Beautiful Phrases of the Bible #4

Matthew 6:28-30: And why take ye thought of raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you. That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast unto the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

What makes this phrase beautiful are the words, "Consider the lilies of the field ..." as they are beautiful words that elicit detailed imagery. The analogy is precious and pierces even the most troubled soul. Proof of this beauty is the 1963 film named for this bible verse where Sidney Poitier won the Oscar for best Actor. The Lord knows the power of symbology and this verse exemplifies it and glories him.

Beautiful Phrases of the Bible #2 & #3

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

James2:18 Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

How beautiful are these two scriptures, especially when considered in light of each other. To say that we have faith is worth little if our actions do not prove that we have faith. We must act on what we believe in order to know that we have faith.

In the beginning of the Book of James, it says that the trying of our faith brings patience. Interesting in light of the first Beautiful phrase that my brother started with in #1.

Beautiful Phrases of the Bible #1

Certain phrases in the bible strike deeply at the core of your being... they have an unmatched eloquence and depth that inspires you.  This is when words become more than words.  They begin to take on a life of their own, firing unexpected neurons in a chain of discovery...

James 1:4 - "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

This anthropomorphic interpretation of patience is stunning in its direct simplicity.  The idea that patience requires an active investment, patience strives just as we strive, patience seeks its own perfection.  "LET patience have her perfect work..."  Beseeching you to do what you would not ordinarily do ... give in to your better nature that asks you to persevere during suffering, to continue with a fruitful life while you push through hardship, to overcome.  The summation of the sentence is buddhist and zen-like in its exhortation against greed.  Patience, that being within yourself ("her"), works as a counter-weight against the natural lusts that flesh is heir to.  Let patience be your guide, your strength against those wants that resurface time and time again.  Let patience be something for which you deliver time to.  Something which you work for.  Deliver her your perfect work.  Then you will be fulfilled in your entirety.  You will be entire.  Beautiful.

The Successful Person's Motivation Matrix

After reading Proverbs 30:12 that says, "There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness." We began to ponder the reasons for the current "entitlement generation". Why would people live a creed that says, "I work just enough to ..." or even worse, "I will only work if ..."

While we intuitively feel that such "half-stepping" equates to "half-living"... we wanted to discover what were the factors that motivate us to consider work to be the "staple of life". Why would we accept a daily "work commitment" in the sense that every day we commit to work, to expend energy with purpose?

Our answer was the successful person's motivation matrix as pictured on the right. The matrix is similar to the famous Gartner "magic quadrant" that it uses to evaluate software products. Each quadrant is a position along two axes. In our case of motivation the axes are sustainment and power. By sustainment we mean how long does the motivation sustain effort. And by power we mean the intensity of the feelings involved. Thus, the highest form of motivation is love in terms of both sustainment and power. The lowest form of motivation is pleasure which of course is a motivation but most people do not realize that it is both transient and provides diminishing returns. The act of creating or expressing yourself creatively is another motivation that sustains many people for entire careers. Joy is a byproduct of effort often derived from the building of strong, healthy relationships. And now back to Love, which is by far the most powerful and longest sustaining motivation of all. It is these "higher motivatios" that drive us to easily and willing give that "daily work commitment". To understand that work is good, work is prayer and work is the staple of life.

It is our sincere hope that all of the young people in our lives will consider these motivations and make that daily work commitment towards a life of success!

Blasphemychallenge.com

Matthew 12:30
30He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 31Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. 33Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

As my brother had mentioned in his last blog post, Blasphemychallenge.com is here. The scripture from the Book of Matthew is where they are quoting scripture and then apparently attempting to prove that they can do this and not be forgiven.

We are seeing people who think that they can blasphemy the Holy Spirit. There are those that think by refusing, denying, speaking against, etc., the Holy Spirit, you can blasphemy the Holy Spirit.

If you read the context of the scriptures surrounding this passage, it becomes clear to me that there is an apparent understanding that needs to exist prior to the act of blasphemy that needs to occur. As we should be aware, to blasphemy something takes the knowledge and understanding of the thing that is being considered to blasphemy. Therefore, since it seems the majority of these people have not read the Bible, and have not had any apparent understanding or relationship with the Holy Spirit, then how can there be a true understanding of how to then blaspheme the Holy Spirit.

Would you speak about your opinion of a movie before you watched it?
Would you give alot of credence to a person's opinion of a movie if they didn't watch it?

Can you blaspheme something without even knowing if it is real?

I believe the understanding of it is a prerequisite for being able to blasphemy it! I also believe that there is ample other scripture surrounding this text of scripture that clearly should reveal to anyone sincerely looking that the "fruits of your tree", the way you act, clearly showns whether you are pro-Christ or anti-Christ, there is no middle ground. So, whether these people are trying to go against God, but it does not need a verbal blasphemy in order to accomplish this, but rather just a close look of your character and actions as to whether you are on the right path or not.

Should you believe in a Spirit?

