian dialogue. In studying other religions, one notices a general theme of "being good" and "serving humanity". However, with Christianity, salvation and forgiveness exist within a framework of free will and inability to either deny participation in faith. Rather, the salvation of Christ is based on FAITH, BELIEF, and REPENTANCE, which no over world religion encounters. Surely, it is the truth that remains contrary and frustrating to many. That is, in fact, the word of God. If there is a God, he must be good, and what better God than the one who says that eternal live and salvation are ours for the taking? We don't have to DO or SAY anything, simply believe.
As we look toward Easter Sunday, let us remember the difference between the LORD CHRIST and the other religions of the world. Truly it is this faith that believes in individuals, meets them where they are, and shows them a better way to live.

Commercial Oil Spill Detergents More Harmful Than Oil.

noreply@blogger.com (Brent) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:34:00 +0000

Today, The Journal of Environmental Science and Technology is publishing a report showing that commercial dispersants used in oil spills, which break down crude oil, are more harmful to living coral than the oil itself.
While oil has the ability to smother coral (essentially "suffocating" it from nutrients), the dispersants used to break up oil slicks actually poisons coral, effectively killing it from the inside out. In oil clean up, the question has to be, what is the least further impact on the environment? While breaking up slicks may save some wildlife, using these chemicals appears to damage one of the most important and un-renewable resources in the sea. I guess the answer is to not use dispersants anywhere near large coral reefs or deposits.

Blame where blame is due...

noreply@blogger.com (Brent) — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 13:20:00 +0000

It's clear to most people not only in the US, but also around the world that what happened at Virginia Tech this week was a tragedy. The largest mass murder in history took place this week, and I think there are very few people that the severity of this is lost on.

One group of people who seem to loose sight of what's really going on is the media. Yesterday the world was presented with the incompetent ramblings of a seriously low-functioning individual. A man whose message does not warrant thought or attention was given credence and legitimacy by the media.

As I think about it, it seems to me that playing back the videos, showing the photos and printing the psychotic, misguided and incoherent philosophies is only serving to add fuel to the fire-to encourage others filled with disorganized thoughts and rage to follow in the killer's footsteps. This man made mention of "Dylan and Eric"- referring to the Columbine killers, whom he saw 7 years ago in the media storm that surrounded that tradgedy.

So shame on NBC for putting this information out there for ratings. Secondly, it's important to mention that many media outlets and commentators are calling for the firings of Charles Steger (VT President) and Wendell Flinchum (VT Chief of Police). These people aren't responsible for what happened, nor are they directly responsible for the lack of warning on campus. Even if emails had gone out directly, students would have gone to class, and profs would have taught, albeit whilst looking over their shoulders. No one is to blame but the guy who pulled the trigger...if anyone else is to blame, it's his family for not following through with mental health treatment recommended by the court. People are mandated to get Mental Health treatment by the courts and don't follow through and end up committing psychotic crimes all the time-i see it every day, it's just that most people only kill one person, so you don't hear about it.

There is an online petition to stop the media from showing the footage and pictures from this psychotic man, as well as to stop them from calling for Mr. Steger and Mr. Flinchum to be fired. This web petition was set up by VT students and Alumni who know their president and chief aren't to blame. I've signed it, so should you.

www.wesupportvt.com

The State of Art in Iran.

noreply@blogger.com (Brent) — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 03:06:00 +0000

In Iran there is a crew illustrating their political viewpoint by creating the illusion of blood splattered on governmental monuments. If only there were artists in the US who would stand to make such a bold symbolic political statement against our own forms of bloodshed.
Thanks to the Iran Graffiti Report.

Today's Death Toll: 3 US troops killed in Southern Baghdad. For more information go to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count.

Weeping Madonna

noreply@blogger.com (Brent) — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 15:14:00 +0000

This is what I like to see. Creative Graffiti. Apparently these artists cut through the back of the billboard and poured paint outward. Creative, enjoyable, entertaining.

