sixyearsleft:-6
I never tried tennis. It looks like a heart attack waiting to happen and one is enough. I do like your books though. Quite interesting. I wonder if one can have a book club with only two members, maybe three if . . . never mind. LOL
Shalom
Ted:-6
What Do You Believe?
What Do You Believe?
sixyearsleft:-6
LOL
Shalom
Ted:-6
LOL
Shalom
Ted:-6
What Do You Believe?
Ted wrote: Good grief that is either two of us left behind or the only two good enough to go above. LOLTed, I am still here also. I just haven't found anything particularly interesting lately. Maybe it's because it's nice outside and vacation season and people have more found more interesting ways to spend their time.
I think that helefra should be given credit for her civility and accomodating manner through this thread, and I hope to hear from her again.
I gotta say, though, that I've noticed a pattern here and on a couple of other forums that posters with fringe affiliations, like helefra, telequapacky, downag and KINGDAVID seem willing to 'toot their respective horns', so to speak, loudly, but then when questions are asked or challenges put forward, tend to simply ignore same and instead just continue the same old tired tooting, which, after a while, becomes tedious. When further pressed to back up their assertions, they eventually just seem to fade away, at least for a while. One of the aforementioned quartet has never even been willing to identify his affiliation.
Would you join or belong to a denomination, or a particular congregation, which you were unwilling or unable to discuss or defend? I sure wouldn't.
In any case, I will try to initiate one or two new discussions, here or on 'Christianity', sometime next week. Any suggestions?
I think that helefra should be given credit for her civility and accomodating manner through this thread, and I hope to hear from her again.
I gotta say, though, that I've noticed a pattern here and on a couple of other forums that posters with fringe affiliations, like helefra, telequapacky, downag and KINGDAVID seem willing to 'toot their respective horns', so to speak, loudly, but then when questions are asked or challenges put forward, tend to simply ignore same and instead just continue the same old tired tooting, which, after a while, becomes tedious. When further pressed to back up their assertions, they eventually just seem to fade away, at least for a while. One of the aforementioned quartet has never even been willing to identify his affiliation.
Would you join or belong to a denomination, or a particular congregation, which you were unwilling or unable to discuss or defend? I sure wouldn't.
In any case, I will try to initiate one or two new discussions, here or on 'Christianity', sometime next week. Any suggestions?
What Do You Believe?
Bronwen:-6
I've been thinking of starting a thread on the origins and process of evil as it relates to both humans and the concept of Satan and Hell. That may generate some interest. Still thinking.
Would I join a group I could not defend? Definitely not.
I do know what you mean about avoiding the questions though. That is too bad.
Shalom
Ted:-6
I've been thinking of starting a thread on the origins and process of evil as it relates to both humans and the concept of Satan and Hell. That may generate some interest. Still thinking.
Would I join a group I could not defend? Definitely not.
I do know what you mean about avoiding the questions though. That is too bad.
Shalom
Ted:-6
What Do You Believe?
helefra:-6
I do have personal strong feeling about Scientology so tried to avoid making many comments. I did not want to discourage you as a new "face" here from staying and enjoying the debates that arise. It is a pleasure to "see" someone new.
Shalom
Ted:-6
I do have personal strong feeling about Scientology so tried to avoid making many comments. I did not want to discourage you as a new "face" here from staying and enjoying the debates that arise. It is a pleasure to "see" someone new.
Shalom
Ted:-6
What Do You Believe?
helefra wrote: As to Bronwen's comment on whether I would support something that I did not agree with - definitely not!!!Ah, but that was not my comment! I asked:me wrote: Would you join or belong to a denomination, or a particular congregation, which you were unwilling or unable to discuss or defend?That is not the same thing at all. In recent discussions on this and other forums, I asked telaquapacky what I considered to be several legitimate and non-confrontational questions about his affiliation, Seventh Day Adventism, to which he responded not with answers but rather with slander and lies about MY affiliation, things that anyone familiar with Roman Catholicism, and for that matter with the history of Christianity in general, would know were nonsense, and also with slander against me personally, completely mischaracterizing a thread that I had begun.
