How does prayer work for you and do you fully believe God listens to all of our prayers?
Your questions are all good ones…..and while they are enormous questions with long answers, I’ll try to be brief. I am not “religious”. I am a Christian. You can be religious about anything. You can be a religious tennis player or a religious reader. ”Religious” is not really a good word to use in describing people of Christian faith. We are not about religion, but a relationship - a relationship with the living God. I was brought up Catholic, so yes, I had some idea of what Christianity was about, but it came alive for me when I was 17 and joined a bible study that was part of a Presbyterian church’s youth group.
I basically had to deal with one very simple question: what do I do with Jesus of Nazareth and his empty tomb? No historian or scholar debates his existence. He lived. He claimed to be God. He got killed, but on the third day, no one could find His body. So, what happened to it? Did the Romans take it? Unlikely - why would they take his body and perpetuate the very myth they were trying to quell? Did the disciples take it? Unlikely - do you think all eleven go to their graves, dying violent deaths, for a lie that did nothing but bring them pain and suffering? The only other option is Jesus rose - and if He did, then He’s God - and we need to start paying attention to what He said………it’s the fork in the road of human history.
And yes, I think God hears and answers prayers in His time…….it is a very important, daily part of my life and one that brings me great peace and wisdom.
I believe that science and Christianity get along quite well - science merely reveals more of what God has created and how it works……the Big Bang is correct and agrees with Genesis - that when it got started, God started it. (That’s the one thing Big Bang does not answer. The first law of thermodynamics says you cannot get something from nothing. So, natural law says there had to be a Starter - someone had to flip the switch - and we believe that was God. The Big Bang begs the question of a creator.)
Evolution, not so much - science has also proven that a creature cannot evolve or breed outside itself without eventually weakening the species. For instance, horses that are bred to race have not become too massive for the legs….and those legs break easily……..it has not helped the species endure, but weakened it. At a certain point, frog DNA is never going to become ape DNA - just not possible……..
Dr. David
Thank you for the quick response Doctor.
You said, ‘we are not about religion, but a relationship - a relationship with the living god’. Do you mean to say by ‘living’ that god actually has a heart beat, brain function, and is literally alive in the sense of you and I?
The Big Bang and Genesis don’t get along well at all. According to Genesis the universe is only 6,000 years old but according to science its around 13 billion. How do these two fit? If you believe that the universe is only 6,000 years old, what about the dinosaurs? We know for a fact they lived more than 6,000 years ago.
While that might be true with the racing horses, unfortunately we won’t be alive to see how evolution effects that specific breed. Also, racing horses are not a natural occurrence. They were bred for our pleasure, which of course is not how natural selection works. Like I stated above we won’t be alive to see natural selection do its work on them. Weaken species die, letting the strong survive or the weakened have to evolute to get stronger.
You’re right. frog DNA will never become ape DNA. Frogs are amphibians and apes are mammals. Very different in evolution.
One last question, where did you get your Ph. D from?
Thanks,
Taylor
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Taylor -
Living, as in spiritually living - God is Spirit - we are flesh - totally different, but living, alive, active, present - as well as being the author and creator of all other things that live……
As to science and Genesis, you are trying to project some level of science or scholarship on the authors of Genesis - they were not scientists or historians - they were simply trying to describe the relationship between God and His creation - it is phenomenological, not scientific. Thus, 6 “days”, is not something to be taken literally - it was merely their oral description that when the world was made, God made it - and science then reveals the details - the Big Bang - and the Big Bang points back to God - had to have a “starter” or Creator. 6000 years is period of time - but they were not able to judge “time” or understand it in the way we do today - so again, phenomenological, not scientific - too often we are putting standards on the authors that are not appropriate. If you would like to read more, Frances Collins, the lead scientist on the mapping of the human genome, has a wonderful book on the relationship between science and Christianity. His scientific work is what led him to Christ.
Lastly, you take the evolution point out of context - my point was not frogs and apes - my point is that you can never evolve outside your own DNA, so apes are never going to become humans…….
And interestingly, if natural selection were true, why does human nature work against it so strongly? If you watch nature, it is one of the most violent studies in the world - the strong do, in fact, eat the weak. However, we are not allowed to do that as “enlightened” human beings - so we rage against the very thing we say is true on the other hand. The strong are not allowed to beat up the weak. Our government spends enormous resources to care for the weak when evolution would tell us that it is actually far better for the species to just let those people die……the handicapped, those with Alzyhmer’s, those who are gay, take your pick. Culturally, people fight to defend a doctrine that on the other hand they vehemently contradict - so which is it?
Lastly, what school do you go to and what class is this for? As a contributor, I would love to see your final paper. Thanks much -
Blessings,
David
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David,
I can’t help but think almost everything brought up in religion is always ‘taken to literally’. We aren’t suppose to take the bible literally but it is the word of god. Islam takes there bible very very literally as the whole world can see. We see this clearly. What makes Christianity different?
Humans and apes DNA are actually extremely close to each other. Evolution doesn’t say we evolved from apes, but at one point in time our ancestor evolved into two different kinds of species. Apes and humans.
Your last point is a very good one. Humans, in fact, could be stopping the natural selection process. But also, the name natural selection says it all. Our hospitals, and all the technology in them, are not natural. Natural being defined as things occurring in nature without the help of humans. So should this really be considered ‘natural’ selection? There is no contradiction because it is not natural. If you want to go into the morals of the subject you should read Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion. there is a chapter on where he elaborates on how morals evolved along with us.
