The Philosophical Intersection with Science and Theology:
Creating the Harmonic Geometry of Symplectic Apologeomai
by
Dallas F. Bell, Jr.
(During
March, 2017, a portion of this paper joined
other petitions sent to Prime Minister Binali Yidirim of Turkey
regarding a general leumundszeuge defense of the self-appointed
human rights political prisoner, Professor İştar
Gözaydın.)
Metabolites
are the small biological molecules that underpin the biochemical
reactions that give rise to living systems. They convert glucose
into energy, and send and receive information from chemical signals
that provide the building blocks for complex macromolecules. Their
material harmonic interdependence is an example of how nothing
material exists in isolation (KJV Bible, Gen. 1-2).
Much like the analysis of
the metabolome above, words are the intelligently designed sequence
of letters to express a purposed meaning. Their material existence
exposes the non-material intelligent causer which could not come
from their simple material interdependent existence. In this
communication of words, there are three possibilities of word usage.
Univocal has only one possible meaning for a word. Equivocal is
subject to two or more interpretations, which can by intent or not
be misleading. Analogical is the inference that if two or more
things agree in the same respect, then, they will probably agree
in other respects.
Terms
used analogously are not entirely univocal or entirely equivocal.
They signify the same things, but in different modes. For example,
when describing the attributes of God, Thomas Aquinas used this
analogous approach in Summa Theologiae and
Summa Contra Gentiles. Moses ben Maimon
(Maimonides) proposed the equivocal approach in his Guide for the Perplexed. William Alston’s many
recent works argues that some concepts can be applied univocally,
but he rejects a complete univocal approach.
Defining
omnipotence as God doing only the things that are congruent with
His attributes can eliminate illogical arguments,[1] such as can God create a stone too heavy for Him to
lift. Saint Anselm
of Canterbury was a Christian philosopher and theologian of the
eleventh century[2] whose motto was
fides quaerens intellectum.[3] He is known for the ontological argument for the
existence of God in his Proslogion, where he defined
God’s attributes (e.g. omnipotence). Anselm’s goal was to convince
the fool who has said in his heart that there is no God.[4]
Satan[5] is widely known to have used commonly understood words
to convey an implied additional meaning(s). He said to Eve in the
Garden of Eden “hath God said” to cause doubt in the meaning of
God’s words and God’s attribute of infinite truth (Gen. 3:1).
Later, he said to Jesus in the wilderness “if thou be the Son of
God” to attempt to cause doubt in the truth of God’s words (Ps.
2:7; Matt. 3:17; Luke 9:35; Col. 1:13) and Jesus’ attribute of
infinite truth as God (Matt. 4:3).
The harmonic
geometry or shape of a symplectic[6] defense, apologeomai,[7] is very instructive of
the philosophical intersection of scientific and theological
meanings. A highly analyzed example is that of Socrates. Socrates
is indicated as being a sodomite pedophile philosopher by his former
students, Xenophon[8] (c.430-c.354 B.C.) and
Plato. Homosexual behavior was known as contrary to God’s law
around 1275 B.C. (Lev. 18:22) with the just penalty of death (Lev.
20:13).
In Athens, Socrates was generally charged for being (1)
a physicalist and (2) a sophist. Those with the accepted task of
investigating things beneath the earth and in the skies were
physicalists,[9] such as Thales[10] and Anaxagoras.[11] Gorgias,[12] Hippias,[13] and Evanus[14] were the accepted
sophists[15] given the task of making
the weaker argument stronger.[16] Socrates was specifically charged with (1) corruption
of youth[17] and (2) impiety[18] by Meletus[19] and Anytus[20] in 399 B.C. Socrates
explained that he was not afraid to die.[21] He was convicted and executed. The Apology of Socrates (Greek:
Ἀπολογία Σωκράτους, Apologia Sokratous, Latin: Apologia Socratis)
is an account of the event as recorded by Plato.[22]
Socrates’
charges were theological in that he was said to not believe in
gods,[23] such as Zeus.[24] His defense scientifically
observed nature[25] and spoke of proofs.[26] He included poets[27] and logic[28] in his philosophy. His
theology had references to God’s will,[29] the reality of souls,[30] injustice,[31] and unholiness.[32] He did say that no one does wrong on purpose.[33] This is an obvious
incorrect statement. The fall of man (Adam and Eve in Gen. 3) in
Eden is considered to be one of the easiest proven facts that one
can decide to do universal good or do universal evil with freewill.
Socrates not only trivialized evil but he condemned[34] God’s righteousness by
indicating God is not just (Ps. 10:13). No one does good (Ps. 14:3;
Rom. 3:12). He used deceit and the poison of asps[35] was under his lips (Ps.
5:9; Rom. 3:13).
Another example is that of Saul of
Tarsus. Saul was a Jew of the orthodox Pharisee sect.[36] In 20 A.D., he studied
at the hand of the Sanhedrin legal scholar, Gamaliel, attaining two
doctorates (law and rhetoric) (Acts 22:3). He began to arrest,
imprison, and oversee the executions of Christians in 34 A.D. (Acts
6:12-8:1, 22:4-5, 26:10-11). Saul had a vision of the prophesied
Messiah,[37] Christ Jesus, and
accepted the Messianic Jewish reality of Christianity, being renamed
Paul in 35 A.D. (Acts 9:1-22, 13:9, 22:6-22, 26:12-19).
Paul and
Barnabas performed a miracle in Lystra. Barnabas was called Jupiter
in Roman mythology (which is Zeus in Greek mythology) and Paul was
called Mercurius (in Greek mythology is Hermes) in 47 A.D.[38] They had to prevent
being worshipped by the people (Acts 14:8-18). Paul addressed the
men (including Stoics and Epicureans)[39] at Athens on Mars hill (Acts 17:22-34). He defended
the gospel of Christianity—apologetics. The Athenians were very
religious with many gods. He tried to relate to their idolatrous
god of Zeus by explaining YAHWEH, the God of Israel, by quoting the
Greek poet Aratus of Soli, Cilicia (c.270 B.C.), “for we are also
his offspring” (Acts 17:28).[40] Science is evident in his explanation of the origins
of the material universe and nonmaterial life (Acts 17:24-25), for
philosophy he used poetry (verse 28), and theology briefly included
God’s power and man’s relationship to Him (verses 26-27). Paul
writes of God’s judgment toward the sin of sodomy (Rom. 1:24-27).[41]
The following is the sequence
of Paul being charged and given the opportunity to defend the
charges.
Jewish leaders attacked Paul as part of
a mob in 56 A.D. (Acts 21:27-31).
They charged
Paul to the Roman guard with bringing Greeks into the Temple (Acts
21:28-29).
Paul addressed the mob’s charges (Acts
21:37-40, 22:1-21) and began his apologeomai
(Greek for defense recorded in Acts 22:1).
He was
detained by the Roman guard (Acts 22:24-29).
Paul
addressed the charges with the chief Jewish priests in 57 A.D. (Acts
22:30, 23:1-9).
The priest,
Ananias,[42] commanded Paul be punched
in the mouth contrary to Jewish law (Acts 23:2-3).
Paul was detained (Acts 23:10).
The
Jews and their chief priests conspired to murder Paul (Acts 23:12-22),
contrary to Mosaic Law and Roman law.
Paul was sent to Felix[43] the governor (Acts 23:23-24).
The
Jewish orator, Tertullus, charged Paul in court with sedition to
Jews and as being the leader of the Christian sect of Nazarenes in
57-59 A.D. (Acts 24:1-9).
Paul
addressed the theological charges by defending God and the necessary
resurrection (Acts 24:10-21). The resurrection first demonstrated
the scientific hypothesis of observing this supernatural act as
proof of God, then the philosophical logic that God can not die,
and last understands the theology that there needs to be a perfect
sinless sacrifice to atone for the sins of mankind.[44]
He
was detained (Acts 24:22-23, 25:1-4).
Paul’s charges
are stated in 59 A.D. (Acts 25:7).
He addressed
the charges (Acts 25:8).
Paul appealed to Caesar
(Acts 25:9-10).
He addressed the
charges to Festus[45] (Acts 25:10-11) and
explained that he is not afraid to die (Acts 25:11).
Paul was sent to Caesar (Acts 25:12).
He addressed King Agrippa and Bernice[46] (Acts 26:1-29).
Paul was sent
to Italy (Acts 27:1).
He addressed the chief Jews
in Italy in 60-62 A.D. (Acts 28:17-29).
Paul
remained under house arrest (Acts 28:30-31).
