Posts by ixthis

46

God: the central question

by ixthis in

of all the issues affecting every person's picture of reality, nothing is more fundamental than questions about god.. is there one god, creator and sovereign of all?could there be more than one god?

or no god at all?if there is a god (or gods), then what is that god (or gods) like?nothing determines your worldview-and the course of your life-more than how you answer those questions.

yet some atheists like to make light of the god question.

ixthis

Jonathan, did you read it or just refute it for the sake of ...

64

Devotional to the Bridegroom - Christ

by ixthis in

scripture.

awake!

ixthis

Thank you GLTirebiter, the intention of this thread is peace ... no hatred.

46

God: the central question

by ixthis in

of all the issues affecting every person's picture of reality, nothing is more fundamental than questions about god.. is there one god, creator and sovereign of all?could there be more than one god?

or no god at all?if there is a god (or gods), then what is that god (or gods) like?nothing determines your worldview-and the course of your life-more than how you answer those questions.

yet some atheists like to make light of the god question.

What God would like for man to do is to be a humble receiver of Him. For the reason why the Lord commands us, among other things, to be humble, is to allow Him – the Almighty God – to humble Himself before us. Didn’t Christ say that “you call me a master and a teacher – and that I am – but I have washed your feet… and I have thus given you an example of how you should treat each other”?

…Now isn’t that philokalic? Isn’t that godly humbleness philokalic? What about God’s humbleness, when, as He makes man, Adam, in His image and likeness – so much so, so truly a god, that when it comes to Adam’s freedom, the Almighty Himself steps back…? That is the frightening thing, to man: the fact that God – and most of all, this God that one so often calls out to and appears to be nowhere, like calling into thin air, and does not hear one – this God, who, when He made man in His image and likeness, did it so thoroughly – well, even He respects in man that element of likeness to Him, which is man’s freedom.

And what I was driving at was this: if to perish is still possible for man nowadays, it is precisely in the context of that freedom – as a godly creature that God Almighty honours -, that we can still refuse [to perish]. And what we see throughout history very often is people’s refusal of God, to the point where Christ said that: “if I had not come and they had not seen things that no one else has done, they would have no fault; but now…” – listen to that terrible comment: “…now they have seen and they have hated – both my Father and Myself”.

As we stand in the midst of our freedom, it is these types of things that we should avoid. The Philokalic culture is about how we can use our freedom to save ourselves. Because if we have the power, in our freedom, to reject Him and cast Him off, we have all the more power to become like the Almighty, who stands as a command to us: the command to become like Him.

Another thought I had on freedom, regarding this rapport between God and man… Speaking of God’s commands – we call them “commands” because on the one hand, they are the ultimate authority: it is God Himself Who speaks through them. On the other hand, if we actually lived according to that English saying I was mentioning earlier (“Your wish is my command”), our love could not but receive God’s smallest wish as a command.

When the angel comes to the Mother of God and tells her that “you will be the one who will bear the Son of God, Who will become the Son of Man, through you” (I’m paraphrasing, you know [the part in the New Testament] I mean), after she considers the angelic visit carefully, to determine whether it is truly an angel or a deception, and realizes it is an angel from God, she says: “Here is the handmaiden of God. May Your will be done”. Now, that is the reaction I am talking about: if the word is from God, if it is a godly word, then it is my command.

I would like to end this by pointing out another aspect related to what we call God’s commands. I have stated that God’s command is in fact a revelation of the godly life. As I was saying earlier, if God tells us: “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones”, it means that God Himself does not look down upon one; similarly, if God tells us: “Do not judge”, it means that He does not judge… Christ Himself tells us that somewhere: “I have not come to judge the world; I have come so that the world can save itself through Me”. At this point I feel like adding, in this philokalic spirit of God’s love: of course He can judge us. Yet God is not a judge as are the judges sitting in our earthly courts. In our prayers, we speak of the “un-bribable Judge” – that means that we cannot pay Him a bribe, because He knows everything and He can do everything; there is no way we can deceive Him.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us not be fooled… the “bribe” has already been paid. The “bribe” is the Judge; His Blood is the bribe with which He “deceives” Himself into saving us, due to His great love, in spite of it all.

