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The Universe is Not Hostile, Nor Yet is it Friendly—it is Simply Indifferent!
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When He Had Opened the Seventh Seal, there Was Silence in Heaven About the Space of Half an Hour!
Precision of communication is important, more important than ever, in our era of balances that are liable to change suddenly, when a false or misunderstood word may create as much disaster as a sudden thoughtless act. People love to talk but hate to listen. Listening is not merely not talking, though even that is beyond most of our powers; it means taking a vigorous, human interest in what is being told us. One can listen like a brick wall or like a splendid auditorium where every sound comes back fuller and richer. The greatest git one can give another is the purity of one’s attention. It would seem that the soul is a body. For the soul is the moving principle of the body. Nor does it move unless it is moved. First, because seemingly nothing can move unless it is itself moved, since nothing gives what it has not; for instance, what is not hot does not give heat. Secondly, because if there by anything that moves and is not moved, it must be the cause of eternal, unchanging movement; and this does not appear to be the case in the movement of an animal, which is caused by the soul. Therefore the soul is a mover moved. However, every mover moved is a body. Therefore the soul is a body. #RandolphHarris 1 of 19
Further, all knowledge is caused by means of a likeness. However, there can be no likeness of a body to an incorporeal thing. If, therefore, the soul were not a body, it could not have knowledge of corporeal things. Further, between the mover and the moved there must be contact. However, contact is only between bodies. Since, therefore, the soul moves the body, it seems that the soul must be a body. On the contrary, the soul is simple in comparison with the body, in as much as it does not occupy space by its bulk. To seek the nature of the soul, we must premise that the soul is defined as the first principle of life of those things which live: for we call living things “animate,” [is est having a soul] and those things which have no life, “inanimate.” Now life is shown principally by two actions, knowledge and movement. The philosophers of old, not being able to rise above their imagination, supposed that the principle of these actions was something corporeal: for they asserted that only bodies were real things; and that what is not corporeal is nothing: hence they maintained that the soul is something corporeal. This opinion can be proved to be false in many ways; but we shall make use of only one proof, based on universal and certain principles, which shows clearly that the soul is not a body. #RandolphHarris 2 of 19
It is manifest that not every principle of vital action is a soul, for then the eye would be a soul, as it is a principle of vision; and the same might be applied to the other instruments of the soul; but it is the first principle of life, which we call the soul. Now, though a body maybe a principle of life, as the heart is a principle of life in an animal, yet nothing corporeal can be the first principle of life. For it is clear that to be a principle of life, or to be a living thing, does not belong to a body as such; since, if that were the case, every body would be a living thing, or a principle of life. Therefore a body is competent to be a living thing or even a principle of life, as “such” a body. Now that it is actually such a body, it owes to some principle which is called its act. Therefore the soul, which is the first principle of life, is not a body, but the act of a body; thus heat, which is the principle of calefaction, is not a body, but an act of a body. As everything which is in motion must be moved by something else, a process which cannot be prolonged indefinitely, we must allow that not every mover is moved. For, since to be moved is to pass from potentiality to actuality, the mover gives what it has to the thing moved, inasmuch as it cases it to be in act. #RandolphHarris 3 of 19
However, there is such a mover which is altogether immovable, and not moved either essentially, or accidentally; and such a mover can cause an invariable movement. There is, however, another kind of mover, which, though not moved essentially, is moved accidentally; and for this reason it does not cause invariable movement; such a mover, is the soul. There is, again, another mover, which is moved essentially—namely, the body. And because the philosophers of the old believed that nothing existed but bodies, they maintained that every mover is moved; and that the soul is moved directly, and is a body. The likeness of a thing known is not necessity actually in nature of the knower; but given a thing which knows potentially, and afterwards knows actually, the likeness of the thing known must be in the nature of the knower, not actually, but only potentially; thus colour is not actually in the pupil of the eye, but only potentially. Hence it is necessary, not that the likeness of corporeal things should be actually in the nature of the soul, but that there be a potentiality in the soul for such a likeness. However, the ancient philosophers omitted to distinguish between actuality and potentiality; and so they held that the soul must be a body in order to have knowledge of a body; and that it must be composed of the principles of which all bodies are formed in order to know all bodies. #RandolphHarris 4 of 19
There are two kinds of contact; of “quantity,” and of “power.” By the former a body can be touched only by a body; by the latter a body can be touched by an incorporeal thing, which moves that body. Scripture repeatedly acknowledges the existence of natural moral law: true moral principles rooted in the way God made things, addressed to humans as humans (instead of to humans as a believing member of the kingdom of God) and knowable by all people independently of Bible (Job 31.13-15, Romans 1-2). Among other things, what this means is that believers need not appeal to Scripture in arguing for certain ethical positions, say, in legal debates. Indeed, in my own view, the church is to work for a just state, not a Christian state of theocracy. We are not to place the state under Scripture. However, if this is true, where is the source of moral guidance for the state to be just and to punish wrongdoers as Romans 13.1-7 teachers? The answer is the natural moral law. God has revealed enough of His moral law in the creation for the state to do its job. The church preach to unbelievers what Scriptures says about some topic, but when believer argue for their views in the public square of defend them against those who do not accept the Scripture, they should use general principles of moral argument and reasoning. #RandolphHarris 5 of 19
