Rules of a Moral Life?

Here are a few rules for what might be a moral life, for those who can or are willing to comprehend them.

One should knowingly, do no harm to another.
One should avoid doing anything that may harm another later.
If one must do harm to another, one should make every effort to minimise that harm.
Self harm should be discouraged, because it indirectly harms others.
A lack of foresight is harmful.
To violate these rules is to loose the protection of them.

Unfortunately to apply these rules get complex incredibly quickly and requires a massive amount of thought.

Ends justifies the means - Again.

Assuming God is primarily interested in doing that which is good (hopefully a sound assumption), then what do you think it would be more interested in:

• That which is best for individuals?
• That which is best for society/the human existence?
• That which is best for the earth/universe?
• A combination of the 3, balancing all three against each other.

Secondly do you believe that God would utilise or act on the idea "That the ends justify the means?". And if so do you think God holds to it in most cases or just the exceptional?



As I'm thinking it is likely that the works of God at least as described in the old testament aim to balance that which is good for an individual, society and the universe, in a manner in which the end results are far more important than the means utilised to reach them.

What do you think?

How we learned to stop having fun.

How we learned to stop having fun

Not so with the Calvinist version of Protestantism. Instead of offering relief, Calvinism provided a metaphysical framework for depression: if you felt isolated, persecuted and possibly damned, this was because you actually were.

An article looking at an apparent change in behavior ~3-400 years ago, where people moved to a much more individualistic world view. Suggesting urbanisation and a market-based economy are partially responsible for this.
Also interestingly suggests there may have been a link between a Calvinistic world view/faith and Depression/Suicide.

God Debate: Sam Harris vs. Rick Warren

God Debate: Sam Harris vs. Rick Warren

The God Debate
At the Summit: On a cloudy California day, the atheist Sam Harris sat down with the Christian pastor Rick Warren to hash out Life's Biggest Question—Is God real?

Well having read the whole thing I'm rather impressed, Rick manages to do rather well. Personally much of what he says seems a lot less confrontational than the other chap, though I certainly don't agree with some of what he says regarding his views on certain aspects of Christianity. Any way here are a couple of interesting/amusing bits from the article, and I highly recommend you have a read of it!


WARREN: I say I accept that by faith. And I think it's intellectually dishonest for you to say you have proof that it didn't happen. Here's the difference between you and me. I am open to the possibility that I am wrong in certain areas, and you are not.

HARRIS: Oh, I am absolutely open to that.

WARREN: So you are open to the possibility that you might be wrong about Jesus?

HARRIS: And Zeus. Absolutely.

WARREN: And what are you doing to study that?

HARRIS: I consider it such a low-probability event that I—

WARREN: A low probability? When there are 96 percent believers in the world? So is everybody else an idiot?

I wish he'd let the chap finish that statement, it would have been more interesting than the "idiot" charge.

Another Section:

So, parse that. God gave you an immigration attorney, but God killed a little girl.
WARREN: Well, I do believe in the goodness of God, and I do believe that he knows better than I do. God sometimes says yes, God sometimes says no and God sometimes says wait. I've had to learn the difference between no and not yet. The issue here really does come down to surrender. A lot of atheists hide behind rationalism; when you start probing, you find their reactions are quite emotional. In fact, I've never met an atheist who wasn't angry.

HARRIS: Let me be the first.

WARREN: I think your books are quite angry.

HARRIS: I would put it at impatient rather than angry...

Fundamentals of Christian Faith

What do you think the critical key points of Christian faith are?

Thinking about it I can only really think of 3 that I consider completely and utterly required for one to consider ones self Christian:

• That God exists.
• That Christ existed and was the son of God or God incarnate or something similar (what ever the correct theological term is for that).
• That he died and rose again.

I do not however consider these to be requirements for admittance to heaven (should it exist) or to be a good person and so forth.

Can any one think of any other absolutely fundamental ideas for a Christian or disagree with any of the ones posted above?

Personally I'm not so sure that the 3rd one listed above is critical.

Sketches of a Mind - Communication & A Changing God

We seem to be quite a hard species to communicate, we certainly have enough problems occur within our species due to communication failure. Following this sort of line of thought I was thinking about how God has attempted to communicate with us some many times and how so many times it has failed miserably due in most cases to humans losing interest or going off to do there own thing.