That is why it is a shame – and a sin – to deprive ourselves of such a God. Speaking of sin, I would like to add that we must not understand sin objectively – as an object or as an unfulfillment, or a violation of a convention. To the Christian conscience, sin is always something that hurts Love. If God did not love us, whatever we would do wrong would not be a sin, but an unfulfillment at most.

But let’s return to God’s command, through which He wants to make us resemble Him completely. Please forgive me here, as I must go back to what I was saying in the beginning – when God made man, He said: “let us make man in Our image and likeness”.

We have two things here: “image” and “likeness”. The “image” is something that has been imprinted in our nature: that is the difference between man and the other beasts, as otherwise, biologically speaking, we would be just a beast like all beasts; perhaps more intelligent or more who knows how. But the real difference between man and beasts is that somewhere within him, man carries God’s image, which manifests itself in various ways, of which reason is the most apparent; but above all, this “image” has a potential that all the other animals like us do not have: the potential for theosis.

What does theosis mean? It means to build or acquire that likeness and – as Fr. Sophrony* used to say, as well as the entire Philokaly, for that matter – to do that up to the point where one becomes identical to God.

Through the godly commandments, man becomes a god that resembles his Maker, up to the point of complete identity to Him. Now, was Fr. Sophrony that “bold”, to think like that…? Well, of course that the fact that man is a creature and God is uncreated remains valid – this is something that man will never be able to share with God; we will never be uncreated. That godly condition is not ours.

But as created beings – Fr. Sophrony used to say - we become as if we were without beginning, because the life which lives inside the saved man is the godly Life, which is not only endless, but also without beginning… So that is how far we go in becoming identical to God…! As, although we remain created beings, we become as if we were uncreated. And we achieve that by fulfilling God’s commands.

Excerpt from a conference by Fr. Rafail Noica, entitled “What Does the Philokaly Prepares Us for?”, held in Bucharest, Nov. 19, 2002

64

Devotional to the Bridegroom - Christ

by ixthis in

scripture.

awake!

ixthis

this is a thread started by me for those people who want to *share prayers*. If others do not believe in praying, that is ok, so they do not have to share any prayers or read this thread ... similarly, perhaps some respect could be shown by not leaving rude remarks behind?

46

God: the central question

by ixthis in

of all the issues affecting every person's picture of reality, nothing is more fundamental than questions about god.. is there one god, creator and sovereign of all?could there be more than one god?

or no god at all?if there is a god (or gods), then what is that god (or gods) like?nothing determines your worldview-and the course of your life-more than how you answer those questions.

yet some atheists like to make light of the god question.

ixthis

Pika Chu - hello, how are you? Thank you for your gentle reply ... I understand your point of view but just wanted to point out to you that the first post was not written by me, so the particulars of the wording are by another person. I "hat tipped" that article because I agree with the overall point he was making rather than the particular accuracy of some of his statements.

64

Devotional to the Bridegroom - Christ

by ixthis in

scripture.

awake!

ixthis

O Christ, our only sure Hope,

When we are cursed, let us conquer with goodness.
When we are ridiculed, teach us to bless.

When ill is spoken of us, may our tongue sing out praise.

When people take advantage of us,
let us never reciprocate with vengeance.

When we are robbed of our dignity,
let us surrender our lives completely to You.

When we are at the end of our earthly life,
pardon our sins and have mercy on us.

Amen.

christ icon

64

Devotional to the Bridegroom - Christ

by ixthis in

scripture.

awake!

ixthis

God, my Father,
may I love You in all things
and above all things. May I reach the joy
You have prepared for me in heaven.
Nothing is good that is against Your Will,
and all is good that comes from Your hand.
Place in my heart a desire to please You
so that I may grow in Your wisdom
and enjoy Your peace.

