My worldview (and final C&H

(the image above is from the last comic strip of calvin and hobbes)

First, I would like to thank Mr. Hinz for his work this year for this bible class. It’s not easy taking on a new class, especially the infamous senior bible class, and I thank you for the time you put in to the material and trying to teach us how to formulate our own worldview being surrounded by so many others as we head off to college.

1. What is really real?
2. 1. First, I believe in the Bible and that everything in it comes from God. God is real. Everything came into existence because of him. He is eternal. No one created him, he has simply always been there.
3. What is the nature of the world around you?
4. 1. God created the world. When man disobeyed God, the nature of the world fell into the hands of the devil, making the earth and humans his temporary home. The world around me is sinful and fallen.
5. What does it mean to be human?
6. 1. To be human means that you were created in the image of God. Our purpose is to glorify our creator in everything that we do, follow him, and have a relationship with him.
7. What happens after death?
8. 1. Because we all have sinned, we all deserve eternal death in hell with the devil. But for those who believe in Jesus’ saving work on the cross, repent, and follow him, they will be saved and live in heaven after they die with God for eternity.
9. How is it possible to know anything at all?
10. 1. God is the giver of knowledge and wisdom. We cannot fully understand God. Anything that we know or are capable of knowing comes from God.
11. Is there a right or a wrong?
12. 1. God is the provider of our morals, rather he is our morals. He is love, he is just, he is compassionate, he is our Father. God is good. Everything outside of his goodness is therefore wrong or evil.
13. What is the meaning of human history?
14. 1. Human history is recorded in the bible to teach christians, to explain the origin of man, the earth, and all our traditions and customs. It is there to show us our mistakes, to show to treat others, and to demonstrate God’s character and reveal to us his nature.
15. What personal or core commitments does this come with (how does it affect our everyday lives)?
16. 1. For me, being a christian means having a personal relationship with God and sharing his love to others. I’d be lying if I said I did that on the daily, But God in his grace knows that I have messed up and that I will continue to mess up. Yet he is constant and is constantly pursuing me. Thus i will keep trying to pursue and better my relationship with him.

Naturalism

Part One: 

Often, religious world views hide in movies, tv shows, and event the news. Jurassic Park, however, is pretty clear and blunt in its support of naturalism. The idea that science is the justification for every thing that occurs and has life is evident everywhere. Man can use science to “create” real life dinosaurs. It seems like everything in a naturalist world view revolves around nature. This is ironic because, like we see in Jurassic Park, man cannot predict nature. “Nature will find a way” is a quote often repeated throughout the movie signifying that nature is an unpredictable force, and it is man’s job to not only understand it, but contain and control it.

These ideals may at first seem reasonable and may even make sense without intentional observation. I certainly was not looking for a naturalism worldview in Jurassic Park when I watched it for the first time as a ten year old. Now I only watched the movie once because I wasn’t a huge fan, but if it were to be someone’s favorite, they may unknowingly adopt some of the movies themes and ideals into their own worldview. They adopt these things as the truth because it is a familiarity and what they were raised on. Just like some cultures eat different foods and practice different traditions, these things become a part of their identity. I believe that movies and even music can have similar effects.

This movie’s specific effects on a person could be that nature itself is reality. If we search long enough and really strive to know everything about the earth, we can control our reality, like the scientists did by creating the dinascours. And further still, survival of the fittest could be the slogan for this production. Only the wisest, fastest, cunning people will outlive the others or nature (dinascours), which contradicts a christian worldview. For only those who humble themselves, confess their sin, and submit to the One who saved them will live forever. God calls on the weak and uses them to do his mightiest works (David, Joseph, Esther, John).

 

Part Two: 

Naturalism, as I have come to understand it through research, is the belief that only nature and its laws can be players in the world. Or rather, its the disbelief that the supernatural exists. Anything and everything can be defined by nature. If we come across something that cannot be explained, we simply are not smart enough, but there is an answer. According to http://naturalism.org/worldview-naturalism/history-of-naturalism, naturalism began way back with the ancient Greeks with all of their theories and ancient philosophies and Plato with all his great knowledge. But in western culture, it more notably began its popularity in the 30’s with philosophers like FJE Woodbridge and John Dewey. Using systems like methodology and the scientific method, these philosophers and scientists made the truth and nature become synonymous entities. As christians, we believe that these entities’ compatibility was destroyed after the fall. In fact, they were never synonymous. From a christian perspective, God is the source of all truth, a fact that any naturalist would deny.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/naturalism-philosophy

Part Three: 

I got number 2: morals and ethics

In an effort to keep things civil, I’d probably just try to understand what exactly their worldview is, letting go of any prejudices against naturalists. Perhaps they are confused since they are interested in a christian worldview, so understanding exactly what they believe is a good start. First, I’d probably ask about creation and how the world we live in came to be. Natalie would say that we came from matter and particles colliding and forming a big bang which created the existence of life. She would identify that she believes matter has always existed, like Christians believe God has always existed.

