God Challenges Men – The Hidden Wisdom

God Challenges Men – The Hidden Wisdom

The Bible further claims that although God has revealed His will and purpose, most have not heard or really understood what He has said. They either do not know, or hear and reject the word or replace it with a modified version that they are more comfortable with. The apostle Paul speaks of these things in in the New Testament, in the following words -

1.Cor.2:6-8  However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

This hidden wisdom is speaking of the things of God that have been revealed but are not widely understood or believed by the rulers (leaders) of this world. He is primarily referring to those who are in positions power and influence, whether they be political or religious leaders. There are reasons why this is so, and this has to do with some of the core teachings of the Bible.

The rulers of this age are primarily focussed upon consolidating their position in this life, which involves leveraging and profiting from what this gives them. All men seek for power and the trappings and benefits this brings. Whether money, fame, respect, material possessions, travel, entertainments and other carnal and sensory pursuits. These are all forms of power, and they are driven by our natural instinct to survive and prosper.  Similar instincts drive the lesser creatures, but man alone has the intellectual capacity to leverage his desires well beyond his natural environment in ways that can have a larger, even global, impact. Man also has the ability to challenge God, that is, to challenge God’s will and purpose and replace it with his own.

The leaders of this age have the most to lose from the things of God, as the basis of their livelihood is challenged by the truths of God. The ways of God challenge the very foundations they base their authority upon and all that they stand for. If they were to fully submit to God, they would need to change their thinking and their ways. The personal cost would be very high, whether in monetary terms or in ways that will affect their standing and status. For this reason, those with vested interests rarely respond positively or wholeheartedly to the message of God.

As a direct consequence of the inability of societal leaders to respond positively to God’s message, they have negatively influenced society at large by actively supporting a distortion of the meaning of the word of God. As a result, mankind in general rarely comes to see and hear God clearly. We humans have a natural bias to follow our leaders and to fit whatever we hear and see into our existing world view and experience. When new ideas come we quite naturally resist them or massage them to fit our own world view. We do this is because uncertainty makes us uncomfortable.

This process is called ‘Cognitive Dissonance’, and is a well-known and documented human experience or phenomena. Our in-built ‘Normalcy Bias’ is to default to what we are comfortable with, as we perceive this as safe territory. We have been safe till now following this process, and we subconsciously feel that we will remain safe following what we already know. It is a natural process or function of surviving, seen in all the lower creatures as well. 

Is There a Greater Purpose to Life?

1.      Is There a Greater Purpose to Life?

The Bible claims to contain God’s revelation

The Bible repeatedly makes the claim that it holds within its writings the Words of God. Essentially what this means is that it claims to contain the revelation of God, of His will and of His purpose. We repeatedly hear phrases and words to that effect throughout its testimony. Common words and phrases in the Old Testament (OT) such as ‘The word of the LORD came to …’, ‘God said …’ etc. very clearly indicate this. These claims are supported in the New Testament (NT) scriptures, which also speak of the origin of the words of both the OT and the NT records.

It is important to remind ourselves that the Bible is speaking in the concepts defined above, and not in the terms of a neo-Platonic idealistic philosophy, which understood all knowledge to be revealed by God. For, it is self-evidently clear that some knowledge can be apprehended by the senses, as we can readily recognise in the many fields of science which explores and explains how the world works.

This fact is also clearly seen to some degree in the OT Wisdom books, for example, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. However, even accepting this reminds us that by contrast, the knowledge of God and of His will and purpose can only be through revelation, and not by study of the world via the senses.  This is what separates Christianity, i.e. the teachings of Jesus and his Apostles, from all other religions and philosophies.

Some commonly known New Testament references that support this general conclusion are listed below.

Matt.4:4.  But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” (Jesus is referring to Deut.8:3)

2.Tim.3:15-16.  .. and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Heb.1:1-2.  God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son …

2.Pet.1:19-20.  … knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation (i.e. origin),  for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

The Human experience

The Human experience

We noted earlier that we humans are unique in the animal world, having a level of consciousness and awareness shared by no other creature that walks the earth.  In this experience, we are connected to the world by our senses which act as receptors of information. These then transmit information to our brains (minds), and this is subsequently interpreted and utilized by us to our advantage, and thereafter expressed in language; whether by words or actions.

Although an oversimplification, the diagram below demonstrates this in pictorial form.  Past experiences, native capacity, physical limitations and disability will all have a varying impact upon our thinking and response processes. Nevertheless, the diagram is sufficient to show the general processes in operation and the huge impact that our beliefs have upon us as we connect and inter-react with the greater world we live in.

The Power of Beliefs

From the simplistic diagram, it is evident that beliefs are very important. For this part of our analysis, whether they are true or not is really not important. Beliefs are powerful things in themselves that affect how we interact with the world, both in words and actions.

Beliefs are the product of an education or conditioning process, which includes what we call nurture. They often spring from experience, which is one reason why governments prefer to select soldiers while they are young and impressionable. It is evident that this age group have not yet fully formulated their beliefs, which makes them pliable enough to bend into the role of tools, by training and indoctrination, often to do things that they would not normally do.

