A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce

Oh boy. What a grind it was to finish this one. First of all, there is no denying that this is truly a phenomenal book with incredible insights and Joyce does an amazing job of putting you into the story as a fly on the wall who can use every sense to imagine being in the story. We see, hear, feel, taste and smell alongside Stephen Dedalus. Secondly, I find much of Stephen Dedalus to be extremely boring. That may be sacrilegious, but I fear and fear not the repercussions of that sentence.

After I finished the book I did some reading and found that Joyce had originally submitted this as a treaty on Aesthetics. I found his take on aesthetics to be interesting. "-Art, said Stephen, is the human disposition of sensible or intelligible matter for an esthetic end" (Joyce, 207). In fact, Stephen's entire conversation with Lynch about art, aesthetics and beauty is fascinating. His contention that beauty should create a stasis between pity and terror rather than a kinetic emotion is an interesting and dispassionate notion. I think it is wrong, but it is at the very least thought provoking. His take on false art producing kinetic emotions like desire and loathing is something to take into account. Sadly, his attempt to get his thoughts on aesthetics was unpublished and he housed it in this semi-autobiographical tale that had more boring parts than interesting ones. I guess he accomplished his goal and left me in sort of a stasis, offering few kinetic emotions about his book. 

One of the few times I felt kinetic emotion was during the retreat section when the priests were calling for repentance so that no soul would suffer eternal damnation. In my mind's eye I recalled terrifying sermons from the retired senior pastor who gave such terrifying images of hellfire and brimstone I prayed nightly to escape such a fate. Tears and stress overtook me overtime he preached this message and I can't imagine hell much scarier than as he put it. I empathized with Stephen as he struggled with repenting and the notion that he had done to much to escape this terrible fate. "What did it avail to pray when he knew that his soul lusted after its own destruction?" (Joyce, 103-104). I understand that line on a visceral level. I also understand his wrestling with faith throughout the book, though I find my ending point to be vastly different than that of Stephen's. 

I found that like Daumal in A Night of Serious Drinking Joyce also sends a jab to the nose of reason. While Daumal called reason the off-loading of the responsibility to think, Joyce calls reason a pollutant. "A phrase of Cornelius Agrippa flew through his mind and then there flew hither and tither shapeless thoughts from Swedenborg on the correspondence of birds to things of the intellect and of how the creatures of the air have their knowledge and know their times and seasons because they, unlike man are in the order of their life and have not perverted that order by reason" (Joyce, 224-225).

Joyce unleashes a stinging attack on Protestantism in the back end of the book. Much of this book houses an Irish history that I don't fully know and can't fully know. It concerns self-rule and the religious trappings of a Protestant-Catholic war that has obvious political overtones. But, I do, even as someone who isn't Catholic understand his criticism of the disorganized way in which protestantism worships and structures there fragmented theological opinions. "I said that I had lost the faith, Stephen answered, but not that I had lost selfrespect. What kind of liberation would that be to forsake an absurdity which is logical and coherent and to embrace one which is illogical and incoherent?" (Joyce, 243-244). I don't agree that faith is necessarily an absurdity nor do I find Protestantism illogical. But, I do find and struggle with the fact that Protestantism is so incoherent and crave some of the symmetry and logically soundness behind Catholicism. 

Lastly, I found this line to be sadly beautiful in its composition and meaning. "The past is consumed in the present and the present is living only because it brings forth the future" (Joyce, 251). I find that restlessness and striving to be endearing, but also wearying. 

Beyond Good & Evil 20 - 185

(Originally written August 8, 2007 in Book 16)

Beyond Good & Evil
Friedrich Nietzsche

20

All philosophical concepts are intertwined. No one discovers anything new any more, they only come back to an idea long forgotten. It is a remembering of sorts.

21

The "cause sui" is the greatest conceived self-contradiction.

"The desire for 'freedom of the will' in the superlative metaphysical sense... [is] the desire to bear the entire and ultimate responsibility, and to absolute God, the world, ancestors, chance and society" (Nietzsche, 218).

We ought to use cute and effect only as pure concepts (fictional conveniences) for the purpose of communication. We ought not to use them for explanatory purposes.

By using cause and effect in explanations we impose our way of thinking to the thing itself and speak only mythologically.

Free will, un-free will, cause and effect, are simply mythology. "in real life it is only a matter of strong and weak wills" (Nietzsche, 219).

22

The conformity of nature to laws is merely interpretation.

One can use this interpretation in any way he wishes, but it remains nonetheless an interpretation.

23

We must sail over morality and immorality to life itself.

The path to this is true psychology.

Psychology is the path to fundamental problems.

Part Two: The Free Spirit

24

The will to knowledge is on the foundation of the will to ignorance. We stay ignorant because we desire the freedom it gives.

25

Beware of defending the "truth" or your theories because no philosopher has been proven right.

Rather than striving for truth, strive for masks and subtlety so "that you may be mistaken for what you are not, or feared a little" (Nietzsche, 226).

When you defend your theories you simply become a vengeance seeker.

26

"Cynicism is the only form in which base souls approach honesty; and the higher man must listen closely to every coarse or subtle cynicism, and congratulate himself when a clown without shame or a scientific satay speaks out precisely in front of him" (Nietzsche, 228).

Indignant people are people not worth listening to because no one lies more than the indignant.

27

Do things in a way that is difficult to understand. That way those friends who laugh and misunderstand can be gotten rid of with a laugh.

28

A writers tempo of style is dictated by his language and culture and translating it to other languages can make the good intentioned translation a caricature of the original.

What Nietzsche admired most about Plato and what drew him to read Plato was Plato's secrecy and sphinx nature.

29

"Independence is for the very few, it is a privilege of the strong" (Nietzsche, 231). Those who seek it are also daring to the point of recklessness.

30

Man's highest insights must (and should) sound like follies or crimes.

That which serves the higher soul is poison to the lower.

"The virtues of the common man might perhaps signify vices and weaknesses in a philosopher" (Nietzsche, 232).

Books for the whole world are foul and small people cling to them. "One should not go to church if one wants to breathe pure air" (Nietzsche, 233).

31

The youthful soul is reckless and pursues without art. Then they add art to their arguments. Then they, after feeling disappointments turn against themselves. Ten years later we realize that this was all still youthful.

32

During prehistoric times the value of an action was judged on its consequences. This is the pre-moral period of history.

The first step into the moral history of the world is knowing thyself.

Now actions are valued or devalued on their origin or the actor's intention.

We ought to have a shift in value judgments to the extra-moral.

The intent of an action is merely a sign or a symptom and requires interpretation.

Traditional morality is merely a prejudice, something that must be overcome.

33

The whole morality of self-sacrifice must be questioned because it is a seduction.

It seduces by making one feel good. Those who are self-sacrificial reap the benefits, therefore we must be cautious.

34

The faith in immediate certainties is a moral naïveté that reflects honor or philosophers.

Apart from morality this faith is stupidity.

It is nothing more than a prejudice that makes us believe that the truth is moe valuable than mere appearance.

Why must true and false be opposites? Why can't we just admit that they are just lighter and darker shadows and shades of appearance.

36

Thinking is merely a relation of our drives to one another.

37

?

38

Often times people interpret things with their own indignation on enthusiasm so much that the actual text is buried beneath the interpretation.

39

Happiness and virtue are not valid arguments to support doctrines. But unhappy and evil are not counter arguments.

The truth may be dangerous and harmful. "The strength of spirit should be measured according to how much of the 'truth' one could still barely endure" (Nietzsche, 239).

40

Shame is an invention of man.

Masks are necessary to any profound man. The most profound man has a mask that is constantly growing.

41

We should be independent, but we must test ourselves to make sure we are ready.

We should not be too attached to any person because every person is a prison.

He should not be too attached to our fatherland.

We should detach ourselves from pity.

We should not be so attached to a science.

We should not become attached to our detachment.

We should not become attached to any virtue, lest it become a vice.

"One must know how to conserve oneself: the hardest test of independence" (Nietzsche, 242).

42

The new philosophers will want to be riddles.

43

The new philosophers will be friends of truth, but they will not be dogmatists.

"It must offend their pride, also their taste, if their truth is supposed to be a truth for everyman" (Nietzsche, 243).

44

The new philosophers will be free spirits.

Free spirits are not those democratic spirits who are calling for an equality of all men. They merely want to make life easier for the herd and abolish all suffering whatsoever, as if suffering served no purpose.

The democratic spirit, heralded as a "free spirit" is actually a spirit in bondage. It is a spirit that visits to chain all spirits together and therefore chain them all, even the exceptional owes to the ground.

TO be a truly strong and free spirit it must grow under extreme pressure.

The free spirit believes that the evil, devilry, hardness, stoicism, forcefulness, slavery and beast-like qualities in man serve to enhance him as much as the opposites do.

Free spirits are not the most communicative ones. Free spirits are not the same as free thinkers.

The free spirit has faced himself from all prisons or nooks, from prejudice, youth, origin and accident from all lures like honor, money, offices and enthusiasm of the senses because they contain hidden dependencies.

With of these restraint the free spirit is uninhabited and can stomach the unstomachable, digest the undigestible, view the unviewable, and penetrate the impenetrable.

