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What 'change' means:

by

Dean Gotcher

"O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Romans 7:24

"Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." Ephesians 2:2, 3

"Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them."  Colossians 3:5-7

"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not."  Romans 7: 18

"I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord."  Romans 7:24

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."  Colossians 3:1-3

While God has provided a way of salvation from His wrath upon us (through faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ―John 3:15-21), those of dialectic 'reasoning' (instead of repenting before God for their sinful way of thinking and acting, follow instead after the way of Satan, 'justifying' their sinful nature, facilitating the process of 'change') put into praxis Genesis 3:1-6 (Satan's Genesis project), sustaining God's wrath upon themselves and all who follow their pernicious way. By "discovering" and "building" (uniting) upon "truth" derived at though what man has in common with man, i.e. his "human nature," "detoxifying" him of that which is not of "human nature" through the process of dialoging opinions (how men "feel" and "think" in the "moment" regarding current conditions), "purging" society of that which is not of "human nature," righteousness, the condition of commands given (not to be questioned) and the use of chastening to initiate and sustain the authority of the one who gave the command is negated.  In the voice of the many, united in that which they have in common, their carnal thoughts (their opinions) and their carnal actions (their natural urges and impulses, i.e. "natural inclinations" to become at-one-with nature, i.e. with the world―their willingness to put aside doctrine, i.e. to put aside the Word of God for the sake of "unity," i.e. for "the approval of men"), made manifest in the praxis of dialogue, the voice of the one (not of "human nature"), preached and taught to be believed and obeyed "as given" (in faith), is negated in man's thoughts and actions, not only individually (psychologically) but in social (sociological) action as well (in praxis). 

"The key to the nature of dialectical thinking may lie in psychoanalysis, more specifically in Freud's psychoanalysis of negation [where psychology teaches that the Father's commands and His use of chastening for disobedience engenders "neurosis," i.e. is "negative," and must be negated if man is to become himself, i.e. "normal," i.e. "positive" again]."  (Norman O. Brown,  Life Against Death: The Psychoanalytical Meaning of History"Fraud's individual psychology is in its very essence social psychology."   (Herbart Marcuse, Eros and Civilization: A philosophical inquiry into Freud"The essence of man is not an abstraction inherent in each particular individual [man is not an individual soul subject to one God above, i.e. who is over and against his "human nature"]."  "The real nature of man is the totality of social relations [man is what he has in common with all men, i.e. his "human nature" united as one in negating that which is not of "human nature," i.e. God]." (Karl Marx, Thesis on Feuerbach # 6"It is not individualism that fulfills the individual [man under God's authority, the child under the Father's authority, living, i.e. thinking and acting according to the one above, separated from that which he has in common with all men or children, his carnal nature], on the contrary it [faith in God, the one above man and his nature] destroys him. Society [man united as one upon his carnal nature] is the necessary framework through which freedom and individuality are made realities." (Karl Marx)  "Freud speaks of religion [faith in, love of, dependence upon, and fear of God, i.e. faith and belief in the one who is above "human nature," restraining it] as a 'substitute-gratification'– the Freudian analogue to the Marxian formula, 'opiate of the people.'"  (Norman O. Brown,  Life Against Death: The Psychoanalytical Meaning of History)  According to Marx (his Feuerbach Thesis #11), without 'change' man would simply think and act according to a top-down system of authority, negating the system of "equality" which can only be continually rediscovered through the dialectic process of the dialoguing of all men's opinions to a consensus (to a common agreed upon "feeling" of "oneness") and putting that into social action (praxis), negating righteousness (negate the Father's command to be obeyed without question and his use of chastening to initiate and sustain his system of "top-down" authority).

Jacob, in his work Changing Values (1957) noted the need for social change on college campuses if social change was to be initiated and sustained.  That while college experience outside of the classroom provided for some 'liberalization' (politically not necessarily intellectually) of the students, their classroom environment sustained a traditional "top-down," patriarchal paradigm, where professors preached and taught and chastened and students either accepted this way of thinking and acting or left college for some other life experience.  He noted that without the classroom experience moving ('changing') from the lecture format to a dialoguing of opinions environment the values of the next generation of college graduates would sustain the same "old" world order of the past.  Without 'change' in the social setting of the learning environment, 'change' in the individual, from a system of righteousness (accepting commands that restrain "human nature" and accepting chastening for disobedience) to a system of sensuousness and reasoning (acceptance of permissiveness of "human nature" through the use of "human reasoning) a "new" world order of 'change' could not be initiated and sustained.  Without dialectic 'reasoning' (the 'justification' of "human nature") becoming the right way of thinking in the praxis (social action) of negating righteousness, i.e. negating (treating as "irrational" and therefore "irrelevant") the top-down order of the "old" world of absolutes, a "new" world order of worldly peace and socialist harmony, a world built upon "human nature," i.e. united through the dialoguing of men's opinions (how we "feel" and what we "think") could not become actualized, i.e. 'realized.'  With salvation thereafter being based upon 'redemption' from righteousness (from the Father's will) rather than 'redemption' from God's (the Father's) judgment upon us because of our sin, i.e. because of our love of "human nature."

