Pascal’s Christianity for Modern Pagans

Have you ever searched for an answer not knowing you are looking in the wrong place? Peter Kreeft, editor of Christianity for Modern Pagans, wrote a book comprised with several of Blaise Pascal’s pensées. He selected the parts that are generally considered great and interesting, and most respond to the needs of today’s society and economy. There are four pensées that specifically impacted me in my life. They each brought to my attention something different that I believe all people should be aware of. I came to find out that these four topics: Wretchedness; Vanity; Three Levels of Reality-Body, Mind, and Heart; and Vanity of Human Justice, captivated my attention and made me a better person.

The first pensée I read that captured my soul was about wretchedness. Pascal once wrote, “Man is vile enough to bow down to beasts and even worship them” (Pascal 53, 50). I not only agree with this pensée, but I also think that this is exceedingly relevant in our economy today. Our human nature is so prideful and selfish. Our hearts are meant to yearn for God and worship our Creator. We, ourselves, are the animals and beasts in this pensée. We to this very day worship ourselves in every narcissistic way. We take selfies, we want more materialistic items that we don’t even need or can’t even afford to buy, we want to be first, we want to live forever, we want more and more, and it’s all about us! Humans fell because we were prideful. We wanted to be like God knowing both good and evil. There are even controversial topics on the reason, or rather, the cause of why Satan “fell” from Heaven. I say it was because of his pride. We still have pride to this very day, and we should not avoid the topic, because it is the main reason if not the reason why we are so vile and evil enough to worship our own selves. We bow down and idolize man even more so than we do God! Man is a beast. We have become beasts. The joker once said, “We stopped checking for monsters under our beds once we realized they were inside us.” This cannot be more true. At this day and age, we are going further and further away from the kingdom of God, and I think pride has a lot to do with it. Just as Kreeft said, “What could be more mad, monstrous, and miserable than God’s image bowing down to snakes? It is the King’s kid bowing to his pet reptile instead of it to his Father.” We are made in God’s image. We are God’s “favorite creation.” We have the dominion, yet we still idolize and worship creatures, statues, and each other and not the truly perfect human one, Jesus. Why is the world so crooked and corrupt? “Wanted whales have more right to life than unwanted babies.” Now I feel like it is considered “normal” to idolize people and our phones more than our God who is the one who put us into being. He has the control and power to have us even wake up every day! This pensée impacted me greatly. It tells the truth. It is exactly what we try to hide and avoid talking about. We are vile, we are narcissistic, we are beasts. “The alternative to theism is not atheism but idolatry” (Kreeft [53], 50). This is wretchedness.

This next pensée has impacted me by revealing to me the true dilemma which we struggle with. We can never be truly satisfied in this world. Never.

We are not satisfied with the life we have in ourselves

 and our own being. We want to lead an imaginary life in

the eyes of others, and so we try to make an impression.

We strive constantly to embellish and preserve our imagi-

nary being, and neglect the real one. And if we are clam,

 or generous, or loyal, we are anxious to have it known so

that we can attach these virtues to our other existence; we

 prefer to detach them form our real self so as to unite

them with the other. We would cheerfully be cowards if

that would acquire us a reputation for bravery. How

clear a sign of the nullity of our own being. (Pascal 806, 79)

The truth is, the human heart is never truly satisfied without Christ. It is obvious to see that we want to be anyone prettier, smarter, more talented than us. We just aren’t satisfied with what we already have. We always, constantly, want more. Why is that? Why can’t we be satisfied with that one CD album we’ve been patiently waiting for for two months? Why is it the last Star Wars wasn’t sufficient enough for us that we now have to see the new one coming out in December? Why can’t that one song that we have been so obsessed with, and singing over and over and over again, satisfy us? How come it’s never enough? Even acquiring every material item in the world will not satisfy us enough. It would not make us happier- maybe for a few weeks or months, but over time, it’ll be “just another thing” you wanted. It’s another item in your way that is distracting you from the real thing, Jesus.

We are never truly satisfied with things because we don’t truly know Christ. This doesn’t mean that if you are a Christian and “know Christ” that you will never again be unsatisfied with the things you get; it just means you will understand that nothing on this earth lasts forever. We must fix our eyes on Jesus. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Paul couldn’t have said it any better. True happiness, joy, comes from the Lord. We will always want more without Christ because the human heart was designed to yearn for a worship our Creator. To be bluntly honest, we are nothing without God. Ephesians shows us this and that everything is vanity, meaningless. This pensée impacted me intensely because it’s just such a complex topic to talk about with other people. It is a huge struggle for mankind to avoid buying things for pleasure and temporary satisfaction. We also want to look good for others so we can impress them so that they will like us. It’s sad yet true that we would rather be cowards to gain a reputation for bravery.

            This third pensée made me realize something I hadn’t thought about before. Interestingly enough, I previously thought about this before even reading this book. Sometimes we are deceived, sometimes we are blinded from the truth, and other times we just flat out don’t care. “What a long way it is between knowing God and loving Him!” (Pascal 377, 223). This one was super simple for me to relate to and wrap my head around. Anyone can claim to know God or be a Christian, but that doesn’t mean he/she acts in a Godly or Christian manner. If you really act in a Christian manner, then you would love Him, Christ. Knowing Him and loving Him are two completely different things. I can say I did my homework…that doesn’t mean I didn’t cheat to get the answers or I didn’t even understand it. It just means exactly what I said: I did my homework. How I did it is not what the question specifically asked. If we love Him though, then we know Him. “The length of this gap is infinite. The most brilliant theological mind in the universe is also the one with the least love; his name is Lucifer” (Kreeft [377], 224). Even Satan was an angel. He had head knowledge of God. He knows God is real, he just doesn’t accept him or love him. He doesn’t pursue a relationship with Him. Average people can be the same way. We can easily be deceived. Knowing this pensée is understanding that if you know of God, that doesn’t mean you love Him. It doesn’t mean you submit to Him either. If you don’t understand this pensée, then you’re not understanding that there is a gap between knowing and loving God. Lecrae once said, “If I’m wrong about God, then I’ve wasted my life. But if you’re wrong about God, then you’ve wasted your eternity.” This pensée and quote opened my eyes to truth and the reality of how much our life and the decisions that we make matter.

We live our lives in such a corruptive and destructive world, and for me to truly understand that and have it leave an impact on my life, it makes me feel like life isn’t what we used to think it was. For my last pensée, I wanted to write about the vanity of human justice. “ ‘Why are you killing me for your own benefit? I am unarmed.’ ‘Why, do you not live on the other side of the water? My friend, if you lived on this side, I should be a murderer, but since you live on the other side, I am a brave man and it is right’ ” (Pascal 51, 87). As commentator Kreeft said, “What makes the difference between what society calls justice and what it calls injustice? Simply, where a river runs, which side of the river you were born on. It would be murder for a German to kill a German, but it would be heroism for a German to kill a Frenchman in a war. Substitute ‘Arab’ and ‘Jew’ or anyone else” (Kreeft [51] 87). Exactly. Society has become so corrupt that even justice is vanity, meaningless, at times. What we believe now in our government and society today is more than likely far different than what people used to believe before, during, and a little after Jesus’ era. We legalized marriage for people of the same sex, we have authorized abortion, we have outlawed prayer in public schools, we have allowed people to have marijuana in some states, and we have permitted euthanasia. In various ways, we can all agree that the world is far different now in our economy then it was a long time ago. Technology advanced, we went to the moon, we know Calculus, we invented the microchip, and we always need physical proof or evidence (unless we don’t like that piece of evidence, then we won’t even accept it). All of this to say, we have even become corrupt.

We are so corrupt that we have destroyed buildings and killed people! People just like you and me. Yes, killing and murder has been around since Cain and Able, but not the way it is now. What is justice? Why would we make up an excuse to kill someone (excluding crime)? Why fight in a battle that we don’t even belong in? Why interfere? This impacted me when I read this pensée. It made me question if some of our beliefs are just accepted because everyone else accepts them. We should question what people tell us and ask them why they think that or why they believe what they do—we shouldn’t just accept it because it’s what everyone else does. I constantly find myself asking the question, “What would Jesus do?” Jesus wouldn’t kill anyone. He would love them and show them kindly that what they are doing is wrong. The human species is such a corruptive and destructive kind. “The horror of man without God,” (Kreeft [0] 86). Truth is, we need God.

