Francis Berger's Blog, page 49
June 8, 2023
What Does it Mean to Be Free With God?
If I had to define heaven, I would describe it as being free with Christ. I would define heaven that way because it is the only "place" where I can imagine ever being as free as Christ was on Earth.
And why was Christ as free as He was?
Because He was perfectly aligned with God and Creation. Unlike me, He freed Himself from everything opposed to or unaligned with God and freed Himself for full cooperation and alignment with God.
I can think of no higher expression of love than that.
Jesus's freedom went beyond "from" and "for" and became freedom "with". He is the first to be completely free with God.
I imagine freedom with God as the revelation of the great "mystery" of freedom -- not as deciding upon choices but as seeing and engaging with what knows to be the only choice.
It is a mystery God mastered, a mastery with which Jesus aligned, and an alignment that I seek, above all else.
And Jesus makes this alignment possible in Heaven if we truly want it -- even when we inevitably fail to master the "mystery" of freedom in our mortal lives.
And why was Christ as free as He was?
Because He was perfectly aligned with God and Creation. Unlike me, He freed Himself from everything opposed to or unaligned with God and freed Himself for full cooperation and alignment with God.
I can think of no higher expression of love than that.
Jesus's freedom went beyond "from" and "for" and became freedom "with". He is the first to be completely free with God.
I imagine freedom with God as the revelation of the great "mystery" of freedom -- not as deciding upon choices but as seeing and engaging with what knows to be the only choice.
It is a mystery God mastered, a mastery with which Jesus aligned, and an alignment that I seek, above all else.
And Jesus makes this alignment possible in Heaven if we truly want it -- even when we inevitably fail to master the "mystery" of freedom in our mortal lives.
June 7, 2023
Leftists Who Declare That Christ Told Them the Litmus Test Issues Were Good (Yes, Really.)
Christians who fail one or more of The Litmus Tests of Serious Christianity need to take a step back and re-evaluate what it means to be a Christian.
Non-Christians who pass all the Litmus Tests should seriously consider becoming Christians. If they choose not to, they remain non-Christians, and the passed Litmus Tests carry little, if any, meaningful spiritual benefit.
Virtually all leftists inevitably fail one or more of the Litmus Tests, which is expected and, unsurprisingly, largely irrelevant.
But what about leftists who claim that Jesus personally informed them He actually endorses one (or more) of the Litmus Test issues as a force for Good?
I don't think this qualifies as a Litmus Test in its own right, but it certainly qualifies as the mother-of-all-pseudo-spiritual fails.
How is one to respond to such tripe?
I mean, that truly is epic, Mount Everest-level nonsense, that is.
The absurdity. It burns.
Non-Christians who pass all the Litmus Tests should seriously consider becoming Christians. If they choose not to, they remain non-Christians, and the passed Litmus Tests carry little, if any, meaningful spiritual benefit.
Virtually all leftists inevitably fail one or more of the Litmus Tests, which is expected and, unsurprisingly, largely irrelevant.
But what about leftists who claim that Jesus personally informed them He actually endorses one (or more) of the Litmus Test issues as a force for Good?
I don't think this qualifies as a Litmus Test in its own right, but it certainly qualifies as the mother-of-all-pseudo-spiritual fails.
How is one to respond to such tripe?
I mean, that truly is epic, Mount Everest-level nonsense, that is.
The absurdity. It burns.
June 6, 2023
How Intelligence Guided by a Despiritualized Consciousness Solves Problems
In yesterday’s post, I provided a simplified – perhaps oversimplified – distinction between intelligence and consciousness. To quickly review, intelligence is functional, while consciousness is awareness. Intelligence focuses on doing, while consciousness is more attuned to being.
Today I will provide a simplified – perhaps oversimplified – outline of how and why highly-intelligent modern people actively cooperate with the most outlandish evil in the spirit of going along to get along.
