Monday, April 12, 2010

Writing the Word on the Tablet of Your Heart

If there is one thing preserved in the text of Scripture, it is the injunction to record God’s words upon the tablet of your heart.

One of the best things that happened to me as a new believer was being told that all Christians memorize Scripture. By the time I found out that not all of them do, I was already hooked. Now, as I look back, I can truthfully say that nothing compares with the excitement of memorizing Scripture. Charles Swindoll summed up my sentiments in this regard when he wrote:

I know of no other single practice in the Christian life more rewarding, practically speaking, than memorizing Scripture. That’s right. No other single discipline is more useful and rewarding than this. No other single exercise pays greater spiritual dividends! Your prayer life will be strengthened. Your witnessing will be sharper and much more effective. Your counseling will be in demand. Your attitudes and outlook will begin to change. Your mind will become alert and observant. Your confidence and assurance will be enhanced. Your faith will be solidified. (Charles R. Swindoll, Seasons of Life [Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1983], 53, emphasis in original)

Despite such marvelous benefits, far too few Christians have made Scripture memorization a lifestyle. For the most part, it is not because they don’t want to, but because they have never been taught how to. While they may think they have bad memories, the reality is they simply have untrained memories.

I am convinced that anyone, regardless of age or acumen, can memorize Scripture. God has called us to write His Word upon the tablet of our hearts (Proverbs 7:1-3; cf. Deuteronomy 6:6), and with the call He has also provided the ability to do so. Your mind is like a muscle. If you exercise it, you will increase its capacity to remember and recall information. If you don’t, it will atrophy. Here are a few practical tips to get you started:

• Set goals. He who aims at nothing invariably hits it.

• Make goals attainable. If your goals are unrealistic, you will undoubtedly become discouraged and give up.

• Memorize with a family member or friend. One of my treasured experiences was swinging back and forth on a hammock, memorizing Proverbs 2 with one of my children. Memorizing with someone else is enjoyable and will also make you accountable.

• Use normally unproductive time to review what you have memorized, such as while waiting in lines, or falling asleep. Remember, there’s no time like the present to get started! A good place to begin is Psalm 119. In fact, committing verse 11 of that passage—”I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you”—to memory may well encourage you to make Scripture memorization part of your lifestyle.

While you’re at it, you may also wish to consider memorizing Joshua 1:8. These wonderful words remind us that memorization facilitates meditation: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” If you want the formula for genuine prosperity, there it is!

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hank, your last paragraph is almost verbatim what Pastor Ken Hagin said at my church earlier this month. My Father-in-law called it malarkey as he was holding your book in his hands.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE IRONY!!!!!!

Boris said...

Here is a short (and very incomplete) list of all the ways that science already has tested the supernatural assertions of faith:

* The earth was suddenly created, complete with all its species, 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. This was falsified by science. The falsification likewise goes for other religions’ creation myths, like those of Hindus and the Inuits.
* God put the earth at the center of the solar system and the universe. Also falsified.
* God is both omnipotent and benevolent. Falsified by the data.
* All humans descend from Adam and Eve, who also lived a few thousand years ago. Falsified by genetic data.
* Praying for sick people makes them better. Falsified by the intercessory prayer study.
* People who lived in the past can be reincarnated as modern people, complete with their earlier memories. Investigation has shown no evidence for this.
* Jonah was swallowed and regurgitated by a giant fish (or whale). Probably impossible; nobody has survived such an occurrence.
* God confounded all the languages at once at the Tower of Babel. False: languages diverged gradually from common ancestors.
* Tribes colonized North America from the Tower of Babel several thousand years ago. (Book of Mormon). No evidence.
* Faith by itself can cure dire diseases and medical conditions, which result not from organic conditions but from imperfect belief. (Christian Science). No evidence for such faith healing.
* U.S. soldiers will return to South Pacific islands bearing wonderful goods for the inhabitants. False: won’t happen.

James said...

Boris said: Jonah was swallowed and regurgitated by a giant fish (or whale). Probably impossible; nobody has survived such an occurrence.

