I am a philosopher, poet, theologian, and professional web developer and this website is where all of my personalities meet.
“The philosopher has not done philosophy until he has acted upon the mere conviction of his idea; for proof of the theory is in the act, not the idea.”
For Those Who Know
A modern parable
It may have occurred to you as strange my friend when the ravenous vultures began to circle and their constant heckle seemed to contradict their once ominous cry. Even then they cried with the same retched tone, without ever saying anything of substance, which could have provided an explanation for their dogma. I suppose if our great teacher had figured it all out as theirs did, we all would be one big happy family. However, when our teacher came he created instability through his nonsensical ramblings, which resulted in our estrangement.
I once circled overhead as they do now staring at the ground from above. But then I found the ground. And when I landed I knew how to walk only because I had been instructed on the practical applications of walking – even when it made no sense as a vulture. I have been walking for several years now and have felt anguish for those who still fly around only one day hoping to walk. However, I must confess my apathy has turned to disdain as those who continue to circle around us have become more violent in tone.
I recall when I began learning the basic steps how absurd it felt. In fact, I completely revolted. But, my teacher was full of grace and allowed me to make many mistakes along the way. He led me through the dense forest of certainty toward the open plains of uncertainty where I had the freedom to fly or walk. When I attempted to speak to my fellow vultures about what I had been learning they warned me of the danger. I inquired into how they knew of this supposed danger? They responded with the sort of arrogance vultures are known for – certainty. I inquired further, as those uncertain are accustomed to doing, and asked whether or not this sort of questioning is valuable for creating a more robust existence? They looked at me with the sort of look a mother vulture shows her child for asking a cute yet ignorant question. I still wonder to this day how they were able to “just know”. Apparently, they were wrong, for it is now that I can not only fly, but walk if I choose, but in either I have experienced the joy of both.
I left the family of vulture’s years ago now, but I can still hear their voices in the quiet moments and see them circle overhead in my dreams. I can only pray that one day they will understand this: it is never about either this, or that, but instead, it is always about the possibility of another.
Newest From the Blog
Am I Fallen or Falling; Am I Depraved or Lost?
I remember when I was a child having this dream that I was falling into some black abyss of nothingness. It’s really strange to have this constant feel of weightlessness. This of course is quite different from those dreams we all have of falling some short distance. We have this incredible sense of panic, which only lasts as long as our short fall. After we have fallen we usually awake to a more tranquil setting – laying in the comfort of our beds. We say things like “man I am glad that was only a dream”.
I remember waking from the dreams of falling into the abyss still in a panic and usually on the floor. Even though both dreams contain the same metaphors, their experience and therefore, their meaning is quite different.
We hear it from Pastor’s, theologians, and philosophers – “humanity is fallen”. In fact, we have wonderful tracts of literature that illustrate this idea in various creative ways
But, are we a “fallen” people or a “falling” people? The word “fallen” has never resonated with me. It does not seem to correspond to how I experience the faith on a daily basis. Theologians argue that due to Adam’s sin, humanity is “fallen”. By this they mean that all of humanity is born into a depraved nature before they have had a chance to make any decision about right and wrong. We even have fancy words like “total depravity”. I don’t know about you, but “total depravity” doesn’t make me want to be a greater human being.
Let me be clear, I am not making the claim that there is no such thing as total depravity – though that might be true; however, I think we have done Christianity a disservice by making it the primary emphasis of the fall.
Enter Kierkegaard:
I think Kierkegaard understood humanity’s situation. Kierkegaard says, that the fall is about our “lostness” and the possibility of us being “found”. “Lostness”, now that is something I have felt. I think I am safe in saying being lost is something that every human being has experienced. However, I am not sure the same argument can be made for “total depravity”. I think the fall is an event. However, it is an event which is analogous to the ongoing events we experience daily – the ongoing reenactment of this event is my “falling”.
It seems to be the case (and as illustrated in the first dream example), that I experience of life’s abyss as well as the constant anxiety of falling contained therein is a normal human experience. I think most Christians, especially those who take a strong stance on total depravity, experience “the fall” as illustrated in the second dream, but don’t have a concept of their continual falling state. They have delineated between “sin” (falling) and “depravity” (fallen), when there is no ontological distinction to be made.
I think understanding the fall in this way not only creates a more cogent Christianity, but also demonstrates its cultural connectedness with how a person experiences life. This cultural connectedness (formally known as “relevance”), has been and continues to be, a significant problem for Christianity. It is my hope that this provides us some sort of cogency as we engage in our cultural conversation.
.
What Descartes said, and what I think he meant
Part One
Truth does not inhabit the space of possibility, but rather, only inhabits the space of what is. Conversely, possibility merely exists in a realm of expectation. It can only hope for that which truth has already obtained.
One cannot “know” truth. If what is true is identical to what is, then only that which is, can obtain that truth. To assert that an individual is able to obtain the same truth is to make the individual identical to the thing that is true.
It seems that this is what Descartes saw, but was unable to articulate it properly because he was unable to properly understand his own subjectivity. Descartes was supposed to misarticulate it. What an odd paradox we find ourselves in: Descartes doubting was a product of his self. His inability to doubt his doubt was true only insofar as it was his own subjective doubt. For instance, there is no problem for Descartes to doubt some other’s existence. Instead, the problem arose in Descartes inability to doubt his own doubt because to do so would be to doubt the subjectivity necessary for his doubt to begin with. To doubt the other individual is merely the performance of some abstract act.
Descartes had no notion of his own subjectivity insofar as it related to ontological truth. What Descartes encountered was a “moment” within his own subjectivity where ontological truth had revealed itself through the experience of his moment. That is, it was a moment where Descartes actually experienced himself.
