Category: Ministry

On Calvinism

We're nothing without Grace. We need God's power in order to do good. We can make distinctions about what "Choice" means, but God foreknew what our choices would be. He sealed us according to His predestined election of grace. That's not to say that man has no choice--in fact, pure free will and pure determinism both can exist in accordance with each other--God's divine knowledge is omniscience. He knows everything, and every choice we're going to make. So, He predestined us according to divine election. 

However, "Once saved always saved" is also not true. There's people who taste of Spiritual Fruits and fall away, and they can never be reconciled. There are those who are written into the book of life, and are then again blotted out. There's also lost sheep and prodigal sons, who being blotted out, can be written back into the Book of Life.

But, God knows who that is, already. It's just our desire, to ask and fear God enough to write our names, and seal us, and predestine us. And to him who knocks, it shall be answered.

Which gets to total depravity. We have no power to be good, in of ourselves. Only the situations God creates can keep us out of hell. We'd be steamrolled by Satan if God didn't restrain Him. So, all our righteousness proceeds from Grace, and nothing else. And through our understanding of Christ's teachings, we move closer to Him, but through loss of desire for fear, we lose our reward. But, God knows beforehand who those who walk with Him in truth are.

So... it's hard to say. It's beyond our own understanding, but truthfully, as light and shadow exist, so does free will and determinism.

Is Man Good?

I think Solomon answered it perfectly. “Man was made upright, but he sought out many devices.”

The chapter of Genesis, “God saw all that He created, and He said, “It is Good.”

But, then you have that verse in Genesis also, that God repented of making man, and was sorrowed that He created us.

So… is humanity inherently good? The answer to that is God created us good, but our hearts are led astray by the deception of worldly gain, and factionism, and covetousness, and when God destroyed the Earth with the flood—some people say that was out of line—but all archeological evidence, shows these people were nuts. They were decorating their houses with human remains, and using blood as an ingredient in paint, and if any remnants of Egypt are shown, they also probably did necrophilia and other gross and abnormal things. And there was probably anarchy, too.

So, God was just in destroying the world.

Then you may say, “Well God told Israel to destroy Canaan.” Well, again… Canaanites, all those sins listed in Deuteronomy, they did. They ate their own babies, they had sex with animals, they murdered and raped with impunity their neighbors… so God used Israel to destroy them. As that was their religion, was practicing gross and evil things.

So… during Rome and Greece, men had sex with children, they had full blown sex on stages with actors, they murdered people on stages, they had people kill each other in gladiatorial arenas, at the end they had emperors changing their gender through gender operations, and were marrying their horses… that same emperor I’m thinking about managed to kill a host of party guests with rose petals of all things.

So… is humanity good? You decide. This doesn’t look good.

And when Humans made their first laws, there’s some argument to be made that God had a hand in it, that He directly inspired Abraham and in Mesopotamia we see the Torah some of its laws there in the codexes. And of course we have the Stone Tablet written by God’s hand, and we have Christ Jesus giving us divine statutes when He came in the Flesh, and He lived an example for us to follow, and knowing we couldn’t, He died on a Roman Cross and raised, so we could accomplish what little we could with His grace.

So, I’d say aspects of Confucianism were inspired by artefacts of the original Abrahamic Faith, which you find remnants and traces in China excerpts from the book of Genesis. And also references to their stories in their written characters.

So, I’d say God is very real. And God gave us direct command and spoke through His prophets, and twice gave us direct guidance in the form of the Ten Commandments and of course Christ Himself taught and lived.

So, I’d say man has potential to be good. Like Solomon said, man was made upright, but he sought out many sinful things.

A YouTube Comment

Better to end up in a psych ward, and be stigmatized, than become a beast. You need to do what's right in all circumstances. Even if it means sacrificing your own comfort.

It's better to be lowly and humble, than be a bad person. Great men and selfish men are destroyers. A compassionate man cannot be. He doesn't have it within himself. Nor does a man who keeps to his work, and silently does his job, and lives with full identity in Christ Jesus.

Because we need Christ's teachings to be wise, and know how to do good. We need to let go of our sin, and let go of our hatred for others. We need to forgive. If we don't, we'll become the beast. If we hold onto violence, vengeance and anger, we'll become the thing we despise.

I'd rather not become that, but rather use Christ as a shield, and His teachings as a parable, to help me grow in my faith, and be a better person, so I don't become the thing I fear becoming.

Because you need to give all you have and longsuffer. There is no sin in patience. There is sin in greed.

