God and Religion does not mix, we can we religious about alot of things, do you brush you teeth everyday, well that could be labeled religious about brushing your teeth. Knowing God is having a relationship with Him, but first you have to know Him, give Him your life- in other words He's in charge of your life.

Now, Isn't that what Muslims, Budhist, etc, etc say?
What do you mean know Him? Water and oil don't mix, nor human and divine. That is to presume too much. Do you presume of knowing God?

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Making you think twice......

Yes, I know God, the real God, How would you know if I didn't? What do you know about being a Christian. You know our goal is to pray for you to know Him. But, it's your choice.

Go to youtube.com type in comedian Rick Gervais click on his "creationism" piece. You will die laughing. He is a comedian from Britain. He loves the rational thoughts of christians. This guy is hilarious.

Hi, Sky.

This has its funny moments worth a chuckle or two.

But, initially, when he notes that Genesis 1:1 "doesn't go into detail" regarding creation, my mind went directly to the evolutionary naturalist's notion that "somehow" life began. Where is the "detail" in evolutionary theory? And were one to press the point and ask just what it is that, by his implication, is missing from the text, his stand-up seems ripe for parody. Should we have expected a revealed text of antiquity to have crunched numbers and explained, say, relativity or big bang theory?

I think it is a sign of the times that a popular audience will laugh spontaneously at the "absurdities" of a text that has been regarded as the source of the wisdom that made Western civilization possible.

I know we have discussed Christianity before. I'm still looking for the "Sarahs" in the world.

This Gervais guy has a cycnical sense of humor I can relate to. I thought some of his other topics were funny also.

I still struggle with the question of the truth and validity of the Bible. On the one hand when you look at how some (not all) christians behave, it seems about as believable as a Harry Potter book. On the other hand I do believe in a higher power who could be capable of using imperfect humans to write a book for him.

Anyway, good to hear from you. I always learn something new. I hope Mrs. Muddle is resting at home, and you are both outside enjoying this beautiful evening.

Hi skyspy- I am so glad that you said the way Christians behave(not all) that is what you struggle with. You know Christians are not perfect or they would not be need for God. I know the next questions will be- or so this is ticket for them to do what they want. The answer is no, a true believer of Jesus (God's Son) does fail, because Jesus is the only perfect one. A true believer will ask for forgiveness from God for what they have done.

God Bless.

It is a daily struggle.

I appreciate your thoughtful response. Life is a journey. You sound like one of the "Sarahs" in one of C.S. Lewis's books (I can't remember the title)....anyway. Have a good night.

The C.S. Lewis book that features the character, Sarah Smith, is The Great Divorce.

I think TGD is one of Lewis's best, though it is often overlooked. It is a "dream" of heaven and hell, involving a bus ride (!) from the latter to the former. Very creative, with lots of good stuff going on.

One interesting notion is that the people visiting heaven from hell are told that the only condition of their being allowed to stay is that they want to stay. Most of them find it intolerable and hop back on the bus for the return trip home! This illustrates Lewis's notion elsewhere that "hell is locked from the inside."

Heaven and its denizens are also portrayed as more "solid" so that the very blades of grass are painful to walk on for the visitors, who are transparent and ghost-like. This is, in part, Lewis's way of portraying the idea that we fulfill our natures--become truly and fully human--only insofar as we relate properly to God.

As you know (but others here might wonder), Sarah Smith is a person who is honored in heaven, but was a very plain, behind-the-scenes, but dedicated servant of Christ in her lifetime.

I read that book and passed it on.

Today should be as beautiful as yesterday have a good one.

Thanks Muddle for sharing your wisdom/gift. The idea of men dwelling together in peace is not a 'new' idea. In reading the Bible and other literature - I'm comforted that the 'truth' is found in so many concepts expressed by so many 'different' beliefs. The ancients appeared to 'hear' the wisdom/doctrine of a 'God' - each in his own language and level of understanding. My understanding is that true 'believers' strive towards unity with their brethren - not separation. I am saddened when I read/hear of persons using religion or God to separate mankind on our planet. What a great few days to enjoy the wonder and beauty of our 'planet'. The weather has been just remarkable.

Acts 2: 5-11
Psalms 133: 1

I will admit that I am about as religious as a rock, but in my experience the most dedicated servants of Christ are the plain behind the scenes people.

I yam what I yam...Popeye

Thanks, you have a good night also.

Thanks. We did indeed spend a little time outdoors and the night sky was remarkable. This is the weather that I was born for, I think.

I agree with you that the behavior and overall outlook of professing Christians can be less than inspiring. And, in some cases, we have reshaped our Christianity like a wax nose to fit with and justify our various warped views on things. But I'm not sure that this phenomenon is unique either to Christianity or to religion. And, in any case, I think it is an error to assess the truth claims of a religion based upon the behavior of its followers. There is a great line from G.K. Chesterton that applies here: "A Confucian has stolen my hairbrush! Down with Confucianism!" He notes that the relevant question is whether there is anything essential to Confucianism itself that required the theft. And, similarly, if Christians fail to come up to the standards that they profess, that counts against them--not the standards.