Free-spirits are friends of solitude.

Part Three: What is religious

45

In order to know anything, one must do a lot of work to know, and then it usually amounts to a few things.

"But a curiosity of my type remains after all the most agreeable of all vices - sorry, I meant to say: the love of truth has its reward in heaven and even on earth" (Nietzsche, 250).

46

"The Christian faith is a sacrifice: all freedom, all pride, all self-confident of the spirit; at the same time, enslavement and self-mockery, self-mutiliation" (Nietzsche, 250).

Slaves are people who love as they hate: without nuance, to pain even! It is under these conditions that Christianity has appealed to so many. But, the complete lack of suffering in the masters (i.e. stoicism and skepticism) enraged the suffering Christian slaves and they overthrew their masters.

47

Wherever religion has popped up three things have followed:
1) Solitude
2) Fasting
3) Sexual abstinence

48

In Catholicism unbelief is seen as a rebellion against the spirit whereas Northern Protestantism sees unbelief as a return to spirit.

49

The Greek religion was noble because it affirms life despite the terrors of it. But when fear became an integral part of religion it paved the way for Christianity.

50

There are various types of passion for God:
- Peasant: sincere and obtrusive (ala Luther)
- Oriental- a slave who has been pardoned and elevated (a la Augustine)

51

The most powerful men bow before a saint because as they honor a saint they honor something in themselves.

They bow because a sight of a saint arouses superstition in them.

It was the "will to power" of the saint that struck fear in their hearts.

52

The Jewish Old Testament contains things so grand that Greek and Indian literature has nothing to compare with it.

The Old Testament is the book of divine justice, the New Testament is the book of grace.

The New Testament is a book for small souls and dogmatists. The pairing of the grand Old Testament and the small soul New Testament is the greatest sin against the spirit of literary Europe.

53

The European religious instinct is growing more and more powerful, but the faith in theism grows dimmer and dimmer.

54

"Modern philosophy, being an epistemological skepticism is, covertly an overtly anti-Christian - although, to say this for the benefit of more refined ears, by no means anti-religious" (Nietzsche, 256).

55

"There is a great ladder of religious cruelty with many rungs, but three of these are the most important" (Nietzsche, 257)

1. The sacrifice of human beings (especially one's loved ones) to a god
2. The sacrifice of one's nature (asceticism)
3. The sacrifice of God for nothing

56

Whoever thinks through pessimism thoroughly will come out at the end beyond morals, beyond good and evil.

He will come out the most-spirited, alive and affirming human ever.

57

One day the concepts of "God" and "sin" (the most trouble causing concepts of all time) will be viewed as a child's toy.

58

The genuinely religious life requires a life of leisure, or an aristocratic air to it.

The religious life is most fond of self-examination.

The modern world, with its busyness and stupid pride educate man for unbelief.

Every age has its naïveté, ours is the naïveté of the scholars' belief in his own superiority.

59

Those who wish to see life transcendentalized are those who have had inter lives spoiled the most.

It has been an incurable pessimism that has forced men to cling to a religious interpretation of existence. It has been fear that has drove man to religion.

Piety is the most subtle offspring of the fear of truth.

60

TO love men for God's sake is the most noble feeling attained by men.

61

The philosopher should use religion (as well as politics and economics) to cultivate and educate.

The philosopher can use religion to train people differently. Religion is used differently for those who rule and those who are ruled.

"To ordinary human beings, finally - the vast majority who exist for service and general advantage, and who may exist only for that -" (Nietzsche, 263). (Wow.)

Religion is a tool to subject the people for rules.

For those who are ruled, religion is a refreshment, a sanctification and justification of their suffering.

62

One always pays dearly when religions do not want to be used as a tool for education in philosopher's hands.

When religions insist on being sovereign in their own right, when they see themselves as ends and not means, people suffer terribly.

Religions preserve the weak and aid the suffering so that the natural selection process is destroyed. Religions weaken the human race.

Christianity is an arrogance. It is a hubris, a denial of rank in men. It is the pronouncement of the weak that they are strong. It is a complete flipping of truth.

Christianity has transformed man into a herd animal.

Part Four: Epigrams and Interludes

63: A teacher only takes things seriously in relation to his students, including himself.

64

Knowledge for its own sake is the last snare of morality

65

"The attraction of knowledge would be small if one did not have to overcome so much shame on the way" (Nietzsche, 269).

65a

One is most dishonest to one's god.

66

To let himself be taken advantage of could be the modesty of a god among men.

67

The love one is barbarism because it is done so at the expense of others. Likewise, love of God is barbarism.

68

The memory yields to one's pride (Freudian theory of repression)

69

One is mistaken if one doesn't believe that some killing is done considerately.

70

Life is repetitive. If one has character, one has experience.

71

"As long as you still experience the stars as something as 'above you' you lack the eye of knowledge" (Nietzsche, 270).

72

It is the duration, not the intensity of high feelings that make high men.

73

Whoever reaches his ideal transcends it.

73a

People can hide their glory from others and call that their pride.

74

A man with spirit is unbearable without gratitude and cleanliness.

75

"The degree and kind of a man's sexuality reach up into the ultimate pinnacle of his spirit" (Nietzsche, 271).

76

A warlike man sets upon himself in peace.

77

One wishes to bully, justify, scold, honor or hide one's habits with his principles.

78

"Whoever despises himself still respects himself as one who despises" (Nietzsche, 271).

79

A soul which is loved but does not love betrays itself.

80

A matter that becomes clear no longer interprets us. What happens when we pursue and complete the Socratic maxim of "know thyself?"

81

"It is terrible to die of thirst in the ocean. Do you have to salt your truth so heavily that it does not ever quench thirst anymore? (Nietzsche, 271).

82

Pity for all means tyranny for you.

83: ?

84

Women learn to hate to the extent to which her charms diminish.

85

"The same affects in man and woman are yet different in tempo, therefore man and woman do not cease to misunderstand each other" (Nietzsche, 272).

86

Women hate the "woman" (concept, universal)

87

If one imprison's one's heart one can free one's spirit.

88

We mistrust clever people when they become embarrassed.

89

Terrible experiences pose the question if the experiencer is not terrible.

90

Heavy-spirited people are made light by love and hate (whereas others become weighted with these)

91

Those who are so cold they burn cause some to believe they glow.

92

"Who has not, for the sake of his good reputation - sacrificed himself once?" (Nietzsche, 273).

93: ?

94 Maturity consists of finding the seriousness one had as a child at play.

95

To be ashamed one's immorality is to be on the path to be ashamed of one's morality.

96

One should part from life as Odysseus left Nausica: blessing it rather than loving it.

97

A great man is merely an actor of his own ideal.

98

Our conscience, if trained right, kisses us while hurting us.

99

The voice of disappointment is listening for an echo but only hearing praise.

100

We see ourselves as simpler than we are to take a rest from others

101

The knowledgeable man may feel like "God become animal"

102

Discover that one loves you back should disgust you because the person is stupid enough to love you back

103 ?

104

The importance of Christians' love for man is what has ceased their boring people at the stake. If they were truly concerned with men they would burn heretics and false prophets still.

105

The salvation via deception is implantable for the free spirit.

106

"In music the passions enjoy themselves" (Nietzsche, 274).

107

The sign of strong character is making up your mind and standing by it without regard to the best counter argument, therefore it is occasionally a will to stupidity.

108

There is no such thing as moral phenomena, only moral interpretation of phenomena.

109

A criminal is often unequal to his crime

110

The lawyers of criminals are often not artful enough to turn his beautiful terribleness into an advantage.

111

The vanity is most impenetrable right after the pride has been wounded

112

Those who feel predestined to see and not believe will fend off all believers

113: ?

114

The enormous expectation in sexual love and sense of shame in this expectation spoils all perspective for women

115

When neither love nor hate is involved, a women's game is mediocre

116

The great epochs of life occur when we have guts enough to rechristen our evil as what is best in us

117

The will to overcome an affect is merely the will of some other affect

118

Admiration is an innocence that people don't realize that they too may some day be admired

119

The disgust with dirt may cause us to not clean ourselves or "justify" ourselves

120

"Sensuality often hastens the growth of love so much that there roots remain weak and are easily torn up" (Nietzsche, 276).

121

It was subtle of God to learn Greek and not to learn it well

122

Enjoying praise can be a courtesy of the heart (the opposite of vanity)

123

"Even concubinage has been corrupted - by marriage" (Nietzsche, 276).

124

Whoever rejoices on the stake triumphs over the absence of pain that he expected, not over pain itself.

125

When we are forced to change our minds about a person we hold the inconvenience against him.

126

A people is a detour to get to six or seven great men (and then around them).

127

Science offends the modesty of real women. It makes them curious about their bodies

128

 The more abstract the truth, the more seduction is needed to teach it.

129

The devil deeps away from God the farthest, therefore the devil is the most ancient friend of wisdom

130

A man betrays himself when his talent decreases. Talent is finery; finery is a hiding place.

131

Men and women deceive themselves about one another. At bottom they love only themselves (or their own ideal).

132

"One is best punished for one's virtues" (Nietzsche, 278).

133

Those who cannot live their ideal live more frivolously than those without an ideal.

134

All credibility and evidence of truth is derived from the senses

135 - ?

