The Roller Coaster of Life

Sorry about how long it has been since my last post. I have been busy this past month, and have learned quite a lot. When I left at the beginning of this month, I departed for a church camp. Before departing, my mood was one of confusion and of being unsure of the future. But at camp I really realized that God knows what will happen in the future and He will always be there for me.

Everyone listen! God does not let us know what will happen too far into the future because if we knew we might try to change it. By leading us blindly, we can let less human nature interfere with God's amazing plans. God put me on a roller coaster a few months ago and has been keeping me on it, in the dark, and throwing me in loops. I was unsure of what would come next. I never knew if I would be upset, ornery, or oddly joyous. But now I have seen that those loops made me appreciate the good times that have come. I may be stretched to the max right now, but God is making me appreciate those little moments, teaching me to stop and smell the flowers, and not take anything for granted. If we never experienced negative things, we would not understand the good things as much as we do when we know the bad. This is all part of God's plan. God's plan for you is different than his plan for me, and that is the beauty of it all. No one is the same, so God uses us in different ways. He has to get us to come to Him in a different way. For me, he has been wearing me down and crippling me so that he must be my crutch and my resting place. This is really showing me that I always need God. For some people, he might be performing miracles-small or big-to get your attention, or just letting you glide along for a short time.

I do not know what is going on in your personal life, but I do know that God will provide for you, no matter what. "Do not let others look down upon you because you are young"-Jesus

Why Existentialism is True (and Why it must be Denied)

For some time now, I have discussed the meaninglessness of everything. Everything is pointless. This I have tried to prove time and time again. However, I never got to the next step- God. "Meaninglessness without God," the antithesis being "meaning with God." This antithesis is the conclusion that I have desired to reach but never actually followed through on. Well, here we go. Man is in an absurd position- everything he does leads to nothing. The one thing that matters, the spiritual, is the only non-absurd thing to work for. Anything less is madness- actual insanity. With this in mind, we must seek ever after the spiritual in all that we do, or else go insane. I have reached this brink of insanity, and come to warn the rest. Life is pointless and futile without God. Carpe Diem Par Deus.

Why?: The Christian-Theistic Answer

"Living for God is the only reasonable existence."
The Christian says that the earth was created by a personal God who posesses many traits which will be defined later. He created a perfect world, but satan, one of God's servants, was allowed to fall. Satan brought several other angels with him in his fall. Satan also tempted Adam to disobey God by eating of the fruit that God had forbidden. In disobeying God, Adam sinned and fell from grace. Because God was merciful, however, He allowed Adam to live anyway. Man in general is now in the state he is in due to both God's creation and Adams fall. The Christian also believes that man can return to grace by being made perfect through God's Son, that is, Jesus Christ. God sacrificed Christ in order to atone for us (and therefore be loving) while still satisfying His own need for justice. This sums up the universe in the Christian sense.

God has many traits that make him God. Firstly, he is composed of three parts, while still being one God. This means that the Christian is a monotheist, but believes in a three part God. The how of this trinity is unknown but to God himself (Whenever I am using a non-female gender term, I will use "he" rather than "it". Also note that the word "man" is used to refer to mankind or humanity rather than individual men. Note that women are included in the second term. I apologize to any who this may offend.). We are but concerned with the direct application of this, and it means very little in the discussion of "why?" God is also all powerful, meaning that he influences the universe however he will, and can (but does not) do anything. Note that this omnipotency does not allow for contradictions, such as, "can God create a rock so large that he can't lift it?" Such questions are irrelevant and absurd. He is also immutable, or unchanging. He is the "I AM." This is his name in Hebrew, and shows how he is now, in the future, and in the past. His immutability is directly linked to his immortality. He is also above time, and is not influenced by fourth-dimensional bounds as are we.

God is the only perfect being, and as such creates a standard for morality. His righteousness is the ultimate measuring stick. As a just God, he must punish all those who come short of that standard. As a loving God, he desires to help those who he loves. As a personal God, he cares about the individual souls in the universe. This love and personality made him satisfy his love and justice at the same time by offering up his son as a substitute for man in judgement. This sacrifce, that of Christ, gives man a hope at eternity, which gives man a purpose. The Bible even discusses meaninglessness in the book of Ecclesiastes, as a terrible thing that can only be avoided by living for God and eternity.

Through a study of the Bible, therefore, the why of everything can be best summarized as a constant relation back to God. God created the world. Man and angels fell from God. God loved man enough to offer him a hope. Man can either reject or accept this hope, but God grants it nonetheless. If there was no God, not only would life be purposless, but existence impossible. Others can offer better reasoning for the "how" of the Christian system, but the point of this essay is the rather the why of existence. Man, in the Christian view, lives either a) for God or b) for an absurdity, or the self. Ecclesiastes shows why the second form of existence is so absurd to the Christian system.

On Epistemology

Epistemology is the philosophical doctrine dealing with knowing. It is one of the two major branches of metaphysics, the other concerning the questions of being. Knowledge has oft been debated throughout the history of philosophy. What is it to know, exactly? Some say that knowledge must be entirely gained from experience. I only know that knowledge is something to be had, and only aids in the temporal. Epistemology is entirely a secondary joke. It loses its point after any considerration of meaning in the greater sense. It goes back to what Kierkegaard says - rationalistic ideas can never aid faith in a God, only hinder it. Knowledge is important, but it will never come close to the spiritual in importance.

