Scrooby Manor

What Do You Know?

2008-02-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

The question now: So What? What good does it do for me to know that I am thirsty? What else is new? Tell me something I don't know?

OK - here goes. All of us have had the experience of being thirsty. And in the three areas that I mentioned before, personal pain can be the result of not having my thirst satisfied. Who hasn't felt lonely in a crowd? Who hasn't said something, or done something, that was met with obvious scorn? And who hasn't said to their self, "I will never say (or do) that again." Why? Because the thing said or done led to some personal pain...and we don't like that!

Again - so what? Well, this leads us to discuss the second of the four components: we are rational beings. By that, Dr Crabb means, we have the God-given capacity to think, to evaluate the world around us, to store up in our minds a list of "do's and don'ts" about dealing with life. And in particular, we have the ability to think through what it is we should do and not do when it comes to personal pain.

For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, "Eat and drink!" But his heart is not with you.
Proverbs 23:7

As God looked on His creation after creating Man, and was able to say, "It is very good," so we can look on life and say...what we think. We have ideas abut the world: what makes it tick, and what ticks it off. We can assess our situation in life, and based on a head full of ideas, we can arrive at some course of action to correct our situation...to satisfy our thirst.

Unlike God, however, our ability to rightly assess our situation is limited by the fact that our knowledge in incomplete. We see "through a glass darkly." We just don't have all the information. And that is why we are told, by Paul, that we can "be transformed by the renewing of our minds."

Another name for that body of knowledge is "worldview." It is the residence of our perspective on the world. And as fallen image bearers, it will be, by definition, incomplete. But it can change...and our purpose in studying this book, and for asking God to change us, is to bring our thinking in line with God's.

I have to close for now...but I will pick up this line of thinking next time.

G&P2U

Thirsty...but for what?

2008-01-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?" Psalm 42:1-2

Being created in the image of God, man desires God...it would seem. Man is a thirsty being by nature. Where God is independent, in need of nothing, Man is dependent. And before the Fall, his needs were perfectly met in his relationship with God.

But the rebellion introduced by the Fall has caused Man to look elsewhere to satisfy his thirst. God speaks of this through His prophet, Jeremiah:

"Be appalled, O heavens, at this, And shudder, be very desolate," declares the LORD. "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns That can hold no water." Jeremiah 2:12,13

God, Who is like an artesian well, bubbling over with cool water, is appalled that His people ignore Him, and seek to satisfy their thirst through meager means, which ultimately prove to be totally inadequate. They ignore reality (the Truth), and chase after lies.

For the sake of analysis, we will look at three categories of thirst:

Crucial: a need to have a relationship with God
Critical: The legitimate and important desires for Significance and Security...add to the enjoyment of living
Casual: All of the other desire we experience, ranging from
o the trivial (favorite ice cream) to
o the significant (good report from the doctor)

People are Personal Beings

2008-01-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

The first component recognizes that people are different from any other creatures. In short, we are Persons. No other creature has personhood. What is personhood? Most of us know intuitively, but perhaps the best way to define it is that we are created in the image of God. (Gen 1:26-28) God, Who is a Person, has created man to be like Him. Not physically, but in some way. As persons, we, like God, have the capacity to create relationships in some special way. Unlike God, Whose relationships are perfect, we find ourselves in relationships which are not. Why? Because we relate to fallen image bearers. Why is that such a problem?

Christian psychologist Lawrence Crabb ... has rightly concluded that one of man's most basic needs is personal worth. Crabb states that there are two required inputs to make a person feel worthy. The two inputs are "significance" and "security."

To feel significant, each person must have a sense of purpose and a feeling of importance. One's life must be meaningful. One must have a definite impact on his world.

To feel secure, a person must know he is loved unconditionally and eternally. If he does not feel eternally accepted, he will not feel secure. Man longs for everlasting acceptance; temporary acceptance will not satisfy him.

Crabb argues that Adam and Eve had significance and security before the Fall, but once they alienated themselves from God through sin, they no longer felt significant and secure. Since the Fall, significance and security have alluded man. Man has lost his sense of personal worth. Because of this, each person pretends to be someone he or she is not. Man also seeks significance and security in other people and in temporary pleasures, but inevitably true personal worth always evades man.

However, Crabb finds the solution to this dilemma of man in the Gospel. Once a person is saved, his needs for personal worth are met in Christ. Man is significant because God has given each person an eternal mission. The King of the universe has given every person a job to perform. He has called each individual to minister to others in His power and love.

Man can also be secure for God loved man enough to send His Son to die for him. God loves all people unconditionally. He loves all people just as they are, and He will never stop loving them. Only in Jesus Christ can man find true personal worth.

Chew on this for awhile...more the next time when we will explore man as a thirsty being.

Preliminary Thoughts

2008-01-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

Before we begin with the Total Truth Study Guide, I want to lay some ground work. In other words, I want to cover some basic questions. One of those questions: why bother? Why should we spend the time in this Study Guide.

Underlying this study guide is the need to develop a proper Worldview. In the pursuit of Truth, we pursue the "actual"... Philosopher Alvin Plantinga, dealing with the Problem of Evil, talks about an infinite number of possible worlds, but only one actual world. The actual world is the world that really is. And if Truth is that which corresponds with Reality, then the pursuit of Truth is the pursuit of the world that really is.

So what? With gratitude towards Dr Larry Crabb, let me briefly describe where a proper Worldview fits into the individual's life. And that understanding begins with an understanding of who we are, more properly, what we are.

For the sake of discussion, I am going to look at four components of who we are:
Personal
Rational
Volitional
Emotional

These four components interact with one another. And understanding of how they interact will also give us some insight into the role of our Worldview.

Welcome to Scrooby Manor

2008-01-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Scrooby Manor.

This site has been established to provide a place for my students to exchange their thoughts with me and each other about the concept of "total truth." Initially, we will focus on the study guide for Nancy Pearcey's book, Total Truth. We will expand it, as God leads us, to cover related areas of thinking which will assist us in developing a truly biblical worldview.

If you are curious about the name of this site, please Google "Scrooby Manor." I think you will find it interesting!

You who are honestly seeking after Truth are welcome to join us.

For now, grace and peace to you.