Featured Post

The Christian Perspective on the Old Testament

Unfortunately, too many Christians have allowed themselves to harbor extreme views with regard to the role which they permit the Old Testame...

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Making God and Religion into Something They Aren't!

Without even thinking about the implications of their theology, many Christians demand moral and doctrinal certitude. For them, the entirety of God's plan and will MUST be clearly revealed in the pages of the Bible. They are uncomfortable unless everything is delineated in black and white - without any shades of gray.

The problem with such thinking (even when it's on a subconscious level) is that it doesn't reflect reality! The truth is that the Bible doesn't come any where close to revealing all of God's plans, intentions and will. The reality is that God lives and governs in COLOR.

The real world - the world that God created - is full of complexity and nuance. And how can we have the audacity to demand from God that which God has refused to supply! Haven't you ever noticed that the quest for greater understanding seems to be inherent to human nature? In other words, it appears that we have been designed as curious creatures embarked on a grand quest.

That may not be what some of us want. That may make some of us extremely uncomfortable. Nevertheless, if we are honest with ourselves, that appears to more accurately reflect the world in which we live.

3 comments:

  1. The map is not the territory. Anything worth learning, can't be taught, it must be experienced!

    ReplyDelete
  2. "In other words, it appears that we have been designed as curious creatures embarked on a grand quest."

    For once a logical statement.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "When a Realist crosses the equator he’ll expect to see a vivid black line across the ocean; while a Critical Realist will expect to see a faint grey line. The non-Realist, on the other hand, knows that the system of lines of latitude and longitude imposed on the Earth by us exists only in our own heads, but it helps us find our way around the globe. The same goes for religion: it is a system of guiding myths to help us (decide) how to live. Use it. Rejoice in its poetry and spirituality. Just don’t waste your time looking for that big black line in the sea."

    ReplyDelete