A [Blog] For None and All
I steal this title from another book of Friedrich Nietzsche’s entitled Thus Spoke Zarathustra (though his replaces Book for my Blog). It is what he calls his culminating work, and the pinnacle of his philosophic work throughout his career. Different from everything else that he had written, which previously had consisted entirely of essays, treatises, and aphorisms, in this book he wrote in Germanic verse, a sort of poetic-prose. It reads more like a novel than philosophy, but he uses this medium to express differently, and one might argue better, what it was that he had been building for in the preceding 10-15 years of writing. As an advertisement, for those who do not read philosophy and have not desire to do so, the reading of Zarathustra this might serve as painless exposure to an alien world.
There seems to be a general misreading of this blog by many, and so I steal this subtitle in relation to this blog, because I believe it follows it the spirit of the discourse that Nietzsche was attempting in Zarathustra and other of his later works. Let me explain the context. Zarathustra is a prophet who has secluded himself in the mountains until he is full of wisdom, and he descends from his mountain to preach the gospel of free-spiritedness to the masses. First, Nietzsche lacks greatly for humility, and so the disgust one feels towards the arrogance of this book, shown in the fact that he sees himself in the Zarathustra role should be overlooked in order to enjoy it and mine it for truth. Secondly, though I am using the spirit of this book as a guide for my blog, I do no place myself in the role of Zarathustra in the same way. I am not so foolish as to believe that I am so overfilled with knowledge that I should descend from my lofty position and preach to the herds; rather, I am perhaps only one who likes the sound of his own voice (or typing) too much.
Spirit of Deception
The end of Part 1 of Zarathustra reads,
"When Zarathustra had said these words he became silent, like one who has not yet said his last word; long he weighed his staff in his hands, doubtfully. At last he spoke thus, and the tone of his voice changed.
Now I go alone my disciples. You too go now, alone. Thus I want it. Verily, I counsel you: go away from me and resist Zarathustra! Even better: be ashamed of him! Perhaps he deceived you.
The man of knowledge must not only love his enemies, he must also be able to hate his friends.
One repays a teacher badly if one always remains nothing but a pupil. And why do you want to pluck at my wreath?
You revere me; but what if your reverence tumbles one day? Beware lest a statue slay you.
You say you believe Zarathustra? But what matters Zarathustra? You are my believers – but what matter all believers? You had not yet sought yourselves: and you found me. Thus do all believers; therefore all faith amounts to so little.
Now I bid you lose me and find yourselves; and only when you have all denied me will I return to you.
Verily, my brothers, with different eyes shall I then seek my lost ones; with a different love shall I then love you.
And once again you shall become my friends and the children of a single hope – and then shall I be with you the third time, that I may celebrate the great noon with you.
And that is the great noon when man stands in the middle way between beast and overman and celebrates his way to the evening as his highest hope: for it is the way to a new morning.
Then will he who goes under bless himself for being one who goes over and beyond; and the sun of his knowledge will stand at high noon for him.
“Dead are all gods: now we want the overman to live” – on that great noon, let this be our last will.
Thus spoke Zarathustra."
Going beyond the overman references and the death of gods, laying aside for now what exactly constitutes the great noon, I find something concrete and worth our latching onto in, believe it or not, the humility found in the passage. In fact, throughout Nietzsche’s later works, and I am thinking specifically of Human, All Too Human, he practices a spirit of humility that I think Christians, Buddhists, and Atheists alike would do well to adopt.
He calls for his disciples to go away from him, to resist him, and even to deny Zarathustra. What is his reasoning: perhaps I have deceived you.
This spirit of deception is indeed the spirit of this blog; not deception in the sense of willful misleading, for I feel my greatest calling is, as Augustine artfully rendered, to redeem truth as from its unjust possessors. The deception I write of is that potential deception that accompanies my every word and thought. I lack not for self-confidence bordering on arrogance, but I find it to be the most disgusting of hubris to think anyone capable of any concrete, absolute knowledge that is not subject to change somewhere in the future. By virtue of my humanity, like Nietzsche, I recognize a certain frailty and insufficiency of mind, and I cannot move beyond this, even were I to will it with all of my faith and might.