I would then dive into morals. Where do humans get a sense for right and wrong? or rather, what is truth, what is the source of truth, and how did we discover it? Perhaps she would argue that it has always existed. Humans are born with a sort of nature that tells them right from wrong. The problem is, what if my definition of right and wrong is different then theirs? I’ve seen enough Scandal to know that people definitely have different views on what is right or wrong. But who is actually correct? How can one dignify a moral code, right laws, and enforce them on other humans with no justification? At this point I’d hold a long pause for dramatic effect waiting for a counter argument. If none occur, I would present to them a christian perspective. A perspective that says we get our truth and our morals from our creator, a God who loves us and died for us. Perhaps to get some justification of hr own, she may inquire where does God get his morals? I would reply that God is truth, he is love, he is just, he is omniscient and omnipresent. God didn’t “get” morals from anywhere. His character and his nature are our morals.

I feel that Natalie will not be on her knees praying the prayer right away after our conversation. But I hope that I have given her some things to think about as she continues to question her beliefs. I will be praying for her and hope that God puts more people in her life to point her to him.

https://www.centerforinquiry.net/blogs/entry/there_is_objective_morality_in_nature/

 

Deism

 

Like Christianity, Deists believe that there is a God who created the universe. However, they also believe that God left the world to run on its own. He is not a personal God, but has a front row seat in the movie of our lives. Furthermore, God cannot control humans choices and is not providential, humans act in clockwork patterns. In fact, they do not classify God as a “he” or as a figure at all. He is more a “transcendent force” that doesn’t really have any part in creation except for the creation part.

By looking at how Deism came to be, we can observe why it has some of the traits that it has. Deism began between the 17th and 18th century as an outlet from the chaos between theology (mainly by the church of England) and philosophy. These endless debates grew tiresome and tugged on peoples hearts. So people like Edward Herbert came up with a “compromise” of sorts: Deism. Here we see elements of higher thinking and the search for knowledge and science, but also belief in an infinite God who created the universe.

On a basic level, you can see multiple similarities between Deism and Christianity. Firstly, both religions both believe in an infinite God who created the universe. Both religions strive to better themselves and study God in order to be more like him. Deists believe that studying philosophy or using higher levels of thinking makes them superior to those who don’t. Thus, they pursue studying God as christians do, though they have different methods of going about it. Both understand the character of God and apply it to the world. For example: God is a rational God, thus the world he created is “rational, orderly, [and] knowable (Sire 47).” With these similarities, it makes it easier to discuss religion because we have the same basis on how the world was created.

Probably the biggest difference between Deism and Christianity is God-human interactions. Deists believe that God created the world but then took a step back and just kind’ve let humans do their thing. There is no relationship, there is only observation. Furthermore, he is just not interested in his creation. Inversely, a relationship with God is at the base of Christianity. God’s love for us defines us and gives us hope in this broken world.

We can see a couple of these “plot holes” in the movie of Hugo. Throughout the film, the protagonist, Hugo, is struggling with identity. All of his family is dead and he keeps loosing the things that are closest to him. In one of his darkest moments, Hugo explains to his friend, in tears, that life is like a giant clock. Every part has a purpose and there are no extra parts. So he theorizes that he too must have a purpose. In fact, it seems every character is searching for a purpose. One curiosity that I’ve thought about is the station manager. At the beginning of the movie, his purpose is to follow the rules and laws of France and enforce them no matter what. He is good at his job and carries it out thoroughly.  Yet, at the end of movie, the girl he’s in love with persuades him to against his own morals, the law, and his purpose by not putting Hugo in an orphanage. So perhaps his purpose changed. Can that happen in Deism? Or perhaps he just got his original purpose wrong. Deism is sneaky in this way where it kind’ve intrudes in our lives. It’s usually harder to spot than in Hugo, where clocks are literally the setting of the story. But it can come in sneaky ways in advertisements that make it all about you, or spa vacations where you can go and “discover yourself.” Spas are great and I thoroughly enjoy them, but when you try to define you’re life through discovering you’re “inner beauty, that’s where Deism comes into play.

