Sat, Oct 15th - 2:01AM
Truth -- one of the natures of God
Ok, time for me to share some thoughts here. Basically, this is ringing off of the 'Ask, seek, knock' scripture that Marsha posted recently in her blog. Me, I am basically searching for the truth. The Ultimate Truth. I don't think I can get there, but I think I still get more of it for my searching. The reason that I say that I can't get there is because the ultimate truth is both broad, as in infinitely large, and small, as in esoteric to the infinitismal detail that our frail capacity to understand it cannot grasp it. God is truth. He encompases all of Truth. Infinitely large and infusing everything down to the smallest detail, even smaller than we can imagine.
There are paradoxes in this world that I have been able to wrap my mind around to the point of having a glimmer of the truth in those particular matters. There are still dilemmas I cannot find my way through consistently. Still other subjects are downright quagmires to me. The fact that I cannot see the truth in the matter in all of these does not mean that there is not a truth that very finely defines all of everything. My belief is that such truth does exist. That Axiom is the same as what scientists searching for the truth in matters as far removed as quantum physics to the science of ethical and moral philosophy hold to. Truth exists and they seek it.
Science generally relies upon empirical evidence. In other words, the truth can be tested and verified. That sounds reasonable. However, look back just a few centuries to what the brightest scientific minds of the time held as the 'Truth'. The earth is flat and the center of the universe. The Sun and Moon revolve around it. A little farther back, the elements were Earth, Fire, Water and Air. You can go look for more ludicrous stuff if you like. It could be entertaining, I dare say. However, the understanding of the time of 'Truth', did not in fact define 'Truth'. 'Truth', by its very nature stands apart from all of our feeble attempts to prove it. All we have is but a shadow of the 'Truth', and as I said before, we can never understand all of it.
Ok, so that is a pretty grim picture. Wait. I have more and it gets worse. (heh)
I like to introduce this next concept, the paradox of knowledge, as I call it, by way of an example to help you visualize it. For this little thought experiment, you need a piece of paper and a pencil, pen, crayon, or whatever your marking instrument of choice is. (a blackboard and chalk works fine; drawing with a stick in the dirt will work as well.)
Have you got it? Please don't scroll down until you do.
Right. Now draw a rather small circle on your paper. Got it? See it? Think of that as representing 'knowledge'. You can think of it as our collective knowledge, or your personal knowledge. For the purposes of this illustration, any body of knowledge you wish to conceptualize this as works just fine.
Let's just define what is inside the circle actually represents 'knowledge' at whatever time you wish to examine it. The line represents what we don't really know, but we know enough about to speculate as to what it might be. Another way to phrase that is: It is what we know that we don't know. Think about it. There are things that you don't know, aren't there? And yet you have some glimmer of what those things possibly could be without really knowing them, don't you? Pretty much all knowlege is like that for us if you think about it. There is something we don't know. Even for the scientist.
Draw a bigger circle. 'Knowledge' grew. We now have more knowlege, which all of us have experienced on a personal level as we grew up. It also holds true for our combined knowlege as an aggregate. The whole world's knowledge is constantly growing. That is why we now view some of the previously 'scientific' views as pure bunk. We now know more.
What else happened? Some of you will probably guess where I am going with this.
Look at the line that defines the outside of our body of 'knowledge'. Didn't it grow, too? So what does that represent? What we know that we don't know grew as well!!!
Now those of you who can follow me further, I will argue in the pure conceptual matters of that line. I must conceed that conceptually, the width of the line on the outside of our circle might be diminishing in width. That means that there might be less that we know we don't know now than there was before. A way to think of it is that as our knowledge increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for us to peer as deeply into the unknown to even have a glimpse of what lies beyond our current knowledge. It could also be argued that as our knowledge increases, so does our ability to reach deeper into the unknown and draw it into view. There are probably those of you who want to argue one way or another on that, and there would probably be a good way to research this out as an experiment of thought. I choose not to go there.
Why?
Simply look outside that circle. Has the area outside that circle truely got an end to it? To say yes or no is an Axiomatic statement. If you can offer a proof, one way or the other, I'd be interested to see it. I hold that there is no end to knowledge, and that if you accept that and grasp it, you realize that there is always more that you don't know than there is that you even can know.
