A child will be born to us

Isaiah 9:6-7

 

 6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

¯ There are many amazing passages in the Bible that we could have chosen for our Christmas message... I have chosen this exciting text...  purposefully.

U I chose it because in it we have such clear references to the two advents of Messiah!

His miraculous 1^st coming is proclaimed... in the first half of verse six...

 6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;  

Then we have...

E The punctuation mark (, : ;)... inserted at this point in the text...

It represents a prophetic pause... what is technically called a prophetic parenthesis...

—  A concept that is critical for understanding Bible prophecy!

It stands as representing a Gap in time... Between the fulfillment of the promise of the

1^st part of verse six and the rest of the text!

A That pause... as we know... has lasted now... nearly 2,000 yrs. and still counting...

è The entire period of time that will pass between the fulfillment of the 1^st part of the prophecy and the rest of it is known as the “Interregnum”... Meaning “the time between reining”...

Ê It is defined as the time period during which a throne is vacant... between two successive reigns or regimes...

Christ is and was truly King of Israel... He was mockingly... yet correctly declared as such at His crucifixion... His throne has remained vacant from that time...  

The Interregnum... Is the time between the 1^st coming of Christ... with His rejection as King of Israel... And His 2^nd coming when He will take up His reign on earth as the rightful King...

R His 2^nd coming is described in the rest of the passage... and is yet to be fulfilled...

It describes... His Kingly heredity... and the promise of His eternal rule and reign...

Y The passage also reveals and describes His divine attributes, actions and character... Beautifully!

L I realize that modern Jewish commentators... who consider themselves to be more proficient than Christian scholars in interpreting Hebrew, their mother language...... 

A Universally deny that this passage... or indeed any passage in the book of Isaiah... has anything to do with Christ or with Christmas... Sadly...

Ü But my friends... I want to make you aware of the fact... if you do not already know...

9 That this denial of the clear Messianic references in the book of Isaiah...

E And particularly here in chapter nine...  has not always been the case... among Jewish experts... especially when considering that the book is over 2,700 yrs. old!

Pre Christian era writings of Jewish sages contain no such anti Messianic bias...

Y Quite the contrary... This passage was universally recognized as Messianic prophecy...

A Prior to the rejection of Christ at His 1^st coming by the ruling Jewish authorities...

— Let me cite one respected source to back up this point...

3 In John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes: on Is.9... he offers this revealing commentary...

Describing the prevailing opinion of Hebrew scholars as to the person in view in the text.

è Wesley writes... “A child — The Messiah by the consent of interpreters, not only Christian, but Jewish: for so the ancient Hebrew doctors understood the place, and particularly the Chaldee paraphrast; although the latter Jews, out of opposition to Christ, wrest it to Hezekiah. Which extravagant conceit, as it hath no foundation in this or any other text of scripture, so it is fully confuted by the following titles, which are such as cannot without blasphemy and nonsense be ascribed to Hezekiah, nor indeed to any mere mortal man, as we shall see.”

9  Close quote... hopefully.... we shall see indeed as we continue our study now!

V Christian scholars have always understood and promoted the understanding...

A That this amazing passage is a prophecy concerning the two advents of Messiah...

It has only been in reaction against the Christian position that the Jewish commentators have taken the anti-Messianic, anti-supernatural position... Promoting the idea...

Ê That this text refers to Hezekiah... The son of the reigning king at the time...Hezekiah, by the way was already nine years old at the time of the writing of this passage...

’ Making the idea all the more absurd and incredulous!

Y But, even so... God has promised that a time is coming when the veil of ignorance and unbelief will be removed from Israel and they will understand the truths contained in their scriptures!  By the way we are speaking of actual literal Jews... not the Church!

Ø 2 Cor.3:12-16 – Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech,

13 and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away.

 14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.

15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;

16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Ø Ro.11:25-27 – For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;

26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
“THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.”

27 “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.”

è My fervent prayer today is that the veil of ignorance and unbelief would be removed from before every face... not only from before Jewish faces but also from gentile faces! Including some confused Christians!

 6 For a child will be born to us,

Such a simple statement and yet it contains such profound implications!

â What we have here... as we will see developed through the rest of the passage is...

