3rd Apologetica Philosophica…on the resurrection.

It has come to my attention that many people never got to really understand some the terms that were used during the previous post, the second philosophical defense of the resurrection, therefore we shall deal with the Sabbath question another time. I will make some introductory remarks first then after we tackle the items of thought for this third defense i shall place a link to the first defense so that all is made easier.

It was stated that all ideas in the world are separated into two groups, monism and dualism. Monism comes from the word mono, which means one, and therefore monism means being one, unity, and we sustained this by equating to monism words that better comprehensively explain monism as a worldview. Words like unity, togetherness, wholeness, unit, harmony, “Press together”

Dualism on the other hand is the opposite of monism. It comes from the word Duo, which means two, and is better explained as a worldview by the words disunity, separation, dis-integration, disruption, disharmony.

We also showed that God’s reality is one of monism, and this was illustrated by the nature of man and of his creation. Man is made of two components, matter and spirit. Life as regards to man can only exist if both these two elements are together.

We shall now show that reality is synonymous with truth, and that truth and life have the same source, life cannot exist in lies, i.e unreality, that which is not.

Unreality is that which is not. While a lie is when that which is not lays claim to be that which is. Truth consequently is that which is reality and that which is reality is obviously that which is in existence (living). However we ask, a stone is in existence but does a stone have life? We would like to differentiate this right now and quite simply we can only equate life to existence when we speak of animate things, animals and human beings. Therefore the monistic duality of matter and spirit will be focused in on animate creatures.

Therefore in God’s reality, life (existence) is only possible to the animate object when the matter and spirit are combined, even as water is water when hydrogen and oxygen are combined. Consequently when one separates hydrogen and oxygen neither can continue being water for water by definition is possible when both elements are together.

THE PLATONIC PROBLEM

As already discussed, Plato introduced a problem to the western mind, but that this problem was not much different to the eastern thought process. The immortality of the soul, or the pure spirit was clearly premised in his teaching on ‘the idea’. In simple terms according to Plato (and many others before him) only the spirit was real, the material world was simply an illusion. Buddha took this further from Hinduism by stating that the ultimate aim of life, is to escape suffering, and in order to do this one must become immaterial, impersonal, and upon death will attain to Nirvana, nothingness.

From this philosophy came the idea of seclusion as a lifestyle, to get away from people, to renounce all material possessions, to sever all human ties and devote oneself onto a life of spiritual endeavors. The doctrine of monks here came to existence first in the east then later in the west under the Catholic and Byzantine dispensation.

DUALISM’S TWO EXTREMES

Dualism as a worldview has two extremes. We have already discussed one, which is pure spirit, or better known as spiritualism. There is another extreme with dualism, which happens to be the exact opposite of spiritualism, pure material. This shall be our subject of consideration.

Materialism asserts that only the material is real, that the spirit is an illusion. What comes out of such a philosophy?

MATERIALISM

Materialism in asserting that only the material is real, makes a fundamental claim. This claim is that all we have is the material, but material can only work according to law when it is deprived of the mind (spirit). Therefore is the spirit does not exist, the material happens to operate under a mechanistic principle, there is no free choice.

“The molecular basis of biology shows that biological processes are governed by the laws of physics and chemistry and therefore are as determined as the orbits of the planets. Recent experiments in neuroscience support the view that it is our physical brain, following the known laws of science that determines our actions and not some agency that exists outside those laws, so it seems that we are no more than biological machines and that free will is just an illusion”~ {Stephen Hawking, the grand design}

The scientist mind over the centuries turned into a dualistic mind espousing the other extreme of dualism, materialism. The materialist only has laws and matter to work with and in this he sees only determinism. No free will.

Let us explore this a little more. Like the other extreme of dualism, materialism being deterministic is also non-personal.

Have you seen the connection between both dualistic thoughts? they both converge on the assertion that animate creatures are non-personal. Take for example 1 million butterflies flying through the air, a dualist whether spiritualist or materialist will say “what does it matter if I just kill ten to save the species?” To God it matters a lot, but to the dualist it doesn’t

(Mat 6:26) Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

(2Pe 3:9) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

God’s worldview tends toward wholeness, but dualism generalizes the individual and acts towards persons as though they were non-personal. Another atheist adds his voice

“Free will is an illusion. Our wills are simply not of our own making. Thoughts and intentions emerge from background causes of which we are unaware and over which we exert no conscious control. We do not have the freedom we think we have.” ~ {Sam Harris}

Pagan thought forms (dualism) always begin with the general, the species, Christian reality begins with the individual, the personal. God is not interested in classes or categories, He wants you because you are unique, and He deals with the individual, the particular, concrete. The devil on the other hand does things by automatic principle, he says ‘this will get you that’.

CONCLUSION

Now all of this was in that package “You shalt not surely die”. We have previously discussed on the first extreme which is to claim that only the spirit is real, material is an illusion. We have also seen right now a where the other extreme goes, that the material is real, spirit is an illusion.

Next time we shall consider where exactly we are today in the world, and we shall see what happened from the falling away to the French revolution. I will say this much, that during that revolution the devil managed to merge both these extremes in an awkward marriage which produced a bizarre child, a child that he was to use to fight God’s last day people who are tasked with completing the protestant reformation in an effort to counter the protestant reformation.

Here is the link as promised https://medium.com/@BiblicalResearchTrust/apologetica-philosophica-on-the-resurrection-3de17637adf6

John Seremani Magare, Associate Director, BRT