In our last week's bible study, Joe and I discussed the blasphemychallenge.com project where people (mostly young kids) are stating that they deny the holy spirit (and our thus "damned to hell" as literally read from Mark 3:29). Interesting how a counter website quickly sprang up called challengeblasphemy.com. I have linked to both websites so you can make up your own mind. It saddens me to hear and see young kids, denying the holy spirit because I wonder if they really know what they are denying. Do these kids even know about the great psychologists like Carl Jung (universal archetypes and a collective unconscious) and Viktor Frankl (the unconscious God) that have expressed similar concepts to a holy spirit? Another ramification of this is to consider whether denying a holy spirit implies denying your own spirit.

So, should you believe in a Spirit?
A simplistic view of this would be to ask if you believe in anything beyond the physical world? However, this may be overly simplistic in that clearly thoughts are beyond the physical yet may not be part of one's spirit. For my own take on this, I have always believed since I was in high school in the mystical nature of the number 3. In high school, I wrote a simple poem on Man's three sides - mind, body and spirit. Plato discussed a perfect society mirroring the three parts of being. From Wikipedia, "Plato, through the words of Socrates, asserts that societies have a tripartite class structure corresponding to the appetite/spirit/reason structure of the individual soul." Our government is founded on three parts of government: executive, judicial and legislative. Does this form any sort of proof? Of course not; it is just illustrative of a widespread belief that the nature of humanity is more than just physical.

Instead of trying to meet the very high bar required of a formal logical proof, let's examine a few concepts that could be considered evidence or indicators that a Spirit exists and that it is something that should not be denied. In fact, on the contrary, we believe even these basic indicators are strong enough that the concept of a spirit is something to actively promote for our own and other sake. Here are a few indicators for your consideration:

1. Conscience and Objective Truth - what is it in ourselves that makes us upset, guilty or depressed if we have done wrong? C.S. Lewis would claim it is our spirit's awareness of an objective truth that we have violated. The objective ability to denote right from wrong. Our sense of fairness and objectivity outside of our subjective viewpoint. How is this related to the mystery of dreams and the unconscious? How is this related to Jung's universal archetypes and the collective unconscious?
   
   So, do you believe in a conscience? In cartoons, this has been depicted as a little voice that whispers in your ear or a little person that sits on your shoulder.
   Most importantly, is it something from outside yourself?
   
2. Drive to Meaning and Transcendence - Abraham Maslow presented a hierarchy of needs that humans seek to satisfy. What makes us climb this hierarchy? Viktor Frankl presented a compelling case that what drives man is not sex (proffered by Freud) or power (proffered by Adler) but a search for meaning. Interestingly, meaning is often directly in conflict with biological comfort or evolutionary success (many offsprings). Thus is there a powerful drive outside of our physical drives?
   
3. Striving for the byproducts of Love and Joy - in direct contradiction to the United States Declaration of Independence, happiness cannot be pursued directly. That is because it is a byproduct. In that same manner, Love and Joy are also byproducts. You cannot get Love and Joy directly, they only come as spontaneous, indirect gifts as byproducts of other activities. They cannot be forced or taken. And the greatest gift, even among humans, is Love. Love cannot be taken by force. Love is not amenable to physical barbarism. Why do we strive for something that is not amenable to physical means of acquiring it? Is this also not obviously beyond the physical? In fact, is this not possibly the very thing that makes life so worth living?
   Surely, something you would not want to deny.

So, in closing, even if we cannot have strict scientific proofs of a Spirit or a connection to a higher or 'holy' spirit - I would argue that Spirit is the voltage of life. It is not the amperage, not the physical matter pushed through life. It is the voltage or the force that drives us to live life more abundantly.

So, yes, I do believe you should believe in a spirit. I do.

- Mike

Placing the Planks for a Foundation of Rock

Placing the Planks for a Foundation of Rock

After some significant discussion, my brother and I believe that it was necessary to take a steps back and make sure that we have set the appropriate foundation to continue our discussions on our topic, "Should You Believe? An objective view...". As previously mentioned, it stemmed from the readings in the New Testament book John where Jesus repeatedly performed miracles.

As a result, we have started to place "planks", or axioms that will be necessary to establish in order to continue on our journey of discovery into the Truth.

The axioms that we have came up with todate are:

1. A creation has a Creator.
2. A Creator is distinct from its creation.
3. A Creator creates a creation for a reason and with a purpose.

From these three axioms we will begin to develop the context that we can approach further issues and develop additional axioms from and with.

