"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." -Colossians 2:8
The commentary that Gracepoint provided on this passage says "There can be no doubt that for us this is one of the most difficult passages Paul ever wrote." That was surprising to me, because actually I felt that this verse was pretty straightforward. A lot of philosophy is hollow and deceptive, and the philosophy that is hollow and deceptive can take you captive.
I mean, every philosopher who comes along says the guy before him was wrong. They call each other hollow and deceptive, so as a whole what philosophers say must be mostly wrong given that they contradict each other, even though they all use fine-sounding arguments. And the elegance with which these arguments are presented can be really attractive and can deceive, even if they're wrong.
But anyway, I do love philosophy as a discipline.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wise Enough
"Are you wise enough to know you are not wise enough?" - Rick Holland
One thing that's been on mind is Proverbs 3:7, which says "Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope than a fool than for him." I am wise in my own eyes. That means there's more hope for a fool than for me. Not good huh? In the words of some of my teammates... "that's all bad." Working on it.
One thing that's been on mind is Proverbs 3:7, which says "Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope than a fool than for him." I am wise in my own eyes. That means there's more hope for a fool than for me. Not good huh? In the words of some of my teammates... "that's all bad." Working on it.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Missing Quote and Communication
Ah, here's the C.S. Lewis quote I was thinking of last time, but couldn't find:
"...you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles... all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth 'thrown in': aim at earth and you will get neither."
On a completely separate note, I realized what it is that I do wrong when I talk. What I do is I put my thoughts into words. When my thoughts are good, then my talking is good, so that's why when I understand something and think things through, I can talk well and explain things clearly. This way of talking serves me well when I have time to think about it first.
However, this kind of direct thought-->words speech process is one of the reasons why I can be kind of blunt at times. Caught off guard, I'll just say honestly what I think and forget to consider what kind of impact my words might have. My point will be clearly stated but the message conveyed will be different than what was intended.
Gotta work on this whole communication thing.
"...you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles... all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth 'thrown in': aim at earth and you will get neither."
On a completely separate note, I realized what it is that I do wrong when I talk. What I do is I put my thoughts into words. When my thoughts are good, then my talking is good, so that's why when I understand something and think things through, I can talk well and explain things clearly. This way of talking serves me well when I have time to think about it first.
However, this kind of direct thought-->words speech process is one of the reasons why I can be kind of blunt at times. Caught off guard, I'll just say honestly what I think and forget to consider what kind of impact my words might have. My point will be clearly stated but the message conveyed will be different than what was intended.
Gotta work on this whole communication thing.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Spring from Hope
"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— 5the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6that has come to you." (Colossians 1:3-5)
That one phrase really struck me: "the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven." I think it is because we have hope in heaven and future reward that we have room for faith and love in this life.
In my philosophy classes we talk about "utilitarianism" which is the idea that you ought to maximize utility (utility meaning something like goodness or happiness). Utilitarianism can be modified in many different ways to say you should maximize utility for yourself, or for society as a whole, and can be changed in many other ways as well. As a side note, the forms of utilitarianism we studied in philosophy differ from the kind of utilitarianism John Mill (the founder) espoused (based on my history of economics class).
I think this idea does hit something very fundamental within us, it does resonate with the feeling that we should make the most out of life and do as much as good as possible. Maximize. And that's why I think that if our hope is for this life only, it makes a lot of sense to maximize everything we've got here, carpe diem.
But because we have this hope, maximizing both our own utility and the utility of society as a whole allows room for deferring getting payoffs and rewards for our actions. It's okay to not get the glory, it's okay if other people get the better spot, it's okay to miss out on pleasures. It's better to serve than to be served. It's maximizing to love and to give. Why? Because our scope is not limited to this present life, but heaven. With the knowledge that life is short and eternity is long, maximizing utility plays out completely differently, changing from self-interested maximization to faith and love.
We hope in heaven, and that's why we live like this.
That one phrase really struck me: "the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven." I think it is because we have hope in heaven and future reward that we have room for faith and love in this life.
In my philosophy classes we talk about "utilitarianism" which is the idea that you ought to maximize utility (utility meaning something like goodness or happiness). Utilitarianism can be modified in many different ways to say you should maximize utility for yourself, or for society as a whole, and can be changed in many other ways as well. As a side note, the forms of utilitarianism we studied in philosophy differ from the kind of utilitarianism John Mill (the founder) espoused (based on my history of economics class).
I think this idea does hit something very fundamental within us, it does resonate with the feeling that we should make the most out of life and do as much as good as possible. Maximize. And that's why I think that if our hope is for this life only, it makes a lot of sense to maximize everything we've got here, carpe diem.
