The Dynamic In Christian Spiritual Formation

Behind Every Sin

There Is Temptation [peirasmos]

Behind Every Temptation [peirasmos]**

There is a Test [peirasmos]

Behind Every Test [peirasmos]

There is intended godly Wisdom and Illumination

Behind godly Wisdom and Illumination

There is Awareness For Divine Direction

Behind Awareness and Divine Direction

There is True Fulfillment for our
Dire Personal Needs...

(Because of Our Depravity, Brokenness & Woundedness)*

Behind the Fulfillment of Our True Needs

There is Peace [Shalom] & Restoration [Imago Dei]**

Apart From These...

There is only Our Falleness

Behind Our Falleness

There is Only SUFFERING & DEATH****


Note*

Depravity = The Will & Desire To Sin
Brokenness = The Image of God is Damaged
Woundedness = What Others Do To Us That
Accelerates & Intensifies Our Depravity &
Brokenness

Note: **

Cornelius Plantinga offers the following comments and definition of "Shalom."

"This webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets called shalom. We call it "peace," but it means far more than than just peace of mind or cease-fire between enemies. (As a matter of fact, the area-over which two armies may declare a cease fire-fire may be acres of smoldering ruins.) In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight - a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, all under the arch of God's love. Shalom, in other words, is the way things are supposed to be."


Note***

That which is in Red represents "Sin Management"
This is where most Christians live out their entire faith

That which is in Green represents: "The Inner
Life In Christ"

rsg 10/30/2009

How We Motivate People For Christ

Jesus Christ Stands
On The Sufficiency
Of WHO He Is

If That Is Not Good Enough

Then Why Should Hell
Be Any Better?

There is Far More Virtue In
Deciding FOR Christ
Versus AGAINST Hell

Biblical Principles or Personal Preferences

The Church That Is Driven By

Biblical Principles

Is The Church That Leads

Others To Heaven


The Church That Is Driven By

Personal Preferences

Is The Church That Leads

Others To Hell

rsg
(10-18-09)

What Color Do We Live Our Lives In?

First Photo Ever Taken From Outer Space
Of The Planet Earth


Most Of Us LIVE

More According To What What FEAR Inwardly

Rather Than What We HOPE For Outwardly

This Kind of Existence

Is The Difference Between

Portraying Our Life

From The "NEGATIVE" Of A Photo

LIMITED to The Grainy and Dualistic Color Pallette

Of A Black And White Photo

Versus

The Our Life Portrayed As The Photo

That EMBRACES The Joyful, Quixotic, Nuances

Of The Full and Dynamic Color Spectrum

The Problem With Scientism Scientists – aka Richard Dawkins

So I was watching an interview today between Bill O' Reilly and Richard Dawkins (famous or infamous, depending one's perspective). Dawkins', is a self-proclaimed atheist who's two most recent books, are The God Delusion (2006) and The Greatest Show On Earth (2009). O' Reilly's primary point, which Dawkins quickly conceded, was that Science can't explain how it (the universe) all began; and until Science could explain otherwise, said O' Reilly, he chose to believe in God. Dawkins countered saying thing rather than believe in God, seek a way "to do better science (e.g. have "faith" in science)."
I find it interesting that Dawkins, whose worldview is "Scientism," makes this gratuitous and irrational leap in logic, that even though Science can't explain the origin of the Universe, it would still be appropriate to conclude that it could not have been created by God – despite not having the hard conclusive science to the contrary. This was the primary hole in Dawkin's argument, and I would have loved to have seen O' Reilly catch him in it… Again… if you can't prove something with science, then in equal manner you cannot disprove the same something with it either….
There is a kind of palpitating arrogance for those who embrace Scientism. To (in mind numbing fashion) lightly sweep aside all other worldviews,* and privilege ONLY their own exclusively, is something that most other worldviews do not even consider… Even the most hardened, conservative Christian, for example, understands the value of Science in providing perspective when it comes to what is really real; but Scientism Scientists like Dawkins can't conceive of returning the favor, despite enormous deficiencies in their logic and the Scientism mechanism otherwise. Scientists who embrace Scientism can offer us nothing more than a "hypothesis" (educated guess) in regards to the origins of the universe - which is in essence their Worldview.
Let's get this straight. Scientism Scientists like Dawkins fundamentally believe the only appropriate way "reality" can be determined is through the Scientific Method. That being said let me ask this question:

Has everything that could have been discovered by the

Scientific Method,

Been discovered by the Scientific Method…?

NO…

THEN DOES IT EXIST?

Yes! Things Do Exist Outside The Scientific Method

Regardless of Whether It Has Been Discovered By The Sceintism Scientist Or Not!

Scientists and Scientism Scientists discover new things almost everyday – from sub-atomic physics to biological life forms. Yet, to be logically consistent, those things can't exist according to the Scientism Scientist. Could it be possible, that the Scientific Method is simply a too impoverished a device for discovering all that there can be? Including the existence of God? If one starts with the a priori position that the only reality is a physical one… then the only Worldview one can use is Scientism… And, if one ONLY uses the Scientific Method and no other, how can one know of its potential limitations? The Scientific Method in this way is all exclusive and self-validating all at one time – it reserves the right to be above and beyond all critique, from any other Worldview. After all, one could argue surreptitiously that the Scientific Method hasn't been proven by the Scientific Method - right? So, hmnn... Does it exist?

*The Four Great Questions
of A Worldview

1. Who(se) Are We?
2. Where Are We?
3. What is Wrong?

4. How Do We Fix It?

“Who’s Minding The Store?!”

If The Cultural Mentality Was "Response-Ability"
Before The Mid 1970's

(You Do What You Have To Do, To Make This World A Better Place)

And If It Morphed Into A "Culture of Therapy"
Until The End of The 20th Century

(There is an Ambiguous Correlation Between The Degree of a Person's Victimization
And The Amount of Responsibility They Can Be Held Accountable For)

Then It Has Tragically, Since Become
A Culture of "Play" In The 21st Century

There Isn't Anything

More Dangerous To Our Current Culture

Than A Group of Self-Identified Victims

Who Gratuitously Theraputize Themselves

Through An "Entitlement" Life-Style, of

Self-Absorbed Play