"good story, rich and compelling."

i love it.

A Blue Nation.

noreply@blogger.com (Brent) — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 03:36:00 +0000

America is blue today. And of course I'm talking about the elections. Not blue with sorrow, but blue with representation. After 6 years it's about time America woke up to the absolute hell hole that we've dug ourselves into with the Bush presidency and his horendous foreign policy.
Now I won't be the guy who will say that Kerry should have won the last election, because I certianly don't...I think Bush was the lesser of 2 evils as far as sheer idiocy goes, but the man has turned America from the hulking body builder that we were, and turned us into the red-headed step children of our allies. Granted Bush is out calling it "the google" but Kerry is busy insulting our troops like a moron. But I digress.
America has shown overwhelmingly that we are tired of Bush's rubbish foreign policy and his "stay the course" ideal. If we were to stay the course this bastard would last as long as Vietnam if not longer.-I look at it this way. Clinton was an amazing foreign policy maker, and if you won't give the man that, then stop reading now, BUT he began military initiatives in Kosovo and Bosnia. We're still there. it's not in the news, but we're still there. Just think about the horror that Iraq will turn into if we try to "stay the course" with Bush's current philosophy.
It's a shame that we are a bipartisan system. I hate Democrats, but I'll tell you what, I hate Republicans more. While they are busy attempting to write legislation telling people what they can do in the bedroom or how they should proceed when they turn up pregnant, people are dying in Iraq who HATE being there and dont belive in the war or George Bush at all.
I met a woman at work today who finally got it. She was pregnant with her third child and in jail. She said, i'm a piece of shit, and i've shortchanged my 2 kids, now i'm about to bring another child into this world? thats not right, thats unfair to the kid, unfair to society. She knows it will be a burden on the system, on her, and more likely than not, the law. Who am I, or who are these legislators to tell her that she's wrong? Idiologically do i oppose abortion? sure, but it IS her choice...she chose to carry the child to term and adopt it, but it will be on HER conscience if she didn't....why is the right so worried about issues like this that will take care of themselves when there are bigger issues at hand that affect the well being of all Americans?
As a Christian, i say shame on the church. All the Evangelical community is doing is painting ourselves into a corner. Rather than attempting to tell people what to do, we should be teaching and educating people individually on the horrors and trauma of Abortion. (Push for legislation to outlaw late term abortion, absolutely.) That way, when a Christian person HAS an abortion or when a church member says he's gay, the media wont jump to conclusions and generalizations about all believers. If you tell a kid he can't have a cookie, he'll fight you on it all day long. But if ou leave the situation alone, sure, maybe he'll sneak one before dinner, but he'll suffer the consequences. Show me in the Bible where Christ passed a law against taxation, prostitution, marital infidelity, etc...

you can tell people a proper way to live, but you can NOT make them do it. That's what Communism has attempted for YEARS. Christ gave us free choice. we need to equip people with the morals that we adhere to rather than trying to impose our beliefs on a culture that doesn't understand at all. People must understand rules before they can follow them. that's how i rolled as a kid, and because my parents explained and led me in the right way, and let me make my own mistakes, i turned out pretty damn well. The same is true of Government...leadership, not dictatorship.

Yes, I'm calling the Christian Right Dictators.

prove me wrong, then perhaps we will reach people with our message of hope and love in Christ.

Life

noreply@blogger.com (Brent) — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 01:33:00 +0000

Life is defined through our individual perceptions.

I know it's been a while...but what's up with Social Security??

noreply@blogger.com (Brent) — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 18:04:00 +0000

Things have been pretty darn busy. I've moved back to Philadelphia and I've started a new job, so all that combined left me little time to divide between blogs. anyway.

