Knowing God or No-ing God

Knowing God is a popular title, just search books at Amazon.com and see! God is like a man or woman, to know him/her I must meet them and then spend time with them. But can I know God? Why would I want to know God? There is a benefit in knowing other people. Is there a benefit in knowing God? But perhaps you don’t yet know that God is. Millions of persons alive do not even know that God is. That is certainly the first barrier between man and God. How do I know there is a God, that is know that He exists? I know my neighbors exist; I have seen them in the flesh. I know the President of the United States exists; I have seen him on TV. I know you exist even though I have never met you or seen you. Why? Why because you are reading this. But I don’t know your name, your face, your voice, or anything about you except that you can read (English). God is like us. He is there, and not many people know Him. How many people know you or me? But He is also very different from us. He knows every person dead and alive, and every person not yet alive. How many people do you or I know?

Many people are in denial of God, this in spite of the evidence of His existence. To say “there is no God” is not even a logical statement. What other thing is there none of? We need to understand the meaning of the word “no” before we can say “what” “is not”. “No” itself means denial. It implies that the subject it describes is absent, as is: "There is no money in my bank account." The human mind is a remarkable thing. Every day it deals with abstract ideas, things themselves which consist of complex electro-chemical impulses coursing through its bio-physical “grey matter”. The human mind is; the human brain is. Though you have never seen your own you have both. I know this is (true). Why? Because I know you are, and that you are reading the ideas that I am writing at this moment, though for you these are ideas that I have written at a former moment. I write like this not to dazzle you, but to begin to describe how much complexity is inherent in what seems so simple and ordinary.

Now a question I enjoy asking is this: “Can you name one thing that never has existed?”

Those who say there is no God surely mean that He has never existed. Take a moment and think, what other thing is there that has never existed? All the things that are do exist. Those things which do not exist are what? They are not. Many are the things which are. But few indeed are the things which are not! Have you though of one yet? If you have it may be the next big thing invented, it may earn you your first million! But it must first graduate from being an electro-chemical impulse to an invention which exists. Thoughts are real but they are only thoughts. Here are some URL references from the dictionary to look over:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/not
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/not
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/not .

We fail many times to think things through enough, both in our own minds and as a village, and a village ought to think things through. Today’s world is evidence that the village has not often succeeded in thinking things through.

The Apostle Paul wrote that "all God's promises are yes and amen. Sin will not be there. I think the word no was invented when Satan sinned. With all my mind, heart and soul I believe that in the coming age of God's eternal Kingdom there will be no more need to say no to anything. The first recorded use of the words no and not are in Genesis 2:5 where vegetation and man himself are noted as not yet being (created). The first record of God using the word not is:

Genesis 2:15 And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

Here God is advising that when what He can not approve is done, the doer heads toward death, and death is a state of notness. He almost might have said: "in the day you do eat you will not live."

By now you understand that I am a believer in God, and you may have surmised that I am a believer in whom we English speakers call our God and Father of Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews, the Christ, the Savior (of all those who believe).

Please consider this often quoted passage from the Gospel of John.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:1-3

“The beginning” refers to the beginning of the creation of “all things”. Things God did not make have no beginning.

Certain “ideas” are common to all men. One is the “idea” of beginning. “Things” really get a bit strange here. Can you say Twilight Zone? It is better than that, but it stretches the uninitiated mind. I claim no expertise, only that I have thought things through to exactly “where they are” in my mind (even if they seem to wander a good bit). So: Certain “ideas” are common to all men. One is the “idea” of beginning. If you know someone who has no idea about the beginning of a thing, he/she is probably about two years old and only yet unable to speak of it to you. The problem of a beginning is that because it is, we thing of what happened before it began, and wonder when it will end. And these ideas are universal to mankind, though it is true that most people are much more occupied with now than with then or with when.

In a newer translation of John 1, the New International Reader's Version we read: “In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.”

