In a discussion I had with some co-workers a statement was said, "There is so much that keeps science from progressing; the worst of all is religion." Is this really true?
I can say that there is some truth in that. There has been times when Christianity has robbed the world of the ability to progress: those times were largely due to religious ultra-conservatives in positions of power. Know that I am not speaking of republicans; I am speaking of people who were afraid of challenges, afraid of risks, and afraid of the unknown. One example of this is when the Catholic Cardinals and Popes kept Galileo from furthering his research of the planets and even made him recant of what he saw with his own eyes.
The question remains is this a problem with Christianity or with people in general. I believe and am encouraged by the First Great Commission to subdue the earth and to multiply. Since the beginning science has helped God's people do those two things; I dont think that science is a bad thing at all. It is actually my belief that God wants us to take science in one hand and Christianity in another; and to find ways to merge them together. I dont have any problem with carbon dating or the sciences of evolution. I believe that both have their place in Christianity. The Bible does not explicitly say how old the earth is or say that we have never adapted from different, lesser traits. (I of course can not fathom a complete evolutionary process; there is just not enough scientific data to prove that humans came from monkeys or fish.) I am greatly looking forward to seeing science help me improve this world and ultimatly help bring God's Kingdom on the earth.
What do you think about Science and Christianity.
The Bible as the Ultimate Source of Wisdom
Is the Bible the ultimate source of wisdom? In order to answer that question, we need to compare it to other works. Is the Bible full of more wisdom than Confucius or is the Bible a better source of Science than a text book. I will with a renouned voice . . . it is not. But wait! I am a Christian and that means that I beleive that the Bible is "God-Breathed," right? I do so. But how can I take science and history in one hand and the Bible in the other and say that they are both right? This is a very good question and it is the job of every Christian to do just that. I suggest that Christians take another good long look at the Bible!
Where I go from here is to ask, what is the Bible really for? I have asked my good friends that during my church service; and my good friend and ex-college professor told me exactly what the Bible is. The Bible is actually about a story; every book in the Bible adds something to the story. There are many books in the Bible that have different purposes; but they are ultimatly meant, not to convery history or wisdom, but simply a story of a supreme being creating a kingdom on the earth. No where in the Bible does it say that there will never be a recording error or that every book in the Bible was meant to be taken litterally; the Bible is meant to convery one over-arching story. That is phenonomly different than what I was taught in sunday school.
This story is about a perfect humanity falling from a perfect state by doing something that God told them not to do. The story then goes and gets infinantly more complicated (as we humans do); but if humans are complicated, it seems that God is much more complex because God goes and tries to create a kingdom on the earth. God uses Abraham and his descendants to create a nation on the earth. In this time we go and find that the Bible is not meant for timeless truth because God commands his people to go and to destroy every man woman and child in the land that they were to acquire. If that were a timeless truth than Christianity would be very bloody, indeed. God's kingdom does eventually fall because of their disobedience; but God quickly goes about to recreate his kingdom. Jesus, the Messiah, is the one that God has chosen to succeed the ancient kings as the monarch of the kingdom. But wait! If Jesus has a kingdom where is it? In this respect, God changes the rules of humanity; and in this time we find the "timeless truths" or so some think. Where in the old kingdom, Israel was taught to honor a code of "an eye for an eye" and to destroy the enemies of the kingdom; Jesus the monarch of the new kingdom commands us to lover our enemies and lover our neighbors and to love God. How can destroy are enemy and love our enemy both be timeless truths? They cant! Jesus showed us that his kingdom is here now but not all of the way; we will have to wait till the end to see God's kingdom in its fullness on the earth. Meanwhile, Jesus dies on a cross and raises from the dead to redeem humanity so that all can be part of God's kingdom and to become the first to be resurrected into a new body.
So is the Bible the ultimate source of wisdome? Yes and no. The Bible is not a proverbial handbook for Christians (although it does contain some proverbs). Confusius can have all of the wise sayings in the world. Most of them are funny because they are so common sense and yet nobody does them. The Bible is very different; it is not meant to be the source of wisdom but yet it is the source of the greatest wisdom; to follow the Messiah and to be a part of God's kingdom on the earth.
Where I go from here is to ask, what is the Bible really for? I have asked my good friends that during my church service; and my good friend and ex-college professor told me exactly what the Bible is. The Bible is actually about a story; every book in the Bible adds something to the story. There are many books in the Bible that have different purposes; but they are ultimatly meant, not to convery history or wisdom, but simply a story of a supreme being creating a kingdom on the earth. No where in the Bible does it say that there will never be a recording error or that every book in the Bible was meant to be taken litterally; the Bible is meant to convery one over-arching story. That is phenonomly different than what I was taught in sunday school.
This story is about a perfect humanity falling from a perfect state by doing something that God told them not to do. The story then goes and gets infinantly more complicated (as we humans do); but if humans are complicated, it seems that God is much more complex because God goes and tries to create a kingdom on the earth. God uses Abraham and his descendants to create a nation on the earth. In this time we go and find that the Bible is not meant for timeless truth because God commands his people to go and to destroy every man woman and child in the land that they were to acquire. If that were a timeless truth than Christianity would be very bloody, indeed. God's kingdom does eventually fall because of their disobedience; but God quickly goes about to recreate his kingdom. Jesus, the Messiah, is the one that God has chosen to succeed the ancient kings as the monarch of the kingdom. But wait! If Jesus has a kingdom where is it? In this respect, God changes the rules of humanity; and in this time we find the "timeless truths" or so some think. Where in the old kingdom, Israel was taught to honor a code of "an eye for an eye" and to destroy the enemies of the kingdom; Jesus the monarch of the new kingdom commands us to lover our enemies and lover our neighbors and to love God. How can destroy are enemy and love our enemy both be timeless truths? They cant! Jesus showed us that his kingdom is here now but not all of the way; we will have to wait till the end to see God's kingdom in its fullness on the earth. Meanwhile, Jesus dies on a cross and raises from the dead to redeem humanity so that all can be part of God's kingdom and to become the first to be resurrected into a new body.
So is the Bible the ultimate source of wisdome? Yes and no. The Bible is not a proverbial handbook for Christians (although it does contain some proverbs). Confusius can have all of the wise sayings in the world. Most of them are funny because they are so common sense and yet nobody does them. The Bible is very different; it is not meant to be the source of wisdom but yet it is the source of the greatest wisdom; to follow the Messiah and to be a part of God's kingdom on the earth.
Fast Cars and the Kingdom to Come
My friends and I talk often about how broken our world is. Sin, death, sickness, accidents, bad hair days and snapped steering columns tell me that our world is just... well - broken.
But I wish for something new - more specifically - I just can't drive 55! I want to fly.
I want to drive as fast as I can - with no limits. No worries about cops, old ladies, accidents, intense pain and death.
Kinda like Jeff Gordon on steriods - I want to run with the big dogs.
But like I said - the world's broken right now and I just can't do what I want...
There's a kingdom coming, however, that's altogether different. A world where there are no limits, no worries, no junk.
Here's to hoping that driving in the Kingdom is gonna be a whole different story...
But I wish for something new - more specifically - I just can't drive 55! I want to fly.
I want to drive as fast as I can - with no limits. No worries about cops, old ladies, accidents, intense pain and death.
Kinda like Jeff Gordon on steriods - I want to run with the big dogs.
But like I said - the world's broken right now and I just can't do what I want...
There's a kingdom coming, however, that's altogether different. A world where there are no limits, no worries, no junk.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first
earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for
her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold,
the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall
be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every
tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no
longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."
Here's to hoping that driving in the Kingdom is gonna be a whole different story...
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