tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543355.post111408509864738459..comments2023-11-15T17:55:18.051-05:00Comments on MarkDaniels.Blogspot.com: Is There Ultimate Truth?Mark Danielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18205344762960756655noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543355.post-1119032026220272882005-06-17T14:13:00.000-04:002005-06-17T14:13:00.000-04:00Greetings,Can there be a truth so great that possi...Greetings,<BR/><BR/>Can there be a truth so great <BR/>that possibly god could do nothing greater?<BR/><BR/>God loves mankind as he loves himself.<BR/><BR/>In the spirit of peace<BR/><BR/>EricAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543355.post-1114327669956257602005-04-24T03:27:00.000-04:002005-04-24T03:27:00.000-04:00"you can spare me the condescending commentary..."...<I>"you can spare me the condescending commentary..."</I><BR/><BR/>Was this intended to be ironic, or did you just not realize how incredibly condescending your own comments were?LotharBothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06806302628374941715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543355.post-1114284345272016462005-04-23T15:25:00.000-04:002005-04-23T15:25:00.000-04:00Dear Second Anonymous Commenter:A Christian is not...Dear Second Anonymous Commenter:<BR/>A Christian is not one who embraces a warm blanket of certainties and platitudes and willfully disregards the sometimes painful mysteries of life.<BR/><BR/>On the contrary, following Christ entails "taking up the cross," refusing to flinch at or deny life's dark passages, its pain, and challenges. Read Bonhoeffer's poetry written before his martyrdom for opposing Hitler. He wrestled with the unknown, but chose to cling to Christ because in Him, Bonhoeffer saw a fellow sufferer. <BR/><BR/>Faith says, "If God went to a cross, how can I suppose that I won't face my cross as well? " <BR/><BR/>But the comfort is that we don't face it alone...and that because of Christ, something more awaits us.<BR/><BR/>This is why Marx had it wrong. Christian faith, far from being the opiate of the masses, is the means by which the masses stand up to injustice and exhibit the life style of compassion and concern you've apparently admired in Christians you've seen.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your comments.<BR/><BR/>MarkMark Danielshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18205344762960756655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543355.post-1114283599555367822005-04-23T15:13:00.000-04:002005-04-23T15:13:00.000-04:00I guess it comes down to this: Do you deem Jesus t...I guess it comes down to this: Do you deem Jesus trustworthy or not?<BR/><BR/>I do and in that relationship of trust, I understand Him to be ultimate truth. <BR/><BR/>My hope is that you can get to know enough of Jesus to willingly trust Him.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for stopping by the blog, for your comments, and for making me think.Mark Danielshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18205344762960756655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543355.post-1114283466287965842005-04-23T15:11:00.000-04:002005-04-23T15:11:00.000-04:00But hey, let's analyze the pseudo-proof with somet...But hey, let's analyze the pseudo-proof with something approaching actual rigour anyway:<BR/><BR/>"First: There is the amazing consensus that exists throughout history across varying cultures and belief systems about what is right and wrong."<BR/><BR/>Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc - There are any number of compelling explainations for this phenomena that do not require the imposition of absolute truth.<BR/><BR/>"This leads to the second logical indicator for the existence of ultimate truth. It's quite simple: God has revealed it and has done so ultimately, in the Person of Jesus Christ."<BR/><BR/>Beg the question much? "I know there is absolute truth because there is this diety who is absolutely true." Pull the other one.<BR/><BR/>Look, just for the record, you can spare me the condescending commentary regarding how "back in [your] atheist days" and "against [your] previous derision of faith" because I have no such antipathy toward Christianity. In fact, I find it rather quaintly beautiful and look upon the results of a civilization that has been informed by its teachings with more than a little appreciation. As far as that goes, I even find Christians to be, generally, incredibly wonderful people. Having said that, and while I understand the desire for the fundamental "knowledge problem" of human existance to be given a pat answer, I find the dogmatic and righteous exercise thereof mentally asphyxiating. In Judiasm, they speak of the unending struggle with the mystery of divinity - I see in Christian theology not a struggle, but a manumission of critical thought in deference to the warm blanket of theological certitude.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543355.post-1114282504182835982005-04-23T14:55:00.000-04:002005-04-23T14:55:00.000-04:00Wow. Quite the echo chamber in here. I'm bemused a...Wow. Quite the echo chamber in here. I'm bemused at how the fact that you didn't acutally manage to prove anything (and even admitted as much in advance) has been so effectively papered over by the adulation of your sycophants.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543355.post-1114245966856449432005-04-23T04:46:00.000-04:002005-04-23T04:46:00.000-04:00Thanks, Mark. I just discovered your blog. I do ...Thanks, Mark. I just discovered your blog. I do plan to visit again soon, and I'm sure -- judging from the quality of this post -- there will be lots of great things for me to read and comment on.