IRONY...

There are those in history who "loved" a "truth" so much,

They burned others at the stake (in this world),

Because "THE TRUTH" of those burned, did not reflect their mere "love."

CONVERSELY

There are those in history whose "truth" exemplified only "love,"

Unwittingly staking others to be burned (in the netherworld),

Because their MERE LOVE, wasn't reflective enough of "The Truth"

TRUTH without LOVE is like a dry river bed; it gives direction but no life.

LOVE without TRUTH is like a vast swamp land; it has plenty of life, but no direction.

COMBINED

LOVE and TRUTH are like a wide river valley, plenty of life on both sides, while still providing direction.

Perhaps one of the greatest challenges for the Christ-Follower,

Is striking the constant, circumstantially-driven,

Elliptical Balance,

Of practicing the

The LOVE of Christ's TRUTH,

For the TRUTH of Christ's LOVE

The greatest heresies in history

Are Always some contextually driven form,

Of privileging one of these dynamics

(Truth or Love)

Exclusively over the other...

Why “Theodicy” Exists Based on Moral and Ethical Decisions

It is both an ancient and present truth, that when a man exercises his autonomy, making a choice that ends beneficially, then from his vantage point, it was because of what he did; and concludes that God was not necessary... However, when that man exercises the same autonomy, making a choice that ends poorly, and then he concludes God is at fault; because God didn’t protect him from the consequences of the choice he made.

We encourage God to be absent when we make choices that bring us pleasure; but we blame God when He isn't present to protect us from choices that cause us pain.

We don't want to be INFORMED by God about HOW to choose, we only want to be PROTECTED by God, regardless of WHAT we choose.

Unlimited power held by those without character,

Is characterized in those

Who Would exercise power without limits.

... But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not us

We are afflicted in every way,

But not crushed;

Perplexed,

But not driven to despair;

Persecuted,

But not forsaken;

Struck down,

But not destroyed;

Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus,

So that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies...

...So death is at work in us,

But life in you

For this light momentary affliction is preparing us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison

II Corinthians 4:7-10;11b-12; 17

Lets be honest, in the case of the Apostle Paul's affliction he saw Jewish authorities, Roman Centurions and exhausting physical hardships associated with his Missionary Journeys. We, on the other hand, see our afflictions stemming from an adversarial Post-Christian Culture, Bondage to our Finances and an Emotional Semi-Paralysis attempting to engage our Purpose and Meaning for our Life.

The question is: "Do the above passages still apply in the same way for us today?" Or: "Is God still there for us in the same manner, despite the radical change of 'affliction' in our culture?" Can the same splendor and glory burnished in the Roman Colosseum, for the afflicted faithful, comport with we contemporary sycophants, subtly afflicted (no less in bondage) metaphorically by Fitzgerald's infamous West Egg?

If we look to much to the kind of "affliction" that once was as a measure of faith and response, can we misapprehend a different kind of current affliction, that while different, is no less severe and destructive? The brick and mortar of today's Colosseum's are made up of a composite of materials we know as: Individualism, Hedonism, Materialism and Debtism.