Invariably someone will retort to this spirit with the sledge-hammer of scripture, making commentary on the fact that it is certain, unchangeable...etc. My reply would be thus: God is indeed unchangeable, by virtue the definition of God he cannot be otherwise, but my perception of that perfection and unchangeableness is faulty at best, and perhaps dead-ass wrong at worst. To not admit the ambiguities and outright contradictions in Scripture is to delude oneself. Much of our scriptural knowledge comes by virtue of interpretation, and to claim one interpretation as fact, while denigrating another as fiction, is to be outside of the spirit of interpretation.
I am not belittling Scripture nor its interpretations, and I am not saying that Scripture is not built upon the true words of God, but I am pointing out the fact that the human receptor, which is the mind, is subject to fallibility, and we should in no way be ashamed of this. This gives us reason to attend seminaries and study Scripture, because were it were cut-and-dry it would be no more alive than a dictionary.
God’s Word is not subject to error, but our comprehension of it is; so too is our judgment on every matter. Thus do I believe we should all adopt a stance that allows for the spirit of deception that pervades all human endeavors.
For None and All
For these reasons I believe this blog to be for none and all. For none, because it may very well be garbage, every word of it. Maybe my words are nothing more than the mouthpiece of the devil, and you should condemn it as the blasphemous ramblings of a man, like Faust, who has sold his soul to the devil in exchange for some meaningless knowledge. Maybe you are of the persuasion, religious or otherwise, where the potentiality of error/deception is unacceptable and heretical, and to you I say that this blog may not be for you, and if all who read this fall into that category, truly it is for none.
I would hope it to be for all, though. In the same way that I think that the Mavs are the greatest NBA team around, and that everyone should love them, I recognize that many will not. So, too, do I think that what I write is true, and that it should be applied by all (why else would I write it), but I have no hopes for that actuality. No, there are matters of preference and differences of belief, and, as was said before, I might very well be shown wrong later.
So, if inclined, read and join the conversation, and let us mutually shine the light on one another’s deceptions and hypocrisy’s, truth and beauty.
I steal this title from another book of Friedrich Nietzsche’s entitled Thus Spoke Zarathustra (though his replaces Book for my Blog). It is what he calls his culminating work, and the pinnacle of his philosophic work throughout his career. Different from everything else that he had written, which previously had consisted entirely of essays, treatises, and aphorisms, in this book he wrote in Germanic verse, a sort of poetic-prose. It reads more like a novel than philosophy, but he uses this medium to express differently, and one might argue better, what it was that he had been building for in the preceding 10-15 years of writing. As an advertisement, for those who do not read philosophy and have not desire to do so, the reading of Zarathustra this might serve as painless exposure to an alien world.
There seems to be a general misreading of this blog by many, and so I steal this subtitle in relation to this blog, because I believe it follows it the spirit of the discourse that Nietzsche was attempting in Zarathustra and other of his later works. Let me explain the context. Zarathustra is a prophet who has secluded himself in the mountains until he is full of wisdom, and he descends from his mountain to preach the gospel of free-spiritedness to the masses. First, Nietzsche lacks greatly for humility, and so the disgust one feels towards the arrogance of this book, shown in the fact that he sees himself in the Zarathustra role should be overlooked in order to enjoy it and mine it for truth. Secondly, though I am using the spirit of this book as a guide for my blog, I do no place myself in the role of Zarathustra in the same way. I am not so foolish as to believe that I am so overfilled with knowledge that I should descend from my lofty position and preach to the herds; rather, I am perhaps only one who likes the sound of his own voice (or typing) too much.
Spirit of Deception
The end of Part 1 of Zarathustra reads,
"When Zarathustra had said these words he became silent, like one who has not yet said his last word; long he weighed his staff in his hands, doubtfully. At last he spoke thus, and the tone of his voice changed.
Now I go alone my disciples. You too go now, alone. Thus I want it. Verily, I counsel you: go away from me and resist Zarathustra! Even better: be ashamed of him! Perhaps he deceived you.
