Re: Challenges to teaching biology

Paul's statement was about the future state. But he and the other
apostles were dogmatic about the gospel, else he could not have written
the first two chapters of Galatians. What is claimed is the succession:
prophets, apostles, CRI. None of the groups claimed deity.
Dave

On Mon, 03 Apr 2006 08:52:12 -0400 Dave Wallace <dwallace@magma.ca>
writes:
> No, I fail to see how any finite creature can have absolute assurance
>
> (probality = 1) the they are not deluded to a lesser or greater
> degree.
> Especially given Christian beliefs wrt sin. Paul says that "Now we
> see
> through a glass darkly" which I understand to mean (among a lot of
> other
> things) that even our understanding of what God has told us is not
> as
> sure as our knowledge of the physical world. After all we live by
> faith. Even Francis Schaeffer admitted that he could be wrong about
> all
> he had written and described evidence that would make him no longer
>
> believe. I did not say that Gish thought he was God but making an
> absolute (no possible way for any error at all) statement that he
> knows
> what God is saying is (IMO) an implicit claim to some kind of
> divinity.
> I admit that I may not be a Christian in God's site but I have a
> high
> degree of assurance that I am.
>
> Dave Wallace
>
> D. F. Siemens, Jr. wrote:
> > Small correction. I don't think Gish thinks he's God. Rather, he
> has
> > God's word on it and perfect understanding thereof. He is humble
> enough
> > to believe without qualification. You're the one who is not humble
> enough
> > to accept without thought. As you note, he is not alone, and not
> alone in
> > knowing that he is RIGHT.
> > Dave
> >
> > On Sun, 02 Apr 2006 08:56:14 -0400 Dave Wallace
> <dwallace@magma.ca>
> > writes:
> >
> >> Sigh... I know! Since Gish claims to have absolute knowledge then
> he
> >>
> >> must be god. Either he is god or else there is a problem with
> his
> >> humility (IMO). As finite human beings I fail to see how we can
>
> >> have
> >> absolute knowledge of anything, except that thinking is. On any
>
> >> given
> >> day the probability that the sun won't rise is less than about
> >> 1/(4.5 *
> >> 365 *10**9) which is so low that no one worries about it. Hume
> was
> >>
> >> right induction does not work absolutely wrt nature and human
> >> knowledge. Even YEC does not have probability zero. Since I have
> no
> >>
> >> idea of how to figure its 's probability I think of it as
> something
> >> on
> >> the order of 1/goggle-plex and certainly not worth worrying
> about.
> >> The
> >> only tactic I know is to try to force them to accept the logic of
>
> >> their
> >> beliefs. But even that, often does not work. My mother inlaw
> >> claims to
> >> know absolutely the will of God to the point of contradicting
> >> scripture
> >> and that my wife is only chronically sick due to lack of faith or
>
> >> because of sin in my wife's life. My question to my mother in
> law
> >> has
> >> been then why is she herself sick and does she expect to die one
>
> >> day?
> >> In fact as I write my mother in law is in a hospital bed and if
> we
> >>
> >> visited and she started down that path, I would ask the question
> yet
> >>
> >> again and then taking my wife I would leave. Somehow the fruit
> of
> >> the
> >> spirit seems to be lacking, love, joy, peace... But as you say,
> if
> >> I am
> >> saved, it is as by fire. Undermine their belief in all in the
> >> consistency of all of God's laws and especially in technology,
> push
> >> them
> >> to open theology... Maybe some will change.
> >>
> >> Dave Wallace
> >>
> >> D. F. Siemens, Jr. wrote:
> >>
> >>> I heard Gish reply, when he was asked what evidence could change
>
> >>>
> >> his
> >>
> >>> mind, "There is none." When one is RIGHT, nothing can change
> the
> >>> position, for it would be WRONG. The fact is that human beings
> can
> >>>
> >> hold
> >>
> >>> contradictory views, sometimes by twisting them somewhat. For
> >>>
> >> example, I
> >>
> >>> have encountered the claim that God is not lying in the
> >>>
> >> difference
> >>
> >>> between YEC Bible interpretation and what is evident in the
> world:
> >>>
> >> he is
> >>
> >>> merely testing our faith. On this basis, you failed the test.
> But
> >>>
> >> it's
> >>
> >>> impossible to tell definitively whether you are damned or will
> be
> >>>
> >> saved
> >>
> >>> "so as by fire." I trust you'll fit Zechariah 3:2.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
Received on Mon Apr 3 16:27:15 2006