We would love to hear any comments about these three "planks", so please join in!
Joe

The Cusp: Miracles and direct intervention

As we work our way through the book of John - we arrive at John 11:44 where Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. Now things get tough on this blog...
Of course, you could say, "hey, Jesus performed miracles before this -- why stop here?"
Good question, this issue has surfaced multiple times in our readings and each time we discussed it and either agreed that we were not ready for the issue or stated that certain things require faith. But the issue keeps coming up in my mind - this time we chose not to gloss over it.
So, how do tackle such a major issue as to whether God would directly intervene in his/her creation?
In general, I tend to look for logical tools, judgement criteria and reason to analyze decisions.
Three logical tools seem to be exceptionally useful are:
1. Proof by contradiction. This is also known as reduction to absurdity. The idea is that you walk along logical causes and effects to a point where a contradiction occurs. Once you reach a contradiction, you can assert that the oppositte of the original hypothesis is true.
Here is a simple example from Wikipedia (linked to above):
The following dialogue is an example of reductio ad absurdum:
Mother - I don't want you getting a tattoo.
Son - Why not?
Mother - Because tattoos were used in the holocaust.
Son - Okay, I'll never ride a train again, or take a shower, be naked, or speak German.

2. Occam's Razor. A technique that states that the simpler of two hypothesis is usually the correct one. This boils down to a simplicity bias; however, we should keep in mind Einstein's corollary to this where he stated (paraphrase) "it should be as simple as possible, but no simpler".

3. Necessity. Necessity is a powerful judgement criteria on existence in relation to the principle that "nature abhors a vacuum." This also falls in line with necessity being the "mother of invention."

Given these three tools - how do we proceed. I have thought about this and at present only have a weak attempt using these three tools. Since it is better than nothing, here it is:

Question: Is physical intercession by God necessary? (use of Tool #3)
Hypothesis: Physical intercession, though rare, is necessary to be possible.

Attempt at a Proof by contradiction:
If physical intercession is not necessary then
mankind does not need physical intercession (aka miracles).
If mankind does not need external intercession then
mankind can only rely upon its own devices and knowledge, accrued by repeatable experience.
If mankind can only rely upon repeatable experience then
unpredictable things are bad and should be avoided.
If unpredictable things should be avoided then
innovation and serendipity, which are unpredictable, should be avoided. --> THIS IS ABSURD.

I admit that the above logical chain is far from perfect and I need to get better at determining the strength of an individual logical statement. Admitting that weakness, let's go forward with the opposite hypothesis since we proved it by contradiction.

If humans, at times, should be unpredictable then
a person should not attempt to predict everything.
If you cannot and should not predict everything then
you must hope the things you cannot predict turn out for the best.
In order to hope the unpredictable turns out for the best,
you trust in external forces outside yourself like goodwill, progress, innovation, etc.
Thus, taken to its logical (extrapolated) conclusion,
trust in external forces requires the possibility of physical intercession.
This affords us the most logical way to have hope that unpredictable things will turn out for the best.

However, using OCCAM'S RAZOR, we must be open to the possibility that there may be a simpler system of thought or belief that protects hope and unpredictability without resorting to supernatual intercession. In that, I believe we will be delving into the heart of physical and spiritual transcendence.

As of today, I believe the crux of transcendence and objective truth lie outside of what we normally consider "natural". Therefore, in the absence of a simpler explanation, I believe that miracles could be possible when necessary.

Comments are very welcome,

- Mike

Analysis of 'The God Delusion' - Preface and Chapter 1

Just purchased Richard Dawkins book, The God Delusion to examine his arguments for atheism. I strongly believe that God is "no shrinking violet" and therefore everyone's views (or your "map of the world") should be open to challenge, debate and discussion on these important subjects.

• Preface - Dawkins asserts that he will present "consciousness-raisers" like "atheism is a realistic aspiration", "the power of cranes such as natural selection", "proper understanding of the magnificence of the real world ... can fill the inspirational role that religion has historically - and inadequately - usurped", and "atheist pride."
  
  Atheists do not conform to authority :
  He states, "Indeed, organizing atheists has been compared to herding cats, because they tend to think independently and will not conform to authority." This is rather revealing in that it discloses that atheists believe in no objective authority other than themselves. It will be interesting to read his later chapter on how atheists can still be moral without believing in any objective, external authority. Of course, this "objective moral authority" is how C.S. Lewis begins "Mere Christianity". If humanity is the pinnacle, how do we avoid "might makes right" and the rise of "hitlers"? Would both of those not be the pinnacle of evolution? Would that not be prudent if "survival of the fittest" is the only driving principle behind all things? I wonder if Dawkins has not unwittingly exposed a fatal flaw in his "atheist pride" agenda -- Atheist cannot unite because there is no banner to unite under. Each is a ruler unto themselves and they must compete, adapt, and then compete again to overcome each other. Unity is impossible for a band of endlessly-competing, self-appointed monarchs.
  
• Chapter 1 - A Deeply Religious Non-Believer.
  I was disappointed in this chapter because Dawkins carefully narrows down his focus to exclude what he calls "Einsteinian Religion". Einstein believed in the God of Spinoza and not an intervening-God. Just because Einstein's God was not the God of the Old Testament does not diminish the fact that he is certainly NOT in Dawkins' camp. However, this subtle side-step implies that he is.
  This is disconcerting because Dawkins is not admitting that he is espousing an extreme position, one that Einstein did not share. Atheism is the polar opposite to fundamentalist theism. If we looked at this on a spectrum BOTH "one-way,our-way theism" and "no-way, only-us atheism" are both extreme positions at the very ends of the scale.
  
