Speaking of each breath, the sustaining of human consciousness seems to rely on the humble oxygen molecule. Bravo for that! I have posts on my blog, Scrivenings, about depressions and suicide among Christians, and their gullibility, i.e., religious affinity fraud. "what Genesis says about Adam and the consequences of his actions does not seem to line up with the universal picture that Paul paints in Romans and 1 Corinthians []. Evidence used that way is a foundationalist dead end, but thats not the only way of interpreting Experience, of which scientific experiments are one kind. Religious conviction without evidence based knowledge is why there are so many religions, denominations, sects and cults and demonizations of one by the other. One atheist and evolutionist, Dr. Jerry Coyne, believes very strongly that evolution and Christianity are not at all compatible. I tend to experience *both* God and people in the manner described. It goes without saying that the writings you mentioned can contain interesting concepts, but they do not reveal the God of the universe anymore than an Agatha Christy mystery, which I dearly enjoy. 254). Which faith offers the greatest fulfillment of the cosmos longings? There is a type of love that can only be experience I think by a parent for their child. Well that seems to me to be more of a way of guessing then? But I also think youre using the language of evidence in a very stale, limited manner. Because of the differences in interpreting Adam by biblical scholars, Dr. Enns believes that it is unwise to "cling too rigidly to any one approach" (107). Acts of Interpretation features essays by biblical scholars and theologians offering broad reflections on key interpretive issues, rich readings of challenging biblical texts, and interaction with the Christian exegetical tradition from Melito of Sardis to Dietrich Bonhoeffer.The contributors to this volume are leading figures in the theological interpretation of Scripture. To dig down a little deeper theologically, I can deeply understand the paradox of the Incarnation of not only a God-as-man, but in the form of a baby in a manager in Galilee in first-century Palestine. Therefore, that which is felt or known by the senses, having shape and colour, cannot be God. perhaps the matter of knowing God is based on ones necessity to survive. Not really. Many miss it here because they want to be in control of any such relationship. In fact, presuming that evidence-based knowledge is the only sure way of knowing anythingworth knowing lies behind both the angst and the sense of certainty many feel about Gods existence or non-existence. That said, I can see the contemplative Hindu or Buddhist saying the exact same thing. I think that if all religious believers could accept such limitations, and find in the penumbra thereof, that there is no certainty, and therefore, no grounds for believing to the exclusion of other faiths, wed find less conflict in this world. I have met lifelong atheists who never got high on Jesus in their youth like you or I did. At Eastern Since 2012. Maybe more so than that of our sense perception of sight? When asked, do you believe God exists?, I cant help but response with, what do you mean by God?'. Now to consider these values a bit, we can exercise some examples. Thats not to say that understanding the world as-is doesnt matter; it does. Intelligence, understanding and attainment cannot attain the depth of knowledge to study or scrutinise the Godhead. All, or none, of the above?). As if chosen by God to tell people who should be a christian based on their concerns regarding the bible. The more one believes as many as true things as possible about reality and as few of false things as possible about reality enables one to better understand the nature of the challenge, the tools available, and realistic hopes about ground to be gained, next and within the scope of a lifetime. Mitchel Modine. Redemption to a broken world? However, I think you are confusing or conflating the experience of God with the existence of God. Enns believes that there are many different views of God and that we human beings cannot tell which is the correct ones, and that it is better that we do not know for certain than that we do know for certain. There are a variety of reasons (speaking myself) that I believe while having doubt and disparaging my trust in God (Jesus) does not solve the dilemma (my own opinion) but creates more problems ( I was not raised Christian either in fact I did not become a Christian until a few years ago). I agree that post-enlightenment empiricism is never going to lead to genuine interaction with the creator, but what about prayer? read the whole Chicago Statement aloud to his cat, Marmalade. So thats where I am at this stage of my journey on the whole God thing. One task that gives me great joy is to introduce students to the big picture of the biblical story and to develop insight and respect for how the Old and New Testaments are in conversation with each other. The rule that clarity is the standard of truth subsequently achieved dominance in the Enlightenment (Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 1 vol edition, 486). He was after all, our first RC President. The Spirit? God is just another word for magic. But what we can do is employ language to describe those deep experiences in a way to see if we are alone in them or if there are other people who in the way they respond hint at having had the same shared experience as us. If I have the experience of perceiving spiraling motion when looking upon a static optical illusion, you cannot deny that I have the experience of perceiving motion. That your mind cannot stretch to embrace a perspective that seems to transcend all of existence. 2. . If only she knew in her lifetime that more than just those nuns was going to be reading her works but many people would be influenced and inspired by her theology. We engage in an endless constellation of projects, such as ministry projects, evangelistic missions, sermon series, small groups etc. I like the fruit of this way of knowingeverything from electricity and medicine to electron-microscopesand radio telescopes. as yours. It is in this context, that Christianity, for me, is a profound disappointment. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. Adam and Eve are the Bible's first man and first woman. Pete: I much prefer your brand of Christianity to others, and the world would be a better place if more people thought like you. Per the books blurb, The Sin of Certainty models an acceptance of mystery and paradox that all believers can follow and why God prefers this path because it is only this way by which we can become mature disciples who truly trust God.. Enns is a frequent contributor to journals and encyclopedias and is the author of several . and Ph.D. Harvard University He speaks actively in academic and ecclesiastical venues on topics pertaining the Bible and Christian faith. The intersection of these (with a lot of other stuff thrown in there for good measure, such as Barths furious response to 19th century liberals on issues related to mediated/unmediated experience) was very compelling in my theological studies and has been fascinating to observe on a practical level in pastoral ministry in the conservative south, especially in this political and cultural moment. Certainly they are subjective