Boris, check out James Bartley. I know what you'll say though, "He just made the story up because of his weird color of skin blah blah blah..."

-James

Boris said...

James,
I doubt there was even a James Bartley to make up the story. The whole story is a fiction. It's a Christian urban legend. Henry Morris said the story was true so we know it isn't.

Anonymous said...

Boris, that list you made is silly. Some of what you have can be verified by scientific evidence. I do not see why you even bring reincarnation into the equation as Christians do not believe in such non-sense.

* God put the earth at the center of the solar system and the universe. Also falsified. TRUE, BY Nicolaus Copernicus. HE BELIEVED IN GOD BY THE WAY. RECALL WHEN I WAS SAYING SCIENCE CAME OUT OF CHRISTIANITY.

* The earth was suddenly created, complete with all its species, 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. This was falsified by science. The falsification likewise goes for other religions’ creation myths, like those of Hindus and the Inuits. SCIENCE CAN PROVE THIS. THERMODYNAMICS CAN NOT ALLOW FOR AN OLD EARTH. DID YOU KNOW URANUS HAS A HOT CORE. IF THE UNIVERSE WAS THAT OLD, THE CORE WOULD BE DEAD AND MERCURY WOULD HAVE NO QUAKES. I LOVE SCIENCE.

* God is both omnipotent and benevolent. Falsified by the data. WHAT DATA? YOURS? MY BIBLE TELLS ME OTHERWISE.

* Faith by itself can cure dire diseases and medical conditions, which result not from organic conditions but from imperfect belief. (Christian Science). No evidence for such faith healing. AS A CHRISTIAN I DO NOT FOLLOW FAITH HEALERS. THEY PRACTICE COUNTERFEIT CHRISTIANITY. IT IS SAD TO SEE THIS JUNK ON TV.

* Tribes colonized North America from the Tower of Babel several thousand years ago. (Book of Mormon). No evidence. WAIT, MORMONS ARE NOT CHRISTIANS. THERE IS NO HISTORICAL EVIDENCE FOR THAT SO I TEND TO AGREE.

* God confounded all the languages at once at the Tower of Babel. False: languages diverged gradually from common ancestors. THE EVENT PROBABLY TOOK TIME. WHEN MAN SCATTERED FROM THE TOWER, THE DIVERGENCE CHANGED THE LANGUAGES AND CREATED NEW CULTURES.

* Jonah was swallowed and regurgitated by a giant fish (or whale). Probably impossible; nobody has survived such an occurrence. JUST BECAUSE THERE IS NO CURRENT EVIDENCE FOR THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE. IN WWII A MAN FELL OUT OF A PLANE AND SURVIVED. LOOK IT UP.

* Praying for sick people makes them better. Falsified by the intercessory prayer study. GOD DOES NOT ALWAYS SAY YES TO PRAYERS. I KNOW THIS.

* All humans descend from Adam and Eve, who also lived a few thousand years ago. Falsified by genetic data. NOT REALLY. GO BACK FAR ENOUGH AND WE CAN TRACE HUMANITY TO THESE TWO. WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR DATA FROM?

* U.S. soldiers will return to South Pacific islands bearing wonderful goods for the inhabitants. False: won’t happen. ??? I DON'T GET THAT ONE.

Don said...

“GOD DOES NOT ALWAYS SAY YES TO PRAYERS. I KNOW THIS.”
Amen! I love what Paul Washer says, “Sometimes God loves you too much to give you what you’ve been praying for.”

Boris said...

Boris, that list you made is silly. Some of what you have can be verified by scientific evidence. I do not see why you even bring reincarnation into the equation as Christians do not believe in such non-sense.

Boris says: Oh please, you most certainly do. You believe you’ll be reincarnated in some kind of incorruptible body and live forever and ever in a magic happy land. You can change the terminology and distort the language to attempt to hide the absurdity of your beliefs but Christians do indeed believe in such nonsense as reincarnation. “To the scientific rationalist, there is no distinction between believing in leprechauns, alien abductions, ESP, reincarnation or the existence of God – each equally lacks objective evidence… separating out the latter two beliefs and labeling them as religion – thereby exempting them from critical analysis – is intellectually dishonest… [Indeed] the most widespread and sacredly guarded superstitions [are] the most important ones to oppose, for they have the greatest influence and therefore do the most harm.” – David Bloomberg

TRUE, BY Nicolaus Copernicus. HE BELIEVED IN GOD BY THE WAY. RECALL WHEN I WAS SAYING SCIENCE CAME OUT OF CHRISTIANITY.

