The Human Remedy

The son of God assumed human nature, and in it he endured all that belongs to the human condition. This is the remedy for mankind, and a power beyond our imagining. Could any pride be cured, if the humility of God's son does not cure it? Could any greed be cured, if the poverty of God's son does not cure it? Or any anger, if the patience of God's son does not cure it? Or any coldness, if the love of God's son does not cure it? Lastly, what fearfulness can be cured, if it is not cured by the resurrection of the body of Christ the Lord?

Let mankind raise it's hopes, and recognize it's own nature: let it observe how high a place it has in the works of God. Do not despise yourselves, you man: the son of God is assumed manhood. Do not despise yourselves, you women: God's son was born of a woman. But do not set your hearts on the satisfactions of the body, for in the son of God we are neither male or female. Do not set your heart on the temporal rewards: if it were good to do so, that human nature which God's son assumed would have thus set it's heart. Do not fear insults, crosses and death: for if they did harm man, the humanity which God's son assumed would not have endured them.

St. Augustine of Hippo. On the Christian Struggle

11 ways to be saved according to the New Testament

As part of my lenten reading I searched and found 11 ways to be "Saved" by God  in the New Testament (for clarity sake, to be saved means to be made victiorious-Heb, and to be made whole-Grk).

By judging ourselves - 1 Cor 11:31.

For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.

By confessing our sins and being absolved - Jn 10:23, 20: 19-23.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us... So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”  And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you (referring to the apostles and thus the successors to the apostolic office) forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 

By belief in Christ and baptism into Him - Mk 16:16.

He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

By receiving the Eucharist - Jn 6:54.

Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

By Hearing God’s word and believing those words - Jn 5:24.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

By the faithfulness of others - Mark 2:3-5.

Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

By loving and doing what Christ instructed - Jn 14: 21.

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

By a working (incarnate) faith and not by faith alone - Jam 2:24

You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 

By doing what God’s has given us as therapy (His Commands/precepts/ways, &c…) -Mat 19:16

Now behold, one came and said to Him,do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 

By believing Christ and publicly confessing him to be the Lord - Rom 10:9

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

By the loving mercy of God - Eph 2:4.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 

Welcome to Orthumanitas.

According “Word Press”, one of the largest blog hosts in the world., there are over 17.6 billion blogs in existence. Consequently, it is highly improbable that another blog will change much in the world, except of course for the blogger, and to a lesser degree the few persons who interact with the blogs content.

I have blogged, on and off, for about the last ten years. Initially, I thought that I had something  to say that others might find helpful or even educational and transformative. I quickly learned that it is pretty delusional to think you have something to say that is going to help the world. 

Consequently, I decided to stay away from blogging regularly for the last two years. During that time I have rethought the purpose and benefit of blogging. I am by no means sure I now have it correct, however, I want to blog again. I must say however that my intentions and expectations are very different this time. 

My primary intention is to use the blog as a public way of journaling my experiences and thoughts.  My desire is not to address mere random thoughts or experiences, but those that are most instrumental towards the journey of becoming a true human being, specifically becoming a Christlike person. This is not to say that homo-sapiens are humans. We are indeed human beings, however, we are not fully or truly human beings in the sense that we have not arrived at our full potential.  So then, the point of this blog is to publicly consider, and discuss the process of becoming fully human. Hence the name, “Orthumanitas”, right or true humanity.

My secondary intention is to dialogue with any all who might read the blog posts, in other words, I am making my private journal public for the sake of my own growth and increased understanding. I am convinced that each individual life, lived out as a person experiencing time and space on an individual platform, is very limited in scope and understanding. The more we share what we see with each other, the greater our possibility for a larger scope and  understanding. I am convinced that becoming fully human is not a private race run in ones own mind, but rather a corporate experience only understood through the eyes of all. 

The blog topics will mostly deal with issues of daily life, social issues, philosophical conundrums, and the like. Feel free to read, follow, or critique any post. Just one request, play nice.