Genesis 1:1b Heavens and the Earth

November 27, 2012

Returning back to our search for dinosaurs and everything else, I am excited to share a piece of relevant information I discovered on Thanksgiving day:

A few days after Thanksgiving dinner, a popular tradition calls for two people to grab opposite ends of a dried wishbone and pull until the bone breaks in two.

The irony: The wishbone is special because it's one piece.

The furcula (the technical term for a wishbone) is formed by the fusion of two collarbones at the sternum. The furcula is an important part of a bird's flight mechanics — a connecting point for muscles and a strengthening brace for wings. The bone is elastic and acts as a spring that stores and releases energy during flapping. (Ever try to snap a wishbone before it's been dried?)

Scientists once thought the furcula was unique to birds. Paleontologists now tell us that the bone is also found in to two-legged, meat-eating dinosaurs including the Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor. These reptilian movie stars didn't fly. Their furculas likely served as structural supports as the dinos held their prey.  

                –taken from George Frederick, Life's Little Mysteries

So turkeys are related to the dinosaurs!!!  There you have it; last Thursday you may have well just eaten a piece of history!  Gobble gobble RAWR!

Moving on.

Genesis 1:1b

As part of our introduction last time we looked at the first verse of Genesis in its original Hebrew

בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ.

ha·'a·retz ve·'et a·sha·ma·yim eth e·lo·him ba·ra be·re·shit

read out loud:
bereshit bara elohim et ha’shamayim ve'et ha'aretz

I presented a case that the first half of the verse (bereshit bara elohim) establishes God as precedent to creation, outside of the limits of the physical universe and time, and is the causal force behind Creation itself, and through the act of creation time is born.  We also touched on the important deduction here that God is not “created” and God is not subject to time. 

In the auxiliary reading between the first entry and this text we also examined two other issues: the Apologetic defense of the Assumptive God and the Irrational nature of Scientific Review in the Absence of an assumed God.  These two points become increasingly important as we continue to read our Bible and as we engage with the world and other people around us.   The concept of the Assumptive God indicates that the Bible is written for people who are already predisposed or currently hold a faith in God.  If you don’t have such a predisposition, then you will struggle more than necessary with an already complex story.  The second point that we reviewed was the impact a world view that assumes God has on our interpretation of observed data (i.e. scientific review). A person colored with the disposition that God exists will ultimately see order and no mystery in the abundance of patterns we see in reality, e.g. Fibonacci numbers.  Whereas a person who does not assume a deliberate Creator will be left to interpret the same set of data as a random, perplexing, seemingly absurd-but-it-happens-anyway, type manner – the result of which is to put forth explanations where the mathematical probability of those solutions is so small that they become ludicrous when tested by the very methods of scientific review accepted by both believers and non-believers alike.   

As we continue into the remaining text, know that I assume God.  And I assume the majority of readers do as well.

Shamayim ve’et ha’aretz  (Gen 1:1b)

Heavens and the earth -one phrase not two words

The usual Hebrew word for "heavens" is shamayim, a plural form meaning "heights," "elevations" (Gen 1:1; Gen 2:1). (b) The Hebrew word marom is also used (Psa 68:18; Psa 93:4; Psa 102:19, etc.) as equivalent to shamayim, "high places," "heights."

According to modern Hebrew, Erets is applied in a more or less extended sense-- (1) to the whole world and everything created, ( Genesis 1:1 ) (2) to land as opposed to sea, ( Genesis 1:10 ) (3) to a country, ( Genesis 21:32 ) (4) to a plot of ground, ( Genesis 23:15 ) and (5) to the ground on which a man stands. (Genesis 33:3 ) The two former senses alone concern us, the first involving an inquiry into the opinions of the Hebrews on cosmogony, the second on geography.

-Easton’s Bible Dictionary and Commentaries

So when reading this selection text by itself, in our English speaking minds we see two subjects: heavens and earth.  It becomes easy therefore to run down a rabbit hole (which we will do in a moment) and explore exactly what Genesis means when it reveals the word “Heavens” and then again when it reveals the word “earth”.   And I believe there is some merit to doing this exercise because it will illuminate the comprehensiveness of God’s word.

However we must first look to the phase as a singular.  Does the phrase “heavens and the earth” have a particularly unique definition in Hebrew separate from the definitions of the individual words themselves?  And of course, the answer is “yes”.

The phrase "heaven and earth" is used to indicate the whole universe. Easton makes this claim, and it appears everywhere in modern Christian theodoxy (yes I just made up that word).  But where does he derive this understanding?  Well I searched and found out that in Hebrew the phrase is still in use today.  It is a Hebrew idiom meaning "all things" or “everything”.  If you do an exhaustive search of the phrase in Hebrew literature and spoken speech, you will discover that the idiom displays a conceptual and not necessarily scientific emphasis on this totality. For example, if you were a Jew, living during the time of Moses, and if you had a bad debt and the debt police came and took your house, your things, and your prized donkey, then your neighbor asks, “What did they take?” Your response could be “Shamaim ve’et ha’aretz”, i.e. “the Heavens and the earth” and your neighbor, being fluent in Hebrew would shrug his shoulders, shave his head, tear his clothes, and weep with you knowing that you were wiped out, but also knowing that the police did not actually take the heavens and the earth.

Ok. Seriously, the phrase has value to convey a comprehensive totality.

