Perhaps there should not be obese pastors, as this may be a sign of gluttony. However, I would be equally suspicious of the very athletic pastor. This to me would be an indication of intellectual laziness, since the good pastor should be spending most of his day reading, which, as I know from experience, does little for the waistline. Also, if a pastor is athletic, he should hide his musculature when in the pulpit or on the platform. Any pastor who attempts to accentuate his physique should be viewed with suspicion. As someone who used to have under 5% body fat, I know what was going through my head (before my conversion) when I would put on the XS t-shirt. It's not that hard to figure out what men are thinking based on how they dress.
Let me save you the time of reading any more books, or even watching any more mockumentaries about "whiteness" or "social justice" or "CRT."
Here is everything you need to know about "Whiteness" in the proverbial nutshell:
"Whiteness" as a term is just ciphered language for a set of cognitive features and worldview beliefs that Leftists reject. It has little or nothing to do with being white, other than, perhaps, its relation to European culture and, more specifically, Latin Christianity, which, according to CRT proponents is inherently evil and cannot be redeemed of its inherent corruption (its "original sinfulness").
Among the "supposedly" typical Eurocentric features that Leftists attack under the euphemism "whiteness" are things like: dichotomous thinking, rationalization, objectification, hyper-criticality, individuality, and meritocratic thought. Finally, there is the dreaded "desacralization" of nature. The first few relate to the idea that one can, through reason, come to know truths about the world, or even eternal Truths. The others, like meritocracy, imply there is a hierarchy of value in the world, and, perhaps, of Being itself (Aquinas' 5th way). Finally, desacralization is the idea that the European conception of God as transcendent is "problematic" and that it undermines our belief in the sacredness, or innate divinity, of nature itself. In other words, St. Paul writing in Romans 1:18-32 is being very, very "white." All animistic cultures are very non-white. Animism, in fact, is the most anti-racist religion possible.
Once one understands what "Whiteness" stands in for, one realizes that an attack on Whiteness is basically an attack on what has often been called "the medieval synthesis;" the synthesis of biblical Revelation with Greek philosophy. The most "white" of all historical exemplars of "Whiteness" would be people like St. Augustine or St. Thomas Aquinas. Specifically what is most hated by CRT proponents, and their Queer Theorist allies, are the sexual norms associated with the Hebrew Bible, and the metaphysical commitments of the Platonists.
The underlying philosophical assumptions of critical theorists being that sex and sexual norms are nothing more than socially constructed, time-bound and oppressive religious laws which are aimed at controlling the natural inclinations of human beings as pleasure seeking creatures, and the rejection of universals, or essences, which entails the elevation of language as the maker and shaper of reality (i.e., whoever controls language, creates reality). In short, man, not God, speaks reality into existence.
The inevitable result of the dismantling of "Whiteness" in a western culture is the return to paganism.
The Marxist externalizes morality, making the moral component a matter of any discrepancy in the social relation itself. Born out of Marxist materialism, CRT assumes this classical Marxist flaw. Immorality just is social disparity. But, this is not the biblical view of morality.
The moral component according to the Word of God is always in the will (i.e, the heart) of the individuals who are occupying the social roles. Jesus' words are sufficiently clear on this issue, "For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander" (Matthew 15:19).
Early "Christians" used the argument from scriptural silence (today's "well, it isn't in the Bible, therefore I can do it") to make excuses for going to pagan gladiatorial games:
"Fortified by this knowledge against heathen views, let us rather turn to the unworthy reasonings of our own people; for the faith of some, either too simple or too scrupulous, demands direct authority from Scripture for giving up the shows, and holds out that the matter is a doubtful one, because such abstinence is not clearly and in words imposed upon God's servants. Well, we never find it expressed with the same precision, "Thou shalt not enter circus or theatre, thou shalt not look on combat or show;"
"Circular things are temporal and pass away, but the nature of circularity in itself, the idea of the circle, its essence, does not change. Again, we may add seven apples and three apples and make ten apples, and the apples which we count are sensible and mutable objects, are temporal and pass away; but the numbers seven and three considered in themselves and apart from things are discerned by the arithmetician to make ten by addition, a truth which he discovers to be necessary and eternal, not dependent on the sensible world or on the human mind."