The manipulation of beliefs can also be seen in the behaviour of terrorists, where seemingly rational people will strap explosive devices to their bodies and blow themselves up, as well as innocent bystanders. Beliefs cause all of us to do most of the things we do day by day, even in seemingly benign situations. As we said before, beliefs are very important and have a very powerful affect upon us, as they will influence or direct most of the choices we make in life.

Beliefs can also produce some very positive virtues. It is belief that causes a person to show kindness and compassion to the needy, to put themselves out to assist others, to act patiently, and do many other noble things.

Beliefs Affect Attitude

Beliefs are chiefly responsible for our personal attitudes. If we believe we are superior or inferior to another, it will be displayed in our personal behaviour, or what we have called ‘language’ in the diagram above.  In the diagram ‘language’ includes speech as well as body language, and the expression of beliefs by our actions. Language in this sense is simply the articulation of our beliefs & attitudes.

Attitude is one of those words that people sometimes have printed on clothing, usually with the idea that they have ‘attitude’. This sometimes means they consider their tastes and opinions as superior. Others suggest that having ‘attitude’ means that they have an excessively positive view of life. Having ‘attitude’ is often also associated with answering back, giving cheek and generally not caring what others think of you. Not a pleasant trait to observe. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that attitudes are generally the outward manifestation or display of our inward beliefs.

Interestingly, in many circles, humility and other ‘Christian virtues’ are now considered a weakness. For example, among the followers of Ayn Rand, a 20^th century thinker and writer, who based many of her ideas on the writings of Aristotle & the philosophy of Nietzsche, this appears to be the case. To those who hold to this world view, the ‘superman’ is moved by both skill and self-interest, and rises to a position of power and influence in the world. 

Many of those now in positions of power hold versions of this philosophy. Christian virtue, which is based upon humility and the sacrifice of oneself for the benefit of others, has been largely replaced by a form of hubris which, at its extremes, often leads to the sacrifice of others for the benefit of oneself. From this perspective, whether people are humble, kind, loyal or virtuous is not really relevant. These are not even considered as reasonable, praiseworthy traits. 

These are simply weaknesses to be rejected and despised, and exploited for personal advantage by the strong.

In this modern ruthlessly ‘Darwinian’ model, the strongest, the wealthiest, the most educated, the most intelligent, the most selfish, and the most aggressive are the real champions of the human race and of the world. For they believe that it is only through men of this type that humanity has progressed. Rand’s philosophy has been very influential in the business and political world, and some attribute to it the marked increase in corruption and fraudulent activities of more recent times. While Rand’s philosophy may, to some degree, describe the world as it is and as it has been, this does not mean that it is virtuous or praiseworthy. It is rather a sad indictment upon modern business, political and societal values.

The Philosopher and Economist, Adam Smith, in ‘The Theory of Moral Sentiments’ (1759), endeavoured to distinguish between self-interest and selfishness. He concluded that self-interest was a good and virtuous trait that drives legitimate commercial activity, and it is to be clearly distinguished from selfishness which he saw as an evil trait. While there is certainly some truth in this difference, the difficulty for humanity is that the motives of self-interest and selfishness are not very far apart. We humans often deceive ourselves, finding moral justification for our self-centred behaviour in these types of distinctions. Whether any of these ideas are true and reasonable or not depends upon the source of your knowledge and beliefs. However, one thing is certain, it is imposition and assertion of ‘self’ in our personal and communal interactions that is at centre of most of humanities problems.

Given the clear difficulty of determining ‘the truth’ of any set of beliefs, it is therefore very important to ensure that our beliefs are based upon good foundations. But this in itself poses a challenge. How do we know where to found or base them? What code of ethics, what source of knowledge and wisdom is going to provide this? Is it the consensus of human opinion and wisdom? Is it inherited tradition? Is it cultural bias? Is it the consensus of scientific knowledge and the empirical method, or is it found in some other source? These are all valid questions that need to be addressed if we are to live life in a way that totally fulfils the God ordained human potential and if we are to find ‘The Truth’ about life.

Beliefs – The Challenge of Finding the Truth

We naturally form our personal world view, our beliefs, as we grow from children to adults. As the diagram above shows and as we have considered, these beliefs are often the product of our upbringing, our education, our peer group, our society, our religion and our culture. In other words, beliefs are mostly the product of our nurture. All of these things and more influence us, and work together to form the unique person we become. In our search for meaning and purpose, we are therefore in danger of simply being the product of our environment rather than having the active control and rationality that we like to think we have.

Philosophers and thinkers have written extensively upon this conundrum, and it is at the base of the ideas behind relativism. That is, your beliefs will be shaped by your environment, which is a purely subjective experience. For example, if you were brought up in a society of cannibals, cannibalism would be your normality. Killing and eating a person would pose little or no moral conflict to your belief system. Your normality would know no conflict.

Likewise, if we were raised in a different religion; Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Hindu, or Buddhist, or are culturally different; Western, Middle Eastern, Eastern or African, then our values and beliefs would be affected and subconsciously directed by our environment to a larger degree than we sometimes imagine, as would our understanding of what is normal.