This is precisely what the prophet Amos did. In chapters 1 and 2 of the Book of Amos, he denounced the moral behaviour of several people-groups outside of Israel, and he never once appealed to Scripture. Instead, he was content to rest his case with an appeal to self-evident moral principles in the natural law, which he assumed were known by those without Scripture. However, when he turned to rebuke the people f Israel, for the first time he said that they had violated the “law of the LORD” as reported in Amos 2.4, knowing that they had a familiarity with Holy Scripture. Amos appeared to common ground in all these cases, just as Jesus did in reasoning with he Sadducees, as reported in Matthew 22.23-33 and Paul in evangelizing the Greeks, as reported in Acts 17.16-31. The second aspect of scriptural teaching about extrabiblical knowledge is, Scripture shows people qualified to minister in God’s name in situations that required them to have intellectual skills in extrabiblical knowledge. In Daniel 1.3-4, 2.12-13, 5.7, we see Danial and his friends in a position to influence Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, only because they showed “intelligence in every branch of wisdom.” These men had studied and learned Babylonian science, geometry, and literature. And because of this, they were prepared to serve when the occasion presented itself. #RandolphHarris 6 of 19
I remembering being in a meeting with Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, shortly after Ronald Reagan had been elected president. Dr. Bright came into the meeting late because President Reagan had called to ask him to confer with other evangelical leaders in order to suggest a list of qualified evangelicals to serve in his presidential cabinet. With sadness in his heart, Dr. Bright said that after numerous phone conversations with other evangelical leaders, they had concluded that there simply were not many evangelicals with the intellectual and professional excellence for such a high post. C. Everett Koop was all they could think of and, as we know, Mr. Koop got the position of surgeon general. Had evangelicals valued the study of extrabiblical knowledge the way Daniel and his friends did, things may have turned out quite differently. How, then, should this attitude toward extrabiblical intellectual training inform parents and youth groups when they prepare Christian teenagers to go to college and tell teens why college is important? According to various studies, increasing numbers of college freshmen, on the advice of parents, say their primary goal in going to college is to get a good job and ensure a secure financial future for themselves. #RandolphHarris 7 of 19
The goal of higher education for career advancement and a successful future, this parallels a trend in the same students toward valuing a good job more than developing a meaningful philosophy of life. Given this view of a college education, it is clear why the humanities have fallen on hard times. It is equally clear why the level of our public discourse on topics central to the culture wars is so shallow, since it is precisely the humanities that train people to thin carefully about these topics. What is not so clear is why Christians, with a confidence in the providential care and provision of God, would follow the secular culture in adopting this approach to college. How different this approach is compared to the value of a college education embraced by earlier generations of Christians: A Christian goes to college to discover one’s vocation—the area of service to which God has called one—and to develop the skills necessary to occupy a section of the cultural, intellectual domain in a manner worthy of the kingdom of God. A believer also goes to college to gain general information and the habits of thought necessary for developing a well-structured soul suitable for a well-informed, good citizen of both Earthly and Heavenly kingdoms. If the public square is naked, it may be because Christians have abandoned the humanities due to a sub-biblical appreciation for extrabiblical knowledge. #RandolphHarris 8 of 19
Some people pledge themselves to the spiritual service of ignorant unawakened humankind. For this ideal one sacrifices oneself to the point of stopping one’s own liberation just when it is about to be realized. One who is delivered from sin and free from illusion, who is emancipated from suffering for all time because the flesh can catch one no more, has earned the right to infinite rest in the eternal life. However, one has also the power to choose otherwise. One may stop at its very threshold and renounce the reward it offers. Since the phenomenal World has nothing to offer one, the only reason for such a choice can be compassionate thought for the benighted creatures one is about to leave behind. If one refrains from the final mergence into the kingdom of Heaven, it is not only because one wants to be available for the enlightenment of one’s more hapless fellows, but also because one knows that one has been in a Heavenly state from the beginning and has never left it. Among those who have attained this higher life, who feel its power and sense its peace, there are some who wish that others shall attain it too. We say some for the very powerful reason that not all are able to find it in their hearts to return to this bleak Earth of ours, with its unwellness and morbidity, its sins and sufferings, its evil and ignorance, when there stretches invitingly before them the portals of a diviner World, with its sublime harmony and beauty, its burden-free peace and goodness. #RandolphHarris 9 of 19
The greatest sacrifice a being can offer is that of wisdom, which means simply that the enlightened person should give oneself and use one’s wisdom for the benefit of others. This is also why the greatest charity is to give the truth to humankind. Therefore, the noblest self-actualized beings give themselves secretly and concentratively to a few or openly and widely to the many to enlighten, guide, and inspire them. They know that this twofold way is the one in which to help humankind, that public work is not enough, that those who wish to do not only the most widespread good in the time open to them but also the most enduring good, must work deeply and secretly amongst a few who have dedicated themselves to immediate or eventual service in their own turn. Thus, compassion is rendered more effective through being guided by intelligence. To the few in the inner circle, the self-actualized transmits one’s best thought, one’s hidden knowledge, one’s special grace, one’s most mystical power. How grand is the service such a sage can render all those who accept the light of one’s knowledge! Then indeed is one, in Shakespeare’s phrase, “The star to every wandering barque.” Do not fall into the error of believing that, if one speaks openly these doctrines to others, or writes of them publicly, one is seeking to make proselytes. #RandolphHarris 10 of 19
