The Truth Hurts
For some reason I was pondering over something that I heard in a talk last month that rung true, but was difficult for me to entirely digest because it kinda stung;
The worst thing about Christianity is Christians.
So I spent a bit of time de-technicalising, deconstructing and then re-piecing it together again and I came to a simple conclusion that gave me some comfort that I'm doing life right - although the statement reaffirms that humans are depraved, it reinforces our need for God.
God did it, he came out on top
again. Nice.
Relativism and Materialism
I posted this on my blog 16 September 2008. Just some food for thought.
i'll try to keep this simple.
relativism can be defined as, "
any theory holding that criteria of judgment are relative, varying with individuals and their environments" and of course my contention cannot be complete without reference to wikipedia, where moral relativism is defined as, "
the position that moral or ethical propositions do not reflect objective and/or universal moral truths."
in a nutshell, relativism means that everybody is right and no one is wrong - that one can say what they like but that they can also pass it off as truth.
but does that make sense? the problem with relativism, in particular moral relativism is more clearly seen in how people expect others to behave. a true relativist would agree that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. if that is so, then they would also agree that someone could do anything they wanted and not have anyone else tell them it was wrong.
what's more, relativism is an absolute in itself! relativism imposes the absolute that all truths are valid, so it's a paradox.
likewise, so many people think that all religions are equally valid, that you can take bits and pieces of different faiths and weave them together to find a perfect compromise. one such thinking is the Baha'i faith, which bases its beliefs on the "unity of religions". but how can they be united in belief if they differ from each other? how can you make a Jew believe that the Islamic Mohammed was a prophet? or how do you reconcile that Christians believe the Messiah has already come, when Jews are still waiting? faiths can't be equal when they are mutually exclusive and preclude another from being correct.
the implications are mind-boggling; a child consistently lies - "I'm allowed to lie because I believe it's right." a thief steals - "no one can tell me otherwise because everyone's entitled to their beliefs." a murderer kills - "i take life because i want to and i believe there's nothing wrong with it." this means that no one can say that Hitler was evil and that the holocaust was justified because it was just his point of view. as we know though, that argument is utter rubbish - what Hitler did was wrong.
but how do we know this? what is it that makes us know that murder is abhorrent behaviour? where did our sense of justice come from? people say it was taught to us from birth. true, but then where did our ancestors get it from? im sure evolutionists will argue it's due to survival of the species, that it's in our
genes to want to keep others alive but there is inconsistency in that argument from them.
if we truly did evolve as a fish out of water, an organism by chance, then we are purely material. that in the big scheme of things we dont have "souls", we just exist purely due to chance. that we don't have a reason for living and while our actions affect those around us, who cares? a good analogy i heard was if there was a plant, rabbit and child on the road, if you were an evolutionist you wouldn't try to avoid any of them in particular because you would believe they are all equal creations due to chance. "does it matter that the child is a human? they evolved as a result of a sperm and ovum just like the rabbit, no more, no less."
so i come back to what i mentioned earlier, that we "feel" that murder is bad because it negatively affects the continuation of the species. but as an evolutionist, why would you care if the species survived or not? aren't we just creations of chance, with no personal or intrinsic values at all, purely material? and even if for some "unexplained scientific reason" we wanted our species to surive, we'd all be racists. why would a caucasian want to help prolong the survival of asians? aren't we somewhat biologically different and therefore have a desire to perpetuate the survival our own race to the detriment of other races?
Richard Dawkins, a well-know atheist writes in his book, A River Out of Eden;
In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no other good. Nothing but blind, pitiless indifference. DNA neither knows nor cares. And we dance to its music.If our actions are dictated by our DNA, true materialism, then anyone who has ever murdered has a right to say they were merely "dancing to their DNA" and not at fault, just like if a rabid dog who mauls someone to death.
C.S. Lewis, Christian and well known author argues against this;
My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how have I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? ... Of course, I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too - for the argument depended on saying the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my private fancies.1a lot of people tend to have the answer stare them right in the face but they refuse to accept, whether by stubborness, arrogance, or both. take Dr. George Wald for instance, a Nobel Prize winner for Medicine and a professor at Harvard University who said;
When it comes to the Origin of Life there are only two possibilities: creation or spontaneous generation. There is no third way. Spontaneous Generation was disproved one hundred years ago, but that leads us to only one other conclusion, that of supernatural creation. We cannot accept that on philosophical grounds; therefore, we choose to believe the impossible: that life arose spontaneously by chance!2
by his own admission, it makes more scientific sense to believe in intelligent design, that we were created by a higher being, who created us with a sense of purpose in our lives. but he specifically chooses to believe the opposite of the results of research, that of the impossible. what does that tell you about the objectivity of science?
anyway hopefully i've generated some food for thought and that you might invest some time yourself to read up about this. because it matters.