The man of knowledge must not only love his enemies, he must also be able to hate his friends.
One repays a teacher badly if one always remains nothing but a pupil. And why do you want to pluck at my wreath?
You revere me; but what if your reverence tumbles one day? Beware lest a statue slay you.
You say you believe Zarathustra? But what matters Zarathustra? You are my believers – but what matter all believers? You had not yet sought yourselves: and you found me. Thus do all believers; therefore all faith amounts to so little.
Now I bid you lose me and find yourselves; and only when you have all denied me will I return to you.
Verily, my brothers, with different eyes shall I then seek my lost ones; with a different love shall I then love you.
And once again you shall become my friends and the children of a single hope – and then shall I be with you the third time, that I may celebrate the great noon with you.
And that is the great noon when man stands in the middle way between beast and overman and celebrates his way to the evening as his highest hope: for it is the way to a new morning.
Then will he who goes under bless himself for being one who goes over and beyond; and the sun of his knowledge will stand at high noon for him.
“Dead are all gods: now we want the overman to live” – on that great noon, let this be our last will.
Thus spoke Zarathustra."
Going beyond the overman references and the death of gods, laying aside for now what exactly constitutes the great noon, I find something concrete and worth our latching onto in, believe it or not, the humility found in the passage. In fact, throughout Nietzsche’s later works, and I am thinking specifically of Human, All Too Human, he practices a spirit of humility that I think Christians, Buddhists, and Atheists alike would do well to adopt.
He calls for his disciples to go away from him, to resist him, and even to deny Zarathustra. What is his reasoning: perhaps I have deceived you.
This spirit of deception is indeed the spirit of this blog; not deception in the sense of willful misleading, for I feel my greatest calling is, as Augustine artfully rendered, to redeem truth as from its unjust possessors. The deception I write of is that potential deception that accompanies my every word and thought. I lack not for self-confidence bordering on arrogance, but I find it to be the most disgusting of hubris to think anyone capable of any concrete, absolute knowledge that is not subject to change somewhere in the future. By virtue of my humanity, like Nietzsche, I recognize a certain frailty and insufficiency of mind, and I cannot move beyond this, even were I to will it with all of my faith and might.
Invariably someone will retort to this spirit with the sledge-hammer of scripture, making commentary on the fact that it is certain, unchangeable...etc. My reply would be thus: God is indeed unchangeable, by virtue the definition of God he cannot be otherwise, but my perception of that perfection and unchangeableness is faulty at best, and perhaps dead-ass wrong at worst. To not admit the ambiguities and outright contradictions in Scripture is to delude oneself. Much of our scriptural knowledge comes by virtue of interpretation, and to claim one interpretation as fact, while denigrating another as fiction, is to be outside of the spirit of interpretation.
I am not belittling Scripture nor its interpretations, and I am not saying that Scripture is not built upon the true words of God, but I am pointing out the fact that the human receptor, which is the mind, is subject to fallibility, and we should in no way be ashamed of this. This gives us reason to attend seminaries and study Scripture, because were it were cut-and-dry it would be no more alive than a dictionary.
God’s Word is not subject to error, but our comprehension of it is; so too is our judgment on every matter. Thus do I believe we should all adopt a stance that allows for the spirit of deception that pervades all human endeavors.
For None and All
For these reasons I believe this blog to be for none and all. For none, because it may very well be garbage, every word of it. Maybe my words are nothing more than the mouthpiece of the devil, and you should condemn it as the blasphemous ramblings of a man, like Faust, who has sold his soul to the devil in exchange for some meaningless knowledge. Maybe you are of the persuasion, religious or otherwise, where the potentiality of error/deception is unacceptable and heretical, and to you I say that this blog may not be for you, and if all who read this fall into that category, truly it is for none.
I would hope it to be for all, though. In the same way that I think that the Mavs are the greatest NBA team around, and that everyone should love them, I recognize that many will not. So, too, do I think that what I write is true, and that it should be applied by all (why else would I write it), but I have no hopes for that actuality. No, there are matters of preference and differences of belief, and, as was said before, I might very well be shown wrong later.
