The ultimate query of human existence is “Where did we come from?” and until science began to develop the tools over the last century to explore this imponderable, philosophers and theologians had a monopoly on the explanation. Although there has never been a consensus on humanity’s origin, most explanations fell in one of three categories: 1) an unapproachable, omnipotent Supreme Being created the universe and everything in it; 2) existence was the result of a spontaneous, unexplainable event, to which many philosophers subscribe and more recently has occupied a branch of science called evolution and the big bang; and 3) an object of affection that one can see and touch, better known as an idol, created humans and the universe for his/her pleasure.
Perhaps my faith in the first explanation, notwithstanding that our early ancestors could not approach God, has made me cynical towards explanations two and three above. It would appear that 15 minutes of deep contemplation by reasonably intelligent people would at a minimum resolve the issue of the existence of a Supreme Being. We can debate later on just who this Supreme Being is, but to believe that life was the result of a mind bending, highly improbable, logistical coincidence that resulted in the big bang and subsequently evolution is as preposterous as the notion that a spontaneous explosion in a laboratory would result in the creation of the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary. And frankly the notion of an idol god creating our vast, complex universe doesn’t merit discussion.
Science may one day discover that the origin of mankind lies in Genesis chapter one – God’s spoken word. However, until it can examine this phenomenon and then prove it through a series of physics’ experiments, then this discipline will continue to arrive at unproven conjecture. I speculated in the article titled God’s Word and the Unified Field Theory that String Theory appears to be a promising hypothesis for science to come face-to-face with God Almighty. But even if science one day makes the discovery that there was an Intelligent Being behind the creation of the universe, my faith in human nature tells me that it would become the “holy grail” of closely guarded secrets in our time.
A wicked world is not prepared to promote the notion that the Holy God of Heaven is the progenitor of the human race. This would rewrite the history books and turn the world’s notion of good and evil on its head; basically the ultimate constitutional crisis.
It is easy to understand why so many are confused about who God is, because there are so many different belief systems: One religion says refrain from eating cow’s meat; another says that no female flesh should be displayed in public; another says that those who profane the Sabbath shall be cast into Hell; one worships Jesus Christ as Lord; another pays homage to Jehovah; another is devoted to Allah and still others pray to many gods. According to Religious Tolerance, a group of Canadian consultants on religious tolerance, more than half of the world’s population claim allegiance to Christianity, Islam or Hinduism. This leaves plenty of room for a confused world regarding the existence of God and his identity.
Wars have been fought over the identity of God. In fact, according to a theory developed by Harvard Professor, Samuel P. Huntington, the current conflict in the Middle East is a war over Islam’s and Western Christendom’s religious identity. In other words, it is over the identity of God. Conflicting views of who God is have dominated the religious landscape for centuries. Recently, Pope Benedict XVI decided to revise a controversial Good Friday prayer regarding Jewish conversion. When the Pope issued a declaration urging broader use of the prayer, he was criticized by the Jewish community, who claims it is offensive because it refers to the "blindness" of the Jewish people and asks that they come to acknowledge Christ and "be delivered from their darkness."
The Catholic prayer is not altogether incorrect, because the Apostle Paul advises that
25. For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26. And so all
The timing of the Pope’s decision to alter the prayer is curious, since it has been a part of the Good Friday service since 1962. Perhaps it has as much to do with his desire to develop cordial relations with the Jewish community as it does with the influence of the Jewish lobby. Regardless whether the prayer is changed to eliminate any reference to
This is one of the more profound teachings in the Scripture, because according to the Apostle Paul, it is shrouded in a mystery, and in order to comprehend it, one must receive a revelation from the Spirit of God. In the age of satellite television, Internet webcasts, MP3 downloads onto iPods and other devices, one can easily replace and mistake a daily word from one of thousands of sources for personal Bible study. However, the absolute only way to develop a deep understanding of God’s Word is to study it for yourself; that’s, of course, if you’re interested in a deep understanding of the Word of God.
The Apostle Paul discovered something commendable about the Bereans when he visited them in Acts 17: 10. And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto
…to be continued
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