Consciousness – as awareness of being -- serves to guide and focus intelligence – functional thinking and doing. The quality of awareness within consciousness determines the quality of functional thinking and doing.
In terms of awareness, a despiritualized consciousness deadened by atheism, materialism, reductionism, and positivism will rarely, if ever, guide intelligence above the level of responding exclusively to external forces and stimuli. Intelligence guided by a despiritualized consciousness becomes an enslaved extension of the external and objectified world.
Since the consciousness guiding intelligence has ejected the innate spiritual nature of being into the external world, the intelligence it guides loses all sense of spiritual freedom and resorts to functioning/problem-solving purely within the confines of the unfree world into which consciousness has trapped it.
Intelligence guided by despiritualized consciousness responds primarily to externally-induced fear and desire, and it inevitably limits its solutions to fear-and-desire problems to functional considerations involving this-worldly conformity, security, and acceptance.
Additional note: Although a spiritualized consciousness has the potential to offer some protection, it can still succumb to the very same external forces that enslave a despiritualized consciousness. When it comes to spiritualized consciousness, much depends on quality and depth.
Today I will provide a simplified – perhaps oversimplified – outline of how and why highly-intelligent modern people actively cooperate with the most outlandish evil in the spirit of going along to get along.
Consciousness – as awareness of being -- serves to guide and focus intelligence – functional thinking and doing. The quality of awareness within consciousness determines the quality of functional thinking and doing.
In terms of awareness, a despiritualized consciousness deadened by atheism, materialism, reductionism, and positivism will rarely, if ever, guide intelligence above the level of responding exclusively to external forces and stimuli. Intelligence guided by a despiritualized consciousness becomes an enslaved extension of the external and objectified world.
Since the consciousness guiding intelligence has ejected the innate spiritual nature of being into the external world, the intelligence it guides loses all sense of spiritual freedom and resorts to functioning/problem-solving purely within the confines of the unfree world into which consciousness has trapped it.
Intelligence guided by despiritualized consciousness responds primarily to externally-induced fear and desire, and it inevitably limits its solutions to fear-and-desire problems to functional considerations involving this-worldly conformity, security, and acceptance.
Additional note: Although a spiritualized consciousness has the potential to offer some protection, it can still succumb to the very same external forces that enslave a despiritualized consciousness. When it comes to spiritualized consciousness, much depends on quality and depth.
June 5, 2023
The Evolution/Development of Consciousness Has Little to Do With Intelligence
The quantifiable decrease in general intelligence within the population over the past two centuries is often cited to refute the reality of consciousness development. This approach equates consciousness with intelligence. It posits that any evolution/development in the former would automatically be evidenced by a perceptible increase in the latter. Thus, the measurable decrease in intelligence instantly lays to rest all notions concerning the reality of consciousness development.
With this in mind, it is worth noting that consciousness and intelligence are not synonymous. Nor interchangeable. Though consciousness and intelligence can and do influence each other significantly, it is wrong to assume they are the same.
Intelligence is functional, while consciousness is awareness. Put another way, intelligence is doing, while consciousness is being.
Standard definitions cite intelligence as the ability to reason, solve problems, and manipulate one’s environment. Consciousness, on the other hand, is far more difficult to describe. It is meta-level intelligence. It is self-awareness comprising what philosophers refer to as qualia and intentionality.
From another perspective, you could say intelligence addresses the physical, while consciousness addresses the metaphysical. Physical is primarily this-worldly, while consciousness bridges the gap between this world and the next.
From a religious/spiritual perspective, I have often characterized consciousness as how people become aware of, know, understand, and relate to God, themselves, others, and the world. I believe consciousness has changed (evolved) through time. Moreover, I believe the evolution of consciousness is a vital aspect of God’s Divine Plan for humanity, which is not contingent upon increased or decreased levels of intelligence in the general population.