In your statement, ‘Our government spends enormous resources to care for the weak when evolution would tell us that it is actually far better for the species to just let those people die……the handicapped, those with Alzheimer’s, those who are gay, take your pick.’
Are you saying that gay people are weak and should die?
Thanks,
Taylor
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Taylor,
As to “taken literally”, what that refers to is really how Scripture is read and interpreted. Christianity reads it in the original languages of Greek and Hebrew (spent 2 years taking both - fun) - and always applies contextual analysis to the truths being revealed by God. In the case of Genesis, what is the perfect truth being revealed? The truth being revealed is the origin of the world. Whether or not the world was made in 6 days or 6 million years is actually irrelevant to the timeless truth of God: God is the Creator. He made us, and when He did, we chose to rebel against His commands. The desire of our human hearts is always for self - to be our own god - and never to submit to the will of God - which is why the world is in the situation its in today - and why we needed - and still need - a Savior. Unlike Islam, Christianity would look at an Old Testament passage, such as the one found in Leviticus that says you are not allowed to cook a goat in its mother’s milk. The question to ask in interpreting that text is: was God communicating timeless truth, or was that a law related to a culturally conditioned scenario. Cursory reading on the subject would be the latter, and that’s what we do across the board.
On the DNA question, you said apes can’t become humans. I would agree with that, but the idea of a species “splitting” and becoming something else is not scientifically possible……thus humans are not descendants of apes. As I said before, once you get outside of the basic building blocks of a species, the species will break down. It will not emerge into something else. It will die.
I have read Dawkins book - even used it as the basis for a sermon series here - I love it because Dawkins helped start a cultural conversation about God’s existence - which is good for my business. Its interesting that you use the evolution of morality as part of your argument - where did man’s moral sense come from? And no, hospitals are not “natural” - they are part of the very fabric of a species that says NO to natural selection - we are fighting against it - yet we try to uphold it at the same time.
As to the “gay” comment - or course I am not saying that - but what I am saying is that if we applied the principles of natural selection, gay people cannot naturally reproduce. The goal of natural selection is the survival and strengthening of the species, thus gay people would be at the bottom of the food chain. The contradictions are obvious, and yet our culture tries to play it both ways. I am decidedly not an evolutionist. I believe that God has created all in His image - and loves what He creates - thus, I value and uphold the lives of all.
One of the things that people often do is they fail to take their arguments all the way out to where they naturally lead. Science points wonderfully to God’s existence……not to mention the life and death of Jesus. What do you do with that one? No scholar or historian debates that He lived. He’s not a myth. He died at the hands of a Roman ruler named Pilate, and three days later, no one could find His body. So, what’s the explanation? Its the fork in the road of human history - and how you answer that will determine much about the rest of your life…….
Peace,
D * * I could not help but find this amusing.
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Mr. Swanson,
Your first paragraph is full of contradictions when you take christianity as a whole. Not everyone believes six days is not literally six days. Serious christians believe that six days is in fact SIX DAYS. It is the word of god, it is true. You can not pick and choose what you want out of a holy text. Islam is a very powerful religion that follows their book closely, which makes it much more dangerous then the half assed ‘christians’ that follow ‘jesus’. You must understand that the bible was written by men. Men trying to control other men, which worked. Up until recently obviously. You’re right the world is in the situation its in because of god. Not because people rebel against him but because people are brainwashed to think that they need to die for this god to live forever( actually seems kind of selfish when you think about it)
As for the DNA ‘splitting’ you obviously know nothing about evolution. It is in fact scientifically proven that it mutates and changes. Look at Darwin and the galapagos islands. Turtles and birds lived there but had very small differences varying from island to island. Birds at longer, smaller, wider, thinner, beaks on different islands. The same thing is true with the turtles shells. They had a variety of colors and shapes on them. The beginning of DNA mutating or ‘splitting’.
As for the morality part, you said you read Dawkins books, so there is no need to explain this you already know.
‘The contradictions are obvious, and yet our culture tries to play it both ways. I am decidedly not an evolutionist. I believe that God has created all in His image - and loves what He creates - thus, I value and uphold the lives of all’. One thing about this statement, if we are all made in his image, why are there gay people? Was god himself questioning his sexuality when he was ‘creating’ us? Decided to make a little of both? I assume of course you will have a sly answer changing around ‘gods words’ to make your answer fit.
As for your question asking me the explanation to Jesus body not being in the tomb. Easy. There is no Roman record stating Pilate ever executed a man named jesus. Yes, historians don’t deny jesus being real but they don’t say he was either. If he died at the hands of this man, and was hated so much by this man you would think there might be a shred of evidence pointing to him existing. No records, no artifacts, nothing. The bible was written well after he ‘died’. Explain that one.
You’re right, how you answer that question determines the rest of your life and, your afterlife. I hope you aren’t afraid of the dark…doctor.
Thanks,
Taylor
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This is so interesting, Taylor, as this started out as you asking me for my thoughts so you could write a paper - yet now you cannot engage me without hostility. Given that I have challenged your prior thinking, you find it necessary to lash out at me while revealing nothing about yourself. Yes, there are Biblical answers to your anger and unhappiness, but you are clearly not open to a dialogue, so I will stop for now. If you would like to continue, or even meet for coffee, I would be happy to get to know you. Since the day I got your first email, I have prayed for you, even as you asked me about how I understood prayer. I am far from perfect Taylor - just a fouled up human being desperately in need of a Savior. Im so grateful God provided one through Christ, and I pray that you might find His peace one day. I will continue to ask God to bless and encourage you on your journey to find what is true.
God bless you,
David
Sent from my iPad * *Also made me laugh for some reason