Boris says: Yes and you recall when I proved that claim was an outright lie. That’s the problem with you armor-headed Bible thumpers. You ignore clear refutations of your claims and instead go right on making the same false claims and telling the same exact lies as if no objections to your claims had ever been raised. First you must respond to the refutations of your claims before you can go making them. Otherwise everything you say is just mindless drivel and religious yammering. I already proved what a shameless liar you are. Copernicus had concluded by 1500 A.D. that that the sun is the center of the solar system, but he kept his theories secret for 30 years, not wishing to draw the wrath of the Church. Shortly after publishing Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies, he died of old age, and was thus spared their angry response. But the Church got their revenge anyway, by burying him in a grave that marked none of his great accomplishments, but said: "I ask not the grace accorded to Paul; not that given to Peter; give me only the favour which Thou didst show to the thief on the cross." Then the Christian churchmen kept silent about his work for 70 years -- until the appearance of Galileo. So how did hiding the findings of Copernicus for 70 years advance science may I ask? ROFL! Also no Protestant denomination accepted the findings of Galileo or Copernicus until well into the 19th century. That alone refutes your outrageous lies about science coming out of Christianity. The Greeks, Egyptians and Babylonians were doing science long before Christianity existed. Once Christianity gained power however, angry Christians destroyed all the findings of ancient scientists by burning their books and the libraries that contained these books including the great library at Alexandria. They then shut down the entire enterprise of science and persecuted anyone who dared study nature for the next 1000 years. The glory years of Christianity are rightly called the Dark Ages a period when science hardly advanced an inch. Liars like you are very dangerous lest some of us forget just how damaging to advancing science your evil and false religion has been over the centuries. You’re still denying major scientific explanations as the following statement proves.

Boris said...

SCIENCE CAN PROVE THIS. THERMODYNAMICS CAN NOT ALLOW FOR AN OLD EARTH. DID YOU KNOW URANUS HAS A HOT CORE. IF THE UNIVERSE WAS THAT OLD, THE CORE WOULD BE DEAD AND MERCURY WOULD HAVE NO QUAKES. I LOVE SCIENCE.

Boris says: Sure you do. ROFL! If thermodynamics could not allow for an old earth then why don’t any cosmologists know that? You can’t even define thermodynamics and you’re definitely not qualified to make any pronouncements about science you know absolutely nothing about. You can’t just make claims without giving reasons for those claims. Why does the hot core of Uranus indicate the universe could not be 13.9 billion years old? Why would Mercury have no quakes exactly? What scientifically factual information can you supply to support your contention that the universe is only a few thousand years old? How do you explain the astronomical evidence that the universe is billions of years old, without resorting to the preposterous assumption that the speed of light was millions of times faster in the past than it is now? Don’t avoid these questions.

God is both omnipotent and benevolent. Falsified by the data.
WHAT DATA? YOURS? MY BIBLE TELLS ME OTHERWISE.

Boris says: Logic tells me that omnipotence and benevolence are incompatible. I mean loving and caring makes you vulnerable, thus making you not omnipotent. Your Bible says that the earth is flat, never moves, sits on a foundation supported by pillars and is orbited by the sun every day unless someone stops it. ROFL! It’s hard to believe willful ignorance such as yours still exists or ever did for that matter.

AS A CHRISTIAN I DO NOT FOLLOW FAITH HEALERS. THEY PRACTICE COUNTERFEIT CHRISTIANITY. IT IS SAD TO SEE THIS JUNK ON TV

Boris says: You must be kidding! Christian faith healers exist because the Bible says that demons and sin cause diseases rather than natural causes and that Jesus and other people cast out demons and this cured diseases.

