The Truth
I think a man's duty is to find out where the truth is, or if he cannot, at least to take the best possible human doctrine and the hardest to disprove, and to ride on this like a raft over the waters of life. --Plato
'Know the Truth' said Jesus (John 8:32) yet in world where there is so much uncertainty. Rather than solving the answers behind the universe science has just raised more questions. In spite of all efforts of man science cannot answer the question of how the universe began without turning to religion. For an atheist who believes in Evolutionism to its fullest extent believes in eternal matter and believes with a strength and fervour of the most devoutest Christian. Yet even when man turns to religion for the answers still some questions remain unanswered and some fresh questions are raised which cannot be completely answered by the greatest theologian in the world. The creation of the world still remains a perenial question especially in light of science which to many religious people appears to challenge the doctrine of the bible. To others the word of God needs to be reinterpreted in the light of science and reread in order to make sure that the bible and science are aligned. Yet science is a quicksand of faith never constant and always being revaluated. If a faith and understanding of the bible are to always align with current scientific belief then we are building a house on the sand. Because of this the foundation of faith should never be science and if a mans faith in God resides in the bibles conformity to current scientific belief then, is it really faith in God? Science comes from the latin(?) meaning 'to know' yet St. Paul says that 'we know in part' (1 Corinth. 13:9) therefore science can never be complete. The bible was never meant to be a scientific document it was designed to explain God not the universe. It does not explain the way the universe works but the way God works in the universe.
Religion raises further questions to the minds of the sceptics. Such as, if there is a good God then why is there pain and suffering? Now there are many answers to this conceived by believers yet none short maybe it is for our improvement or brought upon ourselves. Yet even to the believers mind there are questions raised. Such as why in 1 Samuel is there an evil spirit sent from the Lord to torment Saul (16:14) to the minds of some this seems contradictory that a good God can send an evil spirit. Another question raised is how come God can set forth laws and declare them to be good? According to Eurthyphro's dilemma either what makes something good is that God says it is good or God says something is good because it is good. The problem according to sceptics is that the first solution means that what is declared to be good is arbitary. The problem with the second theory is that goodness is something separate from God and therefore can be theoretically obtained through other sources than him.
Religion cannot answer all the questions of the world and ends up confusing others or itself. We should not be religious but rather believe and know that some questions do not have answers. Belief should not rely on the knowable or the provable for who can prove an experience. But rather belief should rely on a God who loves us and knows us by name. We should throw ourselves from the solid terra firma of science into the great unknown and believe that we will be caught by the Truth. When we cast aside the world we find that the unknown into which we have cast ourselves is more solid than the greatest scientific law.
Coffee makes us severe, and grave, and philosophical. ~Jonathan Swift
'Know the Truth' said Jesus (John 8:32) yet in world where there is so much uncertainty. Rather than solving the answers behind the universe science has just raised more questions. In spite of all efforts of man science cannot answer the question of how the universe began without turning to religion. For an atheist who believes in Evolutionism to its fullest extent believes in eternal matter and believes with a strength and fervour of the most devoutest Christian. Yet even when man turns to religion for the answers still some questions remain unanswered and some fresh questions are raised which cannot be completely answered by the greatest theologian in the world. The creation of the world still remains a perenial question especially in light of science which to many religious people appears to challenge the doctrine of the bible. To others the word of God needs to be reinterpreted in the light of science and reread in order to make sure that the bible and science are aligned. Yet science is a quicksand of faith never constant and always being revaluated. If a faith and understanding of the bible are to always align with current scientific belief then we are building a house on the sand. Because of this the foundation of faith should never be science and if a mans faith in God resides in the bibles conformity to current scientific belief then, is it really faith in God? Science comes from the latin(?) meaning 'to know' yet St. Paul says that 'we know in part' (1 Corinth. 13:9) therefore science can never be complete. The bible was never meant to be a scientific document it was designed to explain God not the universe. It does not explain the way the universe works but the way God works in the universe.
Religion raises further questions to the minds of the sceptics. Such as, if there is a good God then why is there pain and suffering? Now there are many answers to this conceived by believers yet none short maybe it is for our improvement or brought upon ourselves. Yet even to the believers mind there are questions raised. Such as why in 1 Samuel is there an evil spirit sent from the Lord to torment Saul (16:14) to the minds of some this seems contradictory that a good God can send an evil spirit. Another question raised is how come God can set forth laws and declare them to be good? According to Eurthyphro's dilemma either what makes something good is that God says it is good or God says something is good because it is good. The problem according to sceptics is that the first solution means that what is declared to be good is arbitary. The problem with the second theory is that goodness is something separate from God and therefore can be theoretically obtained through other sources than him.
Religion cannot answer all the questions of the world and ends up confusing others or itself. We should not be religious but rather believe and know that some questions do not have answers. Belief should not rely on the knowable or the provable for who can prove an experience. But rather belief should rely on a God who loves us and knows us by name. We should throw ourselves from the solid terra firma of science into the great unknown and believe that we will be caught by the Truth. When we cast aside the world we find that the unknown into which we have cast ourselves is more solid than the greatest scientific law.
Coffee makes us severe, and grave, and philosophical. ~Jonathan Swift
3 Comments:
Or - it just makes us bounce crazily off the walls :) Wheeeeeeeee!
mmm..caffeine.. the lifeblood of Arts students! :)
I like this Blog! :D And Wilkommen Blogging Bro from across the waves.
Wow, only 2 posts in and already it gets philosophical! :)
On the matter of science and Christianity, i think that there is a middle ground in regards to evolution/creationism (i like to call it a 'guided evolution') but in your post you said to base religion on science is like building a house on sand.. niiiice analogy! and i can see the truth in it.
But i reckon that Science, (as well as theological debates) is all best guess, trial and error. Science is people trying to explain why things are the way they are (just like religion). So, yes, we shouldnt base our Beliefs on Science, but i dont think that should mean that we cant see Science in religious terms.
Damn these eternal questions that wont be answered till we are in heaven! its like youve got an incomplete crossword in front of you, and you just cant get the last few clues! ARGH!
Oh well.. theres always coffee...
Im tending towards Espresso or Mocha these days. Turkish coffee too (but those days are [luckily] few and far between!)
Blog on Mate! ^_^
I personallay would call myself a creationist for if an omnipotent God wanted to create the earth then 7 days is too long. Also when He did create then He could create in it whatever He wanted. He could have made the earth to have all appearances of being 5 billion years old and placed the fossils in the ground, just to give scientists something to do. However, if any form of evolution is proven to be true then it wouldn't affect me and my faith at all, since God could quite easily use evolution. I just find that since both creationism and evolutionism are full of holes then I might as well believe that the Genesis is exactly as it went down.
Post a Comment
<< Home