Any way here are some of what I think are different methods the bible portrays God using to communicate with us through out history, in a rough sort of chronological order.

1. God the Immortal Farther: Walking with us, teaching us, showing humans this world. Problem being first time he goes on "holiday" or something and stops paying attention for a little bit what do you know? People have started doing stuff he suggested was a bad idea forgotten the message!
2. Distant, Wrathful, Almighty God: Resetting the world (perhaps?) because only one chap will listen and things have deteriorated to a point It can't stand! Chosen people/family's tested to see if they're worthy and truly follow It. Third party non-human messengers and so forth, a God who seems at home in Myth and Legend. Seemed to work fine for small groups of people or individuals, but didn't seem to scale up.
   
3. Classical Mythical God: Chosen leaders, hero's and nations. Miracles Pillars of fire, rescuing and creating an entire nation. Establishment of structured religion, High Priests, Sacrifices. Punishing those who stuff up or turn from them, and those who oppose It's chosen people and nations. Unfortunately doesn't seem to work very well at all even while the miracles are happening people turn away or want more.
   
4. Prophetic God: Prophets and Prophetic Kings, divinely appointed leaders, direct but less flashy miracles, working through the Prophets. The established religion supports and follows the prophets. Cycles of punishment and intervention announced and guided by the Prophets. People connect with the prophets they may not like the messages but they understand them and follow them while the prophet survives. Slowly gets less and less effective though until only a few people accept and follow the prophets.
5. Distant God V1: Steps back from human affairs reduces intervention lets people cope for them selves. Suddenly some people realise that some things missing and fall back to the Established religion, placing greater and greater importance on it. Eventually though the religion becomes to established, less about God and more about the man made rules, laws, tradition and appearance.
6. Human God: The next/final step up from Prophets. Christ. God becomes human, takes human form. God living with us experiencing what we are, eating, drinking, sleeping and ageing with us. Eventually dieing for us. Humanity fully embraced, Mortality experienced the uncertainty of human existence comprehended and the uncertainty of what comes after! A tragedy of miscommunication finally understandable in human terms. Something that reaches out and touches the human "soul" in a manner that we can comprehend. This provides a personal human faith, a real flesh and blood being we empathise with, comprehend to a degree, someone we can seek to understand, to follow, to love and believe in. Promises that it isn't the end that there is hope for a future.
7. Distant Loving God V2: The message delivered in an understandable form, allow it to remain a human faith something people hold to as a matter of faith and belief. Reduces the temptation for humans to blame every thing on God and seek God to do every thing. Waiting till the promised time when humans have truly understood the message.

The Future what comes next?
The End?
Another form and stage should humans forget the current one?

What do people think?
Do you agree disagree with this sort of series of views of God?

Nature of God or Gods?

What do people think about the nature of God or Gods? Can other Gods exist?

In someway's I think they do, or at least once enough people start believing in one they become nigh on impossible to disprove (at least to the believers) assuming they haven't been assigned any clearly impossible actions or attributes.
As if enough people believe there belief will start to influence others actions, in a manner similar to how Christ's teaching affected us, and once enough people are effected it starts to affect the culture.

Also I think when people start to believe and enough in a certain culture do then statistically improbable effects will start to be taken as miracles. People who pray will start to think their prayers are answered as they them selves think up ways of solving problems they were praying about or something happens that fits what they were praying for.

You see it a bit in the Christian church, "all glory to God", and the believe that anything that happens somewhat easier than expect or things that don't work out are due to the will of God. If something goes right well then it was clearly God's will and if something doesn't happen then it was also Gods will.

The problem here I think is that people seeking prove of the existence of God simply start to assign the thanks or blame to anything that happens to God. This also allows them to avoid having to feel as much responsibility if things go wrong I think.

This may just be the outpourings of an overly cynical mind but I hope not.

