Category: Apologetics

Sorry, Chase! (Part 4)

Gary Pollard

The second universal observation, as posited in the otherwise excellent research presented by Chase Hughes (The ancients decoded reality), is mostly spot-on! “Fear is an illusion, and love is the truth.” And, “Fear is the greatest lie ever told. Love is the only thing that’s real.” He cites the bible first, and it is in this citation where (as far as I can tell) his only error, from a Christian’s perspective, is.  

He says, “The most quoted phrase in the entire bible is ‘be not afraid.’” Some variation of this command, according to the infallible internet, is indeed one of the most quoted in the entire bible. But then he says, “A quote from Jesus, ‘Perfect love casts out fear.’” Most of you have already spotted it! The error is a minor one, and he more than likely misspoke. I point it out only because it’s a well-known passage written by John, spoken by John (I Jn 4.18). If God’s love is fully matured in us, we can be without fear on the day when God judges the world. We will be without fear, because in this world we are like Jesus. No fear exists with love. None, because matured love throws fear away. This fear is of punishment! Anyone who is always afraid has not been made mature in their love.

So his overall point stands, if misattributed. In this case, though, that fear helps us know where our love is in the maturing process. If we’re still afraid (of death or of judgment), our love has not matured enough. So in the passage he cited, fear definitely means that something is wrong! 

From a Christian perspective, one kind of fear is critical to maintain: of the power, presence, and holiness of God. Better words for this kind of fear may be sublime (delightful horror) and awe (admiration and fear, reducing feelings of self-entitlement). Our motivation to follow God transitions from fear to love as we mature. It’s impossible to see something large and powerful (like a tornado or hurricane or comet) and not feel at least a little something in the pit of your stomach. Those are tiny manifestations of his power — a healthy fear/awe of the power behind those phenomena is not a bad thing. It keeps our view of self properly calibrated. Some variation of “fear God” is found about 300 times in scripture, which is as much or more than “be not afraid”. 

It is interesting that love is so powerful a discipline that every culture in antiquity praised it. Chase cites the following: 

  1. Buddhism:  “Hatred does not cease by hatred. By love alone is hatred healed.”
  2. Bhagavad Gita: “The path of devotion, love, leads to liberation. The path of ignorance, fear, leads to suffering.” Yoda apparently read the Bhagavad Gita. 
  3. Tao Te Ching: “Courage comes from love. Paralysis comes from fear.” 
  4. Dhammapada: “The mind is everything.” (This is explained further in his video)
  5. Sufi: “Your job is not to seek for love, but to find and remove the barriers you built against it.” 

Finally, “Fear is an illusion that keeps us asleep. Love is the frequency or the thing that wakes us up. Fear shrinks the self, love expands the self. Fear breeds ego, and love dissolves it. Fear isolates you, and love reminds you [who] you actually are. Fear makes you chase approval, validation, money, control; it makes us compare ourself to everybody else. Fear makes us live like something is missing — love, in the ancient sense, isn’t romantic. It’s oneness, alignment, essentially the recognition that we’re made of the same stuff… That’s why fear feels bad, because it’s biologically incompatible with what you actually are. Every mistake you’ve ever made, every relationship that blew up, every regret you carry, every time you sabotage your own potential, that’s all fear. Every ancient teacher: you’re suffering because you believe a lie. The moment you drop fear, you don’t just…find love. You don’t find love, you return to it. It’s why you’re born with it.” 

As you can see, his observations are mostly excellent! But if the observations imply universal compatibility between faiths, we have a problem. What videos like this do for us, though, is encourage us to return to a healthy interest in the esoteric aspects of scripture. Paul, John, Clement, and Origen (and many others) were no strangers to the esoteric. We have long abandoned its pursuit, perhaps because it was hijacked early on by Gnostics and other odd groups. Armed with only reaction, we’ll always be two steps behind. The difficulty lies in approaching the esoteric with a proper framework. There’s no shortage of esoterism and symbolism in scripture, we just tend to gloss over it or dilute it with reductionistic literalism. We are left, then, with only secular (often pagan) resources to tackle biblical esoterism. This is obviously dangerous! Whether we like it or not, it’s in the Zeitgeist. And because we’ve largely abandoned it, Gnosticism is now touted as being the earliest form of Christianity. What’s a seeker or curious believer to do in the face of these complex, often-convincing arguments without a mature framework to bring to the study of esoterism? Building such a framework would be an invaluable project for a group of Christian scholars to tackle! 