KINGDAVID made several posts extolling the teachings of the Watchtower, aka Jehovah's Witnesses, but when questions and challenges were put to him, by myself and others, he responded to none of them.
downag seems to regard his purpose here as to be as obnoxious and insulting as possible, slandering other posters' churches while, apparently, so ashamed of his own that will not even name it.
With your posts I have found no such evasion or misinformation, but I did find it interesting that, after a few exchanges with myself and others, notably Ted, you said that you would no longer discuss Scientology here. I have no doubt that there are sincere posters here (in contrast to the three INSINCERE ones I named above) who would like to learn more about how an individual member like yourself views her church, rather than simply being directed to official websites.
Also, I would like to see more denominations represented here: Mormons, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, for that matter ANYONE with SINCERE religious beliefs and the willingness to discuss them in an open forum. I think that is the intended purpose of this particular forum, and I hope to see more diversity and less MISUSE of the forum in the future, hopefully the near future. We shall see.
KINGDAVID made several posts extolling the teachings of the Watchtower, aka Jehovah's Witnesses, but when questions and challenges were put to him, by myself and others, he responded to none of them.
downag seems to regard his purpose here as to be as obnoxious and insulting as possible, slandering other posters' churches while, apparently, so ashamed of his own that will not even name it.
With your posts I have found no such evasion or misinformation, but I did find it interesting that, after a few exchanges with myself and others, notably Ted, you said that you would no longer discuss Scientology here. I have no doubt that there are sincere posters here (in contrast to the three INSINCERE ones I named above) who would like to learn more about how an individual member like yourself views her church, rather than simply being directed to official websites.
Also, I would like to see more denominations represented here: Mormons, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, for that matter ANYONE with SINCERE religious beliefs and the willingness to discuss them in an open forum. I think that is the intended purpose of this particular forum, and I hope to see more diversity and less MISUSE of the forum in the future, hopefully the near future. We shall see.
What Do You Believe?
spot wrote: An idea of God being at any time unaware of His own existence would leave me puzzled about what you mean by the word.
I'm with you there. If God were not self aware, then what possible motive ould he have for Creation? My personal theory is that he was incredibly lonely, why else create intelligent life, if not to live through them and keep him company?
The same God who responds to prayers today carries the same memories and nature as the God who created all things before time existed - this is the same Being, the same Person?
Yes, I'm thinking the same thing, although I have to admit with the advances made in membrane theory and the possibility that therre are an infinity of Universes, the Creator begins to take on mammoth proportions. Still doesn't stop Him from existing, just makes his existance boogle the imagination. And I'm just as guilty as anyone of personifying him, giving him human characteristics. It's possible that he is far from human.
We would agree that there are no particles in the universe which span the same range, no planets, stars, galaxies, or energy that existed over the same frame of reference? If that's the God we're talking about, He seems far more likely to me to be an invention of man than an entity.
Entity seems a perfect word for Him. A being that is all-seeing, and all-knowing, intermixed at the very subatomic level with every bit of matter in the Universe. The string theorists gave me an idea. If, at the basis of every sub-quark, there is nothing but a vibration wave, and it is this wave that gives rise to differeing forms of matter, why then there must be a quadrillion (just a number that I can get around in my head, most likely it's much, much bigger.) of vibration waves all interacting at once.
Here on Earth, we call that a song. So if the Universe is a song, doesn't that imply a singer?
Thus...All Creation is a song in the mind of God.
That thought has a beauty and simplicity that I find comforting. Truth? Who knows?
You and I sit here, the product of millions of years of evolution arising from self-replicating molecules that formed from the heavy atoms blown apart from a star, then condensed here.
Thousands of miles apart, we flash our thoughts across to each other in streams of electrons, contemplating not the incredible process that brought us here, but the possiblity that some "entity" designed and started this process, and is even possibly still guiding it.
It's a freakin' miracle, life is. That's what makes me believe in God.
I'm with you there. If God were not self aware, then what possible motive ould he have for Creation? My personal theory is that he was incredibly lonely, why else create intelligent life, if not to live through them and keep him company?
