Beware

WiiiiiiMan · #1 11-10-2007, 12:00 AM

"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better ... that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." (Matt. 18:6.)

"Why didn't the Lord tell us plainly about these things?" The scientist answered: "It is likely we would not understand if he did. It might be like trying to explain the theory of atomic energy to an eight-year-old child."

I heard one of our own eminent scientists say something to the effect that he believed more professors have taken themselves out of the Church by their trying to philosophize or intellectualize the fall of Adam and the subsequent atonement of the Savior. This was because they would rather accept the philosophies of men than what the Lord has revealed until they, and we, are able to understand the "mysteries of godliness" as explained to the prophe;mysteries of godliness" as explained to the prophets of the Lord and more fully revealed in sacred places.

Sephus · #2 11-10-2007, 12:03 AM

FortunaMaximus · #3 11-10-2007, 12:23 AM

Nice picture.

Cats don't have sacred places, but they're sure grinding that millstone. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] Humans should learn more from them.

They're unlikely to however. Keeps it dramatic for most, I suppose.

furyshade · #4 11-10-2007, 01:18 AM

your post is worded confusingly, but i find it really hard to give a quote labelled as from an "eminent scientist" much credit. who said this? when, to whom, and in what context?

tame_deuces · #5 11-10-2007, 08:28 AM

[ QUOTE ]

Cats don't have sacred places, but they're sure grinding that millstone. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] Humans should learn more from them.

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QFT. Cats got it figured out. Sleep 16 hours a day, hunt, eat, get laid. I'm sure they're laughing inside when we try to figure out the ranking order of intelligent species.

tame_deuces · #6 11-10-2007, 08:26 AM

Maybe the lord should have explained it right away then.

Splendour · #7 11-10-2007, 12:12 PM

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Maybe the lord should have explained it right away then.

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Maybe the Lord had an inkling just how long the wait would be but that being ever ready served a double purpose: 1) it helped people practice his teachings better by underpinning them with the urgency of Judgment Day 2) by telling his people to watch future generations will be ready for him.

He knows he is planting a seed thru his handpicked men and the very beginning of the planting is incredibly important for the planting to grow and thrive. If he waters them with life giving words then his church can sustain the test of time.

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with the hand mill; one will be taken and the other left." "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." (Matthew 24:36, 40 & 42)

Edit: Note that the double purpose saves more people across time while the Gospel is being spread across the globe.

FortunaMaximus · #8 11-10-2007, 12:22 PM

Splendour,

Is there room in certain parts of Christian philosophy for the fact that God himself allows a certain inclination towards not knowing the results himself?

I only ask because I find pure omnipotence illogical, and perhaps an extremely powerful being would find it very interesting to follow a development without knowing the results yet.

I guess what I'm saying he doesn't meddle, but he wouldn't be surprised by the results either. He knows all, just not which all and how it gets there.

Make sense?

Splendour · #9 11-10-2007, 12:57 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Splendour,

Is there room in certain parts of Christian philosophy for the fact that God himself allows a certain inclination towards not knowing the results himself?

I only ask because I find pure omnipotence illogical, and perhaps an extremely powerful being would find it very interesting to follow a development without knowing the results yet.

I guess what I'm saying he doesn't meddle, but he wouldn't be surprised by the results either. He knows all, just not which all and how it gets there.

Make sense?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I can't speak for all Christians here, but I will give you my personal take. I think he allows us freewill within the boundaries of his plan, I personally think he does know everything. We're in a spiritual war 24/7 that most people don't perceive so they unwittingly join the wrong side, but God wins. The war is being fought on 2 fronts: first front is in the individual for the hearts and minds of men and second front is in the world at large so we have wars and all other kinds of conflicts.

That's why there are 2 kingdoms of God and people are constantly confused when the bible mentions the kingdom of god. Which kingdom is being talked about? Well there are two: 1) the kingdom of God that is within you 2) the kingdom of God that is a future place that will be established by God after Judgment Day. If you win the inner war then you may or may not pay a physical price with the outer war, but you ultimately win eternally.

I don't know if you read an earlier post I made where I put in the link to biblical prophecies. I find them very interesting. Here's the page to 10 of them currently being fulfilled. http://www.100prophecies.org/page1.htm

Note: its pretty hard for people to fight a double war when most of its unseen. That's why scripture is so important. It's about the only way we know about the war and can figure out what to do.

Quote: perhaps an extremely powerful being would find it very interesting to follow a development without knowing the results yet.

I kind of doubt this because this quality reminds me of human beings with their capacity to gossip and enjoy scandals and God specifically tells us not to indulge in gossip so I don't think he'd do it either.

FortunaMaximus · #10 11-10-2007, 01:13 PM

Thanks for taking the time. Found it interesting.

[ QUOTE ]
Quote: perhaps an extremely powerful being would find it very interesting to follow a development without knowing the results yet.

I kind of doubt this because this quality reminds me of human beings with their capacity to gossip and enjoy scandals and God specifically tells us not to indulge in gossip so I don't think he'd do it either.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's not what I mean though. Gossip and petty matters, no. That such a being would stand back without passion and involvement and let the plan unfold without interfering.

Infinite regression. There's always a next question, next answer. That makes everything incomplete.

And science and religion, and this planet, it's incomplete but building toward something. You attest it's to a specific Judgment Day. Scientists point toward a technological/biological singularity.

Perhaps the two are the one and same and this civilization is on the cusp of going to the next level. I'm agnostic but understand hierarchy and the infinite and it seems to me there are similarities.

Human nature might desire the same things through different ways. It's good food for thought.

As for prophecies fulfilled, well... The universe or creation if you prefer in a Christian purview, is vast enough that if you write it, it'll eventually happen.

So in essence, we create our own future. You can't deny that if God exists, there is free will. The latitudes are really wide though. It's probably moreso a structure rather than a linear progression to a single point. But we can agree to disagree on that.