In this regard, the message of the Bible is that originally all men knew God and His ways, but over time they moved further and further away from Him. They changed their beliefs and customs, and introduced concepts and morally degenerate practices that did not originate with God. Paul says of these, ‘who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions’ (Read Rom.1:21-28).

The sad history of humanity is full of examples like this. Over thousands of years civilisations have arisen, prospered and eventually passed off the scene. The ruins of these are in evidence everywhere. In these places men and women have lived and died, and had all the same joys, aspirations and fears that we have today. Yet most lived and died in general ignorance of the things of God. No doubt in these places men had laws and customs, religions and philosophies that the people lived and died by. Some were brave, some fearful, some law abiding and some not, but in the end and in the greater scheme of things, their experiences really amounted to little. They simply lived and died in vanity and in general ignorance of God (Acts.14:16-17, Isaiah.2:17-22, Jer.3:17). 

Paul calls this ‘the times of this ignorance’ at which God ‘blinked’, that is, He overlooked or ignored it. The Christian dispensation marked a change, for after the resurrection of Jesus, the gospel was sent forth to all people, not just Israelites, and Paul states that now God now commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts.17:30). No longer was the truth of God tied exclusively to the nation of Israel, and submission to the Law of Moses.

Understanding these things brings us to the challenge of sorting through human experiences and prejudices in our quest for the truth of God and for true purpose. Below is another simple diagram that seeks to portray these things in a different way. We will call it the TTT triangle. If we are completely honest with ourselves, each of us could roughly determine where we fit into this arrangement. What influences us the most, is it Truth, Tradition or Taste? Oftentimes what we imagine to be the ‘Truth’ may rather be the inherited ‘Traditions’ we have received.

So often in our search for truth and purpose, we are waylaid by ‘personal taste’ and ‘corporate or group tradition’. That is, what we think is truth may simply be our personal preferences or, if we are part of a group it may simply be the group’s traditional position. This is the type of ‘relativism’ that the philosophers speak of. They were well aware of this tendency and noted that the differences between both individuals and societies were often simply the product of an individual’s life experiences, which are heavily affected by one’s environment. Truth and purpose in these circumstances is simply relative.

We also need to be on guard against the subtle power and influence of subjective thoughts and thinking. 

Many religious philosophies leverage off our unique consciousness and self-awareness, and end up with some form of ‘Existentialist’ philosophy, where ‘enlightenment’ is said to be found from exploring our own mind-body experience. This is commonly found in some Eastern religions, and has crept into various ‘Christian’ groups as well. We do well to heed the words of the Prophets - Jer.10:18. ‘O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps’, and of the Apostles - Rom.7:18. ‘For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells’.

Therefore, if we are to really find ‘the truth’ about life, we will need to be aware of the subtle and powerful influences that all these things can have upon us. Many of these things operate at the subconscious level, and it takes a great deal of honest mental effort to see beyond them.

We will face these same challenges when we come to read the Bible. We all have a natural bias, which is called normalcy bias, to interpret the words we read according to our ‘tradition’ or our personal ‘taste’. By using this approach we will end up only finding ‘affirmations’ that confirm our pre-existing position and beliefs. It is very difficult for a person to see beyond their natural and acquired prejudices. The cognitive dissonance created by the experience will work against us, and limit our ability to really hear what is being said.

The process that we naturally follow can be likened to pouring a liquid into a mould. No matter how we go about it, we will always produce the result that is predetermined by our beliefs. We rarely challenge our beliefs, as it is natural for all of us to think that we understand and that we are always being perfectly honest.

In the diagram below, the mould is like the model or world view that we have already acquired. As a consequence, the outcome of our efforts will always produce the same results. It takes great effort, courage and honesty to really question whether the model we have already accepted is truthful, and in accordance with that which is presented in the Bible. This was the same challenge that the Jews stumbled with in the days of Jesus.

Yes – Purpose and Wisdom can be found.

Where then is this knowledge and wisdom to be found? Where is the source of true meaning? Is it found in the world; in its philosophy, science, education, religions, or worldly wisdom? While all of these fields are capable of helping us in our day to day struggles, they are not able to give us an answer to the larger question of purpose. They certainly may be treasured, but they are not that which really counts, which is more valuable than the sum total of all else. The Bible informs us many times that this treasure can only come from above, i.e. from God. 

True purpose and wisdom can only come from revelation, that is, from God revealing himself and his will and ways. It is not able to be found in the natural world, or by the exercise of clever reasoning or science. As we have already seen, the world we live in has been made subject to vanity. Our own mortality and limited perspective restricts our ability to rise above our environment, for we are all part of the material world. Our view is limited by the bounds of our sensory perceptions and the natural boundaries of our native capacity and natural environment.

