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is their a god?
** GOD CREATED THE WORLD (Genesis 1:1-25)
• It is the first Word in the entire Bible. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This is the starting point and beginning of time and space. From that time on, everything existed. • Why does the bible say “In the beginning” and not “at the beginning”? At the beginning refers to what happened at the beginning, but here we see “IN the beginning God.” This points to before the beginning of time when there was only God. (John 1:1) In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John expresses, before time, were nothing was except God, and the Word was God. So God was from outside the beginning where there is no time and space. Augustine was a great theologian in Rome. He wrote a book called “Confession” and another book called, “The Holy City”. He said, “In eternity, God created the heavens and the earth”.
“The heavens and the earth”?
• The Jew’s used a Hebrew word, Shamayin which means spiritual world to describe Heaven. • Heavens also refers to open space. We have the atmosphere and space with the sun and the moon and many stars in heaven. • The Earth is erets. Planet earth. • “The heavens and the earth” refer to the Spiritual and physical world. • We can also see the Bible compares the earth with the vastness of the heavens; the author puts them both on the same level. The author talks here about God creating the spiritual world and the physical world. But the Bible does not focus on the spiritual world but the physical world. The Bible only focuses on the earth. This is because the earth is as important as the entire universe because human live on the earth. Humans are very important in Gods eyes. God compares us to the entire Universe!
Why is the word, “created” significant?
• There are two words in the Hebrew used for creating. One word is Assa. Assa means to create something out of something. The 4th day God “assa” or made the sun, moon and stars. God used materials to created the sun moon and stars (16) In Verse 25, God assa the Animals. God used the land to create the animals. Verse 26, talks about God’s plan for our salvation. But the Word says assa again for the creation of man. • The other word is Bara. This means to make something from nothing. (21) God bara the creatures of the sea and the birds of the air. God uses bara in Verse 1, in the Beginning, God bara, the universe from nothing. God was the creator.
What do we learn from verse 1?
• Verse 1 is God’s proclamation of the creation of the world. That God is the cause of all things in the world. He is where the universe and all things came from. Everything is from God. This solves man fundamental question. Where do I come from? Who am I? What am I? Why am I here? People don’t know these answers that’s why people are so confused. But Chapter one proclaims: We came from God. We can say, I came from God. We are not here because of our appearance, situation or mistakes, but because of God. So we become soo happy. Suddenly we do not live in darkness. Because we see it was God who said, “Let there be light.” • We can see God exists. Someone created us and he is called God. We see the He is almighty. Elohim. God of power! He is almighty. That created everything from nothing. The name God. Elohim is the original translation, is used as a metephore, the Lord Almighty. Verse 2, the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (26) Says, lets make man in our image. We can see the whole trinity God in the beginning. • If God is our creator, what kind of attitude should we have? Respect, Honor, gratitude. Maybe we have bad experiences, but fundamentally, we must still be thankful because we exist. • Another thing is, when we acknowledge him as creator, what does he want me to do? It’s our divine obligation, to find out what he wants me to do. • What is rebellion? He creates us and we really don’t care what or why. Some people figure out what he wants us to do but they don’t carry it out. Some live so moralistic but don’t care about what God wants them to do. So they rebel. Many people live a moralistic life but they are in rebellion against God. We must figure out God’s purpose to fulfill our lives.
• It was completely dark. The earth was there but how come it was formless? When we read and study Genesis chap 1, we can see there was a primitive form of the earth. Just a bunch of mud with no form to it. It was empty and formless. No content. 70 percent is water and 30 percent land. It was too much water. It was probably like having runny pancake mix with no form to it. It was just empty. Nothing existed. This was the primitive form of the earth. Nothing visible nor desirable. From this primitive form, God would creature beauty and harmony.
What was the spirit of God doing?
• The Holy Spirit was working. This reminds me of my own life, without the Holy Spirit, our life was formless, no direction. Very formless. No frame work. So ugly. Empty. Just there. No definition. No content. Jeremiah 4:23. I looked at the earth and it was formless and empty. Through the Work of God in our lives, that formless life is very harmonious. This dark life has the life. The Holy Spirit is hovering on you doing Gods work of creation continually in your life. What will be the out come in your life? It will have framework, definition, content, direction, form, and beauty, filled with the Spirit of God.
• The first day, he created light. Then there was evening and morning. In God, that was the beginning. The Hebrews lived by this concept of evening and then morning. Their day would always start with night and then day. Because each day starts formless and as the morning comes, life begins. The rest of the world’s concept is opposite. As the day goes, life passes away.
• Second day, God formed the sky, and separated the water above from the water below. God created the atmosphere. All the layers of water above, the expanse and the waters below.
• The 3rd day God created land and vegetation. Water rushed to one place and created seas and lands.
• 4th day, the sun, moon, and stars.
