The answer to my questions about beauty is not subjective, a mere warm fuzzy reaction. Rather, the answer is a rising of our emotion and spirit to interact with the inspiring truth we behold about God. To understand better read my article by clicking on Beauty and Truth (3rd in a series)
Archive for July, 2007
Beauty and Truth
Posted in Creation Articles, General, tagged Beauty, Creation Articles on July 28, 2007| 2 Comments »
Why beauty?
Posted in General, tagged Beauty, Outdoors, Why?! on July 26, 2007| 1 Comment »
The hues, the colors, the trees and mountains, the vastness and unobstructed view.
This is where I see beauty! But why do I see beauty here or at all? Visit again for some views and musing on the purpose and satisfaction of beauty.
Contradictory Syncretism
Posted in Creation Articles, General, tagged Creation Articles on July 26, 2007| Leave a Comment »
Truth cannot be mixed because the result must always be less than truth.
Two contradictory ideas cannot both be true in that the truth of one means the falsehood of the other. Click on Contradictory Sycretism (2nd in a series) to learn more.
Something Fishy
Posted in Creation Articles, General, tagged Creation Articles on July 25, 2007| 1 Comment »
What do the fish fossils really show? Evidence for catastrophism. Click on Something Fishy (5th in a series) to get a fuller answer.
Two Books
Posted in Creation Articles, General, tagged Creation Articles on July 24, 2007| Leave a Comment »
The creation/evolution conflict is not ultimately over who has the science but on the difference in belief systems.
From shortly after the time of Christ until present day many authors in Western Society have written about two great books of revelation, or knowledge about God. This idea is clearly stated by Raymond of Sabunde, “there are two books given to us by God, the one being the book of the whole collection of creatures or the book of nature, and the other being the book of sacred scripture” Theologia Naturalis (1436). Augustine explained the importance of the book of Nature in that “there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Note it. Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead He set before your eyes the things that He had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that? Why, heaven and earth shout to you: ‘God made me!’” (City of God 11:22).
This metaphor of the books flows quite naturally from the Bible. For example, in Psalm 19 the psalmist says, “The heavens are telling the glory of God and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech and night to night reveals knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2). “The Commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (v.8). And the Apostle Paul in clarifying the role of nature says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” (Romans 1:20) Christians accept the books of Nature and Scripture and that they do not contradict one another as they reveal God and His works.
I have had people make statements to me that are very similar to the following: “I don’t accept what the Bible says; I only accept empirical data!” Or put another way, if I can’t see it and feel it I will not believe it. Or, “I only accept science, not religion.” One term for this viewpoint is naturalism, which is the view that all things can be explained in terms of natural phenomena. Are people who say these types of things accepting only one book of evidence or knowledge, the Book of Nature? I think not. To explain, let us consider the topic of origins (where we came from and how the universe began). Was there any man or woman there to observe the beginning? Can an experiment be done to test the origin of the universe?
Can an experiment be done to once again start the universe? Are any of these questions open to being proven wrong? The answers are no. And since the origin cannot be observed, tested, repeated, or falsified, it is beyond the realm of science. It is in fact based on presuppositions- assumptions, which cannot be demonstrated but are accepted before observation is made- which are also called beliefs. Naturalism and its offspring evolution are based on faith. Evolutionists accept the books of Nature and Naturalism as internally consistent evidence of Nature and Its progress.
The argument then is not between Religion and Science. Rather, Christianity and Naturalism, each with their own holy books, are battling over the interpretation of the book of Nature by using and misusing Science to try and convince each other of the truth of their holy books.
I hope to show in small part that one serves science and society far better and satisfies the soul far more than the other. This service and satisfaction will in turn render praise to the one whom it is due.
Marks of the Maker
Posted in General, Poem, tagged Poems on July 24, 2007| 1 Comment »
Click on Marks of the Maker : A poem about urgings of heart and eye that He has passed this way.
Why does anyone feel compelled to blog?
Posted in General, tagged Why?! on July 24, 2007| Leave a Comment »
It’s a basic question, really, related to why people write books, tell stories, write songs, or talk at all. We were made to communicate because we are made in His image. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) Jesus wanted you to know about Him and that He is the communication of the Father for “no one has seen God at any time; the only begotten of God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” (John 1:18 ) Not only did He explain Him but He also had it written down so that we could refer back to it and reference it as I have done.
Not all of us have a book in us or perhaps we do but have not found the resources of time and money and encouragement to pull it off. But we want to communicate like our Creator and we want it to have some permanence and purpose and we want a reaction so we know that someone is listening. Even if the reaction is critical it’s better than silence because we know we were heard and the opportunity is there to clarify so that we aren’t misunderstood.
So I have decided that even though the book has a name, the poems are several in number, the songs will never be popular, the articles are written, the pictures are on file,
and the thoughts are regular in occurrence I am not likely to communicate quite to the extent I desire without putting it out there for many to see. I can reference this page when I do have a conversation that includes files herein and I can muse, though ever so poorly. In short, I can communicate. I hope that you will react to my occasional verbal outpourings and find some glory given to the beginning of all communication, Creator God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
CreatorWorship 