In this day and age, if we are to rise above the constraints of our environment, then we need to understand things from God’s perspective, which can only occur if we hear what he says and reveals. This information and this way of thinking is only found in the Word of God, in that book we call the Bible.  Other than that, it is not now attainable anywhere else. It was Paul who clearly explained the limitations of human reasoning, when he said –

1.Cor.1:19-21  For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,  and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

1.Cor.1:25-26  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

From these words it is clear that Paul is saying that true wisdom and purpose can only be found if God chooses to reveal it. It cannot be attained by the exercise of human will, intelligence, reasoning, science or logic to the exclusion of God. It must be ‘by revelation’, which means that God must reveal it, otherwise we will only grope in darkness. It is also clear that much of what is thought to be wisdom in the world is far astray from the great truths of God, and is more the product of human pursuits and reasoning.

In this regard, we need to be on guard against any who claim to have special knowledge or revelation from God. If what they speak is contrary to what God has already spoken then they are simply false teachers, or what the Bible calls false prophets. They are more common they we realise, as the prospect of status, fame, power and money seems to attract certain types to this occupation. (Consider Matt.7:15, Gal.1:6-12, Deut.13, Isaiah.8:19-20, 2.Pet.2:1, 1.John.4:1 etc.). Paul is very emphatic on this point, and to emphasise his point he states that – ‘even if we (the Apostles), or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you that what you have received, let him be accursed’ (Gal.1:8).

We cannot emphasise this point firmly enough. We live in a world full of self-proclaimed ‘self-ware’ people, who claim unique experiences and a spiritual connection to God, or to some form of higher consciousness. This claim is spread across numerous religions and philosophies. As we noted earlier, it is a manifestation of the unique human capacity to be self-aware. The great danger is that the ‘spirit’ and the ‘spiritual experience’ that we may feel from various forms of enlightenment is not of God, but really only the stimulation of those parts of our created potential with ideas that have not come from God. The Bible labels this whole arena of experiences and beliefs as ‘idolatry’. As unique as we may imagine our experiences to be, they are the product of psychological and physiological stimuli. The conditions for the ‘beliefs’ and experiences being genuine are bound by the words that we have referenced above. That is, they must come from God and they must be in conformity with what God has revealed already. It is in this area that all false claims are exposed as non-genuine.

The other point worth making here is that you cannot really only agree with the parts of the Bible that you like, or that fit your world view, and then reject or otherwise ignore the rest. Some find this quite challenging and perhaps even discomforting. Since the beginning many people have adopted this approach, and it always ends in sorrow. The outcome of this approach ends up with a form of idolatry, where man ends up creating a version of God according to his own desires. Pauls speaks of this in Rom.1:18-32. In the final analysis, either the Bible contains the true revelation of God in its entirety, or the message is entirely false. You cannot pick and choose the parts that suit you, otherwise you will have destroyed the whole message and its intent. In the reference above from Romans, Paul says that if we do that, then God will withdraw Himself from our help and allow us to fall into confusion and evil. This has been the sad history of humanity and all its various religions. These same thoughts are found in 2.Thes.2:10-12, which context speaks in prophecy of a great apostasy that was to come after the time the Apostles.

As should be clear by now, the author of this work will be quoting and referencing extensively from the Bible to establish exactly what God says on many important matters. He has no desire or intention of expressing his own opinion or wisdom. He believes that the Bible’s teachings are clear enough, and in fact contain God’s revealed will for all to read and understand. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all who seek to know life’s true purpose that they come to know God. To do this they will need to investigate the Bible’s teachings and hear what God says first hand. There is no shortcutting this process. The experience of reading and thinking is itself a form of connection directly with God. To find true meaning and purpose then, all must acquaint themselves with God, and His will and ways, and thereafter freely choose to align themselves with Him in a very personal way. In this day and age God does not compel any to believe but invites all to hear, be persuaded and thereafter respond of their own free will (Rom.4:21).

What is this Kingdom of Heaven?

What is this Kingdom of Heaven?

 This idea of the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God is the subject of both Jesus’ and his Apostles’ teaching and preaching. It is also spoken of in the OT Scriptures, although most people overlook what the OT says. Jesus himself spent the three and a half years of his public ministry speaking about this subject, and his Apostles also gave their lives to the promulgation of this same teaching. In fact this subject is one of the most common threads that run all the way from Genesis to Revelation. 

Understanding this is a key to understanding the purpose of God and thereby the purpose of life. Unfortunately, like so many other Biblical concepts, people tend to ignore the OT Scriptural foundations of this subject and impose on the record their own preferred interpretations.

The following parable of Jesus is designed to show us that we humans are easily side-tracked by present experiences, goals and rewards. In the greater scheme of things we often end up with a misplaced sense of value, trust and judgement.

Luke.12:16-21. Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul’, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”  But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

The sense of misplaced value is very apparent. The most common example of this is seen the accumulation of material things. If you follow this path you will be considered wise and prudent, and honoured in society. In contrast, Jesus takes the longer view, for he is thinking and speaking in terms of God’s perspective. The spirit of the prophets before him expressed the same type of thinking. The following well known reference sums this up by declaring that all the pursuits of humanity, apart from God, are without any lasting value -

Luke.9:25. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

The Core Teachings of the Bible Chapter 2 - The Pursuit of Meaning and Purpose – Can it be found?

The Pursuit of Meaning and Purpose – Can it be found?

