Biblical Apologists and Egomaniacs

Enjoyed your comments... ;)

Nice to see you, Linda. May God bless your day!

Thanks Sue - he has blessed most of my days. Things keep getting better because of it! May God bless your day(s) as well...

Thank you, Linda. Just your presence here is one of those blessings.

(((hugs))) ;)

Beloved 'lily' of the Blessed Valley, your words give reason for the sun to rise...

Sometimes I wish you could write the words for my boyfriend to speak to me, ben.

Seriously, thank you for your kind acknowledgement here.

Be patient with him, dear Sue. He may be the 'silent type.'

May Our God always be your dearest Companion.

I was only kidding. He can actually be very poetic on rare occasions. As an atheist, he's certainly not going to attribute any words of mine pertaining to my belief in God as wise, but that's to be expected.

Yes. I see. You must love him greatly.

There have been enough intellectuals who practice a faith to prove atheism does not have a monopoly on intellect. JRR Tolkein, Roberet Winston (Jewish IVF pioneer) are two that spring to mind.
Einstein famously said:"Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind."
Though widely represented as a total atheist by the Church of Scienceology and a firm beliver by some evangelical bloggers, his own words are firmly equivocal suggesting he was an agnostic.
A couple of years ago I was priviliged to meet writer and Charles Darwin's great great grabdaughter Ruth Padel. Ruth was promoting a book at the radion station I do bits for and was due 'on mic' while I had some preparing to do so we only exchanged pleasantries but I listened to her interview and she was quite clear that Darwin never believed his theories replaced or were incompatible in any way with religious faith. He was equally adamant, according to family papers not accessible to the public, that many things, human consciousness among them, could not be explained by evolutiion.

Oh, sure, Ian, and there are so many countless others who would prove that atheism has no monpoly on intelllect. As I pointed out on the other post that prompted this one, there is also that comical type of atheist who does think that associating himself as an atheist makes him an automatic Einstein or reasonable facsimile. So too, however, there are plenty of these Christians about whom I speak in this post who separate themselves from other Christians who may have come to a belief in God blindly because they believe that to have faith that is acceptable to them, they must use reasoning ability. They think that if they were to associate themselves without that poignant differentiation, they might be considered less intellectual by peers, and maybe they would be, but it's not my concern what someone might think of me if I should take some doctrinal truths on blind faith. I have no respect for those Christians for whom it is a concern because to me they're just common egomaniacs.

With my Catholic background, we were taught the theory of evolution and it had nothing to do with faith in God. The RC Church to this day teaches the theory and does not see it as posing a problem. As you correctly state, Darwin's theory was a scientific theory, and was never meant to disparage religious belief. As I've said, I see science as a reaching toward God, but science is ever-changing with new discovery, and the Bible tells us that God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Thank you for embellishing on this issue with further information about Darwin's intentions from his granddaughter. I hope it will serve to enlighten others.

Don't forget CS Lewis Ian :) As well as thousands more.

You know every denomination used to think the others were mostly not true Christians. But in the last 20 years that has changed a lot. I've really noticed that's it a relationship with Christ that people are looking for in others more now and not every tiny piece of philosophy. It has a ways to go, but as you say, it's important and I think by end times we might all be bound together. Only God could do that :)

and there are so many countless others who would prove that atheism has no monpoly on intelllect

That's a case of stating the obvious Sue. Speaking as a non-theist myself I have often observed that one only has to look around gaher to see that atheists do not have a monopoly on intellect.

Glome & Scott,
I wasn't a CS Lewis fan myself, more a Treaure Island guy, but my kids loved Narnia. But I just picked the first two who came into my head and represented arts and sciences. I could easily have said T.S. Eliot.

Working in the nuclear industry (as a computer comms specialist) for several years I was initially quite surprised that the Atomic Energy Authority and associated organisations had a very active cross denominational Christian fellowship.

Faith of course is different things to different people. I'm in the process of preparing a post on a theory that gives a new perspective on the whole 'higher power' argument. If only people would stop bringing me their computers and saying "I have this mailware problem - strolled right past my anti virus suite."

Maybe I should start charging, that would deter them. LOL

You don't charge and expect it will ever end? That's what I call faith in humanity.

I also look after several websites for no fee. I enjoy it and it keeps me in touch with what I used to do for a living. Where the arrangement has fallen down is in the recent (last twelve months) escalation of the nastiness of malware. What friends and family used to keep to themselves they have decided to share with their friends and extended families.

So when people now say they've been told told by the computer shop. "It's dead, you'll have to buy a new computer." my friends say, "We know a guy who can fix it. But as you say, my fee will have to increase from a couple of bottles of decent wine.

I have learned however just how crappy microsoft software and internet technologies are. I always knew they were crappy but even my nasty, suspicious mind though anything could be THAT crappy.

I thought it was a sort of hobby that had taken on a life of its own. You're fortunate to able to stay in touch with your profession like that.

I had an INFOSEC candidate back in the 90s, one of my faves, who used to rant and rave about MS OS, very much a Unix fan, especially because he was a security expert. I had Windows 7 before it was released, and I was so sorry because XP was the best system they ever put out, I think. At least I could have had it for 6 months longer.

I like the fee you have now, though. :)

I want to write a brilliant reply but it would be too long for a comment (like one of those climate science cultists who write a 5000 word response to a 500 word article) so I will do it, post it on my own page and give you a nudge.

One of the PCs brought to me quite recently had a trojan in svchost, a system file. Absolute pig for the non savvy but surprisingly easy to get rid of. But what kind of system allows system files to be modified or overwritten. It's just incompetence.