Overall, the things I learned through intensely reading these four pensées are: that man is selfish, we can never be truly satisfied, we are corruptive and destructive people, and lastly, we are fools. The only way for us to overcome these vices is to turn our lives over to Jesus. He can help us get through the thick and thin of life and He leads us into a better way of life. These four  pensées made me a better person by forcing me to realize the true reality and severe consequences of our sin. Some people just search for satisfaction in certain places and they’re just completely oblivious to the fact that they are looking in the wrong place.

 

Does God Exist?

Below is a blog/paper/whatever you want to call it, by a woman who wanted to prove to people that God is real. So even though I personally did not write this, I still think it is important to read this and know about God. By Marilyn Adamson

Just once wouldn’t you love for someone to simply show you the evidence for God’s existence? No arm-twisting. No statements of, “You just have to believe.” Well, here is an attempt to candidly offer some of the reasons which suggest that God exists.

But first consider this. When it comes to the possibility of God’s existence, the Bible says that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they have suppressed the truth about God. On the other hand, for those who want to know God if he is there, he says, “You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you.” Before you look at the facts surrounding God’s existence, ask yourself, If God does exist, would I want to know him? Here then, are some reasons to consider…

1. Does God exist? The complexity of our planet points to a deliberate Designer who not only created our universe, but sustains it today.

Many examples showing God’s design could be given, possibly with no end. But here are a few:

The Earth…its size is perfect. The Earth’s size and corresponding gravity holds a thin layer of mostly nitrogen and oxygen gases, only extending about 50 miles above the Earth’s surface. If Earth were smaller, an atmosphere would be impossible, like the planet Mercury. If Earth were larger, its atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, like Jupiter.³ Earth is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere of the right mixture of gases to sustain plant, animal and human life.

The Earth is located the right distance from the sun. Consider the temperature swings we encounter, roughly -30 degrees to +120 degrees. If the Earth were any further away from the sun, we would all freeze. Any closer and we would burn up. Even a fractional variance in the Earth’s position to the sun would make life on Earth impossible. The Earth remains this perfect distance from the sun while it rotates around the sun at a speed of nearly 67,000 mph. It is also rotating on its axis, allowing the entire surface of the Earth to be properly warmed and cooled every day.

And our moon is the perfect size and distance from the Earth for its gravitational pull. The moon creates important ocean tides and movement so ocean waters do not stagnate, and yet our massive oceans are restrained from spilling over across the continents.⁴

Water…colorless, odorless and without taste, and yet no living thing can survive without it. Plants, animals and human beings consist mostly of water (about two-thirds of the human body is water). You’ll see why the characteristics of water are uniquely suited to life:

It has wide margin between its boiling point and freezing point. Water allows us to live in an environment of fluctuating temperature changes, while keeping our bodies a steady 98.6 degrees.

Water is a universal solvent. This property of water means that various chemicals, minerals and nutrients can be carried throughout our bodies and into the smallest blood vessels.⁵

Water is also chemically neutral. Without affecting the makeup of the substances it carries, water enables food, medicines and minerals to be absorbed and used by the body.

Water has a unique surface tension. Water in plants can therefore flow upward against gravity, bringing life-giving water and nutrients to the top of even the tallest trees.

Water freezes from the top down and floats, so fish can live in the winter.

Ninety-seven percent of the Earth’s water is in the oceans. But on our Earth, there is a system designed which removes salt from the water and then distributes that water throughout the globe. Evaporation takes the ocean waters, leaving the salt, and forms clouds which are easily moved by the wind to disperse water over the land, for vegetation, animals and people. It is a system of purification and supply that sustains life on this planet, a system of recycled and reused water.⁶

The human brain…simultaneously processes an amazing amount of information. Your brain takes in all the colors and objects you see, the temperature around you, the pressure of your feet against the floor, the sounds around you, the dryness of your mouth, even the texture of your keyboard. Your brain holds and processes all your emotions, thoughts and memories. At the same time your brain keeps track of the ongoing functions of your body like your breathing pattern, eyelid movement, hunger and movement of the muscles in your hands.

The human brain processes more than a million messages a second.⁷ Your brain weighs the importance of all this data, filtering out the relatively unimportant. This screening function is what allows you to focus and operate effectively in your world. The brain functions differently than other organs. There is an intelligence to it, the ability to reason, to produce feelings, to dream and plan, to take action, and relate to other people.

The eye…can distinguish among seven million colors. It has automatic focusing and handles an astounding 1.5 million messages — simultaneously.⁸ Evolution focuses on mutations and changes from and within existing organisms. Yet evolution alone does not fully explain the initial source of the eye or the brain — the start of living organisms from nonliving matter.

2. Does God exist? The universe had a start – what caused it?

Scientists are convinced that our universe began with one enormous explosion of energy and light, which we now call the Big Bang. This was the singular start to everything that exists: the beginning of the universe, the start of space, and even the initial start of time itself.

Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow, a self-described agnostic, stated, “The seed of everything that has happened in the Universe was planted in that first instant; every star, every planet and every living creature in the Universe came into being as a result of events that were set in motion in the moment of the cosmic explosion…The Universe flashed into being, and we cannot find out what caused that to happen.”⁹

Steven Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in Physics, said at the moment of this explosion, “the universe was about a hundred thousands million degrees Centigrade…and the universe was filled with light.”¹⁰

The universe has not always existed. It had a start…what caused that? Scientists have no explanation for the sudden explosion of light and matter.

3. Does God exist? The universe operates by uniform laws of nature. Why does it?

Much of life may seem uncertain, but look at what we can count on day after day: gravity remains consistent, a hot cup of coffee left on a counter will get cold, the earth rotates in the same 24 hours, and the speed of light doesn’t change — on earth or in galaxies far from us.

How is it that we can identify laws of nature that never change? Why is the universe so orderly, so reliable?

“The greatest scientists have been struck by how strange this is. There is no logical necessity for a universe that obeys rules, let alone one that abides by the rules of mathematics. This astonishment springs from the recognition that the universe doesn’t have to behave this way. It is easy to imagine a universe in which conditions change unpredictably from instant to instant, or even a universe in which things pop in and out of existence.”¹¹

Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winner for quantum electrodynamics, said, “Why nature is mathematical is a mystery…The fact that there are rules at all is a kind of miracle.”¹²

4. Does God exist? The DNA code informs, programs a cell’s behavior.

All instruction, all teaching, all training comes with intent. Someone who writes an instruction manual does so with purpose. Did you know that in every cell of our bodies there exists a very detailed instruction code, much like a miniature computer program? As you may know, a computer program is made up of ones and zeros, like this: 110010101011000. The way they are arranged tell the computer program what to do. The DNA code in each of our cells is very similar. It’s made up of four chemicals that scientists abbreviate as A, T, G, and C. These are arranged in the human cell like this: CGTGTGACTCGCTCCTGAT and so on. There are three billion of these letters in every human cell!!

Well, just like you can program your phone to beep for specific reasons, DNA instructs the cell. DNA is a three-billion-lettered program telling the cell to act in a certain way. It is a full instruction manual.¹³

Why is this so amazing? One has to ask….how did this information program wind up in each human cell? These are not just chemicals. These are chemicals that instruct, that code in a very detailed way exactly how the person’s body should develop.

Natural, biological causes are completely lacking as an explanation when programmed information is involved. You cannot find instruction, precise information like this, without someone intentionally constructing it.

5. Does God exist? We know God exists because he pursues us. He is constantly initiating and seeking for us to come to him.

