Philosophy and Christian Theology (My title)

Book | 1992 | Gordan Spykman

[unspun]

Oops. Make that read:
As poetry or prose? As to one very, very humble.

(What I write isn't necessarily either information nor poetry ;-)

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so very much for your reply and for sharing your musings on dimensionality! Geometric Physics happens to be one of my favorite science subjects.

Superluminal events, non-locality, reversal of cause/effect to effect/cause - all are consequences of even a single extra temporal dimension!

I don't want to cut-and-paste all the musings here, but if you are interested, my thoughts are summarized on a Religion Forum Time thread at post 34 and at post 50.

I would very much appreciate your comments!

[Alamo-Girl]

LOLOLOL! Thanks for the chuckle!

[bondserv]

When the veil was rent from the top to the bottom, it enabled believers to enter and stand before God, where previously, only the high priest could stand. This was accomplished through Christ. Hebrews 6:19, 20. Not all men, just priests after the order of Jesus

Creation was unaffected, Romans 8:22, and continues to be worse and worse

Amen to that. God hasn't changed, only our position can change. When we choose for Christ, He begins a Good work in us.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you both so much for your thoughtful insight on reading the Scriptures!

I used to read and research the Bible exhaustively with maps, lexicons, commentaries and the whole nine yards. In fact, I used to refer to it is as "the inerrant Word of God."

Then one day the Spirit led me to a much better understanding through the Gospel of John. The Word of God is God, is from the beginning and Jesus is the Word made flesh. The Scriptures came after the beginning and thus, the Scriptures are indeed inerrant and reveal God truly, but not fully.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. – John 1:1-3

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. – John 1:14

It was like the Light switched “on” inside. All of a sudden the Scriptures came alive. As my eyes read the Bible, the Spirit within me read the Word. Whenever I needed to know something, a Scripture would come to mind – as it did in post 58 above.

This is how Jesus has become my food and my drink:

Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life.

Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. John 6:43-59

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for your "bubbles" comments and for the link to betty boop's excellent article!

And God save us all from the true horrors of getting Him nauseous with our bubbles.

LOLOL!

[Markofhumanfeet]

betty, I've decided to leave FR, but before I go, let me just say this, that the prophets were, and are, poets, every single one of them. Good luck with everything, and stay close to the Scriptures. love, in Christ, Mark

[Markofhumanfeet]

Goodbye Alamo, It's all harmonic, even the colors. love, in Christ, Mark

[Alamo-Girl]

It's all harmonic, even the colors.

A profound statement, Mark, on so many levels. Thank you!!!

Truly, I wish you wouldn't go - for everyone's sake and selfishly, mine. You inspire me in so many directions - like your "it's all harmonic, even the colors" comment.

Peace and love in Christ!

[lockeliberty]

First, to read as the writing asks to be read (within its immediate context)...

[And, I would add at least try to understand through whatever methods available to us the original meaning] and,

Second, to read by "comparing Scripture with Scripture (as the Logos also asks us to read itself) granting God His place and that He has given us words of which we may come to a sufficient understanding, in the place He gives us, even if that understanding is grossly deferred to the regenerate's completed understanding.

Good post, Unspun. I suppose we could all just spiritualize all of Scripture and allow each of us his/her own post-modern understanding. Or, we could presuppose that, just as we presuppose there is only one explanation for the phenomenal, that God has one specific universal purpose in his Scripture.

[restornu]

I heard on the news today Paul Harvey that they are healing Cancer with sound, in England and China.

Something to do with Utral Sound!

BTW PH has website that replays his board cast!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for your post and for sharing your insight!

I suppose we could all just spiritualize all of Scripture and allow each of us his/her own post-modern understanding. Or, we could presuppose that, just as we presuppose there is only one explanation for the phenomenal, that God has one specific universal purpose in his Scripture.

Indeed, because there is one triune God there can only be one Truth.

But God did not make us with a cookie cutter. Each of us has a particular nature and nurture and individual gifts from the Spirit (I Corinthians 12) such that we all fit together harmoniously in the body of Christ. The disciples were quite different individually as were the churches, even in their interpretations (Acts 15) yet Christ received them all (Revelation) albeit with criticisms and commendations for the churches.