So this begs a couple of questions for Deism. If God is not interested in his creation, then why did he create the universe? What is the purpose? It seems kind’ve arbitrary to create the universe, leave it, and let it die. It goes outside of what deists believe to be true about God that he is rational. If God is rational, surely he should have a purpose for his creation, yet one is missing from Deism. But like a clock, every person God created has a purpose, it is their job to discover it.

Furthermore, perhaps the scariest notion in Deism is the ending, or rather the lack of one. Once a person dies, thats it. They are out of the picture or “clock” and they just cease to exist. For me at least, I would be very depressed and consider everything I do in my life pointless. Why should I try to do anything to advance human kind or even just take care of myself if it is all for nothing? I would also have an extreme lack of motivation. Who says I should love others, work hard, or pursue anything? Deists have created a hopeless scenario in which they have to discover the purpose that God made for them.

Looking at some of these religions and beliefs further, I am not surprised by the amount of crime, suicide, and injustices in the world. They’re whole worldview is skewed by hopelessness and everyone feels lost or unsatisfied. Even as a christian, we too feel this way when we distance ourselves from God. Perhaps we busy ourselves with too many actives to distract us from the inventible ending of nonexistence. Because once we sit down and think about the broken world we live in with no hope for the future, thats when true depression sinks in.

So, when we are confronted with a Deist and try to evangelize to them, our best argument is that in addition to believing in a God who created the universe, we believe that God is loving, omniscient, and omnipresent in our lives. He seeks us out and loves us when we cannot love him back. This purposeful and rich relationship is at the core of our lives and it pushes into making a better future. For we know that we should love others like God loves us. We have hope and a future to look forward to.

http://www.scriptmag.com/features/martin-scorsese-his-hugo-and-deism

https://www.ukessays.com/essays/philosophy/the-universe-next-door-philosophy-essay.php

The universe next door by James w. Sire

Creation Theory

Questions like “where did we come from?” and “why are we here?” have been asked throughout time to achieve one universal goal: to find our purpose. Purpose gives us a reason, a motive, to exist. Without a purpose, nothing we do is meaningful, and everything is just a waste of time. Perhaps this is why people, especially Americans, like to keep so busy, to distract them from the emptiness in their lives. Because when you sit back and actually think about why you are doing an activity, it becomes meaningless in the grand scheme of life. So obviously, the search for the answers to the questions above seem imperative to human life.

Of course, there are multiple perspectives. Islam believes Allah created the world, Christians believe God did, and then there are the philosophers. Darwin stands out as the most prominent in history with his view of evolution, with Steven Hawking as a close runner-up. I will be comparing these two theories to the Christian perspective of Creation.

Although Genesis 1-3 talks a lot about creation and how things are made, the specifics are very vague, which makes it difficult for some people to understand/believe. For example, God created everything in 6 days and rested on the seventh. But what does “day” mean? Could be actually a day, or maybe just a split second, could it be a year, or could it be eons of time? We really don’t know. What we do know is that God spoke creation into existence. That’s it. Either you believe it or you don’t. What does that mean for humanity? Looking at God’s character, it means we were created by an omniscient, omnipotent God in His image. Our purpose here on earth is to glorify Him. In the new covenant, Jesus gives Christians another purpose to go out and share the gospel with the world and baptize them.

Darwin created the theory of evolution, a wide spread belief that everything in life was created by a big bang. To sum up, there was always some sort of very small matter, and over time, these matters collided and created some sort of catastrophic collision, after which the universe was formed. Then slowly (like over eons of time slowly) creation started to develop. Perhaps the most classic example is man, starting as a lowly Australopithecus (some type of ape) and transforming into our modern-day Homo sapiens. The biggest question surrounding evolution is “well where did that matter to cause the big bang come from?” An evolutionist would perhaps answer this question with the question, “well where did God come from?” Both forms of belief have the same grounding principle, it was just there, it always was and always has been.

As stated earlier, the Bible is vague on how the world was created, other than that God spoke it and it happened. Could it be that when God spoke, a big bang happened and life was formed? Maybe. Could each day of creation take billions of years? Maybe. We really don’t know. After man was created, however, the Bible gets a little more specific on time and dates. Genesis 5 gives us the genealogy from Adam to Noah. After the world was destroyed by the flood, Noah and his family re-populated the earth. Then in chapter 11, just two years after the flood, the genealogy from Noah to Abraham is given. Furthermore in Mathew 1, the genealogy from Abraham to Jesus is given. These genealogies, though boring to read, give us a pretty good idea for how long man has lived on the earth. This is why most biblical scholars date the earth around 6000 years old, assuming that creation did indeed only last one day. Other Christians and everyone else believe in an old earth, one where it took billions of years to create the earth.