but that does not then mean they cannot be compared. . Thoughts? The realm of the elohim and the realm of the seen (1 sam 28.13). How we study and understand these relationships, and their separate parts, and the enjoyment of the results of that understanding, are very important, fulfilling, stretching etc. And two, what does exist mean? Though I certainly dont want to edge into Edwards post to restate it here. And there seems to be a bit of a one-way mirror phenomenon going on. Human faculties of conception, perception and learning, and attributes of volition, intuition and apprehension cannot catch sight of His Person or fathom the extent of His Might and Glory. This implies that Joker3857 believes that one cannot be a christian if they think the bible to have errors. Professor; Executive Director, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research; Robert S. Harrison Director, Cornell Center for Social Sciences. Perhaps its ones urge for drinking mothers milk when one is first born (who gave you a mother? Enns prefers this approach because it supports his view of Adam as proto-Israel (107) and maintains an Israel-centered focus rather than a universal one (106). Previously he was a Senior Fellow of . depth Outside of his academic work Enns is a contributor to HuffPost and Patheos. I know others mileage may vary. Contemplation is apprehension uncluttered by thoughtparticularly preconception and analysis. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. An Atheist Evolutionist Asks a Good Question of Dr. Peter Enns October 22, 2012 It seems that Young Earth Creationists are not the only ones who find BioLogos' attempt to "reconcile science and faith" lacking. The universal and self-evident problem of death. So sad to have so much education without conviction. here s something about the bible of the peter enns June 1st, 2020 - think about that the old testament of the new testament writers and of the early church was a translation and an imperfect one at that you d think at key moment of god s self disclosure ten things i hate about church and why i go anyway Culturally, we tend to have a project-based approach toward church life. One big reason is that I am convinced I would already be dead many times over without Gods guidance. Without discounting all those wonderful things, I do not think that the God question is settled this way. Also try googling sea of faith.. Here's where the money is going! In both stories, the boat comes to rest on a mountain and birds are sent out to find land. http://edward-t-babinski.blogspot.com/2015/08/christians-or-non-christians-who-suffer.html An Atheist that believes in God. To me, simply, neither these two billion adherents nor there leaders really seem all that differentiated from their peer adherents of Allah, Brahma, and more in sacred task of transforming the world. I also would want to point out that the Christian religion has to do with a person named Jesus (as christians we believe this Jesus is still transforming lives and hes on the loose), in other words it is not just a simple have faith or belief The Christian faith is a living trust that Jesus Christ (messiah) will rescue (has will in the future) the world for a global renewal (earth and heaven). Previous Post Wholeheartedness with Chuck DeGroat Depending on how you interpret Gods word, I hope He is not good to it in the sense of damning nonbelievers to an eternity of torment. fullness Bavinck has a tendency to get to the point doesnt he ? Thanks Pete! All three books seek to better understand political representation, inequality, and social outcomes in the United States. This answer is Biblical, albeit unpopular: the bible has always presupposed an (at least) 2 tiered, interlocking cosmology: the visible and invisible. http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/cruz-any-president-who-doesnt-begin-every-day-his-knees-isnt-fit-be-commander-chief-nation. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. Instead it looks like people have a wide variety of reality tunnels and interpretations. But if you are after people of all religions, denominations, sects and cults saying, We dont really know, but why change because this seems to be working alright? Fine. However, I tend to apply such experiences to relationships that I have with the people that surround me not to the deities of ancient cultures. It is no more Western and modern than the Greek-named constellations are ancient and Greek or the Arabic-named stars are Medieval and Arab. Or at least you have come near enough to listen and understand much of what Frank has to say. Many say, Lord, Lord. Small is the gate and narrow is the road. By Peter K. Enns I have published three books: Hijacking the Agenda (with Chris Witko, Nate Kelly and Jana Morgan), Incarceration Nation, and Who Gets Represented? Eye-witness accounts on Mount Sinai, the Mount of transfiguration, the road to Damascus and on and on. But one alternative is to have a church, mosque, and a Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu temple, close together on every corner with no ones sign larger or higher than the rest, to remind ourselves we can indeed all truly get along. You use the word sin in your title; I havent read your book, but I hope that in the discussion in the book you avoid much use of the term. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit But I also get that Christianity isnt really transforming the world through compassion essentially better than anything or anyone else. We know by comparing our own, internal, subjective experiences of sight that this is a largely reliable sense. Id suggest there are other qualitative characteristics too. I think if Christianity, as a whole, doesnt soon reconcile itself among its adherents and with its founders teachings, it will soon (if not already there) be down an irreversible trajectory of being part of the problem rather than part of the solution in the inevitable redemption of the cosmos. Did you see the same thing I saw? Does it mean that same thing to you?. I realize that there is a long and rich history of discussion over difficult philosophical issues concerning the existence of God. Evidence: The heavens declare the glory of God. In these chapters God fashions "the man" (ha adam) from earth (adamah), breathes life into his nostrils, and makes him a caretaker . But when you reach the point where there is little to differentiate between different encounters or transcendent perceptions yielding incompatible truth claims, then you are not just dealing with a measure of uncertainty to be tolerated, but rather a total lack of confidence in whether what you believe corresponds to actual reality. As is knowledge of the Theotokos. This sort of knowing is beyond reason, but it is not irrational. If we hold to the same manner in which we share any other experience with those around us, we would ge bound to accept this. In passing, he also makes a very interesting observation about contemporary Protestant theology: "I live in an ecclesial world in which those who value Christian orthodoxy as a concept seem invariably to drift towards either Rome or Constantinople or some amalgamation of the two which is represented by no existing church. Is not irrational to rely on the holy mountain professor ; Executive Director, Roper Center for Public Opinion ;... 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