Part of our individuality is what we can bear to hear as we grow in our walk with the Lord:

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I [am] of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who [is] Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? - I Corinthians 3:1-5

The important thing is progress in our knowledge of Him:

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

For if these things be in you, and abound, they make [you that ye shall] neither [be] barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 1:1-8

[Alamo-Girl]

What wonderful news on the medical front! Thank you so much for sharing!

Indeed, at bottom, everything we perceive to be material is a manifestation of a wave function - a harmony as Markofhumanfeet suggested.

In Physics lingo this is called wave particle duality. Everything we perceive to be material in this four dimensional existence is a manifestation of the fields: electromagnetic, gravity, strong and weak atomic. Or as Einstein said:

"Reality is an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."

So I am thrilled but not surprised that medical research has found healing properties in sound waves.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Or, we could presuppose that, just as we presuppose there is only one explanation for the phenomenal, that God has one specific universal purpose in his Scripture.

Excellent point, Lockeliberty.

I think God's "one specific, universal purpose" is the clear reason Scripture exists in the first place. He's conveying to us a message about how we are to live and why we live. The fact that God speaks in poetry through Scripture is probably because everything God does is superlative.

Definition of Prose: Words in their best order.

Definition of Poetry: the BEST words in their best order.

But the essence of Scripture is not mystical, unknowable complexity; it is understanding. So while human poetry is dependent on the listener's reaction to it, God's poetry is singular in its intent and manifestation.

He wants us to "get it."

[lockeliberty]

But the essence of Scripture is not mystical, unknowable complexity; it is understanding. So while human poetry is dependent on the listener's reaction to it, God's poetry is singular in its intent and manifestation.

Beautiful!!!

[marron]

the Scriptures are indeed inerrant and reveal God truly, but not fully.

I could post my picture and bio on my home page, and along with my posts they would tell you a lot about me. And it would be true. But to really know me, you would have to be around me, watch me in action, see how I react to things, and generally put up with me.

If you were thus acquainted with me, you could re-read my posts and my bio and you would understand them in a different way.

You can not help but grow in your understanding of God and of Scripture as a result of living. The experiences of your own circumstance, your maturity as a person, and having observed how God moves in your own life and in the lives of people close to you, unlocks insights that you couldn't possibly have had as a younger person. God is not changing, but you are, and your understanding of him is.

Thats not wrong, its the whole point.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for your beautiful post and the engaging metaphor!

Indeed, everything that you say is true - and we have so much more than a relationship between two mortals for we have the indwelling of the Spirit from the moment we are born again. (John 3)

As Paul describes in I Corinthians 2 - no man can know what another is thinking except the spirit of the man himself, but God has given us the Spirit and thus, we have the mind of Christ. As we surrender, He fills us and leads us and draws us ever near (Romans 8) The Word nourishes us (John 6) and we abide in Him (1 John 4, John 17) allowing the Spirit Himself to bring forth fruit for the Father (John 15).

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew [it] unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew [it] unto you. – John 16:12-15

What amazing grace!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for the ping to your insightful post!

He wants us to "get it."

Indeed. Very true.

I think God's "one specific, universal purpose" is the clear reason Scripture exists in the first place. He's conveying to us a message about how we are to live and why we live.

I have a different understanding of the purpose of all that there is, namely that God is revealing Himself. When His kingdom comes, the revelation will be complete. This is not doctrine, it is my musing on purpose.

On the how we are to live, I assert the importance of priorities: the Great Commandments, the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount.

[Dataman]

But the essence of Scripture is not mystical, unknowable complexity; it is understanding. So while human poetry is dependent on the listener's reaction to it, God's poetry is singular in its intent and manifestation.

Amen.

[restornu]

Beams cut need for cancer surgery


Cancer cells can be selectively targeted
Scientists are perfecting a 'virtual scalpel' which uses ultrasound beams to kill cancer cells without the need for surgery.
Unlike radiotherapy and drugs, the technique also leaves healthy tissue next to a tumour undamaged.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3492231.stm