RE: Answersingenesis

From: Vandergraaf, Chuck (vandergraaft@aecl.ca)
Date: Mon Apr 09 2001 - 16:57:22 EDT

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    Bill,

    I agree that we "all have a disconnect somewhere" and I share your hope
    that, in the hereafter, we will understand how God did it and how the puzzle
    fits together. Somehow, though, I get the feeling that, at that stage, we
    may not much care anymore because we will stand in awe of God's majesty.

    As to the disconnect, we are all very fond of extrapolation, even though we
    know the dangers associated with this activity. I've often compared this
    extrapolation to looking in a mirror. What we see looks awfully real but we
    know that, behind that thin layer of silver, lies a piece of glass and
    behind that, usually a wall. So it may be with extrapolating except that,
    instead of using distance, we use time.

    The disconnect you mention, is a luxury that many geologists,
    anthropologists, archaeologists, and biologists feel they cannot afford.

    Shalom,

    Chuck

    -----Original Message-----
    From: Bill Payne [mailto:bpayne15@juno.com]
    Sent: Sunday April 08, 2001 10:44 PM
    To: asa@calvin.edu
    Subject: Re: Answersingenesis

    On Sat, 7 Apr 2001 14:43:02 -0600 (MDT) gordon brown
    <gbrown@euclid.Colorado.EDU> writes:
     
    > What is a nonliteral interpretation of the floating axehead?
    >
    > Is Jesus walking on water in the same category as a floating
    > axehead?

    These questions cut to the core of the YEC/OEC divide, as I see it. To
    accept as literal only the miracles which involve the virgin birth, the
    resurrection, and other such miracles which comprise the core of
    Christianity, and to reject the floating axe head, the reversal of the
    path of the shadow cast by the sun, Genesis 1-11 etc. as allegory strikes
    me as a disconnect within the theology of OEC.

    It seems that we all have a disconnect somewhere. I find myself
    disconnecting with science (as it's generally interpreted) in order to
    preserve the integrity of the scripture. My feeling is that someday in
    the hereafter we will understand that God did it just as He said he did,
    and we will see how it all fits together, including the science.

    Bill Payne



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