Glenn muttered, as he set off to work on July 4th: "It is this wide range of
claims in philosophy which made me decide that philosophy wasn't for me.
There is no grounding of truth, just assumptions
followed by logical consistency. Now, you are correct that science has the
advantage of having a judge for the divergent claims--observation and no
such mechanism applies to theology. And that is in large part my point. The
only way we have to judge the theological claims which come into our mind,
or come to us in a vision is by the means of science."
I find this a strange claim. I read, for instance, the words Pascal wrote
about his epiphany -- no "science" can possibly apply. The same applies to
those epiphainies of mine -- not anywhere as vivid as Pascal's, but to deny
them I must deny my history. And "science" has 0 to say about them.
Glenn continues:"Look at all the divergent, mutually exclusive religious
claims today. All claim to be the word of some god. How does one go about
the job of determining which theology is the true theology? We simply can't
decide that the religous claims of our parents are correct because all the
adherents of the other religions have parents who told them that their
religion was the correct
one. Simply put, without some attachment to scientific observation, the
veracity of religious claims are as adrift from verification as are the
claims of Locke Berkely, Spinoza, Ficte, etc. And that turns theology into
a game of what claims do I like the best rather than what claims are true!"
The process of discovery which the preceding demands is one which has
occupied this person for about 40 years now. I do not think it will stop
until I draw my last breath. But "scientific observations" simply appear to
be irrelevant to the quest, except to keep me from some of the sillier
theologies such as that of ICR and Ken Ham.
Three things I'm fairly sure of by now in my own quest:
1. "God" is not God's name. It is just the collection of marks and noise
that we use to describe, inadaquately, to the mystery that lies without --
and also within.
2. My eternal destiny will be determined to a large degree by the amount of
compassion and solidarity I have displayed during my stay here on earth with
the oppressed. In the end, I will be judged in terms of love. This is NOT a
"salvation statement," and in no way is meant to denigrate the grace of God.
3. I have been greatly blessed by at least two epiphanies, one abrupt, one
over a period of time. The second is on my web site. I have never written
down the first, yet it is vivid and compelling to my mind even as I type.
Glenn concludes by writing: "In short, if God did what you say, he left us
with no way to determine the truth."
If by this you mean "scientifically," or "by measurements," I agree. But
there are other ways of approaching (better -- apprehending) Him.
Hoss (aka Burgy)
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