Godschild: My point was not that the Catholic Church has a monopoly on Christianity. My point was that it is somewhat ridiculous that someone from a sect set up by their grandad can state that "Catholics are not Christians" and back it up with a Good News Bible quote! Nobody has a monopoly on God. In fact the Hindu approach to God is that as different people use different languages around the world, so different religions are different ways of talking to the same God; there are many paths to God. A slightly more mature approach than "If you ain't my type of Christian, you ain't a Christian!"
I know which path feels right for me but I will not criticize others for choosing their path, unless they choose to denigrate, belittle or persecute others for their choices.
Genesis 1:5 "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."
Genesis 1:16-19 "And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in firmament of the heaven to give light upon the Earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day."
You can't talk about lunar months or solar days before God has even created the sun and the moon. Therefore you cannot ascribe our time frame to that by which God is working. Nowhere does it say how long the day was. The 24 hour day is comprehensively NOT defined in Genesis. (I am deliberately ignoring the lack of scientific insight that leads to a seperation between the sun and stars, or that the "heavenly bodies" are fixed in the firmament.)
Genesis, like most of the Bible, should be taken as an allegorical tale depicting roughly the order in which God created the universe through his various methods. To me, His methods are the complex physics that occured around the Big Bang, creating matter and anti-matter. They include the process of evolution which has populated this planet with incredible diversity and may well have done the same on other planets. Our depiction of God should not be limited to what our forefathers could have imagined was possible when they were writing the texts that were eventually brought together in the Bible.
If I could teach my children one thing about the Bible, it is this:
People are not perfect and the Bible was compiled by people. The Bible is not perfect. Read it, learn it, but always trust in your common sense and be guided by what you feel is right. Do not let an imperfect collection of teachings become your sole doctrine for life.
I know which path feels right for me but I will not criticize others for choosing their path, unless they choose to denigrate, belittle or persecute others for their choices.
Genesis 1:5 "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."
Genesis 1:16-19 "And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in firmament of the heaven to give light upon the Earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day."
You can't talk about lunar months or solar days before God has even created the sun and the moon. Therefore you cannot ascribe our time frame to that by which God is working. Nowhere does it say how long the day was. The 24 hour day is comprehensively NOT defined in Genesis. (I am deliberately ignoring the lack of scientific insight that leads to a seperation between the sun and stars, or that the "heavenly bodies" are fixed in the firmament.)
Genesis, like most of the Bible, should be taken as an allegorical tale depicting roughly the order in which God created the universe through his various methods. To me, His methods are the complex physics that occured around the Big Bang, creating matter and anti-matter. They include the process of evolution which has populated this planet with incredible diversity and may well have done the same on other planets. Our depiction of God should not be limited to what our forefathers could have imagined was possible when they were writing the texts that were eventually brought together in the Bible.
If I could teach my children one thing about the Bible, it is this:
People are not perfect and the Bible was compiled by people. The Bible is not perfect. Read it, learn it, but always trust in your common sense and be guided by what you feel is right. Do not let an imperfect collection of teachings become your sole doctrine for life.
Love 'n' hugz,
Lord Chad
4th Earl of Catsuit
There is nothing more dangerous than a man who knows he is right.
Lord Chad
4th Earl of Catsuit
There is nothing more dangerous than a man who knows he is right.