46

God: the central question

by ixthis in

of all the issues affecting every person's picture of reality, nothing is more fundamental than questions about god.. is there one god, creator and sovereign of all?could there be more than one god?

or no god at all?if there is a god (or gods), then what is that god (or gods) like?nothing determines your worldview-and the course of your life-more than how you answer those questions.

yet some atheists like to make light of the god question.

ixthis

The Orthodox speak of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit: three divine persons sharing the same essence and a perpetual movement of love which makes the Holy Trinity act harmoniously as one.They have always maintained a theological balance between the oneness of God and the threeness of God.

For example, in the Old Testament we read:

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one."
(Deuteronomy 6:4);

and, in the New Testament we read

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..."
(Matthew 28:19)

The Orthodox belief of God is based upon how He has revealed Himself to His people through the Holy Scriptures and Sacred Tradition. The theology never speculates in its beliefs (e.g.., the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, the person of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Jesus Christ, sacramental theology, etc.), but is very comfortable in saying, when things are inexplicable or impossible to comprehend by the human mind, that it is a "mystery."

What we do know of God-that is, what He has revealed to us-is that He is: eternal, holy, perfect, all-loving, present everywhere, the Creator, the Source and Giver of life, the Source of virtues, a Trinity, just and therefore Judge, etc.,

So, God is not a waste of time IF all of this is true. If one takes the position that He IS then all of this is important if He ISNT then it IS a waste of time but if you die and discover that it was true then you have wasted your opportunity to use your free will to believe in Him.

46

God: the central question

by ixthis in

of all the issues affecting every person's picture of reality, nothing is more fundamental than questions about god.. is there one god, creator and sovereign of all?could there be more than one god?

or no god at all?if there is a god (or gods), then what is that god (or gods) like?nothing determines your worldview-and the course of your life-more than how you answer those questions.

yet some atheists like to make light of the god question.

ixthis

design - hello again! How are you today? I am having a wonderful day ... we have casual day at work so I am in my jeans and a pretty little blue blouser that I should have complimented with a pearl necklace! Very soon, I am leaving work to spend the rest of the day out on the town! Yay!

Anyway, I would like to point out that I am not the author of the first post. I merely found it an interesting read and have referenced the source of the article (who is Tom Gilson).

Actually, on that point, I am glad that many of the other readers (such as cofty) realised that it is not my own writing. I was contemplating what the best method is for quoting another person's writing ... I used the Hat Tip method at the end of the post as I think that eliminates the issue of plagiarism since it links people to the original source.

46

God: the central question

by ixthis in

of all the issues affecting every person's picture of reality, nothing is more fundamental than questions about god.. is there one god, creator and sovereign of all?could there be more than one god?

or no god at all?if there is a god (or gods), then what is that god (or gods) like?nothing determines your worldview-and the course of your life-more than how you answer those questions.

yet some atheists like to make light of the god question.

ixthis

Of all the issues affecting every person's picture of reality, nothing is more fundamental than questions about God.

Is there one God, Creator and Sovereign of all?
Could there be more than one god? Or no God at all?
If there is a God (or gods), then what is that God (or gods) like?

Nothing determines your worldview-and the course of your life-more than how you answer those questions. Yet some atheists like to make light of the God question. Richard Dawkins brushed it aside this way in The God Delusion:

"I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist when considering Zeus, Apollo, Amon-Ra, Mithras, Baal, Thor, Wotan, the Golden Calf and the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I just go one god further."

Its force (since it is) depends on the idea that in counting gods, as in counting inches on a ruler, the distance between one and zero is no different than the distance between two and one. Just tick off the gods one by one, and gradually, without fanfare, you find yourself believing not in ten gods, not two, not one, but finally no gods at all. Knocking off that last one is just as easy and inconsequential as subtracting the several before.

Dawkins and his followers think this is amusing.