The religious missionary eagerly seeks to proselytize, but the philosophic expounder cannot. This is because one is not governed by the emotional desire to witness a large number of conversations but by the clear understanding of evolutionary operations—an understanding which enables one to see what is and is not possible, what is and is not suitable, at each stage of those operations. One is not, like the missionary, seeking any personal satisfaction by making an emotional or intellectual conquest. The illuminate has a cosmic outlook. One thinks and feels for all creatures no less than for oneself. So you think that these ancient illuminati, full of high intimations and carrying great lights in their hands, appeared before the World out of their silence and solitude to suffer its ridicule and contempt because they wished to brag about themselves or to amaze them? They came because they dared not disobey compassion’s call save at the pain of being false to all that they knew to be true. The self-actualized makes the highest conceivable sacrifice in willing to return to Earthly life for times without end solely for the benefit of all creatures. People sometimes ask why anyone should give up even a part of one’s time to unpaid service. #RandolphHarris 11 of 19
However, the truth is that the self-actualized is always paid by the friendship and gratitude, the trust and affection, which those one has helped return one. And if it be further said that these are mere intangibles which do not pay for the time and energy one gives, the answer is that they often are convertible into the most tangible of things. For if one is in real need of a home, a machine, a piece of domestic furniture, or a form of personal service, one has only to express that need and those whom one has helped will provide it. Nay, there are times when one need not even express it, when the silent magic of thought will prompt someone to offer the provision quite spontaneously and voluntarily. Anyway, the self-actualized does not give one’s service with any thought about the getting or non-getting of rewards. One gives it because one thinks it right to do so and because one enjoys the satisfaction of giving a helping hand to the spiritually needy. One is doing what one likes. Now we have to take a closer look at what we mean by specifically human aggression. The first is, biologically programmed type, the same defensive mechanism that in animals. The latter type takes the form of human cruelty on the one hand and, on the other, of that passionate enmity toward life, that hatred of life what we call necrophilia. #RandolphHarris 12 of 19
The biologically programmed human aggressiveness, which is identical to animal aggression is relatable because the animal’s neurophysiological organization, which is the same in humans, makes it react aggressively if its vital interests are threatened. A human being responds the same way. However, in humans the reaction, this reactive or defensive aggressiveness, is much more extensive. There are three reasons. One is that the animal experiences only present threats. All it knows is: “At this moment I am threatened.” The human being, with their mental powers, can imagine the future. Consequently, one can experience a threat that may not exist now but may well exist in the future. One therefore reacts aggressively not only to threats existing at the moment but also to one’s future. That provides the reactive aggression with a much larger field in which to function, for the number of human beings is very large, as is the number of situations in which a threat to them may exist in the future. Another reason why reactive aggression has a larger playground in humans is that humans are subject to suggestion while animals are not. You can convince a human being that one’s life or one’s freedom is threatened. You use words and symbols to do that. An animal cannot have its “brain washed,” because it lacks the symbols, the words, essential to brainwashing. It makes no difference to one’s reactions that one only believes oneself threated. #RandolphHarris 13 of 19
I do not have to speak at any length about the many cases in which wars were made possible because people had been made to believe they were threatened. The power of suggestion had created the aggressiveness needed to drive people into battle. Then there is still a third and final reason. A human being has special interests that are closely linked to the values, ideals, and institutions which one identifies. An attack on the ideals or persons central to one’s life, on the institutions that are scared to one, can be as threatening to one as an attack on one’s life or on one’s source of food. Any number of things can be so precious to one: the idea of freedom, the idea of honour, one’s parents, one’s father, one’s mother, in some cultures one’s ancestors, the state, the flag, the government, religion, God. Any of those values, institutions, or ideals may be as important to one as one’s own physical existence. If they are threatened, one reacts with hostility. If we put all three factors together, we can understand why defensive hostility in humans is so much more extensive than it is in animals, even through the mechanism in which it is based is identical in human and animal. Humans experience many more threats, or experiences more things as threats, than the animal possibly can. #RandolphHarris 14 of 19
If we have put off admitting our sins to God, confession may need to come first in our devotional time. There is also the probability that during Scriptural meditation, or even during adoration, further hidden sins will come to light. So our moments of devotion may be filled with repeated confession. It is instructive to notice that Psalm 139, which systematically contemplate God’s omnipotence and omniscience, ends with a prayer for divine investigation of the Psalmist’s soul: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting,” reports Psalm 139.23, 24. Likewise, as Isaiah was worshipped he cried out in confession, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live along a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty,” reports Isaiah 6.5. If you are concerned about our own spiritual formation of that of others, this vision of the kingdom is the place we must start. Remember, it is the place where Jesus started. It was the gospel he preached. He came announcing, manifesting, and teaching the availability and nature of the kingdom of the Heavens. “For I was sent for this purpose,” reported in Luke 4.43. That is simply a fact, and if we are faithful to it, do justice to it in full devotion, we will find our feet firmly planted on the path of Christian spiritual formation. #RandolphHarris 15 of 19
