...and again:
(I've never seen a reason for the existence of evolution to discount God, in other words.)
Me neither.
This depends on your view of what (a) god is.
Hi Judy,
I never once thought that science and faith are incompatible, The two fit together like a hand inside a glove. Evolution is a proven fact. Given that premise, then what is the nature of God, if not a proven fact? It must be so, for as all nature evolves, so must the Universe, and since God is the ultimate being, then He/She/It must surely evolve too. In other words, all nature moves on, it doesn't stand still, so therefore the nature of God must also move on.
Bit convoluted, but hope you get the idea.
Patsy.
Hi Patsy! Well, what a lovely surprise to see you here again! Gosh, this thread was started in 2009 and I don't suppose any of the links work anymore, but never mind.
To me, God is Life Itself, Love Itself, Truth Itself, constantly unfolding Itself to itself.
Though here she uses the term man, what Mary Baker Eddy means is the spiritual idea of God, which includes the spiritual dimension of the universe, including man:
Man is more than a material form with a mind inside, which must escape from its environments in order to be immortal. Man reflects infinity, and this reflection is the true idea of God.
God expresses in man the infinite idea forever developing itself, broadening and rising higher and higher from a boundless basis. (Science and Health 258)
Whatever seems to be a new creation, is but the discovery of some distant idea of Truth; else it is a new multiplication or self-division of mortal thought, as when some finite sense peers from its cloister with amazement and attempts to pattern the infinite. (S&H 263)
I love the imagery in the bottom bit! 😉
Judy
Hi Judy,
Great to be back!
Hi Crowan,
I have no idea what god is, but I am pretty sure he's not a white-bearded man on a throne. I think that image was created so that it made sense to the early Christians.
Evolution of species has happened since life began. I am a trained scientist (geologist) and I have seen many remarkable things, but very natural, in my studies of the earth. It was during a mapping exercise in the Massif Central region of France that I realised that all this must have come about not in any random fashion, but because nature wanted it to. Now, I think of god as Nature, I am not religious at all, not in the sense that most people think. To me, 'god' is within us, in nature, in rocks, plants and all life (the planet is a living being, too.) I don't hold with the view that god is some ever-loving being; it is sometimes brutal, casual and honest and that everything happens for a reason. I believe in angels, but not the white, fluffy beings with wings. Angels come in all guises, and not only for good things. Having personally witnessed them, I can honestly say that.
Being a scientist doesn't mean that one shouldn't hold theist beliefs on the basis that one has studied the natural world to an extent. Many scientists are church-goers, witches, shamans, mediums, and have a very strong faith.
We haven't yet touched on the power of the mind, what god is./isn't or what leads a person to believe what they do. Just because some things cannot be replicated in a laboratory, and that some experiences are entirely personal, doesn't negate those experiences; it just means that some have to wait for experiences of their own.
I know I'm speaking to you Crowan, and you are a shaman, but I don't know what you do for a living, as it were, in the working world, or how much of your shamanic side you portray in 'normal' life, but as nature evolves so belief (and therefore god) evolves along with it.
Patsy.
I have no idea what god is, but I am pretty sure he's not a white-bearded man on a throne. I think that image was created so that it made sense to the early Christians.
Whatever it is, there has to be a difference between ‘god’ and ‘a god’. Whether or not evolution disproves the existence of God (as an all-powerful creater), it does make ‘him’ unnecessary to an explanation of how the world and all in it came about. That is so whether we call ‘him’ God, Goddess, Great Spirit, Nature or anything else. Therefore it’s all down to what each individual feels comfortable with. I’m not comfortable with any all-powerful creator, while being very comfortable with many gods (including the Christian one, so long as no-one expects me to take any notice of him).
I know I'm speaking to you Crowan, and you are a shaman, but I don't know what you do for a living, as it were, in the working world, or how much of your shamanic side you portray in 'normal' life.
It’s what I do for a living. My ‘shamanic side’ is my ‘normal life’.
Hi Judy,
I've always thought it strange that certain fundamentalist Christians can't credit God with more imagination than the limited one they possess themselves, and atheists who think that evolution disproves the existence of God are only reacting to very simplistic evangelical interpretations of scripture and are equally limited in imagination.
Absolutely nailed what i have felt for some time. Its why common sense is sometimes lacking in a left brain imprisoned being.