I was an atheist at one time. And like many atheists, the issue of people believing in God bothered me greatly. What is it about atheists that we would spend so much time, attention, and energy refuting something that we don’t believe even exists?! What causes us to do that? When I was an atheist, I attributed my intentions as caring for those poor, delusional people…to help them realize their hope was completely ill-founded. To be honest, I also had another motive. As I challenged those who believed in God, I was deeply curious to see if they could convince me otherwise. Part of my quest was to become free from the question of God. If I could conclusively prove to believers that they were wrong, then the issue is off the table, and I would be free to go about my life.

I didn’t realize that the reason the topic of God weighed so heavily on my mind, was because God was pressing the issue. I have come to find out that God wants to be known. He created us with the intention that we would know him. He has surrounded us with evidence of himself and he keeps the question of his existence squarely before us. It was as if I couldn’t escape thinking about the possibility of God. In fact, the day I chose to acknowledge God’s existence, my prayer began with, “Ok, you win…” It might be that the underlying reason atheists are bothered by people believing in God is because God is actively pursuing them.

I am not the only one who has experienced this. Malcolm Muggeridge, socialist and philosophical author, wrote, “I had a notion that somehow, besides questing, I was being pursued.” C.S. Lewis said he remembered, “…night after night, feeling whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England.”

Lewis went on to write a book titled, “Surprised by Joy” as a result of knowing God. I too had no expectations other than rightfully admitting God’s existence. Yet over the following several months, I became amazed by his love for me.

6. Does God exist? Unlike any other revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the clearest, most specific picture of God revealing himself to us.

Why Jesus? Look throughout the major world religions and you’ll find that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God. Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus apart from all the others. He said God exists and you’re looking at him. Though he talked about his Father in heaven, it was not from the position of separation, but of very close union, unique to all humankind. Jesus said that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father, anyone who believed in him, believed in the Father.

He said, “I am the light of the world, he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”¹⁴ He claimed attributes belonging only to God: to be able to forgive people of their sin, free them from habits of sin, give people a more abundant life and give them eternal life in heaven. Unlike other teachers who focused people on their words, Jesus pointed people to himself. He did not say, “follow my words and you will find truth.” He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.”¹⁵

What proof did Jesus give for claiming to be divine? He did what people can’t do. Jesus performed miracles. He healed people…blind, crippled, deaf, even raised a couple of people from the dead. He had power over objects…created food out of thin air, enough to feed crowds of several thousand people. He performed miracles over nature…walked on top of a lake, commanding a raging storm to stop for some friends. People everywhere followed Jesus, because he constantly met their needs, doing the miraculous. He said if you do not want to believe what I’m telling you, you should at least believe in me based on the miracles you’re seeing.¹⁶

Jesus Christ showed God to be gentle, loving, aware of our self-centeredness and shortcomings, yet deeply wanting a relationship with us. Jesus revealed that although God views us as sinners, worthy of his punishment, his love for us ruled and God came up with a different plan. God himself took on the form of man and accepted the punishment for our sin on our behalf. Sounds ludicrous? Perhaps, but many loving fathers would gladly trade places with their child in a cancer ward if they could. The Bible says that the reason we would love God is because he first loved us.

Jesus died in our place so we could be forgiven. Of all the religions known to humanity, only through Jesus will you see God reaching toward humanity, providing a way for us to have a relationship with him. Jesus proves a divine heart of love, meeting our needs, drawing us to himself. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, he offers us a new life today. We can be forgiven, fully accepted by God and genuinely loved by God. He says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”¹⁷ This is God, in action.

Does God exist? If you want to know, investigate Jesus Christ. We’re told that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”¹⁸

God does not force us to believe in him, though he could. Instead, he has provided sufficient proof of his existence for us to willingly respond to him. The earth’s perfect distance from the sun, the unique chemical properties of water, the human brain, DNA, the number of people who attest to knowing God, the gnawing in our hearts and minds to determine if God is there, the willingness for God to be known through Jesus Christ.

If you want to begin a relationship with God now, you can.

This is your decision, no coercion here. But if you want to be forgiven by God and come into a relationship with him, you can do so right now by asking him to forgive you and come into your life. Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door [of your heart] and knock. He who hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him [or her].”¹⁹ If you want to do this, but aren’t sure how to put it into words, this may help: “Jesus, thank you for dying for my sins. You know my life and that I need to be forgiven. I ask you to forgive me right now and come into my life. I want to know you in a real way. Come into my life now. Thank you that you wanted a relationship with me. Amen.”

God views your relationship with him as permanent. Referring to all those who believe in him, Jesus Christ said of us, “I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.”²⁰

Looking at all these facts, one can conclude that a loving God does exist and can be known in an intimate, personal way.

 

Controversial topic over Paul writing 1Timothy

Hey guys! So this is just another paper that I wrote for a Trivium class I take and I thought it would be interesting to write about the debate over if Paul was the author of 1Timothy. Nothing too exciting here, haha but if you would like to read about proofs and evidence about it, then please read on(:

Introduction

Have you ever done a good deed, like make your bed, and then someone like your parents, don’t believe it was really you? Paul is an apostle in the Bible who wrote several books in the Bible and several other letters about Jesus Christ. There have been several debates about who wrote it and some find it uncertain. Thesis: For the purposes of this paper, the author examined this question, “Did Paul write 1Timothy?” The author of this paper will argue that Paul wrote the First book of Timothy. The author claims that Paul wrote the First book of Timothy, yet some want to claim that he did not. The author’s intention is to show the evidence and proof that Paul did write 1Timothy and it was not anyone other than him. The thesis statement shall be utilizing these three statements: The Bible tells us Paul wrote it (evident and obvious), other books of the Bible help infer that Paul wrote it, and Paul hints to us that he wrote it by leaving us with a phrase that he used after every letter he wrote.

Probatio

Theological & Style

To start off, we know that Timothy did not write First or Second Timothy because 1:2 says, “To Timothy, my loyal child in the faith…” indicating this book, 1 Timothy, is full and comprised of letters written for, or “to” Timothy, therefore we know Timothy did not write First or Second Timothy. To also prove this argument to be true, and to start off claiming that Paul wrote 1 Timothy, in The Apocrypha Bible, it says, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,…” If  a letter was written not by Paul, then it would not be ascribed to him. Clearly, it was ascribed to him, so the letter was written by Paul. The outlook is the same, comparing 1 Timothy to 2 Timothy by theology and the way he writes, which is the style, so I claim that Paul, the apostle, wrote the book of First Timothy.

Style

“You can tell a lot about somebody by the way they write” (Mrs. Belcher, General Chemistry Chapter 6).  Paul talks about faith, discipline, and grace in all of the books of the Bible and letters that he wrote. These books include: Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1Thessalonians, Philemon, and 2 Timothy. If you were to analyze these books, then you can infer that Paul writes a lot about grace, faith, and discipline. At the end of several books and letters he wrote, he says, “Grace be with you.” This is written in: 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, Philemon, 1&2Corinthians, Galatians, and Titus. We can also say that Paul maybe had a catch-phrase or go-to pharse which would be, “Grace be with you” just as Peter says, “Peace to all of you who are in Christ” and “To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.” From this simple information, we can infer that Paul most likely wrote 1Timothy. He left us with this phrase to show that he did write those letters and books in the Bible. The way someone writes can tell others a lot about them.

Historical

If we know for a fact that Paul wrote 2 Timothy, and we know that for the most part, the Bible was written in chronological order, then it would not make sense for Paul not to write 1 Timothy as well as 2 Timothy. If 1Timothy was in fact written by someone other than Paul, then he/she must have lived during Paul’s time-frame. If he/she did not, but lived a significantly longer time after Paul’s death, then how would they know what to write if everything happened during Paul’s lifetime? Even so, if someone else wrote 1Timothy, then they sounded a lot like him. As the author mentioned earlier, you can tell a lot about someone by the way they write so you can learn a lot about their life just by the way they write.

Style

Each time Paul wrote along with someone else, he gave credit to them by stating their names. Paul did write 1&2 Timothy himself because he did not give credit to anyone else helping him. Some people claim that Paul couldn’t have written 1Timothy because he died in prison, just like it mentions his imprisonment in Acts. The author says, he could have either written 1Timothy during his imprisonment or he simply escaped from prison and wrote 1Timothy after his escape. Either way, it was just Paul writing 1Timothy.