Dwell on this a moment, Moses is relaying to people recently escaped from Egypt about their history and he says to them “God created everything”.  The early Israelites take this to mean, literally everything.  They are not expected to have a knowledge about atoms, time, light, red shifts, gravity, f=ma, etc.  But they would assume that even the unknown was known to God and created by God.  So consider the same setting and now somehow Einstein is transported back in time to this very moment when the Israelites are being revealed this truth that God created everything.  Einstein suddenly states his theory of relativity and in doing so discusses special relativity and Red Shifts (the bending of Red Light in the presence of a gravitational field).  The Israelite when presented with this information may not understand it, but nevertheless can accept it and account it to being caused by God because red light shifting, if it did occur, would naturally occur because God decided that it should. And this phenomenon is a part of “everything”.

We cannot ignore then that the principal statement of the Genesis account is an arbitrary “everything”. It is even more emphatic than the Hebrew word for everything.  Our Bibles could have been written:  In THE beginning God created EVERYTHING (ha-kohl (הכל)).  Wouldn’t it be easier to have had our Bibles just say this?  The verse then would lay a foundation and a case that all of existence and reality is due to the creative will and power of God.  And the Christian could then credit every piece of science, every observed fact and data point back to God’s work – without argument and confusion.  And yet God saw fit to inspire those tasked with writing down the history of Creation to use a common idiom – which is open to confusion by those who are not native speakers of the language.  So there must be a reason right?  Yes, the phrase is emphatic, it is over the top, and it is in essence the Everything of Everything, Anything, and All things. 

Of course in addition to the overarching inference of “everything”, a deeper study into the words themselves unveils even more detail into God’s comprehensiveness.  (And to think, we are only in the second part of the FIRST verse of the Bible…)

Shamayim

Heavens

Yes it is plural – multiple Heavens. The idea of multiple heavens was clear to the ancient Hebrews and is deduced in Christian doctrine as well (Deut. 10:14; I Kings 18:15). Reading the Hebrew Scriptures and reading carefully through our texts and Apocrypha will reveal seven to ten heavens!  Somewhere in these heavens paradise was placed, and within it the treasures of life and of righteousness for the soul.  Oh, and God currently resides somewhere in there too.

So multiple heavens but is that it?  What IS Heaven?  Let us try to define this for the moment.   Well perhaps we can start by defining what Heaven is not.  It is not hard earth.  It is not ocean water.  It is not electrons.  It is not air, nor gas, nor stratosphere.  I would hazard to say that Heaven is not anything that contains “matter”.

From Dictionary.com

mat·ter

noun

1. the substance or substances of which any physical object consists or is composed: the matter of which the earth is made.

2. physical or corporeal substance in general, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous, especially as distinguished from incorporeal substance, as spirit or mind, or from qualities, actions, and the like.

3. something that occupies space.

4. a particular kind of substance

 

In fact, as we will consider later (in Gen 1:1c), I believe that all matter is a type of earth.

If we agree that Heaven does not contain matter – then what about “outer space”?  Does it include outer space?  Nope, outer space is filled with stuff.   And besides we learn in the whole tower of Babel portion of our History, and by Christ’s own testimony, that God absolutely does not want us to travel into Heaven by any other means than salvation (ie. The Narrow Road).   Since we have sent men to the moon and hence into outer space, and we have not been “smoted” or “smited”, we can assume that outer space is NOT a type of Heaven.

So then, what are we left to infer?  God created multiple Heavens at the begging of time, and at the same time as he created the earth ( i.e. matter) – yet Heavens are not a type of earth.  Perhaps we have been interpreting this word “shamayim” too narrowly and with too much assumption?

We know through scientific observance today that in addition to matter we have energy and force.   No not the “Use the Force, Luke” type force, true force – gravity, electrical, magnetic, applied, frictional, and atomic, quantum, and many many more…

Force is the observance of the interaction between two different forms of matter in close proximity.  It is because we are able to observe force today, that many people assume a big bang yesterday (and a Higgs Boson tomorrow).    But the actual cause of force is God (or to the secularist, unknown).

So we can observe gravity but have no reasonable resolution to “why” gravity?  Obviously God applies this attribute to matter, but could the application of this attribute be useful in identifying Heaven?  And let me be clear I AM NOT PRESENTING A CASE THAT FORCES ARE HEAVEN.    But I am trying to align our modern assumptions about forces to the reality of what our Bible declares as true.

So let us talk about Shadow effect and multidimensionality.   Shadow effect is what happens when one phenomenon is obscured by another, and the shadow is what occurs at the intersection of the causes.  So when light hits an obtuse object, the object blocks the light and starting at the object and extending outward is a shadow.   By observing the shadow and the outlining light one can deduce an object without ever seeing the object.  Using this concept of shadow effect, modern scientists have deduced that perhaps the observance of forces are not just independent attributes of matter but in actuality the shadow effect of matter interacting with something else.

Hawking claims that forces may be the shadows of matter interacting with other dimensions.  ß note the plural of dimensions, not a singular dimension, but several.  Several dimensions, several Heavens… similar.  In the late 90’s astrophysics and quantum physics merged to this idea that there may be 7 to 10 dimensions in all, or infinite.  Hmmm.  Weird.  But if true, then could the forces that we observe occur help us see the shadows of Heaven?

But let’s go back to the beginning of this essay where we look at the statement that God creates “everything”, under this understanding, wouldn’t other dimensions be considered a part of that everything, and if the mind of Moses, or Adam, or Isaiah, or Peter, or the average Josiah Israelite cannot comprehend “higher planar dimensionality”, “energy to matter conversion theory”  and “sub quark interaction theory” – can it stand to reason that they could comprehend “Heavens”?

