Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Quote of the Day: "People who don’t believe the Bible..."

"I find that people who don’t believe the Bible are more impressed with the Bible when I start by arguing with the scientific evidence." -- Wintery Knight.

An interesting take on apologetical method by the Wintery One discussing J. P. Moreland article on the scientifically-validated deleterious effects of promiscuity.

From a preaching point of view, the approach would be the opposite, i.e., preach the word, and illustrate by scientific confirmation.

And the beat goes on...

h/t Dan Hannon for pointing out the mis-attribution of the quote in the original post.


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Thursday, December 16, 2010

I Find Myself (Mostly) Agreeing With An Anti-ID Guy

Moses mosaic on display at the Cathedral Basil...                                          Image via Wikipedia
“The problem is that the cosmology in Genesis does not resemble what we know about the origins of the world.... If you believe that the world was created by God in six days because the Bible says so, then you must also believe that the Israelites saw God’s hand, because the Bible says so, and that Moses spoke to God face to face, because the Bible says so, and that God’s feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, because the Bible says so, and so on.... Sanctity is not an excuse for stupidity.” -- Leon Wieseltier, 2005, quoted here.
I had to whittle down the comment to pull it off, but, having done so, I agree with what this anti-ID guy says. The valid point he makes is this: the Bible must be interpreted. Not all statements ought to be understood as historic or scientific or literal.

Examples? The parables of Jesus convey profound truths, but they need not have been the recounting of historical events. The sun rising in the east and setting in the west is true in an anthropic sense, but not in a scientific sense. God's hand, face, arm, etc. convey truth about the deity, but are not literally true, at least, not true in the materialistic sense which is just about the only way we are able to think of hands, faces, and arms.

There is no need for the cosmology in Genesis to be entirely scientifically or historically or literally true in order to be true, and indeed, to communicate indispensable truths about God and the human condition. The literalness of Genesis depends on both the communicative intents of the Author/author(s) of these accounts, and the way in which these accounts would have been understood by their original hearers. As 21st century persons, we are "listening in" on an ancient communication that did and still does communicate vitally relevant and true information to humankind.

God created. Man fell. God promised a Saviour. The Saviour Came. There's a new world coming.
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Friday, November 26, 2010

Getcher ESV Bible Free On Kindle

English Standard Version                                      Image via Wikipedia
Good news - man conquers death; door to heaven opened; read all about it!

ESV Bible Kindle Free.
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"... nothing intellectually compelling or challenging.. bald assertions coupled to superstition... woefully pathetic"