The account of Acts ends and Paul was reportedly beheaded
around 62-68 A.D.[47]
Paul chose to write the
majority of the New Testament books while exposed to his life
threatening situation (Matt. 11:30; I Cor. 10:13). He said for him
to die would be gain (Phil. 1:21) and in his weakness God made him
stronger (II Cor. 12:10). Being anxious for nothing (Phil. 4:6),
Paul cast all his care on God (I Peter 5:7) and was inspired by the
Holy Spirit (II Tim. 3:16). Basically, Socrates became obsessed
with himself, when exposed to similar circumstances, and chose to
accomplish nothing of Divine obedience (Eccl. 2:10-11). In 1908,
psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dodson experimented with rats
in a maze. They found that as they shocked them, the rats became
more efficient in accomplishing a task, up to a certain point which
became less efficient. Their research is known as the Yerkes-Dodson
Law. It is demonstrated by the inverted U-shaped function shown
below.
Similarly, a theological
forensic psychology analysis of Paul and Socrates’ divinely obedient
behavior under stress can be compared below. (For information on
Theological Forensic Psychology, see the paper at
http://SystematicPoliticalScience.com/trigonometry.html.)
Performance and stress is optimized at the peak. God
knew how Paul would choose to react to the stress of his circumstances
and they were allowed so he could complete his Divine tasks (Ps.
66:10-12). Donald Hebb developed the theory to describe how neurons
in the brain adapt during learning processes. Paul said he had
learned to be content in all circumstances (Phil. 4:11). Without
being exposed to dire situations, it can rationally be argued, Paul
would not have had become weak enough to reach the optimum focus
to accomplish God’s will. This is much like the hypothetical
radioactive decay of protons into lighter subatomic particles in
dark matter.
Unfortunately, there is not a recommended reference that
provides more data for a comparative (textual) analysis[48] of Socrates’ Apology
and Paul’s discourse, e.g. the epistemological pillars of science,
philosophy, and theology.[49] However, Paul’s concepts have been compared to Hellenistic
philosophers.[50]
The Roman orator, Cicero, was taught
by Greeks.[51] He studied philosophy
(poetry), theology (Stoicism), and science (political law).[52] In 63 B.C., he was
made consul in Rome.[53] He conducted many
defenses, such as Roscius in 80 B.C.,[54] Marcellus[55] and Ligarius[56] in 46 B.C. etc. If his defense of Milo[57] in 52 B.C. is analyzed,
we can find science (in the laws, and observation that Milo had no
behavioral motive for the crime, etc.),[58] philosophy (he argued homicide is not always unjustified,
etc.),[59] and theology (he said
the behavior was the work of gods, etc.).[60] His reputation was that of a Scurra
(Latin for jester) and a Cynic (Latin for the Cynic school,
a philosopher).[61] He was exiled in 57
B.C. His sharp-tongue disagreements, e.g. sanctions on religion,
caused Mark Antony to demand Octavianus murder him.[62] The decree was carried
out on 7 December, 43 B.C.[63] In the lost writing of Hortensius, Augustine credited Cicero with his turn from a life of
sin toward philosophy, which led to the theology of the biblical
God[64] and the scientific
observation of nature.
People in positions in established
societal institutions can be expected to exert negative systolic
pressure[65] on people that exhibit
ideas and behavior(s) they perceive threatens their maintenance and
achievement of their hierarchical individual need levels. The
problem with many forms of defense is that they do not address the
needs of the prosecutorial party and only address the defended
party. They have a tendency to include other charged parties who
may have unique charges, which may complicate the issue. Additionally,
the text of a defense should address the demonstrated values of the
prosecutor and not be accusatory.
Used as a
Pauline style model, Dallas F. Bell Jr. sent the following to Prime
Minister of Turkey on 16 March, 2017.[66]
Subject: Open letter to Prime Minister Binali Yidirim.
I am pleased, Prime Minister Binali Yidirim, to address you today
regarding the circumstances of Professor
İştar Gözaydın.[67] This is especially true because it is known that you
are expert in justice having rose to your current high position in
this ancient[68] and wise[69] nation. Please listen
to this case patiently. Professor
Gözaydın has a life devoted to scholarly
activity. As you have witnessed in academic institutions, there
is a presentation of contrasting ideas within this world of learning.
The multitude of theories taught in universities is not a new
occurrence. Many of these ideas will be rejected and some
accepted.[70] Professor Gözaydın has openly rejected
the violence used by your enemies. An enemy of your enemy is your
friend.[71] Your friend
Professor Gözaydın
has been detained since December, 2016, for merely carrying on the
tradition of discussing ideas, which makes great societies. It is
the request of the scholars of the world
that Professor Gözaydın be released where she can be of service to her community.
Regardless of the specifics of international law upheld by the World
Court and Turkish Law, you know that in the search for truth that
if God is in the search the effort cannot be stopped, and if God
is not in the search the effort will fail.[72] Prime Minister Yidirim, we know that you are aware of
this situation we have spoken of freely and are persuaded that none
of these things are hid from you.[73] We implore you to show the mercy of a wise leader[74] and release Professor
İştar Gözaydın at
your earliest convenience. Thank you for your kind attention in
this matter. We look forward to hearing of your decision.”
Reportedly,
an Istanbul court released her from prison on 30 March, 2017.
Beginning in the fall of
28 A.D., Jesus spoke in parables to fulfill prophesy (Ps. 78:2;
Matt. 13:34-35), and because the audience was unable to understand
(Mark 4:33-34). Religious leaders asked Him where he got His
authority and He replied with a question of whether John the Baptist
was of God, and they knew the people considered him of God and were
afraid to answer so Jesus said He would not answer their question
(Matt. 21:23-46). He gave a parable of two sons and the wicked
husbandman (Luke 20:1-18). In the spring of 30 A.D., religious
leaders tried to find legal cause to prosecute Him and asked Him
about taxes. He noted that the image of Caesar was on the coins
so people were to give to Caesar the things that were Caesar’s and
to God the things that were God’s (Mark 12:13-17), leaving off the
argument at the point where the audience could not reach a conclusion.
All money had Caesar’s image and superscription yet He also praised
the gift of two mites by the poor widow woman to the temple (Mark
12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4). His parable of the talents taught God gives
more to people that produce, and takes from people that do not
produce and condemns the unprofitable to outer darkness (Matt.
25:14-46; Luke 19:11-27).
Doctors of law and religious leaders reasoned why Jesus
could forgive sins. Knowing their thoughts, kardiognóstés (Luke 5:22; Ps. 94:11; Acts 1:24),
He replied that the Son of man had power on earth (Luke 5:17-26).
Jesus answered the questions of religious leaders in a parable as
to why He ate and drank with sinners (Luke 5:30-39). In the fall
of 29 A.D., a lawyer asked Him how to inherit eternal life, and the
famous parable of the Good Samaritan followed (Luke 11:25-37). He
denounced religious leaders and lawyers (Luke 37-54). He spoke a
parable of the lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son (Luke
15:1-32). He healed on the Sabbath (Luke 6:7-11).
Religious leaders brought
an adulteress woman to Him and He forgave her (John 8:3-11). He
was accused of having a devil by religious leaders. He said before
Abraham was I am (John 8:48-59) and had to escape from their
attempting to murder Him in their rage. Jesus was taken before the
high priest, and He said He had spoken openly at the synagogue so
they struck Him for His remark (John 18:19-23). He acknowledged
that He was the Christ before the high priest, in the spring of 30
A.D. (Mark 14:61-62). Jesus was taken before Pilate and answered
that His kingdom was not of this world, and Pilate asked Him if He
was a king and He said you say I am a king (John 18:28-37). Jesus
answered nothing to Herod and was sent back to Pilate (Luke 23:1-25).
Pilate asked Jesus from whence art thou and He did not answer (John
19:1-15). Jesus was then sentenced to death (Matt. 27:24; Mark
15:1-5, 15). Jesus died on the cross in spring 30 A.D. (Matt.
27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46; John 19:30). Flavius Josephus
recorded Jesus the Christ and Pilate condemning Him to death on the
cross (18.3.3). He was willing to die (Matt. 26:42; Mark 14:36;
Luke 22:42), and forgave His enemies (Luke 23:34). He was resurrected
three days later (Matt. 28:16-20; Mark 16:6-19; Luke 24:1-53; John
20-21).
From 28 to 30 A.D., Jesus made many defenses. Examples
of scientific observation of nature are evident in the parable of
the fig tree (Matt. 24:32-33; Luke 21:29-30), and weather signs
(Matt. 16:2-3: Luke 12:54-56). Philosophical logic is seen in a
house divided can not stand (Matt. 12:22-32; Luke 11:17-26), and a
good tree has good fruit and a corrupt tree has corrupt has corrupt
fruit (Matt. 7:17, 12:33; Luke 6:46). Jesus also exhibited Hebrew
poetry (Luke 7:31-32) with synonymous form (Matt. 10:24), antithetic
style (Luke 6:410), and synthetic and causal parallelism (Matt.
6:7; Luke 9:23).[75] Major theology of
Elohim is seen in His comment that before Abraham was He was (John
8:48-59), and He and Father God are one (John 10:30). This is why
His resurrection has been celebrated for nearly two thousand years.