Personally, I’m trending toward a new earth idea of creation. Although, theories like Pangaea intrigue me, and perhaps if more evidence surfaces, I will switch beliefs. Ultimately, how old the earth is doesn’t really matter in my belief in God. Basic principles: God created the universe, the heaven’s and the earth, and everything in it. When? I don’t know except for man. Why? To give glory to Himself. The debate is pretty insignificant between old earth and new earth and again, not exactly faith altering.

Personally, I’m trending toward a new earth idea of creation. Although, theories like Pangaea intrigue me, and perhaps if more evidence surfaces, I will switch beliefs. Ultimately, how old the earth is doesn’t really matter in my belief in God. Basic principles: God created the universe, the heaven’s and the earth, and everything in it. When? I don’t know except for man. Why? To give glory to Himself. The debate is pretty https://www.livescience.com/38218-facts-about-pangaea.html

https://www.darwins-theory-of-evolution.com

https://www.britannica.com/science/human-evolution

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mathew+1&version=NIV

Pluralism and Tolerance: Religious Contradictions

With the world changing and adapting to different cultures and ideas, how should we react as Christians? It comes down to tolerance vs. actually adopting the opinions and beliefs of someone else. Now this looks different for every believer based on his or her level of faith and how much they can actually handle in the world. For example, you wouldn’t send a brand new believer into the heart of a jungle to minister to witch doctors and other people who have never heard of the gospel. They have not been fully equipped and their faith is not yet strong enough to do this. But you could send in Mr. Thompson, and he would probably do just fine.

Of course, not all of us are going to be presented with the opportunity to go into that type of community or even on a missions trip all together, so what does this look like practically? Going to a secular college, especially coming from a Christian school, can make it very hard to abstain from conforming or adapting new ideas that may not line up with Christianity. For example, one of my friends graduated from a local Christian school last year. Her parents are very conservative and she was raised going to church, attending a Christian school, and how to stand for what she believes in. When she went to college across the country, she was surrounded by those who were apart of or were supporters of the LGBTQ community. Initially she was just friends with them, perhaps knew their names and saw them every once in awhile. But throughout the year, I have watched her transformation into becoming apart of the LGBTQ community herself. She surrounded herself with those people, so she became apart of those people.

It is true that we become like those whom we are surrounded by, who we spend time with, and whom we value. It’s in our nature. We were created in the image of God, to be like him. The problem is as humans we often adopt the ways of the world, because that is what we are trapped in. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what the will of God is, what is good, acceptable and perfect.” This doesn’t mean that we should ignore unbelievers and condemn everything that they do. Firstly, our mission here on earth as Christians is to witness to others and baptize them (Mathew 28). But also in Romans 13 it says that we should love our neighbor and Romans 14 tells us to abstain from judgment on one another (side note: it seems that these principles in Romans 14 only apply to how to christians should interact with eachother, not how Christians should act towards unbelievers). But I would say that it applies for both because of things that Jesus says about loving your enemies and the parable of the Good Samaritan.

We should use these basic principles and instructions from God’s word when interacting with anyone and everyone. We should not conform to their beliefs or adapt them, but we should still love, respect, and forgive them. Practically, this looks different for everybody. Some people may have higher tolerance levels than others and young Christians are more easily influenced. We do not want to get ourselves into a situation where we fall into temptation. But on a day-to-day basis, I’d say look to Jesus as an example. Jesus sat and ate with the tax collectors. He chose zealots to be his disciples. He forgave the very people who killed him. Our job is not to judge, because we are just as guilty and deserve death like they do. Like previously stated, our job is to share the love of Christ, the gospel, and look to his example in difficult situations.

https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Tolerance

https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/bible-verses-about-homosexuality/

With the world changing and adapting to different cultures and ideas, how should we react as Christians? It comes down to tolerance vs. actually adopting the opinions and beliefs of someone else. Now this looks different for every believer based on his or her level of faith and how much they can actually handle in the world. For example, you wouldn’t send a brand new believer into the heart of a jungle to minister to witch doctors and other people who have never heard of the gospel. They have not been fully equipped and their faith is not yet strong enough to do this. But you could send in Mr. Thompson, and he would probably do just fine.