I believe God yearns for us to “know” Him, ourselves, others, and the world better. However, the better “knowing” God desires depends more on deepened awareness than heightened reason and intelligence.
Simply put, I believe God desires that we make the shift from “thinking from doing” to “thinking from being” so that we can “know” directly from being rather than from “doing.”
Spiritual awareness forms the core of “thinking from being”. Hence, “thinking from being” is essentially “thinking from spirit”, which I would describe as a fundamental, individually-discovered intuitive understanding of ourselves, others, the world, and God as Beings in Creation coupled with the subsequent transformation such a shift in thinking should induce.
In the third chapter of the Fourth Gospel, Jesus draws a sharp distinction between “thinking from being (Spirit)” and “thinking from doing (intelligence)” in his conversation with Nicodemus.
After Nicodemus affirms that he knows Jesus to be a teacher sent from God, Jesus informs the high-status, highly-learned and intelligent “ruler of the Jews” that only men born again can see the Kingdom of God.
The declaration baffles Nicodemus, and he solves the “problem” using his intelligence – thinking by doing – by flatly stating that an old man cannot simply crawl back into his mother’s womb and be reborn. Jesus responds to this example of “intelligent” thinking by saying that only a man born of water and Spirit can enter the Kingdom of God.
Water appears as a symbol of God's wisdom throughout the Old Testament. Jesus acknowledges the necessity of hearing and understanding this wisdom but underscores that this alone no longer suffices. Something more is needed - something emanating from a resurrected awareness rather than from intelligence. Jesus tries several times to make Nicodemus “aware” of the necessity of this awareness, of “thinking from being” via a shift in consciousness, but to no avail.
When Jesus realizes he cannot free Nicodemus from the level of funtional intelligence – that he cannot communicate the new understanding of man’s relationship with God – he takes a little stab at the revered Pharisee by asking how a great teacher of Israel could remain ignorant of the need for spiritual rebirth via thinking from being rather than from doing.
To sum up, increases or decreases in intelligence have little bearing on the evolution of consciousness. On the contrary, the example of Nicodemus illustrates that a learned spiritual intelligence firmly fixated on “thinking from doing” can serve to hinder the evolution/development of consciousness and dampen our awareness of eternal life in Heaven.
With this in mind, it is worth noting that consciousness and intelligence are not synonymous. Nor interchangeable. Though consciousness and intelligence can and do influence each other significantly, it is wrong to assume they are the same.
Intelligence is functional, while consciousness is awareness. Put another way, intelligence is doing, while consciousness is being.
Standard definitions cite intelligence as the ability to reason, solve problems, and manipulate one’s environment. Consciousness, on the other hand, is far more difficult to describe. It is meta-level intelligence. It is self-awareness comprising what philosophers refer to as qualia and intentionality.
From another perspective, you could say intelligence addresses the physical, while consciousness addresses the metaphysical. Physical is primarily this-worldly, while consciousness bridges the gap between this world and the next.
From a religious/spiritual perspective, I have often characterized consciousness as how people become aware of, know, understand, and relate to God, themselves, others, and the world. I believe consciousness has changed (evolved) through time. Moreover, I believe the evolution of consciousness is a vital aspect of God’s Divine Plan for humanity, which is not contingent upon increased or decreased levels of intelligence in the general population.
I believe God yearns for us to “know” Him, ourselves, others, and the world better. However, the better “knowing” God desires depends more on deepened awareness than heightened reason and intelligence.
Simply put, I believe God desires that we make the shift from “thinking from doing” to “thinking from being” so that we can “know” directly from being rather than from “doing.”
Spiritual awareness forms the core of “thinking from being”. Hence, “thinking from being” is essentially “thinking from spirit”, which I would describe as a fundamental, individually-discovered intuitive understanding of ourselves, others, the world, and God as Beings in Creation coupled with the subsequent transformation such a shift in thinking should induce.