Where can we find meaning, not just for the everyday things of life but for the real purpose of life itself? In the twenty first century we are surrounded by experts and opinions, and it is difficult to find sound and unbiased advice. Even those who proffer advice often have questionably motives. Are they qualified to offer advice, do they really know the answers themselves, or are they just clever wordsmiths, or salesmen with a product seeking to profit from their works? This holds true for science, philosophy, religion, and popular guides.

Consider the popular book, ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie. Carnegie made a fortune selling his books, his expertise, his self-improvement programs and his own skills as a lecturer. His famous book was one of the best-selling books of the last century. How qualified was Carnegie to write? Very qualified it seems. He was a man who had many failures. He was a failed farmer, a failed actor, a failed businessman, and a failed husband and father. Who better to take advice from? 

Certainly he was able to rise from failure to material success and popularity; as he himself advised people to "Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." Carnegie’s success came from advising others how to live. His own example of failures and subsequent drive, entrepreneurial skills and salesmanship made him a popular and wealthy man at the time of his death.

Yet, we can’t avoid feeling that something is missing. How can someone who was so unsuccessful in many basic avenues of his own life make his fortune advising others how to live and succeed? Are his words genuine, or are they just another product for sale? Do they really make for a better person, or is there a level of superficiality here that appeals to the popular desire for easy and simple answers? Moreover, even if one followed his advice and achieved a level of recognised success, did this really make a lasting difference and has the person really found the meaning and purpose of life?

By way of contrast, let us consider the words of Solomon, King of Israel, who lived about 3,000 years ago. He was noted as the wisest man of his times. The Bible tells us that God gave him wisdom beyond his contemporaries, which in itself tells us that wisdom has always been a pursuit of man’s, just as Paul also stated in 1.Cor.1:22. Unfortunately, most of it has little to do with the knowledge of God and is therefore of little value in the larger scheme of things.

1.Kings.4:29-31.  And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.

This Solomon speaks of his search for meaning and purpose in the book called Ecclesiastes, which is generally attributed to him. He tells us that he had been given wisdom, riches and power, and that he used the opportunity these things gave him to find the purpose of life.

Eccl.1:13.  And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.

The book of Ecclesiastes goes on to record his search for purpose in the everyday pursuits of life. Even though he had at his disposal almost unlimited power and opportunity, in the end Solomon could make no sense of it at all. There is no overriding justice or fairness in the world at large, nor any innate purpose that could be found by pursuing life’s pleasures. In fact he repeatedly speaks of the vanity or emptiness he found in all of life’s pursuits, for ultimately time and mortality will bring all our works, pursuits, fame, riches and achievements to nothing.

Eccl.8:14.  There is a vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.

Eccl.9:11.  I returned and saw under the sun that— The race is not to the swift,  Nor the battle to the strong,  Nor bread to the wise,  Nor riches to men of understanding,  Nor favor to men of skill;  But time and chance happen to them all.

Although Solomon himself may appear to be frustrated by the overall vanity of life he does not say that there is no purpose to life. He speaks both of the sense of fulfilment and pleasure that comes from living an honest, modest and contented life (Eccl.2:24-26, 5:18-20, 9:7-9), but his primary objective has been to find the overall purpose of human existence. To that end, Solomon declares this purpose and speaks of it in his final words, when he concludes –

Eccl.13:12.  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:  Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all.

Here Solomon concludes that true meaning is only to be found in knowing God and his purpose and ways, and by keeping his words. This is man’s whole duty and purpose, man’s all. This conclusion is also spoken of in other places in the Bible.

Jesus speaks in similar terms to Solomon on the uncertainty of life. Bad things happen to people, and there is no accounting for it. It is simply the product of time and chance, that is, the work of chance happenings or the work of evil men. The following reference demonstrates this -

Luke.13:1-5. There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

What Jesus is telling us is that these things are part of the general uncertainty of life. We are all subject to these uncertainties. In the main, these evil things do not come because some people are worse or more evil than others. Jesus’ counsel is that we should use the time we have to find the truths of God and repent. The word repent quite literally means a change of mind or direction, and the direction Jesus recommends involved hearkening to God’s counsel.

The Apostle Paul also speaks of these things, where he states that God has made the world subject to vanity or emptiness. This is a very important point and one we need to think carefully about. Paul goes on to say that God has done this on purpose, so that people might not set their focus or goals on this life, but look for greater meaning by ultimately aligning themselves with God’s greater declared purpose, which is called ‘hope’ in the following verse.

Rom.8:20.   For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;

In this regard, Jesus the great master teacher speaks in one of his parables of the quest of men to find the things that are most valuable in life. In the parable detailed below he speaks of a man seeking goodly pearls, which are clearly meant to represent all the things that people find valuable, whether they be material things, life experiences or what we call pearls of wisdom that may exist in many philosophies and religions across the great panorama of human thought. Even though these things exist and may be of some value, there is beyond them all ‘one pearl of great price’, which is more valuable that the totality of all others. To acquire this pearl, the man in the parable sells all else to attain it. Consider the words of the parable.

