Posted on by Abe Austin

Basis for Judgment: Today’s Social Waves

Thus far I have examined the shifting beliefs and philosophies of the world, and how we tend to be changed by them over time, constraining our thoughts to certain patterns so that we stop being able to conceive of other alternatives. In my perspective, basic Christian and traditional principles are becoming progressively unfathomable to the western world.

I will be specific. Abortion, gay marriage, transgender medical procedures, euthanasia, and complete uniformity in the nature of men and women. These are the main social waves that I see taking our western world from its foundational Christian values. Some of these are firmly in opposition with Christianity, others are only at odds dependent on the degree to which they are pursued.

I believe that the media overemphasizes the conversion of the world to these agendas, presenting these as closed cases, when the battle is actually very much alive. Unfortunately, the media is the community that primarily surrounds and shapes us today, and what it presents as a decided principle tends to become the social reality soon enough.

Earlier, I discussed the parable of the Emperor’s New Clothes. Take any of the issues I mentioned above and replace the “clothes” with that philosophy. The media insists that everyone else already sees the “Emperor’s clothes”, and the individual comes to believe that everyone really does. The individual feels that there is something wrong with himself that he does not see the clothes, so he advocates for the clothes even if he does not actually see them. He describes them by simply parroting the descriptions that others have said. Most shockingly, in time he may come to truly believe that he does see them, too.

And what is the harm in all of this? Why is it at a bad thing if we as a society evolve and embrace new ideas, even if it means throwing out the theologies of old? We have discarded many antiquated beliefs, such as our superstitions, and we consider that a good and progressive thing, so why not this? Why can’t everything be cast aside if it is deemed outdated and replaced with what the masses decide is good for now?

I concede that there would not technically be any harm in this if we were merely machines changing software. To the computer, there is no difference between running its original programming or running malware. It continues happily either way, because the wires and bits have no objective truth to follow. Any failure to fulfill the purpose of their designer makes no difference to the dead material that composes the machine. Even if a virus causes the machine to run overly hard until it completely breaks itself and ceases to function at all, the machine does not care.

But mankind is not this way. Mankind is not a machine. Mankind is inseparably connected to its creator and to an objective truth, and the destruction of mankind is of great consequence. We will explore this more tomorrow.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Basis for Judgment: What Comes Out of a Man

I have discussed how we tend to be shaped by our cultures, how when most people move from one place to another, they will gradually morph from the beliefs of their old community to the beliefs of their new one. I have discussed how this occurs slowly, by osmosis, gradually constraining our perceptions and imaginations until we cannot conceive of other alternatives, and the only sensible way of living seems to be the one that we currently follow.

Of course, one does not have to move to change their perceptions. The places that we live are themselves of a transient nature. Through years and generations, new philosophies arise in the same place, and what once felt like home now feels strange and unfamiliar. Here again, most people will adapt to the new norm, which is a problem if the new norm is perverse or built on lies. Without even knowing it, the general populace will gradually defile themselves, inhaling the polluted social air until it fills them.

This brings to mind a saying from Jesus: “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man” (Matthew 15:11). In this I read that it is inevitable for us to be surrounded by the corrupt philosophies of the world. We are going to consume bad thoughts and bad ideas in our daily life, and that’s unavoidable. But that does not have to mean that we, ourselves, must also be corrupted. Where we should be concerned is when we start to hear those false perspectives coming back out of our own mouths. Then we know that we have not only consumed, but have also been converted.

I have seen people who tend to be more resistant to this change, who hold to their convictions, even though it makes them unusual in their changing society. It is rare to keep oneself anchored when corruption permeates us as a way of life, but it is possible. At least, it is possible when one is intentional about holding to what is true. If one is idle and inattentive, they might hold out a little longer than others, but I do believe they will lose their grip eventually. Being properly anchored to what is true is something that we must practice actively.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Basis for Judgment: Constraints of Thought

Yesterday I mentioned that most people are only socially converted to their beliefs. They gradually, through osmosis, adopt the faith, the principles, and the paradigms that their society repeats to them. Perhaps even more importantly, they adopt the limitations that come with society’s beliefs.

When we hear a falsehood repeated enough times, it goes from sounding strange and offensive to familiar and comfortable. And when our mind becomes aligned with any principle, true or false, it establishes boundaries to reject any competing notions.

The Emperor’s New Clothes)

One of the great allegories for our day is the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes. It’s widely recognized as a lesson on peer pressure and vanity, but there is another important detail in it that we must not miss: the people are duped into participating in the grand lie because they have boundaries set on their minds to keep them from seeing that it is a lie.

Remember, the yarn that is spun by the swindling tailors is that the fabric can be seen only by those who are worthy. After the first servants and counselors confirm that they do see the clothing, bounds start to be laid on everyone else’s thinking. Everyone just assumes that if they cannot see what the others do, then it must be because they are unworthy. They have had blinders put on them by the social pressure of others’ claims, such that they cannot even consider the possibility that everyone else is lying. The notion doesn’t even cross their minds.