Theological

It’s obvious, to most people, that Paul wrote 1&2 Timothy because it says so in the Bible at the beginning of the two chapters like the author mentioned above. The Bible is a book of truth. That is what the author believes and what all Christians believe. Truth never changes and is always correct. People can 100% of the time, always, rely on truth. So, you can therefore rely on the Bible to be correct all of the time. God would not have people put something forged or false in the Bible. Especially because forgery is a sin and fraud as well and if it truly is foraged and or false, then this book (the Bible) would be hypocritical which is not reliable. Then we would all be questioning everything that we were taught and what we believe as Christians because we were all deceived or lied to. One little tweak to the Bible that is “incorrect” is a big deal. This would cause even more debates and arguments based on what we are now supposed to believe and who or what we can trust. We know we can trust the Bible though, because there is plenty of evidence to show that it is true and reliable. As Christians, we rely on our faith and faith alone. We have “In God we trust on the dollar bills,” we also swear upon the Bible in court before a jury and a judge. If Paul did not write First or Second Timothy, then it shouldn’t even be in the Bible.

Style

People claim that someone foraged the book of 1Timothy because of different personalities, but consider this, that it would be, not impossible, but incredibly hard for someone to mimic or imitate Paul’s style of writing. Paul writes about personal topics such as his past experiences and he also gives advice. If someone were to forage the first book of Timothy, then they would have had to spend a lot of time thinking about how to sound like Paul (how to write as if you are Paul). It could very well take almost a whole lifetime to study one person and the way they write just so that you can write just like them or as if you were them.

Refutatio

Theological

Someone might say, “Well swearing is a sin, so why do we have to swear upon a Bible in court?!” Isn’t that a sin described in that book? Well, if you say it is, then we can now say that we are sinning by swearing because Jesus tells us our word is enough (no need to promise or swear). Then others would reply, “No, Jesus meant swearing as in cursing, bad words, etc.”  If this is true, then there may be even more misconception in the Bible like Paul writing 1Timothy.

Historical Data

There is not just a lot of misconception in this topic, but also there is contradiction. Not just concerning Paul but if in the Bible it says in Matthew 5:34, “Do not swear at all, either by Heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by all the earth, for it is His footstool, or Jerusalem, it is the city of the great King,” and then it says “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and ‘no’ be ‘no’” then it contradicts itself in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter ten verse twenty says, “… to him you shall hold fast, and by his name you shall swear.” Now, one may say this has changed throughout the Bible because it doesn’t even capitalize “his” in “his name” but in the New Testament you always would capitalize anything that refers to God or Jesus. So, because of this one change, it also can mean that now that Jesus was the sacrifice, we need to capitalize His name but not God’s in the Old Testament. As a result of all of these contradictions, he did not write 1Timothy because this could mean there is more than one problem in the Bible. Paul also has different personalities and vocabulary used throughout the letter in 1Timothy compared to his other letters. It seems like that wasn’t even Paul who wrote 1Timothy due to the different personalities. To refute the argument, 1Timothy was just foraged or written by someone other than Paul.

Conclusion

Paul, the apostle, wrote the First book of Timothy. This means that the Bible is not hypocritical, as the author described, but it is trustworthy. An area for further research would be to read other books that people wrote about Paul and whether they say he did or did not write 1Timothy, and then compare that with what the author has told you. Sometimes, it can be hard for someone to believe you about that good deed that you did for someone. What you could do, is either show that person that it really was you with evidence and accurate proof (the truth), or you can just move on. It is up to that person to accept your information or not and if they don’t, then it’s ok, you did your part, let God do the rest.

 

The Last

I once looked up to the clouds and made out an image of a mother holding the hands of her baby boy and I thought to myself, “Wow, what a wonderful world. Everything is great. I have two parents that love each other, a wonderful little sister, a house, clothes, and great friends. Life couldn’t be better.” My name is Cipher and I wish everything would be the same as it was then.
Three years pass.
I walk into school and alongside me is my best friend, Hope. We’ve been friends for ten years now and I am eternally grateful for her friendship. As we walked into class I saw the cutest guy ever sit down next to me, Ryan Integrity. We locked eyes for a whole two seconds and then we shifted away as the bell rang to start class. Today, Mrs. Logical gave us a lesson on Shakespeare and how important it is to know old and classical literature. Hope, who was two chairs to the left in front of me, turned around and smiled at me and then looked at Ryan and smiled with a hilarious look on her face. When she looked back at me, we both laughed thinking of an inside joke and not realizing we disturbed the class. Mrs. Logical turned around from facing the board and teaching and said,
“Girls, do I need to separate you two?” Hope and I looked at each other and then turned toward Mrs. Logical and I said,
“No ma’am.”
“We’ll be quiet” said Hope.
“Good” said Mrs. Logical “as I was saying…”
“Yea, Cipher” said Ryan Integrity quietly in a joking, silly manner, “do the right thing.” We both laughed softly.
By the end of her class, there was a weird noise coming from outside the window. Everyone got up out of their seats to see out the window for what was making such an alarming sound. Then I got up and looked and I saw what seemed to be spaceships larger than six football fields! “Everyone come sit down now!” said Mrs. Logical. Ironically, everyone in the class ran out the door and out of the school. A huge stampede of the school rushed outside and I suddenly realized I couldn’t see Hope anywhere! What I did see was a group of four people pushing us out the doors of the school. They were in what seemed to be normal clothes but I did not recognize them. A loud speaker came on and said, “Everyone remain calm! We are just going to assemble out of the school into buses to leave the premise. It isn’t safe here and we must leave now.” Everyone was cramming into the school buses and screaming and yelling. It was total chaos. The spaceships seemed to be getting larger and larger from my perspective but it was just coming closer and closer to us over the school. People all over our city were freaking out and running everywhere.
As I was getting into a bus, being shoved from behind by other kids, I saw Hope and I yelled to her, “Hope! Over here!! Please Hope!” and I waved my hands trying to get her attention. As she was trying to get past the mass of kids she yelled back, “Cipher! Cipher, wait!” The doors to the bus were shutting and Hope was stuck in the crowd. I pushed my way to the back of the bus and opened the back emergency exit door as the bus was driving away. Hope shoved her way out of the mass of people and ran after the bus reaching for my hand. I reached my hand out and said “Come on, come on!!”
“Ahhhh” said Hope running as fast as she could and reaching for me. “Uh!” she grabbed a hold of my hand and I pulled her onto the bus.
“Phew,” I said. “That was close.” She was out of breath and then while I was shutting the door to the bus, I saw Ryan getting onto a different bus. I didn’t know, at the time, that would be the last time I would see him.
A few hours had gone by and we were still on the bus. No one dared to ask around where we were going or what was happening. We just knew to stay still and remain calm though we were so confused and shocked.
We finally arrived somewhere. It seemed to be a base camp for the military but no military men or women were there… there were just kids around my age there and a group of three men and a woman that I saw earlier. As everyone was unloading themselves off the bus, we made our way inside the base camp’s main building. It looked old, scary, and dilapidated. It was as if no one had been in there for several years.
When everyone was inside the building, a lady had everyone sit down and then she announced, “First of all, my name is Henley and we are going to be referred to as, ‘the group’. We are a team of highly trained professionals for exterminating the foreign (any ghosts or monsters or dangerous creatures). Next to me is David, and Luis, and Conye” she said while pointing to each. Luis said, “Now, I know you kids are wondering what you are doing here and where your parents are…”
David cuts in and says, “We assure you, you are in a good and safe place. Your parents know you are here and in good hands.”
“Now,” said Conye, “why are you here?” He hesitates. “As you may know, there are spaceships or UFOs all around the city. We call ’em ‘hiders,’ from the spaceships, and they want to take over earth. To do so, they need to get rid of everything on it first. That means getting rid of you.”
“Now,” said Henley, “Why are you here? Adults like us are stubborn and opinionated and lazy. Teenagers, or young adults will listen and obey people like us when your parents or other people our age won’t. So, we brought you kids here to help. We need you to fight off the problem.”
The group told us that we were going to kill the hiders (what seemed to be a “clone” of humans but are really killer aliens of some sort that are trying to take over the earth). Apparently we had to kill them with guns that the group provides. A kid next to me asked aloud, “How do we tell the difference between a hider and a human if the hiders are clones of humans?” David, one of the four main groupers, said, “The only way for us to tell the difference between them, was to use these goggles that show little creatures (the “alien”) in the brain of the clones. If someone did not have the creature wiggling around in them, then they are human. It would seem just like you and me.”
“So,” said Luis. “Let’s get started.”
Hope and I looked at each other and I said, “I’m not getting a good feeling about this. They still shouldn’t have kids like us kill them. Even if we were supposed to kill off the hiders, it wouldn’t feel right. What if we accidentally kill one of our own… a real human?!”
“I agree,” said Hope “but it’s not our decision. Don’t worry. If these guys are telling the truth, we won’t hurt anyone other than the hiders.”
“Well, what about our parents?” said Cipher. “When can we see them?”
“Don’t give up,” said Hope. “We will be alright. I’m not sure where they are, but we will be with them eventually.”
Henley handed me the goggles, a helmet, armor, and a gun. After I had put them on, the group took everyone into a helicopter. We flew into town and were dropped off in the north part of the city. As soon as we opened the door to the helicopter, we saw numerous hiders! Without the goggles, it seemed as if they were just like normal people, but the goggles showed an alien creature wiggling around where their brain is supposed to be. A loud gunfire “Pow!” was made from behind me and all my friends from school were shooting the clones. I still didn’t feel right killing them even though they are wanting to destroy earth. I’ve just never killed anyone or anything before. Hope was next to me and yelled, “Just do it!” Terrified, I shot…and killed. I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do, but I knew I had to do it to save my family. I couldn’t let the aliens destroy my life or the earth so I was determined to keep killing.
Shot after shot after shot was made until all the clones on that part of the city were killed. The group had us take off our goggles and return to the helicopter. Conye said to me, “Good job. You helped out your people. Doesn’t it feel good?”
I looked around the city below me while in the helicopter. What I saw was destruction. I was a factor that caused that destruction on my own planet. Everything was chaos, killing, and blood. I couldn’t stand it anymore. Something just felt wrong and I had to do something about it or else, nothing would change.
Instead of going back to the base camp, we went into the south part of the city to find more hiders. Once the helicopter landed, the other kids and I unloaded ourselves and the ammo. We managed to shoot all of the hiders present on the south side of town as well as north. After I shot the last hider in view, I noticed everything was gone. Where did all the adults go (that weren’t the hiders)? Then, I looked up to the clouds and I saw a lion eating a lamb. It took a while to sink in but it hit me. I finally understood. The lion is me. I was killing the lamb, which is the hider (or the people) in the city. I couldn’t believe it was so harsh… but it was true.
I put my goggles on and looked right beside me at Hope. The goggles showed the exact same creature moving around in her head just like the other “people.” Frightened, I screamed and Hope said, “What?! What is it?!”
Shocked and terrified I said, “you aren’t going to believe this.”