WAIT, MORMONS ARE NOT CHRISTIANS. THERE IS NO HISTORICAL EVIDENCE FOR THAT SO I TEND TO AGREE.

Boris says: Right. They have a Church called the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints. The Mormons are no less Christians then you are, way better educated and only about half as crazy.

THE EVENT PROBABLY TOOK TIME. WHEN MAN SCATTERED FROM THE TOWER, THE DIVERGENCE CHANGED THE LANGUAGES AND CREATED NEW CULTURES.

Boris says: If there was only one language as described in chapter 11, how come in Genesis chapter 10 it says that there were already many nations with different languages? Perhaps you should read your Bible before you tell someone who has about what it says huh? ROFL! Let’s see you reconcile this problem in the text of you book of magic and fairies.

JUST BECAUSE THERE IS NO CURRENT EVIDENCE FOR THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE. IN WWII A MAN FELL OUT OF A PLANE AND SURVIVED. LOOK IT UP.

Boris says: All the special pleading in the world won’t make an ancient folktale history.

GOD DOES NOT ALWAYS SAY YES TO PRAYERS. I KNOW THIS.

Boris says: You have no evidence that any prayers have ever been answered.

NOT REALLY. GO BACK FAR ENOUGH AND WE CAN TRACE HUMANITY TO THESE TWO. WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR DATA FROM?

Boris says: Uh, science. Your claim is ridiculous. If we go back far enough we can trace our lineage to a common ancestor with other apes that lived about 6 million years ago called Australopithecus. Belief in the Garden of Eden story is now considered a sign of brain death in hospitals under the new health care legislation. Better not get sick.

Buck Fury said...

Boris,

You should re-read Acts 9. It is encouraging to know God chose to make the most amazing apostle out of such a man as Saul, a Pharisee of Pharisees and persecutor extraordinaire.

Maybe something similar could happen to you someday, according to God's purpose for you, of course.

I'm still praying for you, Boris. I hope others here are too.

James said...

Don't worry! ;-)

Boris said...

Buck Fury,
Where's the secular evidence for Jesus Christ you said existed? Either produce it or admit there isn't any. One or the other. We can't continue a conversation when you keep ignoring when I point out that you are incorrect because you are either lying or badly misinformed by your cult leaders. Now which is it?

As far as studying any part of Acts or anything else in the Bible, I have and I can prove you haven't. Reconcile these internal inconsistencies for me and then we can talk:

Acts 7:2:3 And Stephen replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, “Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.”

Gen 11:31 Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in law Sarai, his son Abrams wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran they settled there.

Abraham already lived in Haran when God called him.

Acts 7:4: Then he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him move from there to this country in which you are now living.

Gen 11:26 When Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Gen 11:32: The days of Terah were two hundred five years; and Terah died in Haran.
Gen 12:4: So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

According to Genesis Terah lived another sixty years after Abram left Haran, but Acts says that Abram left Haran after his father died.

Acts 9:6: But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.

Acts 22:10: The Lord said to me, “Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.

Acts 26:16: But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you.

Galatians 1:15: But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.

In Acts 26:16 Paul received his commission directly from Jesus. In Paul’s own account he did not go to Damascus to visit Ananias or anyone else. Paul was violently persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it (Gal 1:13) even though God set Paul apart before he was born to proclaim his Son to the Gentiles.

Acts 9:7: The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one.

Acts 22:9: Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

Acts 26:14: When we had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, “Saul. Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.”

The voice speaking in the Hebrew language was a detail not related in the first two accounts nor was the phrase about kicking against the goads. In the chapter 9 account the men with Paul heard the voice but saw no one. In the chapter 22 account: the men saw the light but did not hear the voice.

Boris said...

Acts 9:10: Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord,”

Acts 22:12: “A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there.

In Acts 9:10 Ananias is a Christian and in 22:12 he is a Jew.

Acts 15:6-19 Describes Paul’s attendance at the Jerusalem conference on his third trip to that city.
Gal 2:1 Paul describes this trip as his second.