That is the paradox of knowledge.
Now then, to put this back into the religious context: Truth is knowledge. God is Truth. God is infinite, which means his knowledge is endless. Remember all the hellfire and brimstone sermons about how long eternity is and that you don't want to spend that much time in hell? The same can be said about how much higher God's thoughts are than our thoughts. So when you get 'Too Full of Yourself', just remember how insignificant the greatest of us is. There is no comparison.
Ecclesiastes 12:11-14 (NIV)
11The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one Shepherd. 12Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
13Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
14For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
From my favorite verses in my favorite book in the Bible. There is even new meaning in the subtleties of God's word in a single passage. How Mighty is He who says "I AM"!!!
Mel
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Sun, Oct 9th - 1:57AM
Protection From Pornography Week, 2003
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Pornography can have debilitating effects on communities, marriages, families, and children. During Protection From Pornography Week, we commit to take steps to confront the dangers of pornography.
The effects of pornography are particularly pernicious with respect to children. The recent enactment of the PROTECT Act of 2003 strengthens child pornography laws, establishes the Federal Government's role in the AMBER Alert System, increases punishment for Federal crimes against children, and authorizes judges to require extended supervision of sex offenders who are released from prison.
We have committed significant resources to the Department of Justice to intensify investigative and prosecutorial efforts to combat obscenity, child pornography, and child sexual exploi-ta-tion on the Internet. We are vigorously prosecuting and severely punishing those who would harm our children. Last July, the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Predator, an initiative to help identify child predators, rescue children depicted in child pornography, and prosecute those responsible for making and distributing child pornography.
Last year, I signed legislation creating the Dot Kids domain, a child-friendly zone on the Internet. The sites on this domain are monitored for content and safety, offering parents assurances that their children are learning in a healthy environment. Working together with law enforcement officials, parents, and other caregivers, we are making progress in protecting our children from pornography.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 26 through November 1, 2003, as Protection From Pornography Week. I call upon public officials, law enforcement officers, parents, and all the people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate programs and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-eighth.
GEORGE W. BUSH
From http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/10/20031025-1.html
Ok, Freedom of speech is important. So is resisting this crap! What do you do???
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Sun, Oct 9th - 1:52AM
My failing == my pain
For those of you who may have noticed a different me, I have to share a burden with you that is not something I have fully grasped yet.
About a week ago, I learned that someone I have known and respected for many years apparently took his own life. He was sometimes a bit rough around the edges, but was a 'good person' to have as a friend. He was to the best of my knowledge, not a Christian. Had he been a Christian, I'd have a harder time understanding why he did what he did.
However, I do understand a fundamental question that most if not all people eventually ask in one form or another. It is this: "Why am I here? What is the meaning of my life?"
For me, the basic answer is clear:
"Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."
Yes, that is a Scripture quote, but I leave it to you who do not know where it comes from to search it out. I'll give you a hint: It comes from an Old Testament book that is often time seen as pointing to the futility of our existance, or it's "vanity" as the translation generally reads. For many, it is a book heavy with doom and gloom, and yet I find it, because of this particular passage to be very comforting. It speaks to me in the pains I have suffered, the injustices I have seen, and then tells me that my life does indeed have purpose. It has a meaning. And for many, a life without purpose beyond the hedonistic pleasures of today often leads to that day when the pleasure of today ceases to be, and our very life and existance becomes a burden we are no longer willing to bear.
I did not share with the man in his pain. I saw him less than 2 weeks prior to all of this, and I was more concerned with my own petty (by comparison) problems. He was quiet, and I noticed it. When we were alone, I asked him if he was mad at me. He gently said 'no', and explained that if he was quiet, it was because of someone else who he despised. The way he said it was uncharacteristic, and the fact that he was not engaging head on the object of his derision was also not in line with his typical modus operandi. But that was not to sink in until he was gone.
This is a sin that cannot be undone. I asked for forgiveness, but I still bear a burden of sorrow. There is a lot for me to work through, and it will probably come bubbling to the surface at the most inopportune time. Pray that you will percieve every opportunity to share the message of Christ so that this burden will not be one you share with me someday.
In Christ,
Mel
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Name: Mel Miller