But because we have this hope, maximizing both our own utility and the utility of society as a whole allows room for deferring getting payoffs and rewards for our actions. It's okay to not get the glory, it's okay if other people get the better spot, it's okay to miss out on pleasures. It's better to serve than to be served. It's maximizing to love and to give. Why? Because our scope is not limited to this present life, but heaven. With the knowledge that life is short and eternity is long, maximizing utility plays out completely differently, changing from self-interested maximization to faith and love.
We hope in heaven, and that's why we live like this.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
More Human
Pastor Ed mentioned in a message recently that we should not be like "that weird character in Albert Camus' 'The Stranger,' disconnected from everything around him." Interesting because I really liked the book because I could identify a lot with that guy.
In the story the main character Meursault goes about life as if he's not really a part of the things that are going on around him; he recognizes what's happening, but his emotional responses are not engaging properly. He's at a funeral, and he knows he's supposed to feel sad, but he doesn't. Aware of some of the social norms and what people expect of him, he sort of goes through some of the motions, but mostly because that's just what he's supposed to do. There's a point where he and his friend spontaneously decide to chase after a truck; in that chase, Meursault feels really alive, he's in the moment, he's fully connected to what's happening. But it's a rare occasion, and most of the time he doesn't know why he's doing what he's doing, he just does them.
I used to feel like that a lot more. Like when that thank you card gets passed around, and I think yeah hmmm this person has done things for me, and I know I'm supposed to feel grateful but I don't, and now I'm supposed to write words about how I feel so grateful. But it's what's expected, so I will. This would happen for other kind of events too. That feeling of, I should be feeling a certain way right now, but I don't. I should be connected to what's happening right now, but I'm not. But because I know that this reaction is what's expected, I'll do it. And in that way I was like Meursault, a stranger in the world, out of place.
I've come to realize that being like that is to be less human, or, more inhuman. Sometimes when I'm back home in Davis for a longer period of time with not much to do, I find myself become more like that, more apathetic, more callous, more disconnected from the concerns of the people around me, more self-focused. But at Gracepoint the opposite happens, and I realized that Gracepoint makes me more human.
It's not that Davis is bad, but in Berkeley we have a community of people and a culture that fosters proper relationships, and by engaging in these relationships I've developed proper emotional responses such as gratitude and compassion. Davis isn't bad, but there it's easier for me to sin because there's less accountability, and it's sin that makes me less human.
What brought all this to mind was Gracepoint Live. I can personally connect with the themes that are being portrayed and have proper emotional reactions. Some of those scenes are really touching, and being able to feel joy and sadness, sometimes even crying, I realize that I am more human than I used to be. And I'm really grateful for that.
In the story the main character Meursault goes about life as if he's not really a part of the things that are going on around him; he recognizes what's happening, but his emotional responses are not engaging properly. He's at a funeral, and he knows he's supposed to feel sad, but he doesn't. Aware of some of the social norms and what people expect of him, he sort of goes through some of the motions, but mostly because that's just what he's supposed to do. There's a point where he and his friend spontaneously decide to chase after a truck; in that chase, Meursault feels really alive, he's in the moment, he's fully connected to what's happening. But it's a rare occasion, and most of the time he doesn't know why he's doing what he's doing, he just does them.
I used to feel like that a lot more. Like when that thank you card gets passed around, and I think yeah hmmm this person has done things for me, and I know I'm supposed to feel grateful but I don't, and now I'm supposed to write words about how I feel so grateful. But it's what's expected, so I will. This would happen for other kind of events too. That feeling of, I should be feeling a certain way right now, but I don't. I should be connected to what's happening right now, but I'm not. But because I know that this reaction is what's expected, I'll do it. And in that way I was like Meursault, a stranger in the world, out of place.
I've come to realize that being like that is to be less human, or, more inhuman. Sometimes when I'm back home in Davis for a longer period of time with not much to do, I find myself become more like that, more apathetic, more callous, more disconnected from the concerns of the people around me, more self-focused. But at Gracepoint the opposite happens, and I realized that Gracepoint makes me more human.
It's not that Davis is bad, but in Berkeley we have a community of people and a culture that fosters proper relationships, and by engaging in these relationships I've developed proper emotional responses such as gratitude and compassion. Davis isn't bad, but there it's easier for me to sin because there's less accountability, and it's sin that makes me less human.
What brought all this to mind was Gracepoint Live. I can personally connect with the themes that are being portrayed and have proper emotional reactions. Some of those scenes are really touching, and being able to feel joy and sadness, sometimes even crying, I realize that I am more human than I used to be. And I'm really grateful for that.
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