In the third chapter of the Fourth Gospel, Jesus draws a sharp distinction between “thinking from being (Spirit)” and “thinking from doing (intelligence)” in his conversation with Nicodemus.
After Nicodemus affirms that he knows Jesus to be a teacher sent from God, Jesus informs the high-status, highly-learned and intelligent “ruler of the Jews” that only men born again can see the Kingdom of God.
The declaration baffles Nicodemus, and he solves the “problem” using his intelligence – thinking by doing – by flatly stating that an old man cannot simply crawl back into his mother’s womb and be reborn. Jesus responds to this example of “intelligent” thinking by saying that only a man born of water and Spirit can enter the Kingdom of God.
Water appears as a symbol of God's wisdom throughout the Old Testament. Jesus acknowledges the necessity of hearing and understanding this wisdom but underscores that this alone no longer suffices. Something more is needed - something emanating from a resurrected awareness rather than from intelligence. Jesus tries several times to make Nicodemus “aware” of the necessity of this awareness, of “thinking from being” via a shift in consciousness, but to no avail.
When Jesus realizes he cannot free Nicodemus from the level of funtional intelligence – that he cannot communicate the new understanding of man’s relationship with God – he takes a little stab at the revered Pharisee by asking how a great teacher of Israel could remain ignorant of the need for spiritual rebirth via thinking from being rather than from doing.
To sum up, increases or decreases in intelligence have little bearing on the evolution of consciousness. On the contrary, the example of Nicodemus illustrates that a learned spiritual intelligence firmly fixated on “thinking from doing” can serve to hinder the evolution/development of consciousness and dampen our awareness of eternal life in Heaven.
June 4, 2023
Blogging Resumes
I am resuming daily blogging after a nearly three-month break.
I used a portion of the time off to complete a project I had planned back in January -- a greenhouse/potting shed for my wife.
It was a fun project that tested my amateur carpenter skills. I utilized some old windows and an old door I had on the property and capped it off with corrugated plastic roofing. I decided against an all-glass look and opted instead for a "disguised" appearance where the true function of the building only becomes apparent once you step inside or walk around to the side. I have since finished the interior, cleaned the glass, and added some finishing touches. It's far from flawless, but I'm satisfied with the way it turned out. Perhaps I'll post a photo of the finished product in the near future.
Anyway, I'll get back to the "business" of this blog starting tomorrow.
I used a portion of the time off to complete a project I had planned back in January -- a greenhouse/potting shed for my wife.
It was a fun project that tested my amateur carpenter skills. I utilized some old windows and an old door I had on the property and capped it off with corrugated plastic roofing. I decided against an all-glass look and opted instead for a "disguised" appearance where the true function of the building only becomes apparent once you step inside or walk around to the side. I have since finished the interior, cleaned the glass, and added some finishing touches. It's far from flawless, but I'm satisfied with the way it turned out. Perhaps I'll post a photo of the finished product in the near future.Anyway, I'll get back to the "business" of this blog starting tomorrow.
March 11, 2023
Blogging Suspended -- Perhaps Indefinitely
I'm suspending my blogging to focus on other pursuits and responsibilities.
I'm not sure when or even if I will return to blogging.
Time will tell.
As of now, I anticipate at least a three-to-six month break.
Best,
Francis
I'm not sure when or even if I will return to blogging.
Time will tell.
As of now, I anticipate at least a three-to-six month break.
Best,
Francis
Freedom is Prior to Being
My metaphysical assumptions begin here – Which came first, being or freedom?
Practically all of what constitutes metaphysics and philosophy posits the primacy of being over freedom.
The problem with this approach is it immediately, irreversibly, and inevitably slips into determinism.
If freedom is truly “free,” it cannot emanate purely from being. Neither can it be solely an effect of a being. That would imply that beings create freedom; that without beings there would be no freedom.
However, if beings create freedom – if beings are the source of freedom – then beings determine and cause freedom; and being-determined, being-caused freedom cannot be “real” freedom. The most it can be is the determining of “determining” beings, or the cause of “causing” beings.
