Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Are You In The Light?

"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
John 3:19-21

Many people who reject the truth about God and the Bible try to make their argument an intellectual one. They "claim" there is not enough proof about the existence of God and therefore He is probably just a myth. This rationale seeks to find it's support in man made theories posing as science. They love to point out how science and the Bible are inconsistent and therefore one must be wrong. Of course science has been proving the Bible more and more over the last few hundred years.

No. The real reason men will not come to the light of God's word is because of their evil deeds. They love their sin too much and are afraid of coming out of the shadows where they can be exposed.

I have seen the same issues in Christians as well. They come to Christ and repent of their wicked ways. They know sin is wrong and therefore try to live a godly life, avoiding the external sins. Often however, this attitude is only skin deep. They have not made a full consecration in their heart. The desires of the flesh still long to be expressed and many find "acceptable" ways in which to satisfy these cravings.

Let me ask you. Are there deeds in your life that you rise up and defend when they are threatened? Do you tend to cry legalism whenever one of your beloved activities is mentioned as questionable? Are you willing to bring every thought and deed to the light in order to see if they have been done in God?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jim,

It would appear to me that science and religion are patently incompatible with each other, even at their very foundations. That is, science is based on empirical evidence whereas religion is based on faith (belief without or in spite of evidence).

Finally, that "science has been proving the Bible more and more over the last few hundred years" seems out of step with reality. Exactly what has been "proven"?

Thanks,
Anthony

Jim said...

Anthony, what I mean is that true science will always be in agreement with God's word. Not that we are saved by an intellectual understanding of God, but rather by faith.

Looker4522 said...

I disagree that faith is belief without or in spite of evidence. Faith is simply belief. The reason or basis for the faith or belief is not what makes it faith.

One may use a "scientific" method to prove something to oneself. What you now believe is a matter of faith.

The Bible fills the lives of its people with visible and repeated evidence. The result is faith.

Anonymous said...

Looker, you write: "I disagree that faith is belief without or in spite of evidence. Faith is simply belief. The reason or basis for the faith or belief is not what makes it faith."

This is a non sequitur as well as terribly circular. You are welcome to disagree; however, to say so and then follow with a trite "faith is simply belief" sheds no light. Might you extrapolate a little beyond just saying "faith is simply belief"?

I was merely reacting to the assertions that the Bible and science are consistent with each other and that science has been proving the Bible more and more over the last few hundred years. I simply can't imagine how this could be. They appear to be polar opposites, even at their very foundations.

What's more, I am not sure I understand what it is that Jim means when he says "true science will always be in agreement with god's word." What is 'true' science? There is much, nay, very nearly everything, in the world of science that god's word does not mention or can even note. For example, germ theory. Or plate tectonics. Or tsunamis. Human knowledge of these things was gleaned from scientific inquiry. The Bible explains these ideas and their corollaries in a very different way.

I don't mean to be a curmudgeon on this point, forgive me if I seem so. However you believe the things you believe not because you have mountains of evidence but because you have faith. Sometimes people even believe in things even though all evidence points to the contrary. This is what I mean when I say faith is belief without or in spite of evidence. It seems fairly even-handed to me.

Cheers, all.