Thinking about, thinking about, God

(quick note I'm using "it" in the gender neutral sense rather than "it is an object")

In the last couple of years I've started to notice something, when I think about what God is or maybe that's started to worry me in someways. I've started to realise that I don't care if God's almighty, all-powerful, perfect and all that extra stuff. Instead I pray that God is simply powerful enough to do what it promised, that God is merciful above all else. That God is just but not humanly so, justice without personal bias, justice that is not bound by laws, rules and regulations but justice that is bound by mercy. A God who could welcome those who had damned them selves by their actions to save others, as well as those that had followed it's ways, and those who had attempted to follow it's ways yet not quite managed, as well as those who had followed other ways well still attempting to do that which is right.

I pray that the God I believe in sees freewill as humankind's greatest gift, that seeks to know and love us because we are aware. On a slight tangent I really don't like it when speakers say we should surrender our freewill to God, to become as I see it God bots, sure very few people if manage it, but I just do not like the idea, as as I see it freewill and the sentience that goes with it are our greatest gifts that which distinguishes us from animals. How could God thus justify taking away the thing that makes us us. Some might say that our soul is what makes us, us but you can't even prove the existence of it and to me it seems most likely our "soul" is our freewill and sentience linked to our memories. You might say giving up our freewill to God allows it to protect us and stops us doing that which is wrong/sinful which maybe true but it is hardly good! If there are no consequences and no bad actions how do you learn what is good and bad? Trying to raise a child would not work if you stopped them from ever doing anything painful or damaging, as experience is the best and most profound teacher.

I pray that my God is one who does not have a list of "sins" as such but one who has a list of things that damage us. On a tangent again what is sin? I tend to think it is actions that damage us in some way shape or form, the few things that I'd consider evil are actions that damage, destroy or limit the freewill of others, within the restriction that some ideas and actions that others chose must be limited because they'd effect the freewill of others.

When I then, think these things that I hope and believe God is, I begin to worry what if he isn't? And is this me a simple human attempting to impose my ideas of what is right on God, a being that is most likely much greater than us? Are such thought's evil or sinful/harmful?

This confuses and worry's me as on a similar note my personal believe have already taken a good look at most of Genesis and discarded that is irrelevant and unlikely to be true.

Can you Believe?

• Can you believe in a God who saw all that could and might happen?
• Can you believe in a God who is not the Creator of the universe, but is the Initiator.
• Can you believe in a God who is inside time and is time?
• Can you believe in a God who initiated and set in motion a universe so complex and awe aspiring that life arose and evolved in it?
• Can you believe in a God who watched and waited, observing and delighting in that which formed?
• Can you believe in a God who saw life gain intelligence and reasoning, A God who loved so much that he stepped out and held out “his” hand in greeting and friendship?
• Can you believe in a God who saw what would come, and yet still allowed us free will? A God knowing what might happen allowed it in order to allow us to be real beings?
• Can you believe in a God who warned of what knowledge would bring yet still offered it?
• Can you believe in a God so holy and pure that even seeing what might come was surprised at how badly we fell?
• Can you believe in a God who saw us lose our way, fall into habits that hurt us, and refused to listen to “him” when he tried to point out that these things hurt us?
• Can you believe in a God who loved that which he had caused so much that he was willing to become one of us, mortal? A God who was willing to become us so he could truly understand us?
• Can you believe in a God who loved us so much that when taking our form and gaining a mind like ours was prepared to die so that we would actually pay attention to what he had said?
• Can you believe in a God who wishes the best for all, and sees what that might be, a God who loves the homeless, the sick, the poor, the weak, the helpless and the fool. And yet loves us and respects us so much that he cannot and will not force any one us to do what he sees is best, but only shows us the way letting us choose, letting us be real people?
• Can you believe in a God who waits for us to decided who and what we are, to experience many of the aspects of life, and who waits for us to leave behind the limitations of this cocoon of flesh and truly know him?
• Can you believe in a God who loved us so much he let us choose what we would become for better or for worse?
• A God so complex that this surely only touches on the most infinitely small facet of what he really is?

If not what can you believe in? Please feel free to post how you see God in the comments or on your own blog. I think the manner in which we see God and his actions differs for each of us and underlies all that we do and are. Therefore I'd love to get some idea of how others veiw God.