On this fifty year anniversary of Jerusalem’s return from 1967 to
the rightful hands of Israelis in 2017, over a billion people
celebrated Easter.
Five hundred years ago, 31 October 1517,
Martin Luther placed the 95 theses on the door of Wittenberg’s
Castle Church to defend Paul’s Christian theology of forgiveness
through faith as a gift of God.[76] A lawyer and theologian, Luther used scientific
observation in his thesis number 7 that God remits guilt in no one
whom He does not, at the same time, humble. Philosophy is shown
in the logic of number 5 that the pope has neither the will nor the
power to remit any penalties other than those which he has imposed
by either his own authority or by canon law. Theology in number 6
says the pope can not remit any guilt, except by declaring it has
been remitted by God.
Luther’s thesis number 82 reasoned that
if the pope could empty the tortured souls in purgatory for the
sake of holy mercy why did he not do it instead of charging money
for assistance.[77] He got the pope’s
attention. The pope had Sylvester Prierias draft a reply to Luther’s
arguments. Prierias branded Luther a heretic. On August 7, 1618,
Luther received a citation to appear in Rome to answer the charge
of heresy. Frederick the Wise negotiated with Cardinal Thomas
Cajetan to move Luther’s hearing on heresy to the German city of
Augsburg. Cardinal Cajetan interviewed Luther from October 12-14,
1518. It was demanded that Luther recant his opposition to the
false doctrine of the infallibility of the pope. Luther would not
recant his opposition to the false doctrine that the pope was above
scripture. Cajetan wanted Frederick to have Luther arrested and
sent to Rome. Reflecting the estimated views of most Germans,
Frederick wrote to the emperor and requested the charges be dropped
or sent to German judges. He argued that Luther should not be
condemned in advance for his interpretation of Scripture.
Luther’s arguments were
covering Germany. In July 1519, he debated for the University
Wittenberg against the Catholic supporter John Eck from the University
of Leipzig. Over eighteen days they debated freewill etc. In 1520,
Luther wrote and published a series of tracts on the issues he was
debating. On June 15, 1520, Pope Leo X wrote a papal bull (Exsurge Domine) warning Luther that he would be
excommunicated unless he recanted many of the theses within sixty
days. Luther sent an appeal to the new emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire, Charles V. He requested a hearing from non-ecclesiastical
officials, insisting that church officials be answerable to the
state. He said he appealed to Caesar, and that neither truth nor
error should be condemned unheard and unrefuted.
After reading the papal
bull 10 December, 1520, Luther concluded the pope was anti-Christ.
And burned it as they had burned his books in Rome. Charles V
invited Luther to the Diet of Worms on March 11, 1521. The emperor
promised safe-conduct and Luther decided to go. He reasoned that
if Caesar called him, God had called him. On April 16, Luther and
a few supporters entered Worms. The Archbishop of Trier and another
person named John Eck began the hearing asking if the books presented
were Luther’s. When the titles were read he said that they were
his. He was asked to recant their content. He replied it would
be rash to do so until he had meditated in silence, lest he anger
the Lord. Eck told Luther to give his answer the next day. The
next day, Eck demanded Luther defend his writings or disavow
them.
Luther began
his defense by indicating his writings were not all the same. He
said some are perceptive, yet the bull condemned them all equally.
Logically, if he disavowed them what would he be doing. He would
be putting himself in opposition to the universal voice of the
faithful. He then described a second type of writing where he
attacked the pope’s ruin of sound doctrine. He observed that the
pope has thrown utter disorder into Christianity, contrary to the
gospel. He reasoned that if he retracted those writings he would
be strengthening Roman tyranny which would overwhelm the Christian
world. The third class of his works were a theological attack of
his adversaries for which he apologized for behavior that was not
above reproach. Again, he would not disavow them because Rome would
use that to oppress men’s souls. He concluded that his judges
should not condemn the Divine Word. Eck asked him if he repudiated
his books. Luther replied that unless he was convicted of error
by the testimony of Scripture he could not retract them in good
conscience. Amen!
On
May 6, the Edit of Worms was drafted and signed by the emperor on
May 26. It called Luther a reviver of old and condemned heresies
and inventor of new ones. It called for the burning of his books
and for his arrest. Frederick the Wise hid Luther at Wartburg
Castle. He translated the Bible into German, married a nun in 1525,
and had six children. By the late 1520’s, most of Germany became
Lutheran. Luther died February 18, 1546 in Eisleben. The religious
wars in Europe ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 with
Luther’s principle that national sovereignty should dominate
international relations, and end the Dark Ages caused by corrupt
religious leaders.
Primary defenders of God and reformers of corrupt religious
leaders recorded in the Old Testament and by Flavius Josephus are
Isaiah (Is. 1, etc.),[78] Jeremiah (Jere. 2, etc.), and Ezekiel (Eze. 13, 22, 34,
etc.). Isaiah (ministered c. 742 B.C.-687 B.C. until sawed in
half[79]) was called a prophet
of the Son of God (Jesus the Christ). Jeremiah (ministered c. 602
B.C.-575 B.C.), the prophet of Father God, was arrested, imprisoned
(Jere. 20, 37, 38), and had death threats (Jere. 26). Ezekiel
(theodicy ministry from 593 B.C.-571 B.C.), the prophet of the Holy
Spirit, was largely ignored by his audience of fellow Judean exiles
in Babylon (Eze. 33:30-33), yet they knew a prophet was among them
(Eze. 2:5) to reveal God’s glorious hand (Eze. 6:7).
There has
been a long line of Christian defenders as well, such as the writer
of On the Incarnation of the Word, Athanasius of Alexandria, who
defended Christian theology many times before government and religious
leaders. That tradition of defenders in China has that nation on
course to become the world’s largest population of Christians by
2030. Their Pauline Christians (called Protestants by Catholics)
have grown at a rate of 10% per year since 1979, despite the atheistic
Marxist communist government’s opposition.[80] They are already
the world’s largest publisher of Bibles,[81] since the Bible
translation into Mandarin (1823) by Robert Morrison who traveled
to China in 1807 on behalf of the London Missionary Society. As
with all Christian movements, such as the Chinese Christian ideology
movement Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) and the expected
resistance,[82] they will want to worship (John 4:24) Elohim, the Lord
of Hosts (Ps. 24:10), tell others the good news of the gospel (Mark
16:15; Acts 18:4), earn money to finance those activities (Prov.
31:10-31; Acts 18:2-3), and help others (Prov. 24:11-12,
31:8-9).
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, medical doctor and Christian
preacher,[83] joined others in warning
that apologetics can get too complicated so that some people may
be missed, and the effort can leave out room for the Holy Spirit’s
power and leadership. Paul warned of philosophy,[84] science[85] and theological
fables.[86] His approach, and those
of others, was to give an answer to every man that asks you for the
reason of the hope in you with meekness and fear.[87] This may make heirs
according to the hope of eternal life.[88] Jesus said fear none of the things you will suffer.
You may be imprisoned, but be faithful to death and He will give
you a crown of life.[89] We are to count it all
joy.[90] Paul said infinite
God’s ways are not finite man’s ways.[91] God has chosen the foolishness[92] of preaching[93] to communicate His gospel.[94]
In conclusion,
human intellects recognize the absence in the space between the
objects of philosophy, science, and theology and can feel their
mutual gravitational attraction. The preceding symplectic models
show the epistemological necessity of correspondence[95] and coherence[96] for the philosophical
intersection of science and theology for the harmonic geometry of
apologeomai.
Mais c'est fundamental![97]
“The
lips of the wise disperse knowledge, but the heart of fools do
not.”
—Solomon (Prov. 15:7)
[1] For information on
propositional and relational logic see http://logic.stanford.edu/intrologic/notes/chapter_06.html
[2] https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/anselm/
[3] Latin for faith seeking understanding.
[5] Sâṭân is Hebrew for
adversary.
[6] Symplectic (Greek syn or sym for
together and plekein
to plait) means plaiting, joining together, or intertwining.
Symplectic geometry is a branch of differential geometry and
differential topology that studies symplectic manifolds. It was
mathematically developed from Christian physicist, astronomer, and
mathematician Sir William Rowan Hamilton’s mechanics who was educated
by his uncle James Hamilton, an Anglican priest and linguist. For
more information, see Lectures on Symplectic
Geometry by Ana Cannas da Silva (2008),
and Introduction to Symplectic
Geometry, 2012 edition, by Dusa McDuff and
Dietmar Salamon.
[7]
Greek for to give an account of
oneself.
