A Journey to Search for Truth!

Author’s Note

"Most people, including ourselves, live in a world of relative ignorance. We are even comfortable with that ignorance because it is all we know. When we first start facing truth, the process may be frightening, and many people run back to their old lives. But if you continue to seek truth, you will eventually be able to handle it better. In fact, you want more! It's true that many people around you now may think you are weird or even a danger to society, but you don't care. Once you've tasted the truth, you won't ever want to go back to being ignorant.”

Socrates

Reflections

I have a new blog called, The Slippery Concept of Extreme Diakrisis.

You might ask, what does diakrisis mean? Diakrisis is a Greek noun that occurs three times in the New Testament (Romans 14.1, 1 Corinthians 12:10, and Hebrews 5:14) and means distinction, explanation, discerning, or differentiation between good and bad.

In this new blog we will be using discernment recognizing the slippery nature of using this tool of diakrisis in our search for truth. What do I mean by the word discernment? Discernment is the ability to decide between truth and error and the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth.

I will share with you, my new journey trying to discover what the ultimate truth is through this form of discernment. This journey will not be for the “faint-hearted.” Over the next few weeks, we will be on a journey to discover what truth is when we are thinking about what the meaning of life is all about, therefore we will be concentrating on philosophical, moral and religion truths.

I will be focusing on subject matter not from a fundamentalist Christian view, but predominantly from a historical perspective, wherever that might lead, exploring the deep meaning of our existence. I will look at the meaning of life through a historical lens, trying to determine the truth that can be gleaned through honest and thoughtful investigation, listening to

all the voices, non-Christian and Christian alike. We will be exploring and investigating extreme DIAKRISIS!

What we call “truth” can be found in many kinds of intellectual inquiry, such as, but not limited to mathematical truths, philosophical truths, moral truths, religious truths, scientific truths, and physical truth. Many thinkers from antiquity to now have wrestled with questions such as why we are here, where are we going, and what happens when we die. In all cases they are searching for absolute truth.

Religion has played a central role in these philosophical pursuits. Before we begin this journey, we need to realize there are many different human concepts of God. The key models developed over the years can be described as atheism, agnosticism, deism, theism, monotheism, polytheism, henotheism, pantheism, and panentheism. I will define each of these terms below.

An atheist believes that no god exists. There were few atheists in the ancient world. In today’s world atheism appears to be on the rise and is associated with naturalism or secular humanism. The essential belief is that physical nature is the only reality. Because nature is self- explanatory, the only knowledge that counts as knowledge comes from science.

An agnostic believes we cannot know whether a god exists, and it is impossible to know for certain. Thomas Huxley, a friend of Charles Darwin, gave the modern world this term. He associated agnosticism with evolutionary science and believed as a scientist we cannot know or prove that a God exists.

A deist believes the knowledge of God is based on the application of his reason on the designs/laws found throughout Nature and the Universe. The designs presuppose a Designer. Deism is therefore a natural religion, spiritual philosophy and is not a "revealed" religion. God created matter and energy. God also established the laws of nature, the same laws of nature that scientists can discover. Once the world was established, the God of deism withdrew and no longer intervenes in the world. Deists were very influential in Great Britain, France, Germany, and colonial America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Deism became a religious position associated with reason and the Enlightenment. The pyramid pictured on the obverse of the U.S. dollar bill depicts the all-seeing eye of the deistic God. Mozart’s Zauberflöte (Magic Flute) is dedicated to deism.

A theist belief can be clarified by contrasting theism with those of deism, polytheism, and pantheism. In contrast to deists, theists believe God acts in the world. In contrast to polytheists, theists believe there is only one divine reality. In contrast to pantheists, theists believe God is personal and God loves the world as one person would love another.

A monotheist believes there is one God that created the universe and is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. Monotheism characterizes the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and elements of the belief are discernible in numerous other religions.

A polytheist believes in many gods. He believes these gods are spirits inhabiting and directing the forces of nature. In biblical times, the Greek and Roman gods were associated with natural forces.

A henotheist believes his god is superior. Henotheism is polytheism with an emphasis on loyalty to only one of the gods, or in the superiority of one’s own god over the gods of foreigners.

A pantheist believes everything is part of an all-encompassing, immanent God. All forms of reality may then be considered either modes of that Being, or identical with it. Some hold that pantheism is a non-religious philosophical position. To them, pantheism is the view that the Universe and God are identical, implying a denial of the personality and transcendence of God. Ideas resembling pantheism existed in South and East Asian religions before the 18th century such as Sikhism, Hinduism, Sanamahism, Confucianism, and Taoism.