  Pg 14. Here Dawkins defines an atheist - "An atheist in this sense of philosophical naturalist is sombeody who believes there is nothing beyond the natural, physical world, no supernatural creative intelligence lurking behind the observable universe, no soul that outlasts the body and no miracles - except in the sense of natural phenomena that we don't yet understand."
  
  Clearly, Einstein thought differently for he did believe that a "supernatural intelligence" created the observable universe (as Spinoza did) but that this God as creator is not a personal, accessible God that intervenes. Dawkins calls this "Pantheism". My only assertions in this regard are two points:
  1. Einstein would not consider himself an atheist.
  2. Pantheism still holds a belief in the supernatural as that which "creates, guides, and dictates the natural". Think of it as the "DNA of the Universe". A master map, created by the master map-maker.
  
  Dawkins cop-out:
  "The God Delusion does not refer to the God of Einstein and the other enlightened scientists of the previous section." Why do I think this is a cop-out? Because, he does nothing to admit that atheism refutes these scientists beliefs too! Atheism is not open to "some belief in God". In fact, this could be Dawkins' entire point of this book to portray a "kinder, gentler atheist." Now, to be fair and look at this from Dawkins point of view - it is reasonable for him to paint a "main target". And as the Islamic Terrorists have so blatantly pointed out ... fundamentalist, "one-true-way, scientists-need-not-apply" religions can be psychologically, socially and physically dangerous.
  
  We agree - Priveledged status without good cause is wrong :
  He ends chapter 1 with a good discussion on how religions receive priveledged status in public discussions and with public institutions and this should not be the case. I agree with him. He brings up good examples and good arguments on illegal activities deemed legal because of "religious beliefs".
  

Positions against Fundamentalism

My brother and I have discussed this several times and agree that:
1. The Bible was not meant to be read literally. Instead, it was meant to be interpreted. In other words, it is divinely inspired not divinely dictated. For example, the creation story occuring in seven days does not mean that all of creation occured in seven days - frankly, that is missing the point. The key point revealed is that God created the heavens and earth. His method for doing that and his timeframe are illustrative not historical.
2. The Bible is not the only divinely inspired book. Clues, inspirations and insights into the revelation of divinity in the universe and within humanity would not be restricted to one book. Just as insights on any subject are not restricted to one person. I have done quite a few writing collaborations in my career and I can attest that many brains are better than one. God made it that way and would thus use the same principle in revealing its nature.
We will continue to accumulate position points in this blog and after a suitable number, consolidate them and move them to a permanent page.
Comments welcome ...

Practical Wisdom of the Bible

This seems to be a subjective issue, as what you will see below may be questionable as to its practicality in life. But if we reflect on this information, it seems all too practical to neglect and should have significant application to all aspects of life.

First seems to be the two Royal Commandments:
Love thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength and to Love thy neighbor as thyself. If we then turn to the Sermon on the Mount, we can get a deeper understanding of how this is to be applied to our life. In Matthew 5:20 Jesus sets the bar higher than ever before, to hate is to kill, to lust is to commit adultery. He elevates the thoughts of the mind to an area of sin, as thoughts are the prelude to physical sin.

In Luke 6 he goes on:
27But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 29And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. 30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 34And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

43For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 45A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

It seems obvious that we are meant to think before we act as what type of person we are shall be known by what we say and do. The Bible says, "Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to wrath." - another jewel.

Paul continually says that the battle is in the mind. It says that we are to think on,"Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things." Again, the battle is in the mind.

There seems to be much more practical wisdom in the Bible and above is just the beginning of the list. As the Lord opens my eyes to more realizations, I will add more to the list.

Understanding how "Should You Believe" works

In reading John chapter 5:29, we hear Jesus speaking about the resurrection of life and the final judgement. Again, here I find the question "Should you believe" so much more interesting than "Do You Believe". "Do you believe" belies a question of evidence. "Should you believe" belies a question of wisdom and prudence. One could make a case for the "final judgement" as an extension of the concept that you "Reap what you Sow" taken to its logical conclusion. Put in that context, the answer should be clear for those who think clearly: Yes, I am willing to be held accountable for my actions. Yes, I am willing to put forth my actions, words, and thoughts for all to see. Yes, character truly is what you are in the dark.
So, "Should you believe in the final judgement?" Yes.

Let Us be the Wise Man

The Bible's Proverbs and Psalms is all to clear that there are evil men among us that are lurking about waiting to entice us into thinking and doing what the standards of the Bible would consider morally questionable thoughts and actions.

It also seems evident that to be a Wise Man is to see the evil and avoid it
Proverbs 4:14Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away., nor to marvel at it Ecclesiastes5:8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

I believe that the determining factor as to whether you are a wise man would be seen within the decisions that you make in our daily life experiences.