Man is now wrapped up between the beginning of things and their end. This is certainly true of mans (his/her) own life, and it began at their conception, continued at their birth and will end at their death. We know that now in 2008 AD (CE) there was a time, that is things existed, or things were, before we were born. There is an unverified claim that in the Dominican Republic there is a woman who is 128 years old. If she is the oldest person alive today, no one alive today was alive in 1879. We have all had beginnings. We will all have ends. It is the before and the after that start the trouble. For this, questions invariably arise which lead back into eternity and forward into… eternity. Today the question of “origins” is still a very hot debate between those who believe God made everything and those who believe in no God at all. If there is no God at all, there is nothing made. If nothing has been made then there seems to me to be no beginning, just a change in the form of things which have always existed in other forms. Those who think all things come into existence by “random” chance, or by “accident” and yet still seek answers to the question of origin(s) show just how deeply imprinted we are with the “idea” that the universe has a grand beginning, a big bang. Why? To get to this answer we must tackle the idea of design, and the question: “Did God design all things?” Here again we will encounter the amazing ability of many to deny things which are just as they are and have them to be NOT as they are.

The question of origin(s) is in the end a debate about the existence of Divine Personality and Intelligence and Design- or… not. It seems to me to be clearly one or the other. If God is the source and author of all design it makes perfect sense that man made in His image. All things are “ideas” that God brought into being. Making man in His image, God created man with intelligent ability, able to have ideas similar to His own, and able to make “things” today which were not yesterday. There is a big difference between God’s ability and mans. This difference is a stumbling block to many men. For in denying God man “enjoys” a quantum leap promotion to master of his own world and fate (as much as any man can be able). Man is quite self deceived to believe he can make use of every divinely given attribute of intelligence to design the order of “his world” as he sees fit. Yet relying on the ability to intelligently design his world, man now denies the Source of all intelligence; the universe which he studies by design and for the design inherent in it- this he denies has been designed. H calls design an accident. He relies on the accident of design to learn what is true of things and ignores the mind which published the universe as easily as man publishes the daily newspaper.

Good science from its beginnings has always led man to understand more of the design of things. At the same time it has revealed an infinite complexity which I believe will never be mastered by man. If it were, man would be as powerful as God, which is to say he would be God. Many men have wanted to be that powerful, and the havoc and mayhem they have caused is a good reason for God to keep a great deal of His ability in perpetual mystery.

The real problem men have is this: if men are persuaded that God exists, particularly if the God of the Christian Bible, then they will have to bow to His desires of and for them. Men have histories of pursuing their desires, acting as individuals unbound by God, as unconcerned with God’s authority as they are with the well being of their neighbors. The result? - sin, crime, and war. If those who believe in no God, and in creation by “random chance” or “accident”, were able to achieve the peace which they profess to pursue, then they might be believed. God on the other hand has communicated a unified complete and sufficient message which informs man of His existence, His character, His motives, His History His Son Jesus, and His future. God’s message also informs us of our beginning, our corruption and fall, our history and our destiny. This message is persuasive, yet few find the way to its virtue and promise. Why? We men are very corrupt, and very narrow minded, much more concerned with blood sugar that blood atonement.

I wanted this to be a very persuasive article. And I thought I could write it so sweetly that everyone reading it might be persuaded. But as sweet as God is, so also is He righteous. His virtue is flawless. He cannot look on sin with approval of any kind. He has endured the evil doings of men for six millennia and there is an end not to His patience but to his suffering. When He is done suffering, and when He has finished the remaining purposes of His will, I think His patience with be vestigial. If you are reading this as a God denier or a God hater, or a willful and habitual criminal, PLEASE spend some time pursuing truth. Be relentless until all your intellect and ability is satisfied concerning the claims of Jesus and the Bible. If they are false, there are no losers and no winners, all die the death. If they are true and accurate, those God accepts as His own gain everything; the loss of those He denies is inestimable. Who are they that God will deny except those who deny Him?

