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The "problem of evil" as it is labeled in philosophy classes is usually presented as a logical syllogism: If God is good #1 (Righteous, just), and if God is all-powerful (omnipotent, omniscient), then why does he allow (cause) bad things to happen in the world? The problem is raised because the two premises (the "if" clauses) are assumed to be true. It is phrased as a question because the conclusion should not follow logically from the first two premises, but in fact does happen in the world with alarming regularity. It is usually people of Faith who raise the same question from a more narrowly defined perspective in the form, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Yet the answer to this question lies within the larger issue.
There are various ways to approach the problem, and whole books of philosophy have been written on the subject. Let me suggest a very brief and therefore overly simplistic perspective from which to view the issue. I would suggest that the problem is not with God or the world but in our assumptions about what God ought to be. It is we who create the problem based on what we expect from God.
Let’s begin with the assumptions that lie behind the syllogism. The first premise assumes that God is "good" or just. However, we tend to define "good" and "bad" in relation to ourselves and from a short-range perspective. If something makes us feel bad or causes us discomfort, we assume it is "bad." Likewise, if something pleases us or brings us happiness, we assume it is good. But that is not really an adequate basis to make that judgment.
("This content is for informational use and is not a substitute for 'spiritual' advice. Be sure to do your own careful 'inventory' before taking action based on anything you find in this content.")
('Articles in this thread are compiled from various governmental and other public domain sources.' Intended solely as informative and subjects to reflect on.)
"Is it not clear of the propound significance of an essential
ingredient being that of spiritual minded. Life and peace require
being spiritual minded.
-Perhaps not adhered to for this requires rigorous discipline and may infringe
upon one's own selfishness."
I want this refilling of the spirit to prepare me to do the work that the Heavenly Father has prepared for me to accomplish though His grace beforehand.
"Self-inflicted misery has no excuse. And with a wounded spirit
evil becomes more likely to distort good thoughts, thus enters
depression.
-Power of the Holy Spirit should never be ignored."
'Thank God'
The rapid growth of a wide variety of translations of the Bible into English reveals a simple fact: translation is not an exact science. If translation were simply a matter of finding a one-to-one correspondence between words in one language and an equivalent word in another language, translation would be straightforward with very little difference between various translations. But that is not how languages work. Even beyond the mechanics of word use, grammar, and semantics, as well a manuscript variations (see Textual Criticism) as complicating factors in translation, translators know that words do not have a single absolute and fixed meaning even at a single point in history. Words have meaning only as they are used in a context. And that context is influenced not only by the immediate situation of the speaker or writer, but by the larger historical and cultural milieu that shapes and informs who is communicating, what is being communicated, as well as to whom it is being communicated.
(Intended solely as informative
and subjects to reflect on)
Deal with your informational clutter – Phil 4:8; Prov 15:14 – this is clutter that affects your mind and your ability to think and concentrate on the things of God – you can accumulate this clutter from the news, tweets, social networks, gossip, and any source of non-essential information –
Proverbs 15:14 14The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence an audience and further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is being presented. Propaganda can be found in news and journalism, government, advertising, entertainment, education, and activism and is often associated with material which is prepared by governments as part of war efforts, political campaigns, revolutionaries, big businesses, ultra-religious organizations, the media, and certain individuals such as soapboxers.
"Words herein being precisely why I refrain from any attempt to interpret a diverse set of languages and cultures.
God's inspiration shall influence each accordingly.
" Even though we might possess the world's brightest minds, if God does not act to open our minds, the Bible will remain closed to us One vital key we must come to understand is that the Bible interprets itself. We must be careful not to force our own interpretations onto it For us to understand the Bible, we must first learn about and respect God’s law."
" A spiritual awakening that wholly reorients our heart and makes God and his will for us the ground of our view of life and of the things that we value makes it possible for us to practice the disciplines and the virtues as distinctly spiritual principles."
" A vast communications net now covers the earth, even to its remotest reaches ... Nothing can matter more to the future welfare of society than the manner in which we use this colossus of communication. Used unselfishly and well, the results can surpass our present imagination. Should we handle this great instrument badly, we shall be shattered by the ego demands of our own people -- often with the best of intention on their part.
-Wisdom can be shattered by the folly of egotism, which can never be productive. Christianity appears to have been subverted into the world system as a brutal taskmaster. Focused on power, pride, wealth, prestige, autonomy, the pursuit of pleasure, and personal freedom, it seeks to establish its own rule over and against the teachings of Christ and the glory of God. It seeks after its own glory. One mark of those who live by the world system is an “ends justify the means” mentality, or pragmatism. Something is right and true if it is successful in helping us get what we want or arrive at the destination we have decided is most appropriate. Instead of relying on revelation from God, man uses the means available to him by his own power to arrive at the end he deems appropriate."
(Intended solely as informative
and subjects to reflect on)
"I believe acquiring a spiritual attitude and conduct to be so profound that many
ignore the necessity of such. This requires discipline and attention to self-control.
And perseverance an absolute, here being a requirement of work without giving up,
often being a problem from expecting great things without the work, it does not work
the way some would like for it to be.
-No one can do the learning for you, it being on each individual and their own intentions.
With any lesson, the teachings must be applied and acted upon. A lesson being only as productive
as to how much is put into action, and reading and quoting the teachings of a lesson merely to signify you can read
becomes a stalemate. -A lesson of teaching becomes of worth when one's life can testify how the teaching has affected or changed their
life by acting upon instructions read in a lesson of teaching. And the Bible containing profound teachings,
the teachings of life and how and why each are responsible and accountable of our own life...here in the now."