Also feel free to make any objections to items in this list you feel necessary, I'll try to explain it but, seeing the above is probably a reasonable overview of some of the bias's that underlie my understanding of God and therefore my faith. What I say may make little sense and likely in some areas lack a strong and strictly accurate logical structure.

Theology & Thoughts

One thing I've noticed more and more as different aspects as we cover different aspects of theology at heresy is how pointless much of it is, and how often the church has split over issues that in many cases seem rather pointless to me. Some seem sensible such as the Reformation, where I can understand why those involved felt they need to split when the heads of the church decided to ignore the issues they raised and persecuted them for questioning the church's authority and traditions.
It is frustrating how human the church is and has been. We believe in a God who accepts all that call on his name, who loves all, a God who's message was to "love your neighbor as you love your self". Yet given the smallest opportunity and disagreement, so often the first reaction has been to throw out those who disagree and secondly attempt to eliminate those who disagree via what ever method was considered acceptable at the time be that by fire and the sword, social or economic means.
Looking at the early church the ideas they declared heretical were so often things that could not be proven either way. Who truly knows the nature of the Trinity, do you think it matters to God that one guy believes that Christ was God incarnate while another believes that Christ was both human and God having both natures, and another that Christ was simply a "side" or "aspect" of God? Why would God care as long as they all believe in him and attempt to follow Christ's teachings.

In many cases the we end up effectively arguing about what we think the "nature" of God should be, rationalising a God that comfortably fits with our world view. I see this when I look at open theism and free will which I consider to be the most accurate description of part of God's nature. While I consider them to be logical and self evident for a number of reasons, in part I agree with them because they fit with what I imagine God to be somewhat like, and thus fits with my image of a God who loves us for who and what we are not as an object or a toy. An image that is undoubtedly a product of my genes, my mind, my upbringing and my culture. While in all reality I suspect that God can not be truly understood by a living human and is complex beyond our wildest theories, dreams and nightmares.


What I'm trying to say I guess is that our views of and on God are influenced by many thing, and lacking clear and exact knowledge about the nature of God we choose unconsciously a view of God that we then try to fit everything else to or choose a view of the world that we then try to fit God to.


But being human means we doubt and doubt leads to Insecurity about our choice, which makes us try to convert/convince others to/of it, because if every one believes we must be right. We don't like doubt and thus attempt to stamp it out even though with out doubt what is faith? For faith is defined by doubt.

Complete and utter certainty is easier than faith for it requires no justification just action faith/trust on the other requires the possibility of alternatives.



Well I've no idea if that makes sense to any one else, I hope it does at least in part, and that it gets you to think a bit about the fact in the end only God matters not how we believed in him.

Faith

A recent testimony at church helped provide an interesting insight into my own faith and where I am in it.
The lady Discussed 3 phases that her faith had went through:

1) God is everywhere in every thing all around, faith with out knowledge with out question, innocent faith.
2) The loss of faith, faith weakened, questioned unknown, "My God, My God have you forsaken me"
3) Faith rekindled small, but strong slowly growing maturing, faith with reason.



That's not quite how she described her three steps but that is how I see them.
Looking at my own faith though there are some similarities.


The early faith was that that I had when I was a Child.

God is good, God is Love, God is the reason for all things, God saves me from hell, God is light God is life, Jesus my best friend, The bible unquestionable accurate and perfect. Christians are good people, god protects and looks after Christians.

This was the faith of a Child (6-10,11) having given one self to God it was strong and unquestioning, I think the commitment had a change at least on my public behaviour. Based years of bible stories, reading children's bibles, Bible in Schools, Bible Club, Sunday School (Brethren with a bit of Apostolic).


Next came faith with some reason. God is good, life and love. God forgives, God protects, God created the earth and the universe, the Bible accurate and near prefect pretty much literally. Christians are people and have people the same weaknesses as other people. The problems in the world are human based. It's better to be a Christian than not. Evolution and science wrong in some areas. Faith and religion not the same.

The faith of a teenager (11-18), a child growing up, finding Sunday School could no longer teach any more, discovering greater and greater diversity in Christian thought and circles, Attending a private Conservative Christian intermediate then a public coed high school. Starting to study and examine Science, History, Church History. Discussing things with Dad troubled by questions he raised to think about, arguing with friends at school about Christianity, Religion and Science. Gaining a deeper understanding of Science and History. Church hopping, attending a traditional style cell group. Disagreeing with other Christians in some areas agreeing in others. Reading more and more, learning more about our culture. Learning about politics and the world.