Thus the Best Questions ("In light of my past experience, current circumstances and future hopes and dreams, what is the wsie thing for me to DO!) ASKED BEFORE the decision would afford the person the opportunity to make the 'wise decision'. This first golden nugget of wisdom "think before you act" enables the opportunity for wise decisions to be made. If we forgo this necessary thought process, then we invariably will commit a foolish act. What we predicate our wise decision making process on, our ethics and morals, is a can of worms that I will not open at this point, as invariably I believe it will open itself up within the natural course of continuing this blog.

Important to note is the separation of the heart, or emotions, from this process. Proverbs 28:26He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
The wise man is not quick to decide, but rather slow to speak, slow to wrath, and quick to listen and understand before commiting to a decision. He is also not afraid to admit he does not know and will seek out those that do know; thus he is not prideful, but humble.

It seems important to note, that within the context of this understanding is the knowledge that time is a commodity and as precious as any other commodity within our world. The wise man is all to aware that there are many parts of our life that require daily 'time' deposits in order to be fruitful and see growth within ourselves, our family, our community and our nation. Many of these aspects of life, such as our family, can not be neglected or it will deteriorate, and we will not be able to make amends by trying to digest one family gathering of 10 hours to make up for the 10, 1 hour family dinners. We can not work out for 10 hours physically to make up for the 10, 1 hour workouts we have missed.

In addition, within the framework of the world we live in, we must develop our standards that we will not compromise on! We must know where we stand so as to not fall for anything. We must write these down and say them to our family/friends so that we can consider ourselves accountable for our actions. It seems all to apparent that we can not use the standards of our society or we will be unwise...for how easy it is to see that as it says in I Timothy 6:10
10For the love of money is the root of all evil
Not surprising that sex, drugs and violence are the number one selling items in the world. Therefore we must create our own standards for what we consider ethical and moral and then DO what we say. Let us not be a hearer of the word, but a doer!

Serendipity of the Bible Resource Page

I added a permanent resources page to my web site. The link will also be permanently on our link panel over on the right side of this blog.
Enjoy! Also, as we work through our study, feel free to recommend other serendipitous passages you would like to see included.

Who am I?

Proverbs introduces us to many types of people: the wise person, the simple (or naive) person, the fool, the scoffer, the slothful (or sluggard) and the evil person.

It seems prudent to identify and relate to each type of person introduced in order to obtain a clear characterization of each individual. Hereby we can strive to stay clear from the presence of certain individuals and/or prevent acquiring these characteristics within our own personality. The Bible says you will know a tree by its fruit…so….you will know a person by his words and actions…his fruit.

The easiest person to start with seems to be the slothful or sluggard individual…aka the LAZY person.
9He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster
25The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour. 26He coveteth greedily all the day long:
30I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 31And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. 32Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. 33Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 34So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
This type of person will only be a drain on the wise person. We should be able to recognize this type of person by his actions…which are few and unproductive.

The simple or naïve person seems to be what we all start out as when we are born. Totally void of life’s experiences and the inability to relate our current actions with future consequences. Andy Stanley in ‘The Best Question Ever’, says this type of person is the ‘clueless’ individual. Since we all start out this way, it seems to be an unavoidable condition for everyone.

How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
7The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
130The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

The Best Question Ever is to ask your self BEFORE you do something:
In light of my past experience, my present circumstances, and my future hopes and dreams, what is the wise thing for me to do?
15See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
For the naïve person, it would be to know that they don’t know and to not be afraid to ask them that do know. This is one of the characteristics of a wise person (more on this later). But most often the naïve person believes that the parent or adult is just over-reacting. A good example is the girl that says, ‘It was just a kiss, how am I going to get pregnant!!?!! It was just one kiss.’ Not realizing that it is always a series of bad decisions that leads us into the one compromising situation that will have repercussions that will last a lifetime. This is why we must set such high standards that are much more morally and ethically stringent than societies or we will be baited to the edge by society and fall prey to the evil man. Just look around at the morally suicidal culture we live in and this will be made clear. How often can we see our culture creating a world of instant gratification, of sex, drug and violence being the norm and the expected from our children. If the adults do not take hold of their children and teach them correctly at the naïve stage, they will be morally and spiritually bankrupt by their teenage years, and thus will become the fool and/or scoffer.

The fool is the one that just doesn’t care. They see the warning labels and they are just insensitive to the situation. They believe they can handle anything that comes their way as it comes. These are the types of people that will stay in the situation until the very last minute…the go cart will be breaking up and all of the wheels are shaking and the it is about to fall apart, just before they will admit they need help. Most often it takes the situation getting to this stage of development before you can even offer help. They are selfish and believe they can handle it all. As you can see, it seems to be a natural development of a naïve person to the fool if unlearned and unassisted in life’s decisions. I believe that if the situation doesn’t get to the point that they need help, undoubtedly, the fool will become the scorner.

15The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
11As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
12Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
16A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.
1A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
24Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.
7Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate. 8He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person. 9The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
6Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding. 7He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. 8Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

The scorner is the person that is the ‘know-it-all’ and he will criticize every situation because he knows how to do it best. He is the one that will rip apart any suggestions or positive influence or success, showing all of the flaws and mistakes and ways that he would have done it different and better. He is the one that will not take advise but has plenty of advise to give. This type of person there is no help for and it is suggested in the Bible to STAY AWAY FROM. They will only learn when it is either too late or they have hit rock bottom.