The Knowledge behind Free Will

Something I feel that people often get confused is the difference between knowledge and acting on that knowledge. This just happens to be the main component in the debate for free will. Let’s go back to the beginning. Why is there evil in the world? Why does God allow evil to occur? Did God create evil or was it always there? Could evil always be there if God is good? So then did Satan just create evil when he committed the first sin? As Mr. hinz tells it, evil was never created, it is simply the absence of good. Thus, God didn’t create evil, he just allows the absence of good to be possible. This comes from an Augustinian point of view, of which I don’t know much about, and I haven’t officially adopted this point of view. But for argument’s sake, I will adopt it.

So, from this definition, we see that God allowed the absence of good to be. Why did he do this? Why did he allow his people to choose evil and choose to turn away from him? Without evil, we don’t have a choice to deny God. We are forced to love Him. God wanted us to choose to love him.

Now we look on to predestination. Verses like Luke 10:20 and Revelation 3:5 give Christians hope that our names our written in the book of life. But God knows everything. Does he know who will go to Heaven and who will not? What if God’s will is for John to go to Heaven, but for Jeremy to go to hell? What if that is God’s providence? As for the first question, yes, God does know who will go to heaven and who won’t. He is omniscient. It is as simple as that. That doesn’t mean He as any affect on the actual choice  that people make, he just knows what choice they are going to make. As for the second question, it all depends on your view on “God’s plan”. A famous, and often used verse at weddings, graduation, etc. is Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for evil, plans to give you a future and hope.'” Does God’s plan apply to those who aren’t Christians? Can God have a plan for them? Let’s assume for a moment that God has a plan for Jeremy, who is a non-christian all his life and dies and goes to hell. According to this verse, God’s plan cannot be for evil. So, either Jeremy acted outside of God’s plan for him or God does not have a plan for non-christians. If the first, we then can say, is it possible to act outside of God’s plan for Christians? If the second, God’s plan is only for Christians.

Here is where I am at a crossroads. God’s plan is for everyone, un-believers and believers. We see this in the Bible countless times. For example, Abraham was an un-believer before God chose him. It was apart of God’s plan to choose abraham. Side note, God chose abraham. Does God “choose” certain people to be christians while others are left in the dust? I think abraham had the choice all along to back out if he really wanted to. He could’ve chosen to deny God. But then we look to Moses, who tried to deny God. He gave like 6 different excuses at the burning bush about why he couldn’t fulfill God’s plan. God didn’t really force him to do it, He just gave him solutions to all of his excuses and Moses begrudgingly obliged after none of his backup options worked.

Anyways, getting back to God’s plan of where I am at a crossroads. If God’s plan is for everyone, and people still go to hell, then it must be possible to go outside of God’s plan for us. So when things happen to us, and we make choices, is it a mistake to say, “It’s all apart of God’s plan.” Well what if it wasn’t? What if we made a mistake and left God’s plan for us? Does God’s plan adjust based on the choices we make? Is God like google maps and just reroute whenever we make a wrong turn? Or does God just have a set plan for us and if we screw up, that’s it? The search continues.

The meaning behind Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin and Hobbes

By: Bill Watterson

 

Automatically, the philosophy and worldview aspect in Calvin and Hobbes can be seen within the name itself. Calvin originates from John Calvin and Hobbes from Thomas Hobbes. These two characters give their insight and perspective on life from a comedic yet realistic perspective. The thing is, Bill Watterson doesn’t just stick with one perspective or worldview throughout his comics. It seems to be an on-going debate between Calvin and his tiger, Hobbes. Often times, Calvin changes his perspective and his outlook on life and contradicts himself. So answering the worldview questions will be different depending on the comic strip you use.

1. What is really real?
   1. Calvin believes that the universe is a thing, and he seems to believe in a god or a version of God. There are many scriptural references and theological discussions in the strips, but there are also many discussions of evolution.
2. What is the nature of the world around you?
   1. Again, Calvin looks into two sides of the argument. There are strips about God being the creator, but he also discusses evolution. Though, notices that the world has some sort of order, thus there must be a higher being.
3. What does it mean to be human?
   1. There is a well-known strip of Calvin, looking up into the universe, and screaming, “I am significant!” He then stares blankly at the sky and whispers sarcastically, “Screamed the speck of dust.” Here we see another set of irony, confusion, and Man vs. Himself conflict. Calvin convinces himself that he matters, but is then confronted with the reality of the situation; compared to the universe, he is extremely small.
4. What happens after death?
   1. Perhaps I should just answer the rest of the questions with two contradictory comic strips.