Next was "faith"? Can I, do I have faith? What do I have faith in?
Questions, always questions. Does God exist, can he exist, why do things happen, why do we exist? What is the world with out God what is our purpose if there is no God? Is this the true "faith"? Does it matter? One way to god? What is Heaven, what is Hell? What is death with out God? Is the bible all ways right? Is it the exact word of God? Is it a humans inadequate attempt to express the Divine? Genesis, fact? Historical fiction? or Story? Evolution or Creation, perhaps Intelligent design? Does one exclude the others? Social issues abortion, murder, crimes, victim and criminals place and rights?


The Question (18-19)? Still going to church, but wondering, questioning all that one sees. Going to Uni Studying Science, Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Computing. Questioning what was taught, but seeing underlying logic as well as holes. Mixing and merging ideas from all areas of interest Science and Christianity. Going to a cell group people who see black and white, I see grey and some black.


A new faith? Different, now things fit, small though, Questions still a plenty
Much is grey but now there is both Light and Darkness as well as they grey. Truth I may not know entirely, but some understanding achieved, such as a human may. Both Science and God now fit to a degree. God rules but free will for now has power. Heaven and hell of less importance. God IS! But what is the nature? What is the method?

The faith of one who has balanced internally at least to some degree the demands of two things that may appear to conflict (19- ). Involvement with CU, New friends, Christian Friends, Changing cell groups to my current.


The future? Growth of the faith a decrease in questions? Or more likely a decrease in the importance of the questions. An increase in the relationship with God, perhaps one day reaching a point were it dominates. Baptism, Hope for a future with God. Trust that in the end that which can not be explained, is not understood, will be explained or made irrelevant.



One thing I'll say with regards to the period of question, one thing there that scares me, more than pretty much any thing else is the question of "What if God doesn't exist"? Even contemplating that briefly is disturbing beyond anything else I've considered.

Any way what you see is part of the journey of one who has a faith of a kind. One raised in a Christian family.

I'm somewhat curious, if any one wants to comment, on how many others have experienced something similar, and if, if they don't mind me asking, they were raised in a Christian Family.

Sketches from a Mind. Free Will, Man and God.

Free Will, Man and God.


In looking at my views of various things it is interesting to see that all are dependent on one other Idea that man kind has Free Will. All my thoughts about the world and various matters make this assumption which is interesting as this is an assumption that I can not back up biblically with a direct statement (If you know of any please comment and mention them).

Yet this assumption with out any "proof" is the basies for my views and understanding of the world and many of the more "difficult" questions we as Christians are asked, and that some of us think about as we grapple with our faith attempting to justify it and understand it. At points doubts plague our minds, some of us ignore them others of us discuss them and some of us simply close up around them and attempt to justify or produce a rational basis for what we see in the world around us. Some of us succeed in this some of us don't.

The Ideas that are generated for those that think about various Issues are pure speculation yet they help us get a grip on reality and give us a "self" justifiable basis for our belief. Of course the ideas may be a little weird and some one heretical by the standards of the more conservative and even by our own standards before we started thinking, and mine are as some of you might know.

Any way back to the topic.The basis of my thoughts on various topics comes from to assumptions one which is fairly obvious from the bible and the other which is suggested but never stated.
The first is God exists :-), Rather obvious and basic isn't it and certainly is rather clear from the bible.

The Second is that God has given humankind Free Will and/or a Soul. Yet this I can not back up obviously from any biblical statement.
Yet it underlies all my thinking, all my thoughts, and our vary Society to some degree.
The Creation account and the Fall is one of the prime examples in scripture that supports this but does not clearly state it. The Creation of the Tree of Knowledge and the ban on eating it's fruit clearly leaves Adam and Eve with a choice and one that they must make. This strongly supports the idea of Free Will for a choice can not exist if you have no Free Will to decided.

Again it can be displayed to some degree by Christ when he choose to allow him self to become human and be Crucified. He willingly choose to accept the that outcome.

