June 16,2008: The Chaos, the Chemistry, or the Rock?
I have something to say… you know that feeling you get when someone has pressed a blindfold over your eyes yet you’re still trying to see past it? Well I got that feeling when I was trying to think about the way things work. I was raised to believe in God, Jesus most specifically, yet no one really has the same perspective on him. I never really thought much on it when I was younger, but I guess being an adult somehow complicates a lot of the way I’m starting to think. You stop being directed by your parents. If anyone tries to “teach” you it’s no longer mandatory for you to pay attention; and since you’re now left to make your own decisions it seems everything you say, do, or believe must have a reason.
So what now, if I’m asked why I believe in the lord and the only thing I can come up with is “ well I’ve always known that there was Jesus, duh.” can I honestly say that it was my choice to believe in Christ, or does this statement of my faith truly reveal how I was trained to just take some ones word for it? I thought it over, at first I told myself that faith doesn’t need reason, but I only found it true to an extent.
I decided that I can’t base my faith on another mans beliefs. The bible talks about foundations solid as a rock. God himself should be my foundation for faith if I’m to believe he is true. So I can’t take the word of another man for sake of my faith, and now I will let the lord show himself to me through whatever means that shall remain. Today I will take what men have taught me so far about god and I will hand it over to the science of his creation to confirm that I am not just a well trained lamb following the other sheep, but rather that I have a true shepherd and he is the one whom I need to follow.
Thus far I have found three perspectives that must be taken to consideration. The first is the scientific belief that everything just appeared out of chaotic effect (a.k.a. the chaos theory). I already see that this particular theory has holes the size of it’s own laws. There are many instances in witch this perspective can be self-contradicting and I intend to explain it all upon further investigation.
The second theory I must take into account is that nothing truly exists as we try to see it but rather it is all a chemical reaction with many elements being overlooked. This one is new to me yet I have one thing to say about it, “what put the chemicals into motion in the first place?” . Further more, I believe that this theory must be approached delicately as it wont be an easy one to compare in scientific terms. Yet.. Neither is God. The hard questions to answer will be the ones asking rather we simply had a chemical need to “invent” god to explain the unanswered questions left by missing elements. If one argues that there are databases we leave untapped, then it’s easy to support a theory full of holes because your saying we have the explanation but it’s being overlooked by our conscious minds. (however, the phantom info thing just seems to run this theory into theory number three…)
Theory number three, is the theory I intend to prove true, and states that there is a god and no matter how the rest of the universe works, he was the one who put it all together, and he remains outside the laws known to man because he was there before they ever came into being. GOD. Wow he is indescribable, undecipherable, and I believe the only bases we have to compare him to is Jesus Christ. After all, God is the cause of that feeling you get trying to see through the blindfold, his will is forever unknown to man and yet day by day it is said to be done. If I am to prove this theory true, I shall also be seeking out who it is that God really is. After all, I said I don’t want to follow another man, when all is said and done my foundation shall be THE ROCK!
June 23, 2008: Proclaim Thy Holy Name
I have something to say…… I heard upon the news about a colt of people in Syria who believe they are following Jesus Christ. This is a very delicate situation I’m sure; it will take a great toll in my research to have an instance such as this to study. These people are willing to follow this man and they study his teachings every day, the question I am asking is “ will this be a case that only proves how willing people are to be mislead, or will it simply promote the bibles implications that in the end there will be false prophets?”
I have left a few things out in my previous list of viewpoints.. First, is that some believe that Jesus never was god, but rather, just another man. This is seen two ways, one being that Jesus was a prophet (the Jewish belief); and the other being that Jesus was simply another man with a messiah complex (an agnostic viewpoint). The second viewpoint, is that the bible isn’t really as literal as everyone thinks it is. This would mean that all the miracles described would have a scientific explanation behind them, or else simply be a form of symbolic writing. I’ve recently been studying something called the tolerance philosophy. According to tolerance, everyone can be right at the same time, so many people have tried to alter Gods works to fit their own perspective. The trouble with this is that it can often be very dangerous to the core of Christianity. Churches would alter the bibles teachings to avoid scaring people away from Christ, but at the same time, the people who they are brigning in are being lead down a false road.
This is another reason why I am conducting my own study; I refuse to be like the hiker who wandered off the real trail to follow a deer path and wound up getting lost. I don’t know what I may find about God, and perhaps I may not even like some of it, but if I do this then I will know for sure that I have ….. God won’t let me figure it all out yet, or perhaps I’m still too biased to learn. But whenever it is that I find what I’m looking for, I’m sure he’ll let me know I have what I need. That is, if he becomes my final answer; I continue to say god does all this because no one has proved it wrong, and if it is right, then I need to have faith even though I don’t know for sure right?
As a praise leader I already know what I believe; but as a human I’m still trying to figure out why I believe it. The more I try to think things over, the more they seem to run in circles. Fact: We haven’t reached the final answer yet. There will always be “what if”. Uuugh, I can see why people can’t stop arguing their own cases. Yet if I look at the bible when the Israelites followed God through the dessert and still bowed to a golden cow it sort of makes sense that there’s so much theory out there. How can we possibly decipher one from the other if they’re both displayed as fact?
July 5, 2008
I have something to say… I know who’s right and who’s wrong. God is in control. The only reason we can still be asking all the questions is because he has inspired in us a hunger. We may not know what it is we are praying to, this falling on Christians and others alike, but we feel him, he’s definitely there. So I end the questions beginning in “what if” and pursue the ones that are simply asking, not who, not what, but how. How did god impact the world we see today? How is it that people are so afraid of loosing control that they have resorted to false-idol worship too make themselves feel free?
I believe that god invented satin on purpose; but why?
This is a study of culture, but it will not be mis-conducted. I’m not here to prove anything any more, I just want to answer the why. This is the study of the golden calf.
Who is god?
Why does he test mankind?
Why do those who see him clear as the pillar of fire still fail to believe it?
The list could go on if only I knew enough to ask the questions properly. For now I’ll start with these basics and one more just for me…
“ where do I fit in?”
September 3, 2008: Finally
I have something to say…. “ God will continue and finish his work in you until the day that Christ returns.” -Philippians 1:6. We are not done. The world is a work in progress, so there are no final answers. Stop trying to find them & just be still; it’s still time to grow.
An excellent write here. You made a lot of good points. It was a very interesting read.