Scripture interprets scripture:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

 Rom 1:20 NASB

Yes I am presenting a bold interpretation, but it sure is useful in explaining what we mere “things that are made” are observing (, i.e. “clearly seeing”).

And by the way, I find it stupefying and glorious that several thousand years later (and still several hundred years from our present) Paul can understand and reaffirm that there are invisible “attributes” – even with the basic physics known at the time.

So we cannot concretely define what a heaven or the heavens are exactly, but we can improve upon our understanding and see that the can correlate with modern science – and without making a stretch either.   Uhm… but still no dinosaurs… must keep searching.

Perhaps they are in that part about earth?

Next time a “short” essay on matter, earth, atoms, dirt, dust, dark matter, and perhaps water and fluids… as we explore the remaining part of Genesis 1:1c and the beginning of verse 2! Yippee!

Your comments are invited.  Please invite others to read.  Be blessed.

 

Happy Wednesday.

 

 

 

Perspective: The Basis of Apologetics and Scientific Review - Genesis 1-1a

Before we move on to Genesis 1-1b, I thought it would be good to highlight a key take away from the previous post.  A good friend of mine (and Atheist) pushed back on something that I wrote:
 

faith must come before reason, or the Biblical Account of Life, the Universe, and Everything After is nonesense and subject to debate
 

In the first three words of Genesis we encounter "In the beginning God created..." and I lay a case that the emphasis placed on the word Beginning in Hebrew clearly points to the beginning of all reality.    And I then make the claim that if one is to believe this, then the believer must assume God's existence prior to creation - that God, in essence, exists outside the boundary of conventional time as we observe it.  So I argue that faith in God comes first, the validity and content of the Bible is secondary.

Why is this point so important?  Well, it colors our perspective on our interpretation of observed facts.  A person who rejects God will naturally interpret the same set of observances in a different manner - even if the statistical probability of that interpretation is less than the probability of an interpretation that includes God.

Consider Fibonacci and Lucas numbers.   On my blog I have posted three videos on the tab that give a great and easy and fun introduction into these numbers and their patterns.

The fibonacci sequence:  0+1=1  1+1=2  1+2=3  2+3=5  3+5=8  5+8=13 and so on (1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21)
occurs everywhere in nature - plant leaves, pine cones, star fish, nautilis shells, cellular chromosomes, our brains, dog brains, electrons, the periodic table, the distribution of any given sand on any given beach, the frequency differentials between light in a rainbow, and on and on....  it also happens to be real good in engineering, space flight, computer programs, human speech and language, the patterns of poetry, the chordal arrangement of music, tempo, and modulating torque on engines.

For a person who observes this phenomena, and who is predisposed to faith in God, naturally will be inclined to believe that this is a symptom of  God's order.  And it is statistically more probable that this pattern is caused rather than random (considering how non-random the sequence is).

Yet a heart that does not naturally resonate with a belief in God, or rejects a belief in God, will be forced to attempt to reconcile these occurances through some other mechanism.  And it is here where we must first contend with the illogical mind attempting rationality.  That is the proposition that from Chaos, order chaotically arose.  It makes no sense and is statistically improbable.

Perhaps if such order were to arise in one subset of the natural world - the evolution  of animal life for example - then it would be slightly more probable?  However for this pattern to exhibit everywhere, and for other such patterns to emerge everywhere an apologist and any rational mind must contend with the likelihood of a Creator.

As we move forward into the next part of Genesis 1:1 and then throughout the rest of our study, we must keep this perspective in mind.   The world is quick to label something scientific and yet ignore the very basic foundations of scientific and philosophic review.    It creates much contention between the secularist and the Christ follower.

We must view the world through a lense of God existant, and not a lense of God yet to be proved.  We must learn to express our understanding not through rote, robotic "tracts" but through our own world view.  We must clearly start with a statement that we have an inherent belief in God.  We must teach our children the basis for this belief and catechise them into this view.  In this manner we can demonstrate that defending the faith is supported by scientific review rather than refuted by it.  In this manner we can move forward in earnest search for truth without any fear that our faith will be shaken.

Thanksgiving is coming up, so I need to end this rant and prepare for Thursday. 

Be well, enjoy your turkey time.   Comment and feedback is encouraged.  Please invite others to join and contribute.

My World View (Again)

This statement of my faith is not debatable, meaning that I do not enter into argument/debate over these issues. My focus is fellowship with the Father and the Son, and then with YOU as an outflow of that fellowship (1 John 1:1-4). I am not focused on convincing others of the correctness of my views. -It took me 38 years...but I will debate with you your beliefs, until you concretely tell me what you believe - and why.

I BELIEVE the only true basis of Christian fellowship is Christ's ("agape") love, which is greater than any differences we possess, and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians.

I BELIEVE worship of God should be spiritual. Therefore, I remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct my worship.

I BELIEVE worship of God should be inspirational. Therefore, I give great place to music in my worship.

I BELIEVE worship of God should be intelligent. Therefore, I place great emphasis upon the teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct me how He should be worshiped.

I BELIEVE worship of God should be fruitful. Therefore, I accept reality as His love in my life and my recognition of this perspective as the supreme manifestation that I am truly worshiping Him.

I BELIEVE in all the fundamental doctrines of orthodox evangelical Christianity.

I BELIEVE in the inerrancy of Scripture, that the Bible, Old and New Testaments, is the inspired, infallible Word of God.