• 5th day, living creatures in the seas and the birds of the air.
• And the 6th day, man and animals.
• We can also see that the first day corresponded with the 4th day. The light had to be created for the sun, moon and stars to be created. Also the sky and water the second day, for the sea creatures and birds the 5th. And finally the land and vegetation the 3rd day for the animals and man the 6th.
• We see the order was, 1 to 4, 2 to 5 and 3 to 6.
• God did not create things at random. He had a blue print. Everything was created according to Gods creation plan. This keeps us very confident. We do not know why God created cockroaches but in Gods eyes, he has purpose. Sometimes we do not know why we exist. But when we come to God, we find out God has purpose for us. Because of Gods plan, were here.
In the 6 days of creation, is there any external or internal order?
• Yes
Progression?
• Always from general to specific. First environment, then the specifics.
What can we learn here?
• We are in Gods plan. It gives us confidence of what’s going on. It releases us from emptiness and meaningless. When we are in Gods plan, it gets us out of our inferiority complex or our fatalism.
• With his Words. He did not use magic like in the movies. He simply said it, and it came to be. With this Word came life. That’s the method God used in creating things.
Trace the verses where the phrases ‘God said’ or ‘And it was so’ appear.
• God said: 3; 6; 9; 14; 20; 24; 26; 29. And it was so 7; 9; 15; 25; 30
What can we learn here about Gods Word? (cf. Heb 4:12; Gen 17:1)
• His Word is very powerful. God’s word has mighty creation power. Before, we could see nothing truly good in us. But when Gods word is proclaimed in us, it has the power to create something good in us. That’s why we study the Word of God in us, when Gods word is heard in us, Gods Word can change us into a beautiful Child of God. When we see our own family, society and nation, we see so many problems beyond cure. No one can do anything. But the Word of God has creation power to change society, nation, and families. All according to Gods will. Give us strength, life, power. Word of God is hope for family, nation, society, life.
• According to their kinds. 11; 12; 21; 24; 25.
What are the things that were created according to their kinds?
• All living things. How many different species of butterfly are there? 148,000 different butterflies. How about ants? Ants 8,800 have been found. God is very intricate, precise, and Gods power is unlimited. Look at the stars in the sky? How fast does the earth move? And the moon? How about light? Put a leaf under a microscope and you’ll experience a whole other world. He can make as much as he desires. God’s wisdom is unlimited.
What can we learn here about God?
• We can see when we get stuck; we think there are only so many ways we can go. But God is not limited. He created it. God can make a way. God’s wisdom is unlimited and his power is unlimited. God is unlimited.
• In was good. 4; 10; 12; 18; 21; 25; 31 After each day it was good. His testimony was good after each day except the second day.
What does this expression teach us about the purpose of God’s creation? (cf. Ps 19:1; Ps 139:14)
• God’s testimony is good. With his creation, each day God was pleased happy and satisfied. What if things did not turn out good? God could destroy it and he would change it until he was satisfied. He could just erase it and do it over to exactly how he desired, to his satisfaction. Only when he was satisfied would he stop. At that time, why did he create everything? For his own satisfaction and happiness. All things where created for him. This is the existence, meaning and purpose for all things. So the purpose of our existence is to please God. This tells us a lot about life. There’re only 2 purposes to pursue in life. To please God. Or live to please humans including parents, friends, teachers, bosses or themselves. But our purpose is to please God. Why did he create us? What does he want us to do? He wants us to make him happy. To please God. His creation was good, Is was Excellent actually. When Mozart composed his symphonies, he created every note and every rest to be pleasing to him. Mozart’s music manifests his quality as a musician. God’s creation magnifies Gods qualities as being powerful and good. God‘s creation shows us Gods quality and power. Now what does that show us about us? He created us good. • Light is transparent, it was no color we can see right through it. But without light, we can’t see anything. It has no color but without it we cannot see color. Who can even think of such a thing? This is Gods wisdom and God’s power. Light on the first day, makes it possible for the vegetables on the 3rd day to have life, showing us his order on the earth. We can see how everything has order. In a small leaf there is another universe. Everything is so perfect. The universe is so perfectly in order. Only God can do this. Psalm 19:1 the heavens proclaim the glory of God. Even the Microscopic universe is so vast and orderly according to Gods glory. His glory is manifested in his whole creation and he said, it is all very good. • How did he make everything? Wonderfully and greatly. Everything is self operating and rejuvenating. Why did God create us? For his own satisfaction. In his creation, God created us so wonderfully. There is no reason to suffer from inferiority complex. God made us very Good. I praise you Lord, because I was fearfully and wonderfully made. Why do we exist? We exist to please God. God was so wonderful and great. Now we see why God created us. We must live accordingly. God who created everything good. God is good. We must trust him.
