Saturday, July 3, 2010

“Philosophy Lite: Seek God to discover truth” plus 1 more

“Philosophy Lite: Seek God to discover truth” plus 1 more

Philosophy Lite: Seek God to discover truth

Posted: 02 Jul 2010 02:32 PM PDT

  • Originally published July 2, 2010 at midnight, updated July 2, 2010 at midnight

Cicero (106-43 B.C.) said, "The search after truth, and its eager pursuit, are peculiar to man." Man indeed has an insatiable curiosity about where he came from and what the meaning of his existence is. He instinctively realizes that good and evil co-exist and that to achieve a good life, he must sort out the two, shun the evil and hold onto that which is good.

Truth is easily observable in mathematics. Two plus two is always four, and ten divided by two equals five. Other areas of "truth" are not as easily defined. William James taught that truth is a quality, the value of which is confirmed by its effectiveness when applying concepts to actual practice (thus, "pragmatic"). I cannot say whether James' theory would always hold true, but I do know that Bible truths concerning morality are certainly "pragmatic."

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) remarked that, "Truth is so obscured nowadays and lies so well established, that unless we love the truth, we shall never recognize it." Our nation, the most powerful nation on Earth, is making many mistakes because ignorance and political biases are holding sway in lieu of the truth.

There are several moral issues addressed in the Bible that are being cast aside today in the cause of personal interest or sensual desire. Laws are being passed far too quickly, without an adequate understanding by many of the lawmakers. The very elemental truths of love, marriage, sexuality and child raising are under attack today, in spite of the fact that the truths concerning these issues are plain to see.

Expressing the serious view of Christians, especially the Catholic Church, Father John Corapi repeatedly states that, "The truth is not a something. It is a somebody. And His Name is Jesus Christ." Jesus is the personification of truth. The idea here is that Jesus (or God) as creator is the reference to which all else must correspond.

Christians cite the Gospel of John, in which Jesus is quoted as telling Thomas the Apostle that, "I am the way, the truth and the life." When Jesus stood before Pilate and testified to the truth, Pilate asked, "What is truth?" Then he went out to face the Jews without further consideration of the question. Apparently, the idea was too deep for him.

Oscar Wilde said, "All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them."

Jesus said in John 8:31-32, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." If we live according to His truth, we will avoid many pitfalls in life. Not only is Jesus the Truth, but His commandments are Truth.

Truth is not subjective or relative, it is absolute. We violate truth or truths today to our own detriment. Seeking God and discovering the truth is far better than having discovered the truth through some calamity.

Raymond F. Smith is a deacon at Fellowship Bible Church in Victoria and President of Strong Families of Victoria.


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Possum Philosophy: A country boy’s hero