A panentheist believes the universe conceived of is God and, conversely, there is no God but the combined substance, forces, and laws that are manifested in the existing universe. The doctrine of panentheism asserts that God includes the universe as a part though not the whole of his being. Examples of panentheism or panentheistic tendencies include Western mysticism and Hindu bhakti.

Wow, I think you will agree, the human mind is remarkable in its ability to develop so many different, competing concepts of God. No wonder the world is so chaotic! Humankind cannot come up with a unified concept of why we are here at this moment in time, on this small planet, located in this vast universe.

Well, we will not let this deter us! I would like to invite you to join me on this journey! We will explore the ideas about our existence from many different angles. Hopefully, this journey will be eye-opening, allowing each of us to use our God-given reason to determine why we are here and make sense of the meaning of life! I welcome you to join the blog. This blog can be found on my website, www.barryhaney.com.

Thank you. Have a great day!

Barry

Silent Prayer

Creator God, help us use the reason you gave us to discover the truth.

Music

Imagine - Pentatonix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLiWFUDJ95I

Barry

Hidden Things … The Apocrypha!

Author’s Note

“Weep for the dead, for he lacks the light; and weep for the fool, for he lacks intelligence; weep less bitterly for the dead, for he has attained rest; but the life of the fool is worse than death.”

Apocrypha

Reflections

The term “apocrypha” comes from the Greek term meaning hidden or secret writings. The term “apocryphal” was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were felt to be too sacred to be in everyone’s hands. Later, this term was applied to writings that were hidden because of their questionable value to the church or of doubtful authenticity. In modern times, the term refers to any text or story considered to be of dubious authority, although it may contain some moral truth.

Old Testament Apocrypha refers to the fourteen biblical books received by the early Church as part of the Greek version of the Old Testament found in the Septuagint, being excluded by the non-Hellenistic Jews from their canon. These books were written for Jews, by Jews. Because these books were written after the Hebrew Bible was completed and before the New Testament was written, they can be thought of as intertestamental. Bart Ehrman describes many of these deuterocanonical writings as “some of the truly great and interesting writings of the time.” The Old Testament Apocrypha are important literary and historical works, providing an understanding of Judaism during the intertestamental period, before the birth of Christianity.

Early Christian writings also survive outside the canon of the New Testament. These writings are called the apocryphal New Testament. David Bakker states this about the writings contained in the apocryphal New Testament, “Apocryphal literature provides a fascinating window into the diversity of ancient Christianity and the endless inventiveness of the Christian imagination.”

Collections of Hebrew and Christian writings referred to as apocryphal are useful for those interested in the history of Judaism and Christianity. These writings fill in the gaps not covered in the Testaments and provide the reader with a unique look into the culture of the times. As David Bakker tells us, “The early Christian apocrypha consist of gospels and other narrative about Jesus and his family, the acts of various apostles, letters that purport to come from apostles or even Jesus himself, and revelations that apostles received.”

In the next few blogs, I will share some of these amazing stories, stories you will not hear in a Christian worship service! The “sound of silence” from the pulpit concerning these stories will be broken.

The title of the next blog, “The Amazing Story of Mary!”

Silent Prayer

Creator God, we weep for the pain and suffering present in the world each day! Help us not to be silent about these atrocities!

Music

The Sound of Silence – Pentatonix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r-lE6Rk4lQ

Barry

Searching for Truth!

                                             

Author’s Note

“It's a mistake to think that God has conflict with anything. He's everything. So, the closer you are to God, how can you be in conflict with anybody? Conflict comes from ego, and from thinking, ‘I'm right and you're wrong.’ If I can reach the point where I understand that what is right for me may be different than what is right for you, that would be a good step. But most people don't reach that point, and so they fight about it.”

Goswami Kriyananda

___________________________________________________________________________________

Reflections

Setting: Early fall evening in Antioch, year 200 CE. I am sitting in a wine shop, enjoying a mug of a newly discovered local white wine, when I overhear the following conversation about religion, between three men.

A servant girl places a tall jar with two side handles onto the table, along with three mugs, and announces, “Gentlemen, here is the wine you ordered.”

Bartholomew, a wealthy merchant living in Antioch responds cheerfully, “Thank you, young lady, here is a silver denarius, keep the change!”

As Bartholomew pours a deep, ruby almost black, red wine from the amphorae into the three earthenware mugs, he begins, “Serapion, thank you for accepting my invitation to meet with Abraham and I to discuss your religion with us!”