Scripture speaks both of holiness we already possess in Christ before God and a holiness in which we are to grow more and more. The first is the result of the work of Christ for us; the second is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. The first is perfect and complete and is ours the moment we trust Christ; the second is progressive and incomplete as long as we are in this life. The objective holiness we have in Christ and the subjective holiness produced by the Holy Spirit are both gifts of God’s grace and are both appropriated by faith. However, the perfect holiness we have in Christ is the answer to our dilemma of how we can appear daily before a perfectly holy God, when even our best deeds are stained and polluted. Our lack of understanding of the distinction between the holiness we do have in Christ and the holiness we want to find in ourselves caused some to say that we mistakenly hope to find in ourselves something that can be found in Christ alone. The kingdom of God is the range of God Himself, from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 103.17; see also Psalm 93.1-2; Daniel 4,3; 7.14; and so on). The planet Earth and its immediate surroundings seem to be the only place in creation where God permits His will to be not done. #RandolphHarris 16 of 19
Therefore we pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven,” and hope for the time when that kingdom will be completely fulfilled even on Earth (Luke 21.31; 22.18)—where in fact it is already present (Luke 17.21; John 18.36-37) and available to those who seek it with all their hearts (Matthew 6.13; 11.12; Luke 16.16). For those who do so seek it, it is true even now that “all thing work together for their good,” reports Romans 8.28, and that nothing can cut them off from God’s inseparable love and effective care (Romans 8.35-39). That is the nature of a life in the kingdom of the Heavens now. “And behold, it is wisdom in God that we should obtain these records, that we may preserve unto our children the language of our fathers; and also that we may preserve unto them the word which have been spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets, which have been delivered unto them by the Spirit and power of God, since the World began, even down unto this present time. And it came to pass that after this manner of language did I persuade my brethren, that they might be faithful in keeping the commandments of God. And it came to pass that we went down to the land of our inheritance, and we did gather together our gold, and our silver, and our precious things. #RandolphHarris 17 of 19
“And after we had gathered these things together, we went up again unto the house of Laban. And it came to pass that we went into Laban, and desired him that he would give unto us the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, for which we would give him our gold, and our sliver, and all our precious things. And it came to pass that when Laban saw our property, and that it was exceedingly great, de did lust after it, insomuch that he thrust us out, and sent his servants to slay us, that he might obtain our property. And it came to pass that we did flee before the servants of Laban, and were obliged to leave behind our property, and it fell into the hands of Laban. And it came to pass that we fled into the wilderness, and the servants of Laban did not overtake us, and we hid ourselves in the cavity of a rock,” reports 1 Nephi 3.19-28. O God, Who in Thy loving-kindness dost both begin and finish all good things; grant that as we glory in the beginnings of Thy grace, so we may rejoice in its completion; through Jesus Christ our Lord. O Lord, when the World’s unbelievers reject thee, and are so forsaken by thee that thou calls them no more, it is to Thine own Thou does turn, for in such seasons of general apostasy they in some measure backslide with the World. O how free is Thy grace that reminds them of the danger that confronts them and urges them to persevere in adherence to Thyself! #RandolphHarris 18 of 19
I bless thee that those who turn aside may return to thee immediately, and be welcomed without anything to commend them, notwithstanding all their former backslidings. I confess that this is suited to my case, for of late I have found great want, and lack of apprehension of divine grace; I have been greatly distressed of soul because I did not suitably come to the fountain that purges away all sin; I have labored too much for spiritual life, peace of conscience, progressive holiness, in my own strength. I beg thee, show me the arm of all might; give me to believe that Thou can do for me more than I ask or think, and that, though I backslide, Thy love will never let me go, but will draw me back to Thee with everlasting cords; that Thou does provide grace in the wilderness, and can bring me out, leaning on the arm of my Beloved; that Thou can cause me to talk with Him by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein I shall not stumble. Keep me solemn, devout, faithful, resting of free grace for assistance, acceptance, and peace of conscience. Almighty and everlasting God, Whose paths are always mercy and truth, grant, we beseech Thee, that we who are fostered by Thy tenderness may also grow up with an increase of piety; through Jesus Christ our Lord. #RandolphHarris 19 of 19
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God’s Infinite Liberality Will Always Exceed All Our Wishes and Our Thoughts—God is Always Giving!
Spread your arms to those with needs, and serve with joy and zest; fill each day with golden deeds, and give your very best. Our beliefs about what we are and what we can be precisely determine what we will be. The real art of communication is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. The force of words, being (as I have formerly noted) too weak to hold people to the performance of their covenants; there are in humans true nature, but two imaginable helps to strengthen it. And those are either a fear of the consequences of breaking their word; or a glory, or pride in appearing not to need to break it. This later is generosity too rarely found to be presumed on, especially in the pursuers of wealth, command, or sensual pleasures; which are the greatest part of humankind. The passion to be reckoned upon, is fear; whereof there be two very general objects: one, the power of the spirits invisible; the other, the power of those people they shall therein offend. Of these two, though the former be the greater power, yet the fear of the later is commonly the greater fear. The fear of the former is in every person, one’s own religion: which has place in the nature of humans before civil society. The later has not so; at least place enough, to keep people to their promises; because in the condition of mere nature, the inequality of power is not discerned, but by the even of battle. #RandolphHarris 1 of 17
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Take Time to Honour God, He is Moved by Your Faith—Faith Opens the Door for the Extraordinary!
