Set in Stone.

Trump’s and his Administration, what ever you may think of Trump is solid. It is set in a block of stone. Whether against or for.  Very little will change or move away from either pole.

( Opinion Digital Anvil)

From Bandaids to Wholeness.

 A Bandaid to Bandages to Healing the Whole Person

 

 physical > emotional > relational > psychological> spiritual.

 

System-wide, Healing inside.

 

 

 We present Christ to you,we don't present Pop Psychology, even though that is helpful.  We don't declare self- help books to you even though some are valid. We proclaim Jesus the Son of the living God. Not  just putting salve on a burn with a bit of, "she'll be right, mate." Even though that is a positive affirmation. 

 We don't indulge in bandaids, we preach Jesus Christ  the healer of the whole person. Woman and man,boy and girl. Young-- middle- old. The complete person made whole.

 Jesus,through whom all things were created is the central figure of the whole Bible. He is the focus of its being. Though a historical figure,he is timeless and tirelessly working even now.

 From Genesis to Revelation,God's footprints and fingerprints are found in the Book of Ages-Bible.

Our DNA is written in the language of our Creator God.  Each command spoke life into existence, the very cosmos we dwell in.

 In the follower, his  Holy Spirit continues to act  beneficially upon the person  in whom he lives.

In the unbelieving masses, their spirit lies dead awaiting that moment of given truth whereby, their individual spirits are re-generate by the grace and mercy of the loving and living Ancient of Days.

 Through Christ  we declare and proclaim the total geo- social restoration of humankind.* The act of the Cross in which the Son of God though crucified,was delivered from the tomb and was resurrected under the power of God the Father.

May you and I believe that surely as the Son rose to Heaven  then we who believe shall likewise be in his heaven.Amen!.

(*Evidential of the Message of the Cross.)

The Romantic Rationalist - C S Lewis

 

 C. S. Lewis. The Romantic Rationalist

  (1898–1963) 

 Arguably the greatest Christian writer, theologian and apologist of the 20th Century.

  Christian writer and scholar 

 C. S. Lewis spent most of his life as tutor and lecturer at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and as writer of many scholarly and Christian books.  Lewis is best known as the author of more than twenty-five Christian works. He had been a “happy atheist” at fourteen and over a long period was persuaded that the Christian religion is the only logical way by which to understand humans and the universe.

Becoming imaginative and innovative. 

 Becoming a Christian at about thirty, he shortly afterwards wrote an autobiographical novel called The Pilgrim’s Regress (1933). Later he told of his birth and upbringing in Surprised by Joy (1955). Millions of copies of his books were sold during his lifetime and an increasingly massive number have followed since his death. One person, asked which of Lewis’s books he thought best, said, “The one I am now reading.” For a long time his Screwtape Letters (1942), being letters from a major devil to a lesser one in charge of a young man’s soul, was Lewis’s most popular work.

Logical Christian

 Another widely-read work is Mere Christianity (1952), a simple but profound defence and rationale of the Christian position. Some scholars declare his best book. Loved by young and old alike.

 

 He also wrote Miracles (1947), The Problem of Pain (1940),  and many others. His Abolition of Man (1943) was admitted by the Britannica Encyclopedia to the Great Books of the World.

The man who writes for children and adults

 Lewis’s fiction is also vastly read, especially the Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956), seven books for children illustrated by Pauline Baynes—a set of stories guaranteed to delight children from five years onward. They tell of adventures that ensue upon passing through a magical wardrobe and other similar entrances into entrancing lands watched over by a magnificent lion called Aslan, actually the symbol of Christ. While these books have been instrumental in the saving of many people, they are not sermons but exciting adventure stories. A few of these works have been  featured as  highly acclaimed movies.  Suitable for grown ups too.

Non-conventional Sci-Fi 

The Space Trilogy, consisting of Out of the Silent Planet (1938), Perelandra (1943), and That Hideous Strength (1945), take the reader, in the first two volumes, to Mars and then Venus, while the third is mainly anti-utopian with events occurring in England. Perelandra recounts the adventures of a good and a bad man who in an Edenic world try to persuade an “Eve” to their respective viewpoints. But in this story Eve does not fall. 

Travels to Hell and beyond

The Great Divorce (1946) involves a dream visit of a busload of people going from hell to heaven and there being warmly invited in but refusing the glory they can see over the mountains ahead. Their trouble is that they cannot give up, even after the punishments of hell itself, their claim to self over God

The Romantic Rationalist

. The great interest in Lewis has resulted in many books, many  dissertations, movies, documentaries and many societies devoted to his writings.

