... Is Christ really the fullest
>>revelation of who God is and of God's relationship with the world?
>> Indeed, science by itself doesn't tell us about how God acts in
>>the world. But neither does philosophical theism - which is where most
>>ideas about God's nature & attributes come from.
>> I continue to be amazed that so many Christians leave Christ
>>completely out of the picture in dealing with issues of the relationship
>>of science and theology. It sometimes seems that he is regarded simply
>>as an instrument for a "Plan B" of some generic deity to get his
>>creation out of a jam.
>
Moorad wrote
>
>When I discuss science, I do not bring my Christian faith into the picture.
>It is only when we discuss the philosophy of science that my worldview,
>based on my faith, comes into play. However, I do not claim to know the mind
>of God and refrain from going into some discussions because they are too
>speculative. Of course, I will discuss such issue to bring out the latter
point.
>
>Take care,
>
In response to George I would say that I believe Jesus Christ is the
fullest revelation of Who God is and of His relationship with men. Study
of nature is a discipline I believe we are well-equipped to carry out, but
the relationship of God to nature is a study we are not well-equipped for,
nor is it a subject God has told us a great deal about in Scripture. That
doesn't mean we oughtn't to study the relationship of God to nature -- only
that we ought to be cautious of drawing conclusions.
I very much agree with George that some Christians are very prone to seeing
Jesus Christ as 'an instrument for a "Plan B" of some generic deity to get
his creation out of a jam'.
I agree with Moorad that Christian faith seems to be more logically a
component of philosophy of science than science itself. It seems to me
that Christian faith may suggest what projects I pursue, and may say some
things to me about how I go about my research and how I utilize the
results. But I don't expect it to dictate the content of my conclusions.
Perhaps something I realized last night would be helpful here. Our small
group is studying Romans, and something that was said caused me to think
about just how we put our minds under the lordship of Jesus Christ. It
came to me that the real problem is putting our will under His lordship.
Then the mind will be more amenable to function in His service. In the
twentieth century we put a lot os stress on the mind, and tend to think of
it as that which directs what we do. It's really important, but our will
directs what we do. So the challenge of putting one's mind under the
lordship of Christ is not a challenge of checking our brain at the church
door, but one of putting our will under his lordship. Then -- I believe --
the mind will cooperate without being suppressed.
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Bill Hamilton, Staff Research Engineer
Chassis and Vehicle Systems, GM R&D Center
Warren, MI
hamilton@predator.cs.gmr.com / whamilto@mich.com (home)