***I know some things about Him, but I also know Him on a personal basis BECAUSE He is a personal God.***
He is further above us than we are above the rotifers. Infinitely further. How is the personal touch carried out?
***The independence of man demands that God be pushed away and put into an unknowable box.***
We contend that the Reformation has attempted to elevate man to the point where not only does he invent his own God, he elevates himself to the point where he has his own personal God.
***It has long been my belief that the personal relationship an Apostolic has is not with God at all. It is with the Church. The Church is the real center of the Apostolic faith, imo.***
The Church is the teaching institution. We must all learn and therefore we need to go to the Church for learning, instruction, and for receiving the Sacraments. The priest is a religious leader of the people, but only one of the people. That’s why it is so important that we celebrate Mass with the priest facing with the people, up to God, rather than the Protestant lecture hall.
***However, He DOES speak to me and I certainly speak to Him all the time. Our relationship is deeply personal. I tell Him things I wouldn’t tell anyone else because I trust Him, not because I “have to”. ***
How does the speech work? Is it an actual voice, or is it subconscious?
***If God had designed our faith to be provable to all men, to whatever standard they demanded, then all men would believe.***
How many people saw Christ in the flesh, saw miracles, heard Him teach and still didn’t believe? Just more evidence for the free will of men.
***The truth of facts is not dependent on who or how many people agree with the facts.***
Agreed. But believing something very strongly does not make it true either.
He is further above us than we are above the rotifers. Infinitely further. How is the personal touch carried out?
God shows us that He is personal through His revelation to us. As Kosta noted, a good place to start would be with the Incarnation itself. God created a way for us to know Him that surpassed previous revelations. It was personal and real (of a person, not ethereal). In addition, through scripture God reveals the nature of man TO man. That is also personal because it meets one of our deepest needs, the need to understand who we are.
Of course we cannot comprehend all that He is, but that does not mean that He cannot relate to us on a personal level. If we shut God into a box labeled "unknowable" then we are also free to make up anything we want about who He is and what He is doing. For the Christian that quickly leads to a faith in men instead of a faith in God.
We contend that the Reformation has attempted to elevate man to the point where not only does he invent his own God, he elevates himself to the point where he has his own personal God.
I wasn't sure if it was also the Latin view to deny the personality of God. Now I know. :)
FK: ***However, He DOES speak to me and I certainly speak to Him all the time. Our relationship is deeply personal. I tell Him things I wouldn’t tell anyone else because I trust Him, not because I “have to”. ***
How does the speech work? Is it an actual voice, or is it subconscious?
Just one of many examples is that God speaks to all believers through His word. The "ears to hear" makes that word personal, real, and relevant to me. If I read a technical manual about a subject I didn't know or care about, then it wouldn't be personal to me because it would be irrelevant to me. The Bible doesn't read like that at all.
God also speaks to us through our consciences. Whenever we are led to do something right, that we really do not want to do, that is God speaking to us. And, it's very personal.
How many people saw Christ in the flesh, saw miracles, heard Him teach and still didn’t believe? Just more evidence for the free will of men.
The Bible says otherwise:
Matt 16:15-17 : 15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
Nothing about free will here, or having something "proved" to him.