The three nod their heads to greet each other, raise their mugs and take a drink of the wine.

“What is this wonderful wine you graciously serve us my friend?” asks Serapion as he places his mug back on the table. “I have never tasted anything so delightful!”

Joseph agrees, “Yes, this is such a treat, please tell us what this wonderful elixir is you bathe our tongues with?”

“Ah, my friends, thank you. You are drinking a Chian wine, a product of the Greek island of Chios. Wonderful, isn’t it!”, Bartholomew proudly exclaims.

In a more serious tone, Bartholomew continues, “Now, to the point. Serapion, I must first explain to you, why Abraham and I asked to speak with you. It has come to our attention, your religious beliefs, uhm … how can I say it graciously, are exclusive, arrogant to say the least?!”

“Come on Bartholomew, stop being so nice, his beliefs are crazy, He’s nuts!” blurts out Abraham.

Abraham continues, “You Christians believe Jesus was the Messiah spoken of in the Septuagint, our book of sacred Scripture. Jesus was not the Messiah. He was a common thief, a fake, a man who was crucified by the Romans because of his blasphemy against our God! Not only do you believe that lie, but you also now claim our God as your God and tell us we killed our own God!” Abraham quickly gulps the wine left in his mug and fills the mug with more wine.

Abraham continues, “Unlike you Bartholomew, we believe in one transcendent God, not many gods as you foolishly do. Our God revealed himself to Abraham, Moses, and our Hebrew prophets. We, Jews, are His chosen people, He is not the god of the gentiles. We are in a conditional, covenantal agreement with our God, where our God promises to protect us if we keep His Law found in the Septuagint and rabbinic traditions. If we break this agreement, we will be punished! Unlike you Serapion, our relationship with our God does not require faith, but instead requires works!”

“Let me respond to your attack on my gods!”, interjects Bartholomew. “Abraham, I can respect your belief in one god, but don’t call me foolish because I believe in many gods. I think all of us can agree, as mortals, we have no control over the forces at work in our world that can harm us. Therefore, we have a need for religion. For example, I believe the state gods of the Roman empire are responsible for protecting us. If we continue to pray to these gods and offer sacrifices to them, they will continue to allow our emperor, Septus Servinius to protect our borders from the Persians and others who would do us harm. Because we are a major crossroads between Rome and the eastern provinces of the empire, Septus Servinius has developed our city into a major Roman army garrison. Therefore, our very existence here in Antioch is allowed by the gods. In the past, earthquakes and other natural disasters have destroyed many portions of our

cities, so me must continue to give the gods what they want, so they will continue to protect us from these natural disasters that will surely come our way if we don’t!”

Bartholomew gulps down the remaining wine in his cup, pours himself more, then continues, “It is true I have many gods. Not only do I care for the state gods, but I also care for gods that protect my business, my city, and my family. I have no allegiance to any one god as both of you do, no belief or creed I must adhere too. Any belief I have in any god is a private matter. I do not believe in an afterlife, when I die, I believe I cease to exist, therefore I have no need for the Christian god I have heard of. In the future, if I become aware of something that might harm me not protected by the gods I now care for, I am free to begin believing in a new god as well! I am inclusive, not exclusive as you are Serapion!”

Serapion gulps down his wine, slowly pours himself more wine, filling his mug to the rim, then responds, slowly and calmly, “Well gentleman, where to begin? I respect your attacks and will answer them most assuredly. But, first, let me tell you this! My God loves both of you. As the Patriarch of Antioch, I serve as the bishop of the Christian community here in Antioch. Before I offer a defense about my beliefs, I first want to make you aware, there are other so-called Christians in the empire, who do not subscribe to what I believe. You may have heard their names, Marcion, Valentinius, and Montanus. If you are interested in their false views, you will have to talk with them. Before I start my defense, everything I am about to say is the truth, the absolute truth above all falsehood, found in the Scripture of truth given to us by God through the writings of Jesus’ disciples and apostles. The Holy Spirit who inspired the Scripture of truth also guided the writings in the Septuagint. Based on the truth found in these writings I believe the following. I believe in one God, maker of heaven and earth, all that is visible and invisible. I believe in Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, who came down from heaven, for man’s salvation, suffered, was crucified for our sins, died, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day as written in the scriptures, ascended in glory into heaven, sits at the right hand of his Father, and will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. Because we are all sinners, we all will be separated from our creator God, who is a just God, who demands payment for our sin. But because Jesus died for our sins, we have been made right in the eyes of God. All we need to do is have faith in the work of Jesus on the cross at Calvary and we will be able to spend an eternity with God. We cannot earn our way into heaven as the Jews believe, through our works, therefore the old covenant between God and the Jewish people is no longer in effect. God has a new covenant with both Jews and gentiles. That new covenant is based on faith in Jesus. When we die, there will be no more pain and suffering, instead we will spend an eternity in a loving relationship with our creator God.”

