OUTLINE Personal Observations Specific Quotations Holy Scripture SECTION 1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY: A. In the beginning was Plato: "if there are no absolutes, then the individual things (the particulars, the details) have no meaning." - Plato the Greek Philosopher	John Gardner "The society that scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity, and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity, will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water."
Absolute: A type, concept or thing that is consistently the same from the beginning of time clear through to the end of the age. Something that is always the same. Principles and laws of nature that hold for eternity.	For the sake of example. If "Fruit" is an absolute, than bananas, oranges, apples and grapes would be particulars or details. Further, if "Apple" is an absolute, then any of the three hundred and some specific cultivars would be a particular or detail. Hence: Golden Delicious, Macintosh, Winesap and even Crabapples would be the particulars. Lastly, "Gravity" could be an absolute concept even though the actual gravitational force could conceivably vary over the course of time and in various parts of creation.
Particulars: Within specific absolutes, these details may vary one from another but still be considered part of the original absolute.
Philosophy is the search for the fundamental nature, function and purpose of man, the universe and life!
B. Assumptions of Classical Philosophy. Aristotle "tells us that this discipline is concerned with the investigation of the causes and principles of things. ... But, within the general discipline ... there is another ... concerned with ultimate principles and causes, which includes the idea of God, the principle of principles and cause of causes." Dict Phil & Rel	Philosophy as the Greeks understood it: the love of wisdom. We may also describe philosophy as the search for truth. The ancients were not so quick as moderns to dismiss the ultimate authority of the prime mover, the supreme being, or as we know from the Gospel of John where the creative power of the Logos is celebrated: "In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God." - John 1:1
Reason: Applied to the mental capacity in man to draw logical conclusions. from the world around him. Dict Phil & Rel	From what Theologians would call the general revelation observant in nature.
Optimism: A tendency to take a hopeful view of things, or to expect that results will be good. Oxford Am Dict	Down to the modernist era, philosophers in general hoped by experiential thinking, deductions and serious questioning to ultimately discover what Francis Schaeffer called "true truth."
Competition of Ideas: Liberal philosophers of an older generation would allow that various means of explaining the truth would overlap where the real truth was to be found.
Rationalism: The principle that reason is to be granted the primary role in all explanations. Dict Phil & Rel	Never mind that orthodox Christians usually believe in a fallen nature imbued within all mankind. This fallen nature affects every aspect of thought, word and deed!
C. The Nineteenth Century Shift in Philosophy.	A story is told of two hobos walking down a railroad track. One spies a bottle and walks over to take a look. Having picked it up, he is ready to throw it away because it is half empty. The other hobo stops him and asks if he can have the half that is full!
Optimism to Pessimism: In the course of the 19th Century secular philosophers gave up on the idea that they could determine if there was a supreme being of any kind, from that time on God has been left out of every equation.
THE OLD PHILOSOPHY
For the Greeks - the Prime Mover (Logos) ABSOLUTES which give meaning PARTICULARS the details of the universe	Two-Story Universe Diagram
The sad tragedy of this philosophic shift is that this secular humanistic conclusion has affected every subject of academic study. Today - it is the dominant "UnCola" of everyday thought being taught in the Media and Secular Academia. This fervently religious Non-Religion has become the dominant and only religion protected by the powers that be!	THE NEW PHILOSOPHY
	For the Modernists there is none other anywhere. SOMETHING   is out there (maybe) NATURE  becomes an endless machine since we doubt there is any absolute!
D. Modern Determinism: Francis Schaeffer: "If all of life is only mechanism - if that is all there is - then morals really do not count.	Have you ever wondered why the government supported schools are running down in their ability to functionally produce literate humans who can take responsibility for their own lives as well as for those of any future children? Have you ever wondered why the number of Americans in prison is the largest percentage of any population in the world? Have you ever wondered what happened to the Protestant Work Ethic? The religious principles of Western Civilization have been trashed and any old fashioned humans with religious experience are kept on purpose from having more than a passing influence on society, government and the social structure. PHILOSOPHY HAS COMMITTED SUICIDE!
Today's Philosophic Despair: What we really have is a non-philosophic activity that sees no point in pursuing any objective truth.
Uniformity of natural causes: The observable evidence in nature for absolutes and details has remained fairly constant throughout the evolution of the cosmos. Therefore - if none can be found - there never were any to begin with.
Modern Philosophy believes: What is, is right. Since there is no absolute - the details indeed have no meaning.
Granted, this is a bare bones outline of general trends in Philosophy for the last three thousand years. But the fact remains, "professional" philosophers since the nineteenth century are little able to articulate a common constant of any truth except their all too common mantra that "there is no final truth", thus any and every system of faith is reduced to being just one more opinion amongst so many variables. This, we as Christians cannot accept, because we know that not only is our Triune God a God of light, love, grace and mercy - He is also a God of Truth. "You shall know the correct doctrine and that truth shall set you free from sin."

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