The business of expanding your consciousness is not an option. Either you are expandable or you are expendable. Many people are mislead into thinking, as popular reports sometimes suggest, that neurophysiologists have found many answers to the problem of human behaviour. Most scholars in the field of the neurosciences, on the contrary, have a very different attitude. Our knowledge and concepts of the central neural organization of aggressive behaviour are constricted by the fact that most of the information has been derived from animal experiments, hence almost nothing is known about the relation of the central nervous system to the “feeling” or “affective” aspects of emotions. We are entirely confined to observation and experimental analysis of the expressive or behavioural phenomena and the objectively recorded peripheral bodily changes. Obviously, even these procedures are not entirely reliable, and despite extensive research efforts it is difficult to interpret behavioral on the basis of these clues alone. Those who hope to solve the problem of the neurophysiology of the mind are like people at the foot of a mountain. They stand in the clearings they have made on the foothills, looking up at the mountain they hope to scale. #RandolphHarris 1 of 20
However, the pinnacle of neurophysiology is hidden in eternal clouds and many believe it can never be conquered. Surely if the day does dawn when a human reached complete understanding of one’s own brain and mind, it may be one’s greatest conquest, one’s final achievement. There is only one method that a scientist may use in one’s scientific work. This is the method of observation of phenomena of nature followed by comparative analysis and supplemented by experimentation in the light of reasoned hypothesis. Neurophysiologist who follow the rules of the scientific method in al honesty will hardly pretend that their own scientific work entitles them to answer these questions. Not only the neurosciences and psychology but many other fields need to be integrated to create a science of humans—fields such as paleontology, anthropology, history, the history of religions (myths and rituals), biology, physiology, genetics. The subject matter of the “science of humans” is human: human as a total biologically and historically evolving being who can be understood only if we see the interconnectedness between all one’s aspects, if we look at one as a process occurring within a complex system with many subsystems. #RandolphHarris 2 of 20
The behavioural sciences (psychology and sociology), are interested mainly in what people do and how one can be made to do what one does, not why one does what one does and in who one is. They have to a considerable extent become an obstacle to and a substitute for the development of an integrated science of humans. The brain is more and more understood as a whole, as one system, so that behaviour cannot be explained by referring to some of its parts. Impressive data supporting this view have been presented by E. Valenstien, who has shown that the supposed hypothalamic “centers” for hunger, thirst, pleasures of the flesh excreta, are not, if they really exist, as pure as previously thought—that stimulation of a “center” for one behaviour can elicit behaviour appropriate to another if the environment provides stimuli consistent with the second. Aggression (actually, nonverbal communication of threat) elicited in a squirrel monkey will not be believed by another monkey if the threat is made by the second monkey’s social inferior. These data are consistent with the holistic view that the brain takes account, in its reckoning of what behaviour to command, of more than one strand of incoming stimulation—that the total state of the physical and social environment at the same time modifies the meaning of a specific stimulus. #RandolphHarris 3 of 20
However, the skepticism regarding the capacity of neurophysiology to explain human behaviour adequately does not means a denial of the relative validity of the many experimental findings, especially in the last five decades. These findings, while they might be reformulated and integrated in a more global view, are valid enough to give us important clues for the understanding of one kind of aggression, that of defensive aggression. Neurophysiologist have concentrated their efforts on finding the brain areas which are the substrates of the most elementary impulses and behaviours needed for survival because Dr. Darwin propositioned that the structure and functioning of the brain is governed by the principle of the survival of the individual and the species. There is general agreement with MacLean’s conclusion, who called these basic brain mechanisms the four Fs: feeding, fighting, fleeing, and the performance of pleasures of the flesh activities. As can easily be recognized, these activities are vitally necessary for the physical survival of the individual and the species. (That humans have basic needs beyond physical survival whose realization is necessary for their functioning as a total being will be discussed later.) #RandolphHarris 4 of 20
As far as aggression and flight are concerned—they are controlled by different areas of the brain, but the term “controlled” is quite inadequate. The response is one process going on in other parts of the brain, interacting with the specific area which is stimulated. Nonetheless, it has been shown, for example, that affective reaction of rage and its corresponding aggressive behaviour pattern can be activated by direct electrical stimulation of various areas, such as the amygdala, the lateral hypothalamus, some parts of the mesencephalon, and the central gray matter; and it can be inhibited by stimulating other structures, such as the septum, the circumvolution of the cingulum, and the caudal nucleus. With great surgical ingenuity some investigations were able to implant electrodes in a number of specific areas of the brain. They established a two-way connection for observation. By low voltage electrical stimulation of an area they were able to study changes of behaviour in animals, and later in humans. They could demonstrate, for instance, the arousal of intensely aggressive behaviour by the direct electric stimulation of certain areas, and the inhibition of aggression by stimulating certain others. #RandolphHarris 5 of 20
On the other hand, when emotions like rage, fear, pleasure, excreta were aroused by environmental stimuli, they could measure the electrical activity of these various areas of the brain. They could also observe the permanent effects produced by the destruction of certain areas of the brain. It is indeed quite impressive to witness how a relatively small increase in the electric charge in an electrode implanted in one of the neural substrates of aggression can produce a sudden outburst of uncontrolled, murderous rage and how the reduction of electric stimulation or the stimulation of an aggression-inhibitory center can equally suddenly stop this aggression. Delgado’s spectacular experiment of stopping a charging bull by the stimulation of an inhibitory area (by remote control) has aroused considerable popular interest in this procedure. That a response is activated in some brain areas and inhibited in others is by no means characteristic of aggression; the same duality exists with regard to other impulses. The brain is, in fact, organizes as a dual system. Unless there are specific stimuli (external or internal), aggression is in a state of fluid equilibrium, because activating and inhibiting areas keep each other in a relatively stable balance. This can be recognized particularly clearly when either an activating or an inhibiting area is destroyed. #RandolphHarris 6 of 20
