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i-b-goB
Social climber
Wise Acres
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It is not about us as much as in whom we put our faith...
Exodus 33:18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” 19 And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”
Matthew 17:1 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
1 John 3:1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Isaiah 55:9
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
...God being God is by nature Holy, Holy, Holy!
It will take being in glory to know more but we have enough in God's word to get it!
Edit; Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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You might be interested in knowing that the hardcore Catholic contemplative orders like Trappists (a very rare brand of folks) have their own strain of meditation derived in part from "The Cloud of Unknowing." A remarkable read if you ever have a few hours. Also, they got a lot of Zen training from Thomas Merton and later the Jesuits took it up. So behind the scenes, some of those Catholics have been bearing down. I never had the head of an anchorite so it always fascinates me that someone could live like that. Some of them have a remarkable presence that is silently projected, like a force field. They're not sitting around arguing if the Tower of Babel was actually built. They're star walkers so far as I can tell, whereas I really never got off the boulders. Tastes differ...
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Wise Acres
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Nov 10, 2016 - 08:36am PT
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Why God Allows Choice
by Henry M. Morris III, D.Min.
“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16)
It is absolutely clear that God is love (John 3:16; 1 John 4:19) Therefore, many have suggested that such a unilateral love as is cited in the above texts would require that God eliminate any judgment for disobedience to His commands, or that He create such a condition that all humanity would naturally love God as part of their basic personality.
The apparent conflict is often repeated in the false logic “If God loves the world and is all powerful, why would He allow evil?” Simply put, the answer is this: God is love; God loves mankind; love requires that a choice be made; choice allows for the possible rejection of God’s unilateral love. God, therefore, created humanity with the ability to positively respond to His love—or to consciously reject His offer of love.
The simple truth of the Scriptures is inescapable.
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10)
God allows for the possibility of evil so that human love may exist. HMM III http://www.icr.org/article/9606/
"The Master saith, Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?"
Mark 14:14
Jerusalem at the time of the passover was one great inn; each householder had invited his own friends, but no one had invited the Saviour, and he had no dwelling of his own. It was by his own supernatural power that he found himself an upper room in which to keep the feast. It is so even to this day--Jesus is not received among the sons of men save only where by his supernatural power and grace he makes the heart anew. All doors are open enough to the prince of darkness, but Jesus must clear a way for himself or lodge in the streets. It was through the mysterious power exerted by our Lord that the householder raised no question, but at once cheerfully and joyfully opened his guest chamber. Who he was, and what he was, we do not know, but he readily accepted the honour which the Redeemer proposed to confer upon him. In like manner it is still discovered who are the Lord's chosen, and who are not; for when the gospel comes to some, they fight against it, and will not have it, but where men receive it, welcoming it, this is a sure indication that there is a secret work going on in the soul, and that God has chosen them unto eternal life. Are you willing, dear reader, to receive Christ? then there is no difficulty in the way; Christ will be your guest; his own power is working with you, making you willing. What an honour to entertain the Son of God! The heaven of heavens cannot contain him, and yet he condescends to find a house within our hearts! We are not worthy that he should come under our roof, but what an unutterable privilege when he condescends to enter! for then he makes a feast, and causes us to feast with him upon royal dainties, we sit at a banquet where the viands are immortal, and give immortality to those who feed thereon. Blessed among the sons of Adam is he who entertains the angels' Lord.
CHARLES SPURGEON
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9 Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
12 “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Nov 10, 2016 - 09:26am PT
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Sheesh, knock it off with the spam already!
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Matt Sarad
climber
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Nov 10, 2016 - 09:41am PT
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THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN CONTROL PEOPLE IS TO LIE TO THEM. You can write that down in your book in great big letters. The only way you can control anybody is to lie to them.
L. Ron Hubbard
Lecture: "Off the Time Track" (June 1952) as quoted in Journal of Scientology issue 18-G, reprinted in Technical Volumes of Dianetics & Scientology Vol. 1, p. 418.
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Wise Acres
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Nov 10, 2016 - 09:42am PT
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Oy vey, God is not spam! ; )
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Nov 10, 2016 - 09:48am PT
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I was at Sprout's, our local healthy food store, scoring their super good granola by the pound the other day, and at the checkout line, where you normally see tabloid newspapers claiming Elvis is still alive, I noticed a magazine devoted to mindful meditation. There was another one that talked about Zen and modern living. Mind you that this was a place to buy non GMO foods and that kind of stuff. Like a Whole Foods, but smaller. I love Whole Foods, but the closest one is 30 minutes away. Half a day if I ride my bike, which I use far more than my car.
I had no idea that it was such pop culture. I mean, when I go to Hobby Lobby, I don't see a bunch of Jesus periodicals while standing in the checkout line, and they make no bones about being a religious chain of stores. They had a Supreme Court case a while back.
The emphasis seems to be on "mindful meditation," with the word "Zen" tossed in now and then. Hey, it must be selling magazines, the cover story was about how Sandra Oh, from Grey's Anatomy, practiced mindful meditation.
How many types of meditation are there?
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Nov 10, 2016 - 10:49am PT
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BASE - Mindful meditation, formally called Vapassana, is perhaps the most secular approach that is widely available in the US, and since it has lost most of it's cultural accretions, it makes the most sense to many Americans.
