In Three Minutes: Getting real with Matthew 18

Kelowna

Further from what I was attempting to state before my self-imposed, four minute mark. I do not reason that shunning is a good, biblical, Godly, way to deal with sin or supposed sin.

Those in the Church should always be civil and demonstrate love, even when fellowship ceases due to sin.

1 Corinthians 5: 9 from New American Standard Bible (NASB)

9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But [f]actually, I wrote to you not to associate [g]with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God [h]judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.
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1 Corinthians 5:11 Lit now
1 Corinthians 5:11 Lit together if any man called a brother is
1 Corinthians 5:13 Or will judge

Even in this extreme case, I still would not recommend shunning, but instead reason this example is prohibiting fellowship with the hope of restoration. In 2 Corinthians, restoration with this offending brother in 1 Corinthians 5 is encouraged.

NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Updated Version (1995), American Bible Society, New York.

Motive is key (PhD Edit)

Ferry ride to Nakusp

August 8, 2018

When working through problems of evil, academically, theologically, philosophically, biblically and personally, I reason that John Calvin’s explanation in regard to God’s motives is sound. 

I do not embrace Calvinism, however, but I am definitely Reformed, theologically, without being a specific follower of Calvin. God is infinite, eternal, omnipotent. God’s biblical, sovereign, providential control over his creation from Genesis to Revelation demonstrates that God does will all things, whether directly willing or allowing, or within perfect will or permissible will. This can also be reasoned in a parallel way with premises and conclusions via philosophy of religion. viewing God as the first and primary cause of all things, while allowing for secondary causes within compatibilism (God's sovereignty is compatible with the limited free will, via nature, of secondary agents).

PhD, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Lampeter, 2010: Theodicy and Practical Theology 

David Ray Griffin vigorously challenges Calvinistic notions of sovereignty in regard to theodicy.[1]  Griffin claims that God cannot be shown to be perfectly moral for three reasons.[2]  One, God cannot be understood to be morally perfect because God is an alleged deity and his morality cannot be demonstrated.[3]  Two, since with a Calvininstic view God wills all things, including evil acts, God must be immoral.[4]  Three, since Calvinists believe that God bases all things on eternal decisions, God is not truly free and is therefore amoral.[5] 

The Calvinist could reply to Griffin with the words of Calvin himself in The Bondage and Liberation of the Will, that God is moral and as evil human actions occur God is willing a good thing and the sinner another.[6]  This type of explanation needs to be presented in a logical and reasonable way.[7]

CALVIN, JOHN (1539)(1998) The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book II, Translated by Henry Beveridge, Grand Rapids, The Christian Classic Ethereal Library, Wheaton College. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.html

CALVIN, JOHN (1539)(1998) The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book IV, Translated by Henry Beveridge, Grand Rapids, The Christian Classic Ethereal Library, Wheaton College. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.html

CALVIN, JOHN (1540)(1973) Romans and Thessalonians, Translated by Ross Mackenzie, Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

CALVIN, JOHN (1543)(1996) The Bondage and Liberation of the Will, Translated by G.I. Davies, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House.

CALVIN, JOHN (1550)(1978) Concerning Scandals, Translated by John W. Fraser, Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

CALVIN, JOHN (1552)(1995) Acts, Translated by Watermark, Nottingham, Crossway Books.  

CALVIN, JOHN (1553)(1952) Job, Translated by Leroy Nixon, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House.  

CALVIN, JOHN (1554)(1965) Genesis, Translated by John King, Edinburgh, The Banner of Truth Trust.

GRIFFIN, DAVID RAY (1976) God, Power, and Evil, Philadelphia, The Westminster Press.   

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[1] Griffin (1976: 116-130).

[2] Griffin (1976: 130).

[3] Griffin (1976: 130).

[4] Griffin (1976: 130).

[5] Griffin (1976: 130).

[6] Calvin (1543)(1996: 37).

[7] While at the same time seriously examining criticisms of the view.

Returned from Cranbrook-Revelstoke trip/Proverbs on holding the tongue

Golden, British Columbia

I returned home  today from a several hundred kilometre driving trip for ministry work; much of it in heat typically warmer than in Maple Ridge in the summer. I would like to have more tasks closer to my skill-set, but I met many good Christian people on tour and at the host churches. I gained more employment and life skills. I made friends.

Most people were positive and fair, and if I was critiqued, it was in love, but for the otherwise small minority, the following Hebrew Bible and Biblical concept came to mind...

New American Standard Bible

Proverbs 21: 23

23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.

I, deny

East Maple Ridge

BLACKBURN, SIMON (1996) Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Another short entry in regard to the subject of negation in philosophy, which is also a subject in the Langer, Symbolic Logic text under review on this website.

Based on Blackburn, to deny a premise/proposition as true equals asserting it as false. To asserts in negation. (99).

I deny atheism as a worldview, and at the same time assert it as false. I assert the philosophical negation of atheism as a worldview.

(This is not to state that within atheism, there are not some valid critiques)

I deny libertarian free will as a view, and at the same time assert it as false. I assert the philosophical negation of libertarian free will as a view.

(This is not to state that within libertarian free will view (s), there are not some valid critiques)

In regard to the last three images from Blackburn: That is red is contradicted by that is green, and if both are considered false, it does not exclude, for example, that is brown.

Frege texts are in German and limited to cite in English:

Negation and being by Daniel Dahlstrom of Boston University

The Review of Metaphysics 64 (December 2010): 247–271. by The Review of Metaphysics.

Frege insists, for example, that the being of a thought (das Sein eines Gedankens) may be affirmed or denied and, hence, must be distinguished from its being-true (Wahrsein).12 Thus, for Frege it is not the affirmation but the thought that is denied. In the Tractatus (§5.5151), Wittgenstein categorically rejects an asymmetricalist position: “The positive sentence must presuppose the existence of the negative sentence and vice versa.”13 (251-252), Gottlob Frege, “Die Verneinung (1919)” in Logische Untersuchungen, ed. Günther Patzig (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1986), 56 and following.

Analyzing this, it appears the view is that the being of thought accepted or denied, must be philosophically separated from an affirmation of it being true or false. This would connect to Wittgenstein and views of certainty which I did review for my PhD.

BLACKBURN, SIMON (1996) Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

DAHLSTROM, DANIEL (2010) The Review of Metaphysics 64 (December 2010): 247–271. by The Review of Metaphysics.

FREGE, GOTTLOB (1919) “Die Verneinung (1919)” in Logische Untersuchungen, ed. Günther Patzig (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1986).

WITTGENSTEIN, LUDWIG (1951)(1979) On Certainty, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.

Blackburn page 99.

Blackburn page 258.

Blackburn page 258.

Blackburn page 258.

East Maple Ridge