I BELIEVE in the trinity - one God eternally existent in three separate persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I BELIEVE that God the Father is the personal, transcendent, and sovereign Creator of all things.

I BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, provided for the atonement of our sins by His vicarious death on the cross, was bodily resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, ascended back to the right hand of God the Father, and ever lives to make intercession for us.

I BELIEVE that after Jesus ascended to Heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem, enabling them to fulfill His command to be His witnesses in the entire world, a responsibility shared by all believers today.

I BELIEVE that all people are by nature separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord, trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit. All his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a child of God destined to spend eternity with the Lord.

I BELIEVE in the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures, and that they are valid for today if they are exercised within the scriptural guidelines. I covet the best gifts, seeking to exercise them in love that the whole Body of Christ might be edified. I believe that love is more important than the most spectacular gifts, and without this love all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.

I BELIEVE that church government should be simplistic rather than a complex bureaucracy, and I depend on the Holy Spirit to lead, rather than on fleshly promotion.

I AWAIT the pre-tribulation rapture of the church and I believe that the second coming of Christ with His saints to rule on earth will be personal, pre-millennial, and visible. This motivates me to holy living, heartfelt worship, committed service, diligent study of God's Word, regular fellowship, and participation in adult baptism by immersion and Holy Communion. (I was baptized as an adult the day prior to my marriage, for how could I be ready to be married to my wife, if I could not first be married to God?)

I SEEK to teach the Word of God in such a way that its message can be applied to an individual's life, leading that person to greater maturity in Christ.

I REJECT: (1) The belief that true Christians can be demon possessed. (2) "Five point Calvinism" (i.e., a fatalistic Calvinistic view that leaves no room for free will. Specifically, I reject the belief that Jesus' atonement was limited, instead I believe that He died for all people, and I reject the assertion that God's wooing grace cannot be resisted or that He has elected some people to go to hell. Instead, I believe that anyone who wills to come to Christ may do so). I REJECT (3) "Positive confession" (the faith movement belief that God can be commanded to heal or work miracles according to man's will). (4) Human prophecy that supersedes the Scripture. (5) The incorporation of humanistic and secular psychology and philosophy into Biblical teaching, and (6) the over-emphasis of spiritual gifts or experiential signs and wonders to the exclusion of Biblical teaching.
So there you have it. Now tell me, what do you believe?

If I taught a Bible College Class, or 3 Part Deux

Pauline and Johannine Interpretations on Christ - we would explore the greats (spurgeon, grudem, Luther, Calvin, Augustine, Chuck Smith, etc.) and their commentary on various interpretations of Christian living from Paul's perspective and then contrast to the same but from the perspective of John. Source texts would include Romans, the Epistles (Pauls and Johns), The Gospel of John and Revelation of John. Then we would identify where we as individuals are on the spectrum between the two - assuming a spectrum between Paul and John exists. I assume Paul will be more legalistic with highlights on grace, and John the opposite. We will take a look at their audience too, as that is important to differentiate their views. It will be necessary to give a background on Hellenistic culture and Middle Eastern Jewish culture of the time and Roman law.

Called by God to be Small: From Saul to Paul - the conversion and sanctification of a soul. We often look at the Epistles of St. Paul as independent pieces that provide instruction on set of Christian principles. However, the letters also were personal. They contain the emotion and the relationship of Paul to a variety of churches and friends. IF we read Acts, Romans, and the letters in Chronological order- what do they reveal about the man who Paul is? Can we see development in his thoughts, his faith and philosophy? Do the epistles reflect an un-yielding and fully formed interpretation of Christ, or do they present the full spectrum - a natural progression of sanctification? Key points of discovery:
-Roman and Jewish Citizenship
-Romans: Law verse Grace - struggles of the mind
-Ephesians: Mature behavior - "knowing" versus advising
-"Thorn in my side" - perpetual struggles
-Timothy - reflections, advice, imprisonment.

The Bride of Christ: Romancing a Masculine God. Our culture has a strong apprehension for homo-erotic influences in our society. Yet in our own Christian walk, as men we are called to be the Bride of Christ. This is perhaps the only and the most ignored precept of our faith. Let us explore these scriptural mandates in both instruction and parable and see the full extent of the phrase. We will use standard scriptural references to brides throughout the OT and NT and use them as a reference point to model our own relationship with Jesus. We will learn to see the strength in the role of the bride and hopefully respect our own wives moreso. We will review the types of love:brotherly, romantic, and godly and apply it to our own relationship with God. We will look at the idea of submission and of sacrifice. We will explore Proverbs 31 and apply it to our mandate for having a mission based life on earth. We will discuss the masculine concept of God and challenge it ("in His image He made them male and female"). We will also explore the following concepts: spiritual adultery, spiritual divorce, Jesus as head of household, etc. This class could be for married men only or open to all. Perhaps reserved only for students who have demonstrated a strong fundamental relationship with Christ and understanding of basic Christian doctrine.

If I taught a Bible College Class..or 3

A complete study of Proverbs 31 - .
I think that too many studies try and "force fit" a "virtuous" woman profile and ignore the relationship implied and directly stated between a husband and wife. In addition to the Proverb I would explore other well known marriage scriptures, discuss the Ancient Jewish, Historic Jewish, and Greek concepts of marriage and spousal roles, and we would explore the relationship between mother and son.

