Universalism is the belief that everyone eventually will be saved. Your argument for disbelief is foolish, because God cannot be like any of the things perceived by the senses, nor can He be said to bear any resemblance to anything which has to undergo an ordeal of change and decay. When you know something by means of such encounter, you may not be able to express it verbally, at least not in a compelling, coherent, or exhaustive manner. You can experience a spiritual longing, connectedness, peace, transformation, serenity, boundless compassion, and so on. I am not sure that is the name. ), In chapter 5 Learning from the Christian Mystics Benner discusses a knowledge of God that is transrational and contemplative.. Interesting Beau, thanks. Now, whether this evidence is good evidence or not. As is knowledge of Heavenly Father. Doesnt everyone including yourself feel an urge to respond given an open forum and divergent points of view? That instead, my friend needed to see realia like a man in a soviet prison who goes to the very cell wall and taps a message in morse. Out of curiosity may I know your position on 2nd Peter. 2. . Left the Ministry. Peter Enns does it again!' Richard Rohr, author of Falling Upward For many Christians, the Bible is a how-to manual filled with literal truths about belief that must be strictly followed. We go crazy in solitary confinement, when stranded on an island, when lost in the wilderness solo. Perhaps its ones urge for drinking mothers milk when one is first born (who gave you a mother? But by putting these experiences on the table and sharing them, we can say some objective things about them. The universe is a really big place. Take sight perception as an example. Also, be sure to read the book rather than a blurb to see what I am after. I realize that there is a long and rich history of discussion over difficult philosophical issues concerning the existence of God. Bavinck has a tendency to get to the point doesnt he ? Rule out experience and youre forcing yourself into mysticism. I get your post. And we do this not by relying on our experiences at the subjective level as some private matter , but we take what can be shared about that subjective experience and put it on the table for all to look at and compare. IMHO knowing God is as relevant as your next breath, I mean, who gave you that breath? Peter Enns is the last person that I will analyze simply because he probably best typifies what can happen once one begins the downward spiral on adopting an evolutionary view to Scripture. that Christians suffer like everyone else. I think there are multiple reality tunnels and people make many different claims concerning their personal experiences. enns has published three books hijacking the agenda: economic power and political influence (winner of the gladys m. kammerer award, presented by the american political science association to honor the best book published during the previous year in the field of u.s. national policy), incarceration nation: how the united states became the most I only presume that peoples experiences of God are a mixed bag that lay along a very wide spectrum. 4 And there is none **like** unto Him. In The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More than our "Correct" Beliefs, Enns argues that certainty (especially the theological variety) is inappropriate, dangerous and unbiblical. I'm an author and biblical scholar. So lets give that a shot. @peteenns. I would never ever suggest this is a unique property of Xty. The social architecture of the church, from leadership to prayer groups, all functions along protocols and vetting systems based on doctrinal beliefs, trust-building with leaders, participation in activities, meetings and conferences, etc. " To love as God loves means loving not just others like us, but those who are not. Love, compassion, empathy, etc. He speaks actively in academic and ecclesiastical venues on topics pertaining the Bible and Christian faith. Which I think is the case, but I dont want to speak for Ed. Maybe more so than that of our sense perception of sight? http://edward-t-babinski.blogspot.com/2016/01/gods-mixed-messages-youth-pastor-killed.html So please do not think I am trying to quantitize it in some scientific sense. The Bible (NT and OT) both contain stories of humans having doubt while also trusting God (Elijah, Peter, Thomas, hell, all of them for that matter). Too much struggle is maladaptive. Contemplation is apprehension uncluttered by thoughtparticularly preconception and analysis. It is into this "cross-pressured" situation that Peter Enns wades with this new book, The . Rather, knowledge of God is described by terms like: immediacy Do you think JFK could have won with that campaign statement? How could God (if He does exist) reject anyone who was honestly searching? Do you know many others like yourselves? I say, God. As is knowledge of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva. Pages turning If He was visible to the eye, and perceivable to the senses, He would have resembled the things that are visible and perceivable to the senses on account of their being compound and created and in that case He would no longer have remained a creator. Certainly, too many Islamists (by no means all) are tragically attempting to force their beliefs on others, and the result is ISIS, AQ, Boko Haram, and too many other groups. in being with another person expressing love in ones flesh. ), but its also important in a much deeper way. You will know whom I mean, Atheism may be comparatively popular with God himself, When a pious visitor inquired sweetly, Henry, have you made your peace with God? he replied, We have never quarreled., Henry David Thoreau as quoted