From: RDehaan237@aol.com
Date: Fri Apr 11 2003 - 08:52:53 EDT
In a message dated 4/9/03 12:13:43 PM, grayt@lamar.colostate.edu writes:
> >Paul is NOT arguing here for natural theology. He says that people
> >should be able to know God in creation but that they distort this
> >knowledge and worship idols.
> >
> >The attempt to know God from nature, independently of revelation,
> >usually results in the construction of idols -- of which the
> >Intelligent Designer or the God who "left his fingerprints all over
> >the evidence" may be examples.
> >
> >So which is it, do we know of God's invisible qualities from nature or
> not?
>
> Josh,
>
> We do and we don't! We do and are left without excuse, BUT, as George
> points out, we universally suppress and reject that knowledge because
> of our fallenness. So in that sense we don't. Even when there seems
> to be some kind of spiritual awareness it is directed to idols and
> false religion. The truth of God's existence and work only comes to
> spiritually dead people by the light of Gospel and the work of the
> Spirit.
>
> As George notes, seeing Romans 1 as a prooftext for natural theology
> is reading Romans 1 out of context--missing the bottom line of the
> "there are none who seek after God" of Romans 3.
>
> TG
>
Terry,
While generally I agree with you, even so, there may be exceptions. The
Wise Men (astrologers, scientists of their day) followed a star (nature) to
Jerusalem, and then, through the chief priests and scribes, conducted the
equivalent of a literature search of the Scriptures, which led them to
Bethlehem and the babe, Jesus. I do not think we can rule out that some
will come to the faith by starting with a study of creation. It seems to me
that the Wise Men saga offers a paradigm of evangelism worth exploring
further.
Moreover, Psalm 19 states flat out that the heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament shows his handiwork. Is not the "finger prints of God all
over the place" a metaphor that is in the spirit of Psalm 19?
Bob
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