Reflections of a Child

People are strange. Throughout all the ages of man, armies have wasted their lives going to war over things as frivolous as an apple as well as many who kill themselves and others in the name of a divine being that they have never even seen. At the same time, many heroes have given their lives in protecting liberty and standing up for justice and freedom. What could cause people to make decisions such as these? The ancient Greeks believed that there was a part within each of us that caused us to make irrational decisions like these. This was called Thymos. Plato wrote extensively on the topic. He said that all forms of society are born from this philosophy of Thymos, and I agree. Upon examination we can find that political initiative, the life blood of a free society, flows from the attributes of Thymos. Likewise, if we do not control this place within, we will develop a weaker more tyrannical society. The Thymos that dwells within each of us is the seat of our passions. It has...

Through the last century there has been a huge rise of what is called "Moral Relativism." This method of thinking simply states that right and wrong are not absolute and true for everyone at every time, as moral objectivism dictates. Upon hours of research and pondering on the concept of morals, philosophers determined that the difference between the two modes of thinking comes down to the question of where morals come from. If morals come from God, than they are true to everyone at all times. They are objective. In contrast, there is the idea that God either doesn't exist, or doesn't give us an absolute right or wrong moral code. The argument would then be made, that people must receive their morals from somewhere, and if they don't come from God, where would they come from? The scientist would point out that the animal kingdom is full of examples of animals who work together well and treat each other well, without having any objective moral code. Those who bel...

The last few months have been filled with lots of pondering on my purpose in life. I've always had a pretty clear idea of what I'm to do with my life, but the concept of sacrifice for a righteous cause has frightened me. How much am I willing to give up for righteousness? It's a scary thought, thinking about what might be asked of you. But the recent months have prepared my heart for this, and I am at peace now. I can only want to share that peace with others. What shall we Sacrifice? What are we to give up for righteousness? The Lord often repeats that we must give our all. It's pretty straight forward, and daunting. What if we aren't giving our all? Or if we aren't giving it up for the right purpose? How shall we stand before the throne with a clean conscience after Christ has said that we must "be perfect, like I, or your Father which is in Heaven, is perfect?"  We find ourselves in a very materialistic and egocentric world. It's very di...