© 2008 David Severy

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Matthew 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 4:12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 5
1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

John 3
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.

Truth and Consequences

Can someone tell me why abortion has left the public square? To be sure there are those who seek to reverse Roe vs. Wade, but not the Republican or the Democrat parties. They best we get is a well written pro-life statement in the Republican Party Platform. It is a statement that will remain in obscurity because Republicans will not risk losing pro-choice votes by drawing attention to it. Everyone must run to the center, and to Republicans the topic has become third rail. You may have your private views, but you can’t speak of the matter without extreme deference to the so called "rights" of pro-choicers.

We are fast approaching the infamous distinction of having aborted 50 million lives. Call them fetuses, babies, unborn, pre-born, infants—it hardly matters; what cannot be disputed is that around half of those aborted, all since 1990, would now be 18 or more years old, English speaking U.S. citizens. Many would be employed in jobs "foreigners" now hold. Some would be in college. Some would be in the military and others in Green Peace, some Democrats, others Republicans. In short, they would be just like the rest of us, but for the fact of their termination, their abortion. Had they lived, the economy would be better off for the costs of raising them, costs which would have meant economic growth here, not the economic drain to other nations. They would now be competing in the market place just like we are, spending and investing their wages and salaries just like we do, and millions (billions?) more dollars, would not have been sent to illegal immigrants families outside our borders.

Many blow off my "theory" as ridiculous. But I ask you: Do you know someone who has aborted their child? I do. I would have both a niece or a nephew and my own son or daughter today, both around 35 years of age, had my sibling and I not have chosen abortions in the 1970's. Roe vs. Wade has made room for nearly 50 million immigrants to the USA, "replacements". Do we wonder why they come? We need them; we need them to do the jobs “Americans” are unwilling to do. One of those Jobs is parenting, and sure enough the illegal immigrants are becoming parents of US Citizens!!! By the tens of thousands a year!!! I fear that many Americans today have all the competency of Homer Simpson, while those who are pleased to profit from abortions have all the competency of Adolph Hitler.

There is a bumper sticker which sums up a growing attitude toward children: “I’m spending my children’s inheritance.”

It is not reasonable to think that this gross offence against natures God can be accepted much longer without dire natural consequences. They include the economic consequences and moral consequences.

I have recently heard a viewpoint advanced by Christians that the faithful need only preach the gospel; they need not “fight” against abortion, or homosexuality. I understand this view and can support it to some extent. However we must include in the exposition of the gospel the truth that God (still) hates sin, is angry with those who knowingly sin against Him, and will ultimately condemn the unrepentant unbelieving sinner. The “coarsening of society” which many decry today is not the result of abortion alone. It is the cumulative effect and result of unchecked sin of all kinds.

Abortion followed on the heels of several coarsening influences. In 1954 pornography roared out from under its rock and within years the Supreme Court rule in her favor. In 1966 drugs, notably LSD and marijuana followed the same rout, and were met with similar complacence and decriminalization. So in 1973 with abortion. Illegal abortions had long been available to wealthy, connected people. But in 1973 it became available legally and profitably for “doctors” willing to do harm under the color of Supreme Court decisions.

Following abortion we have more “brave” souls encouraged to promote their immorality.
The homosexual community for one has promoted the acceptance of the queer lifestyle and “gay” marriage. We also seem to have an epidemic of greed which has broken out like cancer in the financial and real estate markets. If men will not stand against abortion, they will not stand against much of anything. If they will not stand against abortion and all these evils they will fall to their consequences. The consequences of sin are many; moral and economic collapse is among them, as are disease and poverty.

