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Posted on 10/28/2014 3:19:32 PM PDT by Faith Presses On
In an exciting declaration, Pope Francis I stated that God should not seen as a “magician with a magic wand,” while unveiling a statue of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Pope Francis also stated that evolution and the Big Bang theory are both true and not incompatible with the church’s views on the origins of the universe and life.
“When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so,” Francis said, according to the Independent. Francis continued by stating that God “created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfillment.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
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>>You really need to read and understand the Book of Revelation especially the first three chapters. Once done you will realize how silly your theory is.<<
IOW, you have nothing to refute me.
By now you folk know my schism with the RCC.
But that is a matter of faith not a matter of facts.
It may seem strange but not only will I not allow the heretics to attack The Church but I also hold Her congregants to Catechism. She is my beautiful sister and I will fight for her wisdom and purity so long as I draw breath.
And you and many others here do hew to the principles so well. You ARE the congregants Peter called to Mass. Bless you all.
If I appear to be schizophrenic, well then so must it be. Or not.
Moths are drawn like to a flame to their own destruction. Following impulses for an eternal decision is certainly your right.
>>Sometimes He fools us with what is, for him, just an illusion..<<
To what end? In the Crevo wars, posting “God the trickster” was always a bad road to walk.
God does not want to trick us. He made a wonderful universe and tasked us tiny Humans with: “Go figure it out.” From string theory to decoding DNA to maybe even the multiverse, God smiles as we learn. He does not plant “false flags.”
And yes, we have miracles and angels who watch over us and other things we cannot explain. It is part of His Plan which we cannot fathom.
But more than anything he gave us the most wondrous creation of all: the brain with which we can discover so much.
That alone tells us how much God loves us.
It makes a lot of sense. Especially if you have read Gerald Schroeder.
Looks like "G-d the magician" just made a comeback.
I’ll tell you my take on Genesis and the Bible. It did so muxh for my faith to decide to believe it as written. I would not reconsider that.
On the Creation stories there aren’t two. Gen. 2 doesn’t even mention sea creatures being created. In Gen.2, God merely forms some animals to show Adam.
Et tu, Ethan? Le sigh!
Congratulations, welcome home.
And you and many others here do hew to the principles so well. You ARE the congregants Peter called to Mass. Bless you all.
That is a humbling statement; I confess, however, that there were times in my life when I stepped away from the Church. Ironically, it was the anti-catholic comments on FR that drew me back. Moreover, these same comments enticed me to delve deeper into scripture and the catechism, which only served to deepen my faith.
God often uses painful situations as a means to draw us to Himself. Consider the parable of the sower.
God bless you on your faith journey! I look forward to learning more about it from you.
>>Looks like “G-d the magician” just made a comeback.<<
That is what you took from my post?
The idea of “God the Magician” suggests supernatural as a state of affairs. The Pope was crystal clear: we live and work in a natural Universe. Our actions and activities are grounded in this universe.
If God intervenes, it is not a calculated intervention and no one should ever pray as such.
Miracles are great but are part a tapestry we cannot fathom. The Pope is right: Make your actions based on the firmament where we stand.
That is what God wants. Let the miracles fall where they may.
IMHO of course
Actually that is an accurate statement. God can't lie, steal, cheat. He can't force you to love or accept Him.
Looks like “G-d the magician” just made a comeback.
That is what you took from my post?
Yup.
The idea of “God the Magician” suggests supernatural as a state of affairs. The Pope was crystal clear: we live and work in a natural Universe. Our actions and activities are grounded in this universe.
Considering that that it's not really "natural" for the "natural universe" to exist--that its existence is the result of the continual action of "omnipotence acting upon nothing"--your assertion is simply ridiculous.
Also considering that "nature" and its laws by definition had to be created supernaturally (since they don't naturally exist) and that there were no "natural physical laws" until after the universe had been created--your assertion is completely ridiculous. But never mind. Go ahead and believe in your magical fatherless babies and supernatural women who play basketball with the sun. So long as you insist that the universe had to be created through purely natural means (in inherent impossibility), you can continue to tell yourself that you are an intellectual and far, far superior to inborn, illiterate trailer trash.
If God intervenes, it is not a calculated intervention
Considering that you inconsistently continue to believe in "miracles," what does that even mean?
Here’s an example of what I meant:
You can believe that the point of Genesis is to give a scientific account of how God created the earth.
Or:
The author of Genesis intended to teach that God made man in His image. One of the resemblances between God and man is the ability to reason. One of the aspects of reason is counting the days, and devoting the seventh day to worship of God. This is something that no creature on earth does except for man.
Among all animals, only man “rests” on the seventh day. By saying that God “rested” after his work, Genesis teaches that God is like us in some essential ways. He is a person, with a mind.
This communicates a philosophical point for which the philosophical language did not yet exist.
You can believe that the point of Genesis is to give a scientific account of how God created the earth.
Or:
The author of Genesis intended to teach that God made man in His image. One of the resemblances between God and man is the ability to reason. One of the aspects of reason is counting the days, and devoting the seventh day to worship of God. This is something that no creature on earth does except for man.
Among all animals, only man “rests” on the seventh day. By saying that God “rested” after his work, Genesis teaches that God is like us in some essential ways. He is a person, with a mind.
This communicates a philosophical point for which the philosophical language did not yet exist.
I knew it!!!
No kidding, I'm not even surprised! The most militant, reactionary, fire-breathing, liberal-bashing Catholic poster on this site is nevertheless an evolutionist because, he's a Catholic, and by golly, Catholics believe in evolution! I mean, what are they, rednecks?
I suggest the "virgin birth" is a description of a purely natural process for which the philosophical language did not yet exist.
God is Reality, magicians are illusions, they are tricksters. That is what the Pope was saying. And you have the proof in your own story.
The person who refuses to join the Catholic Church because it teaches evolution is not making a mistaken assumption but sincerely in disagreement with what is apparently a fundamental belief of the Catholic Church.
Why would Catholics even want such a person to join the Church, since it would cause only heartache to him/her personally and all his/her fellow Catholics who would have to deal with his/her cognitive dissonance?
I'm sure everyone in my parish--especially the pastor--was happy to see me go.
>> Ironically, it was the anti-catholic comments on FR that drew me back. Moreover, these same comments enticed me to delve deeper into scripture and the catechism, which only served to deepen my faith.<<
I am sort of walking that same road (to Demascus?). My separation from the RCC is structural: the God who loves me so much doesn’t want a lot of intervening ritual.
But the RCC is correct on so many issues and a certain amount of ritual helps those who need support and succor “hang their hat” on these tenants.
My wife and I decided many years ago that no matter what we will adhere to rituals since they provide “grounding.”
I do in my heart of hearts understand that Jesus named (and frankly with some humor) Peter as His first Pope. And the Catholic bashing is more from ignorance although there is a bit of malice from those who know they are a step away from God’s church and can’t identify why that leaves them yearning.
Most importantly, you, NYr and Sal and others in the RCC threads are always kind and thoughtful. I wish I could always be so, but that is a wrestling match (backtrack to the Road to Damascus hehe) God, Jesus and I need to work out...
We know our actions cannot get us into heaven. But by our actions do we influence others and demonstrates our faith.
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