in Henry David Thoreau: What Manner of Man? as yours. I like the fruit of this way of knowingeverything from electricity and medicine to electron-microscopesand radio telescopes. There are surely myriad of ways of knowing God In the provIsIons that are avaIlable to each one of us, As one is riding the Starlight Express propelled through time experiencing mAturity, old Age And deAth. As if chosen by God to tell people who should be a christian based on their concerns regarding the bible. I count it a great privilege to help students keep their horizons in front of them and come to know God better on their life-journey. The intersection of these (with a lot of other stuff thrown in there for good measure, such as Barths furious response to 19th century liberals on issues related to mediated/unmediated experience) was very compelling in my theological studies and has been fascinating to observe on a practical level in pastoral ministry in the conservative south, especially in this political and cultural moment. apprehension uncluttered by thought Thankfully it is much less today. Havent found much written on it. Mitchel Modine. There is an even less certain, less dogmatic, less religious, kind of trust. (Isnt this another example of a way of knowing?). They long to know Gods love andthereby to be filled with the very fullness of God[Ephesians 3:17-19]. And the crash can be hard, just look at Mother Teresas painful decades long crash after getting high on Jesus in her teen years. Legitttttttt. I would take as examples of this people such as Jesus and the profound impact on the entire world for the good, that his truth has produced, and by extension, His Apostles and their experience. If we hold to the same manner in which we share any other experience with those around us, we would ge bound to accept this. Or the mega church movement, to try and get and sustain even a greater Jesus high. Peter Enns' new book, How the Bible Actually Works, at its best seeks to place us on the hard, but rewarding, path of wisdom. Interesting title. Enns seeks to grow us in maturity so that we might take up wisdom. the way is the path of becoming a new person because one is allowing God to lead you in a sense. Abstrak Permasalahan dalam tulisan ini terletak pada isu doktrin eskatologi tentang kerajaan seribu tahun, khususnya dalam pandangan dispensasionalisme dengan covenant theology. He was dismissed as O.T. longing I said that when it comes to experiences, peoples experience of Allah or Yahweh or Jesus or Krishna or Buddha lay along a wide spectrum. immediacy. It is transrational. In regards to ones intelligence, I am reading St Teresa of Avilas Interior Castle right now and in the first parts of it she refers to herself as stupid and if they (the nuns she is writing to) understand what she is saying, it is not herself that is speaking but it is God through her. Open your eyes to what there is to see, or let Jesus open them for you (Mark 8, by daubing mud) and I theres not that much problem. It is not when I am going to meet him, but when I am just turning away and leaving him alone, that I discover that God is. We dont know how to break down the ideologies of our false identities or how to welcome others with conflicting ideologies or identities. Anyhow, as I have stated before I respect your thoughts and journey, but I do not think it has to be every doubters Journey. Hi Pete, Living with uncertainty is a relative thing. Or at least you have come near enough to listen and understand much of what Frank has to say. Why do I believe in God? . With all due respect my guess is you dont really engage with non-believers in person? I am Peter EnnsI am a biblical scholar. Peter Enns (Ph.D., Harvard University) is Abram S. Clemens professor of biblical studies at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. The reason many do not talk more about these issues are beyond me (I say that knowing that many do in fact talk about these tensions Pete is one of them). It may be a way of knowing, but not necessarily yielding as many as true things as possible and as few as false things as possible. 254). Redemption to a broken world? I find much of the tradition of Christianity over the last 2,000 yearsand most acutely in the generations of my life in Americato have failed what I consider to be the best centerings of the apocalyptic hope of Jesus of Nazareth. He is the podcast host of The Bible for Normal People. 298 . Most people who are not believers are not believers because this side has so much certainty over things that we should not be saying we have so much certainty over. When I gave up the notion of God, I did not give up on the experiences of participation, longing, fullness, contemplativeness, depth, and immediacy. As revealed clearly in the scriptures, God is raising up out of this raging cauldron of sin pain and suffering adopted sons(and daughters) who will embrace the process of being transformed by their tests and trials into those who will be worthy of ruling and reigning with Him throughout eternity. Peter Enns is Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University, St. Davids, Pennsylvania. And whether that link between what you perceive or experience and reality is as strong as you think. 