This lie by the tailors is particularly effective because it preys upon the insecurities of the villagers. “Impostor syndrome” is a common sensation that falls upon us all. None of us are so clever or so good as we would like to be, nor so much as most of us pretend to be. Everyone feels a fraud inside, and so not seeing the Emperor’s clothes, and by extension being told that they were unworthy, only confirmed what the villagers had already suspected about themselves and they didn’t even try looking for other options.

This is why it is a young boy, still innocent and with no self doubts, who is finally be able to see through the charade. The idea that he would be unworthy was the notion that could not cross his mind, and so he was able to rightly see the truth of the matter. And when he did, it was not only the king who had his nakedness exposed. Every villager now knew that his neighbor was full of self-doubt and shame, and would absolutely lie to hide it.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Basis for Judgment: Proper Alignment

I am going to pause my analysis of Exodus for eight posts, so that I may cover a topic that's been weighing on my mind recently. Today I will begin my discussion on what we ought to align ourselves to in life, and the dangers that follow when we are misaligned.

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There are a considerable number of Christians who become distressed and divided between the commandments of God and the principles they have been taught by society. Once these two sets of voices were nearly enough aligned that one could blend them with only moderate twisting of the self. Today, they are more firmly at odds to one other, creating an impossible divide, and a person feels they must choose one or the other.

The Unrealized Influence)

Given the choice between the commandments of God and the principles of the world, many end up hearkening to the world, but do so under the assumption that they are listening to their own inner voice. This is a defining characteristic of our world today: that everyone must be “true to themselves,” choosing “what they know in their heart to be right.” And while there is a wisdom to this thinking in theory, one has to acknowledge that most of the convictions that come out of us did not actually originate from within our hearts at all.

We are highly social creatures, and we gain our perspectives and beliefs from our surroundings, subtly and invisibly, by osmosis. We might be surrounded by voices that stress principles we do not originally agree with, but over time, without recognizing why or how, we will start to hear the same arguments coming out from inside of us. We are convinced and converted without ever realizing it.

The Pull of a Culture)

I saw this firsthand when I was a missionary in the West Indies. I visited many countries and districts. Some were primarily Christian, some primarily Hindu, and some primarily Muslim. A common phrase in each area was “born an X, die an X,” where X was the predominant religion in that region.

But the saying wasn’t true. I know this because when I transferred to other areas, I would find people who had moved there from the same place that I had left, and usually they had given up their old religion to adopt the new one that surrounded them. And this went in every direction. Hindus to Christians, Christians to Muslims, Muslims to Hindus, etc. The locals that never moved were firmly convinced that they could never change their beliefs, but the evidence suggests that their stalwartness was most often due to their environment more than their personal convictions.

And this doesn’t just have to do with religion. Travel to different places and you will see that attitudes coalesce from the community towards science, education, politics, justice, lifestyle choices, and every other domain that people have opinions on. Spend long enough in these places and you might find yourself starting to think the same way, too.

The fact that one can move to a different environment and change their beliefs does not condemn the original value system, nor elevate the new one, it merely shows that most people are socially converted only. Yet they say to themselves, “I’m just listening to my own heart.” In truth, what they are listening to is what their heart has been constrained to believe by their culture.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 7:22-25

22 And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the Lord had said.

23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.

24 And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.

25 And seven days were fulfilled, after that the Lord had smitten the river.

The turning of the rod into the snakes had been a show of power and superiority from God, but turning the river into blood was truly a throwing down of the gauntlet, a challenge that actively hurt the people of Egypt, but also indicated greater suffering soon to come if Pharaoh would not relent.

Given that, Pharaoh’s response was incredibly arrogant and foolish. Pharaoh had his magicians repeat the same transfiguration, apparently turning some other vessel or body of water into blood like Aaron and Moses had. In essence, Pharaoh was accepting the challenge! He showed that he intended to literally return blood for blood. He was inviting God to continue His campaign against Egypt, and Pharaoh would most assuredly get what he asked for!

In the following verses we learn that the curse continued for a full seven days, a symbolic and holy number, a full measure of time. A week without water is fatal, and we hear how the people resorted to digging in the soil around the river, looking for something fresh. One can only imagine the crowding, the physical discomfort, and the loss of production and stability in Egypt during that time.

We are not told if, or to what extent, the Israelites were also affected by this plague. One might assume that leaving the Israelites a fresh pond of their own would only invite the Egyptians to overrun their land to reach it. I suppose God could have instructed the Israelites in ways to cure the tainted water, but we have no indication that this happened. It does seem likely that at least for some of the plagues the Israelites suffered collateral hardship. At least it was suffering for the purpose of their eventual freedom.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 7:19-21

19 And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

21 And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

It turns out that the curse of blood was more far-reaching than just the water that was in the Nile. It would make sense that any river or stream that flowed from the river would receive the same curse, but we are told that even isolated pools, ponds, and water-carrying vessels became corrupted.

