This will be short:
Sin is, by nature, a mutation/error/dyfunction of good/true/works well, etc. Therefore, sin doesn't make sense. It is not congruent with reality, and probably is not congruent with itself.
Oftentimes I have been distressed by questions, thinking that goes in circles, fixation on one idea without being able to escape. I have always attempted to wade through these, draw the dots between the data, figure out why I feel these ways, etc. However, sin and error being illogical, cannot be internally defeated and must be discarded. Realize that you have NOT found the truth, and simply abandon your current train of thought.
My breakthrough over thanksgiving.
28 November 2010
15 November 2010
progress is meaningless
Summary: "The common goal accepted by society - happiness, wealth, quality of living (comfort level), etc - has no set goal."
Table of contents:
1 Our human goals
2 Where is the line drawn?
3 King Solomon.
4 Goals and progress mathematically.
1
Think of the ideal citizen, the perfect person in the way they behave, a model for society. This person breaks no traffic laws, goes to college (but not more than he/she needs to), goes to work everyday and comes home peacefully. He/she volunteers for humanitarian organizations and donates to the Red Cross. This is all to promote "peace on earth and goodwill towards men".
So what is society trying to do? Make everyone happy. That makes sense. That's the general feel of politics and most formal organizations. Business arenas are only slightly different, looking to appease more than alleviate. Personally we work towards intelligence, sophistication, a good solid station in life, a long rich retirement.
These are our goals.
2
But what exactly are we shooting for? Will we be satisfied when we solve world hunger, maybe if we stop global warming, perhaps once everyone makes over $30,000 a year, or would you only be satisfied with $40,000? What is the numerical limit we're working towards?
When will we be satisfied, what will fill us up and satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts? Maybe we look towards relationships, sex, or if you have higher yearnings, some lifelong friends whom you can chat with in your old age. But tell me, why makes a comfortable, friend-filled retirement fulfilling? Or to put it another way, what is the straw that breaks the camels back, what single thing pushes an unsatisfactory life into an OK life?
How on earth can you draw that line? What equation will you use, what algorithm? What research can you do?
Friends, if you don't know what you're looking for, you'll never find it.
3
King Solomon was insanely rich, famous, and wise. He had gold coming out of his ears and kings and queens came from all over to visit his court. However, Solomon wasn't satisfied, we went looking after fulfillment.
Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun."
He tried (in order) wisdom, pleasure, folly, toil, progress, and riches. The whole book of Ecclesiastes is his search. But he found nothing. Even if he had felt satisfied during this life, nothing that he gained would have helped him once he died. Ecclesiastes 9:5 "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they will have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten."
4
An arbitrarily set goal (say a retirement nest egg of 1 million dollars) is futile because, when compared with something far greater than it (people who are billionaires), that status of living no longer seems worthwhile.
Mathematically we could say that for any goal 'a', we can find a number 'b' such that 'a' compared to 'b' (represented by a/b) is arbitrarily close to zero. (This is the theory of limits, to prove that a/b can approaches zero as b approaches infinity)
Likewise we can disprove progress. For any small improvement can look meaningless compared to a final goal. Mathematically again we can say that for any progress 'delta a' we can find a goal 'b' such that delta a/b approaches zero to an arbitrarily small error value.
Table of contents:
1 Our human goals
2 Where is the line drawn?
3 King Solomon.
4 Goals and progress mathematically.
1
Think of the ideal citizen, the perfect person in the way they behave, a model for society. This person breaks no traffic laws, goes to college (but not more than he/she needs to), goes to work everyday and comes home peacefully. He/she volunteers for humanitarian organizations and donates to the Red Cross. This is all to promote "peace on earth and goodwill towards men".
So what is society trying to do? Make everyone happy. That makes sense. That's the general feel of politics and most formal organizations. Business arenas are only slightly different, looking to appease more than alleviate. Personally we work towards intelligence, sophistication, a good solid station in life, a long rich retirement.
These are our goals.
2
But what exactly are we shooting for? Will we be satisfied when we solve world hunger, maybe if we stop global warming, perhaps once everyone makes over $30,000 a year, or would you only be satisfied with $40,000? What is the numerical limit we're working towards?
When will we be satisfied, what will fill us up and satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts? Maybe we look towards relationships, sex, or if you have higher yearnings, some lifelong friends whom you can chat with in your old age. But tell me, why makes a comfortable, friend-filled retirement fulfilling? Or to put it another way, what is the straw that breaks the camels back, what single thing pushes an unsatisfactory life into an OK life?