Frederick Copleston, A History of Philosophy, Vol. 2, 59.
The ecstatic experience of God is certainly a real feature of any genuine Christian faith. I myself have had such experiences on numerous occasions, the most powerful being the day of my conversion when I visibly saw the Lord Jesus Christ (and heard Him speak to me).
Nevertheless, the idea that an ecstatic experience of God-- of the Triune God of the Bible-- can be generated, contrived or forced, is an entirely pagan notion.
Moreover, if contrived or forced experiences are powerful to the individual, which they often are, then they are either psychological manipulations, or, worse, manifestations of some other spirit than the Holy Spirit, most likely a spirit that is opposed to God and who intends to deceive the person having the experience.
There are two foundational ideas the emerge with the Biblical Revelation and which separate all human endeavors depending on whether one believes them. The first is that there is a universal Moral Law that is a product of the will (or character) of an absolutely sovereign God, a God who is distinct from the world. The second is that this God acts in human history.
The idea of the moral and of the historical are products of Israelite religion, of the religion of the Bible.
The Kirkwood Center
The Kirkwood Center
Scientist Dr. John Bloom responds to the question: "Can Science be the basis for our moral values and duties?" @thekirkwoodcenter
3 months ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
The Kirkwood Center
Perhaps there should not be obese pastors, as this may be a sign of gluttony. However, I would be equally suspicious of the very athletic pastor. This to me would be an indication of intellectual laziness, since the good pastor should be spending most of his day reading, which, as I know from experience, does little for the waistline.
Also, if a pastor is athletic, he should hide his musculature when in the pulpit or on the platform. Any pastor who attempts to accentuate his physique should be viewed with suspicion. As someone who used to have under 5% body fat, I know what was going through my head (before my conversion) when I would put on the XS t-shirt. It's not that hard to figure out what men are thinking based on how they dress.
6 months ago | [YT] | 3
View 0 replies
The Kirkwood Center
Let me save you the time of reading any more books, or even watching any more mockumentaries about "whiteness" or "social justice" or "CRT."
Here is everything you need to know about "Whiteness" in the proverbial nutshell:
"Whiteness" as a term is just ciphered language for a set of cognitive features and worldview beliefs that Leftists reject. It has little or nothing to do with being white, other than, perhaps, its relation to European culture and, more specifically, Latin Christianity, which, according to CRT proponents is inherently evil and cannot be redeemed of its inherent corruption (its "original sinfulness").
Among the "supposedly" typical Eurocentric features that Leftists attack under the euphemism "whiteness" are things like: dichotomous thinking, rationalization, objectification, hyper-criticality, individuality, and meritocratic thought. Finally, there is the dreaded "desacralization" of nature. The first few relate to the idea that one can, through reason, come to know truths about the world, or even eternal Truths. The others, like meritocracy, imply there is a hierarchy of value in the world, and, perhaps, of Being itself (Aquinas' 5th way). Finally, desacralization is the idea that the European conception of God as transcendent is "problematic" and that it undermines our belief in the sacredness, or innate divinity, of nature itself. In other words, St. Paul writing in Romans 1:18-32 is being very, very "white." All animistic cultures are very non-white. Animism, in fact, is the most anti-racist religion possible.
Once one understands what "Whiteness" stands in for, one realizes that an attack on Whiteness is basically an attack on what has often been called "the medieval synthesis;" the synthesis of biblical Revelation with Greek philosophy. The most "white" of all historical exemplars of "Whiteness" would be people like St. Augustine or St. Thomas Aquinas. Specifically what is most hated by CRT proponents, and their Queer Theorist allies, are the sexual norms associated with the Hebrew Bible, and the metaphysical commitments of the Platonists.
