filly said:
Thanks, daveleau. There are two reasons I am not saved yet. The first is that I have a problem with "Believe in God and you will be saved." I don't think that I have enough belief to be saved. I am a very rational, methodical, analytical person, and these traits seem to be my undoing when it comes to believing in God. I simply can't get over the Genesis account and the Bible's timeline for our existence in this world compared to that of the scientific view of millions or billions of years. Honestly, this is the only thing holding me back (aside from the second reason which I don't have time at this moment to get into). If the Bible is without error, then the two timelines don't match up...at all. Am I just supposed to turn a blind eye and brush off all the scientific data? If I do so, then I don't feel I truly believe. And I can't ask Christ to save me if I have any reservations or doubts.
Hi Filly. I think you already believe in God. Your rational, methodiacl, analytical approach to life has told you there is NO way that the universe can exist out of nothing. SOMEONE had to make it. I'll talk more on it in a miunute, but believing in God is simply agreeing to a fact, like the earth is round, ....it doesn't actually have anything to do with salvation. The devils also believe, and tremble.
A little bit on resolving the apparent discrepancies between "science" and the Bible. First, and most importantly, is figuring out who God is. If you believe He is a fallible, bumbling, incomptent, profane diety like Zeus or Jupiter or some other god, then you do indeed have a dilemma. On the other hand, if He is an omnipotent, omnipresence, omniscient God, then He can do anything He wants to. Our understanding does not limit God. So if He says something is a certain way, it is that way, whether or not we can understand it. I hear so many people when confronted with who God is, make a statement like "Well, I don't believe that is so, " etc. etc. Our belief does not shape reality. It reminds me of the general population of the "civilized" world in 1491. The science of the time supported the general consensus that the earth was flat. But science, and popular opinion, did not change the FACT that the world was round. Now science has indeed come a LONG LONG way since then, but it is still an example of how science is not infallible. We can improve it, but we will NEVER know all that there is to know. (Which, in itself, points to a creator!)
Secondly, once you realize that God can do whatever He deems necessary, whether or not we undertand it, I think you need to think about the possibility that God could have created the Earth with an apperance of age. The problem with "science" is that it is built on a premise that is impossible to prove, that the globe was originally featureless. Also, by discounting the Genesis account of a worldwide flood, no consideration is given to the impacts made on geology, fossils, etc, by the flood. Also, no consideration is given to the Genesis record that "God seperated the dry land from the seas". What exactly is that? What effect could the divine hand of God have on the geologic "record"! I wholeheartedly agree that had the earth started out perfectly flat, and had the flood never occured, then it would have taken millions and millions of years for things like mountains, canyons, etc. etc. to form. All I'm suggesting to you, is that perhaps that is how God created them. Look at Adam...God created Him as an adult, a fully matured human being. Why would He not have created the earth in a similar fashion?
So I've tried to show you how faith that God is who He says He is, is far more important that understanding WHY God is who He says He is. Somethings, you just have to believe, whether or not you understand them. A good example is when you fly on an airplane. You buy your ticket, show up to the airport, get on the plain, and wholeheartedly expect to land in Hawaii, or wherever it is you were headed. But do you understand exactly how the jet engines on a 747 work? Unless you're jet mechanic or aerospace engineer, I doubt you know how they work. Do you understand the mathematics and the physics involved in getting a machine weighing hundreds of thousands of pounds to climb tens of thousands of feet and transport you thousands of miles with precise accuracy? Probalby you do not understand all of these factors in intimate detail. But you have faith that the airplane will fly and that you will get where you're going, because the FAA or someone SAYS it will do those things. I could use lots of examples, but I hope that's sufficent to show you that you place your faith in fallible men every day. Yet you have difficulty placing your faith in a PERFECT, INFALLIBLE, ALL POWERFUL God? In fact, until you realize this, I don't know if you can actually be saved. I know that's pretty shocking, but follow me. Can anyone ever understand salvation? The atonement on the cross? The why of it all, why God would even consider redeeming man in the first place? Much less, the way it actually works? Why Jesus had to shed His blood? How that can actually pay for your sins? I promise you that you will NEVER understand all of these things, at least as long as you're here in your mortal body. But God says that is how it works, so you have to believe Him. That is part of what Paul is talking about when he says in 1 Corinthians 1:23 - but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness; The Greeks were a very intellectual culture, and because they couldn't logically resolve faith in Christ, it was foolishness. Don't fall into the same trap that has condemned billions, starting with Adam and Eve not understanding WHY God forbid them to eat the fruit. Realize that you need to be saved as soon as possible, and that salvation is based on you believing, having the faith, that God will do what He says He will do, and that His promise is not conditional on your comprehension. 2 Corinthians 6:2 - behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.
So to answer your question, yes, you should turn a blind eye to the "scientific" data, because as overwhelming as it may seem, it is still fallible, and it is built on fallible premises. God is infallible, and perfectly able to do exactly has He has said. You have accurately seen that if you can't trust that God is unable to make a mistake, then you can't trust Him to save you, and we are all doomed. I will pray for you. I think you are almost there, and I am very burdened to see you cast yourself and your future, lock, stock, and barrel, into the loving arms of your Saviour. He has promised that He will catch you, but do you believe Him?