The same God who responds to prayers today carries the same memories and nature as the God who created all things before time existed - this is the same Being, the same Person?
Yes, I'm thinking the same thing, although I have to admit with the advances made in membrane theory and the possibility that therre are an infinity of Universes, the Creator begins to take on mammoth proportions. Still doesn't stop Him from existing, just makes his existance boogle the imagination. And I'm just as guilty as anyone of personifying him, giving him human characteristics. It's possible that he is far from human.
We would agree that there are no particles in the universe which span the same range, no planets, stars, galaxies, or energy that existed over the same frame of reference? If that's the God we're talking about, He seems far more likely to me to be an invention of man than an entity.
Entity seems a perfect word for Him. A being that is all-seeing, and all-knowing, intermixed at the very subatomic level with every bit of matter in the Universe. The string theorists gave me an idea. If, at the basis of every sub-quark, there is nothing but a vibration wave, and it is this wave that gives rise to differeing forms of matter, why then there must be a quadrillion (just a number that I can get around in my head, most likely it's much, much bigger.) of vibration waves all interacting at once.
Here on Earth, we call that a song. So if the Universe is a song, doesn't that imply a singer?
Thus...All Creation is a song in the mind of God.
That thought has a beauty and simplicity that I find comforting. Truth? Who knows?
You and I sit here, the product of millions of years of evolution arising from self-replicating molecules that formed from the heavy atoms blown apart from a star, then condensed here.
Thousands of miles apart, we flash our thoughts across to each other in streams of electrons, contemplating not the incredible process that brought us here, but the possiblity that some "entity" designed and started this process, and is even possibly still guiding it.
It's a freakin' miracle, life is. That's what makes me believe in God.
All the world's a stage and the men and women merely players...Shakespeare
-
DesignerGal
- Posts: 2554
- Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2005 11:20 am
What Do You Believe?
I have a question for the teachers (but especially Jives, because he teaches high school and thats when you really get into it).
Do you find it hard to teach evolution in class from the textbooks when you believe in creation?
Do you find it hard to teach evolution in class from the textbooks when you believe in creation?
HBIC
What Do You Believe?
helefra wrote: Unfortunately, life after death goes above and beyond science and I guess I can only express a quote which I have read - "Nothing is true for you unless you have observed it for yourself". I just want to hear what, if any, spiritual quest or religious journey you may have taken.:-6
Funny you should ask that:
For a year, I was getting sicker. The doctors couldn't figure it out. I felt like I was filed with wet cement, I was getting stiffer and stiffer, and the pain was incredible. (They tell me now that it compares to childbirth) By the time the year was up, I literally couldn't walk. I had to use a cane and I could barely shuffle, and if I sat down, I couldn't get up. I was even beginning to have trouble focusing my eyes. Since I couldn't eat due to the pain, I had lost over 70 lbs. and looked like a Holocaust survivor. My friends told me I looked like a living skeleton.
One night, about midnight, I woke with a terrible feeling. I was sick! Something was desperately wrong with me! Not just the pain I had been feeling, but something much, much worse! I tried to call out to my wife, but my voice wouldn't work. I fell out of the bed and managed to crawly upwards to a standing position using the dresser handles. As I stood there holding on to the dresser, suddenly....I was outside my body!
I was standing behind myself. I could see the back of my own head. And that's weird, because usually you don't get to see that angle. I was looking at the curls that I have back there and my first thought was, "Geez, I need a haircut."
Then, my body lost its hold on the dresser, fingernails scratching the top as the body collapsed heavily to the floor in a heap. It didn't even try to catch itself. I stood there shocked thinking, "Wow, that looked like it hurt!"
Then I realized it...I was outside my body. The recognition was instant and hit me like a wave. Suddenly, I was afraid to move. I felt like I might pop myself like a soap bubble. I turned my "head" slowly to the left...the room was quiet. My wife was still in the bed, sleeping softly. A feeling washed over me. It was a feeling of calm and peace. I was so relieved, the pain of my body was completely gone, I thought, "Oh, that feels so much better!" (I hadn't truly realized just how much pain I had been in until it was lifted.)