The reason for Descartes misarticulation is due to languages inability to consume the ontological status of truth. To put it another way, the individual is unable to send out into the world the exact properties of the object using language without jeopardizing the ontological status of the objects true qualities. I am of course only speaking about truth in its absolute form. Certainly, we are able to chip off pieces of truth to send out into the world. The goal is always the same; namely, having the other individual apprehend our symbolic gestures as closely as possible to how we have experienced them.
Truth is very much like a light. The further out into the world light travels, the dimmer it becomes. Moreover, the ability for something to be more true than another has to do with the point of view the individual has. Is the individual closer or further from the source?
There is yet another barrier for the totality of truth to overcome. That is, interference. What if when we shine our light it happens to be foggy out? What if, some individuals are deeper in the fog than others? The deeper into the fog the individual goes the more convoluted truth becomes. One person believes the object to be a lamp light. Another thinks it could be a street light. However, only the individual holding the source of the light knows that it is in fact a flashlight.
But, in what way does he know of the flashlight? Is it that he has seen a thing called a flashlight on so many occasions that he has come accustomed to calling the device a flashlight? No, he is always stuck in a realm of possibility where he can doubt the existence of the thing he is holding. The only aspect of truth for him is the in the experience he has called “holding the flashlight”.
My Incredible Dream
I dream often, but I don’t often dream of things that important. Last night, I had one of the most incredible dreams about my life, that only now has been made clear to me. My wife and I are traveling to an airport with her family so that we can show them how incredible the design of the airport is. (Note: this airport does not really exist). Enter my first fear – fear of flying.
The most significant aspect of this new airport is the roof where they have a life size airplane on one of its levels. However, in order to see this awesome airplane we have to climb to the higher level roof and look below at the lower level roof. Enter my second fear – fear of heights.
We all climb to the roof and its an incredible sight. However, I am terrified and am grasping to the pitch of the roof while laying on my stomach. I am refusing to look below because its much higher than I thought. In the meantime everyone else jumps on to the lower part of the roof and are playing on the airplane. When I look down and to my left (remember I am laying on my stomach), it seems that we are roughly 20 stories high. When I look to my right I notice the ground comes up fairly high – probably within 15 feet of the roof. And on that level there is a door to the main part of the airport. I think to myself I have to get off here some how. When I look closer I realize that in between the roof I am laying on and the ground I just spotted is an incredibly deep body of water. Enter my third fear – deep water.
There exists all of this drama in my mind as to what I am to do. After a lengthy period of time, and with no thought whatsoever I stand and jump over the body of water and land with a tumble to the grass. (Like an action hero of course). When I turn to look back at the roof, everyone is standing there looking at me in amazement – utterly surprised I leaped.
Apparently despite the sum of my fears, I am to take the Kierkegaarding Leap!
Kierkegaard on the problem of evil
Kierkegaard was not an advocate for traditional apologetic methodology. Instead, he used a Socratic dialectic approach in order to present a particular case. As we will be discussing here that case is the problem of Evil.
To be blunt there is no problem of evil in the eyes of Kierkegaard. To relate the problem of evil to the existence of God is like comparing apples and oranges. Why is there any sort of problem as it relates to evil? In what world does the aforementioned problem go to the existence of being? How is a divine mind or consciousness related to the problem? In Kierkegaard’s mind its not entirely clear how any of these events are related to existence.
Therefore, the answer to the proposed question is simple for Kierkegaard. Assuming that the problem indeed is able to render God as non-existent (which is a premise he does not hold), then what of evil? does it in someway disappear as a problem now that you have rendered God non-existent? By no means! We are still left with the same problem. This means either the nature of the question is incorrectly stated; or more likely, the nature of the question has nothing to do with existence.
Again, like many other times, we have witnessed the genius of Kierkegaard. Namely, the ability he has to answer a profound question, with a profoundly simple answer.
A Prayer
This was a prayer that was prepared for our Sunday morning worship service.
Heavenly Father…
Creator and Sustainer of all things.
Grant us, your people, the opportunity to approach your blessed throne.
Lord…
Give us the courage to come before you;
For we know that by coming before you we are exposing ourselves for who we are.
Since we know we can only come before you as sinful;
And that we could never be worthy to be in your presence
Then we call upon the sufferings of Christ
Who, on our behalf, covered our sins by his grace and through his deep love.
Glory to God in the highest!
Lord…
We come before you in discord.
Create within us minds that are still
So that we might hear the gentle whisperings of your word.
Just as our bodies are in need of bread and water to survive
Make us long in this way for the bread of life.
Lord…Make known to us your truth.
And give us the strength to go out into a troubled world
For the advancement of the kingdom
And the glory of God.
Amen!
The Kingdom
I recently had one of those moments where something made sense. Sitting in church on Sunday the Kingdom of God seemed to come into clarity. The topic is heavily debated, in particular Dispensationalists versus Calvinists. To be honest I don’t really care which group believes what as I find myself belonging to neither.
It seems to me in reading scripture as a narratively unified work that the kingdom existed in the beginning. After our sin we were unable to subsist their any longer. God’s work in establishing Israel was an attempt at re-establishing that kingdom again (hence the reason for the unification of church and state). After Israel failed in accomplishing this, Jesus came proclaiming that he was the way to the kingdom of God and that in him the original kingdom would be established again.
Understanding the Kingdom in this light seems to bring about an even stronger narrative unity within scripture. It seems that what we are to understand regarding the kingdom today is that those who believe in Christ are those who are working to help bring about this kingdom. We should see the fall of Israel as a warning that the same fate is possible with us, though with Christ, we shall prevail where in the past we have failed.
Recent Comments