In silence, the three men stare at each other, first in anger, then disbelief, then a look of surrender, I’m sure an effect caused by the large quantity of wine they have drank!

Bartholomew picks up the amphorae and exclaims, “Ah, the jar is almost empty! Here, let me pour the last of the wine into our mugs, so we can make a final toast to agree, to disagree, before departing for the evening. Let us depart not in anger, but in a spirit to respect each other’s beliefs and go our separate ways in peace!”

As they finish toasting and drinking the last drops of wine, Bartholomew continues, “Well gentleman, thank you again for accepting my invitation to meet. This has been a very enlightening and intense conversation to say the least. Thank you Serapion for graciously sharing your Christian belief with us.”

As they stand up to depart for the evening, Serapion says, “Bartholomew and Joseph, if you are interested, I would like to show you a cave where Simon Peter, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples worshipped God around 50 CE! I can tell you more about this religion of mine there if you are interested.”

Reluctantly, but to my surprise, in a spirit of peace and understanding, they agree to meet the following day to continue the discussion, and politely, say goodnight.

After listening to this conversation, I finish my wine and think to myself, now, I’m not sure what I believe!

___________________________________________________________________________________

Silent Prayer

Creator God, help us discover the truth You would have us know!

___________________________________________________________________________________

Music

Greig - Morning from Peer Grynt - Best-of Classical Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgbVlfWRkHk

Barry

Introduction to Discernment (New Format For Blog)

 

Author’s Note

“I have naturally formed the habit of restraining my thoughts. A thoughtless word hardly ever escaped my tongue or pen. Experience has taught me that silence is part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth. We find so many people impatient to talk. All this talking can hardly be said to be of any benefit to the world. It is so much waste of time. My shyness has been my shield and buckler. It has allowed me to grow. It has helped me in my discernment of truth.”

 

Mahatma Ghandhi

Reflections

 Discernment is the ability to decide between truth and error and the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. The concept of discernment appears to be an important concept to early Christian authors because the Greek noun diakrisis occurs three times in the New Testament (Romans 14.1, 1 Corinthians 12:10, and Hebrews 5:14) and means distinction, explanation, discerning, or differentiation between good and bad.

 

I will share with you, my new journey trying to discover what the ultimate truth is through this form of discernment. This journey will not be for the “faint-hearted.” I will be focusing on subject matter not from a fundamentalist Christian view, but predominantly from a historical perspective, wherever that might lead, exploring the deep meaning of our existence. I will look at the meaning of life through a historical lens, trying to determine the truth that can be gleaned through honest and thoughtful investigation, listening to all the voices, non-Christian and Christian alike.  We will be exploring and investigating extreme DIAKRISIS!

 

Silent Prayer

 Creator God, please give us the discernment to understand what you would have us to do, to honor you as our creator!

 

Music

 

 

Canon in D – Pachelbel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jSLH9CDPPQ

 

Barry

 

 

Dragging Around This Bag of Bones!

 

 Quotation

          Although, my dream, my nightmare, on the one hand terrifies me, on the other hand, I am joyful! Joyful because this would mean that God's plan of salvation for the world is ending. If true, I am even more determined to be a beacon of light for the unsaved, to spread the good news of the Gospel to the broken-hearted, allowing the Holy Spirit to convict, so they too, might have the opportunity to spend an eternity with God.

 

Barry Denzil Haney, MD

 

Scripture

 

My wife can't stand to be around me anymore. I'm repulsive to my family.

Even street urchins despise me; when I come out, they taunt and jeer.

Everyone I've ever been close to abhors me; my dearest loved ones reject me.

I'm nothing but a bag of bones; my life hangs by a thread.

"Oh, friends, dear friends, take pity on me. God has come down hard on me!