Then I saw them....
They looked a lot like candle flames, larger at the bottom and tapering to a smaller and rounded top, but not flickering at all, just softly glowing a warm, white light. They were a little bigger than a football and were hovering all around the room at various heights.
I kept scanning and noticed that they were also out on the lawn, and in the street. Through the trees, I could see that they were even on the next block. There were thousands of them! That's when I suddenly realized I was looking right through the wall! Now, you have to understand, this was not some hazy, out of focus vision. Everything was crystal clear. The details of the room were crisp, even more than normal, my sight seemed to have improved.
I realized that these were people, and that they were my people. I wonder, "Why do I have so many people?" The answer came to me as a thought, "down the generations" I got it right away, a family goes back in time thousands of years, these were all my people from all time.
For what seemed like an eternity, I stood there, feeling the cool night air and drinking in the sensation of being free of the pain. I don't remember breathing, though. I wasn't hungry, thirsty, or anything else in fact. Funny thing that.
The little candles flames did nothing however. They seemed to be waiting for something.
But i still felt the love coming from them.
I looked to my left slowly, to see my body huddled on the floor motionless. The next second there was a flash of light and BAM! I was back in my body. I was a little disoriented and it took a second for me to realized where I was, the angle was strange as i could see under the bed and the room was very dark again. I realized I was back in my body. My first thought was, "Damn! That DID hurt!" My body was aching in a hundred places from the fall and the pain had returned.
My wife heard my moans and woke up. I told her to take me to the hospital and with great effort we managed to drag my body to the car and drive to the hospital.
The doctors told me that I had had a "coronary incident" and that my heart had stopped beating for as much as two minutes. (I didn't suffer any brain damage, thought, since I'm an avid swimmer, and can hold my breath easily for that amount of time.) Since I had technically "died", they decided there might actually be something wrong with me.
They ran 300 blood tests, every one in the book. When they came back the answer was as clear as a bell...RA. Rheumatoid Arthritus, the worst kind. It's not just an inflammation of the joints, it's the exact opposite of AIDS and in the old days, every bit as lethal. My own white blood cells could no longer tell the difference between bad bacteria and my own tissues. They were literally eating me alive.
Once they got to the internal organs, I suffered the heart attack. it was no problem after that, a dose of steroids, an auto-immune suppressor and I was literally dancing a jig (on atrophied muscles) by the end of the day.
I'm back to normal now, a strapping, barrel-chested 240 lbs. I can swim, run a short distance, and I'm even hoping to ski again next year. But I'm changed in a big way. I really never took life for granted, I always knew that every day was precious, but now it's not an abstract concept to me. I smell the flowers. I ride my bike, I make sure to kiss my girl and tell her I love her every day. I made a tire swing for my grand-children and I swing in it myself every chance I get.
I was certainly never afraid of death, but it's different now. I find it of infinite comfort[U/] to know that you don't cease to exist when your body dies. I had faith before, but it's infinitely stronger now. God was very kind to me for some reason.
I guess I still have something to do here!
Funny you should ask that:
For a year, I was getting sicker. The doctors couldn't figure it out. I felt like I was filed with wet cement, I was getting stiffer and stiffer, and the pain was incredible. (They tell me now that it compares to childbirth) By the time the year was up, I literally couldn't walk. I had to use a cane and I could barely shuffle, and if I sat down, I couldn't get up. I was even beginning to have trouble focusing my eyes. Since I couldn't eat due to the pain, I had lost over 70 lbs. and looked like a Holocaust survivor. My friends told me I looked like a living skeleton.
One night, about midnight, I woke with a terrible feeling. I was sick! Something was desperately wrong with me! Not just the pain I had been feeling, but something much, much worse! I tried to call out to my wife, but my voice wouldn't work. I fell out of the bed and managed to crawly upwards to a standing position using the dresser handles. As I stood there holding on to the dresser, suddenly....I was outside my body!
