Concept

As you might notice, the center of the picture figures the Greek 'ch' of Christ; as christology is the heart of Christian know-how. From there, counter clockwise, one spreads out to theology and then to philosophy, etc. The former field envelops the latter till one arrives at theory. One's view of Christ characterizes all one's other outlooks. And if your attitude towards Christ goes wrong, all your other insights fall like so many domino stones. Most people in the course of their life think about all kinds of things and form an opinion about them. In this subsite I collect many of these opinions and attempt to order them according to the biblical concept of the golden mean.

I must be careful here not to mislead myself, and the reader, into making up a philosophical system that is in fact empty deceit; as if my philosophico-theological theory forms the gods that led me out of Egypt; that is the world as the dominion of Satan. No theory, neither the one by Thomas Aquinas, can take the place of our Moses on the mountain; the Lord Jesus at the right hand of the Majesty on high. It would be like leaning on a reed that pierces your hand. It would be like hewing out water reservoirs with holes from which the water disappears. We must drink from the source to never thirst again, or the Lord will have to chastise us and take our false god away. Yes, He would pulverize our gods and make us drink them!

It is all about the Person of Christ, definitely not about some kind of system of thought. However, thought patterns can assist us in our lives, provided our thoughts and ideas do not go against Scripture. What is very important is that we do not apply this theory as some kind of law that will set us free, if and when we apply it well. A weak human theory can never do what Christ wants to accomplish in us. We must never begin with grace and the Holy Spirit and then change to a strategy of laws. The apostle Paul terms even the ten commandments as the principles of the universe. Stars and atoms follow laws, but him that the Lord makes free, is truly free. And it would be a sin against the Lord to regard my theory of balance as a law that can help us to be sanctified. The human body is full of matters that are in balance with each other. But if a physician would study as many examples of equilibrium as possible and turn his findings into theory to make us healthy, then he is bound to mess us up. For inevitably he would overlook things and be totally ignorant of others. Good food and a healthy diet is what helps the pancreas keep balance between insulin and sugar. But then we turn around and turn the intake of food into a law. In our weakness we must administer insulin when and how much is necessary. But does this mean that we are doomed to make bandages and close the leaks when they appear? I think so. In the end human immortality cannot be attained with bodily means.

Yet, just as creationists and novelists attempting to base their writings on the Bible, so I have tried, in all weakness, to learn from the Bible and to discern patterns in it and in the process to expose false doctrines and ideas; which I wanted to pluck up like weeds from a garden. As the Creator, God is also the Lord of science. Science means knowledge and according to the psalmist The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. In an interesting passage in one of the great prophets (Is. 28 verses 23 to 29) it is written that the farmer learns his skill from God. The same holds for biblical theology, philosophy and things like anthropology and other disciplines. But let us never forget that we are fallen creatures in a fallen creation and particularly in a world that lies in the wicked one. Like Abraham, let us in the first place look for the majestic City above and let us seek the things that are above, where the Lord is; not the things below: other than necessary.

Towards the end of his life Thomas Aquinas did not want to write anymore, after having seen a vision. And he concluded that all his writings were but straw. Let us be careful not to turn our lives into something artificial by arbitrary will.

Someone once observed that God wrote two books, Creation and the Bible and that they do not contradict each other (a third book is history and we are all writers thereof). As far as extrabiblical sciences are concerned, such as cooking and space exploration, they belong to the area of Creation. For instance one would be hard pressed to disprove from the Bible that the sun is one great ball of burning kerosene. Bibliophiles should consider that! Nature has a lot to teach. So the apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 11 that natur teaches us that it is an honor for women to have long hair and a dishonor for men. Almost all over the world (except in places like watered down western churches) people feel that and women grow their hair long. Personally I like to study what people believe and to see what the Bible has to say about that.

I did try to base my theory on Scripture, but God's Word is too great to be captured by the minds of men. All we can do is to make sketches, because our knowledge of the Bible is limited and the application and realization is feeble and limited. We look, as the apostle Paul stated, through a dim window at an enigma. We can only observe and describe what we personally experience. Yet the Bible teaches us the Truth as an unshakeable fortress. And the Truth has its laws and orderliness. Pascal put it this way: Faith has reasons that go beyond reason. And indeed as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than yours. Let us therefore bow down under His mighty Hand and accept His Will for our lives. Let us be obedient and be useful servants. That I attempt to do with my writings. Yet I am aware that philosophers, also ethico-theological philosophers, choose their own problems and search for their own solutions. If one is wise, by the grace of God, then one has discovered something behind the facts. But as soon as you run away with that, you commit the sin of Romans one. You worship the creation above the Creator. That is the great trap of philosophy and so it becomes empty deceit. The worship of Christ's Person and the Love for Him, goes beyond any theory, system or set of rules or ideas. But that does not mean that theory is to be avoided, let alone forbidden.

The Lord upbraided Martha, the sister of Mary of Bethany, after the latter had been sitting beside Him and listening, upsetting her in her busy service, with the words: Martha, Martha, you are busy with and concerned about many matters. But one thing, or a few only, are necessary and Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken from her. Considering this Bible verse and also thinking about Solomon's warning that much study makes the flesh tired, I advise the student of my theology of ethics, not to get involved too much with it. Only one thing is necessary! And what else is that but to listen to the Lord God Almighty, Christ Jesus, the God-Man, and Savior of souls! The main thing that I attempt to bring across with my ethical theology is that the Bible ánd Creation is all about a perfect balance that does justice to all sides and facets of life. However my ideas are only meant to inspire. They are not a means to an end. I am the way and the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the Father but through Me. The Lord Jesus, then, is the means and God the Father is the end!