So, if inclined, read and join the conversation, and let us mutually shine the light on one another’s deceptions and hypocrisy’s, truth and beauty.
Here I am with the sledge-hammer of scipture. :-) Or what I prefer to reference it as a double-edge sword. "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword" as Jesus said. Yes, indeed there are contradictions in scripture. The Prince of Peace has not come to bring peace but a sword. How the bible can confound!
Perhaps the bible's absolute claim to truth is offensive to many. In fact it is what many prophets in the old testament were killed for. They were offered up to die because of their direct claim of Truth spoken to them by God. It is what got John the Baptist beheaded for.....because he was bold and shouted out that the king's life style choice was offensive to the word of God. It is what Jesus was crucified for. He proclaimed truth without apology and infuriated the Pharisees to the point of plotting His death. "By what authority do you speak such things Jesus?", they asked Him. Jesus disciples soon followed His lead and were martyred, tortured, and imprisoned for standing for God's truth in His word. Indeed many have been slain for the word of God. But Why? What is the mystery of faith that these men obtained and were willing to give their very lives for what they claim is truth?
His truth is in fact absolute, it never fails, and it shall never pass away. IT is eternal.
1 Peter 1:24-25
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 but the word of the Lord endureth for ever.
And this is the word by which the gospel is preached to you.
I believe these prophets of old, John the Baptist, and the disciples endured the events of their lives through the word of God and in that faith they were given and received eternity. They saw a picture of forever with God through His word. They saw hope and glory that will never ever pass and in that they were given eternal life. In the book of Hebrews it says that "They held fast their confession of hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." In other words they agreed God is faithful so they remained faithful to Him, and in that relationship their promise was that they would never pass away....just like Him. We can indeed live forever!
Isn't that what man hopes for and strives for? Isn't that why he writes books, erects monuments and buildings in his name, he passes out awards of honor, etc. simply because he wants to at least be remembered for generations to come? Isn't that why medicine strives to defeat every desease, and people get plastic surgery because they don't want to age and die? Man longs for eternity and rememberance, but it can only come through God and His truth. He says if we are faithful to Him, then we will see forever. Forever with Him. Othewise we are lost and should not be found.
In John chp.15 Jesus says, "Abide in Me, and I will abide in you". Why one might ask? Why is there no other way? For without Him we can do nothing simply put. We will simply pass away like the flower that withers unless we are rooted in Him. Man's glory passes away but God's glory is forever.
"Be fruitful and multiply!" God commands in Genesis. Live long, not as a flower but as a tree, a tree of life, bearing fruit for others to share. If one is not in the tree of life one can only aspire to be a tree of knowledge of good and evil. Maybe there is knowledge to share of the goods and evils of living, but there is no life to give. There is no hope to share with others. There is no love to heal our wounds. There is only empty words. Those empty philosophies that simply educate and do not give hope to those that are hopeless.
Jesus says that I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. "If you abide in Me, and MY WORDS abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples".
Being fruitful does not have much to do with birthing babies in the flesh, but by God birthing the fruits of Christ's holy spirit in us. He is the tree of Life bearing much fruit. That is why we are to be born again. Christ is born in us and in Him we have fruit of truth to bless others with. By the word of our testimony and the evidence of truth on our lives we become disciples spreading His fruit i.e. gospel. Glory! Isn't God good? All the time.
Kings and philosphers, Pharisees and preachers will come and go. There wll be speaches and letters, doctrines and sermons written and thrown away, but God's eternal word will continue to stand. I think when we really begin to realize this truth we will begin to come into the knowledge of God and His love for us through His son Jesus Christ, and in that knowledge we will begin to grow in faith and even one day perhaps have the very Mind of God in us. If we have God's mind, why on earth do we need any man's books or thoughts to steer us to the truth? Why do we need that tree of knowledge of good and evil to feed us fruit that looks pleasing to the eye but produces only death. Praise God! He will show us what is right. He will guide us to truth. He will give us what we need for life. Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
I believe you were correct to cry out for us to see that the bible is living and ever changing. Not changing in word or deed or truth, but changing as the seasons change around us. The word of God is a very present help in every season we may find our lives in. Wether we are in the growth of spring or the death of winter God's grace is sufficient to carry us through it all. He will not speak the same things to us in the different seasons of life. As our spirit man grows, He will speak more and reveal more. We don't feed a baby meat and neither does our Father. He desires us to grow and learn more of Him, but we can only know Him through His word. Search for God in His word through all seasons and you will not be led astray. Listen to any other spirit, the spirit of deception or error if you will, you might very well find yourself in a place you never wanted to go. We all bite at the bait given to us at times, but we often find we don't like the fisherman who catches us.