1. The first classes would be spent on identifying the origin of the proverb, the purpose of proverbs and the reliability of their wisdom. We would also take a cursory look at the first proverbs and Genesis - to properly identify the original role of God, man and woman. We will also discuss what has happened to humanity and the Jewish people up to this point. And we will explore how the proverbs were used in OT and how we use them today.
2. The origins of the proverb will center on two main theories: 1. Bathsheba writing to Solomon (Lemuel being 1 of the many names ascribed to Solomon) 2. King Muel of Massa (a northern Jewish/Arabic territory: And we will explore how the unknown answer is great because we can then get multiple nuggets of wisdom from a variety of perspectives.
3. We will spend the remainder of classes looking at Explicit and Implicit relationships and wisdom contained within the proverb.
4. If the class is done right then the student will have an deeper appreciation for NT scriptures which talk about submission, gender roles, and marriage.

Basis for the Bible: .
The course is meant to be highly metaphysical and ontological - only briefly touching on the historicity of the book. The course will lay an apologetic framework that believers can use in their discussions with non-believers. We will begin with a discussion on Truth and the moral perspective of Truth. Each student will be challenged to define their own belief in what is True and what is Truth and they will be expected to demonstrate growth in their ability to discern between the two. The concepts of Infallibility and Inerrant will be explored. We will explore why the modern evangelical movement has grappled with these concepts and ask the question "Is it Biblical to believe the Bible is in fact infallible and inerrant?" We will then take this discussion and revisit True versus Truth. Some time will be spent on Original Authorship versus Translation Texts. The second half of the class will be spent looking at the Resolution (purpose for) and the Relevance (current practical need of) the Bible. We will look at the main contentions of the Bible's Purpose (this is not purposed to look at secular reasons for the Bible, but rather pursue "God's" Purpose for the Bible). We will also explore the relevance of the Bible today and how to demonstrate that relevance to a non- Christian.

1. The class will rely highly on logic and critical thinking.
2. An assumption that the student is saved and that their desire for the class is to enhance their ability to share the gospel with others
3. The student is expected to be able to bring their own testimony to the table and must be willing to share.
4. THIS CLASS WOULD NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR A NON-BELIEVER or someone who is not deeply rooted in their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and his word.
5. A cursory understanding of atheism, Islam, and secular agnosticism would be helpful (but not needed).

Spiritual Masochism:.
Looking at the lives of Adam, Jacob, Daniel, Jesus, and Paul we will attempt to bring balance to the Christian life. Our focus will be on exploring the real balance between persecution and perseverance. In reviewing the lives of the Patriarchs, Jesus, and the Apostles we will build a basis for what it means today. Our attempt will be to balance the need for "Law" with a healthy understanding of Grace, Joy, and "right mindedness". The key scripture will be "My yolk is easy and my burden is light" - we are going to put this to the test and compare this one scripture to advice given by Paul and the experiences of Jesus and the Apostles. It will be my personal goal to

1. Demonstrate that the level of your personal adversity IS NOT equivalent to your level of spiritual sanctification
2. Identify the sources of adversity and enlighten the student that not all adversity comes from demonic/satanic sources, but also our personal sin, God's glory, and other sources.
3. Abolish the idea that a full life in Christ means that the individual must not have any material or emotional Joy

Christmas 2010

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all...

Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a savior who is Christ the Lord.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men...

Merry Christmas, may your soul have rest and your yoke be light.

And the World Waits

And the world waits...


Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.



If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me… I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Being Beautiful

it never took much to be beautiful.

It takes a smile and some effort to comb your hair and scrub your cheeks. but most of all, it takes love.

Smile at people. Hug them. Listen and let them speak for hours, without saying a word. Be confident in your own happiness and share it with others. Encourage others to be ok with being happy. Look people in the eyes and make sure to look for the warmth in their eyes.

Touch people. Touch their shoulder while they are talking to you. Get in close and smell them - even if they smell bad, purify them in your mind and make them smell more beautiful than roses.

Love them deeply - even if it will rock their boat because they have never been loved deeply before. Without any desire of romance, regardless of gender, just purely and in an agape fashion, connect and Love Deep....

Let each individual that you meet know that they are sincerely valued by you, important to you, and most of all treasured by your God.

Control your emotion. Control your connection. Be a leader, and teach people how to handle a true relationship.

In English, our word "love" is limited - so for most of us, we reserve it for our immediate families and our romantic partners.

I tell my friends (men and women) that I miss them and I love them. They know the difference between that love and the love that I share with my wife, my siblings, and my parents....

But they know that it is Love.

Loving others makes you beautiful and attractive - and in the process you will be doing some good.

Same Sex Unions, ooof

I am upset that the debate on same sex marriage even exists! Marriage should be an institution left to the church - not government! The government should never have provided unfair advantage for married couples versus others in the first place. Since we live in a country with a strong culture of "fairness" and "equality" - we have a mandate to provide equal opportunities, services and advantage to other union types. By allowing the unequal treatment of people to persist we risk too much - Constitutional integrity is at risk. By allowing government to define "marriage" we have opened the door to something that we can never shut again. oof!

Waiting on Sophia

Sitting up late tonight
Everything is going so right, but I'm feeling just a little bit outside
I listened to the laughter of a little girl playing
I hugged my wife and listened to her breathe

In another world
there lives another little girl, her life became a hurricane swirl
I feel her kicking and I am praying
It's just her mother that she hopes to see

Heartache mixed with joy
the Kingdom plays with broken toys
And all of us angels, we just fly along

Laughter mixed with tears
All the Saints have disappeared
We turn off our tv's and go back to singing our songs.