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."  1 Thessalonians 2:3-12

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Galatians 6:4

"Let no man deceive himself.  If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.  For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness."  1 Corinthians 3:18-19

"For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself." Galatians 6:3

"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."  2 Timothy 3:13-17

Therefore, for 'change' to take place, the conditions which engender "neurosis," i.e. the Father's authority to give commands to his children and chasten them when they disobey, must be negated.  This new system, paradigm, or way of thinking and acting can be done in such a way that a persons will never know what happened to them, i.e. that they will no longer be established upon God who is above their "human nature," restraining it (and therefore society) from its sinful ways. "We can choose to use our growing knowledge to enslave people in ways never dreamed of before, depersonalizing them, controlling them by means so carefully selected that they will perhaps never be aware of their loss of personhood." (Carl Rogers On Becoming A Person: A Therapist View of Psychotherapy)  This is done by simply creating an environment (in the classroom, in the workplace, in the sub-committee, in the church, etc) where all we "sense perceive" and "sense experience" is our "human nature" (our "sensuous needs" which are "only of Nature") making it easy for us to praxis the process of 'change,' negating righteousness (the Father's will) from our thoughts and our actions, replacing it with sensuousness, where we are there after 'purposed' (as a group) only in initiating and sustaining those conditions which augment "human nature" (our desire to be at-one-with that which 'justifies' our "natural inclinations," i.e. tolerate our carnal thoughts and our carnal actions by tolerating the carnal thoughts and actions of others for the sake of "unity"), which 'drives' us to be at-one-with the world.  In this way, unity in doctrine (the will of the Father) is replaced with unity in "human nature" (the will of man united as one), righteousness ("top-down" authority under God, fear of God and love of His word) is supplanted with sensuousness (the dialoguing of men's opinions not only "liberating" man from a "guilty conscience," i.e. the voice of the Father in the brain, but also engendering "equality" and "unity," i.e. liberté, égalité, fraternité, the platform of the French Revolution, Communism, and the "new" world order) through initiating and sustaining the process of 'change, through the use of dialectic 'reasoning.'

"We know how to change the opinions of an individual in a selected direction, without his ever becoming aware of the stimuli which changed his opinion." "We can predict, from the way individuals perceive the movement of a spot of light in a dark room, whether they tend to be prejudiced or unprejudiced." "We know how to influence the buying behavior of individuals by setting up conditions which provide satisfaction for needs of which they are unconscious, but which we have been able to determine."  "…our potential ability to influence or control the behavior of groups."  (Carl Rogers On Becoming A Person: A Therapist View of Psychotherapy)

"Walden Two: 'Now that we know how positive reinforcement works [dialogue our opinions, how we "feel" and what we "think" to a consensus, to a "feeling of oneness," engendering unity from our own "human nature"], and why negative doesn't' [preaching and teaching the truth to be obeyed "as given," and chastening those who disobey]... 'we can be more deliberate and hence more successful in our cultural design. "We can achieve a sort of control under which the controlled, though they are following a code much more scrupulously than was ever the case under the old system, nevertheless feel free.  They are doing what they want to do, not what they are forced to do.  That's the source of the tremendous power of positive reinforcement―there's no restrain and no revolt. By a careful design, we control not the final behavior, but the inclination to behavior―the motives, the desires, the wishes.  The curious thing is that in that case the question of freedom never arises." "If we have the power or authority to establish the necessary conditions, the predicted behaviors will follow." (Carl Rogers On Becoming A Person: A Therapist View of Psychotherapy)

"TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS AND LAYMEN who have sought seriously to produce changes in the program of the school recognize the central importance and difficulty of managing the "human factors" inescapably involved in such changes. For, whatever else it may include, a change in the curriculum is a change in the people concerned-in teachers, in students, in parents and other laymen,. in administrators. The people concerned must come to understand and accept the different pattern of schooling. This means change in their knowledge [cognitive domain] pertinent to the school and its programs and purposes. Typically, people involved who were loyal to the older pattern must be helped to transfer their allegiance to the new. This means change in their values [affective domain] with respect to education. Moreover, the people concerned must do some things differently from the way in which they did them before the change. This means changes in their skills [psycho-motor domain]. And, most difficult to predict and control, are changes in the relationships among personnel which changes in the program typically require. A changed way of working for the teacher in the classroom, for example, means changed expectations on the part of the teacher with respect to the students and their behavior as well as changed expectations on the part of the students with respect to the teacher and his behavior. If the change is a sizable one, new reciprocal relations between teachers and parents, students and parents, teachers and supervisors will also have to be worked out. This means changes in the relations of people [changes in paradigms]." "Frequently, educational leadership is worried about the ethics of deliberately setting out to change people, their ideas, their values, their skills and their relationships. What right has a teacher to try to change students and parents?"  (Kenneth Benne, Human Relations in Curriculum Change)

When a "minister" introduces 'change' in the church, Genesis 3:1-6 is the 'change' process he is 'purpose' in facilitating within the "church" (where the "church" will end up dancing with the Devil).  God does not change us by changing the environment, i.e. through the dialoguing of men's opinions.  He changes us by changing our heart through the preaching and teaching of His Word "as given," i.e. untainted by dialectic 'reasoning' (human reasoning, i.e. "men's opinions" which 'justifies' our deceitful and wicked heart).  While we are to be in the world we are not to be of the world, fellowshipping in (tolerating) its sinful ways within the fellowship of believers.  "I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat." 1 Corinthians 5:9-11 It is not that we can fulfill the law of God, be righteous in and of ourselves, according to our "human nature" and "human reasoning" which is used to 'justify' it, we can not (the law serves it purpose in exposing and condemning us of our sins ways before God, i.e. that we are not God, i.e. righteous in and of ourselves, thought we 'justifying' ourselves act like it).  It is that it is fulfilled in Christ Jesus Himself and that it is fulfilled in us by faith in Him alone, thereon able to living according to the Father's will through His Word, walking in the Holy Spirit.  "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:" Philippians 3:9  One 'change' (man collectively "reasoning" to justify his carnal nature for the 'purpose' of "unity") retains our condemnation, the other (in Christ alone, calling us to Him alone, out from the ways of the world) redeems us from it.  "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matthew 7:13, 14  "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;"  Titus 2:12

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."  Isaiah 55:7

© Institution for Authority Research, Dean Gotcher 2012-2015