2020 Peter Danner. Dr. Enns is a biblical scholar who teaches and writes on Old Testament, New Testament, Second Temple Judaism, and the intersection of biblical studies and contemporary Christian faith. Sorry, curious. The western way of knowing privileges the observation and analysis/testingofexternal evidence by knowledgable, experienced, and educated people who make arguments and defend them. The human mind cannot think alone. If another person or group of persons has a different list, they have different values from mine. One, what does God mean? It sounds like you are on that path. Many dont understand that the contentions among faiths are fought (and will be won in the end) not on the grounds of being right, but on the grounds of making the world right. I also would want to point out that the Christian religion has to do with a person named Jesus (as christians we believe this Jesus is still transforming lives and hes on the loose), in other words it is not just a simple have faith or belief The Christian faith is a living trust that Jesus Christ (messiah) will rescue (has will in the future) the world for a global renewal (earth and heaven). I dont think God would. Yet since these experiences come across as transcendent many put a higher truth value on them than anything else in life. But, that we ourselves interact, relate, care, love is even more important. Biblical scholar and author Dr. Peter Enns will be in Lynchburg for a series of "Evolution Weekend" events February 15-16, joining with many other such efforts nationwide under the umbrella of the Clergy Letter Project.. From this, I have a question for you; isnt it also completely reasonable (and rational) to look at the fruits of other peoples experience to see that their belief and faith are grounded in the truth? But how is it that you still believe in God? All, or none, of the above?). . I agree that post-enlightenment empiricism is never going to lead to genuine interaction with the creator, but what about prayer? In passing, he also makes a very interesting observation about contemporary Protestant theology: "I live in an ecclesial world in which those who value Christian orthodoxy as a concept seem invariably to drift towards either Rome or Constantinople or some amalgamation of the two which is represented by no existing church. The Christian trusts God even when things do not always make sense this tensions exists in the Christian message and story (but it exists in everyones story) the four Gospels are not shy in displaying this reality. But regarding a mans spiritual experience cannot be denied, well the experience may not perhaps but certainly the interpretation of it can. Thats why all we need to focus on is the Way; which is your way that youre honestly seeking God. The other day he wrote a post that he entitled Why I Don't Believe in God Anymore. Introduction: This article will be on the subject of God's wrath and retribution. Meaning external, physical evidence. However, as my 5th grade social studies book (circa ~1958) commented on Islam, Muslims converted North Africa at the edge of the sword. JFK probably did not comment much on his Catholicism because at that time there remained a significant amount of anti-Catholic bigotry in our country. By Edward Wagenknecht, There is also the Alan Watts definition of the difference between having beliefs and having faith. Some people live with more uncertainty than you do. Failures in relationships abound, and there is no need to belabour this with current examples. I think if Christianity, as a whole, doesnt soon reconcile itself among its adherents and with its founders teachings, it will soon (if not already there) be down an irreversible trajectory of being part of the problem rather than part of the solution in the inevitable redemption of the cosmos. Such is life. Find it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/19X9WC7Find it at CBD: http://bit.ly/1dnBcesPeter Enns discusses the inerrancy of the Bible as an often contentious topic. But when you reach the point where there is little to differentiate between different encounters or transcendent perceptions yielding incompatible truth claims, then you are not just dealing with a measure of uncertainty to be tolerated, but rather a total lack of confidence in whether what you believe corresponds to actual reality. So I would never presume to tell someone like Pete or the Dali Lama that their experiences are not in their subjective sense real. Only that any confidence they glean from those experiences to then conclude what they believe they encountered they actually in fact have, well, that I would claim is highly suspect and demonstrably so. You are presuming that I am naive about other religions. This is very simple. What do you think of people like George Mller? But what we can do is employ language to describe those deep experiences in a way to see if we are alone in them or if there are other people who in the way they respond hint at having had the same shared experience as us. I do. He has written numerous books, including The Bible Tells Me So, The Sin of Certainty, and How the Bible Actually Works. Read Nondiscrimination Policy. darkness, a vulnerable faith, and the normal Christian life, Spirituality and the Awakening Self: The Sacred Journey of Transformation, http://edward-t-babinski.blogspot.com/2015/08/christians-or-non-christians-who-suffer.html, http://edward-t-babinski.blogspot.com/2016/01/gods-mixed-messages-youth-pastor-killed.html, http://edward-t-babinski.blogspot.com/2015/03/on-recovering-from-alcoholism-drug.html, http://infidels.org/library/modern/ed_babinski/experience.html, http://edward-t-babinski.blogspot.com/2015/01/leaving-ministry-left-ministry-polls.html, http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/cruz-any-president-who-doesnt-begin-every-day-his-knees-isnt-fit-be-commander-chief-nation, http://www.al-islam.org/tradition-myrobalan-fruit-hadith-al-halila-imam-jafar-al-sadiq/hadith. Feel an urge to respond given an open forum and divergent points of view remained! Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania when stranded on an island when. 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