THE EXCLUSIVITY OF JESUS

Sorry, Chase (Part 3)!

Gary Pollard

Last week we looked at the problem of language and its inability to capture the infinite (or even things on much larger scales/broader scopes than we’re used to). Chase Hughes, whose video The ancients decoded reality we’ve been examining, gives valuable insights into the many similarities between ancient cultural parables, mythologies, and symbolism. These similarities certainly do exist, and were very probably the result of each culture witnessing the same events. Since we are Christians — and Christianity is one of the ancient traditions he discusses — I think it’s important to examine some of his conclusions and try to establish the boundary of legitimate speculation on the topic. 

As has already been said, the line must be drawn at the conclusion that all world religions are more-or-less interchangeable. Many of the pillars of these faiths are mutually exclusive, at least in their current forms. Jesus made it clear that he was the only path to the Father, so this precludes worship of any other god(s). However, all humans are made in God’s image, and all witnessed the same displays of his power. Comparative mythology/religion is an extremely useful tool in trying to understand the events of the past — many of which the Bible (and several non-canonical sources)  corroborates, often through symbolic and apocalyptic terminology. 

In the past couple of articles, I’ve made it clear that Chase’s work is otherwise excellent, at least as it relates to this topic (which has been my only exposure to his material). However, because of his well-earned popularity, it is likely that other Christians will or have watched this video (as of today it has 2.8 million views) — and there are many others like it on other similar channels. Because most people don’t have any interest in the actual content of these ancient writings, because he presents his arguments in a very compelling way, because it can be difficult for some people to “spit out the bones,” and because the way many exegete the Bible (with little or no acknowledgment of the symbolism in accounts considered exclusively historical) can present difficulties in justifying physical and literary evidence with the text of scripture, I felt it was important to point out where, in my opinion, his conclusions (where Christianity is concerned) were erroneous. This is not intended to be a “debunk” series as much as a “clarify” series. 

So, to finish out last week’s consideration of the language problem, we’ll look at his concluding remarks. Next week we should be able to get into his main observations. 

[Imagine] standing in front of a sunrise so massive and overwhelming that words feel absolutely stupid to describe it. Now imagine trying to explain that sunrise to somebody who has never seen light before. This is why ancient texts seem contradictory — the problem wasn’t the message, it was the translation. Different cultures, different metaphors, different symbols. It was the same truth filtered through different, and extremely human, limitations. And when you finally zoom out far enough, the differences disappear. The metaphors line up, the symbols overlap, and — in my estimation — the contradictions dissolve. You start to see that these were fragments of maps, and once I noticed that something insane happened. The patterns in these texts started connecting like constellations across all these continents, across millennia, across belief systems that supposedly are against each other. They weren’t opposing each other at all, they were completing each other. And that’s when these five truths revealed themselves (08:25-09:38). 

As with the last two weeks’ observations, this is mostly true! Where we’ll have to disagree is at the alleged disappearance of contradictions and at the complementary nature of supposedly-opposed belief systems. By this logic, anything at a sufficiently low resolution is indistinguishable from anything else. Is it a bird or a plane or a flying superhuman? Those are three very different things — even though operating in the same domain — when viewed from a great distance, but the truth of what that thing is is fixed regardless of observational errors. 

The ancient religions of the world, by and large, observed the same phenomena and came away with slightly different conclusions. It didn’t take long for those conclusions to morph into identity systems, with cults loyal to one god or set of gods becoming hostile toward other cults who followed their gods’ antagonist. In the very oldest stories and mythologies, it seems that much of the basis for these religions was a cosmic drama with heavenly bodies being personified to preserve the story and scope of the event. Nearly all of them identify their chief gods with the planets, the sun, and the moon, and described the way their gods had interacted with earth in the ancient past — nearly always in catastrophic ways. 

So while their observations were originally mostly true, they degraded over time into the actual worship of these stars, planets, and “hosts of heaven”. The acts of worship, as we’ve already said, were often extremely dysfunctional. Human (even infant!) sacrifice, ritualized prostitution, and other harmful practices were not-uncommon expressions of devotion when the highest power was perceived to be no greater than some created thing in the heavens. Christianity fundamentally differed from its contemporaries and predecessors in that it called for devotion to the Creator rather than to any aspect of his creation. 

