I have my hands metaphorically outstretched to accept anyone who wishes
to join me in recognizing, discovering, and living according to
reality. Those who refuse to join me, after repeated offers, will find that I can be quite vicious with them in my words. I will never slander people, intentionally misrepresent their claims, or deny that they still have value as bearers of God's image. I will never call for the unjust treatment of a personal or ideological opponent (which are practically identical in my life). But I will sometimes be downright brutal in my speech towards and about them.
Critics of my personality and intellectual forcefulness seldom, if ever, actually understand that I do care deeply about the ultimate spiritual wellbeing of others, or else I would not spend so much time talking with them about the only issues that could possibly have objective significance. If I did not care about other people coming to the truth, I would certainly not invest anywhere near as much time into this blog as I do, if I would even have a blog to begin with. None of this, though, changes the fact that I am indeed quite harsh at times.
Indeed, one can see by the general shift of tone present in my articles over the past (almost) two years that I am becoming increasingly hostile towards the superficial, the irrational, and the unrepentently inconsistent--in other words, towards most people. I am often told by people who cling to errors and fallacies that I am "too harsh." I am never malicious, dishonest, sadistic, or cruel, however. I do not intend to harm others with my words (thought after a certain point I do intend to illustrate how irrational and selfish they are). I do not lie about other people. I do not take pleasure from emotionally upsetting them. I merely love truth far more than I love most people, and I do not conceal this from anyone at all.
People are not the prize of reality. Reality is. Other people and human relationships do not and cannot matter more than true ideas. If they did matter more, ironically, it would only be because certain ideas are true; the value of people depends on the truth of certain ideas, but the truth of ideas has nothing to do with other people. True ideas are the only things that could possibly be worth condemning people over, though they are often described as if they never justify verbal bombardments of other people. That I live in a society where people like me are told to be superficially kind, tolerant, and gentle with others concerning worldview issues is a testament to the utter stupidity of most people in my society.
One of the most unsound criticisms I have faced is that I have or will turn people away from rationalism and Christianity with the forcefulness of my personality and the way I speak about truth. This is a false claim, though. I brought myself out of my own intellectual stupor years ago. No one needs me to grasp logic, and no one needs me to prove basic truths to themselves. Others are capable of discovering truths independent of social interactions with me or anyone else. Thus, it follows that they cannot blame any harshness of mine for their rejection of an idea, especially since all beings with my metaphysical nature possess intellectual autonomy and free will, meaning I cannot make them do anything. Whenever it comes to theism and Christianity in particular, it is extremely asinine for people to neglect investigating a thing because someone claiming to represent that thing treated them harshly, whether or not that treatment was just or unjust.
I will not tone down my personality or my logicality for the sake of some other person's weak intellect or misperceptions. I have made it absolutely clear on multiple occasions that I am not anti-emotion and that misanthropy is not a baseline expression of either my worldview or my personality; I despise emotionalism and apathy towards reality. I never aim to hurt someone emotionally, but if that occurs as a byproduct of a legitimate attack on a false worldview or the character of someone who holds to one, then so be it. Truth matters more than people, and thus I care about truth far more than I care about my relationships with most people.
So reality is the prize of reality?
ReplyDeleteDo you think God reduced himself by putting on a meatsuit for the expressed purpose of torturously having that blood spilled for an idea? Maybe, but notice well that that idea was expressly for people, but not just any people but those whom he chose before he laid the foundation of the world - according to what's written in Scripture.
And that's really key to understanding your place and peace in the world - that is God did not choose to preserve everyone, contrary to the marketing schemes of most churches. As such, no one has the choice or even the desire to choose to know God or the truth, in fact the hate it according to the Bible:
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. - Romans 3:10-12
So if there is NO ONE that seeks God, then it is only God who does the choosing...and this is consistent throughout all 66 books of the Bible. Knowing this, and believing this, will save you from endless despair and frustration...because your job is not to sell salvation to anyone. But instead in the most general sense it is to discover God's truth and endure his severe beatings, scourging, until you become obedient and useful to however he wants to use you...and there you'll find profound peace and joy that no one else can know.
So don't fall into the trap of being a people pleaser because that only leads to compromise and bitterness as swine trample your pearls and then turn on you, swine that are fit for destruction, that were made to perish.
