As I have surfed the internet, I have encountered many websites that discuss how irrational it is to believe in God. I tend to think of myself as a pretty rational person, and happen to believe in God as well. So I decided to write a little blog about how one can believe in God and have good reason for doing so. While I do not think the arguments and evidence on this site will convince everyone that God is real, it is my hope that at a minimum it will get people to think that us theists are not total crazies who ignore logic. I also hope that it will open the hearts and minds of all types of people and that some pretty good discussion will happen here. So please, make comments of your thoughts. I welcome criticisms, encouragements, improvements, and personal stories. If you would like to e-mail me something you can do so at notyetbroken@gmail.com.
I hope you enjoy the site!
Posts
What do you think about creation - if we are just now seeing the light of stars billions of light years
ReplyDeleteaway- and if time began when in Genesis it says "God created the
heavens and the earth," then for the stars that gave off light in the
beginning- how did they give off light if they were billions of years
away- did God just make their light reach the earth right away or
maybe it took billions of years for creation to happen in order for
the light to reach the earth- all in assuming time began when He first
started creating-
hmm what do you think
Interesting question, thanks for posting! I argue that since God did create the world and universe and everything in it, then there is no reason to say he could not make the stars visible from earth instantly. If we are going to say he can create giant balls of fire out of nothing (literally, nothing), it does not seem unreasonable to say he enabled us to see the stars from the beginning as well. So I think you are correct in saying that God just made their light reach earth right away. He is an all-powerful God, and I do not think this would have been a problem for him.
ReplyDelete- The Rational God Blog
I've got a problem with your answer to the first question. It seems you are saying it is logically possible that God does anything, such as make star light appear instantly. However, I believe the question was meant to see if you are a biblical literalist.
ReplyDeleteHere is my greatest problem however. Saying God could do it is not really an answer. Yeah its possible, but does that evidence make you God more likely or less likely? Take the Christian God and another just like him but without the 6 day creation. The second God is a little more likely in light of this and any other evidence.
Basically you are using the defense that any counter evidence to your God is explained through his omnipotence.
Hmm, I guess I had a different interpretation of the question. My bad if I was wrong. But, I do interpret the Bible literally. This does not mean I do not recognize the metaphorical nature of much of the Bible, however. Just because a teaching is a metaphor, however, does not mean that there is truth to it. So, I literally interpret the truth behind the metaphors in the Bible.
ReplyDeleteAs to Creation, I do not think it is necessary to say the world must have been created in 6 days. I wouldn't be surprised if God did it in 6 seconds, or less, or more. Do I think he used macro Evolution to create? No, I do not. He is powerful and creative enough to create all creatures, including the extinct ones. The truth behind the Creation story, however, is that God is above all things and the author of all things. This came to the Israelites at an important time, they had just come out of Egypt where many things of nature were worshiped as gods (Ra the sun god, for instance, was the most important). People often question why light and water and land and vegetation were created before the sun. I argue that this was done to show the Israelites that the sun (and therefore the sun god) is not all important. God wanted them to worship himself, so through his Creation story He demonstrated his power over all the earth, including other gods that they may be tempted to follow who were not at all powerful.
Here is another set of questions. When we are speaking of rational beliefs, I would think of beliefs that are justified. Justification would be reasons and other background beliefs that lend credibility to the belief in question. So if I want to say I am justified in believing that when I drop a ball, it will fall I would point to a belief in gravity or perhaps past experience of balls falling.
ReplyDeleteSo what is your justifications for believing in the God of the Bible when scientific evidence suggests that starlight contradicts Biblical claims? In your answer to the 1st comment, all you mentioned is that God is all powerful and can do anything. Unfortunantely this is question begging. Your answer assumes the existence of the God under question.
So, for the sake of argument, if you can't use a Biblical account of God in your reasoning, how would you justify the apparent contradiction?
I think rational and justified are similar. Maybe not the same, but close. Rational can apply when there is no concrete answer. For instance, a great deal of evidence may lead to two possible conclusions out of 10. If a choice had to be made, it would be within reason to believe either conclusion. Justified is not 100% either. You can drop the ball and be justified in believing it will fall, but there is a possibility that it will not. An updraft could toss it up or you could be dreaming and the ball could sprout wings and fly. It is extremely unlikely that the ball will not drop, but there is always the possibility.
ReplyDeleteI think that each argument on this blog points to the rationality of believing in God. As you begin to conjoin them, however, it becomes more justified to believe in God.
I do not think it is necessary to use a Biblical account that God is all powerful in reference to the stars. Logically, if there is a being who is able to create stars out of nothing, it would not be a huge leap to say he has the power to "transfer" their light great distances instantly.
-TRG