Christ in us should not be taken lightly, it being the ultimate teaching of a great lesson to behold."
~The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much~....~Spiritually Inspired~
"Fervent, meaning to have intense feeling and enthusiasm for something. And without a sincere
spiritual consciousness, prayers are too often uttered in selfish mannerism that display the effects of
no spiritual awareness. Prayers become effectual when the Holy Spirit influences a prayer.
-Spiritual consciousness shall be considered the pinnacle of one's proclaimed faith and belief in
God's power, so long as we earnestly strive to do our part. Laziness and complacency shall never earn a sound spiritual consciousness, and contempt of this truth shall be considered spiritualincompetence determined by self. It appears too often the teachings of Christ our Lord are in the hands of 'worldly' influence that the spiritual necessity has become mocked by the man-mind ego.
-Of great importance to be reminded of is 'fruit of the Holy Spirit' bears profound implications. And having the Holy Spirit in one's life, hopefully some of the 'fruit' has to do with improved character qualities."
~The holy spirit is God’s power in action, his active force. ~ Spiritually Inspired~
-The significance of the Holy Spirit should be considered an individual's God conscious awareness,
and to bring to remembrance of how we are to conduct our life according to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
And this being of great importance of being spiritually minded, so long as worldly 'thinking' does
not hinder the spiritual minded aspects of life.
-The inspiration of 'God's word' should influence a spiritual awakening, if not then perhaps an individual
has chosen their own 'worldly thinking', hereby bringing cause of falling away from God.
Perhaps 'Christians' are not prepared or willing to put into action of that which they boastfully put forth
of delusional worldly thinking of foolish interpretations that often mock the Divine words.
-The Holy Spirit protects us from manipulators of the scripture by teaching us to be discerning of truth.
Beware of hypocritical 'scholars' that have learned how to use the scripture as a club to manipulate people
for their own selfish gain. The Holy Spirit gives us a discerning mind to help us distinguish between truth and partial truths.
"We must be preserved in this need against our own pride! Don’t let your “I,” “me” and “mine” rule your life! When we serve ourselves first and last, we miss out on an eternally greater glory that comes from serving God. Choosing instead to serve God in full humility brings the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, goodness and all that allows us to live lives fitting of Christians here on earth. Then, and only then, can we feel that we are taking steps to come closer to our heavenly calling. Spiritual growth and maturity can’t help but be the result then."
"Personally, I find it inconceivable to even vaguely perceive the time and life of Jesus Christ here upon the earth. The man-mind has not the capacity to even remotely perceive events surrounding this extraordinary period.
-Attempting to interpret the when, how or why has brought about untold delusional concepts, bringing cause of having false or unrealistic beliefs or opinions which shall only further bring about utter confusion which shall have no spiritual merit.
-Spiritual knowledge, that when put in practice, creates transformation within oneself. Eventually when you reach that state of understanding and enlightenment, you have the ability to share that knowledge with humanity, not because you are expecting anything in return, but out of pure love and compassion.
-The Bible being explicit concerning the necessity of spiritual maturity in our walk with God, and to acquire such
cannot be accomplished through delusional worldly 'thinking'.
"Being of profound significance that many fail to fully grasp.
Upon oneself to bring about shall not occur, though many attempt
to make claim. A life without balance, is not a new person, though many may
attempt to act like something more than they are, often a sign of spiritual insecurity.
-A spiritual life is lived and there being no need to take credit, but there are those
that may find it necessary to project a false image for personal gain.
Seekers with insecurity and inferiority can be quite sensitive to receiving feedback or to having their errors pointed out. And to disregard the Holy Spirit shall be a serious error and shall be witnessed accordingly."
What are the principles of interpreting the Bible? This leads us to the first primary and fundamental principle of interpreting the Bible. Principle 1: Interpretation must be based on the author’s intention of meaning and not the reader. This means we must get into the author’s context, historically, grammatically, culturally and the literary forms and conventions the author was working in.
("This content is for informational use and is not a substitute for 'spiritual' advice. Be sure to do your own careful 'inventory' before taking action based on anything you find in this content." Intended solely as informative and subjects to reflect on.)
'Two thousand years of Christian interpretation cast in radically different philosophical assumptions than was most of the Old Testament often causes us to hear the Faith of the early church when reading the Old Testament rather than hearing the Hebrew terms for what they communicated apart from that later accretion of meaning. For example, “salvation” means something quite different in the Old Testament than it does in Christian doctrine.'
'None of this means that we must despair of ever understanding these terms. But it does call for a careful and intentional effort in trying to hear what the biblical text communicates with these terms. We cannot just assume that a single English word used in translation says everything that needs to be said about the meaning. This also suggests to us that some meanings that we have accepted as clear and normative, upon closer inspection of the Hebrew terms that lie behind them, may need to be reexamined in light of what the Hebrew words actually mean in context.'
("This content is for informational use and is not a substitute for 'spiritual' advice. Be sure to do your own careful 'inventory' before taking action based on anything you find in this content." Intended solely as informative and subjects to reflect on.)
(A good read) Being Green Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment, The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days." The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."
The older lady said that she was right our generation didn't have the "green thing" in its day. The older lady went on to explain: Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day. Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things. Most memorable besides household garbage bags was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags.
But too bad we didn't do the "green thing" back then. We walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the "green thing" in our day.
Back then we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts. Wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day.
Back then we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used to wad up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the "green thing" back then.
We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blade in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the "green thing" back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar, or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what a whole house did before the "green thing." We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint. But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the "green thing" back then?