136

One seeks a midwife for his thoughts to begin a good conversation

137

A remarkable scholar is often a mediocre man. A mediocre artist is often a remarkable man.

138

We do what we do in dreams and awake: we invent who we are are and then forget him

139

"In revenge and love women is more barbarous than man" (Nietzsche, 278).

140 ?

141

The abdomen is why man doesn't easily mistake himself for a god.

142

"'In true love it is the soul that envelopes the body's' are the chastest words ever spoken"

143 Our vanity wishes that what we do best is what is hardest for us; therefore, the origin of morality

144

When a woman has scholarly inclinations there is probably something wrong with her sexuality.

145

Woman would not have the genius for finery if she didn't' instinctively have a secondary role.

146

Whoever fights monsters must not himself become a monster. The abyss stares at you when you stare at it.

147?

148

Woman are unequaled in seducing their neighbor into believing something and then believing piously in this opinion.

149

What a time experiences as evil is what an anti time experienced as good.

150

What happens around a hero is tragedy. What happens around a demigod is a satyr play. What happens around God? The World?

151

Having talent is not enough. One must have permission for the talent

152

Where the tree of knowledge is, there is so paradise. At least that is what the serpents say.

153

Whatever is done from love is done from beyond good and evil.

154

The delight in mockery is healthy, everyone else is pathology.

155

The sense of tragic gains or falls in level of sensuality.

156

Madness is rare in individuals, often in groups.

157

The thought of suicide is comforting on troubling nights

158

Reason and conscience bow to the tyrant in us.

159

One must repay good and ill, but not necessarily to that person

160

One no longer loves his insight once he communicates it.

161

Poets exploit their experiences.

162

Every nation believes our neighbor is his, not ours

163

Love brings out what is rare and exceptional, it easily deceives his normalcy

164

Jesus said the law was for servants of God. Be sons of God! What are morals to us sons of God?

165 -?

166

"Even when the mouth lies, the way it looks tells the truth" (Nietzsche, 282).

167 In hard men, intimacy involves shame

168 Christianity turned Eros into a vice

169

Talking a lot about one's self may be a way to conceal one's self

170 "Praise is more obtrusive than a reproach" (Nietzsche, 282).

171

TO a man of knowledge, pity seems ridiculous

172

From love of man one embraces another randomly, but we must not tell them that

173 One doesn't hate as long as one despises, but then only those they esteem

174 Utilitarians only love things useful as a vehicle for personal inclinations

175 - One loves one's desires and not the desired

176 Others' vanity only offends us if it offends our vanity

177 Nobody has been truthful enough about truthfulness

178 One doesn't credit clever people with their follies

179 The consequences of our actions take hold of us, indifferent to how much we have improved because of them

180 There is an innocence in lying based on a dedication to a course

181 - It is inhuman to bless when cursed

182 ?

183 "Not that you lied to me, but that I no longer believe you, has shaken me" (Nietzsche, 287).

184 The spirits of kindness may be seen to be malice

185 I don't like him because I am not equal to him. Has any one said this?

Fin

02/08/07-08/13/07 Book 16

Original Monotheism, Special Revelation and other Scriptures

(Originally written April 11, 2007 in Book 15)

Subsequent Reaction to Schmidt & Original Monotheism

Whether or not one accepts Schmidt's theory it is no longer possible to strictly adhere to an evolutionary theory of religion in light of Schmidt's anthropological evidence.

The most common reaction to Schmidt is to reject his conclusions on an idealogical basis.

Joseph M. Kitasawa claims that while historical evidence is good in the origin theory, any religion's origin is ultimately answerable with metaphysical answers.

Others, like many post-modernists, including David Adams Leeming, claim that religion arises out of a specific social context. Historical investigation is wholly absent from this type of analysis.

Raffaele Pettazzoni attempts to bridge the gap of extreme historistic theories and purely a historical phenomenology. He gave history its due place, but did not draw such strong conclusions as Schmidt.

Pettazzoni maintained that the Supreme god of primitive cultures did not constitute monotheistic religion because that god was a creator and sustainer god, but a remote god nonetheless. He argued that only reform from polytheism could lead to true monotheism.

Summary

There is good reason to believe that religion began with the awareness of a single, creator God.

The God of original monotheism is identical to the God of Scripture in his basic attributes.

The persistence of monotheism can be attributed to the historical continuity with the awareness of God by the first human beings and its reinforcement in general revelation.

General revelation has two dimensions:
1) An intuitive one
2) A rational one

Both yield:
1) Knowledge of the existence of God
2) Knowledge of God's attributes
3) Knowledge of a fundamental moral sense

Chapter 3 - Special Revelation and Non-Christian Scriptures

Christianity maintains that special revelation is located in the Old Testament and New Testament, as well as in Jesus Christ himself.

There are many non-Christian scriptures, but the nature of Scripture is radically different in each religion.

Corduan's "The Protestant Fallacy" is reading other religions' scriptures as one would read the Christian Scriptures. Since scriptural nature varies from religion to religion there can be no single way of reading or regarding Scriptures. One cannot assume the role of Scripture in any religion is identical to the role of Scripture in Christianity.

The Protestant Fallacy

Classical Protestantism holds that the Bible is the literal Word of God and thus, the text is inspired by God.

Protestantism asserts "sola scriptura". That is, there is no other source for propositional revelation other than the Bible.

Protestant Christianity is an "extremely book-bound form of religion" (Corduan, 57-58).

Protestant Christianity stands or falls by Scriptural assertions.

The Protestant fallacy is applying this "sola scriptura" mentality (which is appropriate for the Bible) to other religion's scriptures.

Judaism: The Deuterocanon as key to the Canon

The Protestant fallacy manifests itself when one assumes that to understand Judaism one must simply study the Old Testament.

This can lead to assertions like, "since the Jews no longer perform the ritual sacrifices they are required by their own scriptures, Judaism is internally incoherent".

The Scriptures of Judaism are identical with the Old Testament Canon of Christianity. These books are known in Judaism as the Tanak (TNK).

The Tanak is an acronym based on the Hebrew names of the three divisions of writings:
1) the Law - Torah
2) the Prophets - Nebiim
3) the Writings - Ketubim

When Jerusalem fell in A.D. 70 the Jews began writing down the interpretations of the Tanak which had been entirely oral before.

The Mishnah was produced around A.D. 500. Later, the Talmud was produced.

Since the production of the Talmud, all Judaism is Talmudic Judaism.

Orthodox Judaism holds that the Talmud, though not inspired, is expendable, but not revisable.

Other sects of Judaism, like Cabalistic movements accepted the Zohar as a supplement, but not a replacement, to the Talmud.

While the Tanak is the only Scripture in Judaism, all governance of life is done via the Talmud.

The Jewish Scriptures (for better or worse) must be interpreted through the lens of the Talmud.

Islam: The Qur'an as Event

The Qur'an is the compilation of what was revealed to Muhammad.

The Qur'an is merely excerpts from God's full book in heaven, the umm-al-kitub.

Muslims believe the Qur'an is as it is exactly as it was when it was revealed to Muhammad.

Despite its lofty place in Islam, the Qur'an was supplemented easy on by another book. The Hadith is a collection of the acts and sayings of Muhammad.

While the Hadith is not considered to be revealed like the Qur'an, it is nonetheless as binding as the Qur'an.

The value of the Qur'an within Islam has little to do with its content. The value lies in its very occurrence.

The Qur'an is utterly pristine, whereas other men's revelatory books like Moses' Law, David's Psalms and Jesus' Gospels while being products of revelation were distorted by their followers.

TO recognize the Qur'an is more important than to read it.

The Qur'an is not a human book at all; whereas, the Bible is wholly human and wholly divine.

Muslims believe that the Qur'an mediates God's presence into their lives.

Even in non-Arabic speaking countries the Qur'an is devoutly recited in Arabic. Recitation of the Qur'an is the most important function of the Qur'an in the Muslim community.

Zoroastrianism: A Ritual Accumulation

Similar to the Bible, the canon of Zoroastrianism is a collection of works spanning many centuries.

The Zoroastrianism Scripture is called the Avesta.

The oldest part of the Avesta is the Yasna, which contains hymns called the Gathas, some of which date back to Zoroaster (6th century B.C.).

The Videvdat is the newest part of the Avesta and dates from when Zoroastrianism was the State religion of Iran (A.D. 226 - 637).

The Avesta is not a great source for authoritative information about Zoroastrianism because the language is so impenetrable.

The language of the Gathas is called Avesta because it is simply so different from any other languages.

"One scholar of Iranian religion [H.S. Nybers] has maintained that the Gathas are so difficult to understand because they are intentional gibberish" (Corduan, 62).

Even in the Zoroastrian community, the Avesta is not supposed to be a source of information.

The Avesta is a ritual text used to recite as worship and purification.

Sikhism: A day in the Life of the Book

The Adi Granth is the Scripture of Sikhism.

Nanak (1469-1539) founded Sikhism as a way to bridge Hinduism and Islam. He taught that there is only one God whose nature lies beyond human reason and religious imagery.

Nanak was considered a holy guru by his followers. He was then followed by 9 other holy gurus, each seen as the embodiment of divine light.

