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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | A Christian View of Science | Acts 17:28 | Lionstrong | 48504 | ||
Dear Parable, 2 Cor 5:7, do you quote this verse to mean that Scripture teaches that faith is irrational? Faith (the act of believing an understood proposition) by its very definition cannot be irrational. Biblical faith requires reason. We must understand the Gospel before we can believe it. (Rom 10:11-17) Just because the things we believe are invisible does not make our faith irrational (except to the world, but their reasons for concluding that our faith is irrational are invalid or they start with the wrong premises). Second, Phil 4:7 says the peace of God transcends OUR understanding, not logic. It does not teach that God's peace transcends logic; it transcends the limits of our ability to understand it. Because calculus transcends a first grader's understanding, does it mean that calculus is beyond mathematics? Logic is the structure of God's mind. God did not create it and then gift man with it. It is eternal because God is eternal. We are rational because we are created as the image of a rational God. The centurion was commended by Christ for his great faith because he logically reasoned to a valid conclusion (that Chirst did not have to come with him because Christ had the authority to command reality) and believed it, a faith demonstrated by the request he made of Jesus.(Notice his premise and conclusion.) (Mat 8:5-10) Peace, |
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2 | A Christian View of Science | Acts 17:28 | Parable | 48796 | ||
I'm struggling to see where we disagree. You make excellent points. You asked "2 Cor 5:7, do you quote this verse to mean that Scripture teaches that faith is irrational?" Quite the contrary. I'm just suggesting that faith is the first premise in any line of reasoning, even if we are not aware of this crucial first step. My point is people depend on faith, in one form or another, even when they argue against it. I agree that our faith in things unseen is not irrational. For example, in science, we have faith in things unseen, such as magnetic fields, which are well established, but no one has or will ever see one directly, yet we see how they exert their influence. It is no different for our faith in Christ. He is well established and we who see and understand His influence have faith in Him. You said "Phil 4:7 says the peace of God transcends OUR understanding, not logic. It does not teach that God's peace transcends logic; it transcends the limits of our ability to understand it." As I read it, the verse says "all" understanding, not "our", but this is hardly the point and in fact I may agree with you. However, I'm not sure logic exists without us to think it, so I'm not sure what you have said makes any real sense. That is, if we can't understand logic at some point, it might as well be gibberish, so all we have at that point is faith in God's providence. You said "Logic is the structure of God's mind. God did not create it and then gift man with it. It is eternal because God is eternal." These statements seem like a good summary of your opinion. Clearly, you have strong faith in the divine nature and integrity of logic. I'm with you. "We are rational because we are created as the image of a rational God." That we are rational is debatable. :) Finally, the centurion's very logical request followed from His faith in Christ's authority. Parable. |
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