^ So then are you happy now? (haha, I like the bing tiddle tiddle bong reference)
Anyway, my post that I had to interrupt writing:
PSYCO, on your point of Wrathful --> Loving.
If you read Revelation, God does pour out his wrath on the world, so He has not "evolved" that out of His system. There are other references that I can give you, like Romans 1:18
Plus, you can see many instances of a loving God in the earlier books of the Bible.
Examples: God raising Abraham up out of Ur and blessing him and his descendants to multiply until their numbers were like grains of sand on the beach. Gen 12:1-3 and Gen 15:5-7.
God protecting the Israelites when they were in bondage in Egypt, and bringing them forth through Moses with great wealth from the Egyptians.
God keeping His people safe when Israel was taken over countless times by foreign countries. (Babylon, Assyria, Medes and Persians)
(here are some verses in the Bible dealing with love, mercy, and grace in the OT: Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 4:31; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86:5; Psalm 86:15; Psalm 108:4; Psalm 145:8; Joel 2:13)
SD Pokemom said:
i've posted this before: a buddhist minister i know and respect once said that any religion that dwells on 'creation' and an 'afterlife' doesn't teach it's followers how to live in _this_ life, right now...in the present moment, which is the ONLY one we have. and before anyone goes off on the tangent, NO i don't mean that in any hedonistic, 'live for today, i can do whatever i want without consequences' manner...
so ultimately: how is it going to change my life if suddenly NPR were to break into the 'morning edition' broadcast i'm listening to right now with the 'news' that an evolution/big bang/your choice of origin of life theory has been 'proven'? is that going to change the _fact_ that i'm alive, right now, in this world as it *is*...not how it 'was', nor as it 'might be' in the future?
I'd like to address this.
You have some very valid points. I do believe that we should live in the today. Who knows when some random car will T-bone yours and you die instantly? (other than God, but that's not the point)
We should accomplish everything that we can in the precious time we have, and use every 5 minutes like it's our last 5 minutes.
Disclaimer - I do NOT mean to go and do
whatever you want (i.e. illegal activities whatnot) but you shouldn't just sit around engaging in mindless activities (staring at the TV/video games) all day.
However.
My faith looks beyond the present to the future. Where I come from and where I am going is very relevant to how I live my life today. If I didn't know what was going to happen next, I don't know whether I would have the faith I have now. This also ties into the origin of everything. To me, it does matter where I came from, as I believe that the world was created by God as told by the account in Genesis.
SD Pokemom said:
so ultimately: how is it going to change my life if suddenly NPR were to break into the 'morning edition' broadcast i'm listening to right now with the 'news' that an evolution/big bang/your choice of origin of life theory has been 'proven'? is that going to change the _fact_ that i'm alive, right now, in this world as it *is*...not how it 'was', nor as it 'might be' in the future?
It doesn't change the fact that we are all alive right now, with one life to live...
But, yeah... It might change how the world appears to everyone as well as how it will be in the future.
Let's take a hypothetical situation for a second. (hypothetical as it has no basis in science or faith at all)
XYZ News said:
"This is the International Scientific Community Science Board of Investigators (ISCSBI) coming to you with an important announcement. We have proven, as an absolute fact, that the Flying Spaghetti Monster DOES INDEED exist, and it created the cosmos from an one of its holy overdone meatballs approximately thirty-twelve years ago." Soon following this announcement, the Church of Flying Spaghetti Monster Worshippers Incorporated In Italy, (CFSMWIII) announced that this proves their canonical text of Pasta Recipes and that, according to it's book of How to Finish a Nice Dinner of Soft Noodles, the world will end in a great cleansing of Alfredo Sauce unless a burnt sacrifice of perfect linguine is served to the dolphins of Antarctica, with each person partaking at least two (2) bowls worth.
Now, hypothetically, wouldn't every logical person comprehend this message and do as the CFSMWIII says and offer up the sacrifice? Wouldn't the proof of the origin of the world lead us to take into account the future, and help us prepare for its coming?
My only reason for this absurd example is that: Depending on how you believe the world started will
definitely impact how you live your life now.
Example: Because I believe that God created the world like the account in Genesis, I believe that when I die, I will go to heaven, with anyone else who believes. I also believe that the world will go through a Tribulation period as described in Revelation, and at the end, anyone still denying God will face his Justice.