Foreclosure and bankruptcy are caused by some violation of God’s law. Your foreclosure may not be the direct result of your sin, but two things are sure. Firstly, many made mistakes (errors, sins) which caused the current financial crisis. Please consider again the economic consequences of 50,000,000 US citizen consumers lost in the abortion holocaust. Secondly, you are a sinner too, and have almost certainly caused some evil consequence, small or large, to befall another. God alone has never sinned, and His gospel is that for that and many other wonderful truths, His Son Jesus is able to save the sinner from sins eternal consequences. Jesus is neither a Republican nor a Democrat, He is not even democratic! He is a Monarch. Heaven is a Kingdom, governed by a King. It is not a democracy which is governed by men, or a Republic which is governed by the representatives of men. Jesus and Heaven are far and away beyond politics if you ask me, and that is where I want to be.

© 2008 David Severy

INTRODUCTION

Why “beyond politics”? I became a “conservative” after being born again. I had become a “liberal” in my teens, being swept away in the powerful liberal tides of the sixties. At twenty seven I encountered Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) and over the next 20 years was swept away by the powerful “conservative” tides of the Eighties. I will be ever grateful that Yeshua does not allow His own dear children to be swept away by anything less than the ecstasy of His own Truth.

Sometimes the humble thing to do is to shout at the top of your lungs that the sky is falling. “The sky is falling” is another way of stating the obvious: death is waiting for you and for me.

I’m not trying to be clever anymore. I admit I am a very dull blade… and a very prolific sinner. Try as I might, flaws of character run altogether more deeply in my heart than I desire, and often it seems more deeply than I realize. I recently became aware of how deeply my affections and lusts have become attached to a certain vain activity. It is said that the unexamined life is not worth living. True?... Regardless the examined life always leads to discovery of the scandals of ones own soul.

The fact of death, the universal fact of death must lead one to questions that are uncomfortable. “What is the meaning of life?” – one of my favorites. a question which is always asked in one of two forms: “Why?” or… “Why me?” If you ask “Why me?” are you not bound for a universe the center of which is [your]self? Answers to this question are sought for the satisfying of ones stomach. But if you ask: “Why?” chances are you may find answers which satisfy your spirit. Ask “Why?” yet realize that only the truth will answer this question satisfactorily.

There are three responses to this question. One is to ignore the question because the possible answers are troublesome to the soul. Consider this exchange between God and man:

John 18:33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" 34 Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?" 35 Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?" 36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." 37 Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world— to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." 38 Pilate said to him, "What is truth?"

To ask as Pilate asks: "What is truth?" does just what Pilate did, it ends the discussion. This question is no question at all, it is a statement which says: "I have found no truth, and those who speak of truth are deluded in thinking there is such a thing." I hear a very bitter edge in Pilate's voice as he asks it.

Another response is to let others answer it for you without an ounce of sincere investigation of your own. Today’s Rabbinic Judaist (traditionalists), Islamists, other religionists of every imaginable stripe, and secularists, all ought to be examined closely by the ones they seek to proselytize and disciple. Jesus examined those religionists of His day, and did so on behalf of all who would believe Him.

John 5:30 "I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"

The third response is to continue to ask, to seek and to knock, until you find answers that satisfy your appetite for truth. Francis Schaeffer wrote about True truth. Perhaps there has never been a day since Satan sinned when someone has not asked: "What is truth?" When one really knows what truth is, he/she has a great advantage in knowing what is true and what is not. Sadly millions know no difference between truth and lies.

I wish I could say that every morning I wake up rejoicing. I am glad to say that (at age 59) I do not awake to the craven fears that once tormented me. I wish I could boast about the depth of my faith, and back it up as the Apostle Paul does with boastings of sufferings for Messiah’s sake. I am glad that I have suffered such, albeit a very little suffering compared to Paul’s. Gladder am I that God has granted me answers to some of my many questions. I have found that He always has answers, and they are true answers, and even if they are not immediately given, or immediately satisfying, these truths eventually do come and satisfy as they build up the strength of my spirit and soul. Enough about me…

I rejoice that many others have also asked “Why?” and that God has answered them. “Why?” is the question of a child, a trusting child.

Mark 10:13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.