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if
the universe had a beginning and, as they say. in their own words, nothing
existed before the beginning
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Either absolute
nothing created something --something as complex as the universe, or there
really is a super-super Being, existing outside of creation, that is the
creating power.
The Biblical Transcendent Creator God must exist. s |
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AT THIS POINT, obviously, because
none of us were alive at creation, we are stating our belief.. But we must do that in either case--that is believing the Bible or not believing the Bible, believing ior not believing in a fairy tale, that someone made up over 100 years ago--that nothing created everything.
What a choice.
Believing a transcent personal absolutely powerful creator being or transcent absolutely powerful creator nothing. this nothing must be absolutely nothingness,
No time, energy, space, matter existed before creation.
there are scientific facts present in both beliefs.
none of us were alive at creation, we are stating our belief.. But we must do that in either case--that is believing the Bible or not believing the Bible, believing ior not believing in a fairy tale, that someone made up over 100 years ago--that nothing created everything.
What a choice.
Believing a transcent personal absolutely powerful creator being or transcent absolutely powerful creator nothing. this nothing must be absolutely nothingness,
No time, energy, space, matter existed before creation.
there are scientific facts present in both beliefs.
Some ,who object to the idea, might say that belief, faith, or trust is not in the realm of reality--that is it isn't real reality. To this I would say exercising our faith in reality-real life-- is an absolute must in today's world.
We must do that all the time. In actual real life, it would be impossible to live in today's world, in fact, without exercising trust--in fact, when we practice faith today, we are exercising our ffaith more like a blind trust.
Obviously we trust in the proper functioning of our cars, when
we drive a car.
What about flying in an airplane--how many of us have investigated and actually gathered factual information about the functioning of the airplane or the person controling or flying the thing.
That you are, in actual fact, risking your life by blindly trusting in that airplane's properly functioning. In fact, we can and usually do, fly--at speeds of 550 miles/hour, at 40,000 feet above ground, in air temp. of -50 degrees--in an enviornment that would instantly kill us--that just a few inches of airplane wall separates us from absolute certainity of death -and we causelly do this by blind faith, trusting that wall will function right and the properly functioning airplane to fly, and we hardly know what it looks like outside the cabin, let alone investigating anything.
I don't state these facts of reality to move you out of your blind trust,
I only mean to point out that in the realness of life today, the excuse of exercising faith or trust being unreal is hardly a valid excuse--we constantly do it all the time.
Today you would probably be arrested.
And what about trusting the pilot?
We rarely know the pilot's name let alone his flying ability.
. We constantly practice our faith, and, apparently conditioned our minds to accept this.
Isn't that Blind trust
What about flying in an airplane--how many of us have investigated and actually gathered factual information about the functioning of the airplane or the person controling or flying the thing.
That you are, in actual fact, risking your life by blindly trusting in that airplane's properly functioning. In fact, we can and usually do, fly--at speeds of 550 miles/hour, at 40,000 feet above ground, in air temp. of -50 degrees--in an enviornment that would instantly kill us--that just a few inches of airplane wall separates us from absolute certainity of death -and we causelly do this by blind faith, trusting that wall will function right and the properly functioning airplane to fly, and we hardly know what it looks like outside the cabin, let alone investigating anything.
I don't state these facts of reality to move you out of your blind trust,
I only mean to point out that in the realness of life today, the excuse of exercising faith or trust being unreal is hardly a valid excuse--we constantly do it all the time.
Today you would probably be arrested.
And what about trusting the pilot?
We rarely know the pilot's name let alone his flying ability.
. We constantly practice our faith, and, apparently conditioned our minds to accept this.
Isn't that Blind trust
The Bible says, "faith is the substance of things hoped
for. The evidence of things not seeing." Hebrews 11:1
There is no
article in front of the word, "faith". Which would mean, generally
speaking, we act on the basis of expectant facts. And, as stated above, in reality-- real life,
that must be a common occurance. We would be thought delutional-- as if our thinking was not being in reality, if we didn't have this blind trust.
IN THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURES--notably John's writings and the Synoptic
Gospels.
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JOHN 1:1-3, 14-18
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made
through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been
made. John 1:1-3 (ASV)
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among
us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father),
full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (ASV)
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JOHN'S
WRITINGS--THE OTHER APOSTLES
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Language
in which the New Testaments is written.
A
library has grown up on the subject, and various views have been
influentially contended for.
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What
is relevant at this point are the following facts:
(a)
There is no evidence that our canonical Gospel was ever seen and the Hebrew
(Aramaic) tongue. The Gospel which Jerome said he had seen in and translated
into Greek and Latin, was not Matthew's, but an apocryphal Nazarene Gospel.
(b)
Matthew's Gospel was known to the early Church only in Greek. (Matthew's
Gospel as the most Hebrew-isms and identified as to the Jew. Certainly it would've
been written in Hebrew if any of them were.)
(c)
It is certain that the Greek Gospel was an original, and not a translation
from a Hebrew text.
(d)
all the early writers quote this Gospel, refer only to Matthew in Greek.
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This
subject is of more than merely academic interest, for it helps us to
understand certain references in the record, such as the translation of
Hebrew words, which would have been unnecessary in a Gospel written in
Hebrew;
One
of John the apostle's habits was to explain Hebrew words: (Rabbi--which is to
say, being interpreted, Master. John 1:38; "the Messiah--which is, being
interpreted, Christ" John 1:41; "Cephas which is by interpretation,
Peter"--John 1:42; "Messiah, who is called Christ" John 4:25;
"which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda" John 5:2....
There was also the explanation of customs,
which Palestinian Jews would not need.
A
Hebrew collection of Logia, and
our Greek Gospel, serve to show that at the time of Christ to languages were
spoken by Jews. Aramaic was the language of the common people, and Greek was
a literary language, show that those who spoke Aramaic could read Greek.
Both
Christ and Paul spoke these languages. In converse with Pilate our Lord would
speak Greek, but on the cross he spoke Aramaic. Paul, addressing Romans,
spoke in Greek, but on receiving permission to address the Jews he spoke in
Hebrew. It was quite natural therefore for Matthew to write an ole Tom which
would best be understood by Jews everywhere
(Scroggie)
The
Septuagint Translation
It
must be remembered that the translators were Jews, full of traditional
thoughts of their own as to the meaning of Scriptures; and thus nothing short
of a miracle could have prevented them from infusing into their version the
thoughts which were current in their own minds. They could only translate
passages as they themselves understood them.
It
would be however, too much to say that they translated with dishonest intention; for it cannot be doubted that
they wished to express their Scriptures Julie and Greek....
One
difficulty which they had overcome was that of introducing theological ideas,
which till then had only their proper terms in Hebrew, into a language of
Gentiles, which till then they had terms for no religious notions except
those of heathens. Hence the necessity of using many words and phrases in new
and appropriated senses. Introduction
of Septuagint
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