There is a sign on the wall in the gym at Covenant, which depicts a floorplan and emergency exits. Above this sign is ensribed the phrase "When you hear the buzzer." This has caused me to wonder, shouldn't they have said "if you hear the buzzer?" I still haven't heard it. But, in the meantime, since it is such a lovely phrase, and I must walk past it so many times, it has come to have a musical quality in my mind. Today I found that you can fit it to the tune "She'll be Coming 'Round the Mountain."
When you hear the buzzer soundin'
When you hear the buzzer soundin'
When you hear the buzzer soundin'
it's time to run...
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
One Lump or Two?
This post is, in the main, for my friends back home. I listened to an excellent chapel speaker yesterday, Dr. Peter Jones, a Christian author and lecturer. His topic was "Are We Loosing Our Christian Voice and Mind?" and there was a sub-topic which I didn't write fast enough to get down.
His primary thesis was that the greatest danger facing rising college students (the next generation that will be engaging in the adult world, as it were) is not a shift toward secularism, but "neo-paganism," or monism. Dr. Jones spent the majority of his time defining neo-paganism, but gave several examples of its popularization, including yoga, which claims that God and nature are one, and a recent bill passed in California legislating the re-write of all (all) of California's school textbooks to reflect positively on transexuality, thereby "outlawing the wrong of traditional marriage," as a congressman put it. Dr. Jones shared a quote by mid-to-late 19th century British Prime Minister William Gladstone.
"The result of the rejection of Christianity is not secularism, but paganism."
Mr. Jones outlined five basic points of neo-paganism, adding a piece to an illustration with each one.
1) All is one and one is all. Dr. Jones drew a circle.
2) All humanity is one. A number of dots appeared. Dr. Jones explained that when men believe they are all, they begin to attribute to themselves, to their souls especially, god-like attributes of eternality and omnispresence. Devotees to monisms have claimed to be god.
3) All religions are just a slice of the pie. Dr. Jones divided the circle into slices.
Note: At this point I almost lost all composure, jumped up, and screamed "monism says we're all a giant pepperoni pizza!!!!" I suppose I know what I would be if I weren't held captive by God's free grace.
Regardless of this, Dr. Jones pointed out that, just like a pizza, the neo-pagan model depicts religions as having seperate, hard, exterior crusts, but as also meeting in the middle in a gooey, squishy, yummy combination of everyone's ideas.
4) Unfortunately, mourns the monist, we have forgotten our oneness (somehow, somewhy) and therefore we have all these problems. Dr. Jones drew a jagged line through the pie. This is why we believe that we are mortal individuals, and that the physical world exists, and that there is a God seperate from the world.
These differences must be eliminated. A slight chill should get you right about now.
5) The one solution lies within. There are plenty of methods, "sacred technologies," ways to get within. Dr. Jones drew an arrow toward the center of the pie where all the pieces meet.
Well, how do we respond? We, as Christians, do not fit in the pie. Mr. Jones here made a very simple statement. "All is not one. All is two." Of course, our model does not stop with a simple numerical judgement, as monism does, or would like to. We have Creator and Creature. The Creator and His Creation are not the same thing. Upon this very basic concept are built all the truths of Christianity. Dr. Jones pointed out that being nothing more than a nice person is useless in combating neo-pagansim. Christ is our friend, yes. He is also God, Lord of the Cosmos. We must be witnesses to the truth, even if it costs us everything, as it did Christ. And, while on the subject, who is the only One to ever span the gap between Creator and Creature? The God-man, of course.
I have met neo-pagans, one in particular, who clearly stated each of these five points. At the time I was not familiar with his religion (he thought is was his own personal spirituality) and had difficulty responding. After all, his worldview did its best to swallow up mine and make it pointless what I believed. This lecture was of great benefit to me, and I hope will be useful to me, and you'all at home, in combating the idea of monism.
His primary thesis was that the greatest danger facing rising college students (the next generation that will be engaging in the adult world, as it were) is not a shift toward secularism, but "neo-paganism," or monism. Dr. Jones spent the majority of his time defining neo-paganism, but gave several examples of its popularization, including yoga, which claims that God and nature are one, and a recent bill passed in California legislating the re-write of all (all) of California's school textbooks to reflect positively on transexuality, thereby "outlawing the wrong of traditional marriage," as a congressman put it. Dr. Jones shared a quote by mid-to-late 19th century British Prime Minister William Gladstone.