Arjan Dev, the 5th Guru compiled all his and the previous gurus' chants and hymns into the Adi Granth.

Gobind Singh (1666-1708) the 10th and final guru, declared that there would be no more gurus and the Adi Granth would be the guru forever more.

From then on the book itself, which is displayed in the Golden Shrine of Amritsa has been recognized as true and binding by all Sikhs.

The Adi Granth is the very embodiment of God.

The Adi Granth functions in two ways:
1) It is the hymn book of the congregation
2) It is venerated as the holy guru.

The actual book is put to sleep in a bed at night and woken up and placed on an altar each morning.

"The basic function of the Adi Granth is an object of veneration, not as a record of revelation" (Corduan, 65).

Baha'i : A Canon Plus a Canon

Baha'i is a young religion founded by Baha'ullah.

Baha'ullah is considered to be a manifestation of God. He was the 9th manifestation after Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab and Baha'ullah.

Baha'ullah taught that all these other prophets had inspired writings and that his own writings complete the canon of world Scriptures for the time being.

The Baha'i Scriptures should be read in a similar fashion as the Protestant Christian Bible is, but the Baha'i Scriptures are paralleled by all the other 8 world Scriptures, whereas the Bible stands alone.

Hinduism: A Protean Canon

Eastern religions have sacred texts in a very different way then to Western religions, especially Christianity.

Hindu sacred texts are divided into two groups:
1) The Shruti
2) The Smriti

The Shruti are "seen", they were directly revealed to the semi-divine rishis of old who passed them down.

The Smriti are "heard", they are merely passed down as tradition only.

Shruti:
- Vedas
- Brahmanas
- Upanishads

Smriti:
- Ramayana
- Mahabharata
- Bhagavad Gita

The Smriti are epic poems and the deuterocanon, while the canon is the Vedic complex.

The distinction is much more ambiguous in reality then in theory.

Buddhism: Canon by Selection

Two major books:
1) Poli Canon
2) Lotus Sutra

The Poli Canon contains the Tripitaka (Three Baskets) and is the oldest Buddhist writings.

The Tripitaka is associated with the older, more traditional form of Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism.

The Lotus Sutra is associated with the more recent and more innovative form of Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism.

Chinese and Japanese Religions

Scriptures and Canon are not easily adapted for Far East Religions.

Religion/Scriptures

Daoism - The Doodejing & the Zhuangzi
Confucianism - The Analects
Shinto - The Kojiki, the Nihong and the Amatsu Narito

The Daodejing contains the wisdom of Lao Tzu, the founder of Daoism.

The Zhuangzi is a collection of anecdotal essays by the teacher Laozi (but probably not the same Laozi/Lao-Tzu)

The Analects is the teachings of Confucius.

The Kojiki is the official Japanese traditional myth. The Nihangi is a supplement to the Kojiki. The Amatsu Nihong is a book of standard prayers and rituals of Shinto.

The Singularity of the Christian Scriptures

The Christian Scriptures is different from all other Scriptures and all Scriptures are unique in their own way.

All Scriptures contain some truths, if truth is meant as that which corresponds to reality.

However, if truth is understood under the coherence theory of truth rather than the correspondence theory of truth then no religions can share truth because they will be truths from differing systems.

Cornelius van Til argued that even knowledge of a flower is different for a Christian and non-Christian. To the Christian, a flower is the creation of a personal God whereas it is a product of chance formation of matter to a non-Christian.

Other Scriptures also contain some wisdom. They also contain some religious truths.

That said, the Bible is sufficient. All we (as Christians) have is the Bible and all we need is the Bible.

There is no deuterocannon in Christianity.

Religious truths in other Scriptures can only be duplications of revealed truths in the Bible.

Other Scriptures do not contain special revelation. But other Scriptures can have a basis in general revelation.

Functions of Rules in Various Religions

(Originally written March 17, 2007 in Book 15)

Class Notes

Moral purity vs. Ceremonial Purity

Ritual defilement can:
1) Occur if something is so evil that it may not be touched
2) Occur if something is so holy that it may not be touched

Defilement results in either
1) of one's self
2) of the holy object

Taboo - ultimate form of ritual defilement

Functions of the Rules in Various Religions

Western Religions:
- God as Lawgiver
- People are accountable to God
- Includes interpersonal dimension

Eastern Religions
- Rules are intrinsic to the universe

Lutheran Conception of Law
- 1st use of the Law: makes possible a livable society
- 2nd use of the Law: "Schoolmaster" - display our sinfulness to drive us to the Grace in Christ
- 3rd use of the law: evidence of regeneration

Judaism conception of Law
- The law demonstrates the righteousness that is characteristic for the people of God.
- makes the world a better place
- limited demands on Gentiles
- not tied to heaven or hell in a strict sense

Islamic conception of Law
- Rules as a test to qualify for paradise

5 Pillars of Islam:
1) Confession
2) Prayer
3) Fasting
4) Almsgiving
5) Pilgrimage

Indic Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism
- Rules are intrinsic to the universe
- divinity revealed the law
- binding on all beings, including gods

Confucianism's conception of rules
- rules bring about harmony among people
- harmony among people brings harmony in the universe

Class notes on Scriptures of Various Religions

(Originally written on February 22, 2007 in Book 14)

Class Notes - Christianity & Religious Pluralism

The "Protestant Fallacy"

The Bible & Other Scriptures

General Revelation --> Natural Theology
(accesible to all human beings)
Romans 1:18-20 - "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

Special Revelation
- Writings
- Jesus Christ

Protestant Fallacy -- to assume that the scriptures of other religions function in the same way as the Bible in Christianity.

The "protestant view" of Scriptures:
- inspired
- authoritative
- sola scriptura
- sufficient
- only guid to faith and practice
- no deterero -  canon
- theoretically, all of what we believe and do so is based on the bible
- all other users (recitation, symbolisms) are secondary

Religion - "Canonical Scriptures" - Duetero-Canonical

Judaism - Tanakh (Law, Prophets, Writings) - Mishnah, Talmud
Islam - Koran - Sunna/Hadith
Zoroastrianism - Avesta - None
Hinduism - Vedas, Brahmanas, Sutras, Upanishads - Ramayana, Mahabharata

Judaism
-Tanak: Torah, Prophets, Writings
-Mishnah & Talmud - interpretations of the Tanak

The Talmud supersedes the Torah in practice

2 basic thoughts in Jewish belief in pre-Christ/time of Christ

1) Shamai - conservative
2) Hillel - liberal

Jesus' run-ins were more often with the Shamai followers.

Rabbi Gamaliel was another important thinker. The Apostle Paul was a follower of Gamaliel.

The Talmud is the combination of two works: the Mishna & the Gemara

Islam

The Qur'an
-Sunna, Hadith

The primary purpose of the Qur'an is to present the presence of Allah and to substantiate Muhammad's claims. To recite it is more important than to understand it.

Zoroastrianism

Avesta - consists of many parts, spanning centuries

Hinduism

Hindu Scriptures A

-Shruti "heard"
- The four Vedas
- Brahmanas
- Sutras
- Law of Manu
- Upanishads

Smriti
- Mahabharata
- Bhagavad Gita
- Ramayana
-Puranas

Chapter 4 - Pocket Guide to World Religions (B)

(Originally written February 16, 2007 in Book 14)

Christianity and Judaism split within the first generations of Christianity.

Life of Jesus Christ

Jesus was born in Bethlehem about 6 BC.

He was born to a virgin via a miraculous birth.

Virtually nothing about his life is known prior to age 30. At 30 he launched his public ministry. He gathered 12 disciples.

He emphasized servitude to God and men out of love, not obligation.

He claimed to be the Messiah and the Son of God. He was a miracle worker and an exorcist.

He was crucified for offending the Jewish establishment and suspected of treason against Rome.

The Scriptures claim that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples over a 40-day period until finally ascending into Heaven.

Subsequent Developments

During the first 70 years after Jesus' death and resurrection his teachings spread throughout the Roman Empire.

Paul the Apostle was instrumental in these early years.

The New Testament books were written in this time too.

The Early Church was persecuted by the Roman Empire until 313 when Emperor Constantine declared Christianity a legal religion.

When the Roman Empire split tension between the Eastern Orthodox Church and Western Catholic Church arose. The Church finally split in 1054.

The bishop of Rome blame the Pope and asserted authority over all the Western Church between 350 - 850 AD.

Another major split occurred in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation.

Currently, Christianity is characterized by two important features: first a global presence reaching into even the smallest corners of the world; and second, division into many different local churches and denominations, which often differ only on minor matters" (Corduan, 42).

Scriptures

Virtually all Christians recognize the Scriptures as two collections:
1) The Scriptures of Jesus' day (known as the Old Testament)
2) The New Testament

The Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches maintain that the Apocrypha are also inspired works and thus, Scriptures. Protestants do not hold this view because the Apocrypha was not recognized as Scripture in Jesus' day.

Major Beliefs

Christianity emphasizes correct belief.

1. God - one God who created the universe and is not part of the universe.
2. Trinity - God exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. God is one nature, but three distinct persons.
3. Sin and Redemption - man is fallen and must redeemed
4. Christ - Jesus Christ is God. He became Incarnate.
5. Atonement - Jesus' death was not a martyrdom. It was the atonement for sinful man.
6. Faith - faith is an attitude of trust in Christ. Salvation is earned by faith alone, not through works.
7. Future - Jesus will come back to judge the earth. Those who believed will go to Heaven, those who did not will go to Hell.