I was standing behind myself. I could see the back of my own head. And that's weird, because usually you don't get to see that angle. I was looking at the curls that I have back there and my first thought was, "Geez, I need a haircut."
Then, my body lost its hold on the dresser, fingernails scratching the top as the body collapsed heavily to the floor in a heap. It didn't even try to catch itself. I stood there shocked thinking, "Wow, that looked like it hurt!"
Then I realized it...I was outside my body. The recognition was instant and hit me like a wave. Suddenly, I was afraid to move. I felt like I might pop myself like a soap bubble. I turned my "head" slowly to the left...the room was quiet. My wife was still in the bed, sleeping softly. A feeling washed over me. It was a feeling of calm and peace. I was so relieved, the pain of my body was completely gone, I thought, "Oh, that feels so much better!" (I hadn't truly realized just how much pain I had been in until it was lifted.)
Then I saw them....
They looked a lot like candle flames, larger at the bottom and tapering to a smaller and rounded top, but not flickering at all, just softly glowing a warm, white light. They were a little bigger than a football and were hovering all around the room at various heights.
I kept scanning and noticed that they were also out on the lawn, and in the street. Through the trees, I could see that they were even on the next block. There were thousands of them! That's when I suddenly realized I was looking right through the wall! Now, you have to understand, this was not some hazy, out of focus vision. Everything was crystal clear. The details of the room were crisp, even more than normal, my sight seemed to have improved.
I realized that these were people, and that they were my people. I wonder, "Why do I have so many people?" The answer came to me as a thought, "down the generations" I got it right away, a family goes back in time thousands of years, these were all my people from all time.
For what seemed like an eternity, I stood there, feeling the cool night air and drinking in the sensation of being free of the pain. I don't remember breathing, though. I wasn't hungry, thirsty, or anything else in fact. Funny thing that.
The little candles flames did nothing however. They seemed to be waiting for something.
But i still felt the love coming from them.
I looked to my left slowly, to see my body huddled on the floor motionless. The next second there was a flash of light and BAM! I was back in my body. I was a little disoriented and it took a second for me to realized where I was, the angle was strange as i could see under the bed and the room was very dark again. I realized I was back in my body. My first thought was, "Damn! That DID hurt!" My body was aching in a hundred places from the fall and the pain had returned.
My wife heard my moans and woke up. I told her to take me to the hospital and with great effort we managed to drag my body to the car and drive to the hospital.
The doctors told me that I had had a "coronary incident" and that my heart had stopped beating for as much as two minutes. (I didn't suffer any brain damage, thought, since I'm an avid swimmer, and can hold my breath easily for that amount of time.) Since I had technically "died", they decided there might actually be something wrong with me.
They ran 300 blood tests, every one in the book. When they came back the answer was as clear as a bell...RA. Rheumatoid Arthritus, the worst kind. It's not just an inflammation of the joints, it's the exact opposite of AIDS and in the old days, every bit as lethal. My own white blood cells could no longer tell the difference between bad bacteria and my own tissues. They were literally eating me alive.
Once they got to the internal organs, I suffered the heart attack. it was no problem after that, a dose of steroids, an auto-immune suppressor and I was literally dancing a jig (on atrophied muscles) by the end of the day.
I'm back to normal now, a strapping, barrel-chested 240 lbs. I can swim, run a short distance, and I'm even hoping to ski again next year. But I'm changed in a big way. I really never took life for granted, I always knew that every day was precious, but now it's not an abstract concept to me. I smell the flowers. I ride my bike, I make sure to kiss my girl and tell her I love her every day. I made a tire swing for my grand-children and I swing in it myself every chance I get.
I was certainly never afraid of death, but it's different now. I find it of infinite comfort[U/] to know that you don't cease to exist when your body dies. I had faith before, but it's infinitely stronger now. God was very kind to me for some reason.
I guess I still have something to do here!
All the world's a stage and the men and women merely players...Shakespeare
What Do You Believe?
Jives:-6
A very powerful and interesting story. I have never had such an experience but my father had.
I have had experiences throughout my life that have convinced me of the reality of God. There is no question of this in my mind.
