@still_learning has sparked a discussion that emphasizes how varied are the worldviews of the Forum contributors. One view seems fairly constant: “God exists outside of time”. What is the history of that view, Christy? Personally, I have a great deal of difficulty with that as the foundation of theology. I accept the evidence for a Big Bang event that ushered in the concept of Time, but to believe in a God who cares about me, He must exist where I exist–i…e. in Time. Of course Jesus fills that role–God living with us, struggling with us, loving with us, dying with us–in Time. He is the Word, the Instructions of how He wants us to live out our lives in Time. To me, all our attempts to use science to retrace the history of our earth–paleontology & the theory of evolution–are interesting exercises intellectually, but we must be careful that they do not distract us from hearing the Word that God sent to us some 2,000 yrs. ago.
Holy Scripture may well be the inspired concepts that God wishes humans to consider, but they must be framed in Human words that can be mistranslated, misunderstood through the passage of time. And science is an ever-shifting attempt to ascertain the truth without the expectation of achieving a finished product. So using both ‘tools’, and keeping an open mind seems like the best course to leading a life that is pleasing to our Creator. @still_learning seems to be making an honest effort along these lines.
Al Leo