Matt.13:45-46. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

From this parable it is evident that Jesus is saying that there are many pearls in life, many things that we seek for that are treasured and valuable. But in comparison to them all, there stands one that is far more precious than the rest, and the acquisition of which requires the abandonment of all other things.

As noted, these other lesser pearls may be defined in many different ways that cover all the things that men and women find valuable. The importance of what he is saying should not be underestimated, and is therefore worth repeating. In comparison to the things men find valuable the pearl of great price, which Jesus calls the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, is of far greater value than the value of all the others combined. 

The Core Teachings of the Bible Chapter 2 - Self-Awareness – and the Choices this Awareness Brings?

Self-Awareness – and the Choices this Awareness Brings?

As self-aware beings, we are continually confronted by the incredible complexity of the natural world we live in. How do we understand it? We note this type of complexity in our modern technological world, but sometimes take for granted the far greater complexity and order of the natural world. Is this order and complexity the work of chance, or is there a mind at work that has set all these things in order? Are the laws of nature, as we call them, and the general order we observe the evidence of intelligence. This is the challenge we are each confronted with.

Most of us don’t really seek for answers but are somewhat satisfied by the consensus of opinions advanced by the experts and thought leaders we follow, whether consciously or subconsciously. The added complexity to the question of existence is the self-evident fact that total objectivity is rarely possible, since every one of us has prejudices that colour our reasoning and conclusions. This often works in ways that we are not even aware of. This is a peculiar quirk of the human condition. Our ability to be totally objective is often challenged by our education, culture, peer group or simply our preferred group’s prejudices. Most of us have an innate bias or need to conform to the consensus position of the particular group that we most closely identify with. This causes most people to rely upon the conclusions of those they respect and identify with, and who are often experts at articulating their positions. We rationalise, that if they cannot get it right and tell us the answers, who really can?  

Yet, are they really supplying the right answers? Are they really interpreting all the evidence correctly and objectively, or are they, like the rest of us, simply the victims of a hidden philosophical construct, i.e. subjective filters in the mind that arranges facts to suit a preconceived or accepted model? In an endeavour to overcome subjective interpretations, since the enlightenment and the birth of modern science, science has developed a method to interpret the world we live in. It is called ‘The Scientific Method’, or more precisely ‘Methodological Naturalism’, whereby ONLY natural causes are considered possible explanations of the things that exist. This approach is rigorously practiced and enforced by a well-developed peer review process. This is the method used to interpret the present, as every rational person would agree that a return to the dark ages and the superstitions of the past, would certainly be a step backwards from reality and truth.

However, this raises some questions. Is this methodology sound when interpreting everything to do with the past and when thinking about the future? Our natural response is that this sounds like a reasonable approach. However, it is based upon the assumption that the past has always been as the present, and that the future will always be the same. This assumes that only currently known or postulated natural mechanisms can be used to explain the past, or envision the future. What most people do not realise is that this is based upon a philosophical position called ‘Philosophical Naturalism’, or ‘Materialism’ for short. In this article we will refer to this as ‘Materialism’, which is how it is commonly known in philosophical circles. It is not to be confused with the common definition of materialism as the pursuit of material goods.

Materialism is a philosophical position that assumes that only ‘Matter’ and ‘Energy’ exist, and that there is no higher ‘Mind’, or God, that is greater or outside the laws of the known universe. Once Materialism is accepted, this way of thinking will have a huge impact upon our world view, and how we understand the meaning and purpose of life. It will function as a filter that affects how we understand the world we live in, both past, present and future. Materialism is a philosophical position that grew in popularity in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. It has been almost universally adopted, often unknowingly, in our modern times. It is also one of the main (philosophical) drivers beneath most modern scientific theories.

Contrary to this mode of thinking, most thinkers and scientists before the 19^th century, including the commonly accepted fathers of science, men like Newton and Boyle, believed in Mind, Matter and Energy. They believed that the incredible complexity that we see in the universe and in the world sprang from a Mind that designed, made, set in order, and sustains all things. This mode of thinking was in accordance with the Bible’s testimony (Rom.1:18-22). This mode of thinking caused early scientists to expect to find order everywhere in the universe. 

 

Of special note here is the plain and simple fact that the Biblical record challenges the philosophical assumptions of Materialism. Christianity itself is founded upon the life and works of Jesus Christ, who we are clearly told was born of a virgin, and was after his crucifixion, raised from the dead. Now these two things are both impossibilities, according to ‘Materialism’. The OT Jewish religion was also founded on similarly impossible events. The original Passover, the crossing of the Red Sea, the events recorded at Mount Sinai, and the manna in the wilderness are all likewise outside of materialism’s boundaries, and therefore considered as unscientific.

This raises some interesting questions. Is it reasonable to discount the evidence of witnesses because accepting their testimony sits outside the bounds of a philosophical position and its methodology? That is, the testimony of miraculous events as well as the existence of a Supernatural God not constrained by natural laws must be false, because it does not match scientific theory and methods. This form of reasoning is circular, and ends up begging the question, because it assumes that the conclusions of Materialism are correct and therefore it cannot accommodate or allow for anything that is not limited by its Materialistic philosophy.

