Paul's Passing Thoughts

“Does the doctrine of election logically exclude the value of the non-elect?”

When it gets right down to it, ignorance built the people ovens at Auschwitz. Not the builders, they were by no means ignorant, but the ignorance of people in general supplied the mortar. The bloodthirsty are rarely ignorant of knowledge that matters, that’s how they control the ignorant masses. We would expect God to be the master of understatement for the purpose of making a point; hence, “My people die for lack of knowledge.” The Nazis knew exactly what they were doing, and the world finally responded because of the results. And so it goes; the eventual reactionary blitzkrieg by good men is bittersweet for Lady Wisdom. Many must die to make the point, and no consolation can be found in quick death, for the tyrant’s disdain for the victims will not tolerate such mercy.

Christians have always led the pack of ignorance that focuses on the what rather than the why. Our faith is a “license for irrationality” (John Immel: TANC 2012, session 1). Yes, knowledge is puffed up. Knowledge seeks to explain the God so high above us. We embrace the philosophy of our fathers whom we know not: “The truly wise man knows that he knows nothing” (Socrates). Ignorance is child-like faith. We believe that we can remain as harmless doves without the wisdom of serpents. We claim Jesus Christ while parroting Socrates in our ignorance. We worship at the altar of mindlessness while attributing all that we don’t understand to “God’s will.” Prayer is our exhibition of faith that proclaims our helplessness. Stupidity, prayer, and “God’s will” are our functional trinity. Knowledge that feeds our bank account and personal worth is within our domain—knowledge for life and death belongs to the gods. Therefore, our elderly fustigate the young for using bad grammar while wallowing in doctrinal ignorance.

So, week after week, we settle for the same old song and dance at church; literally, seven verses about Jesus repeated eleven times with drums, guitars, and violins. And what will we learn this week? What else? Something about Jesus. When He spoke of wisdom, He was merely speaking of Himself. This is how Churchianity is done; this is our doctrine: to teach ANYTHING ELSE but Jesus is to hinder the sanctification of the saints (John MacArthur Jr.). No, no, we don’t need to know the history and substance of philosophy; that would prevent us from quoting ancient philosophers and attributing their wisdom to Jesus (piously pronounced, “geeee-jussss”).

So this is the lightbulb moment: in the name of Jesus, we watch tyranny grow in our backyard. As it sprouts upward, we attribute its growth to God’s will and we pray about it. The American church has watched the TULIP named Neo-Calvinism grow for 43 years now, and we still attribute it to God’s will and we still pray about it.

I imagine sister Martha is pretty upset about being asked to leave after being a member here for seventy years. Certainly, she must have done more than just ask a few questions. Oh well, God’s will. I asked one of the elders about the situation and he replied, “Jesus.” And who can argue with that answer? We must remember to pray for her.

Dear, could you please pass the fish?

Two articles written by Kevin O’Brian reveal the jolt of reality that can result from a little bit of thinking. I don’t know anything about Kevin O’Brian, but I can tell you that you need to read these two articles: [1] and [2]. Does the doctrine of election logically exclude the value of the non-elect? And what does Nihilism have to do with today’s Churchianity? Is John Immel right? Can the rejection of certain ideologies prevent the tyranny that always follows? Can the arena of ideas prevent the festive arena of humans being devoured by wild beasts?

That question is answered by another must read article [3] by the 12 Tribes organization. I don’t know anything about them either, but I can tell you that you need to read this article also. These three articles together make a strong statement; a wakeup call to the importance of thinking in the arena unlittered with flesh and blood—the arena of knowledge, wisdom, and thinking.

Logic that always leads to tyranny and death must not be allowed to grow. It must be slain in the arena of ideas. And most of all, it must be kept from entering the house of God in the Trojan horse embodied by the minds of men.

paul

[1]  http://www.thwordinc.blogspot.com/2013/01/just-kill-it.html

[2] http://thwordinc.blogspot.com/2013/06/calvinism-and-abortion.html

[3] http://twelvetribes.com/articles/martin-luther-legacy