autocrosser
New Blood
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2005
- Messages
- 6
Sorry for the long first post. I have been lurking for a few months now. It seems I am more eager to listen than to give input – in most cases.
First a little background. I consider myself a skeptic as far as religious beliefs go. Currently, I fully believe that science has and will continue to provide accurate explanations of how we came to be in this universe. I have personally never seen or experienced evidence for a divine creative force in my life or in anyone’s life around me. I also feel that when you get right down to it, the question of “Did some creative/intelligent/omnipotent force set the Universe in motion†may never be answerable by science. I simply doubt that science will ever be in a position to ask questions about what it was like before the universe existed.
What I don’t understand is how someone can build a mental bridge between a belief in what science tells us and a belief in the God of the Bible. I have met several people in life (both in person and on the internet), that have managed to somehow do this. They believe whole heartedly in a scientific explanation of our world, from the events just after the Big Bang to the evolution of mankind from nothing but atoms, but they still cling to a believe that the God of the Bible exists in spirit and that Jesus was part of him sent to save us. I want to know how a person like this can justify that belief. I want to know if I am missing something that might be a key to understanding how this relationship could exist.
For me, every time I try to combine these two ideas, I fail. I have tried to ‘fit’ a divine God/Jesus into my beliefs but it seems like I am trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. I feel stuck sometimes.
On one hand, I have my belief that everything from the creation of the universe to me typing this post either has been or eventually will be explained by the sciences. I admit that we do not have all of the answers; it would be silly to argue otherwise. What I won’t do is assign a spiritual solution to these answers. This idea leaves out what most would consider the idea of God. I have come to the conclusion, someone reluctantly, that I cannot accept the God as described in the Bible on face value alone. I need at least some hard evidence before I will consider that as a possibility. The only kind of creative force that I can work with is one that has had a hands off approach to our existence. This would be a force that set the ball rolling and has taken a seat to watch – either by choice or by force.
On the other hand, deep down, I cannot rule out that the story of Jesus and the man behind it might have had some insight into this creative force. While I certainly don’t currently believe the mystical properties of his life, I cannot rule out that his story, embellished by his followers over the centuries, might have some basis of truth.
My problem is whenever I reach this point; I start to see holes in the theory. I am basically saying to my self that I cannot accept any divine aspects of this story but I don’t doubt that he might have had some kind of knowledge of this creative force that has never shown us any evidence for his existence. That leap, from an earthly Jesus having this knowledge, to this creative power behind the existence of the universe, is truly a long one for me to make. A much simpler answer of, “That God does not exist,†seems to fit better.
The only other theory I can come up with is that there might have actually been some mystical truth to Jesus. Perhaps this being did feel the need to send down a teacher. The problem with that is that now I have to start accepting parts of Jesus’ story as truth. If I start accepting any as truth, then when do I make the distinction between the truthful parts and the parts that didn’t happen, or that don’t matter?
I guess my question is how can someone who honestly believes in a scientific explanation of our existence also believe in the God of the bible. What parts of the Bible do people like this believe? Do they only rely on the story of Jesus as fact? Do you have to disregard the words but accept the story? I’m just looking for insight into what kind of conclusions about the Biblical God / Jesus someone like this might make.
Thanks for any input…
First a little background. I consider myself a skeptic as far as religious beliefs go. Currently, I fully believe that science has and will continue to provide accurate explanations of how we came to be in this universe. I have personally never seen or experienced evidence for a divine creative force in my life or in anyone’s life around me. I also feel that when you get right down to it, the question of “Did some creative/intelligent/omnipotent force set the Universe in motion†may never be answerable by science. I simply doubt that science will ever be in a position to ask questions about what it was like before the universe existed.
What I don’t understand is how someone can build a mental bridge between a belief in what science tells us and a belief in the God of the Bible. I have met several people in life (both in person and on the internet), that have managed to somehow do this. They believe whole heartedly in a scientific explanation of our world, from the events just after the Big Bang to the evolution of mankind from nothing but atoms, but they still cling to a believe that the God of the Bible exists in spirit and that Jesus was part of him sent to save us. I want to know how a person like this can justify that belief. I want to know if I am missing something that might be a key to understanding how this relationship could exist.
For me, every time I try to combine these two ideas, I fail. I have tried to ‘fit’ a divine God/Jesus into my beliefs but it seems like I am trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. I feel stuck sometimes.
On one hand, I have my belief that everything from the creation of the universe to me typing this post either has been or eventually will be explained by the sciences. I admit that we do not have all of the answers; it would be silly to argue otherwise. What I won’t do is assign a spiritual solution to these answers. This idea leaves out what most would consider the idea of God. I have come to the conclusion, someone reluctantly, that I cannot accept the God as described in the Bible on face value alone. I need at least some hard evidence before I will consider that as a possibility. The only kind of creative force that I can work with is one that has had a hands off approach to our existence. This would be a force that set the ball rolling and has taken a seat to watch – either by choice or by force.
On the other hand, deep down, I cannot rule out that the story of Jesus and the man behind it might have had some insight into this creative force. While I certainly don’t currently believe the mystical properties of his life, I cannot rule out that his story, embellished by his followers over the centuries, might have some basis of truth.
My problem is whenever I reach this point; I start to see holes in the theory. I am basically saying to my self that I cannot accept any divine aspects of this story but I don’t doubt that he might have had some kind of knowledge of this creative force that has never shown us any evidence for his existence. That leap, from an earthly Jesus having this knowledge, to this creative power behind the existence of the universe, is truly a long one for me to make. A much simpler answer of, “That God does not exist,†seems to fit better.
The only other theory I can come up with is that there might have actually been some mystical truth to Jesus. Perhaps this being did feel the need to send down a teacher. The problem with that is that now I have to start accepting parts of Jesus’ story as truth. If I start accepting any as truth, then when do I make the distinction between the truthful parts and the parts that didn’t happen, or that don’t matter?
I guess my question is how can someone who honestly believes in a scientific explanation of our existence also believe in the God of the bible. What parts of the Bible do people like this believe? Do they only rely on the story of Jesus as fact? Do you have to disregard the words but accept the story? I’m just looking for insight into what kind of conclusions about the Biblical God / Jesus someone like this might make.
Thanks for any input…