Moreover, the Bible records many things that are also likewise impossible, according to Materialism. What do we therefore do with the Bible’s testimony? Do we -

1.       Reject it outright as a book of fables, from a deluded people, written in the dark ages of human existence? This is the position taken by sceptics and atheists, or

2.       Do we massage the record, ignore the things we are not comfortable with, and only accept those we are comfortable with, thereby compromising much of what is written? or

3.       Do we try and understand it for what it says, and consider the possibilities this may bring? That this book is what it claims to be! – That is, God’s revelation of both himself and of His will and purpose.

The second option is quite commonly held in society, and particularly among many religious groups, whether they be Christian or Non-Christian. This too was the method used by many of the great rationalists of the past. Men like Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the USA and one of the framers of the American Constitution. He is alleged to have created his own composite Bible by removing all the parts that referred to anything and everything that was not natural, and kept only the sayings and teachings of Jesus, whom he greatly admired. But is this filtering method really fair to the text? If we are to remove some of the record, why not ignore all of it? How can you trust any of it if you doubt some of its core teachings, particularly given the overall God centred themes used throughout the Bible?

We should note here that the Bible, first and foremost, claims to be the written testimony of select witnesses who observed events first hand or were told certain things by Divine communication. These men were in a very privileged position, as they sometimes worked and/or witnessed many miraculous signs and wonders (Luke.10:24, John.20:29) that were designed to authenticate the message. The cost of this witness was great. But the miraculous things themselves were only given to establish the authenticity of the message they were given and its underlying truthfulness. These witnesses, in general, received no benefits in their lifetime. In fact, often, after a lifetime of difficulties and persecution, many of them were put to death by their contemporaries because of their testimony (Acts.7:52, Acts.9:16). It seems that this was deliberately designed to add weight to the truthfulness of the message they spoke.

In summary, the following reference from the writings of Paul informs us that the order of nature has been designed by God to challenge us and direct us to seek and to search out the one who ordained it, or set it in order. The diagram below maps this thought process and the choices we face as we consider the vastness and complexity of the world we live in.

Rom.1:20-24. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

Diagram 1 – Self Awareness alerts us to the Design & Complexity of Nature, and of a Mind at word. This challenges us, yet tells us nothing of the will and purpose of God.

The Core Teachings of the Bible Chapter 2 - The Common Human Experience

1.      The Common Human Experience

The Human trait of curiosity – what is it all about?

Humans above all other creatures almost universally seek to know and understand the world in which they live and ultimately discover purpose in life. We are curious creatures, fitted with intelligence and perceptions well in advance of all other creatures, to the extent that unlike all others we are self-aware. We have the capacity to think outside of ourselves, above and beyond our own instinctive responses. We are able to ponder both the causes of our own experiences and of life itself, as well as the effects of the choices we make and of the greater consequences of past and current experiences and events.

With education, we are also able to discern between right and wrong, good and evil, and make what we might term moral choices. Lower creatures are not able to think on this level. Some use terms such as consciousness and even spirituality to define this capacity, but for this consideration we will remain with the basic definitions above. The important point is to note that this level of awareness is the natural expression of our physical organisation or being, and that it is an innate capacity or potential that we are uniquely born with.

In this regard we are totally unique. This unique level of conscious awareness causes us to seek for meaning and for purpose in our individual lives. The author of this book believes that this unique ability is a gift from God, and that it is directly related to God’s stated purpose with mankind. Although most people are naturally curious to know the purpose of life, few stretch themselves to really find complete answers to the great questions of life. Most of us find some pearls of wisdom and purpose and seem to be satisfied with them, but time and circumstances tend to numb us to greater possibilities.

Others pursue these questions intensely and find what they think are answers in the many and varied religious disciplines and spiritual experiences that are on offer in the world. There are many versions of these alleged answers, and some of them are very clearly and powerfully articulated. However, many/most of these are also quite contradictory to one another. Others seek for a type of unifying synthesis between the various opinions. But all of these may be to no advantage and really only the groping in darkness of those who cannot recognise the light of the Word of God for what it truly is. The Apostle Paul relegates all human wisdom to the ‘times of ignorance’ (Acts.17:30), and the Bible generally classifies them as human vanities and pursuits. 

The human awareness experience starts most strongly in our late teenage years when we are at our most curious, but over time the curiosity often wanes and the general business of life tends to take over and fill us up. Some fill their lives with; sensory pursuits, family life, entertainments, the pursuit of knowledge and learning, dedication to career advancement, the pursuit of fame, or the pursuit of wealth and power. All of these things and more, can allow us to gain some level of control in an uncertain world, and can bring to us a sense of purpose and satisfaction. We may then rationalise this activity in that it can give us some sense of meaning, which many now call ‘making a difference’. That is, that our efforts somehow add to the contributions of others to make the world a better place. This has been the commonly accepted rationale for many.