Suppose we were go out next week to count unicorns trotting down the street, and we came up with a grand total of zero. That wouldn't mean much, would it? Suppose instead we counted a pair of unicorns: it would be an instant worldwide sensation. But then what if we counted exactly one unicorn? Would its significance be halfway between zero unicorns and two? Certainly not. Whether we saw one or two (or a hundred), still it would be all over the news. The distance between two unicorns and one is not at all the same as between one and zero.

Now, unicorns in any would make quite a splash, still the world would mostly be the same with or without them. That's not so for God.

In worldview terms, our view of God has everything to do with how we see the world we live in and the decisions we make every day. Nothing could be more different than a worldview with God in it, and one without.

the difference God makes in the Universe
the difference God makes every day

We who believe in one God see all of creation as permeated with personality, packed with moral meaning, and filled with eternal purpose. One God is not just slightly less than two, by the way. There's a huge difference between monotheism and any kind of polytheism. There is no cosmic battle going on between deities, no ultimate contest over what's really right or what's best. These things are forever settled in heaven, without strife or competition. The universe is suffused with God's goodness, even where it's hard to see it, and it is heading toward a good and perfect end.

Atheists, on the other hand, see reality as the product of mindless, impersonal, and purposeless processes. That's the difference "one god further makes," and it's huge. Humans (in this view) differ from other animals only in our complexity and self-awareness. If there is justice in the world, it is defined only by humans. In the world we live in, justice is carried out imperfectly at best. Most wrongs will never really be made right. In the end it could hardly matter, since we're all going to just go away into nothingness when we die.

Goodness (according to atheism) is a matter of human judgment, and nothing higher than that. It's impossible even to imagine how goodness and justice could have existed before humans came on the scene, and what those terms really mean is still up for grabs. Some atheistic philosophers even think that self-awareness, justice, and goodness are strictly illusionary.

Do not think that this is just obscure philosophy: It has a profound effect on how we live.

Lets illustrate that by focusing on some of today's contentious "culture war" questions:

Christians believe that when God created the world and called it good, right from the beginning there were male and female and there was marriage:

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
(Genesis 1:27, ESV)
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
(Genesis 2:24, ESV)

Right from the start, these passages begin clearly to define humanness, manhood, womanhood, and marriage, based on the way we were created. Our Creator is also our sovereign King, so to attempt to alter these things would be to rebel against him in both his goodness and his rightful authority.

Some, however, see God as having no part in what it means to be human. That being the case, naturally they see human nature and ethics as matters for us to figure out for ourselves. We can redefine marriage if we want. We can decide for ourselves at what stage in a baby's life there might be moral ramifications to killing him or her.

And here we see how crucial the God question is: If one is going to decide there is no God, those are perfectly sensible things to think as a result.

Suppose, after all, that there were no God, no creator, nothing higher to decide what it means to be human or how best to live. Why then shouldn't we take responsibility for such matters ourselves? Who else could do it? If we decided it was time to change the meaning of marriage, who could overrule us? Who could find fault with us?

The big "culture war" issues, then, have everything to do with our views on whether God exists, whether he has spoken on these matters, and whether we're responsible to listen to what he has spoken. At some risk of over-simplifying the opposing positions, it comes down to this: one side considers these things to be ours to decide, the other side says no, these are matters that God has determined for us from the beginning. As Brad Bright puts it, God is the issue.

These matters are sometimes described as questions of "traditional values." I can't agree with that approach. They go much deeper than that, down to the way each of us views the very core of reality. If God exists as described in the Bible, then abortion, same-sex "marriage," embryonic stem-cell research, and so on are clearly wrong. If not, then whether they're right or wrong is ours to decide, and no decision we made could possibly be wrong. It all depends on whether there is a God, and what he is like.

God at the Center of Worldview

Of course the situation is not the same for God as it is for Zeus, Apollo, Amon-Ra, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I'm convinced there is plenty of reason to believe God is, and that he is as the Bible describes him, and that if there were no God, none of us would be here asking these questions anyway! The question of God is the most fundamental issue in worldview-and in all of life.

HT: BreakPoint