Comments on: God of relationship. http://trevorcoultart.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/god-of-relationship/ Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:18:32 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Eric Beach http://trevorcoultart.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/god-of-relationship/#comment-100 Eric Beach Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:57:18 +0000 http://trevorcoultart.wordpress.com/?p=131#comment-100 I've been through a couple of 'does God exist?' phases - it's somewhat disconcerting! Especially when one of them is in the middle of a three year theology degree!! But then I too was asking the 'what kind of God do I believe in?' question as well - particularly as we were studying Calvin's "Institutes" at the time where he proposes that God controls everything that we do and its all predestined. So where is my free will in that? My answers [and yours may well be different but I wondered if this might be helpful - please feel free to ignore it if not!!] was to look at the evidence. That's what I'm trained to do as a scientist [I'm a molecular and cellular biologist by initial training]. I asked questions like =>Are there patterns within things that have happened in my life that don't seem to line up with the laws of probability? =>Are there patterns within nature that don't seem to line up with the laws of probability? The first question, I guess is about what I perceive that God has done in my life and in other people's lives. There have been occasions where things have appeared to fit together in such a pattern that it doesn't seem possible that it could be just chance. Like getting my current job. I came back to work after a summer break having decided to chuck my previous job. Just as I was psyching myself up to tell my boss where he could put his job, he popped his head round the door and suggested that we 'go for a little walk'! ["oh no!! Which Director have I upset this time?!?!?!" was my initial thought!!] It was then that he told me that the PCT wanted to offer me my current job - a job that I have loved for the last couple of years! The timing was incedible. He didn't know what I was thinking of telling him that day and to have a lifeline of that sort of magnitude thrown to me on that particular day was mind-blowing. The second question is more a scientific type question - can I really believe that the complexity of life is a mere accident. As a molecular and cellular biologist I can't honestly believe that something of such complexity as a cell could just appear. It doesn't make sense even given millions of years to 'evolve'. And the probability of the conditions for life even existing on this planet are so phenomenally small [even less likely than winning the lottery plus also being hit by lightening twice on the same day!!] that to suggest it was an accident doesn't make sense. And theres much much more. So for me I guess it's not so much a question of 'beyond reasonable doubt' as a question of 'on the balance of probability' - hopefully concepts that will resonate with a magistrate! Hope that helps! I’ve been through a couple of ‘does God exist?’ phases – it’s somewhat disconcerting! Especially when one of them is in the middle of a three year theology degree!! But then I too was asking the ‘what kind of God do I believe in?’ question as well – particularly as we were studying Calvin’s “Institutes” at the time where he proposes that God controls everything that we do and its all predestined. So where is my free will in that?

My answers [and yours may well be different but I wondered if this might be helpful - please feel free to ignore it if not!!] was to look at the evidence. That’s what I’m trained to do as a scientist [I'm a molecular and cellular biologist by initial training]. I asked questions like

=>Are there patterns within things that have happened in my life that don’t seem to line up with the laws of probability?

=>Are there patterns within nature that don’t seem to line up with the laws of probability?

The first question, I guess is about what I perceive that God has done in my life and in other people’s lives. There have been occasions where things have appeared to fit together in such a pattern that it doesn’t seem possible that it could be just chance. Like getting my current job. I came back to work after a summer break having decided to chuck my previous job. Just as I was psyching myself up to tell my boss where he could put his job, he popped his head round the door and suggested that we ‘go for a little walk’! ["oh no!! Which Director have I upset this time?!?!?!" was my initial thought!!] It was then that he told me that the PCT wanted to offer me my current job – a job that I have loved for the last couple of years! The timing was incedible. He didn’t know what I was thinking of telling him that day and to have a lifeline of that sort of magnitude thrown to me on that particular day was mind-blowing.

The second question is more a scientific type question – can I really believe that the complexity of life is a mere accident. As a molecular and cellular biologist I can’t honestly believe that something of such complexity as a cell could just appear. It doesn’t make sense even given millions of years to ‘evolve’. And the probability of the conditions for life even existing on this planet are so phenomenally small [even less likely than winning the lottery plus also being hit by lightening twice on the same day!!] that to suggest it was an accident doesn’t make sense. And theres much much more.

So for me I guess it’s not so much a question of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ as a question of ‘on the balance of probability’ – hopefully concepts that will resonate with a magistrate!

Hope that helps!

]]> By: andy goodliff http://trevorcoultart.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/god-of-relationship/#comment-99 andy goodliff Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:28:30 +0000 http://trevorcoultart.wordpress.com/?p=131#comment-99 I think who God is matters, because I'd want to say that god found in Dawkins, Pullman and McEwan is not the triune God revealed in scripture and confessed by the christian church. The god they don't believe in, i don't believe in either, he doesn't exist. God who is the Father of Jesus Christ does exist. I think who God is matters, because I’d want to say that god found in Dawkins, Pullman and McEwan is not the triune God revealed in scripture and confessed by the christian church. The god they don’t believe in, i don’t believe in either, he doesn’t exist. God who is the Father of Jesus Christ does exist.

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