Crusadar said:
lucaspasaid: That "stands outside" contradicts the idea "sustainer of all creation".
Without your spiritual glasses on I suppose you would find any and all contradictions where there are none, simply because it is not in accord with your evolutionary nonsense. I however see none.
That's denial. But not explanation or justification of denial. The idea of "sustainer of all creation" is not a concept of biological evolution. It's a Christain concept.
I submit that you are accepting the basic statement of faith of atheism: natural = without God. IOW, if there is a "natural" process then God is absent. That goes totally against the basic beliefs of Christianity.
Submission considered, and rejected due to lack of faith. Is not evolution a natural process requiring not God? Is there the faintest support of God having started the process ever mentioned in any dominant evolutionary theories? NO. Since evolution requires not God, it was not the process God used - as we do believe He does exist.
" To say it for all my colleageues and for the umpteenth millionth time (from college bull sessions to learned treatises): science simply cannot (by its legitimate methods) adjudicate the issue of God's possible superintendence of nature. We neither affirm nor deny it; we simply can't comment on it as scientists. " NO scientific theory says whether God is required or not required. Because science
CAN'T comment! Do you understand the words "can not"?
What you have stated again is the basic faith of atheism. It's nice of you to support my arguments so fully, but it's a shame that you don't realize what you are doing. Atheists
believe that evolution does not require God. But that's not part of the theory. However, if you want mention of God starting the process, try Darwin:
"There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved." C. Darwin, On the Origin of Species, pg 450.
Darwin even mentions God being involved. The key phrase is "secondary process":
"To my mind it accords better with what we know of the laws impressed on matter by the Creator, that the production and extinction of the past and present inhabitants of the world should have been due to secondary causes, like those determining the birth and death of the individual." pg. 449.
Now, this harkens back to the Fontispiece of Origin and the first quote:
"But with regard to the material world, we can at least go so far as this -- we can perceive that events are brought about not by insulated interpositions of Divine power, exerted in each particular case, but by the establishment of general laws" Whewell: Bridgewater Treatise.
All you have done is to show that you don't know the thinking of people about evolution, particularly Darwin, and that you are accepting atheism.
Theistic evolution accepts that God is part of all the universe. That indeed God is the sustainer. If God ever withdrew His countenance from the universe, all the "natural" processes would stop.
If you accept thus then it is obvious you trust your own interpretation of Gods creation more than the word of God, and are in fact worshipping creation and not the creator.
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:3
Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God's dominion over the earth? Job 38:33
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalms 19:1
The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it. Psalm 89:11
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail. Isaiah 51:6
It is ironic that Darwin understood Christianity a lot better than creationists. In the Fontispiece of Origin is the quote:
"The only distinct meaning of the word 'natural' is stated, fixed, or settled; since what is natural as much requires and presupposes an intelligent agent to render it so, i.e., to effect it continually or at stated times, as what is supernatural or miraculous does to effect it for once." Butler: Analogy of Revealed Religion
Your play with semantics is nothing more than entertaining - as there are no differences between theistic or natural evolution since God is no where to be found. However it is very doubtful Darwin understood the complexity of life before writing Origins - sorry but I am not well versed in evolutionary nonsense nor do I care much for it - so I can't really comment.
The quote is
theology. Notice the title of Butler's work. We are not discussing the details of evolutionary theory, but whether theistic evolution is schizophrenic in relation to Christianity.
Your topic, remember?
There is a big difference between theistic and atheistic (what you call natural) evolution. The difference is that theistic evolutionists agree with Butler and atheistic evolutionists disagree. In the material processes, no, there is no disagreement. However, is God a necessary part of the material processes? Theistic evolutionists say "yes" and atheistic evolutionists say "no". You agree with the atheists. Why? Why do you say that anything "natural" is without God?
You mean you don't know God exists thru personal experience of Him? Yes, the scriptures give at least two different accounts of creation.
I have felt the presence of God in my life many times, and it was only through total surrender of myself to Him. God wants nothing less than total submission it is only then that He will reveal you the truth. It is obvious your conclusions are unsupported since scripture tells only of one account as recorded in the book of Genesis, so it was written, so it had been done.
Crusadar, go to Barnes and Nobles and look at all the books there giving commentaries on Genesis. There were 10 when I was there.
All of them agreed that there were 2 separate creation accounts: Genesis 1:1 -2:4a and Genesis 2:4b thru the end of Genesis 3.
However, since you say you have felt the presence of God, then why did you say the only evidence of God is revelation in scripture. Doesn't your personal experience count for you?
Also, why is revelation in scripture or thru personal experience insufficient evidence? Why do you require science to verify the existence of God for you?
So who is right? Both. Scripture gives you the who and why of creation as inspired by God to the human authors. Science gives you the how of creation as written by God in His Creation.
There is only one God, for there is only one truth His word.