5. How/why is it possible to know anything at all?

6. Is there a right or a wrong?

7. What is the meaning of human history?

8. What personal or core commitments come with this (how does it affect everyday life)?

1. These life-altering questions don’t really seem to affect Calvin in his daily life. He just kind’ve keeps on living like a normal boy, and occasionally spits out some really observant thing about the universe and philosophy.

 

Beyond the comedic aspect and reasoning for the creation of Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson seems to be dealing with a lot of faith issues. He looks at the view of naturalists, atheists, evolutionists, Christians, etc. He also studies philosophy, and references metaphysics, morals, and ethics many times over. Calvin seems to represent Watterson’s questions that are seemingly unanswerable. On the other hand, Hobbes represents some sort of realist who doesn’t really think through things much. He’s just kind’ve there to listen to Calvin, make fun of him, and lighten the overall mood of the story.

As a definitive worldview, I doubt Calvin, Hobbes, or even Bill came to a conclusion. If anything, he had an analytic worldview, a sort of question everything perspective. Though I can relate to this on some aspects, the problem with this is there is no peace. You never get to that “ahah” moment. Although it may seem that Watterson knows all about faith and religion, it is actually the opposite. He knows a lot about religion and worldviews, but he never accepted any to be his own. He never knew faith in its fullness and as a result, I bet he lived a pretty unsatisfied life that he tired to fill with comedic writing.

Through this analysis, we can see how truly important a Christian worldview is. People are always searching for something in their life. It could be wealth, fame, peace, triumph, glory, etc. But ultimately, they are never satisfied with their choices. Through Christianity, we can find satisfaction in God by doing His will on earth and giving Him glory. He gives us a purpose here on earth: glorify Him in everything that we do and share the gospel.

 

http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/12-times-calvin-and-hobbes-taught-us-about-philosophy-religion

https://u.osu.edu/rudolph1023/2016/04/22/calvin-and-hobbes/

John 1:1-16 Commentary

 

Each of the four gospels tell Jesus’ story from their perspective and are writing to different audiences. Mathew was writing to the Jews, so he focused more on how Jesus fulfilled the promises made to the Israelites. Mark wrote to the gentiles and wrote about how Jesus was a servant. Luke also wrote the Roman Gentiles and showed Jesus being perfect. And according to http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2014/03/21/what-is-the-purpose-behind-the-gospel-of-john-a-bible-study/ , John was written to everyone, but specifically for unbelievers and the church.

The main idea of this passage is Jesus, fully God, coming down to earth that He created, to be with and save His people. But His people rejected Him and sent Him to the cross. But John explains that for those who do believe in His name will become children of God. And we will receive all grace.

John starts out with the very beginning, creation. He outlines who was there at the beginning, “the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Thus, God was in the beginning, or maybe, God is the beginning. But then, John says, “He was in the beginning with God.” I can imagine the church listening to their pastor read the gospel of John for the first time. If they were unbelievers, I expect they would either be confused or completely shook. Because John mentions the trinity when he says, “He was in the beginning with God.” This gives us two key points of information. 1. “The Word” is a living breathing male, but he is also God. Thus there are at least two parts of God. 2. He was at the beginning. Meaning he was there before time began.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/smith_chuck/c2000_Jhn/Jhn_001.cfm?a=998001 makes the connection between John 1:3 and Genesis 1:26 which says, “Let us make man in our image after our likeness.” This implies that there was more than one person at the creation, father son and holy spirit. Though, John just focuses on the Word. In verses 4-5, John refers to the Word as life and the light. Later in John 8, Jesus says that He is the light of the world. This verifies that Jesus, The Word, the Light, and God are all synonymous and all at the beginning.

John continues talking about the Light in verses 9-13. John refers to Jesus as the true light that came into the world. He then reminds his audience that even though Jesus made the world and he was in the world, the world rejected him. Therefore he was sent to the cross. Using the contrasting statement “but”, John refers to the group of people that did receive God and therefore became children of God.

Verses 6-8 describe John. Not John the apostle who wrote this Gospel, but John the Baptist who paved the way for Jesus. Later in verse 15, John the Baptist says, “He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.” This confusion of words can be broken down. “He who after me,” refers to Jesus who was born after John the Baptist was. “… ranks before me, because he was before me,” refers to Jesus as God being before everything because he was in the beginning.

Verse 14 acts as a closing statement that sort of ties the entire passage together. Repetition is huge in this passage. John restates that the Word, “Jesus”, became flesh, “came to his own”. But then he talks about the purpose. Why did Jesus come? John says, “and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” These verses tell us that God came to give glory to God so that we all may see it and that we may receive the free grace of God to be with Him forever.

