Last night was a night of insight for me in our Shack study. I thought I would share my notes from just two pages of the Annotated Shack discussion guide.
136 What happens when humans determine good and evil for themselves? What is the chief result?
A It allows man to play god in his self determination and independence without any of the prerequisite abilities for doing it successfully. Man becomes fuzzy in his thinking about God and seeking to be free ends up in a bondage he cannot break out of. Sahck study guide, shack discussion guide
What is Evil?
A The absence of Good. Read the third paragraph pg 136 for the complete description. Don’t overlook the implications of this teaching. If I understand this correctly, it answers the question “did God create Evil? NO, God only created good, love etc. Stepping outside of what god created is ALL evil from God’s perspective. Anything of any description that separates us from the Love of God is by definition evil. We have personified evil and given it a power it does not have. (Satan may be a personification of Evil but is not evil itself by this definition). The focus of our lives then should NOT be to stay away from evil, but to stay IN the Love and fellowship of God. Consider this: there is no scientific formula for darkness because it is not created. It is true nothingness and is described in Genesis 1 as darkness being prevalent in the pre creation state. GE 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. GE 1:3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God did not create dark, he created light. Under the same reasoning, God did not create Evil. Evil is like dark, it describes the absence of Gods light. In practical application we need to place the emphasis of our lives on staying in the light more than just avoiding evil. We do not want to be like King Amaziah: 2CH 25:1 Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.
Our challenge is to follow the instructions of John: 1JN 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. Walking in the light will go a long way towards taking care of the sin problem in man.
What are the implications of “Both evil and darkness can only be understood in relation to Light and Good; they do not have any actual existence”?
A They do not have the power we credit them with having. Simply add light and the darkness disappears.
How does light and good actually exist? What are the relationship implications of that?
A They exist only in God. The further we are from him the darker it is. With God living in me, light exists in me, not darkness. 1 Jo 1:5-7
Why does independent living always result in evil? Are there any exceptions?
A It always ends in death and darkness because it is not where God is.
137 What is the difference between personal rights and being loved. What are personal rights, where do we get them, how to we keep or enforce them?
A Rights are something I determine and must fight for to protect and keep, even if it means infringing on your rights. First rule of rights is mine come first. I get to make them up as I go, change them on a whim and never have to communicate the lines to another until they are threatened. I will use any power, strategy, system, institution, threat, or force at my disposal to keep my rights as I see them. To surrender is tantamount to the death of me. Love is not something we can fight for. True and pure love is something freely offered and accepted
What does Sarayu mean “rights are were survivors go, so they won’t have to work out relationships”?
A Rights are a life long struggle to find and defend. Battle scars abound of every sort. Rights are a walled fortress that must lock out every other human being and God lest they be challenged and overthrown. I can only live in relationship to the degree I surrender my idea of personal rights.
When a person is demanding their rights, what are they actually doing? Where will that lead?
A choosing to live independently of everyone. To maintain their rights they will have to destroy another’s rights. It will lead to darkness, separation, loneliness, despair, grief and to exactly the opposite of what they think enforcing their personal rights will lead.
Can you get your rights by demanding them?
A of course. You have the right to be alone, live in the dark, trapped by unrealized dreams and desires, defeated, deflated and on the way to being destroyed, void of what you thought you were getting by demanding your rights.
What is the net result when we surrender all rights to God.
A Freedom, light, liberty, the pursuit and possession of happiness, the fruit of the spirit, confidence, life, purpose, power, fulfillment, adventure, mystery, surprise, glory, praise and the like.
In relationship to God?
A A peek into the depth of the love of God. Participation in his actual activities on earth now and for eternity. A chance to bring him glory. Understanding, loss of fear, regret, guilt and shame.
In relationship to others?
A The opportunity to love and be loved, to share, fulfill and be filled, to understand, fellowship, worship together. To be more than you could be alone. Be free of expectations, performance, demands and fear of abuse. To live and serve with no fear of being taken advantage of. To know friendship, experience a oneness like the oneness that exists in the godhead. To have a little bit of heaven on earth. To live and love free. When I give up my rights I don’t have to protect myself from you. I have nothing to protect thus nothing to lose but much to gain.
Why did Jesus give up his rights as God to become Man?
A To make all the above possible.
How does God react to our anger? Elucidate
A With eternal love of purpose.
138 What does the garden of your soul look like? Is it a mess or a fractal?. Why do you say that?
A Fractals are only possible when Romans 8:28 is in effect with God’s children. Without his working, it is just a mess, and ugly at that.
A It allows man to play god in his self determination and independence without any of the prerequisite abilities for doing it successfully. Man becomes fuzzy in his thinking about God and seeking to be free ends up in a bondage he cannot break out of. Sahck study guide, shack discussion guide
What is Evil?