Christ is preeminent, and I'll prove it. By being a better person for it, and keeping myself pure and humble, and unstained by the world. When people look at my life in the future, they'll see a harmless man convicted by Christ, not a man of the world, coveting it. That's if they even remember me at all, which my memory can perish, I'll choose Christ Jesus in the land of Milk and Honey.

On Jordan Peterson

"You become a marionette" and are "harmless", that's kind of the definition of Meek. If he truly understood the Gospel, he'd realize the Meek are those who are saved. Those who are led around by a rope, and are two ton animals who could pull you anywhere if they just understood it, but they simply cannot. Jordan is a quintessential goat, leading sheep around the pasture, and butting them for the food in their stall. Sheep are shy animals, and only respond to the Shepherd's voice. No one else's. But they do follow around the goats sometimes, and take part in their mischief. What Jesus says about the Sheep and Goats, "They feed the homeless, they clothe the naked, they visit the widow, they visit the prisoner, they visit the sick." I got to say that's my religion... is compassion. Jordan's religion is like the Nietzsche version of Christianity. It's like a Greco-Hellenized version of Christianity, which isn't the right way of understanding it.

Philosophical Musing

Success is a crapshoot. So, if you have fortune, accept it, know it isn’t guaranteed, even by hard work or effort. You could be a Grandmaster, and live in penury, and be an amateur and a rich man.

So, if you have food, if you have shelter, and you have good friends, this is what life consists of. Don’t go looking for fortune, for as many as find fortune, there are one hundred men who cannot. Though seeking it day and night, they will never attain, and it would be better for them to work their measly day’s bread, than seek it.

If we desire fortunes beyond our scope, or to get rich, it can happen, but only with much effort, and tireless work. From morning until evening, work, and when the sun goes down, eat your heavenly bread, given to you by God. Yet, even then, there are men who work to the bone, and cannot attain riches enough for a square meal.

Therefore, understand this fact. Do not shirk work, or try to get rich through small efforts. The effort must be great, and the expectation small. For, a good meal, with spices, a loyal wife and your children of youth, and drink in your cup whenever you desire it… sweet drinks whenever you wish, and the cane sugar and the salt, and the spices, and daily meat… with wisdom and with charity... there is no better life than this. Do not seek beyond it.

Therefore, gather what you have before building the house, and do not enjoy the fruits of labor, until the task is done. And if your labor is wisdom and knowledge! Oh, what vexation! For the peoples do not love it, therefore you may be poor, or you may be rich. Keep to the task and know there is an end to all wisdom. When you have found it, you ought to look at the day laborer, and see there is a rich inheritance given by fathers, to work and have strong body, and be fed by the produce of the ground.

The Sword in Christianity

“So that it may be fulfilled, that I was surrounded by transgressors.” And then Peter said, “We have two swords,” and Christ said, “It’s enough.” And when Peter used it, Christ said, “If I willed it, I could command twelve legions of angels to come to my defense.” And when Peter struck the man’s ear off, Jesus healed him.

I don’t think that’s what that means, is that we need to go around like the wild West, initiating combat with people. The point being, the Apostles were sinners, and were called while being themselves chief transgressors. It was a testament for our salvation, that Christ was called to the transgressor, and those who’ve sinned, not to the self righteous. It’s not a call to sin. That’s a bad interpretation. Christ does not say that we’re allowed to sin, nor does He want unlawful combat. He also says, “If you slay with the sword, you must die by the sword. If you lead into captivity, you must be led into captivity.” Christ is clear, we’re not to kill with the sword. Rather, those who He surrounded Himself with, were all sinners, thieves, robbers, liars and scoundrels. Those are who he called, to be made righteous, and repent, and to cleave to Him.

Life’s Not a Game

 Life's not a game. So many people are forced to lose in this life, it's not even fair. {}. Like, you think about it, this is why there's Law. Because any thief, murderer or corrupt person could force you into a loss. And also why there's grace, because everyone makes bad moves in life. So, really, the judgment of God determines really what the outcome of man is. But, if there's no justice, there can be no peace, as those who have power, can ultimately stifle everyone who doesn't, by rigging the rules of the game. This is why the Bible's so brilliant, in that it's God's law, and that gives everyone a perfectly balanced Law, that destroys the corrupt and evil doer, and saves those whom God chooses. And considering that we're all wicked evildoers, God gives us power to call upon Him, and thereby be saved from this unfair life.