Posted: 02 Jul 2010 02:20 PM PDT

By ROBERT "ROCKY" CAHILL/Columnist

As anyone who has read this column more than twice probably already realizes, I am a history buff, especially American history. There are certain aspects of world history I find interesting. For example, I obviously find Irish history interesting, especially the Celtic history (after all you don't get the name O'Ferrell Cahill and not have Celtic blood in your veins).
But I am 100 percent genuine American, Southern Country boy or as the scientific community (at least my friend Doug Ogle) might describe the specie in scientific terms Totus americanus/ austral (Southern) virginiana medius/country boyus. (Don't blame Doug for this. It is based on my very loose translation of his help.) I love this country as do most folks here in the Southern Highlands. No, we are not always right, but on the whole we have doing the right thing in mind.
I am fascinated by the history of how this country came to be and of our forefathers who made it all happen. I'm a pretty much down-to-earth type guy, not really the hero-worshipping type. But most of our forefathers were the real deal. They were intelligent, courageous and willing to take on what, at the time, was the most feared military power on Earth.
Of these, I definitely admire Gen. George Washington. It was the British military's worst mistake that its leaders underestimated Gen. Washington. I also admire greatly Benjamin Franklin, writer, scientist and skilled diplomat. It was Franklin's ability to enlist France to come to our aid that perhaps decided the fate of the war. But the fellow I consider one of my very few personal heroes is none other than Virginia's own Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson's authoring of the Declaration of Independence was the spark that set the course of destiny for this country.
Yes, there were others involved in writing this document. According to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia (en'wikipedia.org), the delegates to the Continental Congress held in Philadelphia appointed what was titled a "Committee of Five" to construct the document that would establish the 13 colonies as independent from the British Empire and no longer subject to their laws, taxation or governing. These five were Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Robert Livingston of New York, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, John Adams of Massachusetts and, perhaps most importantly, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia.
By most accounts, the five committee members met and discussed how the document should be worded. They then asked Jefferson to write it. He did so, then showed the first draft to his fellow committee members. Naturally, as with any committee, they read the draft and suggested a few changes. Jefferson made these changes; they all agreed, then took it to Congress.
On June 28, 1776, Congress as such bodies generally do, decided to table the document. Then on Monday, July 1, the austere body (such as it was) decided to form a "committee of the whole," meaning everyone would have a hand in this work. They resumed debate over whether they should actually declare themselves independent, at least not until they could line up an ally or two to help them out with this daunting task. Some voted for waiting but after hours of heated discussion, John Adams made a passionate plea for swift action.
When the vote came down, most were for, a few abstained and a couple (Pennsylvania and South Carolina) voted against. However, after more voting and some old-fashioned politicking, the vote was 12 to one in favor (New York didn't have authorization to vote but would eventually, a week later, receive this authorization and voted in favor, making it unanimous.).
Congress then actually began reading the document. Congressional delegates changed a few words. They also deleted roughly one-fourth of the text. Among the deleted passages was a section critical of the slave trade. This deletion angered its author, Jefferson. This would indicate to me that he was somewhat anti-slavery (although he has been criticized for fathering children by one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. Scientific research from both believers and dissenters disagrees, some saying the children in question were fathered by relatives of Jefferson's, including a brother and a couple of cousins. Who knows? The authenticity or falseness of the claim has little or nothing to do with the fact that Jefferson was a genius, being a scientist, lawyer, architect and politician as well as the primary author of our Declaration of Independence).
The decision to declare Independence was made on July 2, 1776, which was actually roughly a year after the colonies went to war with England. The next day, John Adams wrote to his wife claiming that July 2 would become a truly American holiday. But he was wrong.
On July 4, 1776, the document in its final form was approved and sent to printers. It was printed and distributed on flyers and read aloud to much of the country's citizens. This was likely a good thing as at that time I would have to believe a large majority of our population was unable to read, having little or no formal education. It is this date when the document was formally adopted that is considered the birth of our nation.
However, though most of us were taught that the declaration was signed on that day, and though Jefferson, Franklin and Adams all wrote at various times that it was signed that day, researchers now believe it is more likely this is not true. According to researchers, the document was likely signed on Aug 2, 1776. They state that some of the signers were not present on the date indicated and did not arrive until many days later. I tend to believe that the likely case was some members signed the original copy while others, especially those not fully convinced it was a good idea, signed later, after it became obvious the idea had public support. Either way, it is a magnificent document.
Independence Day is one of my very favorite holidays and has been since I was a small boy. I have always loved summer. It was a great time to live in this area then and still is. Back then Saltville was the place to be on Independence Day. It seems odd to me, that the Mathieson Alkali Works, originally founded by the Mathieson family that came over from England, put on a company picnic that everyone in town and most of the surrounding area attended.
It was a great day to be a kid. There were all sorts of good eats and washtubs full of pop, chilled by adding dry ice, a product of the plant, to the tubs already filled with Coke and Pepsi and Nehi and Root Beer and anything else a boy could want to drink. You have to remember in the mid-1950s we didn't get a bottle of pop just every day, it was a treat and to be able to drink more than one in a day was unbelievable.
Before and after, there were all sorts of games like horseshoes and greasy pole climbing and greased pigs to catch, and everything else for both kids and adults to play. Then when the evening rolled around it was really great. The Alkalis, the town and company (the two were pretty much interchangeable in those days) sponsored semi-pro baseball team that was part of the old Burley Belt League, would almost always play ball. I have loved baseball since I was about four years old, and Dad and I would watch the game of the week on TV.
The Alkalis had a few guys on their way up to the major leagues, a few on their way back down, and a whole gang of some pretty darn good old country ballplayers who had a lot of talent. They played in the big, green stadium and for a 9 or 10 year old boy it was like going to Yankee Stadium. After the game came what was the highlight of the day, fireworks. They were real fireworks too, huge mortars and skyrockets that looked big enough to launch the Russian satellite Sputnik. By the end of the evening, most adults and all kids were completely worn out. It was a great time to be a kid and a great holiday to celebrate. I still think it is a great holiday.
As I said at the beginning, this country is far from perfect. If Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin or John Adams came back today and saw what Congress has become they would draw their pistols and swords and go to clearing the chambers of Congress of many of its current inhabitants. But it is still the best country on Earth. Hallelujah for Jefferson and his crew and for that magnificent document, the Declaration of Independence. I hope each and every one of you enjoys a wonderful Fourth of July.

A freelance journalist, Robert "Rocky" Cahill writes regularly for the News & Messenger. His Possum Philosophy column appears in each Saturday edition. 

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