I posted on Facebook last night that I hoped to have this blog started up today. Unfortunately, I am a bit of a perfectionist and found myself searching HTML codes so I could make the site what I really wanted it to be during the final three hours of last night and the previous 5 hours of being home. I also spent a large part of the time writing a description of my primary vision for this Blog. I will continue to perfect the site in order to make it more and more appealing, but I thought it only fair to toss in a preliminary taste of something that I plan to hit on at some point in a long and no doubt fun filled journey that will have us all mashing our heads together.
My first piece is a very short snippet of the forward for something I have begun to work on. It is provocative as promised, and I think through this first tiny article any readers will gain a firmer grasp on the types of ideas I am willing to research and flesh out. This is a site for cognizance. Not a site to be spoon fed. Ideas are very welcome, but expect them to be open to discussion via firing squad. Defend thoughts with ideas or research, but not with negative banter. Nobody knows everything, not even the Universe Expert.
Come on in, the water is warm...
Preface
The universe is an immense collection of logic. Which is not to say that the logic of the universe must incline itself toward the logic of mankind, rather that the factuality of the finite universe as we know it is not bound to the human imaginative capability. There is no thing truer than to say that many facets concerning the existence of God seem illogical. The human mind, however, in its finite state cannot be said to possess the capacity to grasp the logic of a being such as God Almighty. Hence we, as humanity, cannot make the ridiculous claim that God's infinite operation and capacity must be confined to a finite set of rules based on human understanding. I present these seemingly obvious few statements simply because many arguments throughout the religious world seek to incarcerate the power of God in the shackles of fathomable traits and perceived reality.
It is important to note that since I am a Christian, I obviously believe that God created the earth, and therefore both the physical and supernatural worlds as each currently exists in a very figurative sense. I will further delve into what I mean by figurative sense of time later in my writing, but the main idea that I wish to present to the world is that God--who cannot be proven to exist or not to exist--should he exist, does not depend on the human ability to prove his existence or non-existence. In other words, he does not need your or my approval or permission to exist. He is fully capable and holds the full right to exist whether we want him to, believe he does, or disavow his existence entirely.
Another thing that I should point out at the onset of this writing, however long and involved it may become, is that I do not seek to prove anyone or anything in specific right or wrong. There may be an intellectual coming-of-age of sorts in my own mind as I study and search for truths. My intent in plotting my journey, sharing my research and including my deductions is to show that the Christian must not necessarily be pitted against science as has been the common course since the "Dark Ages." The basis of my writing is to open doors to new idealogical principles that have never even been seriously discussed before due to Christian ideas being cast aside as naive, or scientists who were afraid of being called Bible Thumpers and losing professional credibility. I have nothing on either of these fronts to lose, and the world has everything to gain by setting a collision course to what I believe to be the truth: Science and God do not have to be enemies. They are, in fact, eternally intertwined.
You better be careful or you'll end up as a Deist too!
ReplyDeleteI think the bit about science and God being intertwined is a very intelligent statement, and there may be more to that than many realize. People assume too much of God's role on a daily basis. God doesn't need your help or defense, people. If he wants something done or told, he is more than powerful enough to do it without your help.
I don't really wanna hash out my beliefs on here, but I did want to say that the term Christian is very badly misused in this country, and perhaps across the world.
I get really tired of people on my case because of my beliefs, claiming to be Christian and violating half the teachings of Jesus Christ in the process. Believing in God and Jesus does not a Christian make you, attempting to walk the path of Christ while not judging others does. Let me remind you this is from your book, not mine, I haven't been religious in a decade and a half.
I urge any Christians to brush up on the New Testament (since it's your faith) to see if your actions violate the teachings of Christ. Are you a weekend warrior, or are you a true follower? The first verse of Romans 2 is a great start, especially for the particularly finger-wagging ones.
/a little bitter about certain Baptists telling everyone else they're going to Hell haha
//it's okay to teach Jesus' word as it is in the Bible, but it's not okay to come down on people when you feel they aren't following it correctly. That's judgment, God's job, not yours!
While many of the things that you wrote are unarguably true, the real thing that I was hoping you would comment about is that Christians and Scientists alike have made gross habit of calling one another ignorant and naive for years and years.
ReplyDeleteI will bite on the finger wagging though. If a person is supposed to be a follower of Christ, and therefore help people find salvation, how do so many people justify passing judgement?
Also, I have to beg to differ with you on what makes a Christian. Certainly a good Christian person should be as you said, but the defining part of being one is the belief in Jesus Christ being God's son who died for the sins of humanity. Now what I think you really mean is how can one profess to be a good Christian while violating so many of the teachings of The Bible in the first place?
And as for coming down on someone, that should never be the proper course of action. But how do you think a person that is concerned about you or me not spending eternity in Heaven should confront us? It seems that people get a little too wound up about being confronted by a person with good intentions and sometimes even a nice and non-judgemental approach. If someone came up to you nicely and talked about God with you in a non-confrontational way, would it make you any more receptive of what they had to say?
I love the lay out of your blog! I've gotta say though...you've definitely chosen a touchy subject to blog about.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it's intriguing and I plan on keeping up with what the Universe Expert has to say.
Hopefully, you can shed some light for a blind man such as myself. Maybe it's fear, maybe it's just too incredible, or maybe it's too simple of a story for me to believe. I love the parables the bible presents and their inherent teachings and morals. In my opinion, those parables are much more valuable to a society than the story of Jesus Christ himself.