& Nothing less than the revelation of the promised incarnation of the God /man!

ÿ The human birth of our Mighty God... the Prince of Peace !

˜ The birth of this child... is speaking directly and specifically of Christmas day!

It harkens directly back to the previous prophecy of the virgin birth given in Is.7:14...

Ò Which proclaims the coming of God... into the world... appearing in human flesh...

Ø Is.7:14 – “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

This is the incarnation of Jesus Christ... the birth of the Christ child!

He was born a baby and he grew and matured like all human children do over time.

§ Scripture makes sure that we understand that this child... this Son... was a human child ... and the man that He became... was fully human in every way... yet without sin...

† As we see explained for us clearly... in the book of Hebrews...

Ø Heb.2:14-18 – Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.

17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

 6  A Son will be given to us;

Ü Many prophecies concerning the gender of the promised child were specifically given... from the very first mention of the coming Messiah... and consistently throughout all of scripture!

— The first mention was in the Garden of Eden!  God said to the serpent...

Ø Gen.3:15 – And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.”

Y King David was promised that a descendent of his... would be his “Greater Son”... And that God would also call Him Son... and He would rule over an eternal kingdom...

Ø 2 Sam.7:12-14 – 14 “I will be a Father to Him and He will be a Son to Me...”

E Joseph was told that his virgin wife would bear a Son... and that the boy would be the Son of God... conceived of the Holy Spirit!

Ø Mt.1:19-23 – 20 an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

 21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

˜ The angel prophesied to Mary concerning her child... she was told that her baby would be a boy child... and that He would reign on the throne of David forever!

Ø Lk.1:31-33 – “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

 6  Given to us – Jesus Christ was given as God’s gift to the world... He was given... in love... By the Father in heaven... for the salvation of mankind!  God gave His Son!

ØJn.4:10 – Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

E And so we have the wonderful promise of Jesus’ first coming in these opening words!

 6  For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

ü And we know that this promise was fulfilled on that 1^st Christmas day!

è We now come to the description and prophecy of His future second coming...

˜ Along with the revelation of His divine nature... and His amazing accomplishments!

 6  And the government will rest on His shoulders; 

â The final and perfect government is what is in view here... this of course... as I said... is still future to our day... to say otherwise... as some do...  is foolish!

L Currently... the evil one is ruler of this world.  That, I think should be obvious!

E Jesus said so!

Ø Jn.14:30 – “The ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.”

è John said so even after the crucifixion, resurrection and ascention of Christ!

Ø 1 Jn.1:19 – the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

r  But... the rule of the Devil is a limited time engagement!

E It will soon be put to an end!    As all the prophets attest!

V Soon the rightful ruler will take up His throne!

Ø Micah 5:2 – “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

He came into the world from out of eternity at His 1^st coming! And He will come again this time from out of heaven to rule and reign... forever!

We have God’s word on it... His promise on these things!

7 The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

¯ But Christs’ rule will go far beyond just the re-gathered nation and peoples of Israel...

9  He will take up His rule over all of creation... as King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

E When He comes to rule... He will bear the ensign of the supreme King on His robe!

On His shoulder...

Ø Rev.19:16 – And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

 6  And the government will rest on His shoulders; 

V Only the shoulders of Jesus Christ are broad enough and strong enough to carry the weight of governing of the entire universe! That is what this verse is ultimately saying!

Ø Phil.2:10 – at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

Ø Eph.1:21 – Jesus Christ is... far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

 6 And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

— This is actually one name, one title, one description of who and what... this promised Ruler... this Son will be... and what He will accomplish!

Ê It is one name with four components... four elements of a compound name...

1. Wonderful Counselor,   Pele-yowetz

He is both Wonderful and He is Counselor...Some take these attributes separately.. but in the context of the following three couplets they should probably be taken together as one.

Ø Is.2:3 – And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; 

That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” 

For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Ò The wisdom of the counsel of Messiah is wonderful beyond measure...

Y Far greater than even Solomon... or any counselor ever known!

Ø Is.28:29 – This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.

Ø Is.11:2 – The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

¯ This Wonderful Counselor is also the...

2. Mighty God, - “God - the Mighty One” -’El Gibbôr...

It has been translated... The Mighty God – man...

