I quote the Danish Philosopher and Theologian, Soren Kierkegaard today.
"There is an element of comedy in all talk of God, which we who have received a measure of grace should be quick to confess."
And to paraphrase what Gerald McDermott says in addition to Kierkegaard (in his book, that I am reading for class: Can Evangelicals Learn from World Religions?)
It is pretty outrageous that when we as humans consider our insignificance and smallness in the whole scheme of things, for us to declare monumental truths about God, when he is so much bigger than all our minds combined.
What a week! Classes have definitely kept me thinking, which is rather an understatement at this point. I have a sneaky-feeling that my blog posts from now on are going to turn into my de-briefing of class material. I hope some of you find it interesting and sparks some commentary:)
Now let my weekend begin! with dinner and a movie, a good boyfriend and best friend coming to visit!!! hoooray!
You mean to say that even with our incredible human intellect and ability to explain everything around us (sarcasm), we can't fully explain the truths of God? :gasp:
ReplyDeleteAlways good to remember to be humble in our own "intelligence".
There is a gulf , a chasm, betweeen God and woman. We can never breach that gulf. Therefore, anything we attempt to say about God may contain some truth, but can never even remotely approach the whole truth. This is the essence of the gospel message. Namely, Jesus did for us that which we had no hope of doing - breaching the gulf between God and ourselves. I have also seen a similar disconnect in science and mathematics as these disciplines try to discern what is real. Mathematicians can deduce theorems that express mathematical truth. These theorems follow logically and inexoriably from the truth of the axioms of the mathematical system. However, the truth of the axioms themselves is assumed. We now know that you can get many different descriptions of geometric reality by varying the axiom that deals with whether parallel lines ever intersect. Einstein used a different sort of geometry to develop the mathematics for his general theory of relativity that describes the "reality" of the gravitational force. Who knows, 50 years from now a new description of reality may supplant Einstein's. My point is that although we may know a great deal about the reality that we are part of, I believe we will never know the whole truth. It is, therefore, not surprising that we can only ever see a glimpse of the truth that is God. Dad
ReplyDeleteDad- interesting you said a gulf between God and "woman" Did you do this for me?
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your insights from your extensive education in mathematics and further study you've done in your life; but can i offer another viewpoint to the "chasm" you speak of that exists between God and his creation?
This was in something I read for my Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism class; that basically Jesus Christ is not so much the bridge or connection but the "illuminator" of God's grace already existent and already real for all to have. And so--applying this theology to other religions, the Holy Spirit can then reveal in other ways (still not as complete or full as Christ) God's saving Grace.
I will get the quote up on my next post because i think it explains itself better than I did just now.