Reasoning Deduction And Ideology

“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They replied, “He is the son of David.”
Jesus responded,“Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,
‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’
Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”"
My undergraduate university required either a philosophy or an art class for general education.  I chose to take philosophy class at 8:00 during the summer, Tuesdays and Thursdays.  The teacher was phenomenal:  Dr. Isaac Mwase.  He was from Zimbabwe.  Since it was summer, the dress of instructors was very relaxed and this African professor would wear a dashiki to class some days.  He would not write on the board often, and when he did it was only when he made a mistake.  He would walk to the board and write as he said (in an British educated voice), “Affirmation of my humanity.” Dr. Mwase would speak often of Emmanuel Kant.
Kant is the father of modern philosophy.  Because of Dr. Mwase I read Kant’s Critique of Practical Reason.  Not the most fun read, but I learned a lot.  Like, don’t read an English translation of German philosophy from the 18th century.  Kant also introduced me to the concept of epistemology. Epistemology studies the nature of knowledge, justification, and the rationality of belief.  Knowledge, justification, and rationality of belief are all human constructs.  When it comes to God and how He works, human reasoning, deduction and ideology don’t cut it.
I Matthew 22:42-45 Jesus raps the Pharisees around themselves.  In v.45 Jesus asked them how the root can also be the branch.  Human philosophy and reason are broken.  The Pharisees could not respond.  Their epistemology was broken.  What they thought they knew and understood as logical was shown to them to be illogical and flawed.  The Pharisees had attempted to boil God down into their understanding.  Jesus showed them, using scriptures they had committed to memory, that their human understanding did not and would not understand and contain God.  
The religious try to pull God and His word down to their personal preference.  Those of the Faith do not try to pull God down to their personal preference.  God may, and does, offend our understanding of Him and His ways.  He is the LORD.  We are not.  He leads, and we follow.  He can and does work outside of our reasoning, deduction and ideology.  We must choose each day whether we will rely upon our reasoning, deduction, and ideology or allow the Father to be the Father.
  1. Does everything have to make since to you?
  2. Do you place God in your understanding box?

--Zine Smith
Location: 209 Marsheutz Ave SE, Huntsville, AL 35801, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Comfort Trap

Image
'One person dies in prosperity, completely comfortable and secure, the picture of good health, vigorous and fit. Another person dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life. But both are buried in the same dust, both eaten by the same maggots.' Job 21:23-26 One of my favorite music groups of all time is a little-known group, House of Heroes .  I had them in for a fundraising concert several years ago.  Early in the show, they performed one of my favorite songs;  The Comfort Trap .  Here are just a few words from that song: I'm gonna get nice things and get my way Even if it means there's hell to pay I'm gonna have my cake and eat it too And what I don't eat I'm gonna force feed you I'm not looking for consolation Maybe I can settle for compensation Have my cake and eat it too And if it's all a lie, I'm gonna say it's all true It seems to be a universal state of our world that if what we think is a l...
Read more

People of Vision

Without revelation, people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy. Proverbs 29:18 I have had excellent vision for most of my life.  My sight was better than 20/20.  When I was in late high school, I was told by my optometrist that I was going to have a hard time as I got older.  I asked, "Why?"  He said, "Your eyesight is going to get worse as everyone's does.  You're going to think you need glasses, but no optometrist is going to give you eyeglasses for 20/20 sight."  My vision didn't last as long as I would have liked due to MS.  I now see an ophthalmologist annually which I visited this past week.  They have the worst games!  "One or two?"  "Which line can you read?"  "Better or worse?"  Augh!  If I could see well I would tell them?  Isn't that why I went to the eye doctor?  To correct my vision that I know is flawed?  And my eyes are fine.  My eye shape and lense...
Read more

Death Precedes Life

Image
"So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” But when Jesus heard about it he said,“Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days." John 11:3-6   Author Henry James said, "Life is a predicament that precedes death." The caterpillar appears to be a full animal. It eats on leaves. It crawls around and tries to avoid being eaten by birds and other predators. From a passing glance, the caterpillar appears complete. From an anthropomorphized view, the caterpillar thinks itself complete. We know that the caterpillar is but a butterfly pupae; an immature form. It is nothing like what it will be. The caterpillar must go through a metamorphosis that resembles death. The outer-layer dies forming a chrysalis that inside the butterfl...
Read more