The value of these verses can be found when you want to learn about the person of Jesus and his purpose here on earth. John 1 serves as the last puzzle piece. It connects passages together from Old and New testament. It also answers questions about the trinity, God’s purpose, Jesus’ role, and even some about John the Baptist. I like to question a lot. I like to search for answers and try to discover as much about God and his qualities as He allows me to. John 1:1-16 is very blunt with its repetition and diction throughout the passage. Thus, when I am sharing the Gospel oversees on missions in Poland, I can use these verses that I have memorized to explain how Jesus is not only our savior, but also our creator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conformity

Dating back to The Fall, conformity is a problem that humans have always been dealing with. According to the dictionary, conformity is, “compliance with standards, rules, or laws,” and furthermore a “behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards.” So when we look to the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3, we can see that the serpent tempts Adam and Eve with conformity when he says, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The first sin was a result of the desire to become like God. They noticed they were not the best, so they ate the fruit because they thought that was the way to become God.

The Bible is quite clear on its view on conformity. Its unified message can be found in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Conformity can be easily found in any book, movie, or website when similes or metaphors are used. When studying conformity in the bible, a few similar terms come to light: comparison(Saul and David and 10,000), parable(Jesus Teaching), jealousy (joseph and his brothers), treachery (Peter denying Jesus),

Comparison can be easily identified when power comes into play. During the time of Saul’s rule, David was anointed to be the next King. During this awkward period of time, David became a war hero and was beloved by the people. In 1 Samuel 18:7-8, the women sang in the streets, “’Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.’ And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him.” Saul wanted to be more powerful and more beloved than David, so as a result, he tried to kill him, many times. Because he compared himself to others, Saul dug himself a hole and eventually died, and David became king.

Similarly, Joseph’s brothers are jealous of their father’s affection towards Joseph. In Genesis 37 it says that, “His brothers were jealous of him… [and] they conspired against him to kill him.” They were jealous of Joseph because their father loved Joseph the most. They constantly compared themselves to him, and thus felt inadequate in his presence. Their jealousy drove them to attempt murder on their brother. Side note: people were a lot more violent when they didn’t like something in biblical times, like they tried to murder, what the heck.

Comparison can also lead to a great deal of pride and trying to increase self-worth. Jesus called out the Pharisees on doing this in Luke 18:9-14. A Pharisee was praying super loudly in front of a huge crowd, thanking God that he was not like all the other sinners. He bragged about how “faithfully” he served the law and how he gave so many tithes. He even compared himself to the guy next to him saying that he was thankful that he was not a sinner like the tax collector. By using this comparison, he thought he would Holy and pleasing to the people in the crowd, but Jesus pointed out that it was the opposite. He said that the tax collector was justified, not the Pharisee. Comparison led to pride.

Often times, people often conform to the views of those who they are surrounded by. Living in a fallen world, Christians are constantly surrounded by those who believe different things than us, and its harder to surround ourselves with like-minded people. The Israelites struggled with this so much that the entire book of Judges is how Israel conforms to other people’s beliefs. Pretty much the entire book can be summarized in Judges 2:12, “And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them.” They constantly worshipped the idols that other people were worshipping, because that’s what they were surrounded by.

Additionally, conformity can lead to treachery. In the modern world, friends change their opinions, perspectives, or are “fake” based on whom they are around. In some cases, they can even talk bad about a close friend, just to fit in with the crowd. Peter was definitely a victim of this. In Mathew 26:71-72, Peter denies Jesus a second time when a woman says, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” He denies even knowing our Lord and Savior because the crowd he was with was not in favor of Jesus.

Going back to our central message, Romans 12:2 says that we should not conform to the world but be transformed by the renewal of our mind in Christ Jesus. Conformity itself is not a bad thing. It is what/who we are conforming to is when it gets us into trouble. So I would like to take some time and look at good examples of conforming. Hebrews 12:2-4 tells us that we should, “[look] to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” We should look to Jesus as the ultimate example and not to others as our “heroes”.

In the same way 1Corinthians 11:1 tells us to be imitators of Christ. This is different then what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. They were trying to be God by having some of his abilities. The bible tells us to be LIKE God and serve how Jesus served others. Some practical examples of this can be volunteering at church, going to the extra mile for a stranger, and showing the Love of Christ to everybody, not just your friends.

