[Vision2020] Christ Church and freedom of religion

[Taro Tanaka]

Chasuk <chasuk at gmail.com> wrote:

>The subject of free will is of intense interest to me; I have occupied
>a lifetime studying it, and reached no satisfactory conclusion.

If that is an abiding interest of yours, and if you haven't read it yet, you 
should read Luther's "The Bondage of the Will." It is the best thing that 
Luther wrote (which is saying a lot), very pertinent to the topic, and a 
timeless classic.

>A purely mechanical universe is exactly the opposite of what you
>describe, and allows for no randomness whatsoever, but locks us into a
>casual chain from which there is no escape. etc. [snip]

I'm confused, because we seem to be in close agreement even though the 
opening of your sentence here would suggest that you are contradicting me. 
If my way of expessing myself was lacking in clarity, sorry 'bout that.

I would say that apparent randomness and mechanical determinism are two 
sides of the same coin. What I didn't mention last time, and which I perhaps 
should have mentioned, is the fact that our minds cannot delve deeply into 
any subject without being confronted by paradox. This is true for the 
Christian as well as for the non-Christian, viz. the title of Ralph Smith's 
excellent book published by Canon Press, "Paradox and Truth." (Although I 
suspect you would profit most by reading another of Smith's books, "Trinity 
and Reality," also published by Canon Press, which explains how the 
Trinitarian Christian perspective alone is able to resolve the paradoxes and 
epistemological problems that face us as human beings.

I'd like to share with you two quotes from John Frame's "The Doctrine of the 
Knowledge of God" that you may find interesting and useful in this context:

' . . . to make human beings creators or attestors in any sense might seem 
to detract from the ultimate causality and authority of God. We must not 
forget, however, that not only is the Lord authoritative and in control but 
He is also covenantally present. Because He perfectly controls our 
interpretative work, all of our thinking is a revelation of Him and a 
manifestation of His presence. Thus we do not need to feat that the work of 
the human mind necessarily competes with the authority of God, because the 
Lord reveals Himself in and through our thinking. Human freedom then, need 
not block out God's revelation. Thus we need not fear thinking and knowing. 
And so a . . .  [correct] understanding of what the Bible teaches champions 
the true freedom of human thought. If true the . . . ["autonomous thinker's] 
boast that he is able to think autonomously ("freely") would imply only that 
human thought is in bondage to the random forces of chance, when in reality 
.. . . that is not the case . . . [to the extent that] we think in obedience 
to God's Word, we know that our very thinking processes will reveal God to 
us. Our minds image God, even in His sovereign attributes of control and 
authority.'

'The Paradox of Analysis
'Another way to make the same point has been described as the "paradox of 
analysis." Pretend that I try to gain knowledge of kangaroos by formulating 
various equations such as "kangaroo=mammal," "kangaroo=marsupial mammal," 
"kangaroo=marsupial mammal found in Australia," and so forth. Such a process 
might be called an "analysis" of the concept "kangaroo." It works fine, 
until I decide that there must be an absolute identity between the two sides 
of the equation, which is the desire for perfect or exhaustive knowledge of 
the kangaroo. When I make that demand, I can satisfy it only by the equation 
"kangaroo=kangaroo." Although that equation gives me an absolute identity, 
it gives me absolutely no useful information. The moral is the same: when we 
seek Godlike, exhaustive, infallible knowledge, we are likely to achieve 
only total ignorance. Rationalism begets irrationalism.'

To bring all of this back to the original, main, topic, Christ Church seeks 
to encourage men to willingly submit themselves to the ultimate Lordship of 
the Triune God. Such submission is an act of faith and cannot be coerced. 
The following statements by Paul are relevant:

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present 
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God . . . and be not 
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, 
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of 
God."

" . . . the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to 
the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high 
thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into 
captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

". . . be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new 
man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

". . .  Christ In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

" . . . put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of 
him that created him . . . "

What Christ Church prays for and hopes to see realized -- someday -- is 
clear: that every knee would be bowed in submission to God, and every voice 
raised in His praise. In other words, what Christ Church wants to see is the 
transformation of the heart and mind of every individual. As that becomes a 
reality, the laws of the land will change to reflect that reality. I would 
say that is happening, gradually, even now. We see, for example, that the 
distinct possibility that "birth control by abortion" is likely to be made 
illegal in the USA during our lifetimes. The law was changed once (in the 
wrong direction) and it can be changed yet at again (rectified). Albeit 
imperfectly, the laws of the land reflect who we are. To the extent that we 
are a Christian people, the laws will reflect the Christian character of the 
nation.

-- Princess Sushitushi

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