I was talking with someone at work the other day about Social Security...I think it was my boss, then it came up again the other night whilst talking with my girlfriend's mom. There has been a gross irresponsibility with regard to the spending of Social Security money. Today, there are organizations, like the AARP calling, at the base of it all, for more taxation. Taxation of whom??? why those of us who are currently working, of course. Sure, it's said that it's for us, but the fact of the matter is money is leaving my pocket and going right into that of your grandpa, when the whole damn thing should have never been created, or privatized from the beginning. Even if things continue the way they have been, (which they won't, cause things get worse as they go on), then the whole system will be sucked dry by 2042, which is right about when my generation will be 'collecting' their first SS checks. Basically, everyone else is ok with this system (which is voluntary, no one seems to remember that), but we, the young workers, just out of college who are only just now being sucked into the system, will be the ones screwed by it. Its a decent idea, but a total crap system-we need to just be free to save our own money for retirement, and not let the government rip us off.
W's privatization is a good idea, but a logistical nightmare. Private accounts for all people? good idea, but if we can't even keep the balances right in SS as it is NOW, then how the hell can we do it for millions of accounts? I'm for privatization, sure, but more so, i'm for getting rid of the entire system and saving my own money.

So. Objective truth, eh?

noreply@blogger.com (Brent) — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 05:30:00 +0000

So while reading something that Kevin wrote in passing, i began to think about Objective truth. Kev threw down pretty hard, putting up an article by Kenneson (you can read it here.) I read this article sometime ago in college....not sure where, but probably while reading Richard Rorty, but i decided to read it again.
Anyway. I don't necessarily agree with everything that Kenneson says, although his ideas lead us to an interesting, and frankly, better approach to evangelism.

So if we take the stance that there is no such thing as objective truth, we are, therefore, not attempting to share our faith based on it's innate truth. What Kenneson is suggesting is that the truth of Christian doctrine is in the belief of it. He is not a realativist, either take my word for it, or read his article...he is not claiming there is no truth. But that aside, if Christians are to encourage others to come to belief, it should be for the purpose of life change, a gift of grace and mercy that Christ extended through his death. We shouldn't be making an appeal to objective truth, saying "belive in Christ becasue its the truth", cause if we do that, then where does the work of the Holy Spirit come into play? The appeal of the Christian faith should be the gospel, not a notion of truth.
Once a person has come to belief in Christ, the knowledge of him, and convictions assure faith in something.
If you aren't following what i'm saying, think of the phrase "Faith seeking understanding." We need to first worry about faith, then the logic and scholasticity of it all. "the faith of a child." If we can appeal to the faith of a person, realizing limitations of human knowledge (which if we are even talking about God in the first place, we must submit, philosophically, that our knowledge is limited, less than a god), then we aren't caught up with questions like "how do you know what God wants of us?" As Kenneson says, that's like asking "how do you know that jones is worthy of your friendship?"
instead of people asking christians how they know something, we should hope that people are asking us why we talk or act a certian way, which then lets us appeal to the work of Christ on teh cross, rather than speaking of the truth of it all over the message.

Isn't that what we want anyway? To share the gospel, get the message out there, rather than arguing about the truth of it? cause the fact of the matter, points out Kenneson, and I, is that the only people who hold it is truth are Christians. Belief first i say. Faith first.

Regarding Gnostic Philosophy.....

noreply@blogger.com (Brent) — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 18:17:00 +0000

The heracy of Gnosticism was a major stubling block to the growth of the early Christian Church. The entire reason that the Christian Canon was written is due to the fact that the Gnostics beat the Christians to it-the Gnostics and the Marciests were the first to create a canon of scripture. The Gnostics believed that there was a "special" gospel that existed, in which the real truth of Christ and our being was explained. The basic tenant was that Christ was a good teacher-something which runs rampant in the post-modernistic ideals of today. This "secret knowledge" that they posessed in this phantom gospel was that the material world was created accedentally while in the midst of the creation of a solely spiritual one.
It was these ideas that caused much dissention in the Church, and Paul actually writes of this doctrine on a number of occasions in his letters and books. Most Gnostic writings have been lost because the doctrine was crushed as the church gained size and strength and the copies were ordered burned and the followers tried as Heratics through a number of early church councils.