Epilogue {from Cipher, the author, and allegory descriptions}
After I showed Hope, we showed the other kids what we saw through the goggles. We knew the truth and started a revolt. All along they were lying. ‘The group’ isn’t a team of highly trained professionals. They didn’t need our help to kill the hiders. They are the hiders! They are magicians trying to kill off the rest of the human race! They were called the ‘hiders’ because they were seriously disguised and hidden. The goggles were really made for humans. The “creature” or the “alien” inside the what seemed to be clones head, was all an illusion. Luis (pronounced Lu-e), sort for il-luis-ions represented illusions (get it?). He made the goggles as if it was an illusion, thinking that you were looking at an alien with a bug-type of creature for a brain, when it was really just a normal person. Henley was a master at misbelief. She took your focus off of them (the group) and shifted it to the spaceship and humans. David represented deception. He did not tell the truth, yet he did not tell a lie. He simply avoided both by not telling the whole truth. Example: He said, “you are going to stop the problem” meaning the problem for him which was the humans. The problem you were probably thinking of was the hiders. He was telling the truth, just not the whole truth. Hope represented hope. Go figure. She told Cipher to not give up. She encouraged Cipher when she needed it. Cipher represented decipher aka being able to decipher the difference between good and bad things. Conye represented lying and a con-artist and Mrs. Logical represented logic and Ryan Integrity represents integrity.
After the revolt, we attacked the group. We then struggled to find our way back home to come to find out our families were already dead. We killed them. For the rest of my life, or what is left of it, I will constantly be reminded of the numerous innocent families we killed; that I killed.

The moral:
People need to be more careful with who or what they put their trust into. The Magicians were a great role in this story showing that some things are not what you may think they are. Discernment is necessary. “Come in close, because the more you think you see, the easier it’ll be to fool you.” Not everything is what it seems.

