Posted on 11/06/2002 9:25:58 PM PST by general_re
I get it. You expect me to defend the article. Sorry, that's not what I'm interested in doing. I think evolution is good science, and I really don't care about the political or psychological reasons some people have for opposing it. If you want to debate evolution on its merits, fine.
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Yes, that's right. But you were directing comments to me as if I were the author of the article or something. If you have a general comment to make about the article, in the hopes that someone will debate your position, you should address your provocative comments to someone who is likely to be interested. And if you don't know who that might be, you can address your comment to "All." Someone will pick up the challenge, if it's interesting. If not, well, we all make comments that seem to go nowhere. You'll get the hang of it.
I know that not all supernatural beings are considered to be gods but where do you draw the line? In some religions (esp. animistic ones) ghosts are believed to be the spirits of the ancestors and they are worshipped like gods in other religions. So for these people what a Christian or Muslim may regard as a ghost, is a god.
And as we all know, the gods of one religion are often seen as evil demons by an other religion ;)
So in my opinion there is no supernatural entity that cannot qualify as a god since the only criterion it has to fulfill is to be regarded as such by someone.
My own working definition of a "god" is any being which is not subject to the laws of nature. That certainly applies to the God. It would also be true of less powerful -- and perhaps non-existent -- beings, such as devils, demons, nymphs, Zeus, angels, etc. Gods don't die (but I don't know what became of the Titans), they don't get hungry (although the Olympians put away a lot of ambrosia), they fly around, they perform miracles, cast spells, grant wishes, etc.
I think this depends a great deal on your definition of a "true religion". There are factions throughout the world now that believe they are participating in a true religion, yet are allowing and encouraging incredible evil to be done in the name of "God".
‘I am the truth. . ..’(John 14:6)
For most of time, men and women have assumed that the truth was there to be found out. This began to change in the 19th century and the change gathered pace in the 20th. As people began to question the existence of God, it became obvious to some, that the existence of truth requires the existence of God. With God dismissed, it became impossible to conceive of truth in any absolute sense. This has resulted in the humiliation of truth. Truth is now whatever you would like it to be.
Truth's demise has filtered down through the great centers of learning, the arts, and on into streets and homes. Everything is possible with truth gone. Everything is permissible. Musicians make music that doesn't sound musical. Painters paint pictures that are incomprehensible to normal folk. Playwrights write plays that are nonsense, and architects design buildings that no one can understand. All this is put forward as legitimate, but what does it all mean?
No matter how much... popular culture---is encouraged to believe in the relativity of truth, no one can build a decent life on such a notion.
Inevitably proponents of freedom from God, and from absolute truth, are obliged to reach outside of their own system, and borrow something from theism in order to make their lives work. The person who believes that everything is valid, will soon find that he is condemned to meaninglessness. Christ is a standing offer of escape from such a hell as this To believe that truth is like Christ, is salvation indeed.
Not to detract from the many fine messages in the Bible, but I've had a number of people try to jam "truth" down my throat...with very unpleasant results.
If you want to discuss "facts" with me, that's fine.
‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’ (Matthew 6:33)
"Once there was a change in our family situation. Our pet dog passed away and we salved our grief by acquiring a new one-a blue cattle pup. He was intelligent and very mischievous. We had a lot of fun with him. while he was small, he would amuse us by trying to catch his own tail and bite it. He would spy the tip of his tail out of the corner of his eye, and, readying himself, lunge at it, as if hunting prey. But of course, the more he pounced, the more his tail moved out of his reach. The only way a dog can really have its tail is to allow it to be an attachment to its main body."
"The... tail comes along just fine---when it is not its owner's preoccupation."
"Jesus advises us that though there are many good and important things, only one can be most important-the kingdom of God and his righteousness. First things must come first. All of life, with its experiences, decisions and relationships, needs to be evaluated in light of the highest ideal."
"When God is given pride of place, the machinery of existence operates at its best."
Now that you bring that up ... on second thought, I'm not going to say what I was thinking.
