That God speaks things into existence and that He directs
>>nature by speaking seems to me to be a consistent and pervasive theme in
>>Scripture.
>
Glenn wrote
>Still doesn't say how long it takes for Nature to respond. Is that so hard
>to understand or is it so deeply ingrained in Christian thought that God's
>word must be instantly fulfilled that it is inconceivable that it could
>take time.
>glenn
>
I don't argue that nature fulfills God's commands instantaneously. Years
ago a friend pointed out that the fulfillment didn't have to be
instantaneous. More recently I read the excerpts from St. Basil in one Of
Howard Van Till's articles and became convinced.
I would argue however (and I doubt you would disagree) that God can and
does function on any timeline He chooses -- one that's appropriate for what
He's accomplishing. As Howard says, he has gifted nature with a variety of
capabilities that make nature capable of carrying out His plan for the
development of nature. On the other hand He gifted men with the capability
to think and to interact with Him, and when He interacts with men He does
it on a timeline and at a tempo that's appropriate for interacting with men
-- at least from His point of view.
Bill Hamilton
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
William E. Hamilton, Jr., Ph.D.
Staff Research Engineer
Electrical and Controls Integration MC 480-106-390
GM R&D Center
30500 Mound Road
Warren, MI
hamilton@predator.cs.gmr.com / whamilto@mich.com (home)