Any way it's been 2 weeks since I started this post and I've kind of lost the thread So it'll have to g up as it is.

Sketches from a Soul

To my friends.

I greet you with love and daily thank God for you.
You add colour, joy, moments of beauty, and flashes of fun and amusement.
Helping form the hill's, valley's, mountains and plains,
That define the dimensions of my Soul, as it bathes in the light of God.

You strengthen my appreciation for that that is good and of God,
Helping prevent loneliness from claiming my mind and soul.

What would there be with out you, but God and Me?
God and Nothing!

A man with out friends is like a desert,
That bathes in the light of the Sun,
That burns with utter purity, revealing all flaws,
With nothing but acceptance of the Sun and it's light to redeem.
Life is present but can not be seen, hiding from the Sun,
Unable, incapable of interactions with other Souls.


God bless you, protect you and keep you for all eternity!
Amen.



A mind's constructs of the reflections of a Soul.

Sketches of a Mind.

Is any body else out there?

One interesting question that may at some point in the future become more important to Christian's is the question of “Does other life exist any where else in the universe?” or “Does other Intelligent and Self aware life exist?”. These may at some point become very important to Christian's should contact with an extra terrestrial species ever occur. As one thing I think many Christian's do is assume that we are the only Intelligent life form in this universe (God and Angels don't count :)). That God made the universe for us. A rather self centred view I feel and one I can think of no real “clear” and “definite” biblical backing for (If you know of some please feel free to point it out to me). Also how would you or other Christians react if life is discovered on some place that is not earth and that was clearly not of earth origin e.g. Europa (A moon of Jupiter and considered a prime candidate for evolutionary life)?

Would it affect your world view and interpretation of the bible? As I know of no verses which state that life was created any where else? This is not the biggest possible problem though life on other planet's and Moons can quite easily be fit into a Christian world view with out to much discomfort, just accepting that Genesis is not the full, accurate, step by step guide to the Development and Creation of the Universe and every thing.


The real gotcha though would be the discovery of Intelligent life! Something that really hits the Universe is for Human kind argument on the head! The other thing is such an event could prove Christianity is correct but can't disprove it. I mean for example say the Seti project detected a signal that was clearly of intelligent origin that was close enough for some form of contact/communication to be developed (This of course assumes that the hypothesis, that we don't hear/detect any other civs in space is because there is another more advanced paranoid species out there that attacks any it detects wiping them out, is incorrect) . And as part of the communication Religion was discussed for which there is a number of possible outcomes.

Species doesn't have any Religion's, never did or fail to understand the concept.

This leaves several points of view the negative, God doesn't exist or Religion is a human construct but again you can't prove either of these. Which pretty much leaves us with the situation as it is to day though with a few changes in interpretation of the bible no doubt :).

Or the Positive, that they need to be converted, human kind was lucky or unlucky (depending on your point of view) enough to be chosen by God as his “Chosen species” and it's our duty to convert the universe :). This of course assumes that we accept they have souls and as far as I'm concerned that would be a YES if they were intelligent, and that they can learn to comprehend religion, faith, and belief.

Species understands Religion but has no Christian religion or Christian compatible religion.

This would probably be a mixed bag, a species that understands the concepts of Religion and has some proving that it's not just something imagined by some humans and that possibly it's and underling part of self awareness. On the other the lack of a Christian or Christian like religion or faith would mean that we don't have any more “proof” as the world would see it that Christianity is the only true Faith. Still I'd expect most Christians would welcome it more than the previous and again we'd have another group to convert :).


Species understands religion and has a Christian compatible one that teaches similar concepts and Ideas and expects similar behaviour.

This would be nice. It would provide a nice little boost to Christianity and possibly the other religions derived from Christianity and would be a real boost to the idea that God exists.


Many Eden's. Species understands Religion and has Christianity in it's fullness. Similar holy book or equivalent, similar theology, the Trinity, Creation, Eden, the enemy, Christ etc.

This would be a massive boost to Christianity and pretty much prove it for many I think. No doubt there'd still be those who rejected it for one reason or another and others who said it was just proof that some advanced alien species had decided to play god at some time. But some of the issues it would rise would be VERY nasty from some points of view. The concepts of other species all undergoing the same fate falling from grace is horrific to comprehend, or at least I find it so, and it begs the question have all species fallen or are there some that survived or avoided the fall and passed the temptation?