Of course there is only one God. But that wasn't the issue, was it? The question was where we learn about
creation. The answer is that we learn about creation thru two sources,
both from God. We learn about the who and why of creation thru scripture. We learn about the how of creation thru God's Creation. However, you just denied God by saying there is only one source -- "His word". Why are you denying God as Creator by denying His Creation?
What you want, Crusadar, is science to tell you God exists. But since you think like an atheist, you can only science to tell you God exists if you have gaps in the "natural" processes; that puts you up against both science and Christianity. The Christian doctrine of creation says there shouldn't be such gaps.
I require not science to show me the existence of God, for I trust in God totally since I do believe in everything that God says, remember?
You said in a previous post: "how do we know that there is a God who only stands outside and guides the evolutionary process? If that were the case, then the only way you would know that such a being truly exists is through what has been revealed in the Scriptures "
Do you see? You don't want a god that can't be detected by science and is known to exist
"only" "through what has been revealed in the Scriptures". Why is knowing God exist thru 1) revelation in the scriptures and 2) your personal experience such a bad thing? Why do you have to show He exists thru science?
What you believe is everything
you think that God says. That's not the same as what God says. Also, you admit that you ignore Creation. So you don't even listen to everything God says. You only listen to
your interpretation of God's word. So, it is obvious that you are more interested in listening to yourself than listening to God. That explains a lot.
1. So what if the atheist believes in evolution but not in God?
It is a deciding factor, as it tells which side one is really on, Gods side or mans. Gods word does not tell us anything of evolution so it is not God that you believe, but the other.
God's word doesn't tell us anything about sisters for Cain to marry, but you don't have a problem with that, do you? God's word tells us plainly that the
whole world was taxed (Luke 2:1), but you don't have a problem with only part of the world being taxed, do you? God's word tells us plainly that the earth is immovable, but you know it does move, don't you?
If an atheist believes evolution happens without God, that's his problem. His
personal problem. It is not a problem with evolution.
2. How can there by something wrong about atheist believing the same thing you do when you believe the same thing atheists do? As I say, you believe the basic statement of faith of atheism: natural = without God.
It is wrong because they believe not in God and evolution justifies their belief. How can evolution serve to justify not believing in God, and in believieving in Him?
Now we come down to it!! Finally. Crusadar, evolution does
not justify atheism. Many atheists think so, but why are you assuming they are right? What evolution did was remove the Argument from Design as a "proof" that God exists. You can't "prove" the existence of God that way anymore. However, even creationists recognize that evolution does not justify or demand atheism.
"The blind watchmaker thesis makes it
possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist by supplying the necessary creation story. It does not make it obligatory to be an atheist, because one can imagine a creator who works through natural selection." Phillip Johnson Reason in the Balance, pg. 73
However you need to address the question of how evolutionary science can lead men to a correct understanding of our origin and thus see the need for a Creator?
Why is that necessary? Why do you have to have science show the need for a Creator? You just said above: "
I require not science to show me the existence of God" But now that is exactly what you want science to do. Crusadar, either you are simply arguing for the sake of arguing and don't care if you contradict yourself or you have not truly thought out your position and beliefs.
If it is possible then it would mean that fallible men using a man made (and therefore fallible) methodology with an incorrect postulate of atheism can arrive at the truth about God.
1. The methodology of science is no more, and actually less, fallible than the man made methodology of Biblical interpretation.
2. Darwin didn't start out with a postulate of atheism.
Science doesn't start out with a postulate of atheism. Science is agnostic, not atheistic.
3. John Calvin recognized that atheists can indeed arrive at the truth about God.
"Calvin wrote "shall we say that the philosophers [scientists] were blind in their fine observation and artful description of nature?" No, he emphatically concluded, because we cannot read these scientific writings "without great admiration. We marvel at them because we are compelled to recognize how preeminent they are. But shall we count anything praiseworthy or noble without recognizing at the same time that comes from God? Let us be ashamed of such ingratitude ..." In the greate edifice of human arts and sciences, constructed in part by believers and in part by unbelievers, Calvin thought that we could see "some remaing traces of the image of God, which distinguished the entire human race from the other creatures." Roland Frye, Epilog, in Is God a Creationist? ed by Roland Frye, 1983, pg 203. References to Calvin are: John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2.2.15 and 2.2.17.
What can be more illogical than that by using a system of thought that contradicts one of the basic postulates of that system! In other words how can it be said that God used evolution, when the underlying premise behind evolution is that we are the result of natural processes therefore God holds no right to us nor was He responsible for creating anything therefore He is quite unnecessary.
There's your atheistic belief.
Again. "natural processes therefore God ... nor was He responsible for creating anything" For that to be true you must believe that God is absent from 'natural processes'. Science
never says that. Only atheists say that. So why do you keep repeating atheism as tho it is true.
So where does the idea of God fit in the evolutionary process as asked before?
Don't you ever read the answers?
1. None of the evolutionary processes work if God does not sustain them.
2. God can introduce mutations that He wants and it is not dectable by science.
3. God can engage in artificial selection that is not detectable by science.