With your high intellectual capacity, I strongly recommend turning that intense curiosity and desire for knowledge to a deeper understanding of what's actually written in Scripture, rather than what's commonly sold as conventional Christianity. To do this it is crucial to read into the original inspired languages of Hebrew and Greek, because as you begin to do so you may realize and recognize just how obscured so many words and their meanings have become while translated in our comparatively crude barbaric English.
Did you know there are two distinct Greek words translated as "love"? Two distinct words translated as "word"? - logos and rhema...what is rhema???
And three very different words translated as "hell".
I tell you, most Christians have no idea what heaven and hell really are, completely clueless, because of culture and ambiguously mangled translations. Look into it.
And learn that "paradise" literally means "walled garden" - Eden. What is the difference between soul (psuche) and spirit(pneuma)? And what exactly is the Bible referring to when it refers to the heart...and how does that relate to the stomach? And why why why does the bible say that life and death are in th epower of the tongue...and how does that relate to the heart???
You might be amazed as begin to discover all those connections and their significance. And once you do, most people won't even begin to comprehend or even care about such incredible revelations and powers that entails. And when experiencing such a loss to convey such wonderful, even magical, things remember what it means to be holy (hagios)= set apart, because such things are truly not meant for everyone, and so God in his wisdom has hid them, for the same reason that Jesus told his disciples that he spoke in parables...buried treasure, and where is a man's treasure?
Jesus’ death has nothing to do with what I am talking about here. Besides, Jesus is not Yahweh, so if you think he is identical to what most Christians tend to mean by the word “God” then you are mistaken.
ReplyDeleteJesus died for everyone (1 John 2:2), not a fraction of humanity as some Calvinists claim; therefore any human can become saved. And I know for sure that I have the desire to know truth. If you think no non-Christian can have the desire to know reality, you, again, are very mistaken.
Are you implying I want or try to be a people pleaser? Do you think a people pleaser would write something like this post? And are you suggesting that I accept what a lot of churches claim? My goodness, almost everything Christians say is false or fallacious, and I criticize them very often, including here on my blog.
Hebrew and Greek words also have nothing to do with what I am focusing on in this article.
Man you're so insufferably arrogant that you're promoting legitimacy of your harshness. So be it, my work is now nearly finished with you.
ReplyDelete1 John 2:2 does not say that Jesus died for everyone.
Notice instead it says this:
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.
Notice that John was writing a letter to a specific group during a specific time.
Understand that which is in brackets IS NOT in the Greek text. And to fully understand this verse is to realize and recognize that the Greek translate as "world" is kosmos - which literally means orderly arrangement...it's the same Greek base from which we get our word "cosmetic" and "cosmos" in the sense of being a composition or composed work...it's similar in usage to poiéma - which is the word translated into "workmanship" in Ephesians 2:10 in regards to his chosen being his workmanship or a more accurate translation would be tapestry. Poiéma is where we get our word "poem and poetry" and is part of the compound word zóopoieó - which literally means "to make beautifully alive" and is translated as "quickened" in John 5:21 (and elsewhere), which says the Jesus quickens whom He wills...not whomsoever wills but specifically those predestined by the will of God, in the person of Jesus. And man, if you don't accept that, then notice that your arguing with Scripture and as such you might not actually be a Christian, you might not really know God and instead could have been ensnared into a bullshit counterfeit version of Christianity - which likely strokes your pride and makes you feel real smart and logical...or not.
So anyway, the "world" or "orderly arrangement" is specifically and exclusively referring to God's beautiful tapestry, His workmanship, and not as the entirety of the human species. John Calvin does not have any creative rights to this doctrine, it the primary theme running throughout the entire 66 books of the Bible...it defines sanctification, that which means to be made holy (hagios) = set apart. Set apart from what???
John 3:16 is one of many many many verses that supports and clarifies this. "For God so love the world..."
"World" is also kosmos (properly kosmon)there too. NOTICE the adverb "so"..loved the world. "Houtó" literally means "in this manner". In what manner, what is the "so" adverb modifying? His love, on the condition of what? The verses that came immediately before it (3:14-15)referring to Moses lifting up a serpent in the wilderness in an event where MANY of the insufferably arrogant stiff necked Israelites perished and were not saved, now were they? Think LOGICALLY.
And be as soft and as receptive as a child.
And that's all I have to say.
My work is done here, for whatever purpose,
the message has been delivered.
Farewell.
To be fair, I've never encountered anyone who was right about everything. Moreover, I've observed that highly intelligent brilliant people tend to have even more pronounced blind spots that go hand in hand with their extraordinary gifts and insights. So test everything, hold fast that which is good.
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