Because of their close cultural and linguistic ties (and probably the shared trauma of living through “days of the Lord”), even the Jews often had difficulty avoiding the worship of the “queen of heaven” (Venus) and other personified heavenly bodies worshipped by their neighbors. But when they actually followed the divine law they were given, they were wholly incompatible with neighboring cultures. All people originally worshipped the one true God (Gen 4.26), which is likely why we see so many similarities between the ancient religious systems. There is only one Truth, and deviations from it (because of human nature) are inevitable. Those who still wanted to align their aims and behavior with Truth would either leave the corrupted system or reform it. Either way, there are divisions — sometimes for good reason. 

So while it is certainly true that most perceived contradictions are the result of interpretation or translation errors, it is not true that those difference dissolve entirely at a certain resolution. Those differences exist precisely because of a deviation from truth. Even though much of the content of these texts aligns with the teachings of scripture, much is also totally incompatible. As we’ll see when we get to his main observations (the five truths), the rest of the world sometimes missed the point of the human experience. This life is a trial run! Compared to immortality, 100 years is a microsecond. The point is to emulate the Creator to the best of our ability and to love others selflessly. The enlightenment and realization of Truth that the rest of the world focused on is not something we can achieve in this body. We all want the same thing, but the only way to get it — and the most fundamental difference between the religions — is through Jesus. 

Did People Really Live Hundreds Of Years?

Dale Pollard

(Genesis 5)

Genesis records those who lived for hundreds of years and it’s nearly unbelievable for some people and for others— it is. Look at some examples from Genesis chapter five:

V.17

“Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.”

V.20

“Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died” 

V.27

“Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.”

Some of the best historians of the first Century believed what the Bible says about how long people lived. 

Here’s what Josephus has to say in regard to the ancients: 

“God afforded them a longer time of life on account of their virtue, and the good use they made of it in astronomical and geometrical discoveries, which would not have afforded the time of foretelling [the periods of the stars] unless they had lived six hundred years; for the great year is completed in that interval. Now I have for witnesses to what I have said, all those that have written Antiquities, both among the Greeks and barbarians; for even Manetho, who wrote the Egyptian History, and Berosus, who collected the Chaldean Monuments, and Mochus, and Hestieus, and, besides these, Hieronymus the Egyptian, and those who composed the Phoenician History, agree to what I here say: Hesiod also, and Hecatseus, Hellanicus, and Acusilaus; and, besides these, Ephorus and Nicolaus relate that the ancients lived a thousand years.“

Many ancient mythologies and legends feature tales of humans living for thousands of years. While many of those tales are likely exaggerated or even entirely false, it makes one wonder where and why cultures around the world would “imagine” the same motif. 

Here are just a few notable examples:

Sumerian King List: 

This ancient text from Mesopotamia records kings who reigned for thousands of years before the Great Flood. The very first on the list being Alulim who was the first ruler of Eridu, Sumer. Not only was he believed to be a god for years after his death, but he’s believed to have reigned for over a thousand years. Some of the rulers are said to have had lifespans exceeding 10,000 years. 

Hindu Mythology: 

In Hindu texts, the concept of Yugas describes epochs of time, and during the Satya Yuga, it is believed that humans had much longer lifespans, sometimes said to be thousands of years.

Chinese Mythology: 

Figures like Xuanzang (Tripitaka) and the Eight Immortals are often depicted as living for long periods. The legend of Queen Mother of the West also includes tales of long lifespans.

Greek Mythology: 

Certain demigods and heroes, like Heracles, are granted extended lives or even immortality through various means, reflecting a belief in long-lasting life.

Norse Mythology: 

While not explicitly stating that humans lived thousands of years, the concept of Ragnarök and the idea of the those living for very long periods contributes to this notion.

Egyptian Mythology: 

Some of their first recorded pharaohs were believed to have existed for thousands of years. 

Paradox

Wednesday’s Column: Third’s Words

Gary Pollard

Disclaimer: I am not a scientist. This is not intended to be an apologetics article, more like comments on phenomena we don’t fully understand presented as food-for-thought.

We shouldn’t be able to observe the fascinating, terrifying cosmic events known as black holes. They have an event horizon – the area around the black hole itself – and a singularity (the “center”). We have no way to determine what came before it because no information can escape its gravity. This “black hole information paradox” has been a headache-inducing puzzle for this era’s brightest minds. Some have attempted explanations (Engelhardt, Page, etc), but the issue is far from resolved.

