For the past few weeks I have been slowly chipping away at The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell (pictured to the right). I decided to read it mostly to challenge my mind, since philosophy has never been one of my strong suits. And I also hoped to read some of his atheistic viewpoints/arguments to better my understanding and to battle my own naivety concerning that realm of thinking (though so far, he hasn't mentioned any atheistic topics).So far, the book has been quite the mental exercise. The dude is clearly an intellectual stud, and I will admit that I have difficulty following 40-50% of what the guy says. Nevertheless, I think my corroding mind has been benefiting from reading the book.
The main thing that impresses me with Russell, and with all those other great minds, is how they can take what we deem universal truths and pick them apart until they cause us to question how we could ever have thought those ideas to be truths at all. In one of the chapters I read today, Russell talked about "2 + 2 = 4" and all of the recondite layers beneath that simple equation, and his discussion on the matter is the first domino to the mess below.
There's something special about being undefeated. Of course, much of the reason why being undefeated is so exceptional is the perfection that is inherent in that status. But the more and more I think about it, the more I realize that a big reason why undefeated teams (ahem, Rutgers), athletes, and other competitors are so heralded is because everyone knows that that perfection, that streak of W's, is evanescent. That is why when I see people rooting for those that are undefeated in this world, I see an undeniable sense of fragile hubris, because they are aware that it is a certainty that perfection cannot last forever.
Furthermore, I think that it is this muted anxiety that actually drives the enthusiasm and pride shown for the undefeated team or competitor. The transient nature of this perfection encourages people to take extra joy and care to savor it and celebrate it.
But when all is said and done, it is a fact that perfection on this earth can never last. Sooner rather than later, it will be tainted with defeat.
The idea is all around us, in the celebrations of championships, the looks and whispers of awe when a house of cards is built, and the praises we heap on that great album. But as humans, we are incapable of entirely understanding the notions of "perfection" and being "undefeated," in the truest senses.
And this is precisely why it is so incredibly difficult for humans, regardless of their personal beliefs, to understand what it means when we say God is perfect. Russell says, "...we may sometimes know a general proposition in cases where we do not know a single instance of it." That is our problem. As Christians, we understand the proposition that God is perfect, but the thorn in our sides is the fact that we do not have a helpful earthly correlation with which to frame this obscure concept.
How does God convey His perfection to us? He doesn't proclaim "I AM PERFECT" over and over and over again and demand that we nod our heads and agree. Our God conveys His perfection to us by showing us confirmations of His perfect character, or by proving Himself right, over and over and over again.
It is in this way that God has remained undefeated. He has defeated doubters, mockers, and enemies throughout history.
Now, though we have that sense of transience to give vigor to our cheers for the earthly undefeated, we do not have even that when it comes to God, because we know that He has always remained, and continues to go undefeated. We lose a catalyst that we have relied upon for our entire lives.
This is why the Gospel is such a necessary truth to cling to every moment of our lives.
As we read the Bible from the Old Testament and into the four gospels, we see that there was a time when defeat did seem inevitable for God. Throughout the OT, the LORD proved His perfection over and over again to His people, despite their constant doubting and grumbling. But as we encounter the four gospels, we begin treading unfamiliar ground. In simple and honest terms, Jesus Christ, the God-man, met defeat at the cross, and for three agonizing days His followers were forced to deal with this event.
But after those three days, Jesus (as promised) rose from the grave to defeat sin and death forever.
God remained undefeated, and those three days of suffering, doubt, and eventual triumph are now a catalyst to what we call our "faith." He turned the worst defeat in history into the most glorious victory, and that should speak oceans of encouragement to us whenever we are stuck in cold, lonely, and difficult places.
There comes a point where perfection transcends into truth. "2 + 2 = 4," "the sun is bright," and "Jun Ji Hyun is beautiful" are statements that have proven true over and over again, to the point where they are not just perfect statements, but truths.
In the same way, God's persistent and complete fulfillment of His promises (which finds its culmination at the cross) not only makes Him perfect, but means that He is truth. Not only truth, but the truth (John 14:6).
It is when we begin to "philosophize" about this Truth that we begin to become double-minded, and fall into the slippery trap of doubt. We take an undeniable truth and pick it apart with our devious, self-serving doubts until that truth is no longer tenable.
I think this is part of what Jesus meant when he talked about having faith like children. Yes, it is healthy to think and meditate upon God, the Bible, and salvation, but when we begin to use our cunning intelligence to justify our doubts for selfish gain we are denying Truth, and when God conveys His perfection when He returns to earth, when He reaffirms to us that He is undefeated, those who oppose Him can only be two things: wrong and defeated.
For those of us who genuinely struggle with the idea that God is perfect, undefeated Truth, our faith will be rewarded on that day when He will prove us right by proving Himself true...again.
Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of secret society to undermine the Devil? Why is He not landing in force, invading it? Is it that He is not strong enough? Well, Christians think He is going to land in force; we do not know when. But we can guess why He is delaying. He wants to give us the chance of joining His side freely. I do not suppose you and I would have thought much of a Frenchman who waited till the Allies were marching into Germany and then announced he was on our side. God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else -- something it never entered your head to conceive -- comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last for ever. We must take it or leave it. - C.S. Lewis
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