I think that any movement or organization that grows is going to have to start handling things like a business, and most businesses advertise to help make ends meet.
That much said, I still go to mindful groups occasionally (oddly I was at a Mindfullness center this morning) just to mix it up, and most are run by knowledgeable and committed people. Conversely, Zen, especially renzai zen, will never be popular because its so stripped back and hard core. Like doing off width climbing forever.
The other thing is that mindfulness (mostly) is the art of following body sensations, so it gives people something to grab hold of, whereas no-mind or objectless meditation is not only ungraspable, but it's the opposite of any dreamy state since you do it with your eyes open. You're just simply and profoundly right where your ass is.
Most of us try on a few different modalities for size till we find the right fit, or at least something they can practice. Good teachers are crucial in this regards. Eventually you do any form, just to change it up.
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High Fructose Corn Spirit
Gym climber
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Nov 15, 2016 - 03:36pm PT
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Here's an alternative critique of Sean Carroll's The Big Picture that I happened across - it is one that strongly parallels my own experience and impressions of the book and its content.
Among its items...
"As an aside, I also appreciated the way the author talked about religion. In contrast with the cold anti-religiosity of Richard Dawkins and friends, Carroll, as a former Catholic, described his conversion to naturalism in a compassionate way, and treats religious readers with respect instead of scorn and dismissal. As a former militant atheist who softened over the years, I wish more science writers adopted this approach; it introduces the possibility of real, meaningful dialogue between the divide."
And then there's these tidbits...
he describes a way to unify, without cognitive dissonance, the many different stories we tell about how the Universe works (such as quantum and classical physics, chemistry, biology, information theory, neuroscience, and psychology).
sometimes you don’t need to shake apart your entire view of the world – sometimes you need to give it some seismic reinforcement.
http://rogerclark.org/post/thebigpicture/
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jogill
climber
Colorado
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Nov 19, 2016 - 12:42pm PT
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Dorothy L. Sayers argued that the question was "simply a debating exercise" and that the answer "usually adjudged correct" was stated as, "Angels are pure intelligences, not material, but limited, so that they have location in space, but not extension."
Sounds like a virtual angelic particle. Or an intersection of religion and hyperreal numbers.
In any event, clearly a subject of inquiry in either physics or mathematics.
An excellent example of religion and science working together for the common good.
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Wise Acres
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Nov 19, 2016 - 01:04pm PT
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Nov 19, 2016 - 01:17pm PT
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Suggested answers[edit]
Dorothy L. Sayers argued that the question was "simply a debating exercise" and that the answer "usually adjudged correct" was stated as, "Angels are pure intelligences, not material, but limited, so that they have location in space, but not extension."
Quite a bit more complicated than I was expecting. I was going to suggest 6 (angels that is).
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jgill
Boulder climber
The high prairie of southern Colorado
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Nov 19, 2016 - 10:46pm PT
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So, apart from those old classy paintings, what does an angel really look like? I refer posters to go back a number of pages and gaze at my rendition of Azreal, obtained without artist input . . . purely from the reality of unpredictable math images arising from my unconscious store of Jungian archtypes. This is scary stuff.
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Nov 20, 2016 - 08:45am PT
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So, apart from those old classy paintings, what does an angel really look like?
--
It looks like you during an act of kindness or charity.
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paul roehl
Boulder climber
california
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Nov 20, 2016 - 09:53am PT
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The intersection of faith and naturalism is always difficult, note the angels' halos that become dinner plate like objects blocking the faces of other angels in Giotto's ernest attempt to naturalize the conceptual. Best to critique this intersection with empathy and a realization of the complex validity of each approach.
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Wise Acres
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Nov 20, 2016 - 03:00pm PT
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truth, fiction, or consequences...
November 20, 2016
Let God Be True
“For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written. That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” (Romans 3:3-4)
Many Christians are so intimidated by the arrogant unbelief of the supposed intellectuals of the world that they either reject or compromise or ignore the difficult teachings of Scripture. This is a grievous mistake, for all of God’s “sayings” are “justified” and He will surely “overcome” all those who presume to “judge” Him and His Word.
The only reason to believe in evolution, for example, is the fact that most such intellectuals believe it. There is no real evidence, either in the Bible or in science, for evolution or any other form of unbelief, yet many professed believers in Christ seem to have “loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43). Therefore they assume that God does not really mean what He says in His Word, thereby making faith in His Word “without effect.”
God’s truth is not determined, however, by taking a vote, or by the opinions of skeptics, or by metaphysical speculation. It is determined by God Himself, and none other, “for the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth” (Psalm 33:4).
Therefore, as our text commands: “Let God be true, but every man a liar.” The very criterion of truth is the Word of God. It is good to explain God’s Word to those open to its truth, but never to explain it away, by some compromising accommodation to current scientism. “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:160). The Lord Jesus confessed, unreservedly, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17), and so should we. HMM
http://www.icr.org/article/9616/
Isaiah 40:13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him?
Romans 11:34 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?
Job 42:2 "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
Daniel 4:35 "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, 'What have You done?'
...God is in control, for our good and His glory!
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