Sinful Nature and Eternal Security (Hamartiology Notes)

Lectures in Hamartiology

The Sinful Nature

'Nature' here must not be understood as similar to that in 'human nature' or 'feline nature'. It is the principle of sin, which Romans 7 talks about, the law of sin. In essence, it is selfishness, covetousness, the end by which 'good' or 'evil' is defined. When Adam sinned, the choice broke him off from the Life of God and mankind became autonomous. Man could decide what was right or wrong by reference to himself. [Even philosophers have referred to happiness as the desired end]. That is the principle of lawlessness that is internal, intense, and universal. Therefore, the condemnation hangs over the head. Man is not compelled by the sin principle, he chooses to walk according to it in his condemned state of separation from God, in his state of Spiritless carnality, and thus subservience and enslavement to sin. He is now flesh (in the sense of not having the dominance of the law of the Spirit, Rom 8:2) and walks according to the flesh in a world that is Godless and self-serving.

Eternal Security

Salvation is not a gift that is separable from Christ or faith in him. Salvation is in Christ.

Calvinism commits the fallacy of being closed to falsification. If I say that there's a unicorn outside and you say you want to see it, and I say you can't because it disappears the moment someone other than me tries to see it, I offer no way of disproving me. Similarly, Calvinism says that to be once saved is to be saved forever, but if you point out someone who had faith earlier but had now fallen, they say that that was so because he wasn't saved in the first place. How do you disprove them?

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Placebo and the Philosophy of Mind and Matter in Drug Research

A placebo is a non-therapeutic substance administered under the camouflage of medication to deceive patients into believing that they are receiving medications; this done solely for psychological and not for physiological effects. Placebo may usually be used to compare its effects with the effects of other drugs in drug research. Let's take the case of an experiment that tries to establish whether a particular drug, say to treat weariness, is genuine or merely has the effects of a placebo. Suppose 20 candidates are chosen for this experiment. 10 are given the drug and the rest are put on a placebo while they are told that the placebo is a genuine medication. They need to make sure that the deception is well carried on for the success of the experiment. If both the groups make similar improvements after taking the treatments, the new drug seems to only function as a placebo in effect. The basic hypothesis of the placebo raises the question of mind over matter. Of course, this pushes...

This is My Father's World - Hymn (w/ Hindi Translation)

ENGLISH This is my father's world And to my listening ears All nature sings, and round me rings The music of the spheres This is my father's world The birds their carols raise The morning light, the lily white Declare their maker's praise This is my father's world I rest me in the thought Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas His hand the wonders wrought This is my father's world Oh, let me never forget That though the wrong seems oft so strong God is the ruler yet This is my father's world Why should my heart be sad? The Lord is king, let the heavens ring God reigns, let the earth be glad This is my father's world He shines in all that's fair In the rustling grass, I hear him pass He speaks to me everywhere In the rustling grass, I hear him pass He speaks to me everywhere HINDI ये मेरा पिता का जहां और मेरे सुनते कानों में सारी कुदरत गाती झूमती है सरगम वो रचना की ये मेरा पिता का जहां पक्षियां भी गाती है सुबह का तेज, और सोसन श्‍वेत उसकी महिमा सुनाते है ये...

3 Facts About Temptation

M...L...S 1. Temptation is MOMENTARY. It won't last forever. The devil tries to make it look as the final reality. But, it is not. It is just a test, and it'll be over; but, the question is whether you'll pass it. 2. Temptation is a Test of LOVE; and LOVE is an action. Love fulfills all the commandments. The two greatest are LOVE GOD with all your being and LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR as yourself. But, love is not a feeling or emotion; it is an action. We need to LOVE Him more in the moment of temptation; it can only be possible when we focus on Him. 3. Temptation will make you STRONGER and PURER. It may stretch your muscle; but, not beyond your capacity; and then the HELPER, our TRAINER is there with us and knows what will make us stronger... Despite all this, let us never forget to pray: "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one!"

Marbaniang, Domenic

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