Is It Possible to be Happy Now?

Is it possible to be happy prior to death? The ancient Greeks debated this question intensely. Some concluded that happiness in this life is not possible: that's why there's the famous saw, "Call no man [person] happy until he [she] dies," which we find discussed in some ancient writers. So is it possible to be happy in this life or should we postpone calling someone happy until death?

Consider two scriptures:

"O the happiness of the people that is thus, O the happiness of the people whose God is Jehovah!" (Psalm 144:15 Young's Literal Translation)

"After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died, an old man and full of years" (Job 42:16-17 NIV).

The ISV states that Job lived a "full life."  The point is that he was satisfied or fulfilled because he faithfully worshiped God even through adversity. One only has to read the book of Ecclesiates (Qoheleth) to realize that life apart from our Creator is vain. We can be happy--even now--if we keep integrity (Hebrew, tam) to God. We might suffer times of depression, loneliness, hardship or feelings of worthlessness, but those serving God can have a sense of deep fulfillment like the Savior did when he suffered and gave his life in order that we might live into perpetuity (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Can A Thing Be the Efficient Cause of Itself?

Efficient Cause Definition: "the immediate agent in the production of an effect"

An efficient cause brings something into being or sets it in motion (e.g., a sculptor is the efficient cause of a bronze statue). With this in mind, one might ask whether it's possible for the universe to be its own efficient cause. Thomas Aquinas' answer is below:

"There is no case known (neither is it, indeed, possible) in which a thing is found to be the efficient cause of itself; for then it would be prior to itself, which is impossible" (Aquinas).

Hence, it seems highlly unlikely, to say the least, that the cosmos could be its own efficient cause. Just as a house needs a builder, so the universe needs an efficirent cause outside itself. See Hebrews 3:4.

In this regard, Origen of Alexandria uses autotheos which means something like "Godself" or God Himself, a term that distinguishes the Father from other "gods" (theoi) and that includes the Logos. I guess Origen wants to say that while the Logos and other ontic deities are gods by participation in the Father's divinity, the Father is God by his very nature (John 17:3) and he is the source or fount of divinity. The Father also does not need an efficient cause.

Words of the Month (November 2024)-Terms from Logic

I could have put "soundness" instead or used "valid" and sound, but the point remains the same. Also, the argument in the example is neither valid nor sound since it commits the logical fallacy of affirming the consequent rather than affirming the antecedent.

This Blog's Future

Greetings all,

I've thought long and hard about whether I should keep blogging or not. Responsibilities in other areas of life have increased and I've now been blogging for almost twenty years. But as much as I love research, writing, and interacting with others about theology, the Bible, and biblical languages, I've made the decision to stop blogging after December 31, 2024.

For the near future, the contents of the blog will remain visible and there are some projects I want to finish here before stopping. Thanks to everyone who has been supportive and supplied links and research: thank you also for interacting with my thoughts or those of other authors.

Since I'm ceasing blog activity, I see no need to block Nincsnevem, but neither will Nincs have carte blanche to posting here either. Yet, the main reason that I will no longer blog is because other duties are calling me, duties that seem more important. Take care and I look forward to posting further thoughts later. All the best, Edgar.

The Ancient Rise of Koine Greek (Jellicoe)

"Already in the Anabasis of Xenophon the intrusion of elements foreign to Attic is discernible, and as time went on the Koine rather than its parent was adopted by such writers as Polybius, Strabo, Philo, Josephus, and Plutarch" (Sidney Jellicoe, The Septuagint and Modern Study, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968, p. 330).

Some Secondary Literature on the Kenosis Account (Philippians 2:5-11)-In Process

Some Secondary Literature on the Kenosis Account

Bloomquist, L. Gregory. The Function of Suffering in Philippians. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993.

Hellerman, Joseph H. Reconstructing Honor in Roman Philippi: Carmen Christi as Cursus Pudorum. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph 132. New York: Cambridge University, 2005.

Hoover, Roy W. "The hARPAGMOS Enigma: A Philological Solution." HTR 64 (1971): 95-119.

Hurst, L.D. "Re-enter the Pre-existent Christ in Philippians 2.5-11?" NTS 32 (1986): 449-457.

Martin, Ralph P. and Brain J. Dodd. Where Christology Began: Essays on
Philippians 2. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1998.

O'Neill, J.C. "Hoover on hARPAGMOS Reviewed, with a Modest Proposal
Concerning Philippians 2:6." HTR 81:4 (1988): 445-449.

Osiek, Carolyn. Philippians, Philemon. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000.

Reumann, John. Philippians : A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.

Wannamaker, C.A. "Philippians 2.6-11: Son of God or Adamic Christology." NTS 33 (1987): 179-193.

NA28 and Colossians 1:17-24 (Page 614, Including the Apparatus Criticus)