Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

• Philippians 4:13

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

• Matthew 19:26

He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.

• Isaiah 40:29

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
    who walk in obedience to him.

• Psalm 128:1

“ ‘The world is not what I think, but what I live through’ – Maurice Merleau-Ponty”

• Bryan Magee, The Story of Philosophy

“Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.”

• C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961) was a French phenomenology philosopher.  But his views were almost backwards to his predecessors.  Descartes, from before phenomenology felt that he existed because he thought.  Then phenomenology considered a detached self from the world that bumps into “stuff” that they called phenomena.  Merleau-Ponty flips the narrative.  If we keep bumping into millions of phenomena and there is only one “me,” then maybe the phenomena is the reality and I must interact with the phenomena.  Even so, he only partially detaches himself from the phenomena to examine it.  He turned a blind eye to the scientific measurement of things.  He focused more on what utility the phenomena had with relation to “me.” He rejected “I think, therefore I am.”  He changed it to “I am because I can.”

In looking at the firs Scripture above, I am irritated with ninety percent of the people who quote that verse, and yet they cannot quote many more theologically foundational verses.  And as a result, they misuse the verse.  It is totally taken out of context, but since this form of philosophy is outside context and Merleau-Ponty wants to apply context without completely engaging with the phenomena, the verse can be taken out of context, along with the Matthew 19 quote to say that is we are because we can, then we are infinitely powerful.

But in context, Paul is talking about suffering persecution and doing the impossible – enduring the persecution – because God strengthens him.  And Jesus has just said that rich people cannot get into heaven, but with God, even that is possible.

In context, there is nothing to say that we encounter a piece of wood and we exist because we can make a table out of it.  Nope, not there at all.

But at least, we have found a philosopher that looks at precious “me” without detaching from reality in total in order to consider what reality is.

And for those who believe, we know from whence our strength comes.

We are because we can.  And when that can is loving others and showing God’s love to the world, then we can modify the Merleau-Ponty concept a bit further.

We are because we can do God’s will on this earth to love one another and spread the Gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth.

If you like these Tuesday morning essays about philosophy and other “heavy topics,” but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Tuesday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.