Pursuing Philosophy Testimony

One's Frame of Mind

To have a frame of mind means to have a point of view from which one works and operates. This typically comes from our perspective and understanding of life. It can be temporary or long term. It helps us determine what we do and how we do it. For example, if I am driving down the road looking for a gas station, I will miss the many shops, grocery stores, and other things to be seen but my mind will notice the many gas stations to be found. Likewise, our mindset on life and what life is drives our perspective and views throughout life.

One of the most important parts of life is just knowing who we are and who we belong to (and what that makes us). If we accept that we are created beings, and we accept that there is a Creator who not only made us but wants to have a relationship with us, then that carries with it quite a few things that direct our perspectives on life. If we read through the scriptures and learn how He wants to have relationship with us, then we should recognize both a need and a desire for those ways.

We should also recognize that we are not of this world (the physical fleshly world). If we have accepted Yahshuah as Savior we are become His and we are in a new kingdom and His Spirit is within us. Therefore, our focus should not be on the physical desires of this world, to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, nor should it even be in the things of our mind (worldly knowledge and abilities). Instead our focus should be on the things of our soul and spirit. Our mindset should be focused on The Almighty and His ways.

Epicureanism

I had a very definite frame of mind as I went through college. As I was exiting high school, I was beginning to question the world and what was happening around me. I had grown up attending church on Sunday, but it was not an active part of my life. I had some knowledge of the Scriptures, but in my mind I questioned things like the literalness of the opening chapters of Genesis which explain His creation. I was being trained in society with evolution and the scientific theory ... mankind seemed to know so much. When starting college, I got heavily into philosophy ... mostly as a means to explore and understand the world and to find out what is true and correct in life. I ended up primarily studying Epicureanism ... in fact for several years I can say I followed this general philosophy. This was my mindset. However, Epicureanism is a philosophy. It is not Scriptural. As with any philosophy, it is man-made and it has flaws. Any philosophy ever made is based on premises (something assumed to be true). If the premise is incorrect, then every conclusion based on that premise will also be incorrect which is what happens with all philosophy and most of science.

A simple example of premises and conclusion is this: Premise 1: man likes to procrastinate. Premise 2: as time goes down to zero, effort goes up to infinity. From these two premises we could draw the conclusion that: nothing would ever get done if it were not for the last minute. This example can draw a laugh, but sadly there is a certain truth to this ... but it is not all truth either.

In Epicureanism, the biggest downfall is that they believe that there is no god and that when we die, that is the end for that person. There is no soul and no spirit which go on for eternity. Without this, one suddenly finds that there is no meaning to life. This is probably a great philosophy for evolutionists .... It is terrible for those who Believe in the One Most High and His Creation and who desire to be in His eternal Kingdom. He calls us not to happiness as Epicureanism pursues, but to peace and to love and to a contentment with life that has meaning and richness (not monetary).

Under this frame of mind, I spent years pursuing man's wisdom [which is foolishness], trying to accomplish what I could humanly accomplish [which is not much without Him in my life], and was just generally being selfish with any activities I was active in. This is where the ways of man lead. It is a mindset that leads to death. Turning away from all that and placing my life and my thoughts On YHVH changes everything. Now I have hope, meaning, assurance, and peace in my life. And though I still have to fight the selfishness of the flesh, my mind and my emotions are less on selfish things and more on goodness and helping others. What a difference. Now instead of seeing the difficulties and the evils of man in the world, I see the love and the beauty of YHVH in the world. It really does depend on what you are looking for ... ultimately you find it.

In the last few years, I have been turning away from man's knowledge to pursue that of the Almighty's. I now decidedly believe in a literal creation account. I believe the evidence in the world around us supports it ... and actually disproves evolution. I believe in a loving Creator. Philosophy, all philosophies, are basically junk which take us away from the Almighty's perfect ways. We need not go to man's logic or science which is finite in amount. His wisdom is infinite.. He has given us His Spirit and His Word to bring us to Him and to know His ways. This perspective changes many things in life. Most of all, it makes one go to Him for guidance and counsel and not to man whether it be science, philosophy, or psychology. Following in His wisdom brings faith. Following man's wisdom brings pride ... a great evil.

Philosophy and Photography

Though I had grown up going to church regularly, it had little impact on my life at that time. I think that perhaps the focus for the youth of the church was in learning about the more famous stories found within Scripture or hearing the Parables that Messiah told. The deeper meanings and the life and death importance of the salvational issues were neglected.

