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Jamaica Patois Wisdom #5 By Jefferson David Tant (The Jamaican Patois dialect is colorful, unique and humorous. It is my desire to share some of the philosophy shown in this mix of colorful phrases that are witty as well as thought provoking. I hope the readers both profit and enjoy. In my quarter-century plus of teaching there, I have come to appreciate some things about their culture. – Jefferson David Tant)
Patois:
Mi belly full but mi hungry. What do you suppose Adam and Eve were thinking as they were evicted from their home in Eden’s paradise and were prevented from ever entering again? Their stomach may have been filled with the forbidden fruit, but whatever satisfaction that fruit brought certainly did not produce any lasting happiness. It brought them separation from God and pain and sorrow. Satan is good in presenting his offerings, and they really look tempting. I love homemade strawberry ice cream, but it does not go well with diabetes. If I eat it, there is a price to pay. The Psalmist Asaph was discouraged when he saw how the wicked prosper, but then he came to understand that their end was not happy. “Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart! But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pains in their death, And their body is fat… Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure And washed my hands in innocence; For I have been stricken all day long And chastened every morning. When I pondered to understand this, It was troublesome in my sight Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!” (Psalm 73:2-4, 12-19). David wrote in the 37th Psalm: “Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers, For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade like the green herb. Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart” (vvs. 1-4). There is an old song we sing—“Tempted and tried, we’re oft made to wonder…why others prosper, living so wicked year after year…Farther along we’ll understand why.” Sometimes we struggle to understand why Christians must suffer hardships when those around us seem to prosper and have a life of easy and luxury. Christ’s story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 can certainly give us a perspective. Through all the trials Abraham faced, there was one thing that sustained him, his faith, “for he looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10). And then there is Paul, who suffered more than we can imagine (II Cor. 11:22-28) who knew it was all worthwhile. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (II Tim. 4:7-8). Please live in such a way that you can have the assurance of wearing that victorious crown. & Pascal’s Wager Is a Bad Bet By Sye Ten Bruggencate On my travels throughout the U.S., I have encountered many ways of defending the faith. One such way is to hit the person with the law. “Have you ever told a lie?” “Have you ever stolen anything?” “Have you ever looked at another person in lust?” The intellectually honest will be forced to answer “yes” to those questions, exposing their sinfulness and need of a Savior. Why are lying, stealing, and lusting wrong? Are these actions wrong because God arbitrarily commands them to be wrong, or does God have a reason for calling these things wrong apart from Himself? Well, those who understand the solution to Euthyphro’s Dilemma know that neither is the case. Things are “wrong” because they are contrary to God’s unchanging character. Stealing is not wrong because God makes an arbitrary command that stealing is wrong, nor is it wrong because God has a standard outside of Himself to call it wrong. Quite simply, stealing is wrong because God is not a thief, lying is wrong, God is totally honest, and lusting is wrong because God is perfectly faithful. We were created in the image of God to be His imitators (Eph. 5:1), so when we do these things, we are lying about who God is. That’s what sin is – lying about who God is. Rather than get deeper into the nature of what sin is, let’s explore the fact that sin is “lying about God” and examine whether or not we do this when we defend our faith. Question: Is God a probable God or a certain God? In church we know the answer: “The Heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 14:1) It’s not “The Heavens might declare the glory of God – if He exists, and the skies might proclaim the work of his hands – if he exists.” Could we really say that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:39), if we worshiped a probable God? Of course not! In Church, we worship a certain God, yet what do we do? We go out into the world and tell unbelievers that we could be wrong! We give them “Pascal’s Wager.” Pascal’s Wager reduces the existence of God to a probability – a gamble – the odds on favorite. Basically it states that if you win the wager that God exists, you win, but if you lose the wager, you lose nothing. On the other hand, if