[8] Flavius Josephus wrote of Socrates in
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html Josephus: The Complete Works by
William Whiston, (1998) Thomas Nelson, p. 961. In Harold North
Fowler’s book, Plato,
Socrates’ Apology
discourse includes a reference to Xenophon on page 117. Fowler’s
book is the page reference, translated from Greek to English, for
the future notes of Socrates’ defense from page 69 to 145. It was
published in 1914 by Harvard University Press. An online text can
be found at
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html
[9] Fowler’s book, pp. 73,
89.
[10] Thales (c.620 B.C.-546-547 B.C.) is regarded as the first
philosopher in the Greek tradition of forming scientific hypotheses
which results in him often being called the father of science. A
student of his was Anaximander, also of Miletus.
[11] Fowler’s book, p.
99.
[17]
Ibid. pp. 89, 91, 95, 97, 121.
[18] Ibid. pp. 97, 99, 101,
103, 105, 107, 127.
[19]
Ibid. pp. 75, 91, 93, 95, 97, 99, 103, 111, 115,
123, 127, 131.
[20] Ibid. pp. 91, 95, 103, 107, 109, 111, 113,
123.
[22]
Ibid. pp. 121, 135. Flavius Josephus made reference
to Plato.
[23] Ibid. pp. 73, 97, 99, 101.
[30]
Ibid. pp. 109, 141. Socrates spurs the audience
into thinking about the existence of souls. We may consider the
characteristics of the absence of souls to human biology with today’s
knowledge (e.g. fMRI research, brain mapping, etc.). There would
be an absence of self-awareness which controls the subjective
neurology of the brain. The functional brain has storage of past
experiences, but does not have choice in the data retrieval for
rational application. At death, the soul departs the material
neurological existence for the eternal existence in heaven for God’s
redeemed or hell for those unredeemed by God. A movement today
called cryogenics supports freezing biological tissue for the purpose
of revitalizing the biology at a date in the future where this is
a scientific possibility. The potential of revitalized biology of
humans would lack any subjective neurological control for data
retrieval if there were any data to retrieve.
[34] In Hebrew condemned is rasha’, meaning to be wrong and
implies a violation.
[35]
Greek is aspis, a coiling serpent. School children have been taught
the memorization tool for Greek philosophers, ASP (Aristotle was taught by
Socrates’ student,
Plato).
[37] Messiah in Hebrew means anointed. Anointed in Greek is
Christ. Christ is the image (Greek eikon for likeness) of God (Greek,
theos) (Latin, imago
Dei) (II Cor. 4:4). He is the likeness of the invisible (Greek,
aoratos) God (Col.
1:15). Elohim (Hebrew plural of God) created man in His image (Gen.
1:26-27, 5:3, 9:6). He has revealed His image (Hebrew tselem for to shade, a phantom
or resemblance) in the resemblance of mankind. The number of years
(depending on solar calendar or not) has been calculated from Nebuchadnezzar’s taking Hebrews captive
(c. 604-606 B.C.) until the Messiah would pay the price for them.
Jesus was crucified on that year, c. 30-33 A.D. (Jere. 47:5-7; Dan.
9:25-26). As the image of God, Jesus knows all truth of science,
philosophy, and theology. Humans have a finite comprehension of
things. Humans are learning and their comprehension of the unknowable
unknown is dynamic although God’s infinite comprehension is static
and already known. For example, infinite (∞) numbers
may seem to cease to have functionality in a finite understanding
where the sum of the smallest unit measurement of all cubic space
plus the number of micro particles of all things in space plus the
max movement at the speed of light in Planck units times all Planck
units in past to future time (time quanta). It would matter that
God’s love is infinite, given man’s ability to only comprehend a
finite portion of that love, because of the assurance to finite man
that God has no unknown limits to His love toward man that could
frivolously be lost. Jesus is the truth (Greek, aletheia) (John 14:6). The God
of truth (Hebrew ‘emeth
for stability, certainty or truth, Ps. 31:5) is to be worshipped
in truth (John 4:24). The truth will set humans free (John 8:32).
In anticipation of The World to Come in Jewish literature (Olam Ha-Ba), the Torah contains
references to the End of Days (Hebrew, acharit
ha-yamim), considered the time of the
Messiah. Scholars generally agree that Jesus fulfilled Messianic
prophesy. If this fulfillment was orchestrated by Satan, it would
wrongly mean that Satan could replicate God’s prophesy which would
wrongly render void God’s communication. Therefore, Jesus is the
prophesied Messiah. Furthermore, Satan has and will always try to
destroy the Jewish people (Rev. 12:4-9; Is. 7:14; Dan.12:1), yet
Christians are taught to pray for and love Jerusalem (Ps.122:6).
From the prophesied supernatural virgin birth (Is. 7:14, Jesus
fulfilled Matt. 1:23; Luke 1:27) to His prophesied vicarious sacrifice
(Is. 53:5, Jesus fulfilled Rom. 5:6-8), and the prophesied resurrection
(Ps. 16:10, 49:15, Jesus fulfilled Mark 16:6-7), Jesus is the proven
Messiah.
[38] Today, both Roman and Greek theology of their gods are
referred to as mythology because they have been disproven scientifically
(there must have been a single infinite first Causer of all effects),
philosophically (infinity must exist), and theologically (the first
Causer of all effects must be the infinite monotheistic God,
YAHWEH/Elohim, and can not be pantheistic finite gods). Truth is
the natural state of infinite completeness or holiness, as is
beauty. Everything else is untruth and ugliness. People of untruth
can not produce beauty, but produce only offensiveness to beauty.
God calls that an abomination (Prov. 15:9, 29:27, Hebrew towebah for disgusting and
abhorrence). A well-known historical example is homosexuality (Lev.
18:22). Pulitzer Prize winner for biography and Professor of Law
and History at the University of Pittsburgh, David Garrow wrote
Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama
in May, 2017. Garrow’s biography of Obama
recounts Obama’s stated desire to engage in sodomy with his male
sodomite professor at Occidental College, Lawrence Goldyn. This
explains both Obama’s actual understanding, which is consistent
with science (behavioral congruency studies of monozygotic twins
raised together), that homosexuality is a choice and not genetic,
and why he champions the desires of his fellow sodomites. The
Council on Foreign Relations’ 2 May, 2017, Foreign Affairs’ article,
by Omar Encarnación
(Chair and Professor of Political Studies at Bard College) titled
The Global Backlash Against Gay Rights, analyzes the Pew Research Center’s statistics on
worldwide national efforts to prevent sodomy. Nations are resisting
the perceived societal decay of government laws that violate natural
law in establishing sodomite privileges. Herbert Mancuse, member
of the Frankfurt School or Institute für Sozialforschung (The
Institute for Social Research), published One-Dimensional Man in 1964 (See
endnote 77). As a practical atheist, his coherent political
philosophy was Marxism. He believed that for socialist revolution
to occur Judeo-Christian values, that made the west advanced, must
be destroyed. For his cultural Marxism to be successful, promotion
of intolerance for other beliefs must be acted upon. This included
attacking the institution of family and
heterosexuality by promoting homosexuality. In the west’s “deep
state,” today’s elites have accepted his beliefs.
[39] Stoics of Athens were taught to be selfish and unloving,
and were often pantheistic. The pantheistic beliefs of many gods
by Stoics has been disproven by science, philosophy, and theology
(see endnote 38). Epicureans were taught to live for pleasure and
denied a future existence. Though they did not deny the existence
of gods, they denied their involvement in human events and so were
practical atheists. The Epicurean practical atheist’s beliefs of
no resurrection and lack of involvement by god(s) is disproven,
i.e. scientifically (fMRI scans show human consciousness is more
than neural activity in the physical brain), philosophically (eternal
souls contain the human consciousness which requires eternal justice
for chosen behavior in heaven for good and hell for evil), and
theologically (the infinite God requires justice and is the Mediator
between God’s perfect behavioral holy standards and man’s imperfect
behavioral choices). The Stoics and Epicureans thought Paul to be
a babbler that promoted strange gods because he preached Jesus and
resurrection (Acts 17:18).
[40] Quote is from Aratus’
Phaenomena and Stoic
philosopher Cleanthes’ Hymn to Zeus. Other examples of Paul’s quotes are from Epimenides
(Titus 1:12) and the Athenian dramatist Menander (I Cor. 15:32-33),
Christian hymnology (Eph. 5:14; I Tim. 3:16), and poetic inspiration
(Rom. 8:31-37). Some people claim to find allusions to other Greek
writers in Paul’s Epistles, such as Pindar and Aristophanes etc.
[41] It is estimated this passage was written about the time
of Acts 20:6 (c. 56 A.D.). Paul confirms the principle in I Cor.
6:9 (c. 53 A.D.). Those passages are consistent with Lev. 18:22,
20:13 (1275 B.C.) and I Kings 14:24 (924 B.C.).
[42] Flavius Josephus recorded
some history of Ananias.
[43]
Flavius Josephus recorded some history of
Felix.