Shalom
Ted:-6
A very powerful and interesting story. I have never had such an experience but my father had.
I have had experiences throughout my life that have convinced me of the reality of God. There is no question of this in my mind.
Shalom
Ted:-6
What Do You Believe?
DesignerGal:-6
I am a retired teacher. I have always accepted the reality of evolution. I also believe in creation. I am not a creationist. I simply see no contradiction between evolution and creation.
Shalom
Ted
I am a retired teacher. I have always accepted the reality of evolution. I also believe in creation. I am not a creationist. I simply see no contradiction between evolution and creation.
Shalom
Ted
What Do You Believe?
Jives:-6
I am presently reading and excellent book by Diarmuid O'Murchu, "Evolutionary Faith". He has pointed out that we really do not understand energy. I recently had an electrical engineer, now an Anglical priest comment that we really still do not know what electricity is.
In his book O'Murchu, is looking at the energy prevalent throughout the universe as a part of God. He is also of the believe that evolution is still an ongoing process. He goes on to further descriptions but I will leave them until I have finished the Book.
Shalom
Ted:-6
I am presently reading and excellent book by Diarmuid O'Murchu, "Evolutionary Faith". He has pointed out that we really do not understand energy. I recently had an electrical engineer, now an Anglical priest comment that we really still do not know what electricity is.
In his book O'Murchu, is looking at the energy prevalent throughout the universe as a part of God. He is also of the believe that evolution is still an ongoing process. He goes on to further descriptions but I will leave them until I have finished the Book.
Shalom
Ted:-6
-
chonsigirl
- Posts: 33633
- Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 8:28 am
What Do You Believe?
DesignerGal wrote: I have a question for the teachers (but especially Jives, because he teaches high school and thats when you really get into it).
Do you find it hard to teach evolution in class from the textbooks when you believe in creation?
I find it hard to do sometimes, but usually allow enough discussion to come forth that both sides are presented. I begin by stating: "This is the current scientific theory......" and progress from there. As a teacher, I feel I should not influence my students either way, by stating my opinions. At the middle school level, after awhile the students know what I think. Well, most of the time, or I wouldn't catch them doing mischief making.
*off topic-they always know I am a missionary kid, my father died as a missionary, and for serious classroom disturbance I do give a very melodramatic sigh and intone "What would my poor father say about this?" Hey, it works alot of the time, makes them think and stop it.*
*back on topic*
You let the conversation continue, because they don't fight about it much at the younger level, and enjoy being allowed to discuss topics.
I just finished teaching a college level science class, and two student presentations were on this topic. I allowed the students to moderate the discussion, they both took different stances on it, and it turned out to be a good discussion.
Do you find it hard to teach evolution in class from the textbooks when you believe in creation?
I find it hard to do sometimes, but usually allow enough discussion to come forth that both sides are presented. I begin by stating: "This is the current scientific theory......" and progress from there. As a teacher, I feel I should not influence my students either way, by stating my opinions. At the middle school level, after awhile the students know what I think. Well, most of the time, or I wouldn't catch them doing mischief making.
*off topic-they always know I am a missionary kid, my father died as a missionary, and for serious classroom disturbance I do give a very melodramatic sigh and intone "What would my poor father say about this?" Hey, it works alot of the time, makes them think and stop it.*
*back on topic*
You let the conversation continue, because they don't fight about it much at the younger level, and enjoy being allowed to discuss topics.
I just finished teaching a college level science class, and two student presentations were on this topic. I allowed the students to moderate the discussion, they both took different stances on it, and it turned out to be a good discussion.
-
DesignerGal
- Posts: 2554
- Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2005 11:20 am
What Do You Believe?
chonsigirl wrote: I find it hard to do sometimes, but usually allow enough discussion to come forth that both sides are presented. I begin by stating: "This is the current scientific theory......" and progress from there. As a teacher, I feel I should not influence my students either way, by stating my opinions. At the middle school level, after awhile the students know what I think. Well, most of the time, or I wouldn't catch them doing mischief making.