As observers, we could not see something go into the singularity because time would slow to a stop. This is caused by gravitational time dilation – something we experience on earth everyday. Time – from an observer’s perspective – is effected by gravity. The satellites orbiting our earth experience time at a slightly faster rate, something we have to account for with things like GPS. Time even moves slightly faster at high altitudes on earth than it does at sea level. Gravity affects the way we observe time. Higher gravity makes time appear to move slower, lower gravity makes it appear to move faster.

Gravitational time dilation also means that we can’t watch the birth of these terrifying cosmic events because it would take an infinite amount of time. Yet they do exist, and we can “see” them. We have photographic proof of their existence with M87, and we’ve seen enough to infer the existence of Sgr A at the center of our own galaxy.

So, if a black hole takes an infinite amount of time to form, how can we observe it? Einstein himself was doubtful of their existence because he couldn’t justify it with general relativity (Annals of Mathematics, Vol 40, No. 4, 922). Almost everything in the universe is explainable through two major theories: quantum mechanics and general relativity. General Relativity describes big, heavy stuff (planets, stars, galaxies); Quantum Mechanics is for tiny stuff that isn’t gravity-related (subatomic particles, atoms).

When it comes to black holes, though, these two theories collide. We don’t have a Theory of Everything that satisfactorily explains why these two can’t work together. Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity should not be able to coexist in one cosmic phenomenon.
So how do they? How can we observe something that should take an infinite amount of time to form? What could unify General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics – both of which have been verified repeatedly – and account for their coexistence in a black hole? What is the missing puzzle piece in the Theory of Everything?

Is it so irrational to assume that something not affected by either is the answer? Is it bad science to posit an infinite power source as the unifying agent of the two theories? As a believer, the answer that makes perfect sense is God. An infinitely powerful being is the Theory of Everything. He created the black hole at the same time as other stars (Gen 1.14-19). He bridges the gap between General Relativity and Quantum Mechanic’s explanations of reality (Heb 1.3).

To me, the black hole is one of the most compelling evidences of God’s existence. The only way we could ever observe something infinite is if something infinite put it there. Who else could be powerful enough to let general relativity and quantum mechanics play in the same phenomenon? Would he not be the perfect unifier of the two? I believe we can observe cosmic events – like black holes – because God put them there in our timeline.

The Truth Is Out There

Wednesday’s Column: Third’s Words

 

Gary Pollard

I believe that God exists. I believe that He communicated with His creation by direct contact, messengers, and a series of ancient texts. I believe that He wants His human creation to be with Him after they die. I believe that He expects those who claim to be His to act within the guidelines He set in those ancient texts. I believe that there is life after death and that where we go depends on whether or not we follow this God.

Why do I believe this, though? What reason do I have to believe in something I cannot experience with my senses? I was not there thousands of years ago when the prophets and Hebrews talked to God. I was not there when God came here to teach. I was not there when the authors of the original texts delivered their writings to the early church. The ancient texts translated into English sometimes do not effectively communicate the emotion of the words and concepts in the original language. So why do I believe these things? Why do you believe these things?

Think about this carefully. From Genesis to Revelation the message is clear: God wants His people to exist with Him after time is destroyed. This message was communicated to an impossible variety of people, sometimes separated by hundreds of years, thousands of miles, culture, kingdom, race, and language. There are tens of thousands of manuscripts of these ancient texts in many, many different languages. There are some 25,000 New Testament manuscripts or fragments that are separated by about a thousand years, at least 8 different languages, thousands of miles of geography, and many different cultures. Yet, they are at least 95% accurate to each other. The remaining 5% do not contain a single contradiction; rather, they are spelling errors, slips of the pen, writing on the wrong line, or minor variances (“God said” vs. “He said” or “and” vs. “but”).

Of the rich libraries we have of ancient literature, none can hold even the dimmest candle to the profound accuracy and unity of the scriptures. They could not have been produced by man alone. There had to be Someone not confined by time supervising each person as they wrote. Keep in mind, these ancient cultures did not have the advantage of modern communication. They were almost totally isolated from each other and would have known little of the others’ existence, much less what they experienced or wrote from God. Our Bible has supernatural origins and its contents reveal the nature of our Creator. What I believe comes from this book because I know it is God’s message to mankind. I encourage those who have not already done so to do an in-depth study of the origin of scripture. It is one of the most faith-building studies anyone could undertake. When you know with certainty that what you are reading contains the actual thoughts and desires of God, it bolsters your faith in ways I could not begin to adequately describe.