[44] Atonement in Hebrew is kaphar
for reconciliation and expiation is kippur. In Greek, atonement is
katallage for
reconciliation. Only atonement is possible in Christology with the
dyophysite doctrine
(the position of the Council of Chalcedon
in 451 A.D.), which is the two natures of
one incarnate person of Jesus the Christ. One is the rational
sinless God and two is the human body that could be killed as a
sinless sacrifice (Is. 53:7; John 1:29, 36; I Peter 1:19). Without
acceptance of God’s sacrifice of His son Jesus (John 1:29), humanity
will continue to sacrifice their sons (Gen. 22:8). Zookeepers know
bears have a healthier disposition if their food is placed so they
have to work to find it, such as finding the food hid under a rock.
Dog handlers know dogs behave more appropriately if the dogs are
required to perform before receiving a treat. The innate sense of
justice in humans require them to perceive their having earned their
material food, clothing, shelters, educations, jobs etc. If any
person or institution provides those needs to non-thieves without
the perception of their having been earned, inferiority and anger
toward those providers is predictable. American politicians have
lied to American blacks saying they deserve unearned provisions,
called affirmative action of unearned education, jobs etc., based
on long ago outlawed slavery or ongoing prejudice toward their
success. Behavioral analysts could easily predict that even
non-thieving non-blacks would soon perceive it to be just to expect
unearned benefits too, e.g. women demanding unearned benefits.
Americas becoming a nation of thieves, and thus demise, was famously
predicted by Alexis de Tocqueville many decades before American
voters began to steal from their neighbors by voting themselves the
earnings of earners. A nation of thieves do not nor will not follow
and obey the just God. Of course, when the government steals from
earners to unjustly give to non-earners they take power and therefore
the Divine freedoms of their citizens. Non-material salvation by
grace through faith as an unmerited gift of God (Eph. 2:8-9)
incorrectly looks like it can be earned as material needs are
perceived to be earned by a dumb bear or dog. Historically, corrupt
lying religious leaders are ready to exploit this human tendency
to address the non-material reality of salvation as dumb bears and
dogs. Their adherents will lose their Divine freedoms as the
religious leaders will gain power, much like zookeepers or dog
handlers. It has long been recognized that a liar will steal from
you and a thief will murder you (John 8:44, 10:10). As they always
have, religious leaders and government
leaders that lie and steal can be expected to murder in order to
protect their positions that supply their perceived need levels.
[45] Flavius Josephus recorded some history of
Festus.
[46] Flavius Josephus recorded some history of Agrippa and
Bernice.
[47] The early traditions of Paul’s death are said to be found
in the writings Ignatius of Antioch’s Letter to the
Ephesians (Chapter XII), Dionysius of Corinth’s
Fragments from a Letter to the Roman Church
Chapter III, and Eusebius of Caesarea’s
Church History Book II Chapter 25:8.
[48] Textual analysis begins
with manual or computerized groupings of text words and phrases
into the categories of science, philosophy, and theology. A
comparative textual analysis shows a frame of reference for each
of the compared discourses, shows grounds for the comparison, implies
a thesis for the comparison, provides an organization scheme for
either text-by-text or point-by-point, and each discourse is able
to be linked back to the thesis. A comparative linguistic analysis
is concerned with comparing languages to find their historical
relatedness.
[49] Thanks is extended to Peter Kreeft, philosophy professor
at Boston College, Robert Masson, chair of the department of theology
at Marquette University, and John Sanders, professor of religious
studies at Hendrix College, for their March, 2017, email exchanges
with Dallas F. Bell Jr. on this subject. Acting Chair of the
Graduate School of Theology at Oklahoma Christian University, James
Dvorak’s encouragement to write this paper in an email exchange
with Dallas F. Bell Jr. in March-April, 2017, is
appreciated.
[50] Philosopher Marilyn McCord Adams wrote an article on
this subject from her view as an Episcopal Church priest(ess) (having
XX chromosomes), which is a position of church leadership that is
contrary to Flavius Josephus’ historical record of the qualifications
for becoming a priest and is contrary to clear Old Testament doctrine
(Gen. 14:18) of Melchizedek, having XY chromosomes, who was the
king of Salem (the English variant of the Hebrew shalom meaning peace) and priest
(Hebrew kohen) of
the most high God (Ex. 29:9, an Aaronic priest must be a son, having
XY chromosomes, of Aaron). It is also contrary to clear New Testament
Pauline doctrine (the sons of Levi, having XY chromosomes, were of
the priesthood order; Heb. 6:20, 7:1-10, 7:11-28, 8:1-5) like
Melchizedek, Jesus, having XY chromosomes, was the new priestly
king of peace overtaking the Aaronic priesthood (I Tim. 2:11-15,
women, having XX chromosomes, are not to usurp authority over men,
having XY chromosomes). Kings are male, having XY chromosomes,
monarchs that rule over kingdoms. A kingly priest is a male leader,
having XY chromosomes, which rules over a spiritual domain. That
makes it impossible for a female, having XX chromosomes, to be
eligible for the positions of king or priest. Sometimes a priest
is called a pastor or shepherd which has the same masculine, having
XY chromosomes, requirements. All of the Apostles picked by Jesus
to establish churches (Rom. 15:17-20), write scripture (Eph. 3:5),
and preach (Matt. 28:16-20) were male, having XY chromosomes.
Women, having XX chromosomes, may be queens but not kings. Priestesses
(Hebrew nebiah is
an inspired woman, having XX chromosomes, and a prophet is an
inspired man, having XY chromosomes, in Hebrew is nabi), having XX chromosomes,
in the Greek religious era were temple prostitutes (Amos makes
reference in Amos 2:7 to pagan temple prostitutes). For example,
the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (Roman for the pre-Greek Ephesos)
was widely known for its priestess temple prostitutes as was the
Greek city of Corinth, which had the Temple of Diana etc. Man,
having XY chromosomes, represent God’s law and was not deceived by
Satan in Eden (Gen. 3:1-24; I Tim. 2:14). Woman, having XX
chromosomes, represents God’s conduit for
man, having XY chromosomes, to represent God’s laws (Gen. 2:18-25),
such as God’s command for humanity to go forth and multiply (Gen.
1:28). Women, having XX chromosomes, give physical birth (Gen.
3:16), and may prophesy as prophetesses, having XX chromosomes,
(Miriam in Ex. 15:20-21; Deborah in Judges 4:4-5; Huldah in II Kings
22:12-20; Isaiah’s wife in Is. 8:1-3; Anna in Luke 2:36; Phillip’s
daughters in Acts 21:8-9; and in the prophesied end times Joel 2:28
and Acts 2:17-19). Prophesy is true if it is all fulfilled (Jere.
28:1-17), and promotes peace (Jere. 23:17-22, 28:9). Men, having
XY chromosomes, and women, having XX chromosomes, are spiritually
equal before Christ (Gal. 3:28). (Note: the excessive use of XX
and XY chromosomes for human biological definitions of female and
male respectively is so as to not confuse people that reject the
reality of female and male biology. By far, people in the U.S.
that chose occupations that can reject reality in an environmental
bubble and be successful, e.g. librarians and book sellers, vote
Democrat. U.S. citizens that chose occupations that must accept
reality to be successful, e.g. farmers and neurosurgeons, vote
Republican.)
[51] The 1896 book titled Cicero:
Select Orations of Cicero, Allen and
Greenough’s Edition, of the Athenaeum Press has the text of many
of his defenses (pp. XIV and XVI). Also see
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu
[52] Cicero’s book, pp.
XIII-XXVII.
[57]
Ibid. pp. 169-212. Cicero’s written speech was
not given in plain language due to his fear of
violence.
[60]
Ibid. pp. 204-206. Milo was convicted and banished
to Marseilles.
[62] The Philippicae or Philippics are a series of fourteen speeches Cicero
gave condemning Mark Antony from 44 B.C. to 22 April 43 B.C. The
1906 text by William Jennings Bryan of the first oration is at
http://www.bartleby.com/268/2/14.html
Cicero
records the idea that all religion should be taken away in every
case or it should be preserved in very case.
The
second oration, which was not given but published, speaks of Milo
http://www.bartleby.com/268/2/15.html
The XIV
oration from Cicero’s book is page 239-256 (the deeds of Octavianus
p. 252), with notes at p. 467-478.
[64] http://www.iep.utm.edu/cicero/
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2012/entries/augustine/
[66] Thanks is extended to
Luca Ozzano, professor of political science at the University of
Turin in Italy, for the email exchange in March, 2017, with Dallas
F. Bell Jr. regarding the circumstances of this situation in
Turkey.
