I agree with you my friend. Mostly.
The presumption here though seems to imply an equivalence between Christianity on one hand, and Jesus on the other.
But who one is (or what has truly transpired in the world) is often not completely accurate in reports of such.
I think this is the progress that we should consider more carefully.
Not whether God has changed, He doesn’t, but rather whether we understand Him and The Kingdom more thoroughly today than we did yesterday.
There is a lot happening here but these are genuine questions.
I think we forget that the unfolding of life, the discovery of truth, and the general realization of things “real” is a very long game. Revelation happens, but evolution is the more dominant mechanism.
We are quick to claim there is no evidence or means to investigate, but this reflects more of a contemporary bias towards strictly materialist worldviews and requirements.
I am not saying a book like the Bible, or religion in general, should enjoy unchallenged authority. But secularism likewise possesses its own faith like allegiances, and is in need of its own serious considerations.
@fem_mindset@JoelOsteen Every river is composed of moving water, and yet none is a duplicate of the other. I think truth moves like this. Unchanged in some fundamental way, but manifesting in distinct expressions unique to its and place.
“How is it that Jesus could return to such a spectacle? So many of you have become like the pharisees of old, preaching from a closed book, with a heart so thoroughly shut to the living truths of God.”
Atheism has no explanatory power for the deepest realities we actually experience.
It cannot account for why anything exists rather than nothing.
It cannot ground objective moral values or duties.
It cannot explain the origin of consciousness or the reliability of reason itself.
It offers no foundation for beauty, love, dignity, or meaning.
A worldview this consistently bankrupt across the board invites a straightforward question, perhaps it is so utterly deficient because it is false.
@Dulloldguy@JoelWBerry Why must we assume either godless evolution or a perfect God rendering?
Evolution is immeasurably complex, leading to much confusion, but it also bears witness to infinite creativity, which lends to a creator.
These need not be mutually exclusive.
To find salvation through faith, free from the trappings of a works based currency, is the true hallmark of Jesus’ mercy and divine goodness.
We should caution however at such a devastating account of The Father’s creation.
As flesh meets spirit in Gods image, there is room for incompleteness and error. Seeking righteousness will always meet with failings among Man.
But the complete depravity posited as necessary for grace is a most egregious misrepresentation of our Father’s Kingdom.
We could never seek to be perfect as He is perfect if we did not bear a likeness to all that is true, beautiful, and good.
This seems to imply that only Christianity gives meaning to suffering, but many religious systems do this.
Lewis was right to ground the aversion to suffering in an absolute goodness, but the conclusion to affirm the whole of Christian theology seems hasty.
In God the suffering of the world loses its most brutal string, but contemporary Christianity has many of its own divine inconsistencies to contend with.
@CertainSpeaks Doctrine is a funny thing. In one age it is the lamp under our feet. In another it is a shackle preventing us from walking with God.
I think Jesus knew this all too well. That’s why he did not leave any.
@jackmoses0 There is some nuance left out here but I do believe a return to an experience with God is the way.
Messy, scary, and even dangerous at times but nonetheless…the way.
Perhaps. But I wonder if the tender and loving Father would reach out to His erring children by producing a caricature of their faith?
Fact bearing similarities aside, I think we would all do well to guard our hearts against the temptation to self-righteousness. We are all likely somewhere in between The Kingdom of Heaven and the Fall of Man.
@DiscoverJesus3 I agree with you.
So the question becomes where did these beliefs come from?
Why do people hold so tightly to them?
And perhaps most importantly, what can be done about it?
@ZachWLambert I would agree. I would also add though:
If your theology demands, compels, or otherwise seeks to incorporate the power of the state, something has gone terribly wrong.
The Kingdom of God and the castles of men are best left to their own devices.