Creation
Wow, I had quite a lot written and saved as a draft, but it's disappeared. I'm really not up to rewriting everything I said, so in a nutshell - what Claire said. :)
God did create the darkness, as evidenced in Genesis 1:2.
God does not want for love or companionship; He doesn't need anything. He is "I Am that I Am," self-sufficient, self-sustainable. I think the author ascribes too much 'humanness' to the sovereign, holy God of the universe.
I think he has somewhat missed the mark on page 22, where he talks about man being made in the image of God in that He created us to be "passionate about peace and quick to laugh and full of wonder and imagination and love and longing and life; a questioning spirit, along with dreams and persistence and salty tears and a dash of joy." While these are real warm and fuzzy attributes and do hold a certain amount of truth, they don't describe the whole picture. God tells us to 'be holy as He is holy.' Above all, we are to be holy, and we exist to glorify God.
If the first chapter is any indication of what the subsequent chapters will be (and why wouldn't they, they're written by the same author), then the whole book will be quite a challenge for me. I'm not into poetry. Symbolism and the 'deep meaning' of a lot of flowery writing is usually lost on me. I'm a black & white kind of gal. And I'm certainly going to be discerning as to whether or not his opinions are rooted in Scripture and if they line up with what God has ALREADY REVEALED in the totality of Scripture. If iron is to sharpen iron, then our tools must be based in Truth.
God did create the darkness, as evidenced in Genesis 1:2.
God does not want for love or companionship; He doesn't need anything. He is "I Am that I Am," self-sufficient, self-sustainable. I think the author ascribes too much 'humanness' to the sovereign, holy God of the universe.
I think he has somewhat missed the mark on page 22, where he talks about man being made in the image of God in that He created us to be "passionate about peace and quick to laugh and full of wonder and imagination and love and longing and life; a questioning spirit, along with dreams and persistence and salty tears and a dash of joy." While these are real warm and fuzzy attributes and do hold a certain amount of truth, they don't describe the whole picture. God tells us to 'be holy as He is holy.' Above all, we are to be holy, and we exist to glorify God.
If the first chapter is any indication of what the subsequent chapters will be (and why wouldn't they, they're written by the same author), then the whole book will be quite a challenge for me. I'm not into poetry. Symbolism and the 'deep meaning' of a lot of flowery writing is usually lost on me. I'm a black & white kind of gal. And I'm certainly going to be discerning as to whether or not his opinions are rooted in Scripture and if they line up with what God has ALREADY REVEALED in the totality of Scripture. If iron is to sharpen iron, then our tools must be based in Truth.
posted by Anonymous at
12:50 PM
8 Comments:
While I do agree with the idea and ideal of Biblical absolute truth, the life I have lived (and continue to live) has been almost completely immersed in gray.
I think the beauty of this group is we obviously come from different 'places' and we will all bring our own thoughts/ideas forward.
By
kpjara, at 1:31 PM
I agree. I like that we'll get scriptural truth from some people, questions from others, inspiration from others, etc.
It's like how you have a group of friends and some you shop with and some you travel with and some you go to church with. Each one gives you a different side and a different focus to your life!
By
HeyJules, at 2:49 PM
Gayla, you remind me so much of Pilot! ;) He is very black and white.
It will be an interesting journey thru this book but I'm glad you are along for the ride. I'm sorry your post went off into cyber space. I finally gave up commenting this morning because it kept doing that with my comments. We'll see if this one goes thru. ;)
By
Pilot Mom, at 4:16 PM
Okay, here I go again...I was really impacted by Rob Bell's book "Velvet Elvis" and I seem to keep going back to it. But I love when He says that all truth is God's truth...and our truth. Whether the author hits the mark in all ways or not, we can still glean and discern what is true. And it is in a group like this that discernment can be such a growth process...invigorating!
By
Andrea, at 4:48 PM
Our "truth" can actually be a lie Andrea. I'm thinking of some of the other religions out there where they think they have the truth when in actuality they do not. And, unless one is willing to look to God who is Truth then we can get mighty misled. So misled that a person can miss eternal life. I agree with you that we can discern from an author but that is only if we are using the standard which God supplied to us through His Word.
By
Pilot Mom, at 8:25 PM
I mean to say that truth where it can be found is truth (objective). Our perception of truth...now that is another matter entirely. That is why testing our understanding of scripture is so important. Our limited understanding may only come to understand shades of the truth and that is where the growth process lies. And why we need each other and more importantly a relationship with the One who is called the Way, the Truth and the Life.
By
Andrea, at 9:57 PM
I appreciate your explaining that more clearly. :)
By
Pilot Mom, at 12:40 AM
Good comments, folks! :)
By
Anonymous, at 11:57 AM
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