Christ the Way Part 2: Eternity, Existence, Truth and Human Nature

Eternity
So in the first part Christ the Way Part 1: Refuting Nihilism I shared Father Seraphim Rose's relentless attacks on different forms of nihilistic thought. Here nihilism refers to rejection of absolute and ultimate truth. In this second part, we are going to discuss the nature of truth and it's relationship to existence(i.e. being), and it's relationship to human nature or what humans are. Before we get into this however it is important that we understand that with respect to existence something must logically be eternal, or one must be willing to bite the bullet that no thing produced everything, which of course is irrational. No thing is total and utter non-existence. It does not have qualities or quantities or relations or beginnings. It is not. To predicate of "nothing" is to make it "something". So the first point made here to grow upon is that something is eternal.

Truth & Existence
Now, that we understand something eternal must have produced all things, we should ask what we seek when we seek truth? I find most people tend to mean that they seek to understand propositions that are about the way things exist. So truth is in at least one sense the relation between a proposition and it's correspondence to the way things exists. Before we go further we must get a bet more meta here, as the relation between a proposition and it's correspondence to the way things exists, is a state of affairs, meaning it is something that exists. So this something that is eternal must also ground what truth in existence, and so we find that at the beginning there is something and what one believes that to be is going to effect what one believes about what truth is going to be like in the world. Not only does it effect how you will view truth, but it will effect what you believe to be true of human beings and what they are.

Hidden Truth Man's Problem
Truth is a reality that exists and this reality is hidden, and needs to be unhidden or revealed in some way in some way to humans in order for knowledge to become possible. A person's model of reality will ultimately entail things about what human beings are, and in some way this model must explain how the way things exists are ultimately revealed to man in a way that he can know that relationship between the propositions he forms and reality itself. So in this section I am going to challenge the readers to explain how their view of reality allows humans to acquire truth thus opening up the door for the possibility of knowledge. In the next and final section I will go into detail about how Christ solves this problem, and bridges the divide between man and truth. I am an Eastern Orthodox Christian, and so my answers are going to vary from Christians who do not share that theology, so if you're not an Orthodox Christian feel free to participate. I will be playing some what of a devil's advocate in this thread and in the next I will ask others to critique my own answer to this question. Somethings to keep in mind, your answer to this question should in some way involve taking a position on universals and particulars, the reliability of inductive reasoning, and philosophical anthropology. I look forward to seeing what some of you come up with.

a reply to: ServantOfTheLamb

I think the best way to experience truth is set an appointment in the Cosmic Coincidence Control Center,

Or just meet up with the local ECCO.

Religions and traditions of Hu-Man has lost the connection to their original meaning and function therefore do no longer serve us in a way it was intended, we have become largely automated in the mind body and soul, and become vulnerable to outside control sources. doomed to live our lives in waking sleep.


The mass psychosis around you serves as proof.

Catholic priests are great followers of Jesus..... and I like that part

But in the world's search for the base truth that church Catholic Church has stood in the way more than anything else

So it's the Catholic machine and not the people it's the machine led by Satan most people that reads the Bible come to the conclusion they have to come to the conclusion that the Antichrist in Scripture has to be the pope for the Catholic bunch mainly because they are guilty of shedding the blood of the martyrs throughout history

a reply to: GBP/JPY

Whats this got to do with the post?

a reply to: ServantOfTheLamb

originally posted by: BELIEVERpriest
a reply to: ServantOfTheLamb

I like to use scientific and mathematical principles to form correspondences to truth. The following are just a few observations on my part.

1. Truth is logic (hence Logos) and light. Where frequencies of truth are placed in a coherent superposition, you get constructive interference, which brightens the light.

2. Non-truth is illogic and darkness. In this situation, frequencies of truth are misaligned, incoherent, so the result is destructive interference, which dims the light.

3. There are likely an infinite set of infinite densities of truth. I think of this as analogous to the hierarchy of numbers; integers, rationals, irrationals, non-algebraics, non-definables...etc. Or perhaps its easier to think of it like the Mandelbrot set.

4. Our observational frames of reference will always be limited, thus the infinite totality of Truth is an endless well of absolutes to us (in proportion to our understanding).

5. God, being omniscient, can observe all frames of reference, thus Truth is relative in His eyes alone.

[Isa 45:7 NASB] [7] The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.

6. Revelation is a matter of asking and seeking without doubt or arrogance in the heart. Like the Mandelbrot set, it is an iterative process. You get revelation for as many question you can ask.

7. Perception of Truth is often a balance of rationality and irrationality (analogous to the mathematical definitions); in other words, objectivity vs subjectivity. It is important to realize that there are both rational and irrational forms of logic, as there are both rational and irrational forms of illogic. 1 + 1 = 2 is an example of rational logic. 1 / ϕ = ϕ - 1 is an example of irrational logic (in this case, ϕ represents the incommensurable Golden Ratio).


I often seem to find a way to wrap my ideas up in seven points. Must be an unconscious thing.

I feel like this post would have fit better in this thread, rather than part 1, so I'll simply quote it here and perhaps add to it.

How does one find Truth?

By simply asking without doubt. In my experience, this is true for both believers and non-believers alike.

Now, how might one observe the revealed answer?

Through a careful balance of objectivity and subjectivity: Objectivity gives us a way to observe causal signs, events, and revelation. It is quite helpful in making predictions on statistical trends. Subjectivity allows us to observe the acausal signs. This is like the Jungian concept of synchronicity, where a coincidence is simply too meaningful to ignore. I find these acausal signs useful for understanding the nonlinear or chaotic events that seem to meaningfully spring up from the "condensate" of society. When you combine the two, you get a sense of how God works all things together for good to those who love Him.

For a believer in Christ, the Bible gives us the seven modes of perception in Isaiah 11:2. These are the seven Spirits of God, and they manifest in Christ as the symbol of the lamb who was slain having seven eyes and seven horns in Revelation 5:6. If we are in union with Christ, then those seven Spirits of God are in us too. Thus I think all revelation should be seen through those seven eyes so that we can apply them with the authority of the seven horns.

There's a lot of mystery to unpack there.