How on earth can you draw that line? What equation will you use, what algorithm? What research can you do?
Friends, if you don't know what you're looking for, you'll never find it.
3
King Solomon was insanely rich, famous, and wise. He had gold coming out of his ears and kings and queens came from all over to visit his court. However, Solomon wasn't satisfied, we went looking after fulfillment.
Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun."
He tried (in order) wisdom, pleasure, folly, toil, progress, and riches. The whole book of Ecclesiastes is his search. But he found nothing. Even if he had felt satisfied during this life, nothing that he gained would have helped him once he died. Ecclesiastes 9:5 "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they will have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten."
4
An arbitrarily set goal (say a retirement nest egg of 1 million dollars) is futile because, when compared with something far greater than it (people who are billionaires), that status of living no longer seems worthwhile.
Mathematically we could say that for any goal 'a', we can find a number 'b' such that 'a' compared to 'b' (represented by a/b) is arbitrarily close to zero. (This is the theory of limits, to prove that a/b can approaches zero as b approaches infinity)
Likewise we can disprove progress. For any small improvement can look meaningless compared to a final goal. Mathematically again we can say that for any progress 'delta a' we can find a goal 'b' such that delta a/b approaches zero to an arbitrarily small error value.
06 November 2010
Things I'm learning.
I have been learning a ton of things recently, school is havoc and I'm making lifelong friends end of last year and this year.
Here is an 'upload' of the most recent things.
Table of contents: World summary, Physical/spiritual, Keep energy by facts hope and praying, Slapping faces, Summary of mens roles, Stepping out in faith, Friendships, Honesty.
The story of the world can be summarized as a restoration of people and nature to their original and better states, i.e. connected with God, the one who sustains their existence.
The physical world is NOT separate from the spiritual. The physical world as we see it is constantly sustained in existence by the hand of God, making all physical things spiritual as well.
Also note that we will have many physical things in heaven. At least figuratively, there will be a huge city, 12 crops (indicating food), work, courts of law (we will judge angels), streets of gold, etc.
Wake up every morning and remember that you are one day closer to Christs return.
There are 3 things that can keep you going even after you are dead tired. 1st Corinthians 13:13 "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 = faith. God is true whether you trust in him or not. All things that can be seen, all things that exist, scream the existence of God. Separate yourself from the world, from the strife at hand, and know that God is God and there is no one like him. Read the Old Testament. Basically anything except the happy Psalms and the time king David dances in the streets. Try the complaining psalms, job, judges. Just today I read about the failures of king Joash and it brightened my day, no joke.
2 = hope. Does it not make sense that heaven will be totally awesome? It's not like an amusement park, where there's this huge paradise to run through until you get bored and tired. God gives you strength! You WILL be happy, I guarantee it. And not half-happy, or feeling out of place and kind of happy, but REALLY legit for-the-right-reasons happy.
3 = love. I just labeled this 'love' because it fits the verse. A sermon used pray, hope, and something else. Anyway, here's some more advice. Pray anytime during the day that you can remember to. Refocus constantly. Say to yourself "God is huge, he loves me/he died for me" etc. Even hanging out with Christian friends sometimes I lose focus and I find myself unloving of people and rather awkward. Another thing you can do is release the outcome of the world to God and just collapse into his omnipotent arms. I have done this several times, and it only takes about 5 minutes until, knowing God has things under control, I am happy to work at something that seemed so hopeless before.
There are times for slapping someone in the face, times to hug them mercilessly, times to sit across from them and stare them in the eye for 5 minutes straight, times to speak softly, times to run with intentionality, times to sleep...
Men and women (differently), there is a certain category of desires in your heart which you can feed off of, which are the way God has made you to fulfill your gender roles.
Men, by the way, I have recently discovered that I have a hugely compassionate heart. Seriously. These softer emotions are NOT unmanly. Driven by my compassionate heart, I can imagine slapping someone in the face. Take hold of your heart. Do you feel soft emotions? Act out what you feel (kept in check by the iron word of God) and MAKE it manly.
Men, our primary role is to hold fast to the truth and the work God has set before us (and to lead others down those paths as well). God has given us power to do this because we are sons of God. Remember that sons take on the fathers business, carry on the family name, get the fathers blessing, get taught intensely and intentionally by the father, etc.
