Saturday, September 13, 2008
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Christ centered education, formation for life.
In the life of a Christian there comes a time that we must learn that people have agendas of their own. People form agendas to get their own way and beliefs to be promoted. This is not learning or education, it is manipulation of people through finding data to fit conclusions that are already made. Education is a presentation of evidence and allowing people to come to conclusions that follow from the evidence. In any education people must be willing to say to others that they are wrong, presenting them with evidence and showing how the argument fails to follow from the evidence.
The biggest problem with arguments is in the meaning of words. The only reason this problem ever came into existence is because people started to forget that words have meanings and those meanings are important. The only reason that words are important is that words have in them the power to create, destroy and change. They are not simply arbitrary letters given a meaning through societal conventions. Words have a meaning for one reason and one reason alone. The reason is simply, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not" (Jn. 1:1-5). The Word was spoken in the darkness and all things came into being. What's a word? It's a name. A name for an idea, a thing, a place, etc. All words are really names of a sort. But what's in a name that gives it power? Moses asked that question and was answered. I AM.
When we realize that it is I AM (YHWH) gives all things being, than we realize that we must submit to One who is greater. The One who gives us being. In the Gospel of Luke (5:1-11) Jesus comes to the shores of a lake and is being followed by a great crowd of people. He got into the boat belonging to Simon and cast off from the shore alittle to teach the crowds. After He was finished teaching, Jesus told Peter to cast out into deeper water and cast the nets over the side of the boat. By doing as Christ commanded Peter caught a great catch, so great that he could not bring it in on his own. So is it with us, when we follow Christ and push out into the deep waters of life. Not staying in the safe shoals of what we want and personal agendas, but going into the depths of faith guided by Christ.
The biggest problem with arguments is in the meaning of words. The only reason this problem ever came into existence is because people started to forget that words have meanings and those meanings are important. The only reason that words are important is that words have in them the power to create, destroy and change. They are not simply arbitrary letters given a meaning through societal conventions. Words have a meaning for one reason and one reason alone. The reason is simply, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not" (Jn. 1:1-5). The Word was spoken in the darkness and all things came into being. What's a word? It's a name. A name for an idea, a thing, a place, etc. All words are really names of a sort. But what's in a name that gives it power? Moses asked that question and was answered. I AM.
When we realize that it is I AM (YHWH) gives all things being, than we realize that we must submit to One who is greater. The One who gives us being. In the Gospel of Luke (5:1-11) Jesus comes to the shores of a lake and is being followed by a great crowd of people. He got into the boat belonging to Simon and cast off from the shore alittle to teach the crowds. After He was finished teaching, Jesus told Peter to cast out into deeper water and cast the nets over the side of the boat. By doing as Christ commanded Peter caught a great catch, so great that he could not bring it in on his own. So is it with us, when we follow Christ and push out into the deep waters of life. Not staying in the safe shoals of what we want and personal agendas, but going into the depths of faith guided by Christ.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
