Sunday, November 25, 2018

Intelligent design and the bible...

Joh 5:39-40 NET  "You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me,  (40)  but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life."

If you were to read all of the posts on this blog, you would indeed find that the preponderance of evidence establishes the fact that the bible/scripture is the redemptive narrative. Further, its main function is the story of redemption. It is not a law book. It is not a manual for correct living. It is not a science book. Rather, it is a love story that explains God's love for humanity and all that He created.

I have never been comfortable believing that all of life on this planet just evolved. Certainly, there is an element of evolution within all living things but not to the degree that all life evolved from one primordial cell. But by the same token, I am not comfortable with the six day creation. I believe it to be a metaphor or an allegory. For this reason, I think that the theory of ID or intelligent design makes a lot of sense to me.

I do not have a scientific mind or a scientific bent. I am intuitive. I think it could be best described as a mystic. I would like to use the definition from the Oxford Dictionary; "a person who seeks by contemplation and self-surrender to obtain unity with or absorption into the Deity or the absolute, or who believes in the spiritual apprehension of truths that are beyond the intellect."  I think that the second clause in this defining sentence best describes how I see myself as a mystic. I want to focus on the idea of one who believes in the spiritual apprehension of truths that are beyond the intellect. This supports my sentiment in the above paragraph.

When one looks up Intelligent Design (ID,) one soon finds that there is a fierce debate going on among those who claim to be ID scientists and Darwinists. It seems that the Darwinists try to lump ID scientists with creationists. They do it to discount the science of ID, but I have read enough to see that the Darwinists are as Shakespeare once wrote, "protesting" a tad too much. ID scientists do not demand that one follow the explanation of the Bible. They merely claim to prove what to me is obvious; that is, that the theory of irreducible complexity flies in the face of the entire biological world evolving from one primordial cell. I don't suggest that I understand it in the least, but I have given enough key words so that you can look it up for yourself. Rather, the mystic in me tells me that it is correct.

Those evangelicals that demand a literal reading of Genesis are completely wrong in my view. This is not a plea for creationism over evolution. I do KNOW however that the bible does not lose its inspirational authority if the first part of Genesis is allegorical. In fact, it does not lose its inspirational authority if the story of Adam and Eve is allegorical. Thinking that it does merely shows a limitation of understanding and provides the ammunition to Darwinists to show that creationism is anti-intellectual.

By the same token, it has never made sense to me that "beings" as complex as those living on this earth, especially humans, but the entire animal kingdom included as well just evolved from cosmic accidents. Rather, for me it shows a highly complex, and very orderly existence that demands a creative force, a designer if you will allow the term. I believe that force is the God of the universe, and that in fact, Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the incarnation of God in human flesh to bring redemption by proving that we are eternal beings, and that there is life and existence beyond this earthly dimension.

When one takes a wooden literal interpretation of all scripture one creates a false image of God's purpose for humanity. Ephesians chapter one establishes that God's purpose in creation, before the foundation of the world, which is before creation, was to bring about the praise of his glorious grace. The gospel explains that God reconciled humanity to himself for this very purpose. I can assure you that to keep the intent of the scripture, as stated by Jesus, recorded in the above scripture passage from John, it is not necessary to view the bible as a science book, or a rule book. It is in fact a book that explains the gospel of Jesus Christ and the reconciliation bought by his life, death, and resurrection.

We will be exploring more about the essence of Jesus earthly ministry and what God had clearly intended when he sent Jesus to earth. It will be liberating and it will eliminate so much of the schizophrenic teaching that is replete in orthodox Christian doctrine. Most especially that of the evangelical variety of Christianity.

Monday, November 5, 2018

The guarantee of the Holy Spirit is our inheritance.

Eph 1:13-14 AMP  "In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and [as a result] believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit [the One promised by Christ] as owned and protected [by God]. [Joh_7:39; Act_2:33]  (14)  The Spirit is the guarantee [the first installment, the pledge, a foretaste] of our inheritance until the redemption of God's own [purchased] possession [His believers], to the praise of His glory."

Many times in this blog, I have forcefully and unapologetically proved that believing the gospel is our obedience. It is not easy to do as those who cry "easy believism" would like to have accepted. They are way off the path, and have missed the true message of the gospel. God wants us to believe that he is a loving Father that has redeemed us and wants us to be at peace with Him. In fact, I have stated often that peace with God, based on justification by faith, is the catalyst for transformation, It gives us the transformative power of love. God's love for us, promotes deep and abiding real love for Him. The gospel of grace is the factor that allows us to obey the first and greatest commandment. It is to love the Lord God with all our heart, with all our might, and with our whole being. The truth of the gospel message is the only thing that can bring about real love for God free from fear.

It is the Holy Spirit that allows us to believe the gospel and thereby love God wholeheartedly. This is the reason that the Holy Spirit is the seal, the guarantee, the pledge, the foretaste of our inheritance. The fact is that once one hears the gospel of grace, believes it with the aid of the Holy Spirit, then one has the Holy Spirit as a constant companion eternally. That's right. You cannot lose or alienate the Holy Spirit. While you may grieve it, you cannot lose it. The Holy Spirit is the comforter, the teacher, the advocate, the paraclete.

Look at what Jesus tells his immediate followers about the Holy Spirit. Joh 16:7 NET  "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you." and  Joh 16:13 NET  "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you what is to come." Yes, the Holy Spirit is a constant companion. After his baptism, the Holy Spirit was Jesus constant companion as he walked on the earth in the flesh. He always believed the Holy Spirit as it was his link to the mind of the Father and likewise, the Holy Spirit is our link to the mind of Christ. Paul told the Philippians to let the mind of Christ be in them. Of course, the way to accomplish that is to listen to the Holy Spirit.

So then, how can you know that you are listening to the Holy Spirit? The answer is simple, very simple indeed. The Holy Spirit will always speak about the things that promote the fruit of the Spirit. Of course that is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness and self-control. The Holy Spirit will promote these within the individual. The Holy Spirit will not condemn. The Holy Spirit will not scold. The Holy Spirit will not punish. After all the Holy Spirit is also called the comforter.

Once again, I like the way the NET Bible interprets this passage. Joh 16:8-11 NET  "And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment –  (9)  concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;  (10)  concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer;  (11)  and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned." So many people erroneously say that the Holy Spirit convicted them of this or that. They are absolutely wrong because they have wrongly understood what Jesus was saying. Jesus was speaking of the religious world of Judaism when he used the term world. That will take an entire blog post to prove that but for now, just accept it as I am completely confident that the evangelical definition of the world is completely erroneous.

He is going to prove the religious authorities wrong about their understanding and practice of sin, righteousness and judgment. The author of Hebrews equates sin and unbelief as interchangeable throughout his letter. Sin is unbelief as it was in the garden. Now, the ultimate sin is not believing that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Likewise, the religious authorities were wrong about righteousness. Humanity was righteous because God had declared them righteous (Gen 1:31.) And they were wrong in their judgment because the ruler of this world, Satan had been judged (Rev 12:10-12.) I suggest that you read that passage in the NET Bible. When God raised Jesus from the dead, Satan was judged at that very moment. He thought that through the first Adam he could bring death and separation between God and humanity, but alas, the LAST ADAM, put him to open shame when he rose victorious over death.

That dear friend is the "truth" that the Holy Spirit will convince us of if we but open our hearts, minds, ears and eyes.









Paul the Mystic, Paul the Rabbi: A confusing dichotomy that is detrimental to the mystical message.

 2Co 12:2-4   "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not kno...