A visit to the Melbourne Aquarium reveals the beautiful underwater creation of God. The penguins, the sharks, crabs, lobsters, turtles, and fish of all kinds make up an amazing argument in favour of intelligent and divine design. The marine experts have developed a habitat for the animals (their choice of descriptor) and for us to enjoy.
What kind of world have you developed? With the help of God, you can create a world full of purpose, love and joy. Why not? I believe it to be a part of God's plan for you. Hallelujah!
Genesis 1:21 (MSG)
21 God created the huge whales, all the swarm of life in the waters, And every kind and species of flying birds. God saw that it was good.
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Hi TC, its great you have a blog. The penguins at the aquarium are wonderful. I will never understand how some people believe they evolved to their current state by chance. Does the Salvation Army has an 'official' stance on whether creation as per Genesis should be taken literally ? If there is no official stance, what are your thoughts ?
I will never understand how some people believe they evolved to their current state by chance.
Many people accept evolution because there is overwhelming evidence for it as an explanation of how life changes over time. Some of that evidence has been gathered through fossils (see Neil Shubin's excellent book, Your Inner Fish, for more about this). Other evidence has been gathered by observing successive generations of animals in real-time (see Jonathan Weiner's excellent book, The Beak of the Finch for more information about this). Other evidence has been gathered by successfully predicting evolutionary events (again, see Weiner's book).
As is the case with all scientific theories, evolution must be able to predict future events as well as explain past events. It has done both many times. Please note that evolution does not address the origin of life. Therefore, accepting evolution as a powerful theory about how life changes does not necessarily preclude belief in God as the originator of life. Therefore, many Christians believe in creation and accept evolution.
Also, please note the distinction between accepting and believing. Acceptance of evolution and other scientific theories (such as gravity) is predicated on the availability of scientific evidence. Belief in God is predicated on faith. Thus, people don't "believe" in evolution, they accept it because the evidence warrants such acceptance.
JD - My apologies for not answering your questions yet. Coming...
SE - Good word. The question is not as simple as some might suggest with the creation vs. evolution arguments.
Hmmm... Not sure about: "Belief in God is predicated on faith"
I think that is the sort of statement that disassociates non-believers further from investigating that the truth may actually be found in Christ.
I don't know about you but ultimately I am seeking the truth (in all aspects of life) and will be bitterly dissappointed if Christ isn't the truth (amongst other things).
I think alot of people (particularly Christians) don't even understand the word 'faith', and consider it to be some special supernatural term. Everyone actually has faith, whether it be faith in their parents, faith in a chair to hold them up, faith in a leader to act appropriately. I see 'faith' to be like the word trust.
God isn't an entity separate from the rest of our logical and scientific world, and a belief/disbelief in Him should be decided by using the information and evidence presented. The worst type of trust/faith in God would be where you just accept what someone has said and claim to believe it because you have this special 'faith' while ignoring the logical mind you were given and that you use in other aspects of life.
Is Jesus the truth? Read the accounts of his life and what others claim Jesus to be, found in the Bible.
Are these accounts and claims of Jesus reliable? Investigate the basis of these writings (the Bible) and whether they do stand up to being trustworthy and accurate compared to other information and texts that you take for granted.
Finally, once you are convinced that you have found the truth, share it with others!!
God isn't an entity separate from the rest of our logical and scientific world, and a belief/disbelief in Him should be decided by using the information and evidence presented.
Good start. I agree that, if God is active in the world, then people should be able to point to evidence of that activity. I do not agree, however, that the Bible is a trustworthy and accurate account of either Jesus's life or God's activity. Let's put that consideration aside for the time being, though, since the Bible is quite old and hasn't been updated for centuries (it can't be, since the Church Fathers of the 4th century decreed that the canon could never be changed).
Can you give me some recent examples of God's activity in the world that can't be explained in any other way except divine activity? I don't mean stories of people healed through the use of modern medicine (those can be explained as instances of human, not divine, agency) and the like. I mean direct divine interventions that could not have been anything else.
I believe in micro evolution, changes within a species over time, such as an improvement, but don't believe in macro evolution, whereby one species evolves into another species.
I don't see a problem with an old earth, and a big bang, and that God created everything.
Hope to hear from the TC about his thoughts.
JD - Thanks for your patience on this. We do not have a positional statement on evolution in the Australian Southern Territory. Our doctrines, of course declare that God is the Creator, Preserver and Govenor of all things.
When any species procreates, who is the creator? We believe it is God. In a similar way, I have no difficulty believing that God creates by many means.
John 1 emphasizes Jesus' role. John 1:3 (NIV)
"3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."
I believe.
Hi Jim, I don't believe that the Salvation Army needs to have a positional statement on a scientific theory.
Got a question about one of the doctrines "That our first parents were created in a state of innocency, but by their disobedience they lost their purity and happiness, and that in consequence of their fall all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God"
Q. Is this doctrine talking about Adam and Eve as being the first parents ?
Q. If yes, does this doctrine then infer that creation story in Genesis is to be taken literally ?
Q. If yes, does the doctrine infer that the earth is a young earth, about 6000 years old ?
I believe Adam and Eve were our first parents, but I don't agree with your conclusions.
Thanks Jim.. I was asking questions, rather than making conclusions.
However if you are taking the Questions 'genesis story to be taken literally' and 'the earth is young, about 6000 years old' as conclusions, and you've mentioned you don't agree with the conclusions, then you've actually answered my questions.
p.s. Good to see so many people responding to the needs of the Victorian people
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