Subgroups

Christianity is divided into numerous subgroups and sub-subgroups. Many have split over very minor doctrinal disagreements

Major Subgroups

1) Roman Catholic Church
- Headed by the Pope
- The Largest subgroup
- Worldwide
- Sacramental

2) Eastern Orthodox Church
- primarily in Greece, Eastern Europe and the Middle East
- Sacramental
- Has preserved many ancient traditions
- Headed by the Patriarch

3) Protestant Churches
- Emphasize individual salvation

Worship Practices

They vary from church to church, but usually have singing, scripture reading, prayer and preaching.

Some churches are liturgical, others are very informal.

Baptism and Communion are areas that have caused rifts in the Church.

Church Division: (among many others)



Baptism is the Christian initiation ceremony.

Communion is a ceremonial meal of a portion of bread and a sip of wine.

Some call these sacraments, others call them ordinances.

Sacraments -> conveying of God's grace.
Ordinances -> reminders of God's actions

Philosophy of Religion - Hick: Ch. 5 (B)

(Originally written February 7, 2007 in Book 7)

Philosophy of Religion
John Hick
Chapter 5 (continued)

A non-propositional view of revelation and faith

The Heilsgeschichte  view of revelation became popular amongst protestants in the 20th century. According to this view revelation is God's coming within the realm of human experience by acting in history. This non-propositional view is connected with the modern emphasis on the personal nature of God.

Why does God not overwhelm humanity with a manifestation? Answer - there must necessarily be a freedom of will to believe or disbelieve in God in a loving, trusting relationship.

In this view tot become conscience of God is to see oneself as a created, dependent being.

In this view, faith is the correlative of freedom. "Faith is related to cognition as free will to conation" (Hick, 69).

In this view history can be viewed both naturalistic and/or religiously. This is shown numerous times in the Bible.

A corresponding view of the Bible and theological thinking

The Bible is both a work of God and the works of human beings.

The New Testament and the Hebrew Scriptures (The Old Testament) constitute the given basis of Christian thought.

The New Testament was formed by appealing to apostolic authority (though there is present debate on this).

God's self revelation in and through the stream of saving history is called "Heilsgeschichte"

The non-propositional view of revelation and faith rejects the notions of revealed and natural theology. It rejects the notion of revealed theology on the basis that revelation is God's actions in human experience, not a set of God's truths disclosed in some text. It rejects natural theology on the grounds that natural theology attempts to discover without faith what must be discovered through faith.

This rejection of natural and revealed theology is grounded in a form of Christian empiricism.

All religious knowledge must be ultimately based on human experience.

Reason is used to build upon this human experience.

Philosophy of Religion - Hick: Ch. 5 (A)

(Originally written February 1, 2007 in Book 7)

Philosophy of Religion
John Hick

Chapter 5 - Revelation and Faith

It is impossible to establish the existence or non-existence of God via rational arguments proceeding from universally accepted premises.

Chris Linehan - An atheist can never convince a believer that God does not exist if he/she has truly felt God's touch/. But, a believer can never convince an atheist that God exists if he/she has naturalized all of his or her experience. God shows Himself to men and men must then interpret what they have seen.

Philosophy recognizes two ways in which human beings can come to know what may be known:
1) Experience (empiricism)
2) Reasoning (rationalism)

God must be known by experience. "If God exists, God is not an idea but a reality outside us; in order to be known to men and women, God must become manifest in some way within their experience" (Hick, 58).

Chris Linehan: I believe that God can be known solely by experience, but I think He can be known via reasoning. God is a logical necessity; thus, all we need to know is logic and necessity to know God.

The Bible takes God's existence for granted. There are no attempts to prove His existence.

The Biblical writers saw God as an experience reality, not an inferred entity.

God's disclosure of Himself to man is "revelation". Man's response to revelation is "faith".

The Propositional view of Revelation and Faith

Roman Catholicism and conservative Protestantism (as well as the Medieval conception) represent the propositional view of revelation. Revelation in this view is a body of truths expressed in statements and propositions. "Revelation is the imparting to people of divinely authenticated truths" (Hick, 60). Faith under this scheme is a person's obedient acceptance to these truths.

Natural theology and revealed theology have accompanied the propositional view of revelation and faith for centuries.

Natural theology is the sum of all theological truths that can be ascertained by humans without divine assistance. Revealed theology is the sum of truths that can be comprehended only with the assistance of the Divine.

Voluntarist Theories of Faith

Blaise Pascal and William James treat faith as the acceptance of certain beliefs by a deliberate act of will. Both Pascal and James saw it better to believe than not believe because it is so much worse to not believe in something that is true than believe in something that turns out to be false.

F.R. Tennant states that faith always involves risk, but it is via risk that human knowledge is increased.

Tillich's conception of Faith as ultimate concern

Paul Tillich taught, "Faith is the state of being ultimately concerned".

God is the object of man's ultimate concern and our attitude in participating with God is our ultimate concern.

Three Doctors of the Church

(Originally Written July 16, 2006 in Book 5)

The History of Western Philosophy
Bertrand Russell

Chapter III - Three Doctors of the Church

By the way I am watching "Take Home Defensive Driving". Rest of all it cost $40 bucks. Ridiculous. Secondly, it is four hours long. Absurd. Thirdly, it is immensely boring. Irritating.

There are four men regarded as Doctors of the Western Church. (I believe there are a number who have been added since Russell wrote this).

1) St. Ambrose
2) St. Jerome
3) St. Augustine
4) Pope Gregory the Great

"Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine all flourished during the brief period between the victory of the Catholic Church in the Roman Empire and the barbarian invasion" (Russell, 334).

The Barbarian invasions stunted intellectual growth and men of this caliber were not produced for another thousand years.

They, more than any other men molded the Church in how it would be shaped.

Ambrose determined the Church as being dominant to the State. Jerome produced the Latin Vulgate and made great strides in monasticism. Augustine laid the foundation of theology until the reformation and was widely used by both Luther and Calvin.

Ambrose's establishment as the Church being independent of the State was not challenged (philosophically) until Hobbes. It was revolutionary. The capital of the Western Empire at the end of the fourth century was Milan. Ambrose was the bishop of Milan.

His duties brought him into contact with the emperors frequently. He always treated them at least as equals, sometimes as subordinates.

At his time the State was "feeble, incompetent, governed by unprincipled self-seekers, and totally without any policy beyond that of momentary expedients. Contrarily, the Church was vigorous, able, guided by men prepared to sacrifice everything personal in its interests, and with a policy so far-sighted that it brought victory for the next thousand years" (Russell, 335).

Ambrose had every opportunity to become a powerful political figure.

Ambrose was born at Augusta Treverorum to a prefect of the Guals. At thirteen he went to Rome, was educated and learned a strong grounding in Greek. The young adult Ambrose took to law and was successful.

At 30 he became the governor of Liguria and Æmilia. At 34 he turned away from the secular government and became bishop of Milan. He gave all his wealth to the poor and served the Church the rest of his life, sometimes in the face of peril.

All three Doctors of this period, Jerome, Augustine and Ambrose wrote innumerable letters, many of which have survived. For this reason we know them better than any pagan philosopher or ecclesiastics of the Middle Ages.

Jerome wrote mostly to women, instructing them on how to maintain their virginity. Augustine wrote letters to everyone, mostly on doctrine or Church discipline. Ambrose wrote most interesting letters to emperors, chastising them when they failed in their duties and praising them when they fulfilled them.

The first public matter Ambrose dealt with was the altar and stature to Victory in Rome. It was a pagan icon removed by Constantinius (son of Constantine) reinstated by Julian the Apostate and then removed again by Emperor Gratian. Paganism lasted longer in the Senate than elsewhere in Rome. After Gratian's death a senator named Symmachus (a pagan) fought to bring it back. In 384 he became the prefect of Rome. When Symmachus sought to have the new Emperor Valentian II put it back, Ambrose wrote the boy king. He wrote "Let no one take advantage of your youth" and put for the thesis that "as all Romans owed military service to their sovereign, so he (the Emperor) owed service to the Almighty God" (Russell, 337). In addition to flattery, Ambrose threatened the young emperor with not being able to see a priest in Church or receiving a hostile greeting from a priest. Ambrose won the argument. But a usurper of Valentian II, Eugenics (a pagan) restored the idol. In 394 Emperor Theodosius defeated Eugenics and removed the altar.

Initially Ambrose had favor in the imperial court. But when the mother of Valentian II, Empress Justina (an Arian) asked for an Arian church in Milan, the Catholic Ambrose refused. The Empress sent troops to a church in Milan demanding it as it belonged to the Emperor. Ambrose assured the Empress that she may take anything that belonged to the emperor but since the wealth of the church belonged to the poor and the church to God, he had nothing to give her. The soldiers refused to take the church by force because the citizens backed Ambrose. The empress gave in. This established the precedent of the Church having authority over the State in some matters.