  His works have been reprinted many times over. He can be found on  social media. web and even in apps. His most recent space is in the Bible.ai website and app, among others, as an  interactive theologian with his  warm voice, measured tone and profound intellect. The Bible.ai app is available on the App Store with the corresponding Android app being available in the near future.

I wholeheartedly commend his books to you. If you already a fan and have a favourite book, why not post your choice and why on this website/ blog?

From Socrates to God

 

From Socrates (thinking about) to God (trusting in)

 

Socrates once stated, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” We would add, “An unexamined faith is not worth trusting.” Faith means trust or reliance on someone or something. 

An expanded definition might be that faith is confident trust in what you have good reason to believe. Faith is trust that changes you. And we all exercise faith. Even the act of thinking requires faith that our reason is reliable and our thoughts actually correspond to reality outside of ourselves.

 

(I adapted  this piece of wisdom.)

The Baha'i Faith: A Brief Summary.

Introduction:

 When i was a youth, i met a concerned mother who was sadden by the fact that her daughter had entered the Baha'i Faith. Although i listened sympathetically to her,  I didn't comprehend the full story. Here is a brief summary that i could find currently about the Baha'i Faith.

 

Definition 

 Bahai people consist of those who accept the message of the Baha’u’llah. The Baha’i Faith was founded in Iran in the mid-nineteenth century by Mirza Hoseyn ‘Ali Nuri, who is known as Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic: “Glory of God”).  

Factfile —Date of origin: 1844 

Founder: Baha’u’llah. —Holy book: Writings of Bab, Baha’u’lláh, and ‘Abd ol-Baha —Number of adherents: More than 8 million.

Summary 

 The Baha’i Faith, the youngest of the world’s independent religions, is an offshoot of Shi‘ite Islam. The central theme of Bahá’u’lláh’s message is that humanity is one single race which should be united in one global society. The one God progressively reveals himself to humanity. Following in the footsteps of other great religious leaders, such as Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, Muhammad,

 Bahá’u’lláh 

 is God’s most recent messenger. His teachings supply the moral and spiritual stimulus our modern world needs. 

Summary of Practices 

 The Baha’i Faith has no initiation ceremonies, no sacraments, and no clergy. But the faith is open to all who express the wish to follow the Baha’i Faith.

 

Summary of Beliefs 

 The Baha’i Faith embraces three basic principles: (i) The oneness of God. (ii) The oneness of religion. (iii) The oneness of humankind. God, Baha’u’llah said, has set in motion historical forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. Baha’i communities work to break down barriers of prejudice. They are convinced that humanity is a single people with a common destiny. 

The Appeal of the Baha’i Faith

  It has been claimed that no other worldview is better suited to the tenor of our time. Leo Tolstoy described the Baha’i Faith as “the highest and purest form of religious teaching.” Arnold Toynbee predicted that it will be “the world religion of the future.” J. K. Van Baalen has stated that the Baha’i Faith “is the unifying cult par excellence.”

 

Comparison with Christianity 

  Basic Baha'i beliefs are diametrically opposed to biblical Christianity.

 The Bahai faith rejects: —the Trinity —the deity of Christ —the virgin birth of Jesus —the bodily resurrection of Christ —Jesus’ death on the cross as an atonement for our sins —salvation by faith in Jesus alone —the final authority of the Bible —the second coming of Christ. In the Bahai faith Jesus is only one of the prophets. There is very little indeed that a true Christian can have in common with the faith of Bahai. There is simply no common ground on which to meet… 

The Baha’i faith is at its very core anti-Christian theology. Dr. Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults

Desires Untamed

 

 

Unstoppable Desires

  WHEN a man desires a thing too much, he  becomes ill at ease. 

A proud and craving man never rests, whereas he who is poor and humble of heart lives in a world of peace. An unbeliever is quickly tempted and overcome in small, petty evils; his spirit is weak. In a strong measure inclined to sensual things; he can hardly ignore earthly desires. Hence it makes him sad to give them up; he is quick to anger if exposed. Yet if he satisfies his desires, remorse of conscience overwhelms him because he followed his passions and they did not lead to the peace he sought.  

True peace of heart, then, is found in resisting passions, not in satisfying them. There is no peace in the ordinary man, in the man given to 'thirsty' attractions, but there is peace in the devoted and spiritual man. 

From the old volume-The Imitation of Christ.

Substack!

Of interest, maybe to you?

 

After installing Substack App on my mobile, i discovered this article about the right thought for the sufferer..

 

 From writer of The Stoic Manual

 

 

 

Link of Interest 

 

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