1Corinthians 4:5: Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.
1Corinthians 5:3: For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present I have already pronounced judgment in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing.
Paul often forgot what he had just written.

Boris said...

One of the most condescending things a theist can do to an atheist is to make a point of announcing that they'll be praying for us. Atheists don't believe in the power of prayer, but even theists can't think that prayer will be more effective for having announced. So what's the purpose? Some say that it's to express well-wishes, but people say that they'll pray for someone when the person is sick or having trouble. One way or another, the theist appears to be expressing superiority over atheists in a passive-aggressive manner. That suggests they weren't interested in serious conversation to begin with. - By Austin Cline, originally on about.com

Buck Fury said...

A serious conversation is fine, but I am not interested in debating with you, as I've said before. There is no point in it. Only the Holy Spirit can change hearts and minds. Not any

We pray for God to do a work in you. It is an expression of love for you and is in no way a sign of superiority. Christians know that we are saved in spite of our sins. Jesus loved us while we were still sinners. As His followers, we are called to model Jesus' life on earth. This is why we pray for you. You are a sinner as we all are. You and I are equal in that regard.

Boris said...

I’ll tell you what Buck Fury people like you make me want to puke. You have no ethical standards whatsoever. No one in your cult of ignorance and stupidity does. Your whole cult is bunch of delusional, poorly educated liars. There is no way I would ever associate with low life scum like you people. In an effort to get me to believe what you do you made the claim that there were secular writers who mentioned Jesus Christ. I proved this claim to be absolutely false by showing that no secular writers who were alive when Jesus supposedly was wrote a word about Jesus, anything he did, his disciples, his trial or anything else mentioned in the gospels. You have refused to acknowledge that you made a false claim. You need to act like a decent human being for the first time on this blog and very likely the first time in your life and tell the freaking truth. Otherwise don’t address one more word to me. As far as I’m concerned you are scum and a perfect example of why I hate your evil and false religion. Pray all you want loser. NOTHING fails like prayer. ROFL! By the way we just cancelled the national Day of Prayer. Next we take “In God We Trust” off the money and “under God” out of the national pledge. Your lucky we don’t burn scum like you at the stake.

Boris said...

I’ll tell you what Buck Fury people like you make me want to puke. You have no ethical standards whatsoever. No one in your cult of ignorance and stupidity does. Your whole cult is bunch of delusional, poorly educated liars. There is no way I would ever associate with low life scum like you people. In an effort to get me to believe what you do you made the claim that there were secular writers who mentioned Jesus Christ. I proved this claim to be absolutely false by showing that no secular writers who were alive when Jesus supposedly was wrote a word about Jesus, anything he did, his disciples, his trial or anything else mentioned in the gospels. You have refused to acknowledge that you made a false claim. You need to act like a decent human being for the first time on this blog and very likely the first time in your life and tell the freaking truth. Otherwise don’t address one more word to me. As far as I’m concerned you are scum and a perfect example of why I hate your evil and false religion. Pray all you want loser. NOTHING fails like prayer. ROFL! By the way we just cancelled the national Day of Prayer. Next we take “In God We Trust” off the money and “under God” out of the national pledge. Your lucky we don’t burn scum like you at the stake.

Buck Fury said...

So, I guess coffee is out of the question?


For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Pure truth. Praise God for His life-giving word!

Buck Fury said...

Boris said:
There is no way I would ever associate with low life scum like you people.


Really?

Dude. You spend a lot of time here.

Boris said...

You need to remember that the Bible is a book of fantasy solely believed in by superstitious idiots, it hardly can be used for argue a point. You may have well as quoted me a couple of lines from the Lord of the Rings, another book of fantasy except way better written.

"The American brand of Christianity is unraveling while its hypocrisy is being weighed by the minds of our younger folks and discovering that questioning religious doctrine is a trait of human nature, not the voice of Satan." -Jesse Ventura

Boris said...

Pure truth. Praise God for His life-giving word!

Boris says: What do you know about the truth Buck Fury? I proved you are a pathological and compulsive liar who after he gets caught in several lies refuses to admit it. I wish you knew just how stupid you Bible thumping liars appear to those of us who have actually studied your Wholly Babble. Every word you write proves just what religiously brainwashed liar and idiot you truly are. Now THAT'S the truth and I hope you choke on it scum ball.

