Does it make sense?

So, Creation. Does it make any sense? I am of course referring to the creation story in Genesis.

I believe in God, and I believe that Jesus has redeemed mankind and saved those who believe from their sin. I also believe the following things about God, things I think you'd want from a deity:

1) God is omnipotent. He is all powerful. Just don't ask whether He could microwave a burrito so hot that He Himself couldn't eat it.

2) God is omnipresent. There is nowhere you can hide from God.

3) God is omniscient. He knows everything. Most of what I'm going to write follows from the belief that this includes everything that is going to happen. This is backed up by several verses in the Bible (I have plans for you etc), not to mention all the prophesies. It makes logical sense too. If God was there before the beginning, He cannot be constrained by time.

So, to take the Biblical creation story. I have a couple of grievances about this. Firstly, the fall kind of implies that God doesn't know what's coming (as do a couple of other events early in Genesis, eg. God's decision to destroy the human race before the flood - if it weren't for Noah He would have destroyed us. What of His eternal plans in that instance?). Secondly, why does it say the Earth was created in 6 days, with a supposedly traceable timeline to about 6000 years ago?

Clearly, if God satisfies the above beliefs, He could create the world in six days 6000 years ago, but why would He then litter it with evidence to the contrary? Creation 'science' arguments that doubt carbon dating or fossil records etc are in denial in my opinion. God has allowed us to reach a stage of understanding that reveals the creation story to be at least in part a metaphor or mnemonic device. In doing so God further reveals His majesty. It is awesome to consider the vastness and emotive beauty of the universe, the unimaginable timescales, even the unseen beauty that must be out there, which is all for the glory of God.

However, this leaves a different problem. Why do we need Jesus? If the universe didn't start with man in a perfect relationship with God, what is going on? Since I cannot force myself to believe that the creation story is literal, I see the fall of man as a metaphor for everyone's life. We all have the potential to be perfect, but we lack the divine that makes it possible - the divine to resist the temptation of sin as Adam and Eve failed to do. As Paul writes, to be a man (Adam) means to sin, and the sin of man leads to death. Jesus was the man who had the divine in him, the real living Son of God, and through him we will eventually be brought into perfection. Unlike the evidence for the creation, a poetic piece at the beginning of the Bible, the historical Jesus is something I can place my trust in.

It's shaky theological ground I stand on, I know! Yet I shall still stand on the firmest ground of all - the rock that is Christ.

2km (kilomockingbirds)

I recently re-read To Kill a Mockingbird. I did this because when I tried to talk to someone about it having read it for the first time at the age of 21, they said 'What are you in high school or something?' (I should add that they're American). Now, aside from To Kill a Mockingbird being a excellent book that I would recommend to anyone, did he have a point? Does being forced to read something in school hinder your enjoyment of it, even to the point of putting you off reading forever? I have always been a reader, and so when it came to reading and writing about Of Mice and Men during GCSE English it was nice to go in depth. I liked the book too, like To Kill a Mockingbird it deals with some pretty serious issues. The former is perhaps about eugenics, the latter about racism, both about innocence.

But being forced to read a book, rather than doing so by choice, will inevitably dampen enjoyment of it, especially if an essay is due. It seems that two things could happen. The reader realises that reading and understanding a book without having to eloquently express plot devices to a teacher is much better and will happily read books their whole life; that or the reader gets fed up and swears off reading forever. I feel sorry for those people.

Anyway, back to the original topic of this post. While reading the book I found myself nostalgic for a childhood in the 1930s American south that I never had. It can do even that, so if you have not, read it yourself. You shan't be disappointed.

First post, please be gentle!

Hello!

This is my first foray into blogging, I always was slow to catch onto trends. Anyway, as you might have guessed from the blog title, my name is Stuart, or any variation you like. Studog is a good one, but Disco Stu never really took off. For more about me, see my profile.

My blog's name is taken from a quote by my housemate Alun. He once uttered 'What is Alun?', and it has frequently been repeated. That there is a back story to this detracts from its esoteric nature, and also it's boring, so I wont tell it. I actually wanted to call it 'Something Profound', but for starters it was taken, and also I have a feeling it wouldn't be true.

I have been inspired to blog mostly my the blogs that my friends have set up, and some are very insightful. Ed's blog (http://theworldarounded.blogspot.com) is limited to 22 words per post, and teaches the value of being concise. I shall try not to ramble.

So as this is my first post, I shall tell you about the beginnings of this blog. How I started: apparently, my email address was already taken (huh?), so I reset the password as you are allowed to do, and found that someone in Pakistan had somehow set up a google account with my email address. They didn't appear to be using it, so I changed the password and user details and reclaimed my rightful google account. Take that, Pakistan!

My reason for starting: I have thoughts on several topics I wish to commit to the ages, or at least as long as we have the internet. They include, but are not limited to:

Music, art, literature and films.
Meteorology and climate change, and the environment in general. You will find a large number of blogs on this topic, some agreeing with the IPCC's doom and gloom, others vehemently against it to the point of accusations of lying and conspiracy. I expect to cover some middle ground.
General life and love, though I hope I don't treat this as a diary, I do hope at least some other people read it!
Christianity, criticisms of my own and considered responses to its more fundamentalist detractors.

Occasionally I might blog about politics too, but you should ignore those because I wont have a clue what I'm on about.

Laters!