Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!seismo!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: trondst@mack.uit.no (Trond S. Trondsen) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: a prayer for the dying Message-ID: Date: 30 May 91 04:33:55 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Tromsoe, Norway Lines: 75 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu > > This is the same proud mind speaking that has no problem accepting > that God created the universe, but has a VERY hard time indeed > accepting that He was capable of doing it in 144 hours (6 days). > (Our proud scientific mind calls God a liar, 'we know better'). > >Not at all. I don't believe that God created the world in six days, >but I don't believe that he's claimed he did either. I don't believe >God so? I'm quite aware that God could have created the world any way >he wanted, but why don't you think so? > >Naturally, this question also borders on biblical literalism. Why >don't you think God can save people through an imperfect book? Why >don't you think God can successfully interact with humanity through >fallible humans making fallible statements? > > Worshipping a God which we limits to fit comfortably in our mind and > in between our intellectual knowledge (e.g. 'God did it trough > Evolution! Yeah, I'm comfortable with that. Yeah, it fits. YO!') is > no better than carving him out in wood and bow down before'im. > >It seems to me that you have defined perfection in a way not >sanctioned by the Bible, and then you constrain God to your model. I >start my observation of the universe without presumptions of what God >deems best and then learn about his majesty. > > -mib Of course God could have created the universe any way he wanted to... he could have created the whole thing in a split second, he could have done it just last week, implanted all our memories, created all the history books (with yellowish pages and all). And just to add to the confusion he could have given us the Bible too. And we would go around in our ignorance believing that that the universe is 4bill yrs old. There is not much we can be sure of. Science has tried to establish facts for ages. They find only approximations. Psychology (that demonic religion) has tried to establish facts, which has proved to be rather hard. Nobody is sure about anything. I'M not sure about anything. In the 70s I wore bellbottoms, and I looked really hip. Looking back at the pictures now, I cringe. I thought I liked loud punk music in the beginning of the 80s.... I was wrong: In the mid 80s I discovered that I liked mellow. Ad infinitum. You get my drift. Miraculously I became a Christian in 89. Finally I found ABSOLUTES. In the Bible I found absolute Truth. It is nowhere else to be found. As far as I am concerned: every word of the Bible is the Truth and nothing BUT the Truth. The author is Holy Spirit. And He can't lie. If the basis for your Christianity is anything else that this, then I suggest that you are on shaky ground indeed. I agree that what we see around us tells a lot about God. Take the beauty of flowers. They didn't HAVE to smell so good. But what if an Angel of Light showed up and started telling you what God is like? What if it didn't agree with the Bible? What criteria do you use to discriminate between what's true in the Bible and what's wrong? Personal desires? intellectual 'knowledge'? Experience? I know that there are some seemingly contradicting passages in the Bible. Have you tried to sit down and let Holy Spirit explain to you what's REALLY going on behind the words? It takes some humbling, but it's worth it.... belive me! Am I being unfair to God by using the Bible as my absolute frame of reference? If the answer is YES then suddenly Christianity makes no sense at all to me, and I'll start looking into Hinduism. In love Trond =8)