Now be nice, we all have our proclivities... ;-)
I take it you were hogtied to a chair. Or is it they were just convinced they were correct?
I won't bore you with the details, but yes...these people were convinced they were right. One person was my first husband, so at least metaphorically, I was "hogtied".
A reverse shotgun wedding?
‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.’ (Luke 20:17)
"The most familiar, and the best-loved images of Jesus, are those that picture to us, his gentle, compassionate spirit. "Whoever comes to me, I will in no wise cast out"; "Come to me, all you who are weary"; "Let the little children come to me."
"But there are other images of Jesus in the Gospels, which show another aspect of his personality. They emphasize the steel in him. Sometimes Jesus was awesome; formidable."
"In the parable, Jesus presents himself as the landlord's Son; the rejected stone, that eventually becomes the most important stone in the superstructure of the kingdom of God. Jesus plainly thought that those who opposed him were in collision with God. He was warning nation's leaders: "It is unwise and unsafe to be against me." Tough talk from Jesus! He was signaling what was taken up by Peter at Pentecost, where, full of resurrection joy and authority, he preached saying: "This Jesus, you put him to death. . . . but God raised him from the dead. God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:31-36).
"In the parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus teaches that those who discard him, will not thereby have gotten rid of him. Jesus was not, and is not now, a passing phenomenon. So truly does Jesus represent reality; so deeply entrenched in the ultimate truth of existence, is his life and teaching, that He, and not his opponents, will prevail."
"If the universe is a moral place (and Christ himself is the most convincing evidence that it is), then his prediction that he would triumph, even over those who killed him, must come true. Therefore let us treasure the august aspects of his personality, as much as his gentle features, for they signal a world order in which 'goodness', as Jesus taught it, will... reign---unopposed. The stone that was rejected, will become the capstone."
Good News For The Day
‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.’ (Luke 20:17)
"There is a certain inevitability about Christ. He is the fulfillment of Herod's worst nightmare. Herod killed John the Baptist, and when Christ followed, the ruler thought John had risen from the dead. In a sense, it was true. Jesus' first appeals to the corrupt king were made through the Baptist."
"Christ is uncompromising; inexorable. He is unpreventable, unstoppable, unavoidable. An outline of the creation's future is discernible in the personality of Jesus. The new world order will bear the stamp of his character."
"The invincibility of Jesus is good news. It confirms our deepest hope-that the highest values known to humankind, will overcome, and reign. It is good strengthening to believe that... Spirit---is higher than matter. No one really wants to inhabit a world where material values rule. The incarnation of such values are exampled by Adolf Hitler, or Idi Amin."
"It is good news to know that we are loved by a 'tough love'; a love that is not willing to give up, or let go, and hence, a love that suffers long. In short we are loved by a love that will triumph. "Love never fails."
Good News For The Day
‘He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whom it falls will be crushed.’ (Matthew 21:44)
"In his parable of the tenants, Jesus looks across the years of Israel's covenant privilege, and gives his interpretation of them. He sees that Israel's history can be stated in terms of its refusal to recognize Him-the rejected stone. Through the prophetic ministry, Christ had made many pre-incarnational appeals to his people. "How often would I have gathered you together, even as a hen gathers her chickens."
"Thus did Jesus claim deep involvement in his nation's history. The Jews had stumbled over the Christ of the Old Testament. Many times the people had been humbled and broken through its rejection of his claims. So it may be with us. Our life story can be understood as the tale of a person engaged in a quest to make terms with the Stone-with Christ."
"From the beginning, Christ has been present to us. Our first meeting with him was through the warmth and love of our mother; then our father, and later, teachers and mentors. Christ has been there in providence; in good and ill. We have bumped into him time and again, in our attempts to be free of his claims. We have fought tooth and nail for our freedom from God. We have been burned and bruised repeatedly. These seasons of brokenness have been gracious. They have been... signs to us---that life will not work any other way but Christ's way."
"God enable me to discern the ministry of Jesus, the Stone, in my life."
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