you wager that God does not exist and win, you win nothing, but if you lose, you lose everything. I’ve used this myself, and can still hear my pathetic admonition ringing in my ears: “If I’m wrong, I die, rot in the ground, and worms eat my body, but if I’m right! Oh boy, then I get to be with God in Heaven for eternity! If you are right, then you die, rot in the ground and worms eat your body, but if you are wrong, you spend an eternity in Hell!” Brothers and sisters, God is not a good bet. God is not even the best bet. God is the certain God that has revealed Himself to us, such that we are certain of His existence (Rom. 1: 18-21). Blaise Pascal said some wonderful things, but his wager is a terrible bet. I looked up Pascal’s Wager on a search engine, and could not find one thing written negatively about it by Christians. What are we doing?!? We worship a certain God, yet defend our faith in a probable ‘god’! Folks, a probable ‘god’ is not God – a probable ‘god’ does not exist. Pascal’s Wager is only the tip of the iceberg of arguments for a probable God. This problem runs deep, and it’s time we start defending our faith in terms of the certain God of Scripture. When we defend our faith in a probable ‘god’, we are lying about who God is. That is why I am so very thankful to God for revealing to us the way to defend the faith that proclaims the certainty of His existence, and I thank God for the resources Greg Bahnsen has left us with. God does not give us odds; He gives us assurance. & There Is Only One Side to Truth By David Ray Fanning I One of the widely accepted beliefs of our society today is that there are two sides to every story. Such would be worthy of consideration if all things were subjective. However, when it comes to truth, there is only one side (Jn. 8:32; 17:17)! Truth is objective and real, not subjective and opinionated. For instance, the Bible is God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17). There are not two contradictory sides of the inspiration of God’s holy word, because God’s word consists of objective truth (Psa. 119:142, 151, 160; Eccl. 12:10; John 17:17, 19; Rom. 2:2; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 2:15). The inspired men of God were led by God’s Spirit to accurately write God’s word as the very utterances of God Himself (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 Cor. 14:37; 1 Pet. 4:11; 2 Pet. 1:16-21; 5:6; Rev. 22:18-19). As a result of living in a post modernistic society where truth is seen as subjective, it has become convenient for so many who claim to be Christian to explain away clear truths by simply saying “that’s your interpretation” or “that’s the way you see it.” However, the Bible not only teaches that there is truth but that we can know the truth (Jn. 8:32). When it comes to matters of truth and salvation, we can and we must have the same mind (1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 1:27). We are to test all things and determine what is acceptable to the Lord (1 Thess. 5:21; Eph. 5:10; Rom. 12:2). If such illogical reasoning, such as claiming that there are always two sides to every story, becomes the accepted norm, eventually the proponents of subjective truth will eventually conclude that it is just one’s “interpretation” that only Jesus can save (sadly some are already concluding such, for instance, through the false doctrine of pluralism). When it comes to matters of opinion, there may be different sides and different interpretations. However, when it comes to matters of truth, there are not two sides to any story, but only one side (Rom. 10:17; 14:23; 2 Cor. 5:7)! One reason why this idea has become so popular in our society is because it makes everyone involved seem justified (Prov. 17:15). One can choose the “side” of the story he or she likes and feel justified. It also allows third parties to refrain from having to properly discern right from wrong (Heb. 5:12). For example, one may say “both sides seem to have good points” or “I can understand from where both sides are coming.” When statements like these are made, it allows those individuals to refrain from having to make a true decision on what or who is right (Eph. 4:14). Instead of being tossed to and fro, we must speak the truth (Eph. 4:15). When statements and actions are made, we are commanded by God to examine and search the Scriptures to prove what is acceptable to Him (Acts 17:11; 1 Thess. 5:21; Eph. 5:10). Knowing the truth requires us to listen to a statement and examine it so that we can righteously judge whether it is true or false (John 7:24). It is time we put to death our carnal, worldly minds and put on the spiritual mind of Christ (Acts 17:11; Rom. 8:6-8; 12:2; 1 Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5; 3:18-19; 4:8; Col. 3:1-10; 2 Tim. 2:15). May we truly be the pillar and ground of the truth, always standing on the side of truth (1 Tim. 3:15)! 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