knightsoftruenorth.ws/PathNotes&rss James's blog en-us Sun, 20 May 2012 14:40:03 PDT Sun, 20 May 2012 14:40:03 PDT http://someurl.com http://knightsoftruenorth.ws/PathNotes&p=94AB41BAB406423AE040A8C0AC001F5C Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18) The Materialist philosophy says that the ultimate and only reality is the physical world, and the sense data that accompanies it. This ignores, however the PERSON that senses the data. Materialists justify this oversight by saying that the brain is what does the sensing. This IS somewhat circular however, at least as it has as it's beginning and end the physical world. When pressed to quanify, and define consciousness, however, they CANNOT. Furthermore, blind force, random mutations and natural selection, cannot explain the advent of life, let alone consciousness. The non-material aspect of man is something we experience routinely, as we experience our own selves. As example: a jolt of electricity can make a dead muscle twitch, and contract, but can NOT make the brain do math. Only a living soul using the brain (as an organ of interface) can experience the world, or themselves. Gnosticism on the other hand recognizes the plasticity of the physical world, as evidenced by our current understanding of quantum physics, and chaos theory, and their manner of seemingly negating a "common sense" (Newtonian/Einsteinian) physics. Gnostics go too far, however, in that they stress the "interior reality" to the exclusion of a manifest physical world. Gnosticism goes further still to elevate the individual to the status of "Creator" of their very own reality. "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:5) Both of these philosophies traffic across the same territory: the human soul. Each denies, in turn, aspects of EXPERIENCED reality. Gnosticism denies the physical world we experience, while Materialism denies the soul that does the experiencing. One of the reasons handling this notion of the self/soul is so difficult is because in defining the soul, we are using it, IN THE PROCESS of defining. This is akin to looking one's self in the eye: you only have two options: Either, one must walk around cross-eyed (with all the subjective errors that implies), or one needs a mirror (an object outside of oneself to accurately represent one's self to one's self. Enter the Bible, the Word of God. Once we bypass the pseudo-orthodoxy of Catholicism, and the manifold, and manifest errors, the Bible precedes, pre-empts, and precludes their error, AND our in viewing ourselves. The Bible shows us an objective God's eye perspective, then it communicates to us a true image OF us. These observations find their relevance in application: We observe an "objective object" of veneration, and relation, God, who is the author of all lesser souls (since no materialistic origin is forthcoming). We observe ourselves as subjective, error ridden, selfish, sinful, and seperated FROM God. We find further, in God's word that as the objective, righteous Judge, loving Savior, and sinless Substitute, He's taken OUR place in His OWN wrath, to reconcile us to Himself. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2Corinthians 5:17-21) As we, then, place our faith, and trust in HIS finished work... "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. " (Ephesians 2:8,9) We can be fully assured of a home in heaven... "These things have I written unto that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know ye have eternal life and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God" (I John 5:13) 2011-08-22 01:18:10