The Church of Allan - The Plain Truth About God
A serialization of the book, The Plain Truth About God.
Chapter 13. I’m a Believer
This brings us to the final question on the duality of good and evil and how it affects us.
Do we blindly follow what is put before us as “scripture,” or do we look inside of ourselves for the answer?
The end result is: “Do we accept what other people tell us is the way, the truth and the light.” or “Do we go about it our own way by looking at what makes sense!”
>Does God control everything?- Obviously not, at least not in any way that we as mere mortals can see! (Look back a few pages at the Eastern school of thought!)
>Is there a God? - Look around you, there has to be! (This is the only thing I personally apply the term “believe” to.)
>Can we petition the Lord with prayer? Obviously not! - Otherwise I would be rich, famous, handsome, and in perfect health.
-So would everyone else!
>Is there a purpose to it all? There has to be! The mere fact that we believe in a Supreme Being and wonder about the purpose of the cosmos pre-supposes that there must be a plan. This does not mean that we are in any way smart enough to start second-guessing God as to what that Plan is!
>God is by definition much too big for us to comprehend, but there are certain things that give an indication of God’s presence.
** One is “instinct.”
** Another is: “Human reason, which can conceive a God.”
** Altruism as a manifestation of God’s Love.
** The “wonder and joy” as well as the “pain and sorrow” of daily living. All to be experienced as part of our connection to the infinite!
Life has been described as “bitter-sweet” and it is not up to us to question why or how, but rather, just to do the best we can.
This is how we, as a people, will develop and evolve into a higher state of being!
In other words, we cannot control how life treats us, but we can control how we react to life. No matter what is thrown our way, we should face our destiny with a bit of class and a state of grace!
That is the true human virtue, and one that shows we are on the right path!!!!!
We, as human beings, also do not need to be told what is right and what is wrong.
This is a knowledge that is inherent in all of us!
It is only our ability to choose between the two that sets us apart from the other inhabitants of this planet.
It is also the trait that either brings us closer, or leads us further away, from a state of grace.
The choice is ours!
** In other words, our connection to God is an intensely personal relationship that should never be interfered with by another human being telling us what God wants or means.
If another person tells you they know the mind of God, you can bet it is the “metaphorical devil” doing the talking.
If that someone tells you how to avoid going to Hell and attaining Paradise, run like hell…away from them!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A final few words to end the “evolution/creation” debate once and for all!
“What we have here is failure to communicate!”
Maybe not an original quote, but as far as the evolution / creation debate goes, perhaps a very appropriate one! The constant war of words between Darwinists and Creationists has been ongoing for many years and has not been resolved to anyone’s satisfaction.
Perhaps we should go right back to the very basics and start to build from there; just to see what happens!
First of all we have to take a position that there is either a God, or there is not!
If there is no God then the Darwinists are absolutely right and everything was created by dumb luck and there is no purpose to anything!
I can see why evolutionists have been so adamant that natural selection and the progression of lower life forms into higher ones, without outside help, seem to be the natural order of things. They have a compelling argument and the term; “Just the facts, Ma’am” bear them out.
However, the supposition that life, and by correlation intelligence, is the result of blind chance with no interference from a God, is the same as saying that by default there is no God!
In other words, to accept evolution from a scientific point of view without taking into account the theological implications of the Atheists being right, does a great disservice to anyone who has any feelings at all of a religious/spiritual nature.
I personally cannot imagine a world where there is no God at all. That this whole kit-and-caboodle we call the Universe is just a random organization of the basic elements with no ultimate purpose!
This extremist’s view is no better than those of religious fanatics who try and tell me that the world is no more than seven thousand years old. Both are the result of people polarized in their own views and beliefs.
After all, a belief that there is no God is in no way any different than the view that there is a God; both depend on a personal belief system, since neither can be scientifically proven!
This is not to say that we should teach the biblical version of the creation of the universe as literal truth.
Any rational, semi-educated person realizes that Holy Scripture is a compilation of parables, prophesy, folk-lore, metaphor’s and common sense in a first century context!
Nor should we refer to the bible as a historical work since it is more concerned with the mind-set and morality of people than an account of their achievements!
If we can learn to distinguish between the metaphorical and the historical aspects of the scriptures then it makes it all the easier to differentiate between the divergent aims of scientific and theological schools of thought.
Just as the far right claims biblical truth and rejects scientific evidence, the Darwinists are at a loss to explain how the Universe (The Big Bang) came into being from absolutely nothing.
It’s like comparing apples and oranges. Both are different and have a different purpose.
To attempt a comparison is the same as looking for common ground when talking about two totally different things. With this in mind there is no real conflict between religion and science. God is by God’s very nature unknowable.
What I object to is the human trait of forming special interest groups whose sole job is giving only their explanation of God and even making proclamations and laws in God’s name.
This to me is the height of human arrogance and self-deception.
We do not know how God interacts with our universe and should not use one philosophy (religion or science) to try and explain the other.
“Render therefore to Cesar the things which are Cesar’s, and to God the things which are God’s.”
In other words, I am all for teaching Creationism in school; as soon as they start teaching evolution in church!
I have a theory, and it’s called Evolution! I have a belief, and it’s called some form of Intelligent Design! (Just not the I.D. proposed by the "Religious Right Wingers!")
Allan W Janssen
God started us on this incredible journey – and is now waiting for us at its conclusion! (I’m not talking about our mortal existence – I’m talking about the human experience.)
fini:
Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com
Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com
Chapter 13. I’m a Believer
This brings us to the final question on the duality of good and evil and how it affects us. Do we blindly follow what is put before us as “scripture,” or do we look inside of ourselves for the answer?
