Posted by Illuminati on 6/3/2005, 8:18 am, in reply to "Redaction Criticism" There is reason to believe God has created a universe based on laws which He Himself always follows even when He enters our universe. If He did otherwise, the universe would be an incomprehensible place in which we could not function. Experience has taught us this world is a real place with real natural laws and with real consequences. This is also what the Bible teaches. So based on the belief in natural laws, is there any reason God could not enter our universe and act, so long as He followed His own laws? I really can not think of any objections to God's participation in His own universe. The question is how would we know if He had intervened if He always follows natural laws? How do we recognize a miracle? Perhaps we could define a miracle as an effect without a natural cause. If we accept the intuitive truth that we have the ability to act creatively and freely, then humans also have the ability to create effects without a cause. Although some people believe all human behavior is caused and that our belief in our own freedom is an illusion, many other people believe they are capable of genuinely freedom and can be truly creative. If our freedom is indeed genuine, then every free act by an individual, from the perspective of science is unpredictable and beyond discovery. In other words, it is a "miracle" unexplainable by science. This is probably what the Bible means when it says man was created in God's image. If man has been given this freedom to act in nature, to create miracles, there is no reason to deny God the same ability to work "miracles" in our universe. This freedom which people naturally assume they have is not disproven by science. In fact according to science, it is not even limited to living agencies. According to quantum physics, it appears the behavior of the tiniest particles is also unpredictable since we can not precisely measure position and velocity simultaneously. It appears God is not only a God of laws, but also a God of freedom. We have no difficulty differentiating activities by free agents, humans, and the acts of nature which at the macro level does follow the laws of cause and effect. If God were to exercise His freedom to act in His universe, we should be able to recognize His activities in a similar fashion. He has set up markers which will help us recognize His activities. I believe that is where prayer comes in. Since God already knows our needs before we ask Him, the only reason to pray is for our benefit, to prepare us to be able to accept and accept God's intervention in our behalf. Prayer enables God whom we don't see to establish a relationship with us and to guide and communicate with us. It also allows God to intervene in His universe without confusing us regarding the validity of the natural laws He has made. Prayer and faith prepare us to recognize and benefit from God's divine intervention. To better communicate with us God sent His son in human form to tell us about His boundless love and good will towards us and to show us how we should live. Regarding the principle of correlation, I believe the assumption that the laws of nature are inviolate is probably correct. This doesn't seem to justify the assumption that miracles don't happen or that God can not communicate with His own creation. To study a book whose major purpose is to describe God's miraculous intervention in human history and to describe communication from God, it is difficult to understand how someone who has assumed God doesn't communicate with us can add much to our understanding. This assumption precludes a priori the very thing which the Bible was written to establish.
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In Western science, one of the major breakthroughs which has led to the advanced science which we have to day is the rejection of superstition and the ability to reject authority and to think creatively. Ideally science is a search for truth. If we believe God is the creator of the universe there should be nothing for a theist to fear from study of nature.
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