The water of Egypt had been tainted years ago by the casting of innocent children into its depths, and the people had all drawn from that tainting and brought it into their homes, and now all that seed of evil was turned to blood at once. This is, of course, a symbol of how corruption at the core of a society tends to spread into all the homes and the minds of the individuals that dwell there. A falsehood in one place creates logical fallacies in every place that draws from it.

Too often we draw all our sustenance from one source: society. We take our doctrines, ideologies, and perspectives from that singular well, and we drink in all the corruption that grows there. We, like the Egyptians in these verses, need to find another source to drink from. We need to find a well that is pure and clean.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 7:15-18

15 Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.

16 And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.

17 Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

18 And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.

When Moses showed the miracle of water turning to blood to the Israelite elders, he had merely scooped some water from the river and poured it out on the soil. This time he was to turn the entire river red, causing the land to literally flow with blood. As discussed earlier, this blood is both the blood of the innocent Israelite sons who were cast into the river, and also a sign of the future Egyptian blood that would be shed in retribution.

Of course this miracle would also be mirrored in the future by Jesus turning the water into wine, and wine is a very similar image to that of blood. Thus, the miracle that Moses performed for Pharaoh had direct application to the situation in which it was conducted, but the fact that its same imagery appeared in entirely other contexts shows us that there must also be a larger, more universal interpretation of it also.

One possible interpretation is that of God creating life. The water to blood shows how the Lord is able to turn base material into part of a living thing. And not just living, but also dying. Blood is, after all, both an emblem of life and death. Thus it is God creating the entire mortal experience, from one end to another, birth to death. God draws this existence out of the base materials: dust to body and water to blood. Just as God created the Earth with its bodies of continent and veins of river, he authored the human body of flesh and vein of blood as well.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 7:13-14

13 And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

14 And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.

I have discussed previously these passages that say the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart. I will repeat here that I don’t believe it is accurate that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and if you would like more explanation why I feel that way, you can refer back to my original post.

I will just add one point to what I have already said before. The fact is that the biblical record is itself divided on whom, exactly, hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and so I feel that one of the interpretations must be discarded. Here in verse 13 it is clearly stated that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but at other times it explicitly state that Pharaoh is the one hardening his own heart. We will see this in Exodus 8:32 where it states, “and Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also.” Note that the “also” suggests that not only was he the one that hardened his heart at the time of Exodus 8:32, but also at this previous instance as well.

I do not believe there is anything heretical in acknowledging that the Bible is a record compiled from many accounts, some of which disagree in particular details, and which cannot therefore all be entirely true. Of course extreme prudence and caution is to be taken when holding to one version compared to another, and in some cases it better to just say “whether it was just as this record states, or just that one states, I do not know, I accept the spirit of them both.”

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 7:10-12

10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.

12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.

There is much speculation as to how the wise men and the sorcerers were able to turn their rods into serpents. Some suppose that it might have been sleight-of-hand, where they somehow replaced the rods with serpents. This explanation would suggest that even the author of Exodus was fooled, though, for it is written “and they became serpents.” Some see this as an actual power effected by a perverse connection to the devil. Without a doubt, Satan does have a real power in and over this world, just ask any person who has been driven by fear, anger, jealousy, or lust.

In either case, whichever way the wise men and sorcerers did their miracle, God allowed it. Whatever their method, God could have frustrated it, but He didn’t. The reason seems to be evident: He let the sorcerers have their moment and show their power, so that then He might kill, break, and consume their work with his own serpent. God let the mystics show their full power so that He could show that He had greater. He was showing to Pharaoh a clear picture of what was coming, and that the Pharaoh did not have the power to prevent it. Would Pharaoh regard the sign and comply with the Lord to avoid the full fruit of this disastrous prophecy? We will see in tomorrow’s verses.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 7:8-9

8 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.

Moses had seen the miracle with the snake in Mount Horeb, and had been instructed to show it also to the Israelites, and now he was prepared to do the same for Pharaoh.

God foretold that Pharaoh, himself, would be the one to ask for this sign, presumably as evidence that the Lord had sufficient power to demand that Pharaoh let the Israelites go into the wilderness. Of course, asking for a sign is often treacherous in the Bible. Those who say they will not believe except for a sign, typically do not believe with a sign either, and so God turns the sign into a curse against them. The disbelieving stake their plans on God not being to deliver on His promises, and so He breaks their plans to keep His word. Since they sought to call the Lord’s bluff, their own is called instead. This is, indeed, how things would go for Pharaoh, too. He will, in fact, see many wonders and miracles, but all of them to his own detriment!

Another small detail that other commentators have observed is that Moses says “take thy rod” to Aaron. Assuming that this was the shepherd’s staff that Moses had used in Midian, it would seem Moses had now given it to Aaron.