If you think God wants you to do something, but you're not sure, just make sure that what it is doesn't violate God law (sin) and then simply do it. God has things under control. Obviously take a little more time for big things like jobs and houses and marriages, but other stuff can go pretty easy.
Friendships are almost completely necessary and, if you remind yourself that God is better than friends, will make you hunger for God more and more.
Bring up God when talking with other Christians over and over again, at least until you start to get sick of it. Spontaneously is best, but if you're looking for a conversation starter, try telling people what you've been learning about God recently.
Being bluntly honest with people, especially solid Christians, is less risky and more profitable than you think. (Do not use this on weak or non-Christians unless you feel more comfortable)
I am running out of things to say. I will create a table of contents for this and then end this post.
Here is an 'upload' of the most recent things.
Table of contents: World summary, Physical/spiritual, Keep energy by facts hope and praying, Slapping faces, Summary of mens roles, Stepping out in faith, Friendships, Honesty.
The story of the world can be summarized as a restoration of people and nature to their original and better states, i.e. connected with God, the one who sustains their existence.
The physical world is NOT separate from the spiritual. The physical world as we see it is constantly sustained in existence by the hand of God, making all physical things spiritual as well.
Also note that we will have many physical things in heaven. At least figuratively, there will be a huge city, 12 crops (indicating food), work, courts of law (we will judge angels), streets of gold, etc.
Wake up every morning and remember that you are one day closer to Christs return.
There are 3 things that can keep you going even after you are dead tired. 1st Corinthians 13:13 "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 = faith. God is true whether you trust in him or not. All things that can be seen, all things that exist, scream the existence of God. Separate yourself from the world, from the strife at hand, and know that God is God and there is no one like him. Read the Old Testament. Basically anything except the happy Psalms and the time king David dances in the streets. Try the complaining psalms, job, judges. Just today I read about the failures of king Joash and it brightened my day, no joke.
2 = hope. Does it not make sense that heaven will be totally awesome? It's not like an amusement park, where there's this huge paradise to run through until you get bored and tired. God gives you strength! You WILL be happy, I guarantee it. And not half-happy, or feeling out of place and kind of happy, but REALLY legit for-the-right-reasons happy.
3 = love. I just labeled this 'love' because it fits the verse. A sermon used pray, hope, and something else. Anyway, here's some more advice. Pray anytime during the day that you can remember to. Refocus constantly. Say to yourself "God is huge, he loves me/he died for me" etc. Even hanging out with Christian friends sometimes I lose focus and I find myself unloving of people and rather awkward. Another thing you can do is release the outcome of the world to God and just collapse into his omnipotent arms. I have done this several times, and it only takes about 5 minutes until, knowing God has things under control, I am happy to work at something that seemed so hopeless before.
There are times for slapping someone in the face, times to hug them mercilessly, times to sit across from them and stare them in the eye for 5 minutes straight, times to speak softly, times to run with intentionality, times to sleep...
Men and women (differently), there is a certain category of desires in your heart which you can feed off of, which are the way God has made you to fulfill your gender roles.
Men, by the way, I have recently discovered that I have a hugely compassionate heart. Seriously. These softer emotions are NOT unmanly. Driven by my compassionate heart, I can imagine slapping someone in the face. Take hold of your heart. Do you feel soft emotions? Act out what you feel (kept in check by the iron word of God) and MAKE it manly.
Men, our primary role is to hold fast to the truth and the work God has set before us (and to lead others down those paths as well). God has given us power to do this because we are sons of God. Remember that sons take on the fathers business, carry on the family name, get the fathers blessing, get taught intensely and intentionally by the father, etc.
If you think God wants you to do something, but you're not sure, just make sure that what it is doesn't violate God law (sin) and then simply do it. God has things under control. Obviously take a little more time for big things like jobs and houses and marriages, but other stuff can go pretty easy.
Friendships are almost completely necessary and, if you remind yourself that God is better than friends, will make you hunger for God more and more.
Bring up God when talking with other Christians over and over again, at least until you start to get sick of it. Spontaneously is best, but if you're looking for a conversation starter, try telling people what you've been learning about God recently.
Being bluntly honest with people, especially solid Christians, is less risky and more profitable than you think. (Do not use this on weak or non-Christians unless you feel more comfortable)
I am running out of things to say. I will create a table of contents for this and then end this post.
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