Buck Fury said...

Boris,
Besides mocking and taunting Christian's here, is there any thing or any person that you can claim to love?

It's not a trick question or a trap. Just wondering if and how you, from an atheistic worldview, understand it, own it, and prove it.

Boris said...

Buck Fury,
Atheism is not a worldview. That term only describes a lack of belief in any God. Any first year philosophy student could tell you that a worldview consists of six parts or elements: Ideology (beliefs in God cosmology), narrative (sacred writings and myths), norms (ethics and morality, rituals, activities designed to renew bonds), experience (emotional and spiritual elements), and a social element (educating future generations). Atheism has none of these elements. You could say that my worldview is a form of humanism I suppose. Also I like to be different and atheism is getting very popular. I like to call myself an anti-theist. “Atheism can be the naked pursuit of truth, but anti-theism is more often the adolescent joy of upsetting and mocking religious people.” –Jim Rigby, pastor of St. Andrews’s Presbyterian Church in Austin Texas. That’s a pretty good description of me right?

I love the same people most people do. I love my wife, my kids and my father, brother other relatives. My mother is dead. I’ve loved major league baseball and professional wrestling since I was a small child. Then I have a different kind of love for things like my 2002 Thunderbird, one of my guitars that I’ve had for a long time. I love certain books, movies and plays like most people do their favorites of these things. I used to love the Orioles before Peter Angelos bought them and the Redskins before Dan Snyder bought them. You know not obsessively but like most real sports fans love their teams. Oh and of course I absolutely love my life long hobby of mocking and making fun of religion and religious people.
How do I understand love? Love isn’t a thing it’s an abstract concept that describes particular feelings and actions. We say that love exists, but it’s not the same thing as a dog existing or sunlight existing. I own it and prove it by my actions.
In fundamentalist Christianity however, love means something totally different than it does to most of the rest of us. Just as truth is torn away from the realm of fact in Christianity, love is removed from the realm of human affections. Human love is disparaged as frail and fickle, while agape - unselfish, altruistic love that is from God love - is held up as ideal. This can appeal greatly to converts disappointed with human relationships. Yet, it has little to do with what we usually think of love: affection, sharing thoughts and feelings, caring accepting, forgiving, empathizing touching listening, giving, respecting, helping, appreciating, supporting, and so on. It is a mental activity of adhering to a code. A Christian "loves" a sinner because God "loves" the sinner and one must follow suit. Love to the Evangelist is simply a willingness to put up with a sinner in order to obey the commission to preach the gospel. Thus the Christian can say, without noticing the inconsistency, "I love the sinner, but not the sin." To the uninitiated, this is a strange kind of love that tries to divorce persons from their activities and then judges those activities with amazing ferocity. In this type of love, there is no desire to know or be known, which in our everyday understanding, underlies the condition of love. Normally the development of intimacy in human relations involves increasing levels of self-disclosure and mutual acceptance based on equal standing. In contrast, the Christian preaching the gospel is by no means acting vulnerable, while working hard to find a vulnerable spot in the potential proselyte.

Boris said...

What were you thinking? That atheists don’t know what love is? What’s it like to find out that I do know and that I know that you don’t know what love is? Your biblical worldview has distorted your sense of reality so much that you don’t even know what love is anymore. As I’ve pointed out one potent tool your cult uses to distort reality is the distortion of language. So you see, it’s pointless to pray for me. I know all the tricks your cult uses to turn people into mindless obedient mental slaves. If you could just recognize these things you wouldn’t be one.

So what have we learned here lately Buck Fury? We learned that your cult leaders are lying when they claim there is secular evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ didn’t we? DIDN’T WE? Now we’ve demonstrated how your cult distorts the meanings of words like “love” and “truth” in order to distort reality haven’t we? HAVEN’T WE? So whom do you trust to tell you the truth Bucko? Me, the atheist, or your religious cult leaders who we’ve already proved CANNOT be trusted? What is love Buck? You can call what you’re getting from me tough love. The truth hurts. Oh it’s true.