But even if we are fortunate enough to have achieved everything we seek for in life, there remains in many of us a nagging feeling that perhaps we are missing something. Although we may have achieved a level of success recognized by others, what really have we achieved? How long will it last, and did it really make a lasting difference? Isn’t history replete with examples of people who have lived and died striving for the same thing? Have not societies and nations risen and fallen on these same assumptions? Are we missing some very important information, facts, ideas and concepts? Have the leading lights of society, our thought leaders, also been side tracked from the really important pursuit of meaning and purpose by the pursuit of some form of recognition, material or otherwise? Are they too just simply ‘the blind leading the blind’?

Chapter 1 - General Introduction to this Blog

The Core Teachings of the Bible.

1. General Introduction to this Blog
The 21st century has brought us to an age of increasing complexity and sophistication, which is being driven by scientific advancements on a scale never seen before. These advancements are coupled in a strange way with a veneer of rationality that is difficult to reconcile with the advances in science. As science seeks to explain and explore every detail of the material world, the media and entertainment industries bombard us with increasingly puerile levels of information, often delivered in oversimplified sound-bites backed by expertly crafted graphic imagery for easy acceptance. The outcome is a society which has generally lost the ability to think and reason critically on the deeper questions of life.

Throughout the ages, philosophers, wise men and teachers of religion have spoken and speculated on meaning and purpose of life, often coming to quite incomplete, vastly different and ultimately unsatisfying conclusions. To most people, the answer seems as elusive as ever.
Today we are bombarded with books that promote a version of wisdom that is full of tales and stories that are designed to motivate and instruct us in how to overcome adversity, live more complete lives, be successful in our relationships and in our careers. While these things may provide some value in the short term, do they really address the one question that is more important that all others: ‘What is the meaning and purpose of life’?

To try and shed light on this situation we will begin by exploring the general challenges faced by the average person in their day to day life. From there, we will then begin to look more deeply at the Bible’s teaching. The author believes that the answer to the great question of ‘purpose’ has been revealed by the God of heaven, since the beginning of man’s existence. He further believes that the answers have unfortunately been clouded by human philosophy and traditional wisdom, to the general negation of what God has said and revealed on the subject.

In other words, what God has revealed has been largely misunderstood by the majority of people, including those who are considered experts. We have been misdirected from finding the truth on these matters, sometimes intentionally, but most often unintentionally. We humans have a tendency to re-shape information so that it fits into our pre-existing belief systems and world view. We do this because we interpret information according to the pre-set models that we have been conditioned to accept. This natural behaviour is called ‘Confirmation Bias’. Unfortunately, this is how most people approach the Bible. When we read, we pour the words into the form or pattern that we have already adopted, and thereby confirm our own conclusions. This approach can blind us to the true intention of the message. Most of these biases are received by tradition and imprinted on us by education, in one form or another.

If we are to achieve our goal of discovering the truth of the Bible’s core message we will need to overcome our natural confirmation bias. To enable that, we will be examining numerous scriptural references, and for convenience will include the reference in the body of the text. The reader is encouraged to read both the references and the context from which the references are taken, so as to familiarise themselves with the veracity of the ideas presented. Most Bible references quoted will be from the New King James Version (NKJV).

The Core Teachings of the Bible. Part of an ongoing Detailed Series - Subscribe for notification of new posts as they happen!

The aim of this blog is to show that there are only a handful of core teachings in the Bible and that throughout the ages believers have essentially understood the same Bible message. This book investigates and outlines these core beliefs, which are consistently spoken of in the Bible, and demonstrates how everything else revolves around them.

1. Introduction:
The core teachings of the Bible are essentially a simple set of concepts and beliefs that have been understood and held by believers, from diverse cultural backgrounds, since the very beginning. Unfortunately, time and tradition have obscured these ideas and they have been largely replaced by a watered down version of the original message, which makes them a poor imitation at best. As a result, what is currently advanced as ‘Christianity’ is often only a shadow of the original.
It is a Bible teaching that these core beliefs are transformational in themselves, as they give meaning and purpose to life. This book has been written to assist those who are seeking for clarity of understanding and trying to make sense of life, and its meaning. Many of us are not satisfied with the standard explanations offered by the experts, whether they be; religious teachers, philosophers or scientists. Something seems to be missing. This book seeks to answer the larger question of purpose and meaning that eludes many of us.
‘What is Truth?” (John.18:38). This was the rhetorical question of Pilate when sitting in judgement of Jesus. He, like so many others in power did not really want to know the answer to his own question. Jesus was a dilemma to him. How could this man, who was facing a brutal death, show so much confidence and control? The demeanour of his presence surprised and unnerved Pilate. Jesus was unlike any other man. Pilate’s statement was in response to Jesus’ own words, where he had said that he was born to be a king, and that he had come to bear witness to the truth? What did he mean? How were Jesus’ words related to his life’s work and his own impending death? What truth was he bearing witness to?
The answer to this question is the answer to one of the most important questions of life. It is one of the central themes of Bible, and it is closely related to God’s declared purpose. This is the question that all of us should seek to answer in our lifetime. In this investigation we will find that the answer is not what most of us think, nor in line with what is often taught. The writer believes God’s answer is in the Bible and that it is very clear, very powerful and yet it is also largely misunderstood.