Semper Eadem: Of Visions and Humanism

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Of Visions and Humanism

I’ve been clicking around on the Botkin’s websites lately and I came across this page: http://westernconservatory.com/content/vision

Vision

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you..." - Matthew 28:20
The Western Conservatory of the Arts and Sciences has been established by Geoffrey Botkin's seven children to honor his vision in regard to Christendom. We believe the foundations of civil society can be improved for the future and must not be surrendered to a cultural way of thinking that is hostile to the past.
The vision is simple: that scriptural wisdom must be applied for maturity and leadership in all areas of society, including the gates of business, media, jurisprudence, science, the fine arts, education, and church reform. We believe these disciplines must integrate and should be mastered by all leaders, each of whom has personal duties to the King of kings.

So is Geoffrey Botkin the king of kings? Since no other name or person is mentioned, we must assume that all honour is to be given to him. "...has been established by Geoffrey Botkin's seven children to honour his vision in regard to Christendom." In other words, his children are speaking in his name in order to honour his vision? Where is Jesus Christ? Should we not be honouring Christ’s vision? It seems to me that Jesus is relegated to a backseat and His words are taken out of context to be the words of Geoffrey Botkin to his children. It almost seems that Botkin is the “I” speaking in the Bible verse! "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you..." That's only the last verse of the Great Commission! Elsewhere on this site, on the About page, under "How We Do It" there is this statement: “We stay focused on the main challenge of the Great Commission.” Oh really? Then why is the full text of the Great Commission nowhere to be found on the conservatory’s site? And the main challenge of the Great Commission is found below:

Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The Conservatory’s vision is not a vision for Christ. It is a vision for man. Or more accurately, a man.

And it's not Christianity, it's humanism.

Galatians 1:6-12
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Humanism: 1. A system of thought that rejects religious beliefs and centers on humans and their values, capacities, and worth. Found here: http://www.answers.com/topic/humanism

Ingrid

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." ~Ambrose Redmoon

“No I won’t stop! For every minute of the rest of my life, I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you!” - Rapunzel, Tangled, 2010.

"And less thanks have we than you. Travellers scowl at us and countryman give us scornful names. “Strider” I am to one fat man who lives within a day’s march of foes that would freeze his heart, or lay his little town in ruin if he were not guarded ceaselessly. Yet we could not have it otherwise. If simple folk are free from care and fear, simple they will be, and we must be secret to keep them so.” - Aragorn, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter II.

"... Ha. Look at you lot. You're all so vacant. Is it nice not being me? It must be so relaxing." - Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock, 2010.

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Galatians 1:5-9

“My experiences in love have taught me difficult lessons, especially my experiences with crazy love. The red relationships. The ones that went from zero to a hundred miles per hour and then hit a wall and exploded. And it was awful. And ridiculous. And desperate. And thrilling. And when the dust settled, it was something I’d never take back. Because there is something to be said for being young and needing someone so badly, you jump in head first without looking. And there’s something to be learned from waiting all day for a train that’s never coming. And there’s something to be proud of about moving on and realizing that real love shines golden like starlight and doesn’t fade or spontaneously combust. Maybe I’ll write a whole album about that kind of love if I ever find it.” -- Taylor Swift, Red, 2012.

"We're clearly soldiers in petticoats
And dauntless crusader for women's votes
Though we adore men individually
We agree that as a group they're rather stupid.

Cast off the shackles of yesterday
Shoulder to shoulder into the fray
Our daughter's daughters will adore us
And they'll sing in grateful chorus
"Well done, sister suffragette!"

No more the meek and mild subservients we.
We're fighting for our rights...militantly. Never you fear!

So, cast off the shackles of yesterday
Shoulder to shoulder into the fray
Our daughter's daughters will adore us
And they'll sing in grateful chorus
"Well done...well done...well done...sister suffragette!"

Mary Poppins, 1964.
Written by: Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.
As Sung by Mrs. Banks (Glynis Johns), Ellen (Hermione Baddeley), and Mrs. Brill (Reta Shaw).

Of course, Mrs. Banks priorites were out of whack but she fixed them in the end. :-) And I assume she won the right to vote anyway. :-)

~ A conversation between L.B. Jeffries and his nurse Stella. ~

Stella: Look, Mr. Jeffries, I'm not an educated woman, but I can tell you one thing. When a man and woman see each other and like each other, they oughta come together—wham!—like a couple of taxis on Broadway, and not sit around analyzing each other like two specimens in a bottle.
Jeff: There's an intelligent way to approach marriage.
Stella: Intelligence! Nothing has caused the human race so much trouble as intelligence!
Jeff: Now, we've progressed emotionally.
Stella: Baloney! Once, it was see somebody, get excited, get married. Now, it's read a lot of books, fence with a lot of four-syllable words, psychoanalyze each other until you can't tell the difference between a petting party and a civil service exam.
Jeff: People have different emotional levels.
Stella: When I married Miles, we were both a couple of maladjusted misfits. We are still maladjusted misfits, and we have loved every minute of it.
Jeff: Well, that's fine, Stella. Now would you fix me a sandwich please? ~ Rear Window, 1954.