based off of Inferno by Dante

I sat in the old rocking chair upstairs in the attic as I heard my grand-daughter, Lydia, climb up the stairs saying, “Grandma, tell me the time when you visited Hell.” I lifted her up onto my lap and knowing she was still young of age (only six) I began the story…
Well, child, I was fifteen years old and I entered through the gates of Hell that had demons with fire guarding it. They asked me to state my name and reasoning to enter and so I told them that I didn’t really know what was happening but someone put me here for a reason. Wait. Rewind. It started when I woke up not knowing where I was! Last thing I knew I was in my room finishing a Literature assignment… now that I think about it. There was a man…no, an angel of some sort… he was glowing, and all that I recall, he told me “you don’t understand what I am doing now, but someday you will.” This man transported me somehow, must’ve been by magic, and I was put into a deep sleep and I woke up in front of the gates of Hell with no one to help me or guide me but my conscious. Now you are probably wondering how I knew it was Hell. Ha-ha, that’s because the demon greeted me, “State your name and reason for visiting the Underworld (Hell).” So now back to where I was….when they approved, they opened the gates and there was a gigantic darkened hole with stairs circling down further and further until there was nothing else to see. As soon as I started down the stairs I immediately noticed the stench, the horrendous odor of burning sulfur. Along with it, came screams of torment and torture. Suddenly, my eyes started rapidly blinking because of the thick and musky smoke from the burning sulfur. This was when I realized, Hell was seriously real and was the complete dead opposite of paradise. I began to tear up in my eyes because it was so scary even though I had not even gone down the twisted stairs into the first circle yet.
When I made my way down to the first circle of Hell, I saw a man in a cellar being abused by a demon. The man was chained into the cellar with worms eating on his flesh and he was violently shaking and screaming in pain as the demon whipped him with two lashes repetitively. Then I noticed the man’s forehead had the number “666” sewn onto him as a tattoo. I looked above him on the cellar door and it also had the number “666” on it. As I passed by them, I realized it was Michael Jackson and he was imprisoned in Hell because he had “sold his soul to the devil.” He did this because in the music industry, they made him sign a contract agreement saying if he were to sell his soul, then he would gain riches and fame throughout his life on earth, which is what happened. This level, circle 1, was for the people who worked for the music industry and sold their soul to gain fame on earth. He said to me, “Please, tell the people on earth to not sing my songs because each time someone does, this demon whips me harder and harder!” Then I also noticed the other demons around him. They were walking in a backwards motion yet moving forward… just like Michael Jackson’s dance move, the “moon walk.” I was so socked that the next thing I knew I was in another circle.
After I got over the first circle, I approached the second circle. I walked over an old twisted bridge and to my right I saw an old Pope. He was lifting heavy boulders while his hands were on fire! I asked him why he was in Hell and he screamed back to me saying, “I deliberately misinformed men and women about the Word and though I taught about Jesus, I did not believe in him myself.” There was a multitude of people doing to the same he was. This circle was for the hypocrites because they taught the word and told others to believe when they did not even believe themselves. Their punishment was carrying their heavy boulders (which are their burdens) while on fire because they knew the Word and spoke of the Word but they chose not to accept it for themselves so they carried their struggles.
The third circle I came upon had a large building with a sign that read, “Palace of torment.” When I went in, I saw men and women walking around blind with fire on their hands. I came to find out that this place was for the Atheist, sorcerers, Muslims, etc. for the ones who heard God’s word but yet were blinded by the truth. As I passed, a man was yelling at me saying, “I know you’re there! You’re a visitor aren’t you? Well when you leave please tell them! Tell the people Hell is real! Don’t be like us! Leave and don’t return!!” I hesitated, waiting for him to leave trying to pretend as if I wasn’t even there. Then I turned around quickly, not looking back on them and left the palace.
The next thing I knew, I found myself walking in a room full of fire, flames, and thick black smoke. I saw people being violently thrown around in the air repetitively. They were being tossed around so fast, their screams sounded like they were being jolted on a roller coaster. This circle, circle four, was for the spendthrifts because they would buy and buy and buy things and throw them away within their first use. Their punishment was to spend an eternity being violently tossed around and around. When I peered around looking for familiar faces I saw my cousin Alison and suddenly I wept with grief. Last I knew she was in Lima, Ohio alive and well. Then I tried to speak to her saying, “Alison! It’s me, Lauren, you’re cousin” and there was no response. I assumed because she couldn’t hear me, she was too busy screaming. I couldn’t believe she was a spendthrift.
As I came upon circle five, after crossing the bridge, I saw crosses surrounding a large fire. When I approached closer and closer, I saw Judas Iscariot along with other traitors being crucified and burned with a large fire. These traitors were traitors to their God, each other, and themselves. Judas was in the middle of the fire being crucified with all the other traitors encircling him also being crucified. He was in the middle because his sin was against Jesus in person. He deliberately betrayed The Lord. I stayed there a bit longer than the other previous circles because once their bodies were completely burnt and wrecked from the crucifixion (turned to ash), their bodies would turn back into a regular human body. This was repeated again and again and will never end.
The sixth circle was for the selfish. I saw the once “richest man in the world” and he was facing a large mirror along with other selfish men and women and they would forever look into these mirrors. They would envision themselves having the best life ever and then suddenly, their life turning into the worst disaster. They gained the world, then lost their souls. Everything fell apart and burned into agony and pain for them. These people were glued to individual chairs constantly staring at the mirrors and their lives. My eyes couldn’t take it anymore. I started crying and I actually felt sad for them. Was this bad? Was this good? I pitied them and slowly walked away wondering if that was such a bad thing.
I was walking deeper and deeper, around and around, making my way to the bottom of Hell. I made it to the seventh circle down the spiraling stairs. There, I saw the homosexuals, murders, suicidal, and terrorists. These wide varieties all had the same punishment because they had similar sins. They all did not know God’s true love for them. The homosexuals thought they knew what love was when searching for their own gender and not God. The murderers grew angry and upset because they did not think anyone loved them. The suicidal did not understand that God loves them and their precious life on earth and their true purpose on life. Finally, the terrorists were not content with God’s love. They were so upset that they thought that killing others would suffice them. Their punishment was being torn apart one by one, limb by limb because they tried to tear others apart not knowing God’s love and wanting them to feel unloved and their families to feel broken. Their bodies became separated by each other; they tore each other apart for their sins.
“What happened after that grandma?” said Lydia with suspense written on her face.
“Well, I came upon the last circle. This circle, circle eight, was the scariest thing that I have ever seen in my whole 87 years that I have been alive.”
“Well, don’t stop!! What happened? Who was there? Were there anymore demons or sinners in the last circle?”
“Hold your horses, I will explain it all.”
I felt like I was burning, my skin was so hot I felt like a melting snowman in the heat of summer. I approached the den of Satan and the considered worst sinners of all time. I found myself standing in the presence of the once most Godly angel ever, the fallen angel Lucifer. He was not death, yet he was not life. When I saw him, I felt all of the emotions… but one. I felt scared, I felt anxious, and I felt sad and mad but not joyful. I felt everything but joy. He was larger than gigantic, yet size cannot ever begin to explain his physical features. He was dark blood red all over and had a human body but much larger. He had large black wings and sharp points on the ends of them. His hands were burning with flames and feet as well. In this circle, I was in shock staring at the horror of the scene. The sinners were the deceitful, charming, vulgar, and vile. Satan had them face heaven lying on their backs on the ground with their hands and feet spread apart. The ground had sharp needles inserting into their backs piercing them repeatedly. As they looked up at heaven, they saw what they could never get, Jesus. Their eyes could never shut because Satan had ripped their eyelids off and cutting their hands were nails that cut through the bone. This was because they looked at Jesus, and had to suffer as Jesus suffered but having the nails on their hands and back and never being able to look away from what they missed their whole life. I could not take it any longer. I ran trying to escape but there was no exit…I stopped, looked around finding no escape but the way I came. I knew I couldn’t take it any longer; I couldn’t go back that way!!
“Grandma, what did you do?” said Lydia with complete and utter shock.
“I prayed.”
I prayed to God; asking Him to save me, take me back to my room and save my soul from this horrible, devilish place. In a flash I was back in my room just as if nothing happened. I awoke the next morning convincing myself it was all a dream.
Going through all of Hell I learned that it was Jesus who placed me in Hell. I really was there! I know that for a fact! The reason why he showed me must’ve been because of my fault, my sin. I thought I was a Christian, doing Christian deeds and believing in Him when I really wasn’t. I was selfish, I was a jerk, I didn’t love, and I always reacted in a negative manner and didn’t respond in a positive way like Jesus. I remember Lydia, after all of what I went through, that man, that angel told me, “You don’t understand what I am doing now, but someday you will.” I know that that man, that angel, was trying to put me back on the right path. He showed me hey this is where you are headed if you don’t stop doing wrong and if you don’t believe in me. Jesus showed me the way out and ever since then, child, I have been grateful and gratefully saved by his grace. So now go, tell others this story as I have now told you. Be a prophet, they have not died out prophet are still alive to this day! Profess the Word of God and tell people Jesus came to save! Hell is real and lasts for an eternity dear child. So go and be fishers of men. Believe.
I set Lydia down and she thanked me for the story as I watched her leave the room, going down the stairs. She turned back around, came back up the steps and said, “Grandma…” then she came up to my ear and whispered with a big grin on her face, “I believe you.” She kissed my check and ran back downstairs as she was giggling with joy on her face.

–40 years later—

Lydia stands on the pulpit preaching,
“So I tell you all, Jesus is as real as you and me. So is Heaven and Hell. I’m not trying to push this on you but I need you all to know, what is written in this book,” as she holds up the Word of God (Bible), “is all true. It’s not a lie, it’s not a dream. Believe in God, trust in God. He gives each and every one of you a choice. He wants you to choose him but that’s up to you. So what’s next? Well, that’s for you to decide.” Then she walked down the few steps of the pulpit, off of the stage and as she was walking away being done with her sermon, she smiled and looked up to the heavens and said, “I sure do grandma.” And she blew a kiss to the sky and said, “I believe.”

Wisdom and Knowledge

  Think about the geniuses throughout history. You are probably thinking of scientists, chemists, physicists, or doctors aren’t you? People like Galileo, Mark Twain, Einstein, or Mendeleev were the masters of astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, literature, and more. Well, have you ever thought about these people who get wisdom and knowledge also gain sorrow, sadness, annoyance, and frustration? “For in much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow” Ecclesiastes 1:18.

(Comparison, Similarity) My interpretation of this verse is that when you gain wisdom and knowledge about the world, you start to understand what the point of everything is. There is a reason for everything and with wisdom and knowledge you can understand everything better. I think of this like the book and the movie, The Giver. Jonas (main character) got his career (job for life) at age 12 as “the receiver”. He received information about his world that he lives in from “the giver” that no other normal person knows but the government. As he trained more and more with the giver, he gained knowledge about their world, “sameness” and what there could be, elsewhere. When he lived out his knowledge, he gained wisdom and by the end of the book and movie, he changed their world of sameness to normal or ordinary life (what we live in with color and truth and lies). My point is, The Giver, relates in my opinion to this verse. When Jonas gained more and more wisdom and knowledge, he had mixed emotions. He felt sorrow, happiness, and vexation because though things seemed bad, he knew they were beautiful.