Ø Jer.32:18 – The LORD God... who shows lovingkindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The LORD of hosts is His name;

Ø Ps.24:8 – Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and Mighty, 

The LORD Mighty in battle!

~ He is our Mighty God!   Next Isaiah describes Him with the title...

3. Eternal Father, - Ab-iad – more correctly translated... Father of Eternity... or...

 The Father of the future age...  or... The Father of the everlasting age...

At first glance this title can cause confusion in the mind of the New Testament believer...

Surely Jesus and the Father are two distinct Persons in the Holy Trinity... and so they are.

ABut the attribute of Fatherhood in view here is of a different emphasis than that of the Father of the only begotten Son... It is on the work of Christ as Creator and Redeemer.

˜ Jesus is the progenitor of all of creation... including eternity future!

Ê In this sense He is the Father of Eternity...

Ø John 1:3 – All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 

ââ So He is the Author of creation... but He is also the Author and perfecter of our faith... the source of our salvation!  Heb.12:2

V In a very special sense Jesus is the Father of all believers; we are called His children,

Ø Hebrews 2:13 – "Behold, I and THE CHILDREN whom GOD has GIVEN ME."

Ø Is.53:10 – But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, (His children)

He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

è Christ is the second Adam... As such He is the Father of a new generation... a new race of mankind! He is the Father of eternity... and He is the Author of eternal life!

R He is the Wellspring of eternity... the source from which eternity comes!

E Not only is He is the Creator of... space, time and matter... He is also the Sustainer of all things... He will provide for and protect His children... the redeemed... for all eternity!

This eternal provision and protection is another implied aspect of Eternal Fatherhood...

He eternally takes care of His family... as the head of the family!  So much in this title!

ÿ And finally... the prophet tells us that He is the...

4.  Prince of Peace. -  Sar Shalom

Ø Jn.16:33 – “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Ø Gen.49:10 – “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Shiloh means the “Bringer of Peace”...  Literally - "The Tranquillizer"...

He is The Messiah...

Ø Hos.2:18 – “In that day I will also make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, The birds of the sky, And the creeping things of the ground And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land, And will make them lie down in safety.

7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,

On the throne of David and over his kingdom, 

 V This is the Christ... the promised greater Son of David... heir to the eternal kingdom...

~ Promised to come from Eve... to crush the head of the serpent... He was promised to Abraham as his Blessed Seed... that would be a blessing to all nations!

˜ This is the boy that was promised to Mary... He was promised to the nation of Israel...

þ He was promised to the world!      God always keeps His promises... literally !

Ø Lk.1:33 – “His kingdom will have no end.”

7 To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness 

From then on and forevermore. 

Y God’s Kingdom will be established on earth with justice and righteousness...

And when it comes... it will be without end!

¯ Nothing like it has ever been seen on earth thus far... but it is coming... and when it comes... there will be no doubt about it... all debate and misinformation will be over!

L All of the foolish speculations... and allegorical theories will end...

è Christ will appear literally... physically... in person... in the flesh... the second time...

û But this time with no reference to sin... as we are told in Heb.9:28...

— Friends... Today is the day of salvation... Today is the day to take care of your sin!

¯ If you have not yet received Jesus as your personal Savior don’t put it off another day!

Ò Ask Him to forgive your sins right now!   Receive the gift of God on this special day!

~ The day of grace... the Church age... The parenthetic Gap that we spoke about... will suddenly come to an end without warning... like a thief in the night!

+ The world will be plunged into Great Tribulation... so devastating... that all flesh will be in danger of annihilation!    Then... Jesus will come!

• When He comes this time... He will take up His reign... He will put down all rebellion...whoever is not redeemed by grace through faith in God’s Son... will perish!

At that time... Jesus will fulfill the rest of Isaiah’s prophecy... and all remaining promises and prophecies concerning His second advent!

7 The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

˜ This is the promise of Christmas!

V This is the blessed hope that we have in Christ!

ü His 1^st coming is accomplished... It is history...

˜ The wonderful child was born to us... the Son was given to us!

â In God’s perfect timing... the rest of Isaih 9:6+7... Will be accomplished...

Just as faithfully and exactly as the first!