Great site, blog, blog site...or whatever this is!!!
ReplyDeleteCheck your spelling in the light green box on the right.
Concerning your comment that the christian doesn't have to be pitted against science....absolutely true...in fact our own Holy Bible (KJV)tells us in the very first chapter, (that would be "Genesis" for you that don't know) verse 1: "God created the heaven and earth". There is no reason to believe other than that God created our "Earth" and "Heaven" through an galactic explosion which is a proven fact of science. Verse 3: And God said, let their be light... Verse 4: And God divided the light from the darkness. Verse 5: And God called the light Day and the darkness he called night. Now skip to Verse 16: And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night:he made the stars also. We know The "greater light" as the sun and the "lesser light" as the sun reflecting off the moon to provide light at night. All proven by science. If you think that is cool, try reading Verses 20 thru 23!!! All by the fifth day.
The bible also says "To God a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day". (That may not be exactly what it says, but it is close) ..."and the evening and the morning were the fifth day" So in Gods infinite mind a thousand years of scientific "evolution" was only a day. EVOLUTION...can I say that? And still be a christian...
The real problem I have isn't people confronting a person about Christianity, it's that most Christians do it in a judgmental fashion. Many may not realizing they're doing it judgmentally and the rest don't care because they see their objective of correcting the "bad" Christian's behavior as excusing their own trampling of the book's word in doing so.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with someone trying to say "hey, here's the path of Jesus, think about if you're on the right track", but I have a problem with someone saying "hey, here's the path of Jesus and you're not following it correctly, if you continue to do this you will go to Hell". Telling someone they are going to Hell is probably the fastest way I can think of becoming a hypocrite. You can believe someone is going to go to Hell your whole life, but as soon as you say it you are then passing judgment and declaring to know God's intent. I heard that's bad.
"Now what I think you really mean is how can one profess to be a good Christian while violating so many of the teachings of The Bible in the first place?"
That's exactly what I was saying, and implying that many Christians probably need to get their own hats on forward before spinning the bills of others. And I was also implying in the first paragraph that science and God are most likely linked together, so of course arguing against the other would be pointless. Though I would probably not narrow it down to Christians, per se, and I would just say Creationists vs. Science, since most religions butt heads with science.
Josh, you made some comments that are very true. You said" I get really tired of people on my case because of my beliefs, claiming to be Christian and violating half the teachings of Jesus Christ in the process. Believing in God and Jesus does not a Christian make you, attempting to walk the path of Christ while not judging others does."
ReplyDeleteI agree with you totally. I am a Christian. So many times Christians do tend to judge individuals for not living as we do instead of living the life in front of a non believer to be an example. Christians should do this in the hope that their lives will be an influence on someone else. I do not believe that we should preach too or judge someone else. God is the only one that is allowed to judge.
Hey Pops:
ReplyDeleteThanks! Glad you like the site. It is funny to see that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I am glad you pointed out these scriptures. I plan to take a shot at evolution arguments soon, and it should be some good fun. The next thing on my agenda, though, I think will be the part you brought up concerning time. There are still many Christians who believe, and even argue on other websites, that the word "day" is literal in the Genesis account of creation. Science has proven this to be false, but some people are convinced that it must be one way or the other. Because God working in scientifically logical ways is too hard to imagine. It takes too much work to comprehend.
I will probably be posting my synopsis of this argument in a couple of days. I really think that it is important to cover the time basis prior to going after the evolution argument, simply because time is the thing that mankind takes most for granted. Once our understanding of time has taken us outside the traditional box, I believe our minds will have the ability to see God in a new light which explicitly ties him to science.
Josh: I am referring to Christians because it is the group of people that I know the most about. Really I suppose I should be saying creationists. I just feel like using The Bible to support science is a good start. After all, Charles Darwin started his trek as a Christian. I could perhaps also pull some Muslim and additional Jewish texts as well into the study, but I am not sure how many people would be interested in other Creationist religious writings.
Also, you said that it is "pointless" to argue that God and science are not linked together, yet that is precisely what most, if not all people are doing from either side of the aisle. My goal is to show that there is definitely a place for both in the same room, and hopefully provide some semblance of understanding between the sides. Even if it means that Christians minds are opened first in good faith.
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ReplyDeleteAnon, thanks for posting! I have to agree wholeheartedly with what both you and Josh have said. I know even growing up as a Christian sometimes we are taught to "push" our beliefs on people as a way to show our love and zeal for God. Unfortunately, what we should be showing is the love, joy, peace, and other fruits of the spirit which are there to help draw others to Christ. Being Christlike.
ReplyDeleteYou guys both hit the nail on the head. Thanks alot.
I tried using the argument you used in your post about the finite logic of man compared to the infinite possibility of a supernatural logic with an atheist last night....but i dont think i was wording it quite right, so i'm definitely just going to send him this post....good stuff...good blog...
ReplyDeleteAnd I am so intrigued about what is to come....
I am a theistic evolutionist (to it's full extent)...so I'm looking forward to the debate...(don't worry I am still a Christian)...
But my question is...to the people who claim to be atheists on here....how do you handle the point Kevin put forth about our finite logic and the arrogance that supposes that the logic of man will conform perfectly with universal logic? Especially, if this logic rests outside of our spatial universe and thus is not confined to the logic therein?