The interesting part is that the Bible says that when they need wisdom, they will not be able to find it. They will not be able to make a wise decision when sooner or later, as life always brings us, a situation will arise that requires wisdom and they will make the dumbest decision ever.

The wise and the evil person I will continue with after I do some more research and have time to reflect more on what I have written.

Should you believe in Eternity?

I will tell you that I was not hoping to engage in this topic so soon as I do not know if we are ready this early into the study. However, since my cousin Nicole raised the issue in her post it is important to at least begin this critical discussion.

Nicole stated, "I do believe, for the most part, that religion can help us to live well. But what is the point of that, if ultimately it does not drive us into God’s arms? What is the point of living well here on earth, if our eternity is not secure in God’s presence?"

I am glad that we will be covering this many times again as we go through the bible. However, for the sake of full disclosure, let me begin by stating that I never liked this idea in the bible. Dangling out this carrot of some sort of eternal bliss feels like I am being manipulated. A great cosmic bribe...

I feel this is very important because to me it does not pass the "Good Parent" test. Rewards are a fact of life and I have used them in parenting but I have always understood and believed that though they work, they are not what I am ultimately striving for. I do not want my children to only perform when they have the chance of reward. I would like them to do what is right due to their inner quality and innate drive to improve themselves. Reward and punishment as the ultimate motivation? To me, that does not pass muster...

Over time, I have grown to believe that we are just interpreting it wrong (in addition to probably interpreting heaven and hell wrong -- but let's save that for later). I also believe that as we delve deeply into the holy books, the true interpretation will become manifest.

So, how do we directly answer the question on the "Should you believe scale"? Should you believe in eternal salvation? I certainly do believe there are clues that point to non-physical things. Things outside of ourselves like Jung's archetypes, deja-vu and destiny. So, there are clues that possibly bring us to believing in more than this physical existence.

On the other side of the coin, there are certainly religions that do not talk about eternal salvation as the ultimate aim of existence. For example, karma and reincarnation, eternal survival of the species (the eternal existence of humanity as a whole), and ancestral worship (not dishonoring the family).

So, I would have to say that it is too soon to answer this question. I may be taking the position of skeptic here amongst my other family members (whom I love and respect); however, I must be honest with myself. It is too important a question for us to rush into or to only account for a single viewpoint (i.e. from one religion).
It is also predicated on many other "should you believe questions" like ...

"Should you believe in an eternal soul?"
"Should you believe in Heaven?"
"Should you believe in Hell?"
*** "Should you believe in the necessity of faith?" (not whether you have faith but does faith have intrinsic value?) ***
"Should you believe that sin permanently scars your soul?"
"Should you believe in Sin?"
On and on ...

So, I guess I am saying that we first need to build our scaffolding of logic on as firm a ground as we can muster.
Also, for the benefit of my cousin, let me state that our intention of using the "Should you believe" filter in this discussion is to have some type of concrete, objective measure upon which we make these important life judgements. Thus we are attempting to analyze the value of a belief by understanding and measuring its effect on us as individuals, on society, on history and on the universe if we receive the blessing of that much discernment.
The basic premise here is that Beliefs leave behind clues. They leave marks in life and society. Sometimes it is just their footprints we have to measure them by. (As a supporting point, let me give a brief example of a belief that I feel is damaging and wrong -- the Catholic church's ban on birth control. While I will be happy to argue this point in detail later, suffice it to say that I see this belief as damaging to both society and families. One other easy supporting point here to clarify this -- the Jewish belief against pork should not be believed because we should not mix medical advice with spiritual necessity.)

Yes, in some ways, we are attempting to use some scientific analyses to religious questions. We are certainly not the first to do this ... and we will not be the last. That is ok as the search for truth is always a beneficial journey!

The Knowledge Hierarchy ... beyond Fear

Here is my cut at the Knowledge of God Hierarchy... as you can see, Fear is merely voltage for discipline. Beyond that a deeper voltage is necessary which is Love...

Miracles and Opiates

In John Chapter 2, Jesus performs his first Miracle by turning water into wine.
Miracles, possibly more than any other part of our holy books, require a large leap of faith. They seem to go hand in hand with the conquering of death as a testimony to God's power as superior to the laws of nature.
That very leap of faith has been ridiculed as an antidote for a pain-filled world. Just recently I purchased a Tears for Fears CD where I found this short song called "ideas as opiates":

"Say what you want
Say what you will
'Cos I find you think what makes it easier

And lies spread on lies
We don't care
Belief is our relief
We don't care" (c) 1983 Mercury Records for Tears for Fears

Of course, this is just a retelling of a Karl Marx quote which goes:
"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people."

So, where do I stand on this important (even critical) issue? I don't yet know... however, I do know that I don't know everything. I would never assert that there is no mystery in the universe. Why is the universe so large? Is there life on other planets? I do not wish to have such hubris to assert that miracles are impossible.

Therefore, at this time, I would place miracles in the "agnostic" category in the "should you believe landscape" as depicted in the figure on the right.

A starting Hierachy: A closer look at the Fear of the Lord

To start the hierachy please see what stood out to me from among the scriptures:

• The Fear of the Lord is obtained from a tenancious will to search for wisdom.
• From this you will find the knowledge of God.
• Then the Lord will give you Wisdom.
• Out of his mouth cometh Knowledge and Understanding
• When you Understand that God keeps the paths of judgement and provides us with sound Wisdom and preserveth the way of his children.
• From this we will get an understanding of righteousness and judgement, and equity and every good path.
• Then we shall have descretion to preserve us and understanding to keep us from the evil man.
• Wisdom dwells with prudence.
• The Fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy and the evil way and the froward mouth.
• Counsel is of God and sound wisdom and understanding...then get strength.
• Knowledge of the holy is Understanding.
• The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge.
• The Fear of the Lord is a fountain of life that will keep us from death.
• The Fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom
• Humility will provide honor.
• The Fear of the Lord will make men depart from evil.
• By mercy and truth iniquity is purged.
• The Fear of the Lord tendeth to life, satisfaction and we will not be visited with evil.
• There is no wisdom, nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord.
• The Fear of the Lord and humility provide riches, honor and life.

In order to obtain a clearer understanding of the 'fear' stated within the Bible, it became apparent after the reading of the scriptures on fear and wisdom that there is more than one type of fear...there is the 'fear of God' and the 'fear of death/evil'. King Solomon received wisdom from God, and it is his Book of Proverbs where I began a deeper search. Please reflect on the following scriptures as I believe it will stimulate some good food for thought and discussion. From this, I believe the first draft on a hierachy can be started. I am cautious to consider it a hierachy of 'knowledge' because I believe that the hierachy will include knowledge and the understanding of knowledge, and the application of knowledge and understanding being wisdom. I wonder if a better phrase might be 'a hierachy of righteousness'?

Proverbs 1
7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

20Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: 21She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. 24Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Proverbs 2
2So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; 3Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; 4If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 5Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. 6For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 7He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. 8He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. 9Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. 10When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; 11Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: 12To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

Proverbs 4
5Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. 6Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. 7Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 8Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. 9She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

Proverbs 8
12I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. 13The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. 14Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength

Proverbs 9
9Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. 10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. 11For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

Proverbs 12
12I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. 13The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. 14Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.

Proverbs 14
26In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. 27The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

Proverbs 15
33The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.

Proverbs 16
6By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.

Proverbs 19
23The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.

Proverbs 21
30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.

Proverbs 22
4By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.

Proverbs 25
25The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

Ecclesiastes
14I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. 15That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

Ecclesiastes 5
7For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God. 8If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

Ecclesiastes 12
13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Romans 3
13Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17And the way of peace have they not known: 18There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Heb2
14Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Heb11
7By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Heb12
28Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29For our God is a consuming fire.

Heb13
5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

I John 413Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Proverbs Chapter 1 - Fear of the Lord Essay V0.1

We decided to work on an essay on this important topic. Proverbs 1:6 states, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge".
As we pondered this we worked through a series of impressions and comparisons to gain an understanding of this quote. Here is a loose ordering of the key topics in our discussion:

1. Shocking verse - To us, this is a very shocking assertion to state that knowledge begins with fear. In some ways, it seems counter-intuitive. I don't think of a timid, shivering subject as being the best candidate for learning. This could turn off a good many people which makes us to believe this verse must have a deeper interpretation than a shallow reading provides. Let's dig in...
2. Is this verse to be interpreted literally? Does "fear" mean "afraid" or "awe"?
   In the previous post - Joe outline the many meanings and interpretations of the word fear. My gut feel is that it is meant to be the literal definition of fear and not a watered-down placating definition like reverence or awe. The 4th bullet below will explain why I feel this is meant to be taken literally.
3. An analogy to fear in parenting. Fear is used in parenting, especially when children are young. For example, a young child will not understand why they cannot run in the road, but they will fear a spanking on the bottom. Before the age of 5, children do not have the capacity to understand the dangers of abstract concepts, but do understand the fear of pain. However, fear only gets you so far. As every good parent knows, you have to replace fear with understanding and self-motivation to do the right thing. So, fear is not something that helps after a certain point.
4. Fear changes behavior. To me, this is an important point and why I believe this verse should be taken literally. If the concept is that sinful activities are the road to ignorance than halting those sinful activities is a prerequisite for knowledge. Fear changes action. Think about your fear of a police officer writing you a ticket - so you slow down. Simple and effective. Combining this with the previous point gives us the key to the verse.
5. Fear makes you aware. Sort of like Andy Grove's "only the paranoid survive." Fear "keeps you on your toes". Makes you vigilant. In this era of terrorism, that sounds right to me.
6. You must read the WHOLE verse. The whole verse is that "Fear is the BEGINNING of knowledge". Only the beginning. This falls right in line with our assertion that fear only gets you so far. This also makes it a very logical thing. Think of this in terms of carnal pleasures, is it not true that a pursuit of knowledge is mostly an intellectual and spiritual pursuit. Therefore, wasting hours pursuing carnal pleasures (there was a study of how many people addicted to internet pornography waste 6-8 hours a day on those sites! Is that not the very definition of ignorance!!) Thus, this makes fear just the starting point for the pursuit of knowledge. It also leads us to the realization that there are other components to attaining knowledge or a hierarchy of knowledge.
7. The hierarchy of knowledge. This verse does not go into this but we believe it is critical to undertand the "rest of the story" in order for this verse not to offend. So, it is up to us to figure out the hierarchy of knowledge of which fear is the beginning. It is our belief that the many other parts of the bible provide this information. In fact, my brother Joe said yesterday that there are many more passages where God advises and admonishes "not to fear" than the ones advising fear. Thus we have a delicious paradox and a clue to this puzzle.