¯ Soon we will behold our lovely King Jesus...

† The Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Soon...

His Kingdom will come... His will... will be done... it will be on earth as it is in heaven!

— Do not doubt it!  Do not be troubled!  The Lord has come and He is coming again

 è The zeal of the LORD shall accomplish it!     Merry Christmas!

 

The virgin birth

 

The doctrine of the virgin birth is one of the most widely attacked concepts in all of Christianity.

It has been under attack from the very beginning and the attacks and denials have only increased over time.

The attacks come from all quarters.

From the atheistic secular world of naturalism,

From the non Christian cults that deny the deity of Jesus Christ’

From false religions all over the world that seek to establish another way to God and to eternal felicity...

¢ And perhaps most sadly of all

From liberal Christians,

From liberal professors teaching in Christian colleges and seminaries.

Ÿ Many of the main line denominations have allowed this heresy to creep into their pulpits, and the virgin birth is treated as a quaint myth that is not to be taken literally.

 à Let me say unequivocally that the virgin birth is one of the most important truths of Christianity,

Without it there is no true Christianity.

It is most certainly not a myth or a story invented after the fact by overzealous Christ followers, as some have suggested.

 

But, the unbelievers cry, “That would take a miracle!”

 

Ø Well yes, my friend, it would and did take a miracle, that’s the point!

The virgin birth was a miraculous sign from God.

A one time event in the history of mankind.

An event that was forecasted, predicted and published for centuries before it took place.

Something so out of the ordinary,

So contrary to nature that it could not be mistaken or missed by anyone paying attention.

But, sadly, most of the world did miss it and still misses it.

Ÿ But, praise God many did not miss it and we did not miss it.

And so we celebrate and proclaim the virgin birth of the one only Savior of mankind. 

The virgin born Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ!

 

Praise His holy name!

Merry Christmas!

Augustine; some thoughts

 Meditations on some writings of Augustine:

Just some thoughts about the love of God that I have been meditating on for some time.
One of my hearts passions is the study of the philosophical foundations of the Christian world view.

Not secular philosophy, but the philosophy that Paul refers to in

1Corinthians 1 + 2.
Paul states that we are to avoid so called "worldly wisdom" but that we are to seek and revere the wisdom that comes from God.
As we know; the word philosophy is a combination of two Greek words; Phlo = love + sophia = wisdom.
Hence, philosophy is the "love of wisdom".

The Apostle Paul was, of course, a world class philosopher, theologian and logician, as well as a top notch rhetorician.
This in no way disqualified him from his role as Apostle and Evangelist.
Quite to the contrary; it prepared him to be the best Apologist for the Christian faith of his age, and arguably of all time.
While recently reviewing the writings of Augustine I was able to gain some helpful insights into his idea of the primacy of the grace of God in initiating the love relationship between the believer and Jesus Christ.

I have always had difficulty with Augustine's ideas because of certain major disagreements that I have with his, as I see it, lingering Neo-platonist tendencies concerning the nature of man and his ideas concerning the sacerdotal infusion of actual grace through the sacraments and so on.
But this time through I have been able to set all that aside and consider the merits of each concept on it's own; and I like his insight into the love of God and the position of primacy that it holds over all of the other of God's graces that follow.

Augustine's stated singular goal in his early life and indeed throughout his entire life, was the pursuit of wisdom.
One of his favorite verses was 1 Corinthians 1:24 which states that "Christ is the wisdom of God."
And so it is a short step to take to say that to love Jesus Christ is to love the wisdom of God.
And so we have the definition of Christian philosophy.
This is a new starting point for me in considering the grace of God that Augustine speaks of as God's Charity.

And so the meditations of my heart and mind lately are about the love of God for me and for mankind.
We read in 1 John 4:8 that "God is love."
Augustine speaks of the triadic structure of the soul as a reflection of the eternal triune nature of God.
He offers many helpful analogies between the human soul and the essential being of God.

One such analogy is self-knowledge: Consisting of Memory, Understanding and Will. Each of these separately can be properly called the mind, and still each is distinct from the others; like the Holy Trinity.