"The result of the rejection of Christianity is not secularism, but paganism."
Mr. Jones outlined five basic points of neo-paganism, adding a piece to an illustration with each one.
1) All is one and one is all. Dr. Jones drew a circle.
2) All humanity is one. A number of dots appeared. Dr. Jones explained that when men believe they are all, they begin to attribute to themselves, to their souls especially, god-like attributes of eternality and omnispresence. Devotees to monisms have claimed to be god.
3) All religions are just a slice of the pie. Dr. Jones divided the circle into slices.
Note: At this point I almost lost all composure, jumped up, and screamed "monism says we're all a giant pepperoni pizza!!!!" I suppose I know what I would be if I weren't held captive by God's free grace.
Regardless of this, Dr. Jones pointed out that, just like a pizza, the neo-pagan model depicts religions as having seperate, hard, exterior crusts, but as also meeting in the middle in a gooey, squishy, yummy combination of everyone's ideas.
4) Unfortunately, mourns the monist, we have forgotten our oneness (somehow, somewhy) and therefore we have all these problems. Dr. Jones drew a jagged line through the pie. This is why we believe that we are mortal individuals, and that the physical world exists, and that there is a God seperate from the world.
These differences must be eliminated. A slight chill should get you right about now.
5) The one solution lies within. There are plenty of methods, "sacred technologies," ways to get within. Dr. Jones drew an arrow toward the center of the pie where all the pieces meet.
Well, how do we respond? We, as Christians, do not fit in the pie. Mr. Jones here made a very simple statement. "All is not one. All is two." Of course, our model does not stop with a simple numerical judgement, as monism does, or would like to. We have Creator and Creature. The Creator and His Creation are not the same thing. Upon this very basic concept are built all the truths of Christianity. Dr. Jones pointed out that being nothing more than a nice person is useless in combating neo-pagansim. Christ is our friend, yes. He is also God, Lord of the Cosmos. We must be witnesses to the truth, even if it costs us everything, as it did Christ. And, while on the subject, who is the only One to ever span the gap between Creator and Creature? The God-man, of course.
I have met neo-pagans, one in particular, who clearly stated each of these five points. At the time I was not familiar with his religion (he thought is was his own personal spirituality) and had difficulty responding. After all, his worldview did its best to swallow up mine and make it pointless what I believed. This lecture was of great benefit to me, and I hope will be useful to me, and you'all at home, in combating the idea of monism.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
[See Previous Post]
That was fun! Actually, I am a little lonely, but I am also surrounded by some excellent new friends. It's the fact that they aren't my other friends...who know me many times better, and have known me for longer. I'm really stretching it when the connection to people I talk to is "They're an ex-church member family's distant friends' daughter's high school classmate." As opposed to "we grew up together." Errgh. But I am very glad that the Lord has put me here, and He is giving me grace to follow Him. And pretty soon classes will start and I will fondly remember these memories of boredom. So, now that I have used this blog to release, analyze, and deal with my emotions, I will retire.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Meists Miss the Point
Another, even better worldview illustration is that there are really only two worldviews, Theism and Meism.
The Meist worships himself. What he believes is supreme, and, whether he actually burns incense to himself or to another "god", he still does it all for himself. If he sacrifices to help others, he has a selfish motive. If he gives up his life for others, it is so he will look good.
The Theist is alive, having seen the one in whom is Life, "and the life was the light of men." The Theist knows that God became a man and died for him, and He knows the God that became a man and died for him. He loves God. If he does anything for himself, it is so God will be glorified. If he sacrifices for others, it is in obedience to God. If he gives up his life for others, it is because his God, Brother, and Dearest Friend did the same for him.
The Meist worships himself. What he believes is supreme, and, whether he actually burns incense to himself or to another "god", he still does it all for himself. If he sacrifices to help others, he has a selfish motive. If he gives up his life for others, it is so he will look good.
The Theist is alive, having seen the one in whom is Life, "and the life was the light of men." The Theist knows that God became a man and died for him, and He knows the God that became a man and died for him. He loves God. If he does anything for himself, it is so God will be glorified. If he sacrifices for others, it is in obedience to God. If he gives up his life for others, it is because his God, Brother, and Dearest Friend did the same for him.
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