Category Archives: Chrisitian Philosophy

Blogs in this category deal with Christianity not from a religious perspective, but from a philosophical viewpoint.

Social creation of humankind

Posted on August 29, 2016 by | Comments Off on Social creation of humankind

socialFrom a psychological viewpoint every person is designed to be a social creature. God’s plan is for each person to share their lives with others. The Bible offers this: And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him (Genesis 2:8). This is especially relevant in understanding the basic psychology of what a social creature actually is. No one disputes that a dog by themselves do not enjoy life to its fullest and will appear down or depressed. Put that same dog with a human companion or even another animal companion, and immediately the dog’s attitude changes. Emotionally and mentally, the dog needs a companion to feel needed and complete. Humankind was wonderfully made by God to be the exact same way.

Parents: The early social influence of a child

I will be honest; if I were to rate my abilities as a parent I would give myself a failing grade for my first children who are now adults. For the child my wife and I had when I was 40, I would probably give myself a passing but needs improvement score. The difference is my relationship with the Lord. Instead of having a fleshly, and world focused view of life as I did before, I now have a Christ-centered world view. Therefore, the daughter I am raising now will, if the Lord is willing and blesses, not have to face the issues now faced by my adult children. Where before I was careless in what my children were exposed to, now I try to make sure my daughter are exposed to things that are beneficial to her. 

The apostle Paul was concerned about the spiritual health of those he ministered to during his missionary journeys. Just as in his world, we have the same basic things present that can add spiritual weight to our lives. Finally, brethren, 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 (Philippians 4:8). This may seem like a strange verse to include in this particular study, but I assure you it will soon make sense.

God’s plan for parenting – crafting a social influence

During the Israel’s exodus from Egypt, God gave a commandment directly to those who are responsible for the raising and teaching of children: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up (Deuteronomy 6:7). There is a lot of responsibility God has placed on parents. Not only do I have the obligation to teach my children the things of the Lord, but I also have the obligation to teach them the things of life. And one of those things is the wisdom of the apostle Paul: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14).

With these two verses together, parents have the responsibility to make sure that the friendships our children have are ones that will lift them to the Lord. It may mean that the child next door, who yours wants to hang around, is not the best friend for your child. We’ve got a young girl in our apartment complex who I limit (if not avoid) her having contact with my daughter. She’s in the second grade and will often wander to behind our townhouse. At first, she seemed like a nice child until I heard her using profane language and encouraging the other children to “use adult words.” I am 46 years old and was in the army for almost seven years; I still do not feel comfortable even hearing those words said in movies, much less say them myself! To hear a nine-year-old use them was a shock!

Being social: choosing who influences us matters too!

I am reminded of Psalms 34:13, Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. When I was fresh out of the army, I did have a profanity problem. In 2006, after receiving Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, I decided that my surrender to Him would be complete. This morning, while listening to the Dave Ramsey Show, guest host Chris Hogan said something pretty profound. He said, “When you’re giving something up, when it is a sacrifice, don’t count what you are giving up. Count what you are gaining.” In the process of my complete surrender, the Lord has laid it on my heart to get rid of things.

Paul wrote, Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). For me, this meant getting rid of some of my DVDs, CDs, science-fiction books, and even some friendships. David had adopted a new attitude and wrote, I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me (Psalms 101:3). For me, God expanded the meaning of this verse in my heart; if I were going to live the life that God has called me to do then I cannot be a participant in things that tie me to temptation or sin.

Continued on the next page.

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Is your life cluttered with boxes?

Posted on July 13, 2016 by | Comments Off on Is your life cluttered with boxes?

boxes

Boxes are a common sight in our modern world. They come in cardboard, plastic, wood, and metal. We’re surrounded by boxes in our workplace, in stores, and in our homes. Right now, in various closets in my home, there are boxes that have remained unpacked since the family’s last move in 2011. The truth is that boxes are a part of our world and are around us everywhere. This morning, as I watched my cat play inside a box, I was reminded of a conversation I had with one of my college students yesterday.

Who are you at your core?

William Shakespeare, the great English playwright and bard, wrote a line in his play, Hamlet, that is actually very sound advice: “This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man” (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3, 78-80). We are living in a time where society demands the opposite.

As a college-level instructor, I am often asked how, in modern American society, should a person’s faith be apparent. In fact, I was asked a variation of this very question yesterday and was able to explain to her why her interpretation was not dangerous. She approached me with the idea that somehow she must leave her faith at home when she is at work, performing some civic duty (such as jury duty or voting), and while at the college. She then explained that society demanded she do just this very thing. Her actions and this view, which is held by many, is far from the advice offered by Shakespeare’s character, Polonius, or the Bible, for that matter.

I believe that one of the mistakes made by many Christians is the idea that our faith is just a religion. After all, how can we hold any other view of Christianity if this is all that has been taught for generations? As a part of my responsibilities at the college where I work, I also teach world civilization. This includes a fairly lengthy discussion on religions and philosophies of the ancient world to about 1500. One of the things that has always intrigued me is that Christianity, in its purest form, is not supposed to be just a religion. Biblical Christianity is supposed to be a way of life, a philosophy and a religion. And this is where we fail to adhere to the teachings of Jesus. When we do anything but allow our faith in Jesus affect all that we do, we are living a double life and have two sets of standards – the “secular” and the “religious.” It is when this happens that we transform the power of the gospel from something that is truly life-changing into something that has very little impact in our life.

The apostle James wrote, A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). This double-mindedness is what happens when we begin to place parts of our lives in boxes. One box has everything about our faith, one box has how we are to behave at work, and another box for school, and another box for social organizations, and yet another box for family… Pretty soon, our lives can begin to look like a warehouse of boxes stacked to the ceiling. Instead of being one complete person which is the way God created us to be, we divide ourselves into parts to fit every situation and demand.