Another triadic analogy he offers is self-love.
I need to hasten to state that the self-love in view is not the selfish prideful self love that the scripture decries, but the self-love of which Jesus speaks as a given; "Love your neighbor as yourself", and Paul mentions in Ephesians 5:29 "No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes it and cherishes it."

The triadic structure of self-love is: Lover, Beloved and Loving.
This is reflected in the human soul as: I love myself.
And in the Holy Trinity as: The Father loves the Beloved Son who loves the Father.
The Father is the Lover, the Son is the Beloved and the Holy Spirit is the Love between them.
And so, as John said; "God is love."

John goes on to say in 1 Jn.4:9 - that the love of God was manifested in us and into the world through Jesus Christ so that we might live through Him.

Augustine argues that when God, by His grace, chooses to reveal His love and wisdom to a soul, by revealing these attributes through the person and work of Christ, that the soul is then irresistibly drawn to God through Christ because of His overwhelming loveliness.
It is an involuntary response to God's grace, wisdom and love.

If this is what Augustine means by irresistible grace; I can say a hearty Amen.
I will however continue to disagree with any notion promoting the idea that God is actively withholding said grace from any soul that would lovingly receive it.
Because of such notions Augustine is forced to come up with such contrivances as infused grace (as opposed to imputed righteousness), alien faith (as opposed to the required personal faith that Jesus so frequently speaks of) and infant baptism etc.

The love of God is shed forth in the hearts of men and in the world in the face of Jesus Christ.
When, by the grace of God and with the aid of the Holy Spirit a soul finally sees the loveliness of God in Christ, a response is engendered; either rejection leading to separation from God and His love;
Or the desired response of falling in love with God.
Augustine argues that we fall in love involuntarily with that which we find lovely.
A wonderful insight and a very helpful observation for me this time through his reflections.

 

Worlviews

Worldview

There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Prov.16:25

A worldview is defined by how a person views, understands and interprets reality.

Typically ten basic disciplines can be considered when determining a given worldview.

1) Theology – Does God exist? If so, what is He like? Is there one or many?

2) Philosophy – How can we know what is true? Is there any meaning to life?

3) Ethics – What is the basis of morality? Is their really right and wrong? Says who?

4) Science – How does the world work? Where did it come from? What about life?

5) Psychology – What is the human mind? Why do people do what they do?

6) Sociology – How can people best get along? Why conflict and war?

7) Law – Where do laws come from? Who has the right to say what is legal or illegal?

8) Politics – Which is the best form of government? Do we need any government?

9) Economics –Who should benefit from a persons labor? What about private ownership?

10) History- Can we truly know anything about the past? How can we be sure?

Ones worldview will greatly affect how ones views six fundamental questions.

1) God – One, none or many?

2) Origins – Is the universe eternal, created or an illusion?

3) Evil – Does evil exist? Where did it come from?

4) Human nature – Is man basically good, basically evil or neutral?

5) Values – Are there universal objective standards or are all values arbitrary?

6) Destiny – Where am I going? Is there any purpose to all of this?

We will be considering the seven basic worldviews in this study.

1) Theism – There is one eternal, infinite, personal God. He created the universe from nothing (“ex nihilo”) and He sustains it by the power of His will. He transcends the universe and He is immanent in it. God exists beyond and in the world. The three great theistic world religions are Judaism, Islam and Christianity. All three are monotheistic (one God). All three believe that God is one being. Judaism and Islam believe that He is one person. Christianity is Trinitarian Monotheism and believes that God is three persons in one eternal being.

2) Deism – There is one eternal, infinite, personal God who created the universe. He transcends His creation but is not immanent in it. He remains completely beyond the world and does not intervene in it or in history. He is like a divine watchmaker that built the watch, wound it up and then stepped back and let it run on its own. There is no reason that an omniscient Creator would ever need to tinker with His perfect creation if He did it right in the first place. He is the Author of all natural laws and they are perfect and inviolable. Miracles are unnecessary and impossible. In addition to the physical laws that control and direct the material creation God has divinely created and ordained ethical and moral laws that are universal and are the objective standards for all men and for all time.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

3) Atheism – The material universe is all that exists. There is no God or spiritual realm. There is no human soul and no afterlife. The universe itself is eternal. Morality and ethics are relative and are grounded in humanity and in circumstances. Evil is simply human ignorance and can be eliminated through education and human cooperation.