The underlying philosophical assumptions of critical theorists being that sex and sexual norms are nothing more than socially constructed, time-bound and oppressive religious laws which are aimed at controlling the natural inclinations of human beings as pleasure seeking creatures, and the rejection of universals, or essences, which entails the elevation of language as the maker and shaper of reality (i.e., whoever controls language, creates reality). In short, man, not God, speaks reality into existence.
The inevitable result of the dismantling of "Whiteness" in a western culture is the return to paganism.
7 months ago | [YT] | 2
View 0 replies
The Kirkwood Center
The Marxist externalizes morality, making the moral component a matter of any discrepancy in the social relation itself. Born out of Marxist materialism, CRT assumes this classical Marxist flaw. Immorality just is social disparity. But, this is not the biblical view of morality.
The moral component according to the Word of God is always in the will (i.e, the heart) of the individuals who are occupying the social roles. Jesus' words are sufficiently clear on this issue, "For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander" (Matthew 15:19).
7 months ago | [YT] | 2
View 1 reply
The Kirkwood Center
Early "Christians" used the argument from scriptural silence (today's "well, it isn't in the Bible, therefore I can do it") to make excuses for going to pagan gladiatorial games:
"Fortified by this knowledge against heathen views, let us rather turn to the unworthy reasonings of our own people; for the faith of some, either too simple or too scrupulous, demands direct authority from Scripture for giving up the shows, and holds out that the matter is a doubtful one, because such abstinence is not clearly and in words imposed upon God's servants. Well, we never find it expressed with the same precision, "Thou shalt not enter circus or theatre, thou shalt not look on combat or show;"
Tertullian, de Spectaculis, Chapter III
7 months ago | [YT] | 4
View 0 replies
The Kirkwood Center
"Circular things are temporal and pass away, but the nature of circularity in itself, the idea of the circle, its essence, does not change. Again, we may add seven apples and three apples and make ten apples, and the apples which we count are sensible and mutable objects, are temporal and pass away; but the numbers seven and three considered in themselves and apart from things are discerned by the arithmetician to make ten by addition, a truth which he discovers to be necessary and eternal, not dependent on the sensible world or on the human mind."
Frederick Copleston, A History of Philosophy, Vol. 2, 59.
7 months ago | [YT] | 1
View 0 replies
The Kirkwood Center
"The veins of the arts are many as are the concupiscences of men."
Tertullian, On Idolatry, VIII
8 months ago | [YT] | 2
View 0 replies
The Kirkwood Center
The ecstatic experience of God is certainly a real feature of any genuine Christian faith. I myself have had such experiences on numerous occasions, the most powerful being the day of my conversion when I visibly saw the Lord Jesus Christ (and heard Him speak to me).
Nevertheless, the idea that an ecstatic experience of God-- of the Triune God of the Bible-- can be generated, contrived or forced, is an entirely pagan notion.
Moreover, if contrived or forced experiences are powerful to the individual, which they often are, then they are either psychological manipulations, or, worse, manifestations of some other spirit than the Holy Spirit, most likely a spirit that is opposed to God and who intends to deceive the person having the experience.
8 months ago | [YT] | 3
View 0 replies
The Kirkwood Center
There are two foundational ideas the emerge with the Biblical Revelation and which separate all human endeavors depending on whether one believes them. The first is that there is a universal Moral Law that is a product of the will (or character) of an absolutely sovereign God, a God who is distinct from the world. The second is that this God acts in human history.
The idea of the moral and of the historical are products of Israelite religion, of the religion of the Bible.
8 months ago | [YT] | 3
View 0 replies
The Kirkwood Center
It's not a vice to be dogmatic. It is a vice to be prideful.
But the two are not the same, even if they are often treated similarly.
9 months ago | [YT] | 3
View 2 replies
Load more