Comments on: Self-deception In the Denying of the Self - http://explorereality.org/2009/08/26/self-deception-vs-the-denying-of-the-self/ Meditations of an Existential Calvinist Mon, 18 Apr 2011 09:19:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Eric http://explorereality.org/2009/08/26/self-deception-vs-the-denying-of-the-self/#comment-191 Mon, 18 Apr 2011 09:19:11 +0000 http://explorereality.org/?p=35#comment-191 I guess not…

]]> By: Orthodoxo Presbyterianimus http://explorereality.org/2009/08/26/self-deception-vs-the-denying-of-the-self/#comment-189 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:53:21 +0000 http://explorereality.org/?p=35#comment-189 So, is there no more reality to explore?

]]> By: Eric Rooney http://explorereality.org/2009/08/26/self-deception-vs-the-denying-of-the-self/#comment-188 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:57:35 +0000 http://explorereality.org/?p=35#comment-188 Hey, nice post.

]]> By: Orthdoxo Presbyterianimus http://explorereality.org/2009/08/26/self-deception-vs-the-denying-of-the-self/#comment-187 Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:37:43 +0000 http://explorereality.org/?p=35#comment-187 We need to discuss more. How can I burn down my factory?

]]> By: Orthdoxo Presbyterianimus http://explorereality.org/2009/08/26/self-deception-vs-the-denying-of-the-self/#comment-186 Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:35:22 +0000 http://explorereality.org/?p=35#comment-186 I totally agree.

]]> By: Deb Warwick http://explorereality.org/2009/08/26/self-deception-vs-the-denying-of-the-self/#comment-185 Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:27:50 +0000 http://explorereality.org/?p=35#comment-185 So true. Even our best efforts are like filthy rags. It is a good reminder to cling to Christ’s righteousness.

]]> By: Tom Weeks http://explorereality.org/2009/08/26/self-deception-vs-the-denying-of-the-self/#comment-180 Mon, 31 Aug 2009 07:13:07 +0000 http://explorereality.org/?p=35#comment-180 I really enjoyed this post. You make a good point that we shouldn’t be proud of ourselves for denying our idols, but rather ashamed of our hearts for manufacturing them in the first place! We’re like thieves who boast about not stealing, when we should really be ashamed of our coveteousness.

I’d never connected idolatry with self-determination before, but it makes sense: the essence of the Fall was man asserting the right to “know” (=determine) good and evil for himself, apart from God. Since then, man has taken it upon himself to decide what is good enough to worship.

This post has provoked some questions….

1) How would you finish the sentence below?

“As the repentant thief should not simply refrain from stealing, but rather strive to be satisfied with God’s provision, in the same way the repentant idolater should not simply refrain from worshipping idols, but rather….”?

2) Am I to understand that you see all sin as stemming from our self-determination?

3) Is self-determination what the serpent promised Eve when he said that she would “be like God”?

4) While we must not usurp God’s authority to determine what is *ultimately* good and evil, has not God delegated some authority to us in this regard when He gave man dominan over the earth? For example, artists choose meanings for their own creations, and engineers freely make trade-offs between conflicting design constraints in an attempt to strike a good balance. Isn’t then the problem not that we self-determine what our own creations mean and what is good in certain situations, but that we also try to determine things that are actually God’s prerogative?

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