[68] The ancient nation is
a reference to the Ottoman Empire. It spanned from North Africa
to West Asia and north to South East Europe across to Hungry and
parts of Russia. There has been an evident attempt by Turkey to
retake some of these regions. The recent elections in the Netherlands,
Austria, and Germany have been influenced by organized Turk rallies
of Muslim immigrants toward candidates for high office that support
their beliefs. Austrians have just passed a law that prohibits
Turk political rallies of Muslim immigrants. The Russian intelligence
service FSB, Federal'naya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti,
has also recently pushed back against Turkey
with the employment of cyber spying by people such as Evgeny
Bogachev’s use of the malware GameOver ZeuS.
[69] The wisdom mentioned
here is that possessed by serpents (Matt. 10:16). Greek phronimos (wise) is the thoughtful
and intelligent skill of the cautious.
[70] This is philosophical
logic.
[71] The quote that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is
from the 4th century
writing Arthashastra
(Book VI) by Kautilya (also known as Chanakya). He was believed
to be the chief minister in the court of Chandragupta Maurya (during
the time of Alexander and considered to be the first great emperor
of India). “The Source of Sovereign States” section is translated
from Sanskrit, “The king who is situated anywhere immediately on
the circumference of the conqueror’s territory is termed the enemy.
The king who is likewise situated close to the enemy, but separated
from the conqueror only by the enemy, is termed the friend (to the
conqueror).” Of course, this idea is only perfectly true in this
specific context of a battlefield emergency. Biblical doctrine
says “a friend with the (unrighteous) world is an enemy of (the
righteous) God (and His followers)(James 4:4). It is only used in
this letter because it is considered a wise proverb in the Arab
region. It is never to be applied theologically for making alliances
with heretical individuals or groups. Jesus said that he that is
not with me is against me (Matt. 12:30) and he that is not against
us is for us (Luke 9:50). Friend in Hebrew is rea’ (an associate) and in
Greek is philos
(associate). Enemy in Hebrew is ‘oyeb (adversary) and in Greek
is echthros
(adversary). During March, 2017, Fox cable news played the tape
of a U.S. witches’ ceremony chanting a demonic curse on the U.S.
president for his Christian biblical policies. The biblical view
of God regarding witchcraft is death (Ex. 22:18).
[72] This is a paraphrase
of the Sanhedrin leader’s, Gamaliel, observation and theorization
of a previous incident he scientifically predicts will have the
replicated probabilities (Acts 5:38-39).
[74] This is a theological attribute of God.
[75] Orr, James, M.A.,
D.D. General Editor. Entry for POETRY, NEW TESTAMENT in the
International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia (1915).
[76] Paul wrote that we are
saved by grace through faith because it is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8),
and it can not be attained by finite works of mankind (Rom. 3:27,
11:6). God’s justice (theodicy) for His people eventually leads
to merciful deliverance from being exiled from His blessed restoration
(Eze. 37).
[77] Another Christian reformer of the church from heresy was
John Knox. He founded the Presbyterian Church. Fellow Presbyterian
and poet, Sir Walter Scott’s Dedicatory
Epistle of his 1820 book, Ivanhoe: A Romance, mentions him
in Scott’s defense of that literary style (p. XXVIII). For a period of time, Knox worked in Geneva with the
reformer John Calvin. Calvin’s agreement with Luther on the freeness
of God’s forgiveness was expressed in letters to Cardinal Sadolet.
He had to make a defense against church charges of heresy and schism
for his scriptural beliefs. Pope Francis,
Letter to Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Sept. 1, 2015, indicated he
was instating a Jubilee Year of Mercy featuring a very special
plenary indulgence (the complete remission of all temporal punishment
due to sin). This wrongly means Jesus work on the cross for sin
was inadequate for God’s forgiveness. See http://www.thedivinemercy.org/jubilee/thebasics/indulgence.php
The Southern Baptist Convention
seems to be growing in favor of the charismatic movement which has
services that include joyless uncontrollable laughing
sounds, falling on the floor in painful
contortions, barking like a dog, roaring like a lion, twitching
electric shocks, weird shaking, and other bizarre experiences that
do not glorify God and are usually associated with demonic
possession.
See
Christianity
Today, May 16, 1986, Charisma, April 1995, p. 79, Charismatic Southern Baptist
Churches,” Baptist
Standard, Oct. 30, 2008, etc.
Orthodox Christian, Nikolai Gogol’s 1842 Dead Souls said, “However stupid a fool’s words
may be, they are sometimes enough to confound an intelligent man.”
The Philosopher of Freedom, Nikolai Berdyaev (abandoned Marxism to
return to Orthodox Christianity), said the religious and moral
character of Russian literature begins with Gogol. Berdyaev added,
“The tragedy of Gogol lay in the fact that he could never see and
depict the human, the image of God in man, and this fact was a
torment to him.”
On
Wednesday 5 April, 2017, a physicist, self-labeled as Christian,
was shown speaking to a supportive group of self-labeled Christians
on a Christian cable television network. His opening statement was
“The laws of physics never change.” He then quoted a Bible verse
that said the ordinances of the moon and
stars of heaven are God’s laws (Jere. 31:35-35, 33:25). He then
concluded the laws of physics would not change as God would not
change and thus the scriptural account of creation in Hebrew of
Genesis (affirmed by the Hebrew Flavius Josephus and the Hebrew
Talmud, see the creation entry on pp. 132-133 of Daniel Retter’s
2011 Talmud Bavli Indexed Reference Guide)
could not be accurate. This inductive reasoning ended with revealed
theology of Scripture, had philosophical logic, and began with his
scientific observation and thesis of nature. Another way to analyze
the incorrect view of the physicist’s statement is mathematically.
His statement of equivalence is physics laws = constant. Physics
means physical which only includes material and precludes the reality
of non-material reality, such as justice, love, and God etc. The
equation is a disproven practical atheist’s point of view (see
endnote 39). Christianity factors into physical laws the non-physical
Creator of the first cause of all effects (Jere. 10:12), and that
He must supersede and influence His creation when He wills. That
is how humans know He is involved when this is physically experienced.
Physical laws are changed for an event by God, e.g. Lazarus was
raised from the physically dead (John 12:1, 44) for God’s glory
(John 11:4, 40). This is why humans pray and how it is known the
prayers are specifically answered. The practical atheist’s equation
precludes many things, not the least of which is prayers to God.
Christians are taught to pray by Jesus (Matt. 6:9-13) without ceasing
(I Thes. 5:17). Evil is not physical, but it may be manifested
physically. To pray, as Jesus taught, to be delivered from evil
is to intercede in physical acts that are subject to physical laws.
This is contrary to the practical atheist physicist’s equation.
God divides the sea with His power, and by His understanding He
destroys the prideful (Job 26:12). The world will pass away and
the lust, but those that do the will of God will be forever (I John
2:17). The physical laws God assigned to the moon and stars of
heaven, as the Scriptures say, are constant within entropy. Entropy
means their energy had a start point and, thus, a first Causer.
It also means they are moving toward an end point, which was and
is purposed by the will of the pre-existing first Causer. Revelation,
in Scriptures, from that first Causer allows finite humans to have
a non-physical understanding of the physical. Jesus said blessed
are the praus
(Greek, meek) for they will inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5). Followers
of Christ Jesus are shown how spiritual non-material reality effects
the physical material reality. Non-material properties can be
thought of as prime numbers used as encryption keys in material
cryptography for secure communication of the Christian elect in
Scripture. The word of the Lord is right, and all His works are
done in truth (Ps. 33:4). A correct equation from Christian theology
is physics laws + non-physical laws = constant of the Creators
infinite immutable attributes. The Creator’s infinite, justice,
love, etc. prevents finite human understanding of His perfect will
and actions. Augustine seems to make this same error of induction
as the physicist mentioned earlier. In his De Genesi ad litteram libri
duodecim (The
Literal Meaning of Genesis), Augustine places observation of nature
before interpretation within the context of Scripture for the sake
of not looking ignorant to unbelievers. He then uses a Bible verse
with pretext to prove his position (I Tim. 1:7). In context, that
verse was for people that wanted to be teachers of God’s law but
did not have a pure heart, good conscience or unfeigned faith, which
caused them to turn to vain jangling (I Tim. 5-7). (See John Hammond
Taylor’s 1982 book for the translation of Augustine’s writing, Ancient Christian Writers: the
works of the Fathers in translation,
v. 41-42.) It is understood that sometimes, for necessary brevity
or to cater to a knowledgeable audience,
a biblical verse may be honestly given to support a view which is
consistent with biblical doctrine, but is not immediately accompanied
by all of the supporting scriptures. Given Paul’s example on Mars
hill, he wrote unbelievers do not know God from wisdom but by the
power of the Holy Spirit in preaching the truth of gospel (I Cor.