Talking with Jesus tonight
thank you for my comfortable life, but I'm feeling just a little bit outside
I listened to the dancing of my little girl kicking
I kissed my wife and got down on my knees

Lord I feel

Heartache mixed with joy
the Kingdom plays with broken toys
And all of us angels, we just fly along

Laughter mixed with tears
All the Saints have disappeared
We turn off our tv's and go back to singing our songs.

I close my eyes to dream
I see families as they weep, their children are buried too deep
I felt my daughter dancing
I hugged my wife and drifted off to sleep

Miscegenation

Main Entry: mis·ce·ge·na·tion
Pronunciation: ..(?)mi-?se-j?-,,n,,-sh?n, ?mi-si-j?-,,n,,-..
Function: noun
Etymology: irregular from Latin misc,,re to mix + genus race — more at mix, kin
Date: 1863
: a mixture of races; especially : marriage, cohabitation, or sexual intercourse between a white person and a member of another race
— mis·ce·ge·na·tion·al ..-shn?l, -sh?-n?l.. adjective

I have a lot of "Odin" worshipping friends... new odinists... one of their cultural beliefs is to not mix via marriage or intercourse with other races... they are a shamanistic belief system, where they believe that Gods are region specific... therefore, if you are from Norway, the Gods of that region take care of you. If you are from Kenya, the Kenyan Gods take care of you. Black with Black, white with white, yellow with yellow... you get the picture.

This is a valid belief, not tainted with hate and predjudice, nor lacking in morality -- it is akin to the Japanese belief that civilized Japanese should not marry barbaric "other" races. Cultures should be encouraged to have a variety of perspectives and beliefs...it is healthier for our population.

However, three things pop into my mind: 1. Modern Neo-Odinic sub-Cultures often warp this thinking into hate filled, ethnic clensing type behavior, 2. Original Icelandic, Norwegian, and Scandanavian Cultures PROMOTED intermarriage, and co-mingling. 3. Modern day science shows that inter-racial mixing is healthier for the child (hybrid vigor ring a bell?).


1. I don't really need to get into an indepth discussion on Neo Nazism....or Aryan discussions... we all know the hype. Fact is a majority of New Odinists do NOT ascribe to hate and violence, and prefer to just be with their own kind...but there is a significant amount of others within their clans that remind me of radical islamists and fundamental christians. So as a universal rule, it seems none of our religions can keep the bad apples out... grrr...

2. If one does and anthropologic study of the Nordic regions, they will find a lot of research scientific, in the literature, and in the architecture - in the economy, the cultural practices (like drinking of mead), and in the beliefs that CLEARY PROVE that the humans who ended up living in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, East Russia, etc. were the resultant children of a 1,300+ years of migration, intercultural mixing, and on and on. FACT... the Aryan race was not white, blue eyed, and blond... they were a mix of Caucasoid, and Indo Dravid... (meaning they came from Africa, through India, into Europe and made several stops along the way). The literature suggests that even later on, the culture of the Vikings, promoted the taking of wives and children from conquered lands.

No where, from start to present, is there a clear indication that the original culture or the culture post Christian invasion, ever sought to be separatists....truly this idea of culture preservation is a NEW THINKING from the 60's and 70's -- what is at the heart of it, I don't know... maybe hate, maybe fear, maybe a desire just to preserve the past and take it into the future. (Only active dialog will tell, so far most of the people I have spoken with don't know themselves... they only seem to recite garble that they were told by their spiritual leaders - just like most of modern day christiandom, where the average Christian doesn't know what "grace" is, just the fact that they are "saved by it"...

The languages spoken, the genetic code of the people, the practices all stem from an Indo-Africaans back ground... yup, nearly all vikings are BLACK on the inside... bet you didn't guess that one. The shamanistic belief structure can be traced back through Vedic India into Proto-Mesapotamic Africa. Genetic tracing demonstrates that most people from modern day Scandanavia to as far south as the Czec Republic and Hungary share IDENTICAL Genetic markings as their African counterparts including: bone structure in spine, legs, arms, rib cage and jaw, blood types and illnesses, teethshape, and mitochondrial DNA...

In addition, the cultural practices, Hearth Fires, Drinking of Mead, Celebrating Past Victories, Attacking Tribes for any of a number of reasons, are almost identical between the practices of the peoples in Coastal Africa and the Nordic Peoples... even the way that they made their boats, structured their economy (typically with women in leading political roles), and their languages share common phonetic structures not found anywhere else....

3. Modern Biology has shown that hybrid vigor, i.e. the mixing of diverse sub species of human (i.e. races) results in children that are healthier, more prone to conception (more attractive), more intelligent, and stronger, than either of the parent race. 90% of the time the progeny have the "best" traits (the dominant ones)...

It has been demonstrated that a majority of the recessive traits :propogated during trans migration... with no one else to concieve with the tribes migrating from Africa to the north of Europe, were forced to, yup, inbreed... leading to whiter skin, lighter eyes, blonder more straight hair, thinner bones, more dry skin, smaller breasts and butts, weaker thyroid glands, weaker nails... etc.

So my point is:

While many of the new odinic rite may be trying to preserve culture, and prevent dilution of their peope and beliefs... they may in fact be leading themselves closer and closer into genetic and cultural repression. If this is the case, rather than rising up out of the milue, they run the risk of falling ever into the back drop - like an endangered species.