My own problem--similar to yours--is that the thinking of believers is so often knee-jerk and juvenile that I find it tempting to think that the religious belief itself is a function of their apparent low mental wattage. At every turn one encounters anti-intellectual attitudes that effectively insulate believers from any careful thought or fruitful dialog. Perhaps this rampant anti-intellectualism deserves being the butt of Gervais' jokes.

But listening to Gervais and his hysterical audience was like hearing a group of aesthetic philistines making their way through the Louvre and mocking the art of the centuries. Even before we begin to roll up our sleeves and ask the important and tough questions of assessment, one might have thought that the following question would have given him pause: If this text is so patently absurd and laughable, how is it that the greatest minds of the Western world have given it such credence? I mean, what is it that this...comedian...knows that scholars of the past and present do not? At the least, one characteristic of educated folk is that they learn the "principle of charity," which dictates that one seek the most plausible available understanding of an opponent's view before engaging in critique.

But listening to Gervais and his hysterical audience was like hearing a group of aesthetic philistines making their way through the Louvre and mocking the art of the centuries.

We find religion funny because thats how comedy works, we laugh at the absurd. The bible is VERY absurd.

Even before we begin to roll up our sleeves and ask the important and tough questions of assessment, one might have thought that the following question would have given him pause: If this text is so patently absurd and laughable, how is it that the greatest minds of the Western world have given it such credence? I mean, what is it that this...comedian...knows that scholars of the past and present do not?

Hmm not sure which greatest minds you're talking about here, but most of them would like a word of disagreement with you. Please press this issue so I can toss out some awesome quotes by a couple of the MANY MANY agnostics and atheists who shaped our civilization.

At the least, one characteristic of educated folk is that they learn the "principle of charity," which dictates that one seek the most plausible available understanding of an opponent's view before engaging in critique.

Gervais went to catholic school so I'm sure he should know the bible as well as most. Most people that criticize the bible know it, otherwise, how could there be such sound (and hilarious) criticism, without having spent at least some time with the bible?

Well, I've been to school, have thought a lot about it, and I, for one, do not find the Bible to be absurd at all. And this is my point about the "principle of charity." Gervais'--and your--flippant remarks ignore (as in "ignorance"?) a vast body of biblical (not to mention philosophical) scholarship. (To see the point, imagine an exchange between our comedian and, say, N.T. Wright who is perhaps the premier New Testament scholar thinking and writing today.)

In one sense, any ultimate account of origins will have a degree of "absurdity." I have mornings when I wake up to the notion that theism's central thesis--that back of everything there exists a conscious, personal Creator--is exceedingly odd. But then I recall the alternatives. The odd fact (the "strange mystery" according to Bertrand Russell) is that consciousness exists anywhere at all. The naturalistic alternative to explaining this is fraught with difficulties (Don't believe me? Have a look at the current literature in philosophy of mind) and has an absurd ring to it.

I'm not interested in exchanging representative quotes with you ("I see your Twain and raise you a Locke," etc.) My point is that Western civilization itself is the product of the Judeo-Christian tradition (together with Greco-Roman culture). The fundamental principles (e.g., the notion of inalienable rights, the concept of human dignity) of our society have their roots--historical and philosophical--in the very pages that occasioned this comedian's mirth.

If TeeTaw is really you, I'd like to be the first to welcome you back. Welcome back dude!

Gervais went to catholic school so I'm sure he should know the bible as well as most.

As an ex-Catholic I can assure you the Bible was the last thing you were taught from.

Most people that criticize the bible know it

Perhaps, if they really new it, they wouldn't be so quick to criticize and mock it.

otherwise, how could there be such sound (and hilarious) criticism, without having spent at least some time with the bible?

Hearing a few bible stories and reading a few passages, hardly qualifies one as who 'knows the Bible'. That would be like me proclaiming that I'm an expert on the dictionary because I was forced to thumb through it occasionally during my K-12 years. It's obvious that me being an 'expert' on Websters is hardly the case.

To understand the Bible one has to apply 'faith' to the equation or it's truths will not be revealed to the person. One must read the Bible as a 'true seeker' and not as someone looking for some magic potion or spell.

**** GIT REAL TOUGH ON CRIME ****

"That man was Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Scott Ballard".

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY

I enjoy your analytical, educated posts. You always bring up different ways to approach a subject. Your posts are very enlightening.

By the way, now that I have started looking I believe I have found some of the "Sarahs" of the world, and it is very nice. I bought that book as soon as you suggested it. I read it and I haven't seen it since. It is being passed around a long line of friends. All of that from one little post, you have reached many.

Thanks again. Today is going to be as beautiful as yesterday, I hope you have a chance to get out and enjoy it.

I find this funny??? I find him so so so boring, and so not real and outright stupid. How do you think we got here?

I go back and forth between the theory of evolution, and the theory of creation. Jury is still out.

Hopefully, you'll find some answers here.

"Creation: ‘Where’s the proof?’"

"Isn’t the Bible Full of Errors?"

"Evolution & Creation, Science & Religion, Facts & Bias"

"Molecular Machines:
Experimental Support for the Design Inference"

Also Darwin's Black Box by Michael J. Behe

Did you know that an eagle

I haven't read all of the links yet, but I will. I appreciate all of your research, and the analytical way you write. I always learn something new from your posts.

Between you and muddle if I'm not real careful I might learn something.

Thank you.