• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Geoff's Miscellany

Miscellaneous Musings

Archives for November 2015

Johannes Weiss: Did Paul meet Jesus before the crucifixion?

November 30, 2015 by Geoff Leave a Comment

I often speculated that this was so and indeed wondered why I’d never heard or read it. But alas, it is a hypothesis that has popped up in various places. Stanley Porter, in a lecture attempting to answer this question, referred to this passage in Weiss and so I began to read (I had not read it, to my shame) and I found this:

For myself I feel bound to say, whether others support my views or not, that this mode of treating the problem seems entirely unsatisfactory and unconvincing. I lay no stress upon the historical difficulty, that the struggle with the Nazarene churches can hardly have left Paul with time or inclination to gather detailed knowledge of Jesus’ life or with leisure to assimilate it (Gal. 1:22). There is a more important point to consider. I must adhere to the statement that the vision on the road to Damascus is only intelligible on the supposition that Paul recognised Jesus in the heavenly vision. He may have heard a personal description of Jesus from the first disciples or from casual observers; but could such a description have enabled him to recognise Jesus? If we seriously consider the meaning of this vision, we are forced to conclude that the features of the earthly Jesus must have been known to him, seeing that the vision showed him the glorified Jesus. And I cannot but wonder how the whole school of modern theology has been able so readily to reject the best and most natural explanation of these difficulties, namely the assumption that Paul had seen Jesus personally, and that the sight had made an indelible impression upon him, perhaps unconsciously or even against his will. “We need not consider the possibility that Paul the Pharisee may have known the Galilæan prophet in person. The possibility naturally exists, but that it was ever realised there is no certain evidence in our sources of information.” Thus Kölbing (p. 109). One indication, at least, we have in the considerations above detailed, which show that a literal interpretation of the vision presupposes Paul’s personal knowledge of Jesus. But the problem may be more directly attacked by an opposite line of argument. Where is there a single syllable to show that Paul had not seen Jesus in person? The words of the exalted One, “I am Jesus, Whom thou persecutest,” given in the three accounts of the conversion to be found in the Acts (9:5; 21:7; 26:14) are no proof that Paul then saw Jesus for the first time; they were spoken because Paul saw no figure, but only heard the voice. It would have been an obvious course, both for the author of the Acts and for Paul, to declare the very surprising fact that Paul had never seen face to face the Lord, Whom he so zealously served. Yet we find no trace of any remark to this effect. -Johannes Weiss, Paul and Jesus, trans. H. J. Chaytor, Harper’s Library of Living Thought (London; New York: Harper & Brothers, 1909), 39–41.

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Ancient Assistance for Memory in the Modern Mind

November 28, 2015 by Geoff Leave a Comment

Many feel as though they could become wise if they only could remember things more exactly. But how? The ancients wondered the same thing.

[Read more…] about Ancient Assistance for Memory in the Modern Mind

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: intellectual virtues, prudence

Fools lack wisdom, but how do you get wisdom?

November 26, 2015 by Geoff Leave a Comment

One of the fundamental questions we should ask ourselves is this, “How can I get wisdom?” Wisdom can lead to riches, happiness, success, friendships, a good name, and so-on. Who wouldn’t want the riches of wisdom in their life? Few know this, but in more ancient times, the elements of wisdom were essentially agreed upon. If wisdom is a puzzle, the completion of which would make your life less anxious, wouldn’t you want to know what the pieces were?

[Read more…] about Fools lack wisdom, but how do you get wisdom?

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: intellectual virtues, prudence

Why Become a Christian?

November 24, 2015 by Geoff

In a previous post, I explained how to become a Christian.

In this post, I wish to explain (briefly, not in full) why to become a Christian.

  1. The gospel is true and it is important to believe true things
    I’m not going to delve into a length apologetic here, but in my mind the arguments for God’s existence are convincing if their premises are accepted in the same manner that Geometry proofs are convincing. Secondly, Jesus is too compelling a character to be invented and the resurrection story is the best explanation of the rise of Christianity.
  2. Happiness
    Martin Seligman has identified five aspects of happiness in the lives of people who claim to be happy (see below). Being a part of any religion can provide these, but Christianity has a special emphasis on rejoicing in the mundane aspects of life as well as in the transcendence of God. It also includes a command to take dominion over the earth (engagement), to spend time building up other Christians in their understanding of the gospel and of their callings (relationships), an allegedly true story of the whole world (meaning), and several duties and moral priorities (accomplishment).

