Hi there, ive been a follower of biologos for a while now and it has helped me to a degree with my agnostic attitude im really trying to find faith i really want to have the comfort of belief im a deeply logical person and one half of me says there cant be a god because how can we as an insignificant speck in space possibly one of many species and many many faiths on this earth alone uet another part of me says there has to be because how can something come from nothing how have people here been able to reconcile faith, science and reason with the growing tide of atheist thought keep their faith
1 Like
I hope this helps you find a confident faith.
3 Likes
I find it very strange that people who say they are humanists find that they have to discount the importance of humanity to assert that there is no God.
Clearly humans are important without being all important. We need all the help that we can get to solve our problems which includes God.
We see the universe as immense…both in time and space. And it is…compared to me. Our humanist assumptions make us compare everything to ourselves. Maybe the size of the universe says less about me than it does about God…
1 Like
Which humanists are saying that humans are of no importance? If humans weren’t important then why would humanists put effort into creating free societies? The International Humanist and Ethical Union has this as one of their bylaws:
“Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.”
While humanists may not be theists, they nonetheless celebrate the right of someone finding meaning in their lives, and that includes religious belief. Humanists support freedom of religion within a secular government, much like we have in the Western world.
I think its great that Josh is going through a journey where he is looking for meaning in his life. Wherever he lands I am confident that he will be a better person for making that journey. Given the personal nature of such a journey, I’m not sure what advice, if any, I could offer him. However, it does make me proud that we live in a country where such a journey is possible and supported.
I echo this sentiment … and want to add. I think we are “Magnitudist” (since I love coining new words). As in, we buy into “bigger size = more important” psychology. Sure – there are lots of little exceptions within magnitudes. We probably wouldn’t say an elephant is more important than a human, etc. But generally we feel that if our earth goes from being huge to being a “pale blue dot”, we feel that we’ve been “demoted” somehow (never mind that many ancients already knew the earth was a tiny part of the cosmos, even if they didn’t know how many more zeroes would get added to their size conceptions or that the earth isn’t at the center [bottom, really] of the universe!)
But don’t forget the logarithmic scale goes both ways. You are a large “universe” to the microbes living in and around you. Would we say that our blood cells are of no significance because they are too tiny to be important?
2 Likes
Regarding the relative significance of humanity, I think there’s something important about the fact that we have consciousness - a self-awareness of ourselves and the universe that the rest of Earth’s creatures don’t have - we are orders of magnitudes smaller than galaxies but we know they exist and they don’t know we exist. So if a conscious being created this universe, perhaps it’s not so irrational to suppose that he might be interested in whatever creatures within that universe share that mysterious special characteristic of consciousness - no matter how small or insignificant they may otherwise seem - perhaps it even has something to with being “made in the image of God”
4 Likes
My one anchor to Christian faith is the resurrection of Jesus. I have no doubt it occurred. When I contemplate an eternal creator I can’t imagine our universe being his first or only creation. Maybe he has created an infinite number of universes. This thought makes it difficult to believe in a creator who cares for me. But since Jesus rose from the grave (although a new kind of body, not a resurrected corpse) what he said must matter - must be true. Then I return to trying to pray - and experience great peace.
4 Likes
so true.
I’m sure the atheists that saunter by will instinctlvely dismiss the assessment.
But for me it is impossible to believe that a universe without God or some other center of cosmic awareness would have any conscious things. They might have neural activity that causes “behavior that appears to be awareness” … but no genuine epi-phenomenon we would call consciousness.
Conversely, the fact that there are conscious beings (“I think, therefore I am.” - George Brooks) tells me that there is something far greater than me or any people I can imagine.
This topic was automatically closed 6 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.