(Testimonial, example) In Matthew chapter 27:46, Jesus is dying on the cross and says, “‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” Everyone knows that Jesus is perfect, but he was not, to my belief, born with all of the knowledge in the world (Luke 2:52). He gained wisdom and knowledge throughout his lifetime. Through this, he was annoyed, angered, sad, and sorrow at times. As he gained knowledge and learned more about the world, we know through scripture, specifically the one mentioned above, Jesus was sorrowful at times. His wisdom and knowledge that he gained while growing up on earth, made him more aware of good and bad, good and evil which brings sorrow. As he was on the cross, he felt sorrow because the people do not know what they were doing and he felt vexation because the some people did not listen to Him and that He was (and is) the Messiah.

 (Relationship, cause and effect) Think about a relationship that you have with someone or a friend who knows of a person who always thinks that they are right. Is it ever annoying? Does it ever make you sad? I know it does to me because we all like to be right but if you use true knowledge and reasoning and have spent a long time thinking about something that you know for a fact is right, and your friend thinks you are wrong, you will probably be sad. Your wisdom and knowledge can bring vexation and sorrow throughout your life even by a relationship.

Even the only perfect being ever, Jesus, was annoyed and sad when He gained more knowledge and wisdom when growing up. Ecclesiastes 1:18 says, “For in much wisdom is vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow.” Knowing more about the world can be sad, scary, and even annoying.

What is the scariest thing you’ve done?

It all began two years ago at a faraway camp. Camp Eagle is located in Rocksprings, Texas. I had previously gone there in the seventh grade with my classmates but I knew I wanted to go there again the following year. I haven’t had much experience with scary things or tragic stories but around this time a few years ago I had a near death experience or so it seemed…
Camp Eagle is one of the greatest outdoor camps ever. You can do activities such as zip lining (both 800ft and 3000ft), kayaking, cave exploring, mine exploring, archery, and more. One of the activities was the super swing. I was so excited and pumped to go on it but once I got on, I knew I was going to die. Obviously I did not die because I am writing this story so if you are reading for a sad ending; sorry this is not one- spoiler alert! The super swing is one of the highlights of Camp Eagle.
The super swing is self-explanatory. It is a huge swing that takes you vertically up to seven stories high and then releases you (drops you) until you almost hit the ground and then it swings you. There is a minimum of two people that can go on it at a time and a maximum of three people (depending on their weight). The middle person gets in my opinion the best job of pulling the rope that makes you “free” fall. Everyone is laying on their bellies in a harness and other people in a high room crank you up by a pulley and lever system. It takes a while to reach it to the top and your legs might lose circulation for a while turning them purple and blue but it is worth it.
I went on the super swing with my close friends Hannah and Robin. Hannah wanted to be in the middle and I was on the right side. So you are probably thinking why would that be scary? Well I will tell you Hannah tried to pull the rope but it didn’t work! We were stuck there for about five minutes trying to get down. Well after about five minutes seven stories in the air, your legs stop working and lose feeling. We started to get scared not just because of our legs but also the height. We started to realize, hey we are pretty high up and we could die… so we started singing a song by David Crowder called “How He Loves.” We prayed to God and sang because of our fear of death. Well, Hannah yanked it one last time and unexpectedly, not telling us, she did it! We fell and swung. It was so scary yet I never regret! To this day I still do the super swing. This year, it will be my eighth time going.
The Horror.

Proverbs

In Proverbs chapters 17:17, 18:24, 19:4-6, and 27:6, the narrator talks about friendship. Friendship is an important necessity in life and Proverbs talks a lot about it and advice for it. In this essay, I will talk about the Proverbs that are about friendship and the modern applications of the idea.
Proverbs 17:17 states, “A friend loves at all times and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.” I interpret this that if you choose to be a friend to someone, then you should love them always. You do not necessarily have to love their deeds, but you should love the person. They love you just as if they are your close family member. Friends are there for each other just like family members are. Friends will support you, love on you, and help you when you need it. One of the best parts of life is, simply, when your family understands you as a friend, and your friends support you as your family.
Proverbs 18:24 says, “Some friends play at friendship but a true friend sticks closer than one’s nearest kin.” This Proverb can relate to the modern and present day. Lots of people say they have a “best friend forever (BFF)” but they do not act like best friends or they hide their true feelings from them. There are many people that show fake, or not real, qualities with other people. They may act differently in front of their closer friends than their other friends. True friends stick together like a kin, or family. Regular friends just talk when they see each other but true friends will make the friendship last no matter the troubled or distances. Friends act like kin. True friends are like stars in this way, you don’t always see them, but you know they are always there.
Chapter 19 verses 4-6 in Proverbs says, “Wealth brings many friends, but the poor are left friendless. A false witness will not go unpunished, and a liar will not escape. Many seek the favor of the generous, and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts.” Everyone loves gifts, we can all admit that, money or wealth is a feature of the good life. People enjoy other people, but if someone has money and a generous heart, everyone will admire them. In our society today, pleasure is found in wealth and riches. Friendship, as it is mentioned in this Proverb, is most important above all. True friendship is more important than wealth. When we know someone poor, it is uncommon it seems to be good friends with them. Why is this? We desire wealth and riches to bring us pleasure so…does this mean that we hang around wealthy people so we can be happy? Each person is different, yes, but most people are closer friends with the wealthier people. True friendship brings joy, happiness, and pleasure. Friendship is more important than wealth. For example, if you run out of money and become poor, what will happen to your friends that admire wealthy friends? Will they leave you? Hopefully not because true friends, will not leave you no matter the circumstance.
Proverbs 27:6 says, “Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts, but profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” I look at this as a friend makes mistakes a lot, all people do. If they are truly your friends, then their mistakes are accidental and you can infer depending on the situation, that the majority of the time, they mean well and are not doing something rude on purpose. You friends will take the time to correct you or help you with something if they are truly your friends.
Friendship is important and Proverbs provides excellent examples of how you can demonstrate friendship and it also gives you helpful advice. Friends are needed because they help you when you are helpless; they will support you, make memories with you, cheer you up, and will be there for you. Proverbs describes friendship and what it means.

Odysseus

If you haven’t read the Odyssey (second book after The Iliad), you should because it shows true courage and loyalty that more people in this world should have.

Everyone has at least two sides. There’s a good side that performs kind-natured deeds, and a bad said that has flaws. People are not perfect. They steal, lie, and trick others but they also can be nice, kind, and respectful. Someone just like everyone else by the name of Odysseus, meaning son of pain, is traveling home to Ithica. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus struggles with his different sides. What is he truly like? In this epic poem, Odysseus is a well-rounded hero with mostly good qualities, but also a few flaws.

Odysseus is loyal, loving, and responsible throughout his life. He may be smart, tricky, and cunning, but he is also loyal. Odysseus remembers his wife back home in Ithaca, Penelope. He remembers his family, kingdom, friends, acquaintances, loved ones, and enemies. Odysseus has a very good memory and ability to remain loyal and respectful of everything even though he has been gone for so long. Odysseus longs for his return home so he remains loyal and loving to them because he misses them so much. In The Odyssey, Odysseus shows that he wants to go back home, “ ‘Tell me what’s on your mind. I’m eager to do it,/ whatever I can do…whatever can be done’ ” (5, 101-102). He shows that he wants to go home to his loved ones. He is responsible in transporting his comrades and ship-mates back home safely. Odysseus is loving, loyal, and thoughtful in remembering his family during his trip home to Ithaca.