But Gnosticism is not dead. It continues to run throughout the veins of the church, it is a problem that cannot be stopped, one that is gaining speed. The first area is in Christian retail. The moment you walk into a "Christian" bookstore you are bombarded by Heretic, Gnostic ideas. It's not so much that these books preach or teach Gnosticism persay, however, the ideas behind them are quite so. They are driven by the second part of Gnosticim that I have mentioned; the posession of a "secret knowledge" Nearly every publication will tell you that they have "found the secret" to a passage of scripture, or that "God has revealed" something especially to them, which they will gladly share with you as well, for a small cover price of $24.95.
Take, for example, the past infactuation with Bruce Wilkinson's "the prayer of jabez" and "secrets of the vine". It's seemed to many that he believes he has been enlightened toward something that the church has simply looked over for the past 2,000 years.... The very title of the second book mentioned indicates that he holds to a special enlightenment of some sort, that it is a secret knowledge that he can impart to the reader. This is part of the Gnostic's Theology, that there is something special that they have been given. I'm not saying that Bruce is spreading a gnostic doctrine, only that one can see threads of gnostic thought weaving in and out of his content.
Now you must understand that I am not speaking of the docrine of Special Revalation, which I, as any Bible-believing Christian should, agree with. Bear in mind that these are two drastically diffrent things.
In the past, revivals in early midevil Europe for example, there have been items that were presented to the Chuch as something ground-breaking. The principal diffrence here is that these Godly, humble men presented these ideas to their peers in an effort to have them confirm that they were interpreting the scripture in question correctly....this is not something that is seen in the Christian reading material of today...not to mention that it is virtually impossible to walk into one of these bookstores and find the writings of Bonnehoffer, Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Knox....any of the early church fathers, in their original context.
Christian marketing mas become driven by Post-Industrialist Capitalism. That is to say that, rather than producing a product to MEET a need, they produce a market and a need, and only then do they produce a product. They are producing materials that; not only do we not want, we do not need .
So in approaching how these books are written we must look at the authors aim. Are they seeking to SHARE an insight in humility and love? or to try to TELL us something that they believe we are too simple minded or un-spiritual to understand? The problem is, if you leaf through these books in your Christian bookstore, a good 90% fall into the second category.
There you have my views on that... there is more to this argument, and for those who would say that the previous comment is closed minded and that i am doing the same as the authors, I would say that I am not, because I am not speaking of the holy scriptures. I am speaking of Philosophy, which is what i'm all about. SO. I am not doing the same as those I am accusing... I do not claim to have the truth of God, only that I will enlighten you as to what almost every Christian Philosopher today is thinking....

Then I chimed in....

noreply@blogger.com (Brent) — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 18:59:00 +0000

So i figure, i have so many other blogs, what will one more hurt. all i know is kevers will appreciate the fact that i've made a trasition-hoever partial it may be- to blogspot. eh, what the hell, i'm bored.
i've taken some time off, and i'm in texas at my parents. normally this would be wonderful, but the waves are pretty much non-existant....so no surfing. it had best pick up.
So i was reading about a federal judge in PA who ruled against teaching intelligent design. blah blah, imposing morals, violation of church and state, etc. What i thought to be a strange was that this was the same judge who sentanced a friend of mine to a year in prision based not on evidence or psych evals (which were all highly positive) and letters (one of which i wrote, as a mental health worker and friend) but on his own feeling and judgement on the matter. What bothers me is that judge jones is saying that the schools don't have a right to make a moral judgement on what is taught, yet he is making a moral judgement against the advice of professionals in the mental health field.
just goes to show you that despite what you see on law and order, the justice system still has a long way to go until it recognizes the science and truth behind what those of us in the mental health fields are telling them.
I get to deal with alot of judges in probation and social services at new life. I hope i never have a judge as ignorant, hipocritic and backwards as this fool Jones. wanna take a guess at who appointed this ass as a federal judge.

George Bush.

way to appoint solid, consistent judges to our courts.