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From: dan@scgvaxd.UUCP (Dan Boskovich)
Newsgroups: net.religion,net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Evidences for Religion
Message-ID: <340@scgvaxd.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 6-Jun-85 20:44:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: scgvaxd.340
Posted: Thu Jun  6 20:44:45 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 8-Jun-85 04:05:46 EDT
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Reply-To: dan@scgvaxd.UUCP (PUT YOUR NAME HERE)
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Summary: 

In article <1019@pyuxd.UUCP> rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Arthur Pewtey) writes:
>> 		      The Uniqueness of The Bible
>
>>   Who would paint such a picture of man as we find in scripture. Man's
>>   tendency is to either exalt himself above what he is or reduce himself
>>   below his true nature.
>
>As seen, in fact, in the Bible, which clearly does both at the same time!
>"Man (sic) was made in the image of god, the flower of his (sic) creation,
>destined to have dominion over the earth."  If that's not overexalting, what
>is?  The very basis of this sort of religious thinking is to impose upon
>oneself a feeling of self-importance:  in a natural world of natural events,
>it's nice to think that a god is controlling things and watching over YOU. 
>Ironically, at the same time, the image of a vengeful god telling humans what
>to do and punishing those who "disobey" is prevalent.  Such an image is
>clearly a self-imposed one involving a negative self-worth regarding one's
>species:  man is evil, he must be controlled and told what to do by an
>external judgin entity.  Who would paint such a picture?  People with a very
>cockeyed sense of what humanity and the universe are all about.
>
>				Rich Rosen  ihnp4!pyuxd!rlr



			     Man: A Paradox

  Allow me to clarify the biblical position of the nature of man. Man is
  a paradox, on one hand noble, on the other hand depraved.

  This paradox has led to two contrasting but erroneous views of man.

  The lower view of man presents him as being nothing more than material
  substance and chemical processes. This is demonstrated through modern
  psychology's "behaviorism", which regards man as another animal.

  The higher view holds that man has a divine spark which needs only to
  be fanned into a flame of goodness, enabling him to master his own
  nature and effect his own salvation. This view is popular among the
  Eastern religions but not exclusively.

  The Christian view takes both into consideration. Lost in the vastness
  of the universe, man is nothing, but, as the object of God's care
  and concern, man is everything.

  This paradox is evident throughout man's history. Man builds up cities,
  bombs them to bits, then proceeds to rebuild them out of the rubble.
  Man makes undreamed-of scientific advances, then makes a science out of
  destroying life.

  The Biblical view is perfectly consistent with what we observe of man's
  behavior. Created in the image of God, man is creative, intelligent,
  noble, and has a sense of morality. As a fallen creature, man ignores
  his sense of morality, uses his creativity and intelligence to exploit
  himself and nature, and misdirects his nobility resulting in pride,
  prejudice, and power struggle. When Galileo showed his telescope to the
  senators of Florence, Italy, their immediate reaction was, "That glass
  will be a great advantage to us in time of war!" In this respect man
  has not changed much. A British periodical published this little verse
  of the Hydrogen Bomb:

  "A pretty toy?" The Devil shook his head.
  "I still prefer the human heart!", he said.

  Here's a little test to see if man is inherently good or evil. Raise up
  a child, give him no instruction as he grows, and observe his behavior.
  You will see that no one ever had to teach a child to misbehave!

  Through Christ, man's governing disposition can be changed. The raging
  tiger in man's heart can be overcome by the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,
  who came to earth as the Lamb of God. He can conquer and control man's
  fallen nature.

  Psalm 8:4-5 "What is man that you are mindful of him... For you have
  made him a little lower than the angels and have crowned him with
  glory and honor."

				       Dan