| Witness to Proof? |
| Witness to Proof? |
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What 'Witness' would you accept? For Christians, the 'witness' is obviously the God-breathed 'Holy Word' (the Bible). Personally, I don't put too much stock in Christianity's claims of 'inspiration'. It's not that I question 'God' or even Jesus. I just don't think either one (or the Holy Spirit) would purposely create such a contorted writing (inconsistencies, missing details, twisted logic, and a missing Jesus-return). The New Testament (NT) has the enthusiastic fingerprints of 'men' all over it. Issues with the 'Bible' are kind of an invitation. The 'hateful' anti-Christian writers (the ones that looked like little devils at birth, shocking even their sisters) use the NT problems to convict 'God'. But that's not really fair. If you can't demonstrate God wrote the NT, how can you say he's got a problem?? More often then not, there's some circular logic. Let's look at the believers themselves. They 'experience' God, clearly demonstrating that God takes care of them. Then periodically something bad happens (often it's REALLY bad). It's similar to kicking your dog in the snout. So on Sunday, the pastor dutifully explains God's modus operandi (the pastor being an expert). Obviously God is planning something! That solid 'kick in the snout' (breast cancer, child killed, and so forth) is for YOUR benefit! Huh? Now, come on! Isn't that a little too 'convenient'? Here's another. As you sit in Sunday school class, you kind of question some of the obstruse theology being taught. And the teacher, with a completely sanguine face, quotes John or Paul (and the gnostics, for that matter), explaining that GODLY people understand GODLY things. Duh. Now, where does that leave YOU!? Better get on board, buster! In summary, whether you're a believer, or a devil-born Christian-hater, what you're really looking for is a 'witness'. Jews called it 'a sign'. The gosh-darn humans need some 'proof'. But, there's LITTLE to be had! Why?? Well, when you're God (meaning not 'man'), and you want the humans to have a choice about you ("Your dog's NOT a robot, Billy!"), you really have a problem. It's easy to illustrate, simply with the question 'what witness would you accept?' If you saw a tree walking around (and no one else saw it), would that convince you about God? Think about it. You run and tell your friends about the walking-tree. You saw 'God' (for Moses it was a burning tree that didn't burn)! If at the funeral home, the guy that spends all his time with the 'dirty people' told the body to just get up. And it did! Would that convince you? Who would believe you? The dead guy's friends (in the NT, the other believers)? OK, 'what if' you saw this really big face up in the sky? Lightning and thunder crashing around. Maybe throw in an earthquake too (see note below). Would that convince you? How about your friends? No?. As you can see, I've thought about this a lot. I was thinking, OK, 'what if' a WHOLE NATION experienced something strange. What about if the nation were 'walking around a desert' (I mean just as an example), and water for drinking just 'appeared'. Add some food EVERY morning. THAT would be pretty convincing, right? But in the Exodus account, apparently it wasn't quite good enough; many wanderers wanted to return to 'Egypt', and others dreamed of golden long-horns (that sounds like a restaurant). I sure don't understand. For you doubters of my 'logic', what if 'everyone' saw some sort of manifestation (I like that word) of God and it convinced them. Next thing, they'd all be ARGUING about what to do about it! Today, I think it's SO interesting in our world of 'science', that Christianity's 'proof' of God is evolving toward 'personal experience'. That would be your 'personal relationship with God'. I don't have any real problem with this (God presumably wanting an experience with you). But it sounds a lot like the Hopi up on the reservation (no offense). And also the New Age people that build their little rock towers along the hiking trails ("This way! No, no, this way!!"). At the local forest service park, there's a veritable forest of little towers! I guess they all think they're having an experience with God. See the problem? If you pursue the God-experience logic, you will inevitably end up with a competition among human claims, and all quite serious. Of course, the Christians return to the traditional claim (the NT). Indeed, in 'attack-mode' one Sunday, our pastor pointed out that if the Sedona vortex's (vortices?) truly had power, there would be a line of seekers from here to Phoenix! I glanced toward the back of the santuary, not seeing even one person 'in line'. Hmmmm. I don't think we're making progress here. Of course, then you have your Mr Hawkins, the unspeakably evil scientist. In England, some of his 'friends' put signs on their buses saying "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." On the surface, that sounds like a really cute idea ('There's PROBABLY no God'??). But then your nutty brain wonders about where Mr Hawkins came from ... or his 'big bang'. What was before the 'big bang'?? And before that? And ... well, you get the idea. Folks like Mr Hawkins never deal with their own drive for 'origin'. Their own need for a God. Even the OT had a 'creation', before the NT introduced an 'ending'. Think about it. So, if you read this far (bless your heart), what 'witness' would YOU accept? Some 'feel-good' from your family? Some 'feel-good' from you church? Maybe a 'personal-experience'? But look at the problem from God's (presumed) point of view. Don't you think He feels just a little helpless, choosing not to say the obvious ... 'Hellooooo down there!!!'. Or .... no, ... no, ... surely not .... NOTE: Earthquakes. In the NT there were several (mainly Matthew), and their function was either to open up tombs (as an author you have to plan for how resurrected bodies can get 'out'), or signal the return of Jesus. As it turns out, Palestine is earthquake-prone, being right next to the 'Big Rift' (Jordan river valley and Dead Sea). So, if you go down to the Dead Sea, geologists can show you literally layers of earthquake sequences from the past. The curiousity here, is that earthquakes around mud- and rock-built houses (like Jericho for example), do tremendous damage to all the houses (just like in Pakistan today). So, when the pre-resurrection earthquake took place (actually two per Matthew), and the dead arose (before Jesus, no less), what happened to Jerusalem? |
| Copyright ©, 2008, dmbarnhart |
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