Well there you are you've just had a view in to the sort of random stuff that I think about when in bed, walking to University or am just plain bored.

No there are a couple of reasons for posting this, it force's me to order my thoughts about the issue which is usually useful, and it gives me a chance to find out if other people that I know think about this sort of stuff or other random ideas and if they do have they thought about this? Or other interesting ideas?


So now a few Q's.

• What do you think of these idea's?
• Are there things here that you agree with, disagree with etc.? Why?
• Do you think about random Ideas like this?
• Did I manage to freak you out?
• Do you now think I'm abit odd now?(Don't feel guilty I'm quite happy to tell you that I am :))
• Or perhaps insane? :-}
• Or just eccentric?

• Have you considered that we might not be the only Intelligent beings in creation?
• If so how does it affect you, does it?

Note it would be nice if your'd at least mention if you also think of such random things.
As it generally requires a really wierd conversation to find out.Or to discuss such things :-P.

Sketches of a Soul.

My Faith.

Faith underlies my very being it's what my entire world view, belief and character are based on. Faith in God, that he exists, created us some how, Sent Christ to die for us and that Christ then rose from the dead.

Faith in God is at the basis of my thoughts it is the foundation of my desire to know things, to see God's glory and might revealed in all that I see and learn. To see God in all things, the wonder of the world and existence as seen through the scientific perspectives with the millions and millions of tiny things that make up larger things, which in turn make up larger things.

To look at a Tree and comprehend/see that it consists of trillions and trillions of sub atomic particles assembled together to form the atom's held together by forces humans barely understand in prefect order and harmony, atom's linking up to form the molecules, Ring structures, lines, links, chains, interlinking joining together to form the macro molecules, DNA, RNA, proteins, lipid's with there odd and complex forms, structures and abilities which combine to form organelles. The organelles grouped together to form cells, items more complex than any thing ever constructed by man some living, some dead linked into tissues with specific purposes, structural, transport, production, growth and reproduction all joined together to form a tree an single thing to our view something ordinary and boring something that you see standing in the garden, along the road, in a forest all so ordinary. Yet to stop and thing and marvel at the design and to see what God has created or brought into existence.

Lord to see that more often! To be able to comprend such things where ever I went, rather than as rare brief flashs!

Faith is what keeps the fear of death from tainting and poisoning my life for I have faith there is more than nothing awaiting.

Faith in God shapes my action when I let, producing all that is good in me but oh it is so easy to forget to over rule the implications of ones faith to ignore what is right, true and good, to do as we wish turning a blind eye to the consequences.

Faith must grow for only with the growth of faith can I grow. Lord let my faith grow I pray.

The Limitations of God?

After having read the last to post on Reuben's blog I was wondering what are God's limitations (I've thought about this before)?

Does God actually have limitations?
Does he have limitations in his abilities?
Are any “limitations” only really decisions that God has made and decided to abide by?

What do you think?

Thinking about it at various times I've come to think that God does have some “limitations” that result from his very Nature or at least appears to based on our perceptions of his Nature. Most of you probably wouldn't call these “limitations” most likely advantages and I guess many of them are what are things that would seem to be limitations in a human but in God are only advantages.

Any way these are the ones think he may have.

He is can only be truthful and follow his word exactly. He is unable to lie in any form or manner, i.e. he can not conceal “emotions”, shade the truth, tell only part of the truth (might be some exceptions) pretend to be what he is not . He may decide not to revel something but can not easily tell partial truths.

He can not change, his word or mind. Once he says something he will do it.

He is unable to completely force a human to do something he may set things up so that there is only a 1x10^100 or less chance that we will not do what he wants but in the end the final choice is ours, even if it only comes down to the random firing of one neuron or something.

Really most of these are not truly “limitations” for god but would be if applied to a human in the world as it is today.

Any way what do people think?

Does God actually have limitations, can he be limited?

Does he have limitations in his abilities?

Are any “limitations” only really decisions that God has made and decided to abide by?