Part of Spiritual Warfare has been a war of words or a war of thoughts.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cortinthains 10:5)
Thumos and Holy Fire
Growing in Faith and being a man is a journey. Faith starts with belief. It is a journey of learning who God is, how God works in the world, and how to lean on him. A student at a college may have a lot of book learning. He doesn't really know how his book learning works until he applies it? To test his book learning he needs trials. We all need trials to grow in faith and patience and become perfect, lacking in nothing.
What is Thumos:
"Got Thumos? The Art of Manliness.
"Thumos in the Bible" by Paul Couglin
Given you read the two articles, Thumos is something that has seemed to be taken out of man. It is something that has seemed to have been conditioned out of man, and/or seems to have been lost due to sin.
Thumos is a Greek word for Righteous Anger. God has a Mighty Thumos in the Bible. Righteous Anger is something a man may have if his honor or family are threatened. In Genesis 34, Simon and Levi have a Righteous Anger defending their sister and family. In 1 Samuel 11:6-8, we have The Spirit of God coming into Saul and Saul was full of Anger. Be angry and sin not. (Ephesians 4:26)
Thumos is a complicated word, like Honor, that may not be able to be explained in a short sentence. Thumos is part of a man's drive to fight. Apostle Paul was thrown in jail, shipwrecked, and had a lot of rough things happen on his journeys. His tenacity would be attached his Thumos. Thumos is tied to a man's reason. What types of choices does a man make? Does he make wise decisions? Does a young man feel he is invincible and make foolish decisions? Thumos is something that helps a man's reason. Thumos is tied to beauty. What does a man feel is beautiful? It is good to have that righteous anger, but it is good to know when to relax and how to wield it. A quiet Sunday with the family, Church, and a picnic or potluck in a park a man may really enjoy. That is part of Thumos.
The Greek concept of Thumos as enumerated in the article "Got Thumos" may be closely associated with the Holy Ghost. Righteous Anger is something that burns. The Holy Ghost is Unquenchable Fire.
God controls his Holy Spirit like a knob on the radio dial. He can turn it up. He can turn it down. Would you like for him to turn it up for you?
God likes Glory. Glory may be David slaying Goliath. Glory may be an artist making a great work of art. Glory is a new born child. God likes Glory. Would you like to bring God Glory with your life?
Thumos is a complicated concept. Given your average Post Modern Man, he may not understand it right away. He should study the "Got Thumos" article, and roll the concepts around in his head for several weeks to several months. Work to see how Thumos works in him and applies to day to day life. Someone cannot have Righteous Anger without honor? A man may have to work to confess his sins and clean his honor.
Given a man who has been baptized and done what his Pastor or Priest has required of him, he should get on his knees and humble himself before God. He should pray. Pray that his life brings God Glory if it pleases God.
Thumos, Character, and Music Direction
Music directly imitates the passions or states of the soul...when one listens to music that imitates a certain passion, he becomes imbued with the same passion; and if over a long time he habitually listens to music that rouses ignoble passions, his whole character will be shaped to an ignoble form - (Aristotle)
God has a character. A man tunes his Thumos to Godly character. He learns to love what God loves. He is motivated towards Godly and righteous aims. He transforms.
Given there are negative influences in a man's life, like bad music or stimuli or bad friends, a person should remove those stimuli and bad influences. Listening to music that stirs particular passions may help a man tune his Thumos. That when a man listens to certain songs, he thinks about God and dwells on God's law and is changed over time.
What music is best? I don't know that there is a right answer for that. God makes everyone a little different to serve a variety of purposes? For our purposes here, anything that inspires virile manliness.
The following is something God had me create that is meant to stir feelings. It is meant to stir the soul. It is meant to reveal certain things about the spiritual and how God works. Songs are linked or chained together with some words to center someone's focus and/or tell a story.
Miley Cyrus
I am a certified teacher. I substitute taught around a variety of Middle and High Schools. I was not personally a Miley Cyrus fan, but I saw how much influence she had on young people. Later, I was called by God, and I have worked for him. I suddenly felt compelled to write about what happened to Miley Cyrus one day in 2015 I believe. I can see in the dark. I didn't really care to see into all that happened to her or describe it, so I sat down at my computer, and made the following playlist in an hour or so. It just flowed.
The following may help someone feel God's Anger given they are searching for God. To find Thumos or see what may need to happen.
God will not be mocked. He has a long memory, and when it comes to things of God, history has to be viewed from his perspective. Spoken words have power. Power of Tongues. God Blessed Video Notice how the demon at the end of the video pulls the Miley Cyrus tongue move.
Miley Cyrus vs Joan of Arc. Be Angry and Sin Not. (Ephesians 4:26)(1 Samuel 11:6-8)
Socrates is wise, and all wisdom comes from God. I like Plato's Allegory of the Chariot.Plato talks of the White Horse of Male Thumos, and the Dark Horse of Desire. The Dark Horse is not a bad thing. It is good for a man to desire his wife. Taken to an extreme or a corrupt way you end up with "Dark Horse" Katy Perry or Beyonce "Rule The World."
Jesus Christ is The Man. (1 Timothy 2:5) In the 1960s people were fighting against The Man.
At this point I start to break it down for you Barney Style:
Man meets all of this for the first time, and gets mad or he does not. The reality is, he grew up being lied to, and was put into darkness. He goes to jail for while to deal with it.
On understand the above song: http://drstevenwyatt.com/blog/the-gladiator-pit/
Man is in jail. Meanwhile, his wife and daughters are being influenced by Lilith or Asherah or whatever her name is, I can never quite remember
Man is in jail. Girl left him. He has nothing to do but read his Bible a lot. He prays to God. Isaiah 42:7
God tells man there are stumbling blocks in people's hearts. Should God even answer their prayers? Ezekiel 14:3Man looks around for a hammer. For some reason Miley Cyrus has it, and is licking it
Man wipes off hammer. It was gross. He starts a hammering.
Man learns to have a tongue like a double edged sword. He and like minded people have a party.
The second link to Paul Couglin doesn't work at this time. Here is a Bible Concordance:
ReplyDeletehttps://biblehub.com/greek/strongs_2372.htm