1:21, 2:4-8). He wrote believers are not to be stumbling blocks
to other believers (Rom. 14:13; I Cor. 8:9-13), but are to speak
truthfully without compromise (Eph. 4:25). Believers are reminded
to not think too highly of themselves (Ps. 131:1-2; Rom. 12:3-4;
Gal. 6:3). The actual rational epistemological order for finite
man is deductive. It begins with understanding the revealed theology
of God in Scripture, using logic and mathematics, and then wisely
forming balanced theses of observed nature without being ignorant
of the issues. (Thanks is extended to Michael Kosterlitz, Harrison E. Farnsworth Professor
of Physics at Brown University and 2016 Nobel Prize recipient for
physics, for his email exchange with Dallas F. Bell Jr. in May,
2017.) Generally, science is observation + thesis + proof or
disproof = law etc., philosophy is logic + poetry + mathematics =
law etc., and theology is experience + revelation + morality = law
etc. Regarding this issue, God said mankind began with His creating
man’s (having XY chromosomes) life (Hebrew, nephesh) from dust (Gen. 2:7).
From the biblical genealogies, this occurred around 3941 B.C. That
creation account violates man’s understanding of the laws of physics.
In 862 B.C., Elijah called fire down from heaven which consumed the
water around his altar to God for all to see the biblical God is
the true God (I Kings 18:19-40). The sun’s shadow went back ten
degrees to show God’s glory to all the world in 705 B.C. (II Kings
20:9-11; Is. 38:8; and recorded by Josephus in 10.2.1). Jesus
turned water into wine to display His supernatural abilities to His
disciples (winter of 28 A.D., recorded in John 2:2-11). Jesus
supernaturally healed a man blind from birth, which had never been
witnessed by Jewish leaders before (fall of 29 A.D., recorded in
John 9:1-41). Taking the few examples above, we see that the Creator
of the laws of physics does supersede them in order to demonstrate
His cause and effect in matters. That is the point—transcendence
of physical law. If we conclude what the physicist reasoned from
his exposed pretext, Jesus’ virgin birth, death, and resurrection
are not possible either. Each of those accounts are presented in
context as reality. If they are not true, a deception has occurred
and the Scriptures are books of intentional lies. Jesus referred
to the truth of Jonah being in the belly of the fish for three days
and three nights (Jonah 1:17; Matt. 12:40), which violated the known
laws of physics. Is Jesus the Christ also a liar? That obvious
heresy incorrectly means the core principles of Christianity are
not true. Rudolf Bultmann wrote on demythologizing methodology
(German, Entmythologisierung) of the New Testament. Emil Brunner’s 1927 Der Mittler (German, The
Mediator translated in 1934) logically called the attack on miracles
attributed to Jesus simply as “unbelief.” Reformation of the
Christian church to Scriptural teaching is an ongoing process of
defense of the true gospel (II Thes. 2:3). David said believers
should be of good courage because God will strengthen the hearts
of all that hope in the Lord (Ps. 31:24). Walter Benjamin said
"Nur um der Hoffnungslosen willen ist uns
die Hoffnung gegeben" (It is only for the
sake of those without hope that hope is given to us) in his book
Goethes Wahlverwandtschaften, Gesammelte Schriften
I.1, Frankfurt am Main 1991, p. 201. His response was to
Herbert Marcuse’s 1964 book, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced
Industrial Society, which indicated the
decreasing ability of the average person to resist domination from
a technical society’s establishment to defend and maintain their
status quo. (Note: Philosophers of science
are using the language of (higher) category theory to look at
structures in science. See the explanation at https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/category-theory/)
[78] George Frideric Handel’s
1741 oratorio, Messiah, begins with the Messianic prophesy of
Isaiah.
[79] [sic] THE MARTYRDOM OF ISAIAH
[Chapter
3]
1. And Belchlra recognized and saw the place
of Isaiah and the prophets who were with him; for he dwelt in the
region of Bethlehem, and was an adherent of Manasseh. And he
prophesied falsely in Jerusalem, and many belonging to Jerusalem
were confederate with him, and he was a Samaritan.
2.
And it came to pass when Alagar Zagar, king of Assyria, had come
and captured Samaria and taken the nine (and a half) tribes captive,
and led them away to the mountains of the Medes and the
3. rivers of Tazon; this (Belchira) while still a youth,
had escaped and come to Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah king of
Judah, but he walked not in the ways of his father of Samaria; for
he feared
4. Hezekiah. And he was found in the
days of Hezekiah speaking words of lawlessness in Jerusalem.
5. And the servants of Hezekiah accused him, and he made
his escape to the region of Bethlehem.
6. And they
persuaded . . . And Belchlra accused Isaiah and the prophets who
were with him, saying: 'Isaiah and those who are with him prophesy
against Jerusalem and against the cities of Judah that they shall
be laid waste and (against the children of Judah and) Benjamin also
that they shall go into captivity, and also against thee, O lord
the king, that thou shalt go (bound) with hooks
8.
and iron chains': But they prophesy falsely against Israel and
Judah. And Isaiah himself hath
9. said: 'I see
more than Moses the prophet.' But Moses said: 'No man can see God
and live':
10. and Isaiah hath said: 'I have seen
God and behold I live.' Know, therefore, O king, that he is lying.
And Jerusalem also he hath called Sodom, and the princes of Judah
and Jerusalem he hath declared to be the people of Gomorrah. And
he brought many accusations against Isaiah and the
11.
prophets before Manasseh. But Beliar dwelt in the heart of Manasseh
and in the heart of the
12. princes of Judah and
Benjamin and of the eunuchs and of the councillors of the king. And
the words of Belchira pleased him [exceedingly], and he sent and
seized Isaiah.
[Chapter 5]
1b,
2. And he sawed him asunder with a wood-saw. And when Isaiah was
being sawn in sunder Balchlra stood up, accusing him, and all the
false prophets stood up, laughing and rejoicing because
3. of Isaiah. And Balchlra, with the aid of Mechembechus,
stood up before Isaiah, [laughing]
4. deriding;
And Belchlra said to Isaiah: 'Say: "I have lied in all that I have
spoken, and likewise
5. the ways of Manasseh are
good and right. And the ways also of Balchlra and of his associates
are
6, 7. good."' And this he said to him when he
began to be sawn in sunder. But Isaiah was (absorbed)
8. in a vision of the Lord, and though his eyes were
open, he saw them. And Balchlra spake thus to Isaiah: 'Say what I
say unto thee and I will turn their heart, and I will compel
Manasseh
9. and the princes of Judah and the people
and all Jerusalem to reverence thee.' And Isaiah answered and said:
'So far as I have utterance (I say): Damned and accursed be thou
and all thy powers and
10, 11. all thy house. For
thou canst not take (from me) aught save the skin of my body.' And
they
12. seized and sawed in sunder Isaiah, the
son of Amoz, with a wood-saw. And Manasseh and
13.
Balchlra and the false prophets and the princes and the people [and]
all stood looking on. And to the prophets who were with him he said
before he had been sawn in sunder: 'Go ye to the region
14. of Tyre and Sidon; for for me only hath God mingled
the cup.' And when Isaiah was being sawn in sunder, he neither cried
aloud nor wept, but his lips spake with the Holy Spirit until he
was sawn in twain. [sic]
From The
Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament by R.H.
Charles, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913. Scanned and edited by
Joshua Williams, Northwest Nazarene College, 1995.
The
Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Yebamoth 49b indicates “Manasseh slew
Isaiah.”
http://www.halakhah.com/yebamoth/yebamoth_49.html
[80] For example attorney Zhang Kai’s defense of displayed
crosses and nuclear physicist Zhang Lin’s opposition to government
forced abortions. It is reported from a
January, 2017, interview with the communist Spanish daily El País, Pope Francis said the churches in China are full and
you can practice your faith in China. This is in contrast with
Open Doors’ 2017 having China as 39th among the world’s worst
offenders against religious freedom. That non-profit’s view is
supported by the independent U.S. Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF). USCIRF has China as a “Tier 1” violator
of religious freedom. Its Chairman, Thomas Reese, said the Chinese
government aggressively violates the religious freedom of its
citizens.
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/01/26/pope-francis-defends-chinas-practice-religious-freedom/
[81] Christian adherents
in China are difficult to determine since many will not be polled
as Pauline Christians due to government persecution. Primary worship
services are held in secret in house churches. It is reasoned, Pew
Research Center etc., the actual numbers are much higher than
reported. See the Council on Foreign Relations article at
http://www.cfr.org/china/christianity-china/p36503
[82] For information on the
anti-Christian movement in 1900 China called the Boxer Rebellion,
see China: A Country
Study by the American
University, p. 22. For information on the Taiping Rebellion see
pp. 19-20 (Hong Xiuquan mounted the rebellion against the Qing
Dynasty taking nearly one-third of the Chinese
territory).
[83] The 1981 article in The Evangelical
Times (UK) gives a description of his life
and beliefs.
[84] Col. 2:8. Greek philosophia for philosophy.
[85] I
Tim. 6:20. Greek gnósis for knowledge.