Above: Stella (Thelma Ritter), Lisa (Grace Kelly,) and L.B. Jeffries (Jimmy Stewart), Rear Window, Paramount Pictures, 1954.

What Matters Most

Not money, not power, not fame, or position.
Don't want, don't need, don't give me religion.
All I wanna hear
All I wanna see
All I wanna read about is
All I wanna live
All I wanna know
All I wanna be about is Love, what matters most.
Givin' love, what matters most

What matters most
Is how much we love
What matters most
Is how much we give
What would it matter if we just lived
Without loving our GodWithout loving each other?
What matters most
Is how much we love,
Setting our sights
On the needs of our brother
Loving our neighbor as we love ourselves
We give to the Lord
When we give to each other
Faith, hope and love, especially love.
Faith, hope and love, especially love.
That's what matters most
What matters most.

© 1997 Cheri Keaggy

More Quotes

"If your morals make you dreary, depend upon it, they are wrong." ~ Robert Louis Stevenson.

"Of course, it is likely enough my friends," he said, slowly. "Likely enough that we are going to our doom: the last march of the Ents. But if we stayed at home and did nothing, doom would find us anyway, sooner or later. That thought has been growing in our hearts; and that is why we are marching now. It was not a hasty resolve. Now the last march of the Ents may be worth a song. Aye," he sighed. "We may help the other peoples before we pass away." ~ Treebeard, The Two Towers, Chapter IV.

"I have a 'snoggestion,' he said. That was what Mr. Ray always called a particularly good suggestion." ~ Betsy and the Great World, Maud Hart Lovelace, Chapter II.

"But, dear me, let us be elegant or die!" ~ Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, Chapter III.

"For with God nothing shall be impossible." ~ Luke 1:37.

"Play it once, Sam, for old times sake," "I don't know what you mean Miss Ilsa," "Play it, Sam, play 'As Time Goes By'," ~ Ilsa and Sam, Casablanca, 1942.

"Isn't it customary to give your valet a tip?" "Here's a tip, Felix, don't brush your teeth with a brick." ~ Felix & Felicity King, Road to Avonlea, 1994.

"I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure." ~ Eric Liddell.

"After all...tomorrow is another day." ~ Scarlett O'Hara, Gone with the Wind, 1939.

"And your defect is a propensity to hate everybody." "And yours," he replied with a smile, "Is willfully to misunderstand them." ~ Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, Chapter XI.

"Bilbo Baggins, a bur--a hobbit," said poor Bilbo, shaking all over, and wondering how to make owl-noises before they throttled him. "A Burahobbit?" said they a bit startled." ~ Bilbo and the Trolls, The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien.

"Life moves pretty fast...if you don't stop and look around for awhile, you could miss it." ~ Ferris, in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986.

Han Solo: Uh, everything's under control. Situation normal.
Intercom Voice: What happened?
Han Solo: Uh, we had a slight weapons malfunction, but uh... everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?
Intercom Voice:We're sending a squad up.
Han Solo: Uh, uh... negative, negative. We had a reactor leak here now. Give us a few minutes to lock it down. Large leak, very dangerous.
Intercom Voice: Who is this? What's your operating number? Han Solo: Uh... [he shoots the intercom.] Boring conversation, anyway. ~ Star Wars, 1977.

"Look at all these people. They sit around telling stories. Then they sing songs all morning." "Yeah, they're hicks, Rita!" ~ Rita and Phil, Groundhog Day, 1993.

"I don't know! I'm making this up as I go!" ~ Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981.

"You know what the three most exciting sounds in the world are?" "Uh-huh. Breakfast is served; lunch is served, dinner..." "No, no, no, no! Anchor chains, plane motors, and train whistles." ~ George Bailey and Uncle Billy, It's a Wonderful Life, 1946.

"If you were waiting for the opportune moment...that was it." ~ Capt. Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2003.

"Well, no need to brood on what tomorrow may bring. For one thing, tomorrow will be certain to bring worse than today, for many days to come." ~ Gandalf, The Return of the King, Chapter I.

Luke: What? HAHA! Hey, you did it 3PO! (He, Leia, and Han are laughing hysterically) C-3PO: Listen to them, they're dying R2! Curse my metal body, I wasn't fast enough, it's all my fault! My poor Master. Luke: 3PO, we're all right! We're all right! Ha ha! Hey, open the pressure maintenance hatch on unit number... where are we? 3263827! ~ Star Wars, 1977.

"With enough courage, you can do without a reputation." ~ Rhett Butler, Gone with the Wind, 1939.

"Joe"? "Just call me Joe"? As if you were one of those stupid 22-year old girls with no last name? "Hi, I'm Kimberly!" "Hi, I'm Janice!" Don't they know you're supposed to have a last name? It's like they're an entire generation of cocktail waitresses. ~ Kathleen Kelly, You've Got Mail, 1997.