The whole Microsoft / www thing over the last 20 years has every appearance of being a gigantic scam. One dare not use the ten letter 'C' word for fear of being branded a 'c' theorist and right wing nut job but you can bet where there were confluences of interest certain corporations colluded to further their common interests. You know what I mean. BTW I just used another C word, circumlocution, I'm on a roll.

But of course we are not talking about a massive global deception here because such things, involving thousands of scientists, corporate executives, media professionals, financiers and politicians are impossible. LOL.

Some people argue because that is what they like to do and there are many of them - the subject matter at hand though is secondary :-)

Very true, Bernard. I happen to love to argue, but when it comes to matters of faith I am more reluctant to do that because the essence of faith is then reduced to dogmatic differences. To some extent, it may help the novice religionist to sort out what stand he takes, but it is much better to take the Word of God and ask for enlightenment. To intellectualize faith is to take away its miracle, and that is something that is also relative to believers because those who wish to reason their faith to any great extent cannot ever conceive of the infinitude of its miraculous impact on their lives if they hadn't. They may see glimpses of what faith can do, but it's far from what is its potential.

Dear Sue, thank you for sharing your personal belief in God. Until now, I had no idea of your religious background. Like you, I was raised as a Catholic being baptiized, confirmed, and sincerely thought about God. Till this day, I believe in God but I do subscribe my faith to any religion. It is very possible if both you and I were raised in Iran we would we Muslims. But having read the Koran line-by-line, I must say that it appeals to those religious leaders who desire control, both politically and theocrately, over their followers. Any religion that does not respect the religious beliefs of other cultures by people in other countries is a sham.

You recently read my Post, "Does Consciousness Prevade Our Universe?" and I related my view that there is a consciousness that may be viewed as being God. That consciousness is inherent in every particle, such as the atom, that strives to mix and combine itself to attain higher forms ot matter and biological life. To the extent, that this inherent consciousness seeks to develope a high level of organic consciousness that it reaches out and tries to understand itself and the universe it is a part of.

To me, God is man's creation of the unknowable, mysterious, and incomprehensible God. It is our attempt to understand our creator. But this developed idea of God does much more; it has been used by very wise and perceptive men to improve the morality of their people. I wrote a book titled, Future of God Amen, in which I have provided a historical development of how mankind came to conceive one-universal God. That God, known as Amen, has greatly influenced the development of the Judaic, Christian, and Islamic religions. It was Jesus, in Revelation 3:14, that verified the theme of my book by announcing Amen is, "the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God."

Sue, mentioned the Word of God. The "Word of God" was given to mankind before the Bible was written. It has been reformulated by the Hebrews and carried into the Gospels after the death of Jesus. Few people have become aware of the "LAST COMMAND" given by God through Jesus who announced it 3 times, and I would with certainty say it is the Word of God - love one another.

Hopefully, your Gather readers will be interested enough to read about the "beginning of the creation of God" by placing an Internect search on my name or click on the title of the book given above.

Thank you. Knowledge is a Wonderful Gift.

Just a couple of things here, Nicholas:

I have no problem with your promotion of your book on my posts as long as when and if you do that in the future you are sure to make the notation that your promotion does not in any way implicate me as endorsing it. I hope you can respect that request.

Unlike you, I attended parochial schools for16 years and I had deep religious instruction. I know from a recent comment of yours that you attended public schools because you mentioned your Jewish principal and how he was very instrumental in your thoughts about God. You never mentioned that any of the Catholic study was as important to you. I'm sure you probably had the usual weekly instruction that was offered to public school students that prepared them for the sacraments, but it is different from the intensity of religious study that we had on a daily basis.

Love is certainly foundational to the Christian faith, and the two greatest commandments are what I consider to be the basis of Christianity. It does recognize first, however, the love of God in the first commandment, the Biblical God, with all attributes as recorded in His Word.

Thank you for your interest here. I hope it exceeds the promotional aspect.

Dear Sue, sorry to seem pushy about promoting my book. I wrote it to inform people about what I learned in my life. Be certain that my Catholic instruction was very good for it helped to shape me into the kind of person I am today. I respect the religious beliefs of all faiths because we all share the same common desire to know God. More importantly, it is what we do with that belief. If we have failed to follow the Word of God - love one another, then God could not possibly accept us. Few people recognize that the last Command given by God was through Jesus. To love God is not enough; it is being able to love one another that is the key to understanding love. Love for God serves no purpose if it is not redirected towards our fellow human beings and all living things with respect. Truly, if we are all part of this wonderful planet we should have respect for the life that exists on it. This earth is a small part of all the other worlds that exist and God has created life throughout the universe. To think God created man in His own image is rather an arrogant idea by the minds of men.

My message, without mentioning the book, is that the leaders of the Judaic, Christian, and Islamic religions have got to work together and teach the Word of God. It would mean that courageous and perceptive religious leaders are needed to revise their scriptures and unify their beliefs. Dogma is very difficult to change and that is why the subtitle of my book is, "A Call to Daughters and Sons of God."

It is the youth of tomorrow that must rise up and seek unity by forcing their religious leaders to change. Religious leaders are so wrapped up in their beliefs that they will not seek a common understanding that we are ALL CHILDREN OF GOD. If a religious revolution to bring the three major religions fails, we may have to deal with a revolution brought upon us by terrorists. Perhaps, that may be the only other way arrogant religious leaders and fundamentalist followers will realize that they should have followed the Word of God-love one another.

Perhaps the reason you started a new thread was because you did not wish to address anything I said, and only wished to further expand on your own ideas. That's fine, but I have nothing more to say than to repeat what I said above.

Thanks for sharing on Helping Out One Another

You're welcome, Beth.


(Faith requires humility.)

By their fruit they shall be known ...