I will begin to end in this saying of that absolute and never wavering truth of that bible of mine.
1 John 4 :1-6
1) Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits wether they are of God : because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2)Hereby know ye the Spirit of GOD: (what is the spirit of God you ask?) Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3)And every spirit that confesseth NOT that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of anti-christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
4)Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
5) They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
6)We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
I chose to be led by the spirit of error before. I can remember very clearly thinking why not? You know, what is going to happen to me? What can it hurt? I chose, I thought, and you know what? It did hurt. It opened the door to many spirits that accompany that spirit of error, and I do not wish that for anyone. The truth is the spirit of error can and will only lead us to darkness and it can be very hard to come up out of that pit. Believe me....I know of what I speak. If Jesus is the truth and the light, who is darkness and error? Who is behind the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Who is the author of the spirit of error?
The fact is truth is not to be debated. Not because He's some mean God with a whip saying "OBEY ME OR ELSE!" "OBEY ME BECAUSE I SAID SO!" No, He says..."Obey Me because I love you, and I want to protect you from the evil that can and will hurt you."
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I have for you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity.
I had to begin to learn to seek God through His word and pray to Him diligently through all the storms and seasons these last 12yrs.in particular have brought, and He has shown Himself faithful to be near me. He has loved me and carried me through so much that only He knows it all. That is why I stand by Him through His word faithfully and unapologetically. He is my Rock and anchor through the storms that have come and will continue to come I'm sure. His spirit directs me throuh the different seasons of growth and death. I declare my love for Him today and my belief in His unwavering word.
I believe I know what will bring people to salvation. I am beginning to understand that mystery faith. It's simple....love. His love for us and in return ours to Him. IT is a love affair if you will. Not of this world but of a different kingdom. Will I falter? Yes....Jesus help me I will. Will I say or write things that are not always correct? Of course. That is where the humility you speak of comes in. I get on my knees and confess my daily need for Him. I do not pocess a degree or a resume. I have not attended seminary. I am shy. I am quiet to the point that I exasperate people even my dear husband. I am moody, and God help me I have been proven a weak sinner...but through it all Jesus has never left nor forsaken me.
In conclusion I must confess I choose the spirit of truth. I choose His absolute power and majesty. I choose His word.
May God bless you and keep you safe. May you be blessed and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever amen.
Cami
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
What an unfortunate misreading of a post...your comments will be missed.
In case you are wondering...
Today in church we heard a sermon on Christian love from the book of Philemon that made me think about what I had written. I removed my comment because, after I re-read it, I saw in my tone and in my presentation of my case a side of myself that isn't fitting for a Christian. There is no place for the kind of sacrasm and rudeness that came through in my argument. Whether my point was right or wrong, makes no difference if my case is not presented with patience, love, and with careful words (2 Tim. 4:2). So I apologize for my tone and pray that you weren't offended by the way any of my exchanges came across, as it was unnecessary and unfitting for a Christian. May God sanctify my mind in that area, as I have not yet figured out how to argue in a way fitting for a follower of Christ.
If I misread your post, then I apologize for that as well. No matter the meaning of the content, I still feel that this blog is not a place for me. I fear that I will begin to love the argument more than the Truth for which I argue.
It is my prayer that your search for understanding leads you to a greater knowledge of the Truth and that the Lord will help us both to navigate our way through this life in a way that leads us to eternal life with Him. I hope that you will pray that for me as well.
In Christ,
Dustin