Starting with the classic experiment by Heinrich Kluver and P.C. Bucy, it has been demonstrated, for instance, that destruction of the amygdala transformed animals (rhesus monkeys, wolverines, wildcats, rats, and others) in such a way that they lost—at least temporarily—their capacity for aggressive, violent reactions, even under strong provocation. On the other hand, the destruction of aggression-inhibiting areas, such as small areas of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, produces permanently aggressive cats and rats. Given the dual organization of the brain, the crucial question arises: What are the factors that disturb the balance and produce manifest rage and corresponding violent behaviour? We have already seen that one way in which such disturbance of the balance can be produced is by electric stimulation or destruction of any of these areas (aside from hormonal and metabolic changes). Mark Ervin emphasized that such disturbance of the equilibrium can also occur due to various forms of brain diseases that alter the normal circuitry of the brain. Two kinds of changes affect the neural pathways. One kind is the momentary electrochemical change which is the physical means by which impulses travel along the nerves. This change depends on stimulation: when the stimuli cease, so do this process. This is how the environment—the source of many stimuli—controls the behaviour of the organism. #RandolphHarris 7 of 20
The other kind of change has to do with what happens at the synapse of neurons which frequently activate another. With use, more permanent structural changes take place which enable impulses to travel more easily through these synapses than others: facilitation. It is now generally believed that there are these two kinds of effects. There is a such thing as Phi elements which are concerned with momentary discharges, and Psi elements which bind nervous energy on a more permanent basis (cathexis). This difference, between fleeting and more enduring changes in the nervous system, makes it possible for more central dominance to emerge. Central dominance, from this perspective, accounts for the relatively slight effect made by feeling changes—particular messages being sent along at any moment of perception—on the more enduring structures which are slowly being built up in the course of facilitation, and confirmed by reverberation. This is how the organism controls its own behaviour, instead of being controlled by environmental stimuli only. Enduring changes in the pathways affect the reception and organization of subsequent messages, more than these later messages affect the existing organization. #RandolphHarris 8 of 20
To establish more central control is a victory of the organism over the environment, enabling the individual to adapt the environment in its own interest. Past memories can then be drawn upon to evaluate current events, giving individuals the benefit of past experiences before they take action. The disproportionate fear of disapproval may extend blindly to all human beings or it may extend only to friends—although usually the neurotic is unable to distinguish clearly between friends and enemies. In the beginning it refers only to the outside World, and to a greater or lesser extent it always remains related to the disapproval of others, but it may also become internalized. The more this happens, the more the disapproval from outside becomes unimportant in comparison with the disapproval of the self. The fear of disapproval may appear in various forms. Sometimes it shows in a constant fear of annoying people; the neurotic may be afraid, for example, to refuse an invitation, disagree with an opinion, express any wishes, fail to conform to the given standards, be in any way conspicuous. It may appear in a constant fear of people finding out about one; even when one feels one is liked one’s inclination is to withdraw in order to forestall being found out and dropped. #RandolphHarris 9 of 20
It also may come out in an inordinate reluctance to let others know anything about one’s own private affairs, or in a disproportionate anger at any harmless questions concerning oneself, because one feels that such questions are attempts to try to pry into one’s affairs. The fear of disapproval is one of the outstanding factors that makes the analytical process difficult for the analyst and painful for the patient. Different though each individual analysis is from the other, all have in common the feature that the patient, while desiring the analyst’s help and while wishing to reach an understanding, must at the same time fight off the analyst as a most dangerous intruder. It is this fear that induces the individual to act as if one were a criminal before a judge, and, like the criminal, one is secretly grimly determined to deny and to mislead. This attitude may appear in dreams of being pushed to confession and reacting to it with agony. One patient of mine, at a time when we were close to uncovering some of one’s repressed tendencies, had a day dream which was significant in this respect. One imagined he was a boy who had the custom of finding refuge, every now and then, on a dream island. There the boy became part of a community governed by a law prohibiting any revelation of this island’s existence and demanding the death of any possible intruder. #RandolphHarris 10 of 20
A person whom the boy loved, and who represented the analyst in some disguised form, happened to find one’s way to the island. According to the law one should have been killed. The boy could save him, however, by pledging that he himself would never return to the island. This was an artistic expression of the conflict which from the beginning to the end of the analysis was present in one or another form, a conflict between liking the analyst and hating him because he wanted to intrude into hidden thoughts and feelings, a conflict between the patient’s impulse to fight in defense of one’s secrets and the necessity of giving them up. If the fear of disapproval is not generated by guilt feelings it may be asked why the neurotic is then so much concerned about being detected and disapproved of. The main factor that accounts for the fear of disapproval is the great discrepancy that exists between the façade which the neurotic shows both to the World and to oneself and all the repressed tendencies that lie hidden behind the façade. Although one suffers, even more than one realizes, at not being at one with oneself, at all the pretenses one must keep up, one has nevertheless to defend these pretenses with all one’s energy, because they represent the bulwark that protects one from one’s lurking anxiety. #RandolphHarris 11 of 20
If we recognize that these things he has to hide form the basis of his fear of disapproval we can understand better why the disappearance of certain “guilt feelings” cannot possibly free one from one’s fear. There is more that has to be changed. To put it very bluntly, it is the whole insincerity in one’s personality or rather, in the neurotic part of one’s personality, that is responsible for one’s fear of disapproval, and it is in this insincerity that one fears detection. As to the special content of one’s secrets, one wants in the first place to conceal the sum total of what is usually covered by the term aggression. This term is used to include not only one’s reactive hostility—anger, revenge, envy, desire to humiliate, and the like—but all one’s secret demands on others. Since I have already discussed these in detail it suffices here to say briefly that he does not want to stand on his own feet, that he does not want to make efforts of his own in order to achieve what he wants; instead he inwardly insists on feeding on other persons’ likes, whether by domineering and exploiting or by the means of affection, “love” or submissiveness. As soon as his hostile reactions or his demands are touched upon, anxiety develops, not because he feels guilty but because he sees that his chances of getting the support he needs are endangered. #RandolphHarris 12 of 20