The end result is: “Do we accept what other people tell us is the way, the truth and the light.” or “Do we go about it our own way by looking at what makes sense!”
>Does God control everything?- Obviously not, at least not in any way that we as mere mortals can see! (Look back a few pages at the Eastern school of thought!)
>Is there a God? - Look around you, there has to be! (This is the only thing I personally apply the term “believe” to.)
>Can we petition the Lord with prayer? Obviously not! - Otherwise I would be rich, famous, handsome, and in perfect health.
-So would everyone else!
>Is there a purpose to it all? There has to be! The mere fact that we believe in a Supreme Being and wonder about the purpose of the cosmos pre-supposes that there must be a plan. This does not mean that we are in any way smart enough to start second-guessing God as to what that Plan is!
>God is by definition much too big for us to comprehend, but there are certain things that give an indication of God’s presence.
** One is “instinct.”
** Another is: “Human reason, which can conceive a God.”
** Altruism as a manifestation of God’s Love.
** The “wonder and joy” as well as the “pain and sorrow” of daily living. All to be experienced as part of our connection to the infinite!
Life has been described as “bitter-sweet” and it is not up to us to question why or how, but rather, just to do the best we can.
This is how we, as a people, will develop and evolve into a higher state of being!
In other words, we cannot control how life treats us, but we can control how we react to life. No matter what is thrown our way, we should face our destiny with a bit of class and a state of grace!
That is the true human virtue, and one that shows we are on the right path!!!!!
We, as human beings, also do not need to be told what is right and what is wrong.
This is a knowledge that is inherent in all of us!
It is only our ability to choose between the two that sets us apart from the other inhabitants of this planet.
It is also the trait that either brings us closer, or leads us further away, from a state of grace.
The choice is ours!
** In other words, our connection to God is an intensely personal relationship that should never be interfered with by another human being telling us what God wants or means.
If another person tells you they know the mind of God, you can bet it is the “metaphorical devil” doing the talking.
If that someone tells you how to avoid going to Hell and attaining Paradise, run like hell…away from them!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A final few words to end the “evolution/creation” debate once and for all!
“What we have here is failure to communicate!”
Maybe not an original quote, but as far as the evolution / creation debate goes, perhaps a very appropriate one! The constant war of words between Darwinists and Creationists has been ongoing for many years and has not been resolved to anyone’s satisfaction.
Perhaps we should go right back to the very basics and start to build from there; just to see what happens!
First of all we have to take a position that there is either a God, or there is not!
If there is no God then the Darwinists are absolutely right and everything was created by dumb luck and there is no purpose to anything!
I can see why evolutionists have been so adamant that natural selection and the progression of lower life forms into higher ones, without outside help, seem to be the natural order of things. They have a compelling argument and the term; “Just the facts, Ma’am” bear them out.
However, the supposition that life, and by correlation intelligence, is the result of blind chance with no interference from a God, is the same as saying that by default there is no God!
In other words, to accept evolution from a scientific point of view without taking into account the theological implications of the Atheists being right, does a great disservice to anyone who has any feelings at all of a religious/spiritual nature.
I personally cannot imagine a world where there is no God at all. That this whole kit-and-caboodle we call the Universe is just a random organization of the basic elements with no ultimate purpose!
This extremist’s view is no better than those of religious fanatics who try and tell me that the world is no more than seven thousand years old. Both are the result of people polarized in their own views and beliefs.
After all, a belief that there is no God is in no way any different than the view that there is a God; both depend on a personal belief system, since neither can be scientifically proven!
This is not to say that we should teach the biblical version of the creation of the universe as literal truth.
Any rational, semi-educated person realizes that Holy Scripture is a compilation of parables, prophesy, folk-lore, metaphor’s and common sense in a first century context!
Nor should we refer to the bible as a historical work since it is more concerned with the mind-set and morality of people than an account of their achievements!
If we can learn to distinguish between the metaphorical and the historical aspects of the scriptures then it makes it all the easier to differentiate between the divergent aims of scientific and theological schools of thought.
Just as the far right claims biblical truth and rejects scientific evidence, the Darwinists are at a loss to explain how the Universe (The Big Bang) came into being from absolutely nothing.
It’s like comparing apples and oranges. Both are different and have a different purpose.
To attempt a comparison is the same as looking for common ground when talking about two totally different things. With this in mind there is no real conflict between religion and science. God is by God’s very nature unknowable.
What I object to is the human trait of forming special interest groups whose sole job is giving only their explanation of God and even making proclamations and laws in God’s name.
This to me is the height of human arrogance and self-deception.
We do not know how God interacts with our universe and should not use one philosophy (religion or science) to try and explain the other.
“Render therefore to Cesar the things which are Cesar’s, and to God the things which are God’s.”
In other words, I am all for teaching Creationism in school; as soon as they start teaching evolution in church!
I have a theory, and it’s called Evolution! I have a belief, and it’s called some form of Intelligent Design! (Just not the I.D. proposed by the "Religious Right Wingers!")
Allan W Janssen
God started us on this incredible journey – and is now waiting for us at its conclusion! (I’m not talking about our mortal existence – I’m talking about the human experience.)
fini:
Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com
Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://God-101.blogspot.com
Labels: i'm a believer, The Church of Allan - The Plain Truth About God
posted by Allan W Janssen | 9:32 a.m.
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