1. Tinker, M. "Evil, Evangelism and Ecclesiastes" Themelios 28.2 (Spring 2003): 4-15
2. "The Origin of Life," Scientific American, 191:48, May 1954
2009 Calendar
Hi guys,
After much yammering on about me putting this up (even though no one really checks this), I've put up the 2009 calendar.
31 July - Ministry Night
28 August - Sharing Night
25-27 September - Youth Camp
30 October - Corporate Dinner
27 November - Games Night
18 December - End of Year Christmas BBQ
2008 Calendar
Hi guys,
Just so you can pencil these dates into your diaries and know what's coming up, here's the 2008 calendar.
25 April - Revival night
23 May - Prayer night
30 May - Corporate Dinner
27 June - Corporate Dinner
25 July - Corporate Dinner/Revival night
29 August - Corporate Dinner/Quiz night
26 September - Corporate Dinner/Singing & Sharing night
31 October - Corporate Dinner
28 November - Corporate Dinner
19 December - End of Year Christmas BBQ
Ravens and Lilies
I'm sitting here amused. Only because I think this post will be rhetoric - not sure if anyone even visits anymore, but in the off-chance someone does, I hope this will be useful.
Right now I'm also feeling semi-guilty. Whilst I have an exam on Tuesday (probably one of the hardest ones I've ever done!) I'm guilty to the extent that I should be studying. However I'm on my "lunch-break" so I guess I can let this one slide. I do realise though that whatever I don't do now I will have to do later - if there's time to! Shouldn't take any longer than 15 minutes though.
Wanted to share something from my daily devotion from yesterday, however I realised I won't actually be at Youth Group to share till...next year! I have work functions on the 14th and 21st December, then it's holidays for two weeks for Tim and Caleb.
I digress. I've been reading through Luke recently and yesterday's reading brought me to a section in Chapter 12 titled, "Do Not Worry."
22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.Do not worry Jesus says. And how hard it is for us to understand! I worry so much, every hour, every day! For some it can totally consume them, constantly checking their bank balances, their wardrobe and doing regular stocktakes on their possessions. I admit I'm sometimes guilty of these, but how comforting it is to know that mere creatures like ravens have been looked after by God? And surely, as Jesus points out that we are worth so much more to God than birds!
I found the next paragraph more visual which helped run the point home. I pictured lush grassland over rolling hills, dotted with bright lilies. And to think how beautiful each lily is, that doesn't require effort on their part to create their look. Once again, as if God wouldn't look after us if He's looked after flowers!
Anyway, the verses helped me to realise I should just chill out and that it's all good. That God loves us so much more than birds or flowers, plans to prosper and not harm us (Jer 29:11). But I think the passage speaks for itself.
there are so many things in a lifetime that you
have to do, or you
should do that really go against what you
want to do.
for example, the CA. i should study, but i have so many other things i prefer to do. i think it's exacerbated by the fact that i have limited time as it is with full time work and other commitments. with CA, i don't have any time to do the things i'd like to anymore. but oh well, that's exactly what i mean by things you have to do. i don't like using other people's slogans, but i have to say, Nike really hit the nail on the head because so many, many times i have used the phrase "just do it". it's really quite clever and extraordinary, because of its effectiveness despite its simplicity.
so you find yourself asking questions like "why?" and as painful and against your will it may be, there's the rational, logical part of you that pushes through that and says "because it's the right thing to do." although there are often times that you don't know what is best for you, even though you think you do.
i guess at the end of the day, after fighting and struggling against all those things where i'm asked many little questions every single day, my answers are what defines me as a person. i'm just so glad that i know i have Jesus and i don't have to do it alone.
HAPPY BDAY DAVE!!!!!! i know you read this and frankly your the only one
Hi there
Dave C is celebrating his 21st b'day and YOU are invited!
It will be on the 18th august (next saturday) from 1.30pm til about 4.30pm!
at scuc church in the hall
food is provided!
for catering purposes
please RSVP to vic -->
victorkhor@gmail.comsee you then!
vic
fondue fryday + stOopid games!!!!
hey there guys
just a shout out to let everyone know that this friday we will be having a hugely fun event :
fondue/fry-day + stupid games
the idea is that we all get together,
fry up heaps of food
eat it
fondue (coat things with chocolate) heaps of food
eat it
then play heaps of stupid, random but hugely fun games
please PLEASE remember to wear normal, everyday clothes (TRAKKIES!) that you are willing to get a little wet and/or dirty!
no heels
no suits
=)
starts at 7.30pm!
at church!
bring friends!
and see you there!
vic