In the second place he wants to hide how weak and insecure and helpless he feels, how little he can assert himself, how much anxiety he has. For this reason he builds up a façade of strength. However, the more his particular strivings for security are focused on dominance, and thus the more his pride is also linked with the notion of strength, the more he thoroughly despises himself. He not only feels that there is danger in weakness but also considers it despicable, in himself as well as others, and he classes as weakness any inadequacy whether it concerns not being master in one’s own houses, inability to overcome barriers within oneself, having to accept help, or even being possessed by anxiety. Since he thus essentially despises any “weakness” in himself, and since he cannot help believing that others will despise him likewise if they find out his weaknesses, he makes desperate efforts to hide them, but always with the fear that he will be found out sooner or later; therefore the continued anxiety. Thus guilt feelings and their accompanying self-recriminations are not only the result, instead of the cause, of a fear of disapproval, but they are also a defense against this fear. They fulfill the double purpose of inviting reassurance and of blurring the real issue. The latter purpose they accomplish either by diverting attention from what should be concealed, or by exaggerating so greatly that they appear untrue. #RandolphHarris 13 of 20
An illustration of the general pattern of personal transformation is provided by programs that teach people to refrain from doing something very harmful, something that could possibly lead to untimely death. A desirable state of being is envisioned, and an intention to realize it is actuated in decision. Means are applied to fulfill the intention (and the corresponding decision) by producing the desirable state of being. This includes a conscious involvement of God in the individual’s life because it is highly effective in brining about personal transformation. It works in terms of essential structures of the human self revealed by God through His people. When we stop to think about it, there is no such thing as unqualified freedom. Such “freedom” would not be freedom, it would be anarchy. It would be everyone doing what is right in one’s own eyes; and given our sinful nature, it would be total chaos. In the Untied States, we say we live in a “free country.” We understand that freedom to be political freedom: the right to have a say in our government. However, we all recognize we are not free to disobey the laws of our state or nation. We are not free, for example, to drive on the left side of the highway. My son observed a humorous example of freedom when he visited a country in which automobile drivers are undisciplined and “free spirited.” #RandolphHarris 14 of 20
He saw cars stopped at a railroad crossing for a passing train. Instead of lining up behind one another to cross in their proper turn, several cars lined up at the crossing guard accord the entire road. Each driver wanted to be the first to cross when the guard was raised. However, when the train had passed, lo and behold, cars were lined up completely across the road on the other side of the tracks. “Freedom” quickly turned to chaos! That kind of thing happens in a much more serious way when we insist on unqualified freedom from the law of God. We have indeed been set free from the bondage and curse that results from breaking the law. And we have been called to freedom from works as a means of obtaining any merit with God. However, we have not been called to freedom from the laws as an expression of God’s will for our daily living. Paul said, “For in my inner being I delight in God’s laws,” and “I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s laws,” reports Romans 7.22,25. A few verses before he had characterized God’s law as “holy, righteous and good” as reported in Romans 7.12. It seems inconceivable that Paul would want to be free, or urge others to be free, from what was holy, righteous, and good—that in which he himself delighted. #RandolphHarris 15 of 20
So, then, God’s law is not opposed to grace, nor is it an enemy of grace. Neither is the law of God opposed to us as we seek to live by grace. To live by grace means we understand that God’s blessing on our lives is not conditioned by our obedience of disobedience but by the perfect obedience of Christ. it means that out of grateful response to the grace of God, we seek to understand His will and to obey Him, not to be blessed, but because we have been blessed. When the Psalmist speaks of meditating on the Law of God day and night (Psalm 1.2), he uses a word which means “to mutter.” This word was used to describe the murmurings of kings in Psalm 2.1, and for the chattering of doves in Isiah 59.11. In fact, St. Augustine translated Psalm 1.2, “On his law he chatters day and night.” Meditation is intrinsically verbal. This means the Psalmist memorizes God’s Word—for one cannot continually mutter the Scripture without memorizing it, and vice versa. Personally applied, this tells us that along with our systematic reading of the Bible, we ought to select especially meaningful segments to reverently mutter over. Sometimes it may be a single verse—Philippians 3.10, for example, the four emphases of which I like to murmur in the NASB: that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being confronted to His death. #RandolphHarris 16 of 20
Slowly and prayerfully turning over Scripture in this manner engages the eyes, the ears, and the mouth, and drills through the serpentinite to the heart—maximizing internalization and devotion. “And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them. Neither did they believe that Jerusalem, that great city, could be destroyed according to the words of the prophets. And they were like unto the Jews who were at Jerusalem, who sought to take away the life of my father (Lehi). And it came to pass that my father did speak unto them in the valley of Lemuel, with power, being filled with the Spirit, until their frames did shake before him. And he did confound them, that they durst not utter against him; wherefore, they did as he commanded them. And my father dwelt in a tent. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers,” 1 Nephi 1.12-16. #RandolphHarris 17 of 20
Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord our God, ever to rejoice in devotion to Thee; because our happiness is perpetual and full, if we are continually serving the Author of all good; through Jesus Christ our Lord. We beseech Thee, O Lord, let Thy faithful people rejoice evermore in Thy benefits; that being ordered by Thy governance, they may please Thee in their lives, and happily obtain the good which they pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant, O Almighty God, that we may attain to the fulness of joy, and be the more earnestly devoted to Thy Majesty; through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Lord, pour into our hearts Thy servants that joy of the righteous which is in Thee; that the praise of Thee, which becometh well the upright, may purge out all unholiness from our minds; through They mercy. O Merciful God, when I hear of disagreeable things amongst Christians, it brings an additional weight and burden on my spirit; I come to thee in my distress and make lamentable complaint; teach me how to take reproofs from friends, even though I think I do not deserve them; use them to make me tenderly afraid of sin, more jealous over myself, more concerned to keep heart and life unblameable; cause them to help me to reflect on my want of spirituality, to abhor myself, to look upon myself as unworthy, and make them beneficial to my soul. #RandolphHarris 18 of 20