When we divide who we are and how we behave among any number of boxes, we are actually dividing our loyalties. We are no longer Christ-centered. Our faith becomes a small part of our lives instead of being what God intended it to be – the core of our existence. There is so much that Jesus tried to warn us about during His earthly ministry. In fact, he told all who would listen, No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).

Vaya con Dios: Go with God…

I am a fan of older movies, especially Westerns. In many of those movies, the phrase, vaya con Dios became a popular part of the western movie genre vocabulary. It is a simple phrase meaning, go with God. In the context used, it was a blessing that one bestowed on a friend, compatriot, or family member as they departed on some quest or journey. It is actually a great reminder in whatever we do, wherever we go, we should go with God. Our belief in Jesus as our Lord and personal Savior should be a part of everything we do and everything we are: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men (Colossians 3:23).

We have to come to the understanding that as Christians, we are still living in this world. Just because we live in the world does not me we have to live as the world. In 2006, I made a promise to the Lord that I completely gave Him and him alone lordship in my life. I noticed that as my excitement and love of the Lord began to grow, so did the impact He had on my life. It changed the way I studied history. It changed the way I performed at work and in my graduate classes. It changed the way I studied politics and foreign policy. It even began to change how I saw myself and my relationship with others. This is God’s intent with the free gift of salvation He offers to all – it is to be a life transforming moment! From that moment, it is meant to be a continual process of spiritual growth and development. It is meant to be an active faith that takes us from this life and beyond.

Emptying the boxes of our cluttered lives

Once we fully accept obedience to Jesus is to be the central focus of our life, everything else falls into its proper perspective. For me, the most challenging part of it was unpacking all the mental boxes I had created over nearly a lifetime. I was not a Christian until 2006 but I still had those mental boxes. It is actually a liberating experience when we come to the realization we do not need the boxes and we can be the same person and behave the same way regardless of where we are.

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Do you have obscured vision?

Posted on May 16, 2016 by | Comments Off on Do you have obscured vision?
© Sjanie Gonlag | Dreamstime Stock Photos

© Sjanie Gonlag  Dreamstime Stock Photos

Obscured vision can keep us from some of life’s most simplest pleasures. As someone who suffers from chronic migraine headaches, there are times where my eyes cannot focus. While others may not know, except for when I grab my bifocals, I do. For me, it becomes difficult to even do the simplest of tasks when I face those moments of having obscured vision. Obscured vision is simply having something, such as a health condition or physical object, that acts as a barrier that keeps us from focusing on a target.

Obscured vision comes from a lack of focus

Within our Christian faith we can also develop obscured vision when we shift our focus away from the things of the Lord. I’m reminded of the verse, No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13). Jesus, in speaking with his disciples, was telling them that either they could follow after Him or follow after the world, but not to do both. Through the scriptures, He calls upon us to do the same thing; as long as our loyalties are divided between this world and following after Jesus, we will always have obscured vision. Paul understood this and wrote, Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier (2 Timothy 2:3-4). He was providing Timothy, and us, with the most important advice to support clear vision – to stay firmly focused on Jesus and the work He has called us to do. He knew that Timothy, or any Christian, would not be effective for Jesus if there were other distractions in his (or our) life.

We live in a world that has an abundance of distractions that can easily give us obscured vision. It is easy to become distracted by a favorite television show, a hobby, and other things that keeps us from focusing on things that strengthen our walk with the Lord. It is easy to become distracted and develop obscured vision when we know we need to read the Bible, spend time in prayer, or share the gospel with others. I think of this passage of scripture: And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.  And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.  And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:57-62). 

In the case of the first man, Jesus was warning him that if he was to follow Jesus he wouldn’t have a home in the traditional sense. For many people, and it is no different two thousand years ago than it is today, where they live is decided upon two main factors: where they grew up or where the extended family lives. Please do not underestimate the power of this – when I was in the service I saw a number of marriages end when the spouse would refuse to move to where the Army was sending the wife/husband. For some people, the familiarity and need to have family nearby overrides all else – including the willingness to follow Jesus. The second man wanted to follow but stated he had a family obligation – to go bury his father. Contrast this with Abraham and the testimony that is preserved within the Bible: And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice (Genesis 22:15-18). It is not that God wants us to forsake our family obligations, but that He wants us to place our family – the ones whom we love – in His hands and simply serve Him. This is exactly what Abraham did. He was determined to fulfill the ultimate sacrifice – the offering of his son – as requested by the Lord. Our desire to follow the Lord should be so strong that we trust Him completely with our family and loved ones. (1)

The third man told Jesus he wanted to go home and tell those there that he was going to follow Jesus. He responds by telling them, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. It wasn’t that the Lord didn’t want this man to bid farewell to his family and friends, but this man was placing that desire above all else, including his following after the Lord. This man didn’t want to postpone his following Jesus for the sake of saying goodbye; he wanted one last day living within his old lifestyle. 

In all three of these men and the lessons as taught by Jesus, He is using these three specific sets of circumstances to warn us about losing our focus on Him. In each case, the Lord is teaching us that if it comes to the choice of where to live or following Jesus, our obvious choice is to follow Him. Missionaries, pastors, and other Christians have answered that call and have moved to locations far from home and although they miss their families and friends, their devotion to Jesus and the desire to answer His call overrides every other concern. He must come first in every aspect of our life; He must come before our family, where we live, what occupation we have, even what our hobbies and recreational activities are. If we want proper perspective in our life’s journey, we must stay firmly affixed to Jesus and not the convenient distractions of this world.

Continued on the next page

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