May we be blessed to allow the learning to continue ...

Beginning Study on the Fear of the Lord

The following is the word 'fear' within the Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon and appears to be both fear and reverential awe.

3374 yirÕah { yir-aw’}
from 3373; TWOT - 907b; n f
AV - fear 41, exceedingly + 1419 2, dreadful 1, fearfulness 1; 45

GK - 3711 { ha;r]yI
1) fear, terror, fearing
1a) fear, terror
1b) awesome or terrifying thing (object causing fear)
1c) fear (of God), respect, reverence, piety
1d) revered

3373 yareÕ { yaw-ray’}
from 3372; TWOT - 907a; adj
AV - fear 59, afraid 3, fearful 2; 64

GK - 3710 { arey:
1) fearing, reverent, afraid

3372 yareÕ { yaw-ray’}
a primitive root; TWOT - 907,908; v
AV - fear 188, afraid 78, terrible 23, terrible thing 6, dreadful 5, reverence 3, fearful 2, terrible acts 1, misc 8; 314

GK - 3707 { arey:
} & 3708 { arey:
1) to fear, revere, be afraid
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to fear, be afraid
1a2) to stand in awe of, be awed
1a3) to fear, reverence, honour, respect
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be fearful, be dreadful, be feared
1b2) to cause astonishment and awe, be held in awe
1b3) to inspire reverence or godly fear or awe
1c) (Piel) to make afraid, terrify
2) (TWOT) to shoot, pour

After praying, I performed a search on the word "fear" within the King James version of the Bible and came up with 400 hits. I understand from speaking with students of the Bible and the obvious results of so many factions of Christianity, that one should be extremely careful about taking scripture out of context. I am a strong believer that we should read each scripture referenced within its chapter, the surrounding chapters, and time permitting, even its book. This will assure that it is being considered in the correct context and not being taken out of context. With such an understanding, I find the following scriptures of particular interest for discussion:

This is Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, giving him advice about getting helpers for him to judge the people. It is interesting to note that the people he is choosing to be helpers are people such that 'fear God', men of truth, hating covetousness.

Exodus 18:19
19Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: 20And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. 21Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: 22And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.

In the following it is interesting to note, that as far back as the book of Exodus that the fear of God is being taught to the people so that they do not sin.

Exodus 20:20
20And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

Leviticus is the book of the law, and as it states in the ten commandments to honor your father and mother, hear we see that we are to 'fear every man his father and mother'.

Leviticus 19:1

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy. 3Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. 4Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God

Then again, from the law we learn the fear of God.

Deuteronomy 17:18
18And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 20That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

The Feast of Tabernacles - to learn the fear of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 31:9
9And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel. 10And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, 11When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: 13And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

In Job we see the fear of the Lord is wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding.

Job 28:20
20Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? 21Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. 22Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. 23God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. 24For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; 25To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. 26When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: 27Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. 28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

The motivation and the beginning...

This blog will be a loose record of a religious book study carried out by myself and my brother Joe. As all searches for the truth, we are open to your comments and constructive criticism as long as they are respectful and truly constructive. Thus, we will moderate comments.

It is VERY important to understand the motivation behind this blog. Most people ask "do you believe?" For example, "Do you believe in God?" "Do you believe in Miracles?" "Do you believe in original sin?" We don't think those are very interesting questions until you have a basis for asking them. So, for us, a more fundamental question is to first examine our beliefs in light of their utility in our lives. In other words, "Should you have faith?" "Should you believe in Jesus Christ?" If we logically and empirically believe that your life requires such a position - only then do the other questions matter. One other point about this is that we both consider ourselves educated and skeptical. Thus, our study of holy books are with an objective, scientific point of view.

We are beginning with the gospel of John and the book of proverbs (one from the old testament and one from the new); however, we do not plan to only constrain ourselves to the Bible. In terms of disclosure, we were both raised Catholic but are now Christians.

As way of introduction, we grew up in a household where are mother was religious and forced us to attend church but are father was agnostic.