Finally, Jesus tells us to pray like him in Matthew 6:9. Here, He gives the Lord’s Prayer. Practically, we are supposed to pray like Jesus, giving thanks and praise to God, confessing our sins, etc. Conforming to Jesus’ teachings is what we are supposed to do as Christians. After all, we were made in likeness. But, living in a fallen world, that proves to be a very difficult task. Through things like social media, celebrities, and the news, we are drawn in to the problems and desires of the world. We worry more about their expectations than God’s. A practical solution could be to surround yourself with people who have similar goals or ideals. This way, Jesus will be at the center of your relationship and you can go through hardships that you face in the world together.

Samuel Ridout, author of How to Study the Bible, states the benefits of systematic bible study. He says, “the example will be contagious… the mind will be disciplined… [and] the whole life will be affected.” He believes that through systematic study, we can fully and deeply understand a topic, that it becomes apart of lives, how we interact people, and ultimately our entire worldview, and that’s just on one topic. Basically, the more you study a small issue, and meditate on it, the better we can use it in the big picture and the more complicated areas of life. By studying the great struggle of conformity in Christian lives, we can more deeply grasp the solution, which points us to Jesus and his work on the cross.

Sources: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+3&version=ESV

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/conformity

https://www.wholesomewords.org/etexts/ridout/howto6.html

http://deeptruths.com/bible-topics/comparing_yourself_to_others.html

The Flagellum: Science and Christianity

Often times, people like to use science to describe or even prove religion, for example, evolution. But what specifically are each of these terms and their relationship together? Science is a way to explain what happens in nature or why nature is the way it is. Religion is similar in that explains why things are the way that they are, but they don’t really specify in nature too much, or at least where Christianity is concerned. In the Bible, we are given the explanation for how the world, man, and the universe were created. We are shown the purpose of the rainbow, and why some of the geography is the way it is. It discusses it at a very basic level.

On the other hand, science tries to go as in depth and specific as possible. The only things that are stated are the things that can be proven. The things that cannot be proven are called theories, and they stay theories until someone figures out a way to crack to their code, which then makes it becomes a fact and no longer a theory. For example, if a person wanted to know how to make a plant grow, they could look in a book and look at the properties of a plant that have been analyzed. Therefor by gathering information about the plant, you can discern that plants need water and sunlight to grow. But science is not limited to fact; science can also be proven through observation. Going back to the plant example, if you give a plant water and sunlight, it will start to grow. If you just let it sit there by itself, it will die. Thus through observation, we can discern that plants need water and sunlight to survive.

Here’s where the main difference between religion and science comes to light: observation. Of course, we can observe rainbows in the sky, but we can’t technically prove that they came from God, unless someone observed God putting the rainbow in the sky. But just because you cannot observe it, doesn’t mean that it isn’t true. With the naked eye, humans cannot observe electrons, neutrons, and protons and how they interact with each other. In fact, 90% of electrical engineering is based on millions of math equations, formulas, and theories about trying to prove how these three things interact. They don’t actually see any of it happening, but that doesn’t mean that what they were studying is wrong at all.

A lot of people argue that science and religion have little correlation and we shouldn’t use one to explain the other. I don’t think that this is the case. I would now like to discuss the flagellum. The flagellum is a machine that lives within a cell. It has parts like a hook, a motor, a filament, and some membrane and stuff. Flagellum is Latin for “whip” because the cell needs a few whip-like structures in order to get things done. They’re main function is to move a cell through sperm or bacteria. I remember learning about it during 10^th grade biology. Mrs. Zachey was telling us that there’s no way the flagellum could’ve happened by chance. The motor alone is so complex and so tiny and there are so many of them within each cell, and in just one thimble of water can contain about 4 billion cells. The flagellum is just one example of how science and religion interact, but it is a pretty big one.

Now how does philosophy fit into all of this? Honestly I think the class we are taking this year is a philosophy class with an emphasis on Christianity, when shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t it be learning how to defend our Christian worldview? ANYWAYS….. I think that religion is somehow apart of every aspect of your life, big or small, at least in Christianity. So from this perspective, I’ve already shown how science and religion interact, but how do religion and philosophy interact? According to Thomas Aquinas, “The philosopher considers the nature of things as they are in themselves, whereas the theologian considers them in their relation to God conceived as being both their origin and their end.” Thomas is saying here that Christians base everything in philosophy, science, or just in general, in accordance to God and the gospel. Furthermore, proverbs 2:6 comments, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Knowledge and wisdom come from God, thus Christians use Him and His words as the basis for everything.

 

Sources:

http://www.toughquestionsanswered.org/2014/09/01/how-do-theology-and-philosophy-interact/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaVoGfSSSV8

https://biologydictionary.net/flagellum/