At best, I believe beings can “shape” freedom. Ideally, I believe beings create in freedom.
Metaphysics that places the primacy of being over freedom is the essence of “in the beginning was the Logos” metaphysics. Yes, but in the beginning, there was also freedom.
More precisely, before the beginning there was freedom. The beginning happened in freedom; emerged from freedom. The Logos was a free act in freedom.
The Logos was in freedom and freedom was in the Logos.
The Logos is not external to freedom. However, there is an aspect of freedom external to the Logos.
If freedom does not retain this external aspect, it is not free. If it is not free, it cannot clash with the Logos.
And freedom does indeed clash with the Logos.
If Freedom is not free and does not possess aspects external to the Logos, the Logos cannot create. If the Logos could not create, the Logos would not be.
In plainer form – God creates in freedom but does not create freedom. If God does not create freedom, then God must contend with this freedom, as must man.
If both God and man must contend with uncreated freedom, then the purpose and meaning of life reside in how men contend with uncreated freedom and whether or not they choose to align this “contending” with God’s “contending.”
Of course, you can only contend with things you accept to be real and true, and as far as I can tell, barely anyone accepts uncreated freedom as real and true.
Note added: This will be my last post on this blog for a while. It may even be my last post on this blog. Full stop. See the next post for (some) details.
Practically all of what constitutes metaphysics and philosophy posits the primacy of being over freedom.
The problem with this approach is it immediately, irreversibly, and inevitably slips into determinism.
If freedom is truly “free,” it cannot emanate purely from being. Neither can it be solely an effect of a being. That would imply that beings create freedom; that without beings there would be no freedom.
However, if beings create freedom – if beings are the source of freedom – then beings determine and cause freedom; and being-determined, being-caused freedom cannot be “real” freedom. The most it can be is the determining of “determining” beings, or the cause of “causing” beings.
At best, I believe beings can “shape” freedom. Ideally, I believe beings create in freedom.
Metaphysics that places the primacy of being over freedom is the essence of “in the beginning was the Logos” metaphysics. Yes, but in the beginning, there was also freedom.
More precisely, before the beginning there was freedom. The beginning happened in freedom; emerged from freedom. The Logos was a free act in freedom.
The Logos was in freedom and freedom was in the Logos.
The Logos is not external to freedom. However, there is an aspect of freedom external to the Logos.
If freedom does not retain this external aspect, it is not free. If it is not free, it cannot clash with the Logos.
And freedom does indeed clash with the Logos.
If Freedom is not free and does not possess aspects external to the Logos, the Logos cannot create. If the Logos could not create, the Logos would not be.
In plainer form – God creates in freedom but does not create freedom. If God does not create freedom, then God must contend with this freedom, as must man.
If both God and man must contend with uncreated freedom, then the purpose and meaning of life reside in how men contend with uncreated freedom and whether or not they choose to align this “contending” with God’s “contending.”
Of course, you can only contend with things you accept to be real and true, and as far as I can tell, barely anyone accepts uncreated freedom as real and true.
Note added: This will be my last post on this blog for a while. It may even be my last post on this blog. Full stop. See the next post for (some) details.
March 8, 2023
Narrowing Into Expansion
If I had to use a single phrase to describe the overall course of my life over the past three or four years, I would say that it has been narrowing into expansion.
On the one hand, many of the things I once found intriguing no longer pique my interest. Many of the things in which I once held at least a modicum of faith and hope have become distasteful and unsatisfying. Many of the things I used to think about have become unthinkable. The imaginable -- unimaginable.
On the other hand, many things I did not know existed now exist for me. Many of the things I could barely conceptualize now fill me with unfathomable faith and hope. I find I can now think about things I once believed to be unthinkable. My imagination overflows with the unimaginable.
Perceptions narrow; intuition expands.
