Pulling it Together
February 7, 2007 by TJM Admin
Just a quick post tonight. First, I hope everyone finds that the redesign is a little easier on the eyes.
This post is simply to tie together In the Beginning parts 1 and 2 as well as Original Crime and Punishment. In the Christian realm, you have the Fundamentalists: the Bible is God’s word as it is. Then you have more liberal Christians: yes, it is god’s word but some of it is allegorical. Many of today’s Christians believe that the creation story(s) found in Genesis are allegorical in nature. If this is true, then there truly is no such thing as “original sin” and, hence, no need for a savior.
However, if you are to go with the fundamentalist view, creation happened just as laid out in Genesis. If this is the case, one has to question certain attributes that we have assigned to the Biblical god. Example: if God is indeed omniscient, surely he knew how the events were going to unfold. Now, before people scream, “FREEWILL,” the fact that God knew what was about to happen before he even created the Earth is evidenced by 1Peter 1:19-20:
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
So, do we go with the idea that God knowingly created a world which would be forever in turmoil due to sin, or the idea that some parts of the Bible are allegorical? If we go with the former, why isn’t God held up to the same scrutiny that we would examine a case of any pre-meditated crime? If the latter is true, how do we distinguish the literal from the allegorical?
Good article!
What is the problem with just having belief?
Nothing at all…as long as you are not using your belief to harm others or belittle and guilt them into joining your way of thinking.
To me spirituality is about comfort….not about feeling bad about your belief.
And…to me…people who feel the need to pressure others into their way of thinking are the ones who are not fully comfortable with their beleifs.
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You’ll have to excuse my spelling….my fingers don’t always work with my brain.
And yes…it is hard when someone believes literally, to seperate the allegory from the reality
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Thanks for your comment! I will reply piece by piece.
>What is the problem with just having belief?
Nothing at all…as long as you are not using your belief to harm others or belittle and guilt them into joining your way of thinking.
Is it truly harmless? It depends on what you consider harmful. If your belief keeps you from learning, that can be harmful. After all, it was pure belief that brought Galileo Galilei before the Pope and forced him to recant his idea that the Earth was round (but when leaving the Pope’s presence he uttered, “But it is, for all that” in Latin). It was belief that destroyed the Library of Alaxandria.
The problem with belief is that we are human. As humans, we want to feel accepted. Generally, that involves being around those that have similar ideas, goals, attributes and beliefs. And if you believe in something strongly enough, you will want to share it. For some, the desire fills them.
The only problem that I have with belief (in context of faith) is if it becomes a stumbling block for knowledge.
>To me spirituality is about comfort….not about feeling bad about your belief.
And you shouldn’t feel bad about your beliefs. Nobody should. But you should always have the ability to question those beliefs, no matter what they may be. For some, questioning strngthens thier beliefs, for others it does not. some people question and thier belief evolves, but the core remains intact.
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“Nothing at all…as long as you are not using your belief to harm others or belittle and guilt them into joining your way of thinking.”
Exactly, no more comment on that.
“And you shouldn’t feel bad about your beliefs. Nobody should. But you should always have the ability to question those beliefs, no matter what they may be. ”
Good point.
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