When I was a senior in high school, I asked myself the question of what is the meaning to life. Thus began a ten year period of my life looking for an answer to that question. I turned heavily towards philosophy in trying to seek that answer. I started exploring many types of philosophy, though I stressed the Greek philosophers and themes of aesthetics and happiness. When the dust had settled, I found myself following Epicureanism.

Although I certainly do not recommend anyone follow after philosophy since it is the makings of man and not the genuine truth of the Almighty and life, I will state that this was perhaps one of the better of man's philosophies. It stresses seeking the pleasures of the mind over the pleasures of the body. Thus, as a student going to college, I actually worked hard at my studies to learn and improve the rest of my life through an education rather than getting drunk each night or pursuing the other lusts of the flesh. This protected me in many ways from many evils and much harm that otherwise could have happened.

One of the results of this philosophy, was my desire to explore the world around me and learn what it means to live. Much of this exploration came through a new hobby of photography which was able to record in great detail the many different topics and areas I was exploring. Over the ten years, I would spend tens of thousands of dollars on photography in my effort to understand life. Initially, this focused on the physical world and this resulted in a solo exhibition of my 'artwork' called 'Exploring Our World'. Strangely, as I reached this pinnacle of my photographic career, I was feeling unfulfilled and was already working on a new set of images that would be entitled "In Search of Life". This set of images became less attached to physical items to photograph and became more abstract in subject matter and ideological in composition. I was searching for meaning behind the objects and exploring symbolism.

The second show never made it to the exhibition level. Growing beyond Epicureanism put a stop to it. Epicureanism stress the mental over the physical. It sidesteps the emotional. It denies the spiritual altogether. The search for meaning to life could not end with Epicureanism. By this time, I was starting to read Scripture, at first with a heavy emphasis on the life and death themes found in Ecclesiastes. Epicureanism was not enough. My emotions were bottled up and the spirit was stifled.

For several years I looked at my time as an epicurean as a failure. My photography all the more so as most of my work I later destroyed because it was based so much in the physical. Looking back, I realize that I was actually successful as an Epicurean ... I was learning about life and environment and I was mentally progressing. Life was better than it had been for me when I started 10 years earlier. Even my photography, which was mostly for myself, had become a side business of selling artwork and occasionally doing work for hire. It has been a very long stepping stone from not knowing anything about life to learning about the physical and getting me to the spiritual.

One of the themes of Epicureanism is that there is no god and that man does not need to fear death because it is the total end of things. Yet death and immortality is such a big issue for man kind. We know deep inside that there is something more and that there is a means to immortality. It does not come through the physical, but instead can be found in the Spiritual. it can be found in the gospel message that Yahshuah the Messiah came and died that we may have eternal life with the Heavenly Father. The instructions and guidelines found in Scripture are better than any philosophy man could ever come up with.

For some years, I did not do much with photography. It has come back on a small scale as I Explore His Creation. Although the subject matters are similar to before, the focus and intent is very different. This time, because it is something from the One Most High, there is already meaning in what is presented and need not be searched for. Physical, mental, emotional, and Spiritual can all come together in an image.

Experiencing Corruption in the World

When I started writing this book, one of my main intentions was to share the process of going from an unconverted believer to an active believer with all the amazing things that have happened as an active believer. However, looking back at my life in detail, with all the knowledge, experience, and wisdom that five decades brings with it, I see that there were many more things happening in my youth than I was aware of. In fact, throughout my life, the force of evil has been degrading my life and stealing the things I should have been able to enjoy. This includes physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

When I put it all together, I was genuinely shocked at how much thievery, corruption, injustice, ..., I had been exposed to in just my single lifetime. If this is extrapolated across the U.S. and even the world, then there is a tremendous amount of dishonesty in the world. I did not include any stories that others have told me from their lives, but other people have shared some of the corruption they encountered as well, so I know the experience is not unique to me.

In fact, I have done an informal survey all over the world asking "what is honorable" and the 50% answer is honesty. People value it, but it is hard to find. One philosopher was said to travel looking for an honest man.

I have decided to include many of these negative experiences to serve as a warning, to both teens and parents alike. This is the real world we live in. The lusts of the flesh, the pride of life, selfish greed and ambition all come together in ourselves and others to produce the society we have. I include these because they are things that I have had to heal from. In that search for peace, these are what have taken peace away and must be dealt with, even in the present, because they are often not just physical that happened in the past, but spiritual things as well which linger on and persist until it is dealt with.

There is much hope in the Kingdom of Heaven and much can be restored through our Savior's work as High Priest in the Heavenly Tabernacle. But we must pursue it.