Ambrose's next conflict came with the Emperor Theodosius. A synagogue was burned at a bishop's instigation. Theodosius demanded that those responsible be punished and the synagogue be rebuilt at the bishop's expense. Ambrose was furious. He demanded that no such action be taken because it would cause only trouble. If the punishment is carried out the bishop will be martyred for standing up for his faith in Christ or acquiesce and become apostate. Also, money of the Church should not be used to support unbelief (as occurs in a synagogue). Theodosius backed down.

The next conflict between these two occurred when a mob in Thessolonica murdered a Roman captain. Theodosius orchestrated the slaughter of 7,000 Thessalonians in revenge. Ambrose withheld the sacraments from Theodosius until the emperor rented. Theodosius repented, without his purple kingly robes and paid public penance.

Ambrose was a remarkable statesman, but inferior to Augustine in philosophy and inferior to Jerome as a scholar.

Jerome is most notable for producing the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. The Vulgate was translated from original Hebrew texts, not the more erroneous Septuagint. Because Jerome illicit help from Jews in the translation it was initially met with harsh responses. Augustine's endorsement helped it to become the accepted version of the Catholic Church.

Jerome was born in 345 AD near Aquileia to a well-to-do, but not rich family. He studied rhetoric in Rome but he sinned there. He traveled through Gaul, retiring to Aquileia and became ascetic. He became a hermit in the Syrian desert and performed penance for his sinfulness in Rome. He then went back to Rome and befriended Pope Damasus, who encouraged him to create the Vulgate.

Jerome was quarrelsome to say the least. He fought with Augustine over the behavior of St. Peter. He fought with his friend Rufinius over Origen. He opposed Pelagius so avidly that his monastery was attacked by a Pelagian mob. He also fought with the Pope after the death of Damasus.

He left Rome for Bethlehem in 386 and lived there until his death in 420.

He converted and convinced many noble women to become nuns, pissing off people all over.

A young girl he convinced to become a nun was Eustochium. He wrote letters to her on how to maintain her virginity, exact meanings of Old Testament euphemisms, erotic mystical praise of covenantal life, stated that a nun is the Bride of Christ and the the Song of Solomon praises this type of relationship.

Linehan - I believe that this is a very bad misrepresentation of this book.

In a vision Jerome heard Christ tell him that he was a follower of Cicero, not Christ. Upon waking from this vision he denounced his love of Greek and Roman learning.

In his letters he embodies the Christian otherworldly hope of redemption outside of the collapsing world of the temporal Roman Empire.

It is strange (Russell contends) that Jerome, Augustine, and Ambrose all devoted themselves to Church issues, but no practical measures  to save their collapsing state.

Linehan - The emphasis on virginity by the early church to me seems harmful. It is true that some men and women may be called to a life of abstinence, but I do not think that this is a very likely occurrence. I know from a personal standpoint that living an abstinent life makes it hard to focus on anything other than virginity or how to lose it. I remained a virgin because of fear (partially) and because of failure (mostly). This was a source of enormous tension, self-turmoil, disappointment, frustration, agony, desperation, depression, guilt and countless hours of wasted time and effort. Virginity or abstinence as an end is not a virtue. What makes it virtuous is the reasoning behind it. If one declares perpetual virginity in accordance to God's plan then it is virtuous, but if it (or anything) is done as a way to impress God it is boastful and not a virtue at all. Also I find the practice of father's giving their daughters over to virginity reprehensible. It's a shame that things like this happened within Christianity because it gives ammo to those who are seeking to attack Christianity.

Augustine was born in 354 in Africa to a Christian mother and Pagan father. He spent time as a Manichaean, then became a Christian. He then became the bishop of Hippo, near Carthage, where he remained until he died in 430.

We know much of Augustine's life because of his autobiographical work Confessions.

Augustine was a passionate youth, unconcerned with virtue and impulsive. He searched for truth and righteousness relentlessly.

His youthful sins caused him to have a strong sense of sin later in life, "which made his life stern and his philosophy inhuman" (Russell, 345).

Linehan - I'm sure Russell meant this as a stab, but Augustine may very well have modestly accepted it as a compliment. I must admit that there are a few philosophers, theologians, or men that matter, with whom I identify with or respect more than Augustine.

Augustine opens Confessions with the story of stealing a pear for mischief's sake alone. He condemns himself for loving the act of sinning so much. Russell mocks this and calls it morbid to the modern mind. While this may be true it is a blight on the modern mind, not on Augustine.

Christian theology had two parts:
1) that concerned with the Church
2) that concerned with the individual.

The Catholics emphasized the first. The Protestants emphasized the second. Augustine created a harmonious synthesis that focused on both without any inconsistencies.

Augustine believed individual soul wee predestined to salvation, but had to be baptized and become a member of the Church. Predestination marks a direct connection between God and man, the Church was an intermediate between.

Sin was essential to the direct relation for two reasons:
1) Shows how God can cause man to suffer
2) Shows how souls are the most important member of the created order.

Russell calls Augustine's sense of sin 'abnormal'. Russell's indifference to sin however, is much more abnormal than any developed sense of it.

Augustine grabbed Latin easily, but hated Greek.

Lust overcame him at the age of sixteen.

Augustine's father did not pay any attention to his sins but kept him focused on school. His mother, in vain, tried to keep him chaste. He went to Carthage at 16 and fell in love with love. He also took a mistress because he was not ready for a wife, but was faithful to her and had a son he loved by her.

His mother then encouraged him to marry a girl worthy of his social status (which his mistress was not). In breaking up with his mistress to be married he broke his heart. He then took another mistress while waiting for his bride-to-be to come of age. At this time he prayed, "give me chastity and continence, only not yet" (Russell, 348).

By the time his marriage was to occur he had devoted himself to religion and chastity.

Augustine was excellent in rhetoric and introduced to philosophy by Cicero. He then became a Manichaean and taught rhetoric. He was fond of astrology at this time, but later despised it.

He read as much philosophy as was translated into Latin and mentions Aristotle's 'Ten Categories'. He grasped these works without a teacher, but decried his understanding because it profited him none.

Initially he began to reject Manichaeism because of scientific reasons, citing astronomy and Mani's (the founder of Manichaeism) blatant errors on astronomical matters. After doubting Manichaeism he went to teach in Rome.

He began to feel at odds with the Manichaeans more and more in Rome and began to slide in to skepticism, but still believed that something in men, some nature caused them to sin.

He believed evil to be a substance.

From Rome he went to Milan to teach rhetoric. He began to love Ambrose and admire the Catholic faith, but his newfound skepticism held him back.

His mother joined him in Milan and hastened his conversion.

In Milan he became acquainted with Platonism and fused the Platonic metaphysical doctrine of Logos with Christianity.

He then completely rejected Manichaeism and the notion of Evil as a substance, instead believing evil to come from the perverseness of the will.

Augustine found comfort in the writings of St. Paul (one reason I identify with him so well).

He gave up his new mistress and his wife-to-be and devoted himself to the Church. He moved back to Africa in 388 and spent the remainder of his life fighting heresies like the Donates, Manichaeism and Pelagianism.

Views of Biblical inspiration & Interpretation

(Originally written on February 10, 2006 in book 23)

Modern views of Biblical Inspiration

Revelation - Acts of God in History are divine, but the interpretation are human

Partial-Inspiration theories:
- Bible is true on matters of faith (spiritual)
- Bible may incorrect on historical matters

example (virgin birth is a spiritual interpretation, not a historical event)

This statement is neither true nor false. It is a meaningless statement. There is no way to validate or falsify it.

The Interpretation of Scripture

Origen -

Allegory: historical events are images or shadows of divine realities (Plato)

Origen held that the truth are found above the text

Luther

Literal - "grammatical-historical" approach (evangelical interpretation)
Truth is found within the text

Historical-Critical - seeks to reconstruct a historical, non supernatural Jesus

Truth found behind the text
Theological Liberalism

Authority of Scripture

1) Presuppositional - circular reasoning
2) Ecclesiastical - Catholic
3) Spiritual - From the Holy Spirit
4) Evidentialist - reasoning and evidence

Notes on the Formation, Interpretation and Composition of Scriptures

(Originally written February 3, 2006 in Book 23)

A Faith for all Season

Chapter 2 - The Need for Holy Scripture

Originally, God created a perfect world in this perfect world there was no distinction between special and general revelation. God's words and God's works (creation) were together. God's works (man) rebelled gains God's words. God could no longer be in the presence of His works because of their sinfulness and neither could God's word. Thus, each is still full of general revelation (God's works) but special revelation (His words) are nowhere to be found. Salvation can not be provided by general revelation, special revelation is needed. God provide that special revelation: the Scriptures and Jesus Christ.

Scripture as the Word of God

Theologians throughout history have affirmed what Jesus said: that scripture was and is the word of God (John 10:35)

The Church's belief of scripture as the word of God's is closely linked with the doctrine of divine inspiration of Scripture.

