I am redeemed/saved because I have faith or do I have faith because I am redeemed/saved?

Meaning

The other day my daughter asked me, "What does rope mean?" I thought she wanted me to describe a rope or define what the word rope but neither explanation satisfied her. She just kept asking me, "What does rope mean?"

So what does rope mean?

As I thought about it I developed a question of my own, "Is meaning linked to being?" For example we will state two questions, 1) "What does river mean?" and 2) "What does it mean to be a river?" The addition of the verb "be" seems to clear things up. Should we conclude then that meaning requires action? Can a thing have meaning without action? Is my life meaningful?

Praise is man talking to God. Preaching is God talking to man.

Reality is not limited to those things which are understandable to the human mind.

Tool

The tools you have influence your life by expanding or limiting your available diet. This can be seen in early man his with simple hand tools but the application of this idea it is not limited to physical tools. Consider people who have mastered literary, spiritual and emotional tools. They are able to feed from books, revelations and feelings in healthy ways that those who lack the tools cannot. Man is a tool based organism and we should seek to master new tools all of our lives.

The Problem of Infinite Regress

Theists, Atheists and Agnostics all Practice Faith

The reason why Theists, Atheists and Agnostics all can be said to have and practice faith (Faith here being defined as belief in the unseen and not provable) is because the problem of infinite regress remains unsolved.

The particular type of infinite regress we will examine now deals with first things. To help us explore the problem we will take ourselves as an example. I am the effect of my parents. My parents are my cause. They themselves are the effect of their parents and so on through the family line. Should we take an evolutionary position, the problem doesn’t change. Before people were more simple mammals, before mammals were invertebrates, and these were all the effect of single cell organisms. The single cell organisms were caused by the combination of proteins and these proteins were caused by random atomic reconfigurations over billions of years. The atoms were caused by the random subatomic particles being joined together through various universal forces which were caused by…

The problem of infinite regress is that this “…cause, effect, cause, effect…” goes on infinitely. So where did is start. Here is where the Theist, the Atheist and the Agnostic apply faith.

When confronted with this problem the Atheist says, “What ever it was, it was not a god.” But what evidence is he basing his statement on? Can he test for it? Recreate it the lab? He has no proof or facts to support his hypothesis and though he may propose solutions, each solution will have the same problem. For example, if the Atheist says rebounding universe is the answer then the question will be asked, “What started the rebounding?” So it is that the Atheist, like Baron Münchhausen, must declare that upon finding himself stuck in a bog, he was able to pull himself out by his own hair.

The Agnostic is able to comprehend the problem of infinite regress, but when faced with it, he surrenders. Agnostic means “incapable of being known” and that is what the Agnostic will say regarding what the first thing or cause was or is. But how does he know that it is unknowable? Where is the proof, the tests that demonstrate that this is unknowable? Without proof and facts that a thing is unknowable the Agnostic must believe on faith to hold his position.

The Theist considers the problem of infinite regress, and with the same lack of testable, provable facts and evidence he believes that a god must be the first cause.

In these ways the Theist, Atheists and Agnostics practice their faith.

Why Do People Gather

The other day a friend and I were discussing why people gather, viz. what is it that motivates people to assemble in one place?

It became clear through the discussion that people gather for based on many reasons, but that they do not gather without a reason.

Here are some of the reasons why people gather:

1) Functional Groups

This is the possibly the greatest motivator of gathering and would cover such areas as family, vocation and school. Here people gather to accomplish a common task which each has individually and independently committed themselves to. In this group, relationships and community are built while performing the common function of the group.

2) Community Groups

This group develops as members of Functional Groups gather outside of the Functional Group environment. It should be noted that these groups do not form independently from, or previous to, participation in a Functional Group. Additionally, these groups will often gather to support the purpose of the original Functional Group or develop independent functions of their own, thus creating a new Functional Group.

3) Dictatorial Groups

When a person of power instructs and compels people to form groups, a Dictatorial group is created. The individual group participants are motivated in this case by the power of the dictator. This occurs when the parent tells the child, “You will stay home tonight and eat dinner with the family.”

4) Quid Pro Quo Group

“Quid Pro Quo” means “one thing for another in” in Latin. A Quid Pro Quo Group is formed when the entity in power requires a person to participate in one group as a condition for allowing them to participate in another. An example may be a parent allowing their son to play football as long as they continue with the church youth group; or the church leader requires the subordinate leaders to belong to a home group as a condition of their being able to participate on the leadership team.

5) Invitational Group Addition

Pat is currently participating and two groups; Group A and Group B. Sam is currently participating in only Group A. Pat met Sam in Group A and they became friends. Pat invites Sam to Group B. Sam agrees to visit. When the above situation occurs the result is an Invitational Group Addition.

Many other questions now come to mind. Once in Group B, will Sam continue to attend? Why or why not? If Sam starts attending Group B and Pat is taken out of Group B, will Sam continue to attend Group B? Why or why not? In regards to the two previous questions, what, if anything, would change if group Group B is a Functional, Community, Dictatorial or QPQ group?

Groups gather and don’t gather for the reasons listed above, and possibly for other reasons not considered here. It is clear that there is a cause for each gathering though some causes may be viewed as nobler than others or more appropriate for the type of gathering. It is also put forth that if there is a cause for every gathering, then it follows that there is no gathering without a cause.

If you are a leader then it may be helpful to consider these observations and reflect on why people may or may not want to attend your gathering and what could be done to attract more people, or the right people to the gathering.