Empiricism, Naturalism, Materialism, Secular Humanism.

Agnosticism – “No knowledge”; 1) God is unknown (I don’t know God); 2) God is unknowable (no one can know God).

A life lived as an agnostic amounts to “practical atheism”, as does nominal Christianity.

Acognosticism – The term God has no content or meaning. God cannot even be discussed meaningfully. All God talk is nonsense. This is also known as “semantical atheism”.

4) Pantheism – God is all there is in reality. “God is all, all is God.” The material world is actually an illusion. The universe was created out of God – “ex Deo” – out of the “stuff of God.” Evil is an illusion and will eventually be absorbed by God. Humanity itself will eventually be absorbed by God from which it came. God is one infinite, personal or impersonal being. All of history is cyclical, illusory and is eternal.

Hinduism, most forms of Buddhism, New Age, Unity, Christian Science, Scientology and Hegelianism are all forms of Pantheism.

Acosmism – The metaphysical view that the physical universe does not really exist at all, but is only a manifestation of the eternal, singular and absolute Spirit, which alone is real

(a particular form of Pantheism, the opposite of Atheism).

5) Panentheism – God is all that there is; but He exists in two poles (bipolar). He is potentially infinite in His metaphysical pole (Divine Mind) and finite in His material pole (the universe). In other words, God is in the universe as a mind is in a body. The universe is Gods body. It is God’s actual pole while His other pole is His infinite potential to “become”. The universe is created both “ex materia” (from preexistent eternal matter) and “ex Deo” (from God’s eternal immaterial being) therefore, the universe itself is eternal.

God is an organism, i.e. the material universe which contains His eternal unconscious drive to know Himself which He realizes in the process of becoming what He potentially is.

This is also known as “Process Theology”, Bipolar Theism” and “Organicism”.

6) Finite Godism – Due to the fact that evil exists, God cannot be infinitely good or infinitely powerful. He must be limited in His goodness or in His power or both. Therefore He must be finite. Also, in light of the fact that man has real free will, God cannot be all knowing because man’s future choices have not yet been made, so God must wait until they are made before He can know them.

“Open-view Theism”, “Opentheism”, “Presentism”, “Freewill Theism”, “Extreme Arminianism”, “Openness of God”, “Neotheism”.

7) Polytheism – Many finite gods exist. All of reality is pluralistic and relativistic. There is no single center of exclusive truth, but rather a so called “polymorphous reality” wherein contraries are both true. In this pluralistic concept of reality logic is rejected and relativism is embraced. Truth cannot be categorized as “either / or” but as “both / and”.

The universe is eternal and the gods are finite, coming out of the world which was created from pre-existent eternal matter (“ex materia”).

Ancient Greeks and Romans (Pantheon of gods), Mormons, Neo-pagans (Wiccans).

The chart bellow summarizes this material visually.

Reality is either the universe only, God only or the universe and God(s).

If the universe is all that really exists then Atheism is correct. (3)

If God is all that exists then Pantheism is right. (4)

If God and the universe both exist then there is either one God or there are many gods.

If there are many gods then Polytheism describes reality. (7)

If there is only one God then that God is either finite or infinite.

If God is finite and distinct from the universe then Finite Godism is true. (6)

If this finite God has two poles and is in process then Panentheism is right. (5)

If there is one infinite God then He either intervenes in creation and history or He does not.

If God does not intervene in the world then Deism is correct. (2)

But if there is one God who both transcends the universe and is immanent in the universe, and who intervenes in the affairs and the history of the universe then Theism is true. (1)

 

Worldview Chart

 

Universe Only                                                                                           God Only

    Atheism                                                                                                 Pantheism

         3                                                                                                               4

                                                      Universe and God

                                            

                          

                                          

                  One God                                                                     Many Gods

                                                                                                                 Polytheism

                                                                                                                        7

                          

                          Finite                                                       Infinite

                 

 Finite Godism                 Two poles

           6                             Panentheism

                                                  5

                                                                                                                                         

                                                        Transcendent and                  Transcendent

                                                 Immanent                               Only     

 

                                                 Theism                                 Deism

                                                                       

                                                                 1                                           2