This Post is Pointless

This post contains no original information. It will most likely illicit no real response from those who read it. The whole point of the post is diminished by the simple fact that it has been posted. One, maybe two people will read it. Neither will comment. If they comment, they will forget about it later. It will do nothing but waste the time of the reader. Now suppose that someone takes something away from it - then it might have some import. But whatever they take awa can in no way be the intended purpose of the post (due to Freudian theory.) Therefore, it is useless to write this, but still necessary.

A Few Questions for the beginning Philosopher

These are the first questions of philosophy, in some form of order. Offshoots will be labeled with letters.

1) Should one Commit suicide?
(Majority Say: No)

2) Is there a God?
(No Consensus)

a) What is God like?

b) Why should I believe in him?

3) What is Existence?

a) What makes a man a man?

4) What is it to know something?

5) What is the purpose of human life?

a) What do I do if there is no purpose?

b) What is my individual purpose?

The list goes on. Most of these questions are highly debated, even today. Except for, of course, the first question, which Camus and Sartre rather definitively answered. This list should keep you busy. Have fun philosphizing!

Nihilism

There is absolutely nothing. Being and knowing are a lie. So is any system of any sort. Absolutely nothing is. Everything 'exists' simply that it may be destroyed. What's the point of this world, then? There is none. The key is to get over that, and take pleasure in bringing the world down. Life for the sake of causing death. The Will to Power - Nietzschian/Darwinian thought takes hold. The only point is to destroy the point. Bury yourself in purposelessness, and thereby find your purpose. What higher standard than this is there? We are nothing, and therefore must bring all to naught. There is the only purpose, however meaningless it may be.

With all destruction intended,

A Skeptic

Why The Bee has a Purpose, While Man Does Not

The bee is an astoundingly beautiful animal. It lives in a perfectly organized society, controlled by one Queen. This creature labors all of its life to create honey, and then dies. This is the average bee's entire existence - to labor for twenty-odd days, and then to die. This bee, in all of its life, never even considers that what it is doing is wrong. It is blessed and cursed by a hive mind, always elevating the queen above itself. Its purpose is found in its universal, that is, its hive. Man, on the other hand, is an individual. As such, the universal (society) can not be his purpose. He cannot work for society unless he denies himself. This denial takes away mans purpose. However, over-selfness also takes away man's purpose. This leads to man finding a universal meaning in God alone, by nature of the immortality offered by God. The bee has a purpose, because it lives entirely in the present. Man- Because he lives in a future immortality. All other meaning in life is found only in inherently meaningless things. This is the absurdity of man's condition, the absurdity that the bee will never experience.

Some Rationalistic Proofs For God

I have encountered several proofs for the existence of a Christian God, and have decided to summarize these as best I can.

1) The Beautiful World Argument
Creation is astoundingly complex. It exhibits an unexplicable level of intricacy, unless a creator is postulated. A God is necessary due to nature's beauty and aforementioned complexity. This argument is simple, but effective. Further readings on similiar arguments are copious. See Lee Strobel's Case For a Creator for similiar arguments.

2) Man as Shadow of God
The Christian God created man in His image. Therefore, God has several mannish traits (Or rather, man has several divine traits). Among these are a sort of Love, justice, independence, and a desire to work in his own interest. Keep in mind that man perverted these traits during the fall. This divinity is the Christian God, and seems inherently easy for man to worship and strive for. This isn't so much of a proof, but is a nice supplement to other proofs.

3) The Source of Man's Personality
We have two ideas. Man either has a personality, or is essentially a normal animal. Our instinct would like to believe the former, that we really do have free choice. It is also difficult to say that our personality came from impersonal, unfeeling nature, as immoral as that is. Therefore, we must attribute our personality to some higher source, namely, a deity. Now, this may not be the most convincing proof, but it is an excellent supplementary rationale. I take the idea from Francis Schaeffer's The God Who Is There.

4)Man's Hunger
This is a classic C.S. Lewis proof, found in his Mere Christianity, among other works. The premise is this: Man desires, however irrationally, some form of pleasure and lasting happiness that he cannot have. This hunger is compensated for through such pursuits as sex, vacations, hobbies, etc. Every other earthly hunger has something to fill it. Sexual desire: sex. Actual hunger: Food. The list goes on. This appetite evinces something more, and therefore we can believe in a God.

5) Purposelessness Without God
If there is no God, then man is absolutely without a real meaning in an absurd world (See Camus' works). This is a very difficult position, and when supplemented with Lewis' proof (See above) creates a very real temporal, as well as eternal, need for God. If it weren't for this meaninglessness, I might very well be an atheist. I hold this proof rather close, as I have really legitimized my belief through it.

6) The Bible
Now, it is rather circular logic to use the Bible to prove the Bible. However, the real proof lies in that the Bible is an accurate source of historical truth. Thus, it has some credibility, which we can view in its historical accounts. This accuracy of realistic detail gives the Bible a reality to it, that is far easier to accept than the pantheistic mythologies of the past. Therefore, external proof grants a real light of credibility to the Bible.

Now, I agree with Kierkegaard in that rationalistic proofs can never increase faith. Man does need to make the decision and intellectual leap to come to God. However, these proofs (I hope) can help others in their Christian walks.