David,

In all sincerity, do you KNOW the answers to those questions?

[!--QuoteBegin--][/span][table border=\"0\" align=\"center\" width=\"95%\" cellpadding=\"3\" cellspacing=\"1\"][tr][td]Quote [/td][/tr][tr][td id=\"QUOTE\"][!--QuoteEBegin--]Now something totally off the subject. When you made fun of, was it Bob? for a typo one day,...[/quote]

seekr, hi! I can't remember for certain, Bobby V. maybe? Forget what it was, just that it was funny. Yeah, moving the fingers over on the keyboard just one way or the other can create some interesting variations! LOL about "Mole".

Hello Everyone,

The thought that understand the Scriptures is the first presumption of religious people.  People read their translations of the Scriptures as if God is engaged in casual conversation with them, attributing normal meaning to normal-sounded phrases while utterly missing the profound implications of the words themselves.  

An example of a myserious passage is found very early in the Scriptures.  In Genesis 1:3-4, "Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness."

Now when reading this passage, the following questions naturally arise:

1. When God spoke, was God speaking to the inanimate universe, Himself or to the angels?

2. When God spoke, was God speaking ancient Hebrew or was He speaking in some other language?

3. When God called this new creation "light" what exactly did He mean?

4. What was created when God created light?  Was God creating the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum here, or was God creating the whole electromagnetic spectrum?

5. Was the light created in Genesis 1:3 created ex nihilo, or was light produced in response to the physical processes which govern the creation and transmission of light?

6. Was the light created on Day 3 present throughout the Universe or was it localized?

7. To what extent does the light of Day 3 correspond to the Cosmic Background Radiation?

8. When God said that light was "good" exactly what did God mean?

9. God could perceive the Universe prior to the existence of light.  Yes or No?

10. When God separated the light from the darkness, exactly what did God do?

11. Was the separation of light from darkness the division between particles which transmitted light and particles which absorbed light?

12.  Was the separation of light from darkness the creation of physical bodies which blocked light with their shadow?

13. According to the Scriptures, is light a wave or a particle, or both?

I think that these questions demonstrate that a full understanding of the Scriptures requires a knowledge of physics, quantum mechanics and a healthy familiarity with philosophy.

Sincerely,

David Mathews
David Mathews' Home Page

Nah, Dave, I've gotta disagree.  While I would never pooh-pooh the deep end of the pool (oh, yuck, there went my appetite for lunch...), all the "real" work of "proofing" the faith happens in the shallows, where the loving and serving and teaching happens, the binding of the wounded and the patching-up of the broken hearts.

Notice I said proofing, as in refining, assaying, etc., not proving, which is another thing entirely, and of limited value when the businessman lies bleeding in the ditch while the religious types pass on by.

Job chapter 38

[!--QuoteBegin--][/span][table border=\"0\" align=\"center\" width=\"95%\" cellpadding=\"3\" cellspacing=\"1\"][tr][td]Quote [/td][/tr][tr][td id=\"QUOTE\"][!--QuoteEBegin--]Would you explain the relevance of Job 38 to questions regarding Genesis 1:3-4?[/quote]

Nope. I don't need to explain it.  You can read it and let God explain it.
I read the thread here and that scripture immediately came to my mind.

[!--QuoteBegin--][/span][table border=\"0\" align=\"center\" width=\"95%\" cellpadding=\"3\" cellspacing=\"1\"][tr][td]Quote (OldDad @ June 24 2002,9:31)[/td][/tr][tr][td id=\"QUOTE\"][!--QuoteEBegin--]The Bible is so understandable with out any knowledge of anything other than basic English, if we keep a few principles in mind:  Pay attention to context...Find out who is speaking, who is being spoken to, and the reason/purpose of the communication...The simplest, most obvious meaning of a passage is to be preferred...Interpret literally unless the context indicates otherwise...Interpret scripture with scripture.  Things like that don't require advanced degrees[/quote]
Hello Olddad,

You are making a good point but my post is a warning against those who approach this text either too literalistically or as possessing scientific implications.

Best Regards,

David Mathews

[!--QuoteBegin--][/span][table border=\"0\" align=\"center\" width=\"95%\" cellpadding=\"3\" cellspacing=\"1\"][tr][td]Quote [/td][/tr][tr][td id=\"QUOTE\"][!--QuoteEBegin--]my post is a warning against those who approach this text either too literalistically or as possessing scientific implications.
[/quote]

OK, that does clear it up some for me.  I believe the Biblical account of creation is true.  I do this by faith.  Further, I always caution others that the Bible is not a science text, and should not be made nor expected to perform like one.

David, could you share your thoughts on Phillip Johnson?

Thanks,

OD