I Have Been Lied To

I Have Been Lied To My entire life I have been given lies. Okay, admittedly, some groups are not trying to lie but have been deceived themselves, but ultimately what I receive is lies. Lies from family, lies from television and Hollywood, lies from friends, lies from 'experts' and science, lies from the government, lies from the church, etc. What is the effect of all this? Obviously, not being able to make good choices in life.

Witchcraft I am shocked that as I go through my life (and ancestry) how much witchcraft and occult activity I have been exposed to. Certainly mainstream media, Hollywood, and cartoons ... but probably the church, definitely at university and especially in Biology hall, probably a lot at the state park herbal society, as well as just the general public or through nature conservation activities, or health food stores, etc. Ancestral involvement is multiple that I know about and probably many more I do not.

Religious The religious lies seem to numerous to list and these have been dealt with much in the past - so I shall not try. More recently I learn that atheism is a small minority, that most of the world does believe in a spiritual aspect of life ... but Christianity is very weak on this subject. Is it little wonder we are losing.

Science Another shock, that I am long over, is that the sciences are filled with bias, worldviews, and consensus ... and that truth is not what is genuinely sought.

Entertainment Perhaps one of the worst areas of all ... so much of my life was spent on useless and fictional entertainment. Situational comedies and dramas, sci-fi shows, fantasy cartoons, even my own imaginings based on these. Entertainment is the door through which many evils have been allowed to come into a person's life. We do not seem to recognize that playing with evil is a bad thing. How do I get this time back? How do I accomplish something better?

Governments Perhaps where the most 'conspiracy theories' are ... but time and time again government have shown they can work for their own agendas and not for their people ... and deceptions occur on a massive scale.

Industrial / Commercial Something for more recent centuries ... large industries and especially monopolies open the door to abuse, lies,and deception ... they have their own agendas, often profit, and often more than profit and towards some form of domination ... without regard or respect to life, freedom, etc.

Sounds Good? They all try to make what they are doing sound good ... but when you look at the evidence, it often is not.

Called Out

We are called out to be His people. For us, His commandments should not be viewed as a task to be performed for a master much like how we do our jobs today. Instead it should be loving kindnesses for Him and His kingdom ... it should be opportunities watched for not rules to be obeyed. His rules and guidelines are there to not to separate us from other people, but to set us apart to Him and to surround us with peace and safety. Do we go that step to focus on His ways so that we act in His ways? When we shop, speak, and act the way the general population does are we any different? Our dress, our shopping habits, what we watch, what we talk about, and how we speak all demonstrate what we believe ... or the lack of decisions on what we believe. If we blend in with society, are we appearing and acting like a called out people? A people set apart to YHVH? Admittedly, it is a higher standard we are held to as believers ... how many of us consciously try to work for that standard? How many of us compromise because it is easier to meet the worlds standards?

When we focus on Him and when we set our minds on His ways, the world becomes less important. Even our own desires and dreams are less important. When our frame of mind is on doing His work and on worshiping Him, the cares of the world (money, power, pride, etc) melt away. When our point of view from which we operate in our life becomes more like His, then we can see more clearly what is truly important and just how awesome He is. After some time with this mindset, the cares of the world even become strange to us because we get accustomed to the great peace and beauty of His ways. Then going back to the ways of man are unsavory.

Our minds are to be on things above. We are to be focused on purity and honor ... not partying and hanging out with the gang. Focusing on purity, even if we cannot reach it in this age, brings drastic and amazing results. Our mindset becomes one of ignoring many temptations because they take away from the quality of our lives. It makes us see things in more of a black and white way rather than seeing the 256 shades of gray the world uses. What is white is good and takes us closer to YHVH, what is black takes us away from Him. There is no gray that says the end justifies the means. If it cannot be done properly (according to His word) then it should not be done at all.

When we focus on The One Most High ... when we truly say that we want to be His people, we are saying that we will submit to His ways. This means putting aside our own desires and learning what He wants of us. It is not complicated. The commandments given in the Scriptures are not that many. He asks of us to do what is just (righteous) and fair as well as to worship Him in the way that is pleasing to Him. He really does not ask much of us ... especially when you compare it with the work load that the world wants to give us.

In short, when we set our minds on YHVH and Yahshuah, the things of this world become unimportant. When we make our perspective on life following His ways and doing His will, then we become free of the will of man. Our whole life changes ... not because our life changes, but because our focus is different.

This page is under construction. My apologies for any misspellings, repeated text, missing references, etc. Please visit again later for a more complete treatment of this topic.