[86]
Titus 1:14. Greek muthos for a fictional tale or
myth. People commonly cling to theological beliefs when they are
epistemologically proven false by science, philosophy, and theological
revelation. Being told of the fallacy of sunk costs often has
little effect on discontinuing the behavior (see Hal Arkes and Catherine Blumer’s (1985) “The Psychology of
Sunk Cost,” Organizational Behavior and
Human Decision Processes 35: pp.
1224-140). For an examination of why people
escalate commitment to recovering unrecoverable losses see Ryan
Doody’s, professor of linguistics and philosophy
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, paper regarding the
sunk cost fallacy or gambler’s fallacy
at www.mit.edu/~rdoody/TheSunkCostFallacy.pdf
Laurie Santos, psychology
professor at Yale University, has conducted comparative cognitive
research of humans and non-human primates (rhesus monkeys etc.) at
Cayo Santiago Island near Puerto Rico. She has noted the innate
reasoning flaws, which are repeated. She says institutions can
help achieve more successful behavior but don’t necessarily affect
or remedy bias and intuitions, so a herd mentality still exists
even in the context of protective institutions. (Santos’ comments
were expressed to Dallas F. Bell Jr. in an email exchange in April,
2017.) It can be concluded finite minds can not always behave in
a perfectly rational manner. Social institutions (i.e. family,
church, business, government and their subsets) are needed for
modeling successful behaviors, and teaching/enforcing historical
proven behavioral boundaries. Those societal institutions, especially
church, need to be anchored to immutable boundaries of scriptural
truth for prevention of irrational herd mentalities. Scriptures
and lessons from historical application of Scriptures are the only
hope for finite individuals and societies to behave in a consistently
rational manner (Ps.19:8; Prov. 6:20-23; II Peter 1:19). The benefit
of Scriptures for mankind may be summed up as they are God’s
revelation of what is good, gives His requirement of us to do justice
and to love mercy as we walk humbly with Him (Mic. 6:8; Is. 1:17).
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, and arrogance (Prov.
8:13). The further a person gets from God, the less they fear Him
and the less potential they have to be wise (Job 28:28; Ps. 111:10;
Prov. 1:7). An example of the unwise is one of the founders of
psychiatry, Carl Jung. He was known for his interests in the occult
(activities considered evil by Scriptures, Ex. 22:18; Lev. 20:6,
27; Deut. 18;10-11; Jere. 27:9; Acts 19:18-20). In 1913, Jung
became afflicted with apocalyptic visions until around 1917 and
practiced yoga between those bouts of visions. He wrote them down
and composed them into an anti-Christ book by 1930. This liber novus (Latin for New
Book) was published in 2009 with the tile of The
Red Book and is greatly respected by
occultists. He called it his confrontation with the unconscious.
As Nietzsche’s visions caused him to write Thus
Spake Zarathustra where he concluded God
was dead, Jung’s visions caused him to conclude God can be rediscovered
in the psyche. He rejected Judeo-Christian cosmology and created
his own. His soul is represented by Salome (p. 248), the daughter
of Herodias that danced to get John the Baptist’s head cut off
(Matt. 14:6-11; her name is recorded by Flavius Josephus). The
character of Philemon is a magician. Jung begins with his feeling
of being possessed by the spirit of the depths or unconsciousness.
He considers himself to be like the Old Testament prophets (in the
Catholic Latin Vulgate Bible) compelled to write his visions of
destruction, as in the New Testament book of Revelation. The soul
or anima (feminine as opposed to the masculine animus) has a female
spirit guide which is a witch or seductress, such as the Catholic’s
virgin Mary etc. Jung determines that his dance with the Red Knight
(Satan) is to find joy. In the section of Liber
Secundus, Jung is told by a woman to eat
a child’s liver. He thinks that this represents the need to kill
God and not overinflate God. He believes this will cause one’s
humanity to be regained. He says this type of evil is necessary
to prevent being possessed by God. Like Christian communion rituals,
He explains Jesus’ image of suffering, omniscience, and omnipotence
must be killed. He consults a witch whom he calls a priest(ess).
Later in the Scrutinies section, Philemon warns Jung that his female soul is a
hellish Divine treasure to be kept behind iron walls and in the
deepest vault (p. 343). Philemon goes
on to preach the gnostic beliefs of combining sexuality with
spirituality. Jung visits Philemon in the garden where Jesus and
His brother Satan are there. Jesus says He brought suffering and
sacrifice (p. 359). The work ends with the anima or soul being
unredeemed. Of course, any Christian scholar can easily repudiate
those demonic assertions presented in Jung’s unscientific,
philosophically illogical, and theologically ignorant work. For
example, Divine joy is a natural state of the righteous which can
be interrupted by unrighteousness. David observed weeping is for
a night but joy comes in the morning (Ps. 30:5), and Matthew observed
the trials that disrupt joy (Matt. 13:20-21). Joy is from the Lord
(Matt. 25:21-23), and is an everlasting concept (Is. 51:11). The
infinite creator God of love logically allows for finite created
beings to experience the joy that naturally comes with being in
coherent harmony with His will (righteousness). The Scriptures
revealed angels had joy at Jesus’ redemptive birth which overcame
unrighteousness (Luke 2:10-14), and have joy when sinner’s leave
unrighteousness and convert to righteous redemption (Luke 15:10).
Unrighteousness is joyless. Solomon said folly (silliness and
foolishness) is joy (blitheness or casual lightheartedness) to
people destitute of wisdom (Prov. 15:21). Satanic unrighteousness
can not cause or produce joy, it can only interrupt it with a
behavioral concurrence of freewill from finite intellects. Jung’s
writing that satanic unrighteousness is a necessary tool for the
experience of Divine joy is disproven by scientific observation,
philosophical logic, and theological revelation and experience.
Reformed theologian Karl Barth’s fourteen-volume Church Dogmatics (German,
Kirchliche Dogmatik published from 1932 to his death in 1968) indicates the reality of Divine joy coming from the
theological study of God (theology as a joyful science), especially
the relationship within the Trinity.
[87] I Peter 3:15; Matt.
10:18-20; Ps. 119:46.
[89]
Rev. 2:10; Matt. 10:22, 24:13.
[91] Rom. 11:33-34; I Cor. 2:16.
[92] Greek mōría for
silliness.
[93] Greek charats for to point or to wound.
[95] The correspondence
theory of truth is the view that truth has correspondence with a
fact(s). Natural laws connect truth with corresponding facts.
Catholic John Finnis, Professor of Law and Legal Philosophy at
Oxford University and the Biolchini Family Professor of Law at the
University of Notre Dame, and Catholic Robert George, McCormick
Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, have written
extensively on natural law. Architectural design and construction
need correspondence with actual natural law from Judeo-Christian
doctrine. That western success has led to counterfeit natural law
being applied in Maharishi Vastu or Vedic (Maharishi Sthapatya Veda)
architecture from Sanskrit text and feng
shui, where qi (or chi, life energy) or
invisible forces bind all things together. Of course, each of those
efforts are disproven by science, philosophy, and
theology.
[96] A coherence theory of truth states that the truth of
any true proposition has coherence with some specified set of
propositions. The RAND Corporation’s National Security Research
Division, the International Security and Defense Policy Center, and
the National Defense Research Institute published a document in
April, 2017, titled How to Prepare North
Korea Elites for Unification. Their systematic effort began with questions, listed
key findings, and made recommendations that reflected an understanding
of the hierarchical set of individual needs of the elites. That
method ultimately failed in coherence when they ignored the
epistemological reason everyone decides what is good and to be
desired, and what is bad and to be avoided—religious beliefs. They
exposed their practical atheistic beliefs, which produces a bias
against seeking data that would make their research more accurate.
If they had at least compared the symbols on the South and North
Korean flags they might have seen the contrasting religious belief
systems. Like the gambler’s fallacy, they continue to be right
about the same as the gambler’s 1 out of 50 chance of winning. But
when they do occasionally get it right, like gamblers, they
misinterpret the randomness of their prediction as validation of
their flawed method. DARPA’s Ground Truth Program had a webinar
in April, 2017, that noticeably reflected the same void of
coherence.
[97] French for “These results are of fundamental importance!”
Jesus said seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened
(Matt. 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-10). Do not grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph.
4:30). There is a point at which God will not hear prayers (Gen.
6:3; Job 30:20; Ps. 22:2; Prov. 1:28; Lam. 3:8). For created humans
(created in six days, Gen. and Ex. 20:11 written by God’s own finger
in Hebrew, Ex. 31:18) to deny creator God, Adonai (Gen. 15:2, Adonay
is Hebrew plural of adon for lord, master, owner), ownership of their beings
is stealing and that cosmic theft from Adonai is justly punishable
by eternal damnation. Jesus warns that not everyone that says Lord,
Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 7:21-23). God is King
of all the earth, sing praises with understanding (Ps. 47:7).
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
© 2017 DALLAS F. BELL, JR.