So while I applaud their desire to preserve -- I must ask, is it healthy? Is it worth the risk? I know that other cultures have tried - despite the odds... native americans, Jewish people, Japanese, heck even the Chaldeans at a point went the route of being isolationsist.... but all have withered away... or ultimately found a way to mix in with Global populations...

I hope, for what it is worth, that this new rising of a pre-modern culture will not go the way of the Amish, the Aztec, or the Atlantian, but rather find a healthy nich in which it can prosper and contribute back to the diaspora of human civilization.

I for one, want to read more about this people, beyond Lief Erricson, Eric the Red, Odin, Thor, and Wulfgar... there must be more than Denmark... (had to throw in that reference...)

Good luck in staving off Miscengenation...however, it may very well be the downfall of your culture....

Advice For the Reader

God has given me a wonderful life....lots of interesting experiences.

I want to write them here, but I am afraid what I would write, intended for praise, would be seen as boasting... so, I will just be content in being thankful for my blessings....

My advice:

learn to talk with God
maximize the body, mind, and soul that he has given you
don't eat too much, don't focus on food at all...
relax
point your every thought to god, as if in conversation, and you will make better decisions and be less stressed
love people - even the ugly ones, the fat ones, the mean ones, the selfish ones....

BIG LESSONS:
1. We have no free will
2. People act and react based on their level of happiness and or pain
3. Happiness is inversly correlated to Selfishness
4. Love is a choice - it requires sacrifice
5. Don't try to use your own mind to solve problems, seek God and the counsel of lots of other people older than you.


HOW TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS:

do not be original, copy those who are better than you, improve upon those who have good ideas, always surround yourself with people that are older than you, smarter than you, and more liked than you (trust me, it rubs off).

One of my best friends is about 15 years older than me, he has been married (happily) for a LOOOONG time, has 5 kids, a great house, has spent his entire career in my industry, loves God, has a better understanding of polymers and engineering than I do, and has a good understanding of who he is...

I have watched him sooooo closely....how he thinks, prays, talks with his wife, does his business, manages his kids....fix his car, handle emergencies....and I have learned his dreams and goals...

By being around him, he has "rubbed off on me"... he is one of many people like that in my life.

OH AND LEARN TO PRAY. PRAY ALL THE TIME FOR EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE....it works.

Does Evil Exist, author unknown

A university professor challenged his students with this question. Did God create everything that exists?
A student bravely replied yes, he did!"
"God created everything?" The professor asked.
"Yes, sir," the student replied.

The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are then God is evil."
The student became quiet before such an answer.

The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question professor?" "Of course", replied the professor. The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?" The students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Everybody and every object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (- 460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have too little heat.

The student continued. "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does".

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor. "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. "These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love, that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

Sleeping on a Lotus Petal

The days seem to be blurring together. Sunrise and sunset, still yielding to the hope of new adventures. I remember being in love, and loving deeply. And yet I could not then, fathom the depth of love that is shared with my wife. In love, I found sacrifice. I found something more enjoyable than surface romance.

Old friendships are never lost, sometimes forgotten, but never lost. They wait, like all things wait, to be remembered, to be valued. Taken off the shelf and repolished, old friendships are shining brilliant with the newness of life - love lost, life born, unemployed, re-employed, and of course, the sizzle of bacon... mmm bacon.

The myriad of colors that blur my sight and give me a headache at the same time scream out the proclamation of God. God IS. And although I am not - a nothingness, a speck on the dust cloth of creation, I AM at the same time a drop of life, cusp on the edge of a tear and destined to be transformed into the fingerprint of a snowflake.

I am allergic to cats. And I detest yogurt. But like the armadillo and platypus, both cats and yogurt remain enigmatic to me. Why would God allow for their existence? How can humanity co-exist with such things?

In the stream of conciousness - that process of wakefulness which robs us of our individuality, our purpose, and our identity, we must try to remember our dreams. Why have we so easily yielded our dreams and our hopes to the idle distractions of life and living? Careers, cubicles, car payments, chineese food. Hopeless, heart-breaking, hellish, haikus. All leading to a shallow diaspora - a microscopic fragile film that we call life.

I implore you, alas if you have read this far, then I apologise as well. I implore you to seek the solitude of your soul and reach for the truth of your life. Your life has meaning. You are deeply loved. If all in this world is fleeting, then hold fast to love. For love is infinite. Love is a driving force capable of up-ending the universe and kicking it in the rump ( much needed at times).

YOU ARE DEEPLY LOVED, and you have exquisite power to love others... to love strangers. Those trapped in the wakefulness of life. A smile, an ear, a soft hand on the shoulder. A hug, a kiss, a nudge in the right direction.

Be noble not for nobility's sake, or for the glory of being seen, but rather allow your demeanor to evolve from the love you share with others, even when others are not capable of seeing.

Love. Love and sleep. Dream among the clouds and lotus. Swim among the stream of humanity. Touch all the earth with your hands and toes. Smell the salty air. Gaze upon stars and encourage others to do the same.

For what is the best hallmark of humanity and civilization? It is not gleaming towers of glass and steel. Nor is it an Xbox and wii... it is love.

Simple Truth

You are loved deeply. If you haven't heard the words or felt the touch of love, then you are not listening to the right music nor holding the right hands.

Noone should die thinking that love is far away. Love is here -- always.

It is whispered in your ears all the time, all day long. Learn to cancel out the noise of a distracting life, and learn to feel loved.

Love others and you will find peace, rest, and sanctuary.

