Faith to Reason

Although the laws of motion and universal
gravitation became Newton's best-known
discoveries, he warned against using them to
view the universe as a mere machine, as if akin
to a great clock. He said, "Gravity explains the
motions of the planets, but it cannot explain
who set the planets in motion. G-d governs all
things and knows all that is or can be
done."[15]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton


For those of us on the Jesus Bus, what difference does it make whether we accept theories of evolution or anything else? Isn't this a disagreement between science and religion? No. It's a disagreement between two religions. One is the religion of christianity and the other is the religion of the high priesthood of the secular persuasion. I'm not sure what's the easiest way to explain it. It's my intention to show that there is a fundamental religious disagreement between the two. It's not science versus religion, it's one religion versus another religion, it's secularism versus christianity.


You ought to stop and ask yourself, why is it that the most outspoken opposition to evolution just happens to be from the christian community?
The reason should be obvious. These are
competing religious views. The book of Genesis
was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for
us. Here's how Jesus put it:


Mt 5:17 Let there be no thought that I have come
to put an end to the law or the prophets. I have
not come for destruction, but to make complete.


18 Truly I say to you, Till heaven and earth
come to an end, not the smallest letter or part
of a letter will in any way be taken from the
law, till all things are done.


19 Whoever then goes against the smallest of
these laws, teaching men to do the same, will be
named least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who
keeps the laws, teaching others to keep them,
will be named great in the kingdom of heaven.


When Jesus uses the word 'law', he refers to the books of Moses, the first five books of our modern Bible. That includes the book of Genesis. In verse 18, you can see that he is claiming the exactness of the revealed word, in that 'not the smallest letter' is insignificant. So, in recognition of what Jesus taught us, we really don't have much choice in the matter. You have to like the fact that Jesus wasn't shy about telling us what he thought.


Choice isn't something we're given by government legislation, it's granted by G-d. Because he made us free moral agents.You and only you are given supervision of your heart and mind. You make the choice to believe what you want. If you want to split hell wide open, the choice is granted by G-d to do so.On the other hand, the choice to accept his gracious offer of redemption is also yours.That's the way he structured the universe. He rules the heavens and the earth. It's going to be done his way, whether you like it or not.The dialectic doesn't work here. It's an either or decision. It's heaven or hell. It's G-d's way or the wrong way. That's the way he made the rules. Why some choose to oppose the
Soveriegn of the universe is beyond me. That
battle was lost before it even began.


For those without a grasp of science and math, it may not be obvious that there is an issue.When I think about it, for 99.99% of the population, it really isn't going to make any difference in their day to day life whether they believe in evolution or not. That's why the secular persuasion gets away with it. Most people just think, oh, well, it's just science. I don't care about science. I'm an accountant,or a cook or a manager. Even working in a chemistry lab, day to day, it doesn't matter whether I believe in evolution or not. It has zero relevance to my day to day work. All Iwork with is databases and chemical structures and getting my job done. Why should I care?


But the job of the high priesthood of the secular persuasion is the task of having people believe that there is a scientific --unquestionable, proven and written in stone --validity to their pet theory. They know that for 99.99% of the public, it doesn't matter if they believe in a giant spaghetti monster theory of origins. As long as they DO NOT accept the authority of holy scripture. Their battle is against G-d, just as it has always been.


The battle is between two opposing religious authorities. And you can't go into the lab and prove scientifically that either view of origins is valid. The best you can do, is to carefully weigh the evidence and arrive at the most likely
conclusion on the basis of the evidence we have
at hand. Because the origins issue is based on
an interpretation of history, NOT on evidence reproducible in a lab. And it comes down to their interpretation versus our interpretation. The secular mentality is based on the desire to gain greater influence and power. They see the need to advance their religious authority in the hope of enslaving the souls, the hearts and minds of men for their
own purposes.


Myself. I really don't get it. I mean, I don't see the advantage of promoting any view other than the most accurate. It doesn't make sense to me, to promote a view that will, in time, be proven outdated. Once a theory has outlived
it's usefullness, it's time to move on, rather than enshrine it as a religious dogma. But that's never been the way of this world. It's a power thing.


The relevant factor, and the reason that the secular persuasion fights so bitterly against the christian view, is that it just happens tobe the prevailing popular view. Whatever the particular brand of religion that people practice, polls continue to show that the population, in general, do not believe that they are descendents of lower life forms. It has to do with the fact that men are created in the image of G-d and we see that image reflected in others. But we don't sense that image in thevarious forms of animal life. We sense that life, even in the animal kingdom, is something of value. But we have a greater sense that human life has a special quality. No amount of propaganda is going to change that perception.


But having a perception and accepting the account of scripture are not the same thing. Secularists still don't get it that they are
fighting a losing battle. The truth is not on
their side. Even if you don't believe in
gravity, it's still going to keep you from
spinning off the face of the earth. The
structure of the universe is not subject to your
personal prejudice. Scripture has a position of
higher authority, whether you like it or not.


Not to be discouraged, the battle is not as much about getting the story straight as it is about being able to justify doing the things that we want to do. Scripture shows us that nothing much has changed in all of recorded history as far as the predisposition of men to pursue their own ends in an effort to satisfy the urge to serve sin. About two thousand years ago John had this to say about the day and age he lived in.


Jn 3:19 And this is the test by which men are
judged: the light has come into the world and
men have more love for the dark than for the
light, because their acts are evil.


20 The light is hated by everyone whose acts are
evil and he does not come to the light for fear
that his acts will be seen.


John, in his gospel, points out that there is a fundamental flaw in human nature. That flaw is sin. Read all of John chapter three.


Jn 3:16 For God had such love for the world that
he gave his only Son, so that whoever has faith
in him may not come to destruction but have
eternal life.


17 God did not send his Son into the world to be
judge of the world; he sent him so that the
world might have salvation through him.


18 The man who has faith in him does not come up
to be judged; but he who has no faith in him has
been judged even now, because he has no faith in
the name of the only Son of God.


19 And this is the test by which men are judged:
the light has come into the world and men have
more love for the dark than for the light,
because their acts are evil.


I can't tell if anything I wrote above makes anysense at all to anyone but me. The point I want to make is that there is faith and there is reason. They are not opposed to each other. They should agree. And when they don't agree, you need to take another look at either your faith or your reason or both. Because G-d structured that universe to work the way that he wanted it to work. Our opinions about things are not going to change in any way the fact that G-d rules the heavens and the earth, and has given in his word all that we need to know about his plan for us.


II Tim 3:16 Every holy Writing which comes from
G-d is of profit for teaching, for training, for
guiding, for education in righteousness:


17 So that the man of G-d may be complete,
trained and made ready for every good work.


On the Jesus Bus, we only need to realize that there is no reason at all to question the authority of holy scripture, from cover to cover, because Jesus held the view that scripture is the revealed word. Don't be pursuaded by hollow arguments about so called 'science'.


I Tim 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this
world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in
uncertain riches, but in the living G-d, who
giveth us richly all things to enjoy;


18 That they do good, that they be rich in good
works, ready to distribute, willing to
communicate;


19 Laying up in store for themselves a good
foundation against the time to come, that they
may lay hold on eternal life.


20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to
thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings,
and oppositions of science falsely so called:


21 Which some professing have erred concerning
the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.


Notice that a whole lot hasn't changed over the past two thousand years or so. From verse 20 we see that they called opposition to G-d 'science' way back in those days. People seem to want to see themselves as being smarter than G-d. That way, they can do as they please.That is not the way Jesus wants us to live.Read the Bible, figure it out, believe it and try to do it. Try not to think you're smarter than G-d. Have the faith to reason.