The doctrine of divine inspiration of Scripture comes from 2 Timothy 3:16-17. All Scripture is inspired by God. The NIV translates it as "God-breathed" The Greek in this passage uses the word "theopneustos" (literally God + Breath)

2 Peter 1:20-21 confirms that the authors were not simply inspired to write something; but the words themselves were inspired by God. No prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation for the prophecy never had its origin in the will of men, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Both Paul and Peter were referring to Scripture as the Old Testament, but applying to the New Testament is justified by 3 things:
1) Jesus saw his mission and message as in accordance with the Old Testament
2) Jesus made his apostles agents of divine revelation inspired by the Holy Spirit
3) Jesus stated that future believers would come to faith through the apostolic word

The Scripture is useful in two ways:
1) Doctrine
2) Practice

The Scripture can be used to accomplish 4 Things:
1) Teaching: the idea of proclaiming the truth
2) Rebuking: the idea of combating doctrinal error
3) Correction: the act of leading someone away from an ungodly lifestyle (this is about ethics, not doctrine)
4) Training in righteousness: helping people lead godly lives

The Scriptures make the man of God complete

Nobody profits from understanding the Scriptures if they do not accept and follow them.

Sometimes the words verbal and plenary are used to describe the traditional Christian doctrine of Biblical inspiration

Verbal, Plenary Inspiration

Plenary means full, therefore "plenary inspiration" is full inspiration

"Verbal inspiration" is the idea that the words of Scripture are the exact words God wanted written.

Most Christians do not believe that God dictated to the writers. He allowed them to keep their personalities and styles in their books. God dictating is what Islam believes is the origin of the Qu'ran.

Some Christians believe that God inspired feelings and ideas in the writers. This takes in account for the differing styles in the books. This view however states that the Bible is only quantitatively superior to other works.

The historic consensus of theology is qualitatively superior to other works.

Modern Protestants take the Scriptures as both the word of God and the words of men. This view is that God supervised the writing to get what he wanted said written, but allowed the human authors to keep their humanity and individuality in their work.

Modern Alternatives to Verbal, Plenary Inspiration

Karl Barth: a 20th century Swiss theologian

In his "Church Dogmatics", Barth acknowledges only Jesus Christ as special revelation.

According to Barth's view the Bible is not special revelation and there is no general revelation. The only way God reveals himself is through Jesus Christ.

Revelation only occurs through the risen Jesus Christ living inside of Christian.

Barth denies that the Bible is the "word of God". He states that the Bible can only become the word of God when Jesus Christ uses it to convict us.

Barth believed that knowledge of God was beyond any man's capabilities.

Barth's form of theology is Dialectical theology.

Dialectical theology is when God comes to us as the One who is beyond comprehension and he judges anyone who attempts to comprehend him.

However, Barth changed his views later in life. He states that God can actually be known, but not because man is capable of knowing him. Man can know God because God bridged the gap between humanity and God through Jesus Christ.

In Barth's view the Bible, while not revelation in and of itself, is a witness to revelation in the person of Jesus Christ.

Another school of modern theology bases their beliefs, not on the revelation being in Jesus Christ, but in the belief that the revelation of God comes from the historical events of God's redemption.

Scripture, in this view, is ancient writer's attempts of documenting God's saving acts and those acts' impacts on our lives.

As in the case with Barth's theology, revelation does not lie in the text of the Scripture, but in the "encountered results of what God did for them" (Dorman, 25).

This view holds that the Scriptures are the writers' interpretation of the significance of God's actions. In this view, we are not competed to believe what God did, only what his actions did to impact the writers.

Another modern theology is a partial-inspiration theory. There are various forms of this theory.

This view states that all Biblical statements that deal with spiritual matters are true and from God, but statements regarding historical matters are not necessarily accurate.

The partial inspiration theory does attempt to link the text of the Bible with special revelation.

This view states that the Bible can in fact be erroneous, but is still important on matters of faith.

The Historical events of the Bible are regarded as parables and allegories is the partial-inspiration theory.

The Interpretation of Scripture

Allegory - "the expression through symbolic figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human conduct or experience" (Dorman, 27)

The idea that readers of Scripture must reinterpret the events recorded in them as allegories is rooted in the Greek philosophy of dualism.

According to this dualistic theory, historical events and realities, including the language, are mere images or shadows of the divine realities.

Ancient Judaism and Christianity believed, contrastingly, that God had in fact spoken and acted at specific instances in history. Jesus Christ is the prime example of this.

It is because this belief that the early church generally avoided interpreting the Scriptures allegorically.

During the second century A.D. some of the Church had trouble seeing the connection between God in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ. Marcion is a prime example of this.

Marcion believed that the Bible showed two gods:
1) the Old Testament was a warlike, judgmental deity
2) The New Testament god was kind and loving.

Because of his view of two differently described, Marcion rejected the Old Testament as Scripture and purged the gospel of any Jewish tradition.

Origen considered some of the descriptions of God in the Old Testament as cruel and sub-Christian, but refused to reject the Old Testament like Marcion. He instead removed the offensive passages by interpreting them allegorically.

Origen held that not every Christian was capable of finding the spiritual or allegorical meaning of the text. He believed that this spiritual interpretation was given to the apostles who passed it on to the teachers of the Holy Church. This laid the way for the Catholic view that only its teaching office was able to interpret.

Origen's spiritual interpretation came from two sources:
1) The Holy Spirit was the author of Scripture
2) An influence of Dualism, passed on to him by Philo, who had allegorized the Old Testament in order to synthesize it with Greek philosophy.

Origen held that the literal meaning of the text was inferior to the spiritual meaning because the literal meaning came from the human writer and the spiritual came from the Holy Spirit.

The Antiochean school of theology was opposite to the theology of Origen. They held that the primary meaning of Scripture was its literal, historical sense.

The works of Lucian (of Antioch) set the tone for the Antiochean interpretation of Scripture. Lucian sought to interpret the Scriptures through its Semitic perspective rather than through a Greek philosophical one.

Theodore, a later Antiochean, saw that the literal approach unified a record of God's redemptive work in time, whereas the allegorical method saw it as a collection of timeless truths.

The Antiochean school did not have any lasting effects on theology because of two reasons:
1) Lucian, its founder was also seen as the founder of Arianism. Arianism was a heresy that denied the full divinity of Christ.
2) Nestorious was found to be a heretic. Nestorious was taught by Theodore and therefore Theodore and the entire Antiochean School was condemned as well.

Because of the condemnation of the Antiochean School, one form or another of allegorical interpretation was held by the Church for the next 1,000 years.

The end of allegorical total domination came with the Protestant Reformation.

Luther stated that unless the text is plainly demands us to interpret it allegorically, it is to be interpreted literally, otherwise Scripture is a worthless fable.

Luther's approach to a more literal based interpretation of Scripture was called the grammatical-historical exegesis (exegesis is a fancy word for interpretation).

Luther stressed the perspicuity of Scripture. This basically means that the Bible is clear enough for any reasonably informed person to understand it.

Luther's emphasis on the literal interpretation of the Scriptures opened the doors to new theological insight which were previously shut by the dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church. It also, unfortunately opened the doors to a terrible form of interpretation, the "historical-critical" method.

During the 18th century history was defined by the Rationalists (an Enlightenment Philosophical offshoot) as a closed continuum of cause and effect. Basically, it denied any possibility for miracles. The "historical-critical" method was born out of this view. It declared that the miracles in the Bible were actually myths of the Bible. This method turned Jesus into a human teacher of ethics and denied him of any supernatural being.

This view of Jesus came under attack by late 19th century theologians. These theologians were ironically trained in the "historical-critical" method. They stated that the Gospels were written in such a way that it was impossible to separate a non-miraculous Jesus from a supernatural Christ.

The "historical critical" method seeks to find the meaning of Christ behind the Biblical texts.

The allegorical approach used by Origen sought to find the meaning of Christ above the Biblical text.

The literal approach used by the Antiochean school and the Reformers sought to find the meaning of Christ with the Biblical text.

The historical-critical method denies that Scripture is the word of God.

The Authority of Scripture

Christians have sought to confirm the authority of Scriptures in four ways:

1) The presuppositional approach
-This states that we know the Bible is the word of God because it claims to be.
-God is the author
-This approach does not give any criteria that can distinguish its claims to being divine revelation from the claims of other texts being of divine revelation, like the Qu'ran
-Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so

2) The Ecclesiastical Approach
-Christians can know Scripture is the word of God because the Church says it is (this is the Roman Catholic approach)
-It is true that the New Testament grew out of the very life of the Church
-Jesus loves me this I know for the Church it tells me so

3) The Spiritual Approach
- This view holds that the ecclesiastical approach places the Church above the Bible
- The inner witness of the Holy Spirit affirms the authority of Scripture
- Absolute assurances of the authority of Scripture can only come from God
- Jesus loves me this I know for the Spirit tells me so

4) The Evidentialist Approach
-There are many convincing proofs that Jesus Christ rose from the dead
-belief in the Bible comes from faith in Christ
-This view holds that the Bible is a generally historically accurate document
-It holds that the evidences from the Bible when combined with reasonable argument establishes that Jesus Christ was crucified, died, buried and rose from the dead beyond a reasonable doubt
-It holds that Jesus' resurrection proves He is the son of God and as such he is trustworthy in all he says
-Jesus trusted the Scriptures we should to
-Because of this we are obliged to follow Jesus and put our whole trust in the Bible as the word of God

The four categories of the authority of Scripture can be placed in two:
1) Fideism
2) Evidentialism

Fideism is based on the term faith, when faith means belief not related to knowledge. The presuppositional, ecclesiastical and spiritual approaches are all fideism.

