Influence

From the day we are born,we form opinions. A baby decided they like to be held. They decide that they don't like to be left in there crib. As a child gets older,the child decides that he likes certain food and dislikes others.
Later on he decides that he likes certain activities and dislikes others .from television,music,sports ,books ,politics,we form opinions. Part of life is forming subjective conclusions.
How much of those options are our own? How much of our opinions are influenced by others?what role does influence have in forming views?
Going back to the baby, the child might observe his farther eating a carrot. If the man starts to cringe the child might observe it. The child maybe not being aware of it,might come to the conclusions that carrots are bad. He might come to hate carrots. How much is the boy's hatred of carrots is from him and How much is it to the influence ?
Influence is a fascinating topic. We are under constant influence.we probably don't know just how much we are influenced.
How much beliefs are our own. How many are adopted from other people.how Manny come from our culture?
One of the big questione of philosophy is where do things originate. When feeling with influence we are feeling with thoughts. Where do thoughts come from?
If one views the universe from an evolutionary model,is the ability to think a fluke. Was it necessary to servive ? Where does influence come from. Does one person who. Beleved he knew what to do convince either by convincing or force convince everyone to go with his plan? Why him? Where did that ability to convince come from.
In the ancient world deities were in control of elements of the world. These gods were impulsive and whimsical. The answer by Greek philosophers was to say that these gods were not all powerful just more powerful then mortals. They stil had I influence.
From a biical world view,the first record of a negative influence was genesis three. The devil persauded. Eve and then Adam to eat the fruit.
We have examples of good and bad influence. For good We have jeohida the priest who influenced king joash.we have nahen the phrophet who advised David and declared tha he was the man. We have aquila and prisila who decoupled apolas.
We have plenty of examples of bad influence. Lots caved into the influences of Sodom and Gomorrah. Rehoboam gave in to the influence of the younger advisors.
I am not sure tha influence begins with Staten. You could argue it bega with the Lord when he gave the instruction not to eat the fruit.
No man is an island as John done said. We are all influenced in some way shape or form.
One influence we have not duscused is media. Rather it is radio,books,tv,internet and so on,media influences us. There is the influence of the press and entertainment.
Some In the independent Baptist movement have avoided most media. One cannot be totally cut off from it.it's influence can be good bad or neutral.often it legend bad.
  What is a solution to influence biblically? As Martin Luther said.our conscience must be captive to the word of God. We must make sure that is our major influence. We must examine all we do to make sure it is aligned with the word.

"Feelings a philosophical and theological examination"

Do feelings really exist? Are they real? Could feelings just be a chemical reaction? Could feelings be automatic robotic responses? Could what we call instincts just be reflexes?

When someone pinches me,am I reacting? Could what I perceive to be a reaction simply be a non emotional mechanical response to stimuli? Can we know for certain if feelings are real.

If feelings are real,where do they come from? Are they passed down genetically. Are they cultural? Are they learned?
  On star trek the Vulcan only practice logic. They outlaw emotion. The ancient stoic philosophy might be to the right of the mythical Vulcan.
The stoic believed that enotion was evil. They might argue that emotion would keep you from the truth. Truth is found in logic.
If feeling are the enemy if truth,then feelings are a deception. Feeling are not just an illusion but a con artist and a serial .
Epicurians believed that the purpose of life is found in pleasure. Plesure meaning good words. Otherwise man us no better then pigs who indulge in what they see as pleasure. For them that is rolling around in mind . not only us feeling but it us truth.
The problems is that feelings can be wrong. You can deal that someone us lying when they are boring truthful and vice versa.
You can be mad at someone for a less then legitimate reason. A victim if fraud could feel good about the con artist that scammed them out of millions of dollars.
Many modern or post modern psychologist argue that humans do not have instinct. They have reflexes. We are robots or humans. Basicaly everything is a cause and effect. Feelings would not be real.
From a biblical world view, feelings originate from the Lord himself.humans were created in the image of God. If course human emotion are tainted by sin. Romans 3:23,genesis three.
Jerimiah Said that he was conceived in sin. David lements sin affect on humanity after his sin with bethsheba. Sin desorts emotion.
Ephesians says that the god of this world blinds unbelievers from the gospel. Seccond Corinthians speaks that though the veil of the temple was torn,some chose to be veiled.
A biblical view of  feelings is that feelings are real. A person feels. It is not simply a chemical response. God does intervene at times. Pharoe Paul and nabukanezer.
Feelings are incomplete. They can be inaccurate. Feeling are limited. All feelings are tainted by sin. Some day feelings will be redeemed .