New Year

No one is perfect. We all have fear, we all have pride. We all make mistakes. I have lied, cheated, and hurt many people. Many people have lied, cheated, and hurt me.

Life happens. We choose to feel hurt and angry. And we choose to feel joy and hope.

We all want to be better people, honorable, kind, just, good. In essence, most people want to be righteous. But in the light of our inadequacies, our failures, and over all let downs, we loose hope. Some people cry. Some get angry. Others run.

You are people who I have come to call my friend. Not because of your perfections, nor because of your imperfections, but rather because you hope for a good future - for yourselves and your children.

You try to understand things like faith. Faith in things greater than your self. Faith in the virtues and essences that drive your soul. Faith in your family, community, your people.

You believe in the connection that comes from your folk. Your community creates a sense of harmony, security, and joy. You have witnessed failure, heartbreak, dishonor, betrayal, and still you have poured yourselves into your community. Forgiving the faults of others, bridging peace, and learning to keep the flames of your small community alive.

Most of all you try to have a definition of Family, that transcends the ties of blood - into something more real: trust, loyalty, and love. You understand that real family is built by relationship. You implicitly realize that an unknowable love, exists in the tether of friendship, romance, and long endured time.

Family forgives. Family adapts. Family endures.

Life happens. It is how we deal with the choices before us, that determines the memories of our hearts, the songs of our lives, and the stories of our souls.

If any God exists, yours or mine, then let Him be honored by our ability to stay true to our beliefs... even when we are injured the most - especially when we are afraid, angry, and confused.

God, wants truth and relationship. You know this. The relationship with God is easy to mimic when we have no need of His wisdom and grace. But when times send us into places that are dark, angry, or sorrowful, it is our trust in His truth that truly defines our song.

I hope you are facing the New Year with hearts ready for new adventures, burdens, and Joy. I wish you peace and hope you honor your responsibilities to your community, to your children, to your God, and most of all to each other.


Always your friend, and always ready to listen,


Sidhartha
27 Dec 2007

My World View

This statement of my faith is not debatable, meaning that I do not enter into argument/debate over these issues. My focus is fellowship with the Father and the Son, and then with YOU as an outflow of that fellowship (1 John 1:1-4). I am not focused on convincing others of the correctness of my views. -It took me 38 years...but I will debate with you your beliefs, until you concretely tell me what you believe - and why.

I BELIEVE the only true basis of Christian fellowship is Christ's ("agape") love, which is greater than any differences we possess, and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians.

I BELIEVE worship of God should be spiritual. Therefore, I remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct my worship.

I BELIEVE worship of God should be inspirational. Therefore, I give great place to music in my worship.

I BELIEVE worship of God should be intelligent. Therefore, I place great emphasis upon the teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct me how He should be worshiped.

I BELIEVE worship of God should be fruitful. Therefore, I accept reality as His love in my life and my recognition of this perspective as the supreme manifestation that I am truly worshiping Him.

I BELIEVE in all the fundamental doctrines of orthodox evangelical Christianity.

I BELIEVE in the inerrancy of Scripture, that the Bible, Old and New Testaments, is the inspired, infallible Word of God.

I BELIEVE in the trinity - one God eternally existent in three separate persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I BELIEVE that God the Father is the personal, transcendent, and sovereign Creator of all things.

I BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, provided for the atonement of our sins by His vicarious death on the cross, was bodily resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, ascended back to the right hand of God the Father, and ever lives to make intercession for us.

I BELIEVE that after Jesus ascended to Heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem, enabling them to fulfill His command to be His witnesses in the entire world, a responsibility shared by all believers today.

I BELIEVE that all people are by nature separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord, trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit. All his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a child of God destined to spend eternity with the Lord.

I BELIEVE in the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures, and that they are valid for today if they are exercised within the scriptural guidelines. I covet the best gifts, seeking to exercise them in love that the whole Body of Christ might be edified. I believe that love is more important than the most spectacular gifts, and without this love all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.

I BELIEVE that church government should be simplistic rather than a complex bureaucracy, and I depend on the Holy Spirit to lead, rather than on fleshly promotion.

I AWAIT the pre-tribulation rapture of the church and I believe that the second coming of Christ with His saints to rule on earth will be personal, pre-millennial, and visible. This motivates me to holy living, heartfelt worship, committed service, diligent study of God's Word, regular fellowship, and participation in adult baptism by immersion and Holy Communion. (I was baptized as an adult the day prior to my marriage, for how could I be ready to be married to my wife, if I could not first be married to God?)

I SEEK to teach the Word of God in such a way that its message can be applied to an individual's life, leading that person to greater maturity in Christ.

I REJECT: (1) The belief that true Christians can be demon possessed. (2) "Five point Calvinism" (i.e., a fatalistic Calvinistic view that leaves no room for free will. Specifically, I reject the belief that Jesus' atonement was limited, instead I believe that He died for all people, and I reject the assertion that God's wooing grace cannot be resisted or that He has elected some people to go to hell. Instead, I believe that anyone who wills to come to Christ may do so). I REJECT (3) "Positive confession" (the faith movement belief that God can be commanded to heal or work miracles according to man's will). (4) Human prophecy that supersedes the Scripture. (5) The incorporation of humanistic and secular psychology and philosophy into Biblical teaching, and (6) the over-emphasis of spiritual gifts or experiential signs and wonders to the exclusion of Biblical teaching.
So there you have it. Now tell me, what do you believe?