 

Job 19:17-21 (MSG)

 

Reflection

  

A dominant theme of Deuteronomistic history (a modern theoretical construct holding that behind the present forms of the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, the Former Prophets in the Hebrew canon, there was a single literary work), is sin and divine punishment: “when Israel obeys God, follows his will, and keeps his Law, it prospers and thrives; when it disobeys, it is punished.” (Ehrman)

 

            Is this what Job was facing, punishment by a wrathful God? Was Job dragging around his bag of bones, waiting for death, to escape divine punishment? Was Job’s suffering due to God or Satan? Did he suffer so God could win a bet with Satan? Christians would say the righteous suffering was a test by God, and because of Job’s patient endurance under duress, Job was rewarded by God. But some would disagree with this assessment of why Job suffered and would instead argue God does not reward those who suffer but overpowers them and grinds them into submission.

 

            I don’t know the answer to the philosophical argument about why people suffer. I just continue to drag this bag of bones around and will do so until the day I die. I refuse to believe the atheist/agnostic view that there is no creator God. The complexity and beauty of the creation I see around me argues against abiogenesis, the process by which life arises from non-living chemical matter, a so-called mud puddle of inorganic material. I am going to hedge my bet on a creator God, the Judeo-Christian God described in the Bible, inerrant or not!

            

                        

                                                                                             

Illustration

      It is clear from Scripture that “rejoicing in suffering” is not simply stoicism. It is not simply a grin-and-bear-it attitude of tough-it-out-and-see-how-much-you-can-take, or just-hang-in-there-until-it’s-over-and-don’t-let-anything-get-you-down or keep-a-stiff-upper-lip. Many people feel that if they do this, they are obeying God and “rejoicing in suffering.” But they are not! (Green)

 

Prayer

 

Our Heavenly Father,

 

In the Beatitudes, Your Son Jesus tells us

to be poor in spirit! Father, God help us

to be humble! Help us to hunger and thirst

for Your righteousness! Help us to be servants,

like you, willing to wash the feet of the unsaved!

 

Remind us to not only help those economically

poor, but to search out those who spiritually

poor! Let our earthly bodies serve as a conduit

through which the fruits of the Holy Spirit are

made manifest, planting the seed by which

the Holy Spirit might convict the unsaved!

 

In the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior,

 

Amen!

 

 

Worship

 

The Purpose in the Pain – Matt Hybarger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f4SmEeSKaQ

 

God Bless You,

Barry

 

Ehrman, Bart D. God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question-- Why We Suffer. New York: HarperOne, 2009. 

Green, Michael P. 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000. Print.

Hope In This Spiritual Battle

  

Quotation

          But we do have hope in this spiritual battle, this hope is with Jesus. When we have faith in Jesus, believe He is the Son of God, and believe because of His work on the Cross, we are saved by grace through this faith, then we have the power of the Holy Spirit to fight our battles against Satan and his army.

 

Barry Denzil Haney, MD

 

Scripture

 

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

 

Joel 2:28

 

Reflection

            

Our bodies are made up of trillions of cells. Most investigators today believe our bodies recycle most of these cells every ten years, therefore most of your body is not the same today as it was ten years ago. Interestingly, none of my thirty to one hundred trillion cells know they are alive, even if I do. 

 

How can that be? The traditional answer is Cartesian interactionist dualism. It is the view that the mental and the material comprise two different classes of substances and each other can have causal effects on the other. The mind is not just the sum of neurons and their function, but something else is in play to give us conscious experience. There is “some unifying, nontemporal, non-spatial component to provide the unity required for a conscious subject having any experience.” That something else is a Creator God.  

 

God no longer judges you based on your behavior, instead, he judges you based on your belief in Jesus Christ. The day you were born again, your sins were no longer recorded. There is no longer any requirement for performance-based Christianity. Our sins have already been credited to and paid for by Jesus Christ.

                                                                                             

Illustration

      A cartoon once showed two Eskimos fishing through holes in the ice. One of the Eskimos had made a hole like you might expect to see about the size of a manhole cover. The other had dropped his line in an immense hole that seemed to reach to the edge of the horizon, in the shape of a whale!

Vision that looks inward becomes duty.

Vision that looks outward becomes aspiration.

Vision that looks upward becomes faith. (Green)

 

Prayer

 

Our Heavenly Father,

 

Help us to forgive those who have trespassed against us!

Although we may have been hurt and betrayed by others,

Help us to break the mental chains separating us from God,

Help us to be chain breakers!

 

Although we cannot understand why you allow us to suffer,

We are comforted by the knowledge that through our suffering

You allow us to turn to You in repentance allowing for us

To spend an eternity with You in a loving relationship!

 

In precious name Jesus our Lord and Savior,

 

Amen!

 

 

Worship

 

Be Thou My Vision – Steph McLeod

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiukM6WHQEQ

 

God Bless You,

Barry

 

Green, Michael P. 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000. Print.