*off topic-they always know I am a missionary kid, my father died as a missionary, and for serious classroom disturbance I do give a very melodramatic sigh and intone "What would my poor father say about this?" Hey, it works alot of the time, makes them think and stop it.*
*back on topic*
You let the conversation continue, because they don't fight about it much at the younger level, and enjoy being allowed to discuss topics.
I just finished teaching a college level science class, and two student presentations were on this topic. I allowed the students to moderate the discussion, they both took different stances on it, and it turned out to be a good discussion.
But just for the sake of discussion....isnt it "against the rules or teachings" (according to the bible) to allow someone to talk about or, really, promote "evolution" if you are a devout Christian just like you wouldnt promote homosexuality because the Bible teaches agianst it? How does someone who professes their faith in the bible and adheres to strict bible teachings promote or even tolerate the teaching of evolution? Isnt that compromising your beliefs?
*off topic-they always know I am a missionary kid, my father died as a missionary, and for serious classroom disturbance I do give a very melodramatic sigh and intone "What would my poor father say about this?" Hey, it works alot of the time, makes them think and stop it.*
*back on topic*
You let the conversation continue, because they don't fight about it much at the younger level, and enjoy being allowed to discuss topics.
I just finished teaching a college level science class, and two student presentations were on this topic. I allowed the students to moderate the discussion, they both took different stances on it, and it turned out to be a good discussion.
But just for the sake of discussion....isnt it "against the rules or teachings" (according to the bible) to allow someone to talk about or, really, promote "evolution" if you are a devout Christian just like you wouldnt promote homosexuality because the Bible teaches agianst it? How does someone who professes their faith in the bible and adheres to strict bible teachings promote or even tolerate the teaching of evolution? Isnt that compromising your beliefs?
HBIC
What Do You Believe?
DesignerGal:-6
Some interesting observations on evolution and homosexuality as it relates to the Bible.
The whole issue hinges on what you accept and believe about the Bible. If you take is as the literal, inerrant word of God then you are probably correct.
However the present day view of the Bible by many theologians is thus: It is a very human book written by humans in response to their experiences of the divine. As such it is also an interpretation of their experiences. For those Christians the Bible becomes the "Word of God" not by virtue of its authorship but based on the belief that God speaks to us through the very human words found in the Bible.
There are many contradictions and discrepences, both internal and external, with the Bible. A classic example is Num. 31 where God apparently condones and encourages war crimes and then through Jesus claims that the tgreatest commandment is love of God and neighbour. and the requirement to forgive your enemies. These quite obviously are mutually exclusive though some fundamentalist/literalists will bo a great deal of creative dancing to explain them away. The fact of the matter is that many scholars say they cannot be explained away.
Another example is in Leviticus where we are told that it is an abomination for a man to lie with another man. A few verses later it is an abomination to wear clothing of more than one fabric at a time and it is also an abomination to eat shellfish. If the first is sinful then so must the other two be sinful. Ridiculous.
Shalom
Ted:-6
Some interesting observations on evolution and homosexuality as it relates to the Bible.
The whole issue hinges on what you accept and believe about the Bible. If you take is as the literal, inerrant word of God then you are probably correct.
However the present day view of the Bible by many theologians is thus: It is a very human book written by humans in response to their experiences of the divine. As such it is also an interpretation of their experiences. For those Christians the Bible becomes the "Word of God" not by virtue of its authorship but based on the belief that God speaks to us through the very human words found in the Bible.
There are many contradictions and discrepences, both internal and external, with the Bible. A classic example is Num. 31 where God apparently condones and encourages war crimes and then through Jesus claims that the tgreatest commandment is love of God and neighbour. and the requirement to forgive your enemies. These quite obviously are mutually exclusive though some fundamentalist/literalists will bo a great deal of creative dancing to explain them away. The fact of the matter is that many scholars say they cannot be explained away.
Another example is in Leviticus where we are told that it is an abomination for a man to lie with another man. A few verses later it is an abomination to wear clothing of more than one fabric at a time and it is also an abomination to eat shellfish. If the first is sinful then so must the other two be sinful. Ridiculous.
Shalom
Ted:-6