[ ARC forum 2 ]

Amen!

Written by Paul B. at 10 Apr 2003 23:36:41:

As an answer to: Re: Bill Clinton written by Ivan at 10 Apr 2003 23:13:19:

> As a Christian, I believe in the Trinity, that is, that God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are manifestations of the same Divine Being.

> Many of the parables are among the most insightful and inspirational portions of the Bible.

> Since the Creation stories are inconsistent with absolutely every observation made of the physical world, including the on-going biology of his creatures, then to believe they are literal you have to believe that God created and crafted the physical world as a bald-faced lie, a deliberate trick to give the appearance of great age and the evolutionary succession of creatures.

The word is context. The recorders of the creation apologetic did not have the "scientific" understanding we have developed (hey, they presumed the earth was flat!), with which to express such concepts as evolution. In a sense, they were already explaining evolution as best they could.

> I also find the development of the universe as can be pieced together from the various fields of modern science to be magnificent, beautiful and awe-inspiring.

The bible is never an attempt to write a scientific manual, and is therefore of limited use as such. Nor is there need for God to have given us such a manual; it is left to us - mankind - to discover it ourselves - and - to use it wisely.

> Also, quite a substantial majority of scientists have been and are religious,

Ugh! Care to re-phrase that?

> believing they were/are discovering God's ways when they study natural laws. In fact it is the Creationists who oppose Creation.

Well spoken. Ivan, you command my greatest respect. And as anyone can see also, Jim and I do not always see eye-to-eye!


Answers: