Thanks Jody

So I was talking to a good friend of mine about the topic that I have been writing about lately on these last few notes.  (Facebook notes)  He brought up the a theologian and philosopher that I had never read or heard of before. (Saint Anselm) Anyway I looked up some of what he thought and found it very interesting. He was argued that existence precedes essence. I read a little of what he thought about it and I also read some others that disagreed with him and some that agreed. Most of the arguments were centered around the existence of God. If any of this interests you just google Anselm and you will get a ton of information about him. However, the most interesting couple of sentences that I read on the website were found in conclusion of the arguments. After listing several philosophers for and against the existence of God, the conductor finishes like this

"Classical theism states that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect. Ontological arguments, both old and revised, have also assumed this explicitly or implicitly. Many philosophers are skeptical about the underlying assumption, as described by Leibniz, "that this idea of the all-great or all-perfect being is possible and implies no contradiction."
For example, moral perfection is thought to imply being both perfectly merciful and perfectly just. But these two properties seem to contradict each other. To be perfectly just is always to give every person exactly what he deserves. But to be perfectly merciful is to give at least a person less punishment than he deserves. If so, then a being cannot be perfectly just and perfectly merciful.[30]"

The argument above is a sound one. God can not be perfectly just if he is allows any of the ones deserving punishment to go free while punishing others. He can not be a just judge if He allows anyone deserving punishment to go free. This is where the wonderful truth of Jesus comes in. 'At the foot of the cross, where justice and mercy meet.' This is the absolute 
divider between the God of the Bible and the god of all others. No other religion shows a god of absolute justice and unconditional love. Search it out. You will find none. 
I'll finish with one of my favorite songs

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocing voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that helf Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I knoww that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast inJesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Thanks for reading,
Ryan

Education

"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself."

John Dewey

How many folks would enjoy school more and teachers teach better and parents free themselves from guilt and children enjoy learning if we looked at education a little more like this.  Now there are certainly some things that I disagree with that John Dewey believed about education, but the quote above gets the essence of what I believe we are definitely missing in public schools and could be missing in many private schools.