Narrowing into expansion.
On the one hand, many of the things I once found intriguing no longer pique my interest. Many of the things in which I once held at least a modicum of faith and hope have become distasteful and unsatisfying. Many of the things I used to think about have become unthinkable. The imaginable -- unimaginable.
On the other hand, many things I did not know existed now exist for me. Many of the things I could barely conceptualize now fill me with unfathomable faith and hope. I find I can now think about things I once believed to be unthinkable. My imagination overflows with the unimaginable.
Perceptions narrow; intuition expands.
Narrowing into expansion.
March 6, 2023
On the Other Side of Truth-Correcting Nations and Civilizations
I've always considered Christian truth to be revolutionary and transfiguring; powerful enough to collapse nations and civilizations, albeit in a positive spiritual sense.
The revolutionary and transfiguring quality of Christian truth presents a spiritual challenge to all temporal nations and civilizations, which helps explain why nations and civilizations throughout history have resorted to "correcting" Christian truth to suit their temporal aims and purposes.
Nations and civilizations no longer concern themselves with "correcting" Christian truth. They have opted to collapse themselves in total opposition to Christian truth. The motivations driving the collapse are spiritually negative to the core.
Yet within this negative shines a positive. We no longer have to tremble over the prospect of Christian truth triggering the collapse of nations and civilizations. We are no longer held hostage by the "end of the world."
We are now free to concentrate solely on "uncorrected" Christian truth and the spiritual positives on the other side of "truth-correcting" nations and civilizations.
The revolutionary and transfiguring quality of Christian truth presents a spiritual challenge to all temporal nations and civilizations, which helps explain why nations and civilizations throughout history have resorted to "correcting" Christian truth to suit their temporal aims and purposes.
Nations and civilizations no longer concern themselves with "correcting" Christian truth. They have opted to collapse themselves in total opposition to Christian truth. The motivations driving the collapse are spiritually negative to the core.
Yet within this negative shines a positive. We no longer have to tremble over the prospect of Christian truth triggering the collapse of nations and civilizations. We are no longer held hostage by the "end of the world."
We are now free to concentrate solely on "uncorrected" Christian truth and the spiritual positives on the other side of "truth-correcting" nations and civilizations.
March 4, 2023
The Benefit of Combining One's Passions
My son has been passionate about Lego for as long as I can remember, but his passion for history is a more recent development.
Over the past six months, he has shown increasing interest in Ancient Greece and Rome and spends hours a week reading about the Greco-Roman world. He has also discovered a neat way to combine his love of Lego with his newfound fascination for the classical period via the LCM Brick Show YouTube channel, which features hundreds of Lego stop-motion renditions of famous historical battles and wars. The one below -- which my son brought to my attention earlier this evening -- chronicles the origins of the Cimbrian Wars in 113 BC.
I tip my hat to the people behind these animations. Each one must take ages to make, but the effort is well worth it. Be forewarned, as far as YouTube channels go, LCM Brick Show definitely falls into the "potentially addictive" category.
Note added: LCM Brick Show is just one of many Lego stop-motion channels. All are equally "potentially addictive." Proceed with caution.
Over the past six months, he has shown increasing interest in Ancient Greece and Rome and spends hours a week reading about the Greco-Roman world. He has also discovered a neat way to combine his love of Lego with his newfound fascination for the classical period via the LCM Brick Show YouTube channel, which features hundreds of Lego stop-motion renditions of famous historical battles and wars. The one below -- which my son brought to my attention earlier this evening -- chronicles the origins of the Cimbrian Wars in 113 BC.
I tip my hat to the people behind these animations. Each one must take ages to make, but the effort is well worth it. Be forewarned, as far as YouTube channels go, LCM Brick Show definitely falls into the "potentially addictive" category.
Note added: LCM Brick Show is just one of many Lego stop-motion channels. All are equally "potentially addictive." Proceed with caution.
