Romans 1:20

Dear friends at ASA:

Romans 1:20 says that God's "eternal power and divine nature, have been
clearly seen, being understood through what has been made... (NASB)." Two
questions arise: What exactly does "divine nature" refer to, and how are
these attributes of God made manifest in nature?

I think that it is clear that humans have always had a tendency to believe in
God or gods. In 1911, Brave Buffalo, a Sioux Indian wrote: "When I was ten
years of age I looked at the land and the rivers, the sky above, and the
animals around me and could not fail to realize that they were made by some
great power."

Black Elk also said that it could be seen that the Great Spirit was in all
nature, and "most importantly," He is above or greater than all of these
things (the sun, streams, all nature).

Is this because humans perceive design in nature? Or is there some other
rational perception? Or is this perception not rational, not based on
reason, but mystical?

Thanks for your time and input.

Sincerely,

Bill Green
Received on Sun Jul 17 21:34:38 2005