Posted by Chris Taylor on June 18, 2009
“The awareness of grandeur and the sublime is all but gone from the modern mind. Our systems of education stress the importance of enabling the student to exploit the power aspect of reality. To some degree, they try to develop his ability to appreciate beauty. But there is no education for the sublime. We teach the children how measure, how to weigh. We fail to teach them how to revere, how to sense wonder and awe. The sense for the sublime, the sign of the inward greatness of the human soul and something which is potentially given to all men, is now a rare gift.”
– Abraham J. Heschel “God in Search of Man: A philosophy of Judaism” page 36
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Posted by Chris Taylor on June 17, 2009
From Abraham Joshua Heschel “God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism” pages 101-102
Not a Scientific Problem
What are the grounds for our certainty of the realness of God? It is clear that we cannot submit religion to scientific logic. Science is not the only way to truth, and its methods do not represent all of human thinking. Indeed, they are out of place in that dimension of human existence in which God is a burning issue.
God is not a scientific problem, and scientific methods are not capable of solving it. The reason why scientific methods are often thought to be capable of solving it is the success of their application in positive sciences. The fallacy involved in this analogy is that of treating God as if He were a phenomenon within the order of nature. The truth, however, is that the problem of God is not only related to phenomena within nature but to nature itself; not only to concepts within thinking but to thinking itself. It is a problem that refers to what surpasses nature, to what lies beyond all things and all concepts.
The moment we utter the name of God we leave the level of scientific thinking and enter the realm of the ineffable. Such a step is one which we cannot take scientifically, since it transcends the boundaries of all that is given. It is in spite of all warnings that man has never ceased to be stirred by ultimate questions. Science cannot silence him [man], because scientific terms are meaningless to the spirit that raises these questions, meaningless to the concern for a truth greater than the world that science is engaged in exploring.
God is not the only problem which is inaccessible to science. The problem of the origin of reality remains immune to it. There are aspects of given reality which are congruous with the categories of scientific logic, while there are aspects of reality which are inaccessible to this logic. Even some aspects and concepts of our own thinking are impregnable to analysis.
Very, very well put.
God Bless.
Chris
Posted in Theology | Tagged: God, religion, science | 2 Comments »
Posted by Chris Taylor on June 16, 2009
In 1923, geologist J Harlen Bretz concluded that the channeled scablands of Washington State were actually channels carved out by a massive flood – or a series of massive floods.
In 1927, he presented his findings to the Geological Society of Washington, D.C. His theory was denounced as “preposterous” and “incompetent.”
By mid 1950, Bretz’s interpretations of mammoth flooding could no longer be ignored and many geologists visited the scablands for themselves. After investigating, long-time critic James Gilluly commented: “How could anyone have been so wrong.”
In 1965, a geologist tour concluded that Bretz had been right.
In 1979, Bretz was awarded the Penrose Medal of the Geological Society of America, the most prestigious award in the field of geology. He was 96 at the time.
After receiving his award, he reportedly told his son: “All my enemies are dead, so I have no one to gloat over.”
He died in 1981.
source: HugeFloods.Com
It is staggering to think how many people have come to worship science only to discover that they are wrong based on new observations. It is more staggering to think that people are so conceited as to think they know everything when we can only observe a small portion of the universe, and explain even less.
It amazes me how people can be blind to their own blindspots and arrogance sometimes.
Posted in Floods | Tagged: Floods | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Chris Taylor on June 15, 2009
Definitions:
belief: noun
- the feeling of being certain that something exists or is true.
source: Cambridge Dictionary of American English
- a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing
- something believed ; especially : a tenet or body of tenets held by a group
- conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence
Source: Merriam-Webster Online
believe: verb
- to think that something is true or correct
source: Cambridge Dictionary of American English
intransitive verb 1 a: to have a firm religious faith b: to accept as true, genuine, or real 2: to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something 3: to hold an opinion : think
transitive verb1 a: to consider to be true or honest b: to accept the word or evidence of 2: to hold as an opinion : suppose
source: Merriam-Webster Online
faith: noun
a high degree of trust or confidence in something or someone source: Cambridge Dictionary of American English
1 a: allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty b (1): fidelity to one’s promises (2): sincerity of intentions
2 a (1): belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2): belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1): firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2): complete trust
3: something that is believed especially with strong conviction ; especially : a system of religious beliefs
source: Merriam-Webster Online
Update 6/16/2009 – I realized I didn’t define “Belief System”
Belief System: noun
faith based on a series of beliefs but not formalized into a religion; also, a fixed coherent set of beliefs prevalent in a community or society source: Dictionary.Com
1. a set of beliefs, especially religious or political beliefs, that form a unified system 2. organized societal beliefs: a collection and organization of beliefs prevalent in a community or society source: Encarta
Summary of Belief/Believe/Faith:
A personal conviction of the truth/correctness of an idea, ideal, or opinion especially when based on the examination of evidence. Groups of people are often marked by sharing the same body of beliefs [tenets].
Do Christians believe there is a God? Yes.
Do Atheists believe there is no God? Yes.
Can either prove [scientifically] that God/gods exist? No.
Are both Christianity (Religion) and Atheism belief systems? Yes.
Arguments:
I don’t believe in god. I’m an Atheist. It’s called ‘disbelief’. I choose to ‘disbelieve’.
Response:
To disbelieve one thing, is to believe another. You substitute something you can believe in for something you cannot believe in.
Posted in Atheism as Belief | Tagged: atheism, Atheism as Belief, belief, believe, faith, God | 7 Comments »
Posted by Chris Taylor on May 22, 2009
While I may not agree with Greg Boyd on some of his thoughts, no one can deny that he is a deep thinker.
Greg Boyd is a proponent of “Open Theism” – that the future is partly open to God. Many critics claim that this violates Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Because if the future was partly open, then how could we trust this promise?
Yet, Greg points out that this is built on an assumption that we are making. That we assume that God possesses “limited intelligence” and is unable to deal with infinite possibilities. If His intelligence is indeed infinite, then possibilities are known and likelihood of those possibilities.
That’s very, very intense.
He has a blog post over at his site discussing God’s infinitude – His unlimited-ness if you will.
Check it out!
http://www.gregboyd.org/blog/the-significance-of-gods-infinitude/
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