A The absence of Good. Read the third paragraph pg 136 for the complete description. Don’t overlook the implications of this teaching. If I understand this correctly, it answers the question “did God create Evil? NO, God only created good, love etc. Stepping outside of what god created is ALL evil from God’s perspective. Anything of any description that separates us from the Love of God is by definition evil. We have personified evil and given it a power it does not have. (Satan may be a personification of Evil but is not evil itself by this definition). The focus of our lives then should NOT be to stay away from evil, but to stay IN the Love and fellowship of God. Consider this: there is no scientific formula for darkness because it is not created. It is true nothingness and is described in Genesis 1 as darkness being prevalent in the pre creation state. GE 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. GE 1:3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God did not create dark, he created light. Under the same reasoning, God did not create Evil. Evil is like dark, it describes the absence of Gods light. In practical application we need to place the emphasis of our lives on staying in the light more than just avoiding evil. We do not want to be like King Amaziah: 2CH 25:1 Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.
Our challenge is to follow the instructions of John: 1JN 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. Walking in the light will go a long way towards taking care of the sin problem in man.
What are the implications of “Both evil and darkness can only be understood in relation to Light and Good; they do not have any actual existence”?
A They do not have the power we credit them with having. Simply add light and the darkness disappears.
How does light and good actually exist? What are the relationship implications of that?
A They exist only in God. The further we are from him the darker it is. With God living in me, light exists in me, not darkness. 1 Jo 1:5-7
Why does independent living always result in evil? Are there any exceptions?
A It always ends in death and darkness because it is not where God is.
137 What is the difference between personal rights and being loved. What are personal rights, where do we get them, how to we keep or enforce them?
A Rights are something I determine and must fight for to protect and keep, even if it means infringing on your rights. First rule of rights is mine come first. I get to make them up as I go, change them on a whim and never have to communicate the lines to another until they are threatened. I will use any power, strategy, system, institution, threat, or force at my disposal to keep my rights as I see them. To surrender is tantamount to the death of me. Love is not something we can fight for. True and pure love is something freely offered and accepted
What does Sarayu mean “rights are were survivors go, so they won’t have to work out relationships”?
A Rights are a life long struggle to find and defend. Battle scars abound of every sort. Rights are a walled fortress that must lock out every other human being and God lest they be challenged and overthrown. I can only live in relationship to the degree I surrender my idea of personal rights.
When a person is demanding their rights, what are they actually doing? Where will that lead?
A choosing to live independently of everyone. To maintain their rights they will have to destroy another’s rights. It will lead to darkness, separation, loneliness, despair, grief and to exactly the opposite of what they think enforcing their personal rights will lead.
Can you get your rights by demanding them?
A of course. You have the right to be alone, live in the dark, trapped by unrealized dreams and desires, defeated, deflated and on the way to being destroyed, void of what you thought you were getting by demanding your rights.
What is the net result when we surrender all rights to God.
A Freedom, light, liberty, the pursuit and possession of happiness, the fruit of the spirit, confidence, life, purpose, power, fulfillment, adventure, mystery, surprise, glory, praise and the like.
In relationship to God?
A A peek into the depth of the love of God. Participation in his actual activities on earth now and for eternity. A chance to bring him glory. Understanding, loss of fear, regret, guilt and shame.
In relationship to others?
A The opportunity to love and be loved, to share, fulfill and be filled, to understand, fellowship, worship together. To be more than you could be alone. Be free of expectations, performance, demands and fear of abuse. To live and serve with no fear of being taken advantage of. To know friendship, experience a oneness like the oneness that exists in the godhead. To have a little bit of heaven on earth. To live and love free. When I give up my rights I don’t have to protect myself from you. I have nothing to protect thus nothing to lose but much to gain.
Why did Jesus give up his rights as God to become Man?
A To make all the above possible.
How does God react to our anger? Elucidate
A With eternal love of purpose.
138 What does the garden of your soul look like? Is it a mess or a fractal?. Why do you say that?
A Fractals are only possible when Romans 8:28 is in effect with God’s children. Without his working, it is just a mess, and ugly at that.
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3 comments:
For the curious ones, I removed the post becasue it contained personal contact information about the author addressed to me.
That shack brings back memories. :) Do you remember when we were staying there and I climbed that tree that extended over the little creek behind it - fell and got stuck in a blackberry bush? I BEGGED Daniel to help me out himself and not go get you because I knew that my big strong Dad was going to rip me right out of there and then the bush was going to scratch me to pieces (which is exactly what happened). Somehow, I had it in my mind that a little person like Daniel was going to be much more gentle about getting me out. LOL. Good thing Daniel had the sense to ignore me and run for you.
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