Odysseus is wise and savvy which contributes to his heroic deeds as a character in The Odyssey. Odysseus is an older man with much experience in war and life. While in the Trojan War, he discovers new ways to think and fight. He knows how to work around things in a particular way so that nothing can affect him. Odysseus can make tools and weapons if needed, finds a rout back home, and manage to get out of bad situations. These things are very important, especially where he is now in The Odyssey. On their way back home to Ithaca from Aeolus, Odysseus does not want to use the wind that the king gave to him to lead them sailing back home quickly. When his crew aboard the ship selfishly mistook it for treasure, they opened the bag of wind and all of the wind blows away in the wrong direction away from home. Before the incident, Odysseus had been savvy because he wanted to use the wind to get home, a brilliant idea. In book ten, Odysseus travels back to Aeolus’s island saying, “ ‘A mutinous crew undid me-that and a cruel sleep./ Set it to rights my friends. You have the power!’ ” (10, 74-75). As a result of his crew opening the bag of wind, they are traveling back to Aeolus’s island. Another time Odysseus is smart was when he goes back home and Athena, along with the prophecy, does not want anyone to know who he is until he sets everything right in his kingdom. He follows what the prophecy tells him to do and turns everything that is chaotic into order. Odysseus is savvy and wise through his experiences with other people which came out to be positive effect on his heroic nature as a good character.

However, Odysseus has a tricky and cunning personality. Odysseus has a way with words. He tricks Polyphemus into thinking his name is “Nobody” so that if anyone were to ask him what happened to him, he could say, “Nobody hurt me.” Odysseus tricks people into other things so it can be viewed as a flaw in his character. Odysseus does not necessarily tell the truth, or the whole truth. On his journey back home, to Ithaca, he tells the people he meets his story, how he got where he is. Most of the time, Odysseus tells the truth of what happened in the past, though every now and then, he tricks people in thinking he is telling the truth, though he is simply, lying. This flaw is vital for his trust. Polyphemus asked him where his ships were located and when he arrived and so Odysseus tricked him by not telling him the whole truth. He said ,

“ ‘My ship?/ Poseidon god of the earthquake smashed my ship,

he drove it against the rocks at your island’s far cape,

he dashed it against a cliff as the winds rode us in.

I and the men you see escaped a sudden death’ ” (9, 318-323)

which is not the whole truth. He also is cunning to the kingdom when he goes home. He pretends he is a beggar when he is truly not. In this case, Athena helps him turn himself into someone he is not. Odysseus is cunning and tricks people into thinking he is telling the truth, but that is not necessarily true. His ability to lie and trick people is a flaw in his heroic nature.

Though Odysseus is a good man, like everyone else, he has a few flaws. His flaws reflect on his heroic character in The Odyssey by Homer. All people have at least two sides to their personality. Odysseus is just like every other man created. Everyone can be nice, and everyone can be mean. He struggles to get home and proves that he is a hero to many because of his mostly good-natured character.

Jehovah’s Witness vs. Christianity

I am interested in other religions. I want to know what people believe and why. Truth seems to be defined differently by each person. The word truth means the actual state of matter; the actuality or actual existence; an obvious of accepted fact. The Christians define truth as: Jesus and the Bible. There are two types of truth. It is either evident or obvious. Two types of evident truths are General and Special Revelation. General Revelation is God showing us things through the earth and our daily lives. Special Revelation is God showing us things through His Holy Word- the Bible. For this blog, I want to talk about two types of religions, Jehovah’s Witness and Christianity. 

To be straight forward with you guys, I do not completely understand what they believe. Each individual is different but what some claim is that, Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christians. They do believe in Jesus just not as their savior. Again, this is not all Jehovah’s Witnesses, only some. I recently discovered a website with different religions and their beliefs on them. This website says this about the Jehovah’s Witness: “They believe that all true Christian churches are of the devil. They believe Jesus is not God, but is the Archangel Michael – the first being created by God. They deny that God is a Trinity. They believe Jesus died on a stake, rather than a cross. They deny that Jesus rose bodily from the dead. They believe that only 144,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses will go to heaven. The rest will live forever in a paradise on Earth, never meeting the person who died for them – Jesus Christ. They believe that salvation is impossible outside of the Watchtower. They are not allowed to question the Watchtower leadership or teaching. They claim you need to read the Watchtower’s magazines and other material in order to understand the Bible correctly. If you don’t read the Watchtower’s books, you will “fall into darkness” – what they call reverting to normal Christianity. They have falsely predicted the end of the world five times. They have just changed a major Watchtower prediction that the end of the world would come before the generation of Witnesses born before 1914 died. They are encouraged to visit homes for at least 10 hours per month distributing Watchtower materials. They use their own special translation of the Bible which mistranslates the original texts. They are well known to disown, shun, and ignore any friends and family leaving the cult. They discourage tertiary education. They are not allowed to be in the army or wear crosses. They are not allowed to celebrate birthdays. They are not allowed to celebrate Christmas – the date we celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ.”

Now, with my knowledge of the Bible and my beliefs as a Christian, as will talk about why the Jehovah’s Witness is, in actuality, a cult.

Christians believe in Jesus. We believe Jesus is God’s only son who came to earth as a person in human flesh and died for everyone. We believe Mary and Joseph were Jesus’s earth parents. We believe in the resurrection of Christ and that he went back to heaven. We believe in His second coming, the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the Bible (Old and New Testament-NIV, KJV, ESV, etc.), and we believe that when we die we go to heaven and we will all have a judgment day when the world comes to an end in heaven. We believe in a Heaven and a Hell (Lucifer the fallen angel, aka the devil). Now, after having read the requirements to be a Jehovah’s Witness (J.W.), you can tell there are quite a few differences in both religions. As a Christian, I know that the J.Ws. do not know the full truth or they deny the full truth. Christians are never required by God to do physical work like the J.Ws. are. We are told we should definitely keep pressing into God and understand more and more or the Scriptures, but He never said in black in white to do work in this religion. We want more people to go to heaven and experience a wonderful and majestic place with us! We don’t want friends or family members to not be able to go to heaven with us or not live on the new earth God will make for the people in heaven to live on. We want as many people as possible to believe in Jesus. You have to A, Admit to God that you are a sinner and repent and turn away from your sin, B, believe that Jesus is the son of God and accept His gift of forgiveness, and C, Confess your faith in Jesus as your Savior and your Lord and you will forever be with Him in heaven. Can’t you see or even imagine to be in a place with NO sin, NO lies or depression or confusion or war? Bear with me and try to imagine it. You are protected, saved, in a paradise. You have food, friends, family, love, and most importantly a God to live with for ALL eternity! If you can’t accept this from me telling you after that scenario, then let’s try this. Have you ever heard of C. S. Lewis? I’m sure you have. Well, he too had a great imagination. He wrote a series a while back called the Chronicles of Narnia. If you haven’t heard of it, please do look it up. It is worth reading or even seeing the movies. Anyways, think of Aslan and Narnia. Aslan is Jesus and Narnia is heaven. Everything is perfect with him. He is beautiful, glorious, and a warrior. He will fight for you. He loves you enough to die for you! Aslan died for you! Jesus died for you! If you can believe in a fairytale like Narnia, why not believe in Jesus? There is nothing, absolutely nothing bad coming out of believe in a fairytale. If something good does happen to come out of it in the end, and Narnia, Heaven, is real, then you’re in! You did it! But if it’s not, then hey, it’s all just another fairytale that you learned as a kid. Believe in it like Narnia. Trust all of us, something good will come out. There is a reason for everything. There is a reason why SO many people talk about the Bible and why God is on every dollar bill. It seems people long ago believed in it, why not us? We are the next generation. We have the choice to accept and believe in something greater than ever before! Just accept it. It’s the truth.

Now it’s your turn. If you are reading this and you don’t know what you believe or you “think” you know but you really don’t, then here is an opportunity for you. I have told you about both regions Jehovah’s Witness, and Christianity. I am not trying to convert anyone. I just want everyone to know that you have an opportunity. Which one is the real deal? That’s for you to decide. Ultimate Reality is the one true God. Who is your God? Where is he from? Mine has always been around, and He will forever be. He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and the soon coming King. Alpha, Omega, the Lord of everything. Healer, provider, protector, lover, and the most high. (: -Lauren