Fish and Bread
Member
The bible aside and church councils aside, can anyone see any logical flaws in the following account of God's interaction with the world? Any contradictions between it and history or science? Anything that jumps out at you and says "Someone who believes this wouldn't be a good fit in a UU congregation"? I put it out here simply as a possibility, rather than a belief.
Here it is:
In the beginning, God existed, and was alone in the universe. Out of love, he created matter, and, out matter, a big bang. Eventually, life arose, from proteins in the sea to single-celled organisms to entire ecologies, and, eventually, to humankind. This was according to God's plan.
Since humankind was special, given the gift of abstract thought, humankind was given a special responsibility above and beyond his brothers and sisters in the animal kingdom -- preservation of all life and of the ecology in which life thrives.
Since the Spirit of God permeates the universe, he can be perceived and felt, not in an objective tangible sense, but in the souls he created us with, subjectively. Out of a connection with that spirit, prophets spoke, wrote, and taught. Some of the time they got things right, othertimes they inaccurately perceived God or confused God's will with their own will. So, when we open a work of scripture or hear a tradition relayed, sometimes we can hear God's voice, but not always.
One day in a far-flung province of the Roman Empire, a child was born, known to us today as Jesus of Nazereth. This child was so in touch with the Spirit of God that in his life, his presence, and his very being; people saw God's face and God's hand. They called him the Son of God. So, today, Christians think of God as triune -- seeing his face in both a supernatural realm (the Father), in the Spirit that moves through creation (the Holy Spirit), and in that special man who was so in touch with God that he could be said to be a manifestation of him, sitting at his right hand (the Son).
Today when we read the Gospels about him, we see that he may have to a certain extent been a product of his time and religion, but yet there is also an eternal message, God's message, that transcends time, in what he did and taught. So while his thoughts on things like or what is a sin be inaccurate, his connection with God and the way he reflects God's love is undeniable for those who call themselves Christians.
Here it is:
In the beginning, God existed, and was alone in the universe. Out of love, he created matter, and, out matter, a big bang. Eventually, life arose, from proteins in the sea to single-celled organisms to entire ecologies, and, eventually, to humankind. This was according to God's plan.
Since humankind was special, given the gift of abstract thought, humankind was given a special responsibility above and beyond his brothers and sisters in the animal kingdom -- preservation of all life and of the ecology in which life thrives.
Since the Spirit of God permeates the universe, he can be perceived and felt, not in an objective tangible sense, but in the souls he created us with, subjectively. Out of a connection with that spirit, prophets spoke, wrote, and taught. Some of the time they got things right, othertimes they inaccurately perceived God or confused God's will with their own will. So, when we open a work of scripture or hear a tradition relayed, sometimes we can hear God's voice, but not always.
One day in a far-flung province of the Roman Empire, a child was born, known to us today as Jesus of Nazereth. This child was so in touch with the Spirit of God that in his life, his presence, and his very being; people saw God's face and God's hand. They called him the Son of God. So, today, Christians think of God as triune -- seeing his face in both a supernatural realm (the Father), in the Spirit that moves through creation (the Holy Spirit), and in that special man who was so in touch with God that he could be said to be a manifestation of him, sitting at his right hand (the Son).
Today when we read the Gospels about him, we see that he may have to a certain extent been a product of his time and religion, but yet there is also an eternal message, God's message, that transcends time, in what he did and taught. So while his thoughts on things like or what is a sin be inaccurate, his connection with God and the way he reflects God's love is undeniable for those who call themselves Christians.