May all Thy people know how little, mean, and vile I am, that they may see I am nothing, less than nothing, to be accounted nothing, that so they may pray for me aright, and have not the least dependence upon me. It is sweet to be nothing and have nothing, and to be fed with crumbs from Thy hands. Blessed by Thy name for anything that life bring. How do poor souls live who have not thee, or when helpless have no God to go to, who feel not the constraining force of Thy love, and the sweetness of communion? O how admirably dost Thou captivate the soul, making all desires and affections centre on thee! Give me such vivacity in religion, that I may be able to take all reproofs from other people as from Thy hands, and glorify Thee for them from a sense of Thy beneficent love and of my need to have my pride destroyed. A competent teacher puts oneself behind one’s pupil’s eyes, inside one mind, and starts instruction from what one finds there. The prudent teacher will reveal what will best help people, not necessarily what they like to hear or all that one knows. One must give people what is best for them, must first evaluate how much truth they can take in. It is utterly impracticable and imprudent to give all people all the spiritual truth at all times. The prudent teacher will give out only slightly more than the seeking enquirer is able to receive. #RandolphHarris 19 of 20
Covenants entered into by fear, in the condition of mere Nature, are obligatory. To further highlight the illustration, if I covenant to pay a ransom, or service for my life, to an enemy; I am bound by it. For it is a contract, wherein one receiveth the benefit of life; the other is to receive money, or service for it; and consequently, where no other law (as in the condition, of mere nature) forbiddeth the performance, the covenant is valid. Therefore prisoners of war, if trusted with the payment of their ransom, are obliged to pay it; and if a weaker prince, make a disadvantageous peace with a stronger, for fear; one is bound to keep it; unless (as hath been said before) there ariseth some new, and just cause of fear, to renew the war. And even in all common-wealths, if I be force to redeem myself from a thief by promising him or her money, I am bound to pay it, till the civil law discharge me. For whatsoever I may lawfully do without obligation, the same I may lawfully covenant to do through fear: and what I lawfully covenant, I cannot lawfully break. A former covenant, makes void a later. For a person that has passed away one’s right to one person today hath it not to pass tomorrow to another: and therefore the later promise passeth no right, but is null. #RandolphHarris 20 of 20
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Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to. At Cresleigh, we take pride in the design and construction of every home we build. We strive to lay the foundations for a thriving community with interconnections, energy efficiency, and construction longevity at its core. Our team members are passionate about creating a home you can rely on, one that assures you can focus on what truly matters: creating memories with those you love.
Your life is the sum result of all the choices you make, both consciously and unconsciously. If you can control the process of choosing, you can take control of all aspects of your life. You can find the freedom that comes from being in charge of yourself. https://cresleigh.com/find-a-home/
God, the Creator of the Universe, Will Thrust You Further and do More than You Can Even think or Ask!
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Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. We get it, you need your space. How does two closets in your bedroom sound? 😍 Additionally, HUB Apartments offers high ceilings, full sized washers and dryers, and more! Looking to make the move to Folsom, CA? Check out @HUBApts today!
To become successful you must be a person of action. Merely to “know” is not sufficient. It is necessary to both know and do. Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then, by God, do something. Do not just stand there, make it happen.
All We Ask is to be Let Alone—God Made this Country and Humans Made this Town!
We do not lose our sense of humour when we get older—we get older when we lose our sense of humour. It is great to be great, but it is greater to be human. “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove,” reports St. Matthew 17.20. Today I want to consider the question of how we—as individuals, as groups, as a culture—will live in, will respond to, will adapt to, this brave new World. What stance will we take in the face of these new developments? Deny and Ignore—one attitude which we can take is to deny that these scientific advances are taking place, and simply take the view that there can be no study of human behaviour which is truly scientific. We can hold that the human being cannot possibly take an objective attitude toward oneself, and that therefore no real science of behaviour can exist. We can say that humans are always a free agent, in some sense that makes scientific study of one’s behaviour impossible. Not long ago, at a conference on the social sciences, curiously enough, I heard a well known economist take just this view. And one of this country’s most noted theologians writes, “In any event, no scientific investigation of past behaviour can become the basis of predictions of future behaviour.” #RandolphHarris 1 of 17
BRIGHTON STATION AT CRESLEIGH RANCH
Rancho Cordova, CA |
Now Selling!
NOW SELLING! Brighton Station at Cresleigh Ranch is Rancho Cordova’s newest home community! This charming neighborhood offers an array of home types with eye catching architecture styles such as Mid-Century Modern, California Modern, Prairie, and Contemporary Farmhouse.
Watch and Pray that Ye Enter Not into Temptation: that Spirit Indeed is Willing, but the Flesh is Weak!
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Plumas Ranch is your next home! 🏡 Pricing is now available for the Riverside and Meadows communities. Check out more info at the link in bio! 👉 https://cresleigh.com/cresleigh-meadows-at-plumas-ranch/
I Used to think Love was Something I Could Take or Leave Alone but Now I Could Not do without My Supply!
CRESLEIGH MEADOWS AT PLUMAS RANCH
Plumas Lake, CA | from the mid $300’s
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Corned Beef is Lost Without Cabbage, a Husband Should Have a Wife, and You Know that Life is so Peculiar!
MILLS STATION AT CRESLEIGH RANCH
Rancho Cordova, CA
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Balance and symmetry, along with clean and modern exterior detailing, highlight the Cresleigh Homes. The inside offers a wealth of luxury and elegance. The living room, kitchen, and breakfast area are ideal for relaxing and entertaining. The secluded master suite has a walk-in closet and is beyond compare, some models even come with built wall units and an alcove for sitting. Mills Station at Cresleigh Ranch is Rancho Cordova’s newest home community! This charming neighborhood offers an array of home types with eye catching architecture styles such as Mission, Mid-Century Modern, California Modern, and Contemporary Farmhouse.
One Must be Able to Turn to the Soul with Clear Confidence that there they Can Freely Seek the Whole Unvarnished and Uncompromised Truth!
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Mills Station at Cresleigh Ranch | Residence 3
This week, follow Abbie Johnson on a tour of #MillsStationResidence 3 at #CresleighRanch! This home is highly customizable, with 3-4 bedrooms, 3 & 1/2 bath, covered patio, extendable living space, and more! Visit our website to use the interactive blueprint tool, or schedule a tour with us to see this home for yourself! Link: https://cresleigh.com/mills-station/residence-3/
Randolph Harris II International Institute 