Buck Fury said...

Boris,

Thanks for your thoughtful response on love. I think it's the most pleasant post I've read from you. But then again I've only been here a couple o'weeks.

I think when we say we love a baseball team, a guitar, or a hobby, that really is just a shorthand way of saying we have a strong attachment, affinity etc. As you stated, it's really very different from the love of a wife, child, or mother.

What IS the difference between love (wife, child) and a dog or sunlight? Is it the ability to quantify and measure it?

You said, "We say love exists...", but does it really? When a person whom you love dies, does your love then cease to exist? When you die, will the people who love you no longer love you? We would agree not, right? RIGHT? (subtle Borisism (R) injected here for levity)

I don't have the answers. But I do know that love exists. I can't prove it to you by my actions, I can only suggest and strongly hint at its existence through my actions. The scientific method fails utterly here because it has no way to measure love or even definitively validate its existence at all. Yet from birth most of humankind knows that love exists because we experience it.

So, I know there are truths which exist beyond our ability to test and measure them, or even fully understand them. Obviously. There could be others.

Anonymous said...

It is my understanding that the "scientific beliefs" of the Roman church during the middle ages were based more on the teachings of Aristotle than teachings found in the Bible. Perhaps the political power of the Roman church during those times is another example of an omnipotent and loving God, allowing mankind's self deception (I am the center of the universe) while promoting a greater Truth(Jesus Christ). If the God of the universe had come to Abraham or Moses and insisted that they teach modern science to all their followers, would this religion ever have gotten off the ground.

Boris said...

Buck Fury says: So, I know there are truths which exist beyond our ability to test and measure them, or even fully understand them. Obviously. There could be others.

Boris says: Normally, there are a variety of sources of knowledge or “truths” in life. People look to the evidence of their own senses, the results of scientific study, life experience, their own intuitions and thought processes. Secular people assume that new information can be discovered through systematic investigation. In the Christian mindset, however, the only respected source of knowledge is authority. The ultimate authority of God, and the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, absolute and unchanging. This view of knowledge serves to further institute and control the believer. Truth is not found; it is revealed (cf. James 1:21). Facts are irrelevant in this system. If a belief is in place, based on interpretation of supposed revealed truth, it doesn't matter what worldly discoveries take place. In the Christian system, the idea of being a "child of God" has a charm that many relate to. You remain a child, dependent and cared for by your heavenly father. You never have to learn self-reliance or turn to yourself for strength and wisdom. And you have no source of knowledge but outside authority.

You have a chance to free your mind of the religious superstitions other people have indoctrinated you with. I’m pointing out all the tricks your cult uses to indoctrinate people just like you. I’ve already proved, right here on this blog that Jesus Christ never even existed. I mean what more do you want?

Boris said...

I see they're moderating the posts now. Nothing like shutting the barn door after the horse is already gone. I've already frightened away all the Christians off this blog except maybe two or three. I bet Hank finally read what was going on here on this blog. Hey Hank, any time you want to debate Boris the Atheist I'm right here. You haven't got the guts Hank, because if you've been reading my posts you know that Boris is the real Bible Answer Man and you're a big phony. I'll match my knowledge of the text of the Bible with yours anytime Hankster. Any time you're ready. I'm calling you out and I'm calling you a liar Hank. Come to Papa you big chicken. First tell us who killed King Jabin of Hazor.

Michael T. Gomez said...

A few years back I got your video Getting Back To Basics, and I was so impressed watching you recite entire chapters of God's Word-The Bible by memory that, I started memorizing Paul's Letter to the Romans. It took me a while but, I know chapters 1-8 of Romans by memory and a few chapters in Hebrews (out of the NIV) I really need too start memorizing the Gospels and I just Love it...

THANK YOU HANK :)

Anonymous said...

Boris,

You are filled with hate. Your behavior is childish and immature. You seek strife, not harmony or co-existence. Attitudes like these are what is wrong with this world. Do not contribute to the problem, be a part of the solution.