    1. Positive Emotions
    2. Engagement with the world
    3. Relationships
    4. Meaning
    5. Achievement
  3. To Receive Forgiveness of Sins
    Having a guilty conscience is bad and having a guilty verdict is worse. This is especially so if the verdict is concerning rebellion against infinite truth, goodness, and beauty. But thankfully, if Christianity is true, then Jesus offers God’s forgiveness to the world, through the church.
  4. Eternal Life
    Most of us do not want to die. This is a good instinct. Jesus offers you an opportunity to experience God and his creation in a fashion that is both ecstatic in quality and eternal in duration. This can freak you out, but perhaps not as much as the notion of dying.
  5. Culture
    Let’s face it. While evangelical antics can be fairly stupid and Christians have done bad things in the past, people love Christian culture. Calculus, the scientific method, the Aristotelian synthesis, and the Roman Juriprudential system were all preserved/created/improved upon by Christians. The Christian systems of meditation on creation, Scripture, and the human tradition are frankly super effective and very awesome.
  6. Evil is Real
    Evil is real and must be stood against. But many people find themselves disagreeing with an evil and being told, “That’s just your preference.” Christianity, though Christians get the details wrong, provides a grounding for opposition to human evil in our own hearts and in others with both

    1. a tradition of natural/non-religious ethical reasoning
    2. a further Biblical tradition of ethical norms

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: discipleship

Roid Rage vs Confidence

November 20, 2015 by Geoff Leave a Comment

When I was 18, I did some personal training. During my certification test, the cert group had to move us to a different building across the city.

One of the guys needed a ride because a friend had dropped him off. He was jacked. I mean, a really really big dude. He was my height but weighed about 190 pounds. I remember feeling pretty good about myself when he asked if I used steroids based on my squat numbers (which were relatively high, but not absolutely high).

Anyhow, I knew how to get to the other location, but it was on the opposite side of San Antonio, so I drove through town rather than getting on the loop because it was a straight shot.

They guy started thinking I went the wrong way and began to yell at me. He also started punching my dashboard telling me to turn around or he was going to kick my ass.

I had been doing martial arts for a couple of years by this point and I’d beaten larger men in bjj matches, but I’d never been in a real fight against a guy that big with morals turned off.

I was trying to figure out what to do, so I told the guy that it didn’t matter how big he was he had two options:

  1. Get beaten into the pavement and left on the side of the road.
  2. Shut up and go finish his certification exam.

The reason I offered the concession in option two was that I knew that unless I used a weapon, I couldn’t win but the bluff seemed pretty serious.

He chose option 2 and as we pulled up to the test site, he apologized.

I would have done two things differently now:

  1. Not offered the guy a ride.
  2. If somehow, I had given him a ride, I would have made him get out of the truck.

There’s no moral to this story, I just suddenly remembered this event that I probably hadn’t ever told anybody about outside of a small circle of friends and my karate instructor.

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: personal

Fake it Till You Make It

November 19, 2015 by Geoff Leave a Comment

One of the weirdest struggles I have is periodic long stretches of depressive/depressing thoughts.

I’ve never been diagnosed with depression, but I sometimes struggle with debilitating self-doubt, lack of confidence, and even feelings of meaninglessness. And when I said debilitating, I meant that on a vacation I’ve been able to literally sit and do nothing unless somebody asked me to for days in a row. I’m sure that I don’t have clinical depression, because I manage to snap myself out of it. The point of this post is that tremendous self-doubts can be overcome, but not always by debating yourself.

One of the ways the feelings I described above manifest themselves is at my various jobs. I work as a software developer and I teach in various contexts.

I often feel completely out of place around people who are significantly better trained than I am. On top of that, I can attribute my lack of capability largely to decisions I made in the past that distracted me and kept me from all sorts of success.

One of the tactics I’ve used to help me overcome such feelings has been “fake it till you make it.” Here’s a great quote on the subject from an unusually helpful article at Psychology Today:

Likewise, the most effective way to move toward change is to act like you’ve already achieved it. Don’t worry about playing mind-games with yourself. Don’t worry about affirmations. The way to become a fit person is to act like one. I’ve always found that the hardest part of exercising—the only hard part, really—is putting on my sneakers. Once they’re on, there’s pretty much a 100 percent chance of getting some form of workout done. Why else would I have these shoes on?

Now, I do think that affirmations have their place as does debating your inner-monologue, but sometimes just acting like somebody who knows what’s going on helps you learn. Similarly, acting like somebody who isn’t feeling depressed is a good way to help yourself snap out of it.

So, if you want to get out of a funk, start pretending to be a person who isn’t in a funk. This isn’t insincere, this is defense against the dark arts. You’re using built in features of your brain to get out of feelings that hurt you, end of story.

Concluding Thought

Don’t fake it till you make it without actually doing the things that a competent person does (working, thinking things through, asking questions, etc).

Postscript:

Here is an important comment from a good friend named Kieran:

This is good advice if you get in a bit of a funk. There can come a point though where all you’re doing is faking it and not making it. That’s a sign of something dangerous and it’s both hard to spot from the outside and hard to admit to oneself. Real depression is an illness and should be treated as such, with medication and therapy.

Share:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: how-to

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • 2020 Has Been a Big Year or I Finally Quit
  • Steps to Open a Bible College
  • You Have No Power Here, This is a Library
  • What is true wealth?
  • What’s Wrong with Conservatives?

Recent Comments

  • Sharon on Whether we live or die, Aslan will be our good lord.
  • Alishba lodhi on Effort Habit: Keep the Faculty of Effort Alive in You
  • Geoff on Why is Covetousness Idolatry?
  • Geoff on 2020 Has Been a Big Year or I Finally Quit
  • Kelly Jensen on Why is Covetousness Idolatry?

Archives

  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • May 2013
  • March 2013

Cateories

WordPress · Log in