Evidentialism bases faith upon evidences available to all people. It takes the seriously the historical nature of divine revelation. It refuses to confine knowledge of God to a subjective experience.

All four approaches agree that Scripture is the Church's rule of faith and practice.

The Sufficiency of Scripture

Protestant Reformers believed that the Scripture was alone sufficient while the Roman Catholic Church stated extra-Biblical teachings could be incorporated into Christian dogma.

Roman Catholicism holds that the same spirit which inspired the Scripture still inspires the teaching office of the Church (who they believe is the only fit persons to interpret Scripture).

Their non-Biblical dogmas must meet "apostolic" criteria to be included. There are two criteria it can meet:
1) Any oral tradition whose origins can be traced back to the apostles qualifies
2) The authoritative pronouncements of the ecclesiastical teaching office, whose origin (according to Catholicism) goes back to the apostle Peter qualifies

Protestants believe that only Scripture is apostolic in nature.

The apostles were more than filled with the spirit, they were commissioned by Christ as agents of revelation.

The Protestant definition of "apostolic" is based on the apostle's unique eyewitness experience of Christ's life, death and resurrection gave them the sole authority to write authoritative works to be included in the Scriptures.

The Formation of the Canon

The early church considered the Hebrew Scriptures as the Canon. The need for Scripture that witnessed to Jesus Christ became an issue in the middle of the second century.

It had become more difficult to separate genuine historic oral tradition concerning Christ from the pure myths of Christ.

The need for a church sanctioned canon became more apparent after Marcion produced his canon of some of Paul's letters and the Gospels (purged of any Jewish influence)

The Muratorian Canon is the earliest known list of books which were considered Christian Scripture appeared around AD 200.

In the first half of the third century Origen traveled extensively and recorded which books were considered as Scripture by the various local churches.

He categorized these books three ways:
1) Undisputed
2) Disputed
3) False

The letters of Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were categorized as undisputed.
2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Hebrews, James and Jude were categorized as disputed.
The false category included all of the heretical gospels.

Athanasius, the most influential theologian of his day, recorded all 27 books included in todays New Testament in a letter in 367 AD.

The Council of Carthage, in 407 AD affirmed todays canon.

The Reformation saw Luther exclude the Apocrypha from the Old Testament Canon. Thus, the Roman Catholic Bible has nine more books in it than the Protestant one. Luther excluded these because the Jewish Scriptures did and he believed that Jesus and his disciples held the Jewish Scriptures as authoritative.

Russell: On Catholic and Protestant Skeptics

(Originally written September 6, 2005 in Book 2)

The protestant believes a good man is one who opposes authorities and denies received doctrines. The protestant conception of goodness is individualized and isolated.

The Catholic conception of good is more social and tied into the Church.

Protestants like to be good so they create theology to do so. Catholics like to be bad so they invent theology to keep their neighbors good.

If America were made to believe marriage a sin there would no longer be a need for divorce.

A social system should label some harmless acts as sin, therefore people could indulge in wickedness and not harm anyone.

Russell: Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization?

(Originally written September 2, 2005 in Book 2)

Why I am not a Christian
Bertrand Russell
1957

Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization?

It has made two:

1) Fixing the calendar
2) The ancient Egyptian religion chronicled the eclipses well enough to predict them.

Religion is a disease that comes from fear and is the source of misery.

Extreme Protestantism has distorted the word religion to denote any serious personal convictions as to the nature of the universe or to morality.

Religion originally (and mostly) is a social phenomenon.

All religious originators have had little influence over the ethics of the church they founded. Christ (founder of Christianity) has extraordinarily little influence on Christian ethics.

The most important thing about Christianity is the church.

Christ taught that you should give your goods to the poor, that you should not fight, that you should not go to church, and that you should not punish adultery. Neither Catholicism nor Protestantism follows these teachings regularly.

This is true of Buddhism as well as Christianity. Buddha was "amiable and enlightened", but Buddhist priests in Tibet have been known to be tyrannous and of the cruelest nature.

The difference between a church and its founder is not a coincidence. It is a natural occurrence of events. When an absolute truth is declared in the teachings of a certain man there is a body of people ready to interpret this absolute truth. The men who interpret these absolute truths hold the power of knowledge and become a privileged caste. With that power they wield and manipulate things to their advantage and work to oppose anything that restricts their power and influence, even if it encourages intellectual or moral progress.

Religion teaches ethical coeds that are not conducive to human happiness. Religions hold that morals have nothing to do with happiness.

"The church, as everyone knows, opposed the abolition of slavery as long they dared and with a few well advertised exceptions they oppose at the present day every movement toward economic justice. The Pope has officially condemned socialism" (Russell, 26).

Christianity and Sex:

The worst feature of Christianity is its attitude towards sex. It is morbid and pitiful.

One of the greatest perversions in history is the assumption that Christianity improved the status of women.

The Christian conception of sin is very harmful. It gives people outlets for their sadistic tendencies. Christians believe that sinners should be punished, even out to the wife and kids of the sinner.

God is responsible for all the pain in the world because He was all powerful in creating it and all knowing in foreseeing the pain that would become of his creation.

The objection to religion:

Two roots of religious objections: intellectual and moral

Intellectual objection is the omnipotence of a true God would have led to a better created world. Moral objection is the all-good nature of a true God would have led to a more just world.

The Soul and Immortality:

Social virtue is excluded from Christian ethics.

In Christianity the body is social and public, while the soul is the private parts of life.

By emphasizing the importance of the soul, Christianity has made ethics completely individualistic.

Sources of Intolerance:

Christianity spread intolerance as part of its belief structure.

The intolerance of Christianity is rooted in its birthing religion Judaism. The intolerance of Judaism comes from the developments during the captivity and exile of the ancient Jews. It was a reaction against losing their identity in a foreign or alien setting.

The prophets invented an emphasis on personal righteousness and an idea that it was wicked to tolerate any religion except their own. These two concepts have had a lasting and significant impact throughout the course of history, an "extraordinarily disastrous effect".

Christians regularly speak of the persecution they suffered under the Roman Empire before Constantine, but tend to omit the persecution from the time of Constantine to the Renaissance was at the hands of Christians. Modern Christianity is less robust in their persecutions thanks to generations of free thinkers who have made Christian's embarrassed of some of their traditional beliefs.

The Doctrine of Free Will:

A man with plague must be imprisoned until he is well, but he isn't wicked. A man with a propensity for forgery must be imprisoned until he is cured, but he too is not wicked. It is not sin that causes men to break laws, but a sickness.

The most important source of religion is "undoubtedly" fear. Anything that happens that causes alarm causes people to turn to God for security.

Religion appeals to self-esteem as well as terror or fear. If Christianity is true it is good for the self-esteem that us, wretched beings in the eyes of Christianity, are noticed by the Supreme Creator.

The Idea of Righteousness:

Many free thinkers want to keep the idea of righteousness despite the decay of dogmatic religion, but it is impossible to separate righteousness from unrighteousness.

Something is unrighteous if it disagrees with the majority and therefore it is a sin.

The 'righteous' punish the 'unrighteous' and feel satisfied in doing so. The concept of righteousness gives the religious an outlet for their sadism. It is a "psychological lynching" that those righteous impose on those whom they deem to be unrighteous.

The three human impulses embodied in religion are hate, fear and conceit. The purpose of religion is to give the sense of respectability to those feelings.

Christians argue that if hate and fear are inevitable then why not aim them through the Church at the Wicked. There are two refutations to this argument:

-First, the Church's views on what is righteous and what is not isn't the best view.
-Second, with modern techniques and knowledge of psychological processes both fear and hate can be eliminated altogether.

A Christian would claim that a man who was lazy and produced a child a year until his wife passed away from exhaustion and whose children perished from neglect is more virtuous than the man who stamped out yellow fever in an uncharted part of the world, but who had occasional sexual relationships with women to whom he was not married.

Counterpoint: A Christian would not claim that either man is virtuous. All men are not virtuous in the eyes of God. Compared to God we are all humbled. We are not measured against each other but compared to Jesus Christ, whom we all fall short of. The only virtue which is achievable by man is to accept the gift of Jesus Christ and through His redemption we will act virtuously.

In Christianity avoidance of sin is more important than positive merit. It is for these two reasons (the Christian's view of virtuousness and the avoidance of sin being the important thing to do) why the Church's view of righteousness is not the best.

Fear and hatred can be nearly totally eradicated from Humanity by education, economic and political reforms. Educational reforms must be the basis. To educate a child properly he/she must be treated with kindness, be put in an environment where initiation is possible without disastrous results, kept from adults with irrational fears and not be subjected to severe punishments, threats or reproof.

To save a child from developing hatred situations that could incur jealousy must be avoided. A child must feel warmth and affection, and must not be thwarted in his/her natural curiosities - NO TABOO ON SEX.

The properly educated and raised child will find himself isolated in the real world full of hate and fear.

War, pestilence and famine are preferential to contraception in the Church.

Religion prevents us from teaching ethical scientific evidence, removing the fundamental reasons for war and children from having rational education.

For man to enter a golden age religion must first be destroyed completely.