Does God exist or are we just highly evolved swamp gas? And if God, or some supreme being does exist does he (or she) care about us? Can we have "faith" in God to "do the right thing"?
And further, even if there is a God .... what is this christian thing all about anyway?
Are these questions only weak minded emotional cripples ask? Is there any evidence for the existence of God? Is there any rational basis for having "faith" in God? Is there any evidence that Jesus was divine...or any evidence He even existed at all? was the account of Jesus just "made up" by madmen, or opportunists?
At Bikers church, we have been addressing these questions , and more, for some time now. We have studied scripture and watched videos which purport to present scientific evidence regarding those foregoing questions. We are not done yet....probably never will be "done", but we have been making progress in laying a firm and rational foundation for our faith. We are , after all, rational beings (or creatures as the case may be).
This fall, we will re-visit some of these films, and add more, as we continue our quest for knowledge of the foundations of our beliefs, our faith.
Believing in something, or someone, is a wonderous thing, but it is always based upon knowledge and experience. The more evidence, the stronger the belief, and we believe, there is ample evidence, scientific and otherwise, to support the invitation to believe in a loving creator...
But, the bible suggests there is more, much more than just coming to belief. ... the bible even attributes the "invitation for more" to God very God in Psalm 46 verse 10 which calls us to "be still, and know that I Am God".
Knowing vs. believing, I want that.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
For the past few weeks we have been discussing "knowing and trusting God". I doubt there is anything more important in life than this for, if we do not know God and have the assurance He can be trusted, what then?
Well, I guess the only thing "then" is to heed the advice satan gave to to Adam and Eve when he planted the seed of doubt in their minds and caused them to ignore God's commands in order to "get control" over their own lives.
Of course, we all know setting that course did not go well for them, and in fact, taking the same tack has, I believe, proved disastrous for all the rest of us who have followed in thier wake. The evidence for this asssertion can be found in the observance of personal and world affairs by anyone with a even only modicum of consciousness.
But, let's be honest....there are questions; legitimate questions, that I think we must all be willing to ask if our "faith" is ever to be built on a foundation solid enough to withstand the trials and tribulations we will all inevidably experience.
Truth is however, sometimes, we are afraid to ask them. Usaully, I think, because we have the notion God will be offended if we do .. even more disheartening, is the concern that in our questioning, we will find He is not there at all,
But questions such as "what do we really "know" of God that would make it possible, or even rational for us to trust Him completely and turn our lives over to Him? What do we really "know" of the character of God that would give us this confidence? Or maybe even more to the point, does what we actually "know" of the character of God comfort us or scare us? Does it draw us closer to Him or drive us away? Is God knowable at all?
And the biggie ... does God even exist, and if so, does He know me ... and does He care?
We are rational beings. Questions come naturally to us. Posing and pondering such questions is not an impertience. God, as I know Him, is most certainly not intimidated by any questions you or I might ask of Him.
Finding answers, rational answers, to those questions, and more, is our quest at WCBC.
We want to "know" our faith is founded upon evidence, and first hand experience, preferably our own. We want to respond, respectfully and reflectively, to the Divine invitation to "be still, and Know I am God"....we want that "stillness", that peace. We genuinely want to know Him.
Well, I guess the only thing "then" is to heed the advice satan gave to to Adam and Eve when he planted the seed of doubt in their minds and caused them to ignore God's commands in order to "get control" over their own lives.
Of course, we all know setting that course did not go well for them, and in fact, taking the same tack has, I believe, proved disastrous for all the rest of us who have followed in thier wake. The evidence for this asssertion can be found in the observance of personal and world affairs by anyone with a even only modicum of consciousness.
But, let's be honest....there are questions; legitimate questions, that I think we must all be willing to ask if our "faith" is ever to be built on a foundation solid enough to withstand the trials and tribulations we will all inevidably experience.
Truth is however, sometimes, we are afraid to ask them. Usaully, I think, because we have the notion God will be offended if we do .. even more disheartening, is the concern that in our questioning, we will find He is not there at all,
But questions such as "what do we really "know" of God that would make it possible, or even rational for us to trust Him completely and turn our lives over to Him? What do we really "know" of the character of God that would give us this confidence? Or maybe even more to the point, does what we actually "know" of the character of God comfort us or scare us? Does it draw us closer to Him or drive us away? Is God knowable at all?
And the biggie ... does God even exist, and if so, does He know me ... and does He care?
We are rational beings. Questions come naturally to us. Posing and pondering such questions is not an impertience. God, as I know Him, is most certainly not intimidated by any questions you or I might ask of Him.
Finding answers, rational answers, to those questions, and more, is our quest at WCBC.
We want to "know" our faith is founded upon evidence, and first hand experience, preferably our own. We want to respond, respectfully and reflectively, to the Divine invitation to "be still, and Know I am God"....we want that "stillness", that peace. We genuinely want to know Him.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)