<BR/><BR/>God bless you.Kate Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01340271913937155230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543355.post-1114218809929963112005-04-22T21:13:00.000-04:002005-04-22T21:13:00.000-04:00Kate Marie: Thanks so much for your comment. I hop...Kate Marie: Thanks so much for your comment. I hope that you will visit and comment again soon. God bless you!<BR/><BR/>MarkMark Danielshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18205344762960756655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543355.post-1114215664921219252005-04-22T20:21:00.000-04:002005-04-22T20:21:00.000-04:00Thank you for an excellent post. Regarding ultima...Thank you for an excellent post. Regarding ultimate, transcendent truth versus relativism, I'm reminded of the observation (attributed to Chesterton, though there's some question about the attribution), that the danger of relativism in not then men will thereby believe in nothing, but that they will believe in ANYTHING. <BR/> <BR/>"But this is what I know: If you will allow yourself to surrender to Jesus Christ, you will also believe in ultimate truth. I dare you to try that.<BR/> <BR/>It's what I did back in my atheist days. I found my mind, heart, and will stirred by something as I spent time with these Christians, everyday people who never claimed to be better than others, but who found hope, strength, and encouragement in Christ. I was further stirred as I started to read the Bible in a translation that was accessible to me.<BR/> <BR/>Against my will, against my previous derision of faith, of Christians, and of the weakness of those who surrender, I found myself loving Jesus Christ.<BR/> <BR/>I finally said something like, "God, I don't know if You're there and I don't know exactly what's happening to me. But if Jesus is Who You are, I want You in my life. I don't want to the be the ultimate authority of my life because I know that I'll only screw up."<BR/> <BR/>Your beautiful description of surrendering to God "against your will" reminds me of one of my all-time favorite poems (posted recently on my blog):<BR/> <BR/>The Collar<BR/><BR/>I struck the board and cried, “No more;<BR/>I will abroad.<BR/>What, shall I ever sigh and pine?<BR/>My lines and life are free, free as the road,<BR/>Loose as the wind, as large as store.<BR/>Shall I be still in suit?<BR/>Have I no harvest but a thorn<BR/>To let me blood, and not restore<BR/>What I have lost with cordial fruit?<BR/>Sure there was wine<BR/>Before my sighs did dry it; there was corn<BR/>Before my tears did drown it.<BR/>Is the year only lost to me?<BR/>Have I no bays to crown it?<BR/>No flowers, no garlands gay? All blasted?<BR/>All wasted?<BR/>Not so, my heart; but there is fruit,<BR/>And thou hast hands.<BR/>Recover all thy sigh-blown age<BR/>On double pleasure: leave thy cold dispute<BR/>Of what is fit and not; forsake thy cage,<BR/>Thy rope of sands<BR/>Which petty thoughts have made, and made to thee<BR/>Good cable, to enforce and draw<BR/>And be thy law,<BR/>While thou didst wink and wouldst not see.<BR/>Away: take heed,<BR/>I will abroad.<BR/>Call in thy death’s head there: tie up thy fears.<BR/>He that forbears<BR/>To suit and serve his need<BR/>Deserves his load.”<BR/>But as I raved and grew more fierce and wild<BR/>At every word,<BR/>Methought I heard one calling ‘Child!’<BR/>And I replied, ‘My Lord!’<BR/><BR/>-- George HerbertKate Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01340271913937155230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543355.post-1114211648206254452005-04-22T19:14:00.000-04:002005-04-22T19:14:00.000-04:00Derek: Thanks for your interest and your points.My...Derek: Thanks for your interest and your points.<BR/><BR/>My little analogy regarding wrath could perhaps, lead to a depersonalized, mechanistic understanding of God. So, your comments provide a caution for me and I appreciate it. However, in my Catechism classes, I try to share my analogy within the context of consistent discussions of the Personhood (maybe more accurately, Personhoods) of God.<BR/><BR/>As to Robert Brow, I've never heard of him. <BR/><BR/>The point of my analogy really, is that while God has no desire for any to be lost to Him, there are consequences for sin which He has built into the universe and He will not violate His law. Through Christ, however, He fulfills it and offers us a share in the victory He's won through the cross and the resurrection. <BR/><BR/>I hope that clarifies things a bit, Derek.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your continued interest in the blog and for your comments.<BR/><BR/>Blessings in Christ,<BR/>MarkMark Danielshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18205344762960756655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543355.post-1114103551803864472005-04-21T13:12:00.000-04:002005-04-21T13:12:00.000-04:00Mark, thanks for this blog. In our day it isn't t...Mark, thanks for this blog. In our day it isn't that an ultimate truth is untenable, it is that people have abandoned the discourse that would pit one truth against another to see which hold up the best. Of course, one of the great arguments for the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be the church living their Savior's life. It is unfortunately one of the greatest arguments against our claims when we refuse to be obedient. Sigh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com