That right there is the most important and meaningful question anyone can ever ask and all of mankind are together trying to figure it out. But why is it so important for mankind to know if there is a creator? Because everyone who is born and who lives a life on this earth is really stuck with trying to figure out what to do. What is there purpose. The only way we can know what to do is to try to figure out where we came from and where we are going. Physically (not Spiritually, to those who can see spiritually, lol), the farthest we can see is birth and death. By that, we see that we should secure 3 meals a day and pay our bills. But theirs something else going on that seems to change everything. We have a spirit. Our consciousness. This cannot be explained by the physical world or by science. Also it seems that our conscious or our spirit is more important that the vessel. So now the question is, where did we come from. Who did all this? Why did he do all this? And what's going to happen. What's life all about? Jesus Christ is the only world view that answers every fundamental question while also being very personal to each individual and has stood up even under the most intense scrutiny history has ever threw it's way. Also what so unique about Jesus Christ. Our of other gods and goddesses, and other object of devotions, he is the only one who say's, He is God who walked the earth. Also, Christianity is the only legitimate world view that say's God wants to live together with you in your daily life inside your body (Holy Spirit). Also consider that the claims are outrageous, yet so many well to do, (sane) creditable people testify that it is so even throughout history.
Personally, I was a critic until I received the Holy Spirit. Then I could never go back. At first I didn't want to admit something like that happened to me, but to deny it insulted my intelligence. and I could not live with myself without seeing if it was true. As son as I started looking, right away, God began making this truly awesome relationship with him. Then I came to realize, life is about having a relationship with God. That's what everything is about. God opens my eyes to a whole new world over and over is so many ways, only he knows how. Because yes, he created it.
I'd like to make a point about god defying logic as you put it...
That was logic in its retarded-infant stage. Pondering tangible things beyong our reach. They also pondered the universe, albeit it was much smaller back then. But now its thousands of years later, and we're still toiling over the same question.
Anyone using the earth or the life on it as proof/evidence that god exists has lost credibility in my opinion.
Agreed. That is a cliche regurgitated church-pamphlet excuse.
Considering the knowledge we have of the universe, gained through observation and science, it just doesn't reconcile with a creator god, it's irrational, incoherent, and irrelevant
Dogmatic crap aside; our knowledge of the universe is limited, and science is limited the medium in which it is used. If the human capacity for learning has a limit, then human science would logically also have a limit.
I find it's based on nothing of substance, it is gravity that ultimately gives the universe design and energy and I don't view that as requiring a creator or how '' the continuous trend toward complexity'' logically has to do with a one.
So you think that nothing is beyond human comprehension?
Basically, I think the universe makes as much and more sense being uncreated so I find a creator of any kind unnessacary.It also leaves the question, what created your creator and if you suppose it can exist uncreated then why couldn't you our universe?
You're proposing a ''choose your own adventure'' of sorts. Either theory comes with its own set of unanswerable questions.
I'm generalizing but that seems to be the case for the most part.
You just haven't met the right kind yet.
god, as in a creator, is not based on scientific reasoning or data, and overall the evidence just doesn't support it... ...I'd consider, but I find it pointless to and unlikely.
Again, dogmatic crap aside, why is it pointless? Are there any scientific theories (with credible evidence) regarding what actually caused the universe to come into existence? What conclusion does the evidence support?
I'd like to make a point about god defying logic as you put it...
Centuries ago geocentricity and flat earth were commonly accepted, It would seem logical to assume the earth was flat, it would seem more logical to think it flat than round, in the same way it would seem like the universe was created by just looking at it.
It would seem logical to assume that the moon made it's own light, but it is not the case when considering the science behind it.
Leads me to my point now,
god, as in a creator, is not based on scientific reasoning or data, and overall the evidence just doesn't support it.
Anyone using the earth or the life on it as proof/evidence that god exists has lost credibility in my opinion. Considering the knowledge we have of the universe, gained through observation and science, it just doesn't reconcile with a creator god, it's irrational, incoherent, and irrelevant
--Do you find it 'unreasonable' to think the beginning of the universe was instigated by an existence or entity, which is beyond our perception and comprehension?--
I find it's based on nothing of substance, it is gravity that ultimately gives the universe design and energy and I don't view that as requiring a creator or how '' the continuous trend toward complexity'' logically has to do with a one.
Basically, I think the universe makes as much and more sense being uncreated so I find a creator of any kind unnessacary.
It also leaves the question, what created your creator and if you suppose it can exist uncreated then why couldn't you our universe?
I guess the hypothetical multi-verse gives the ''intelligent designers'' some hope. ha.
--Are you stereotyping theists? Or have your experiences only involved stereotypical theists?--
I'm generalizing but that seems to be the case for the most part.
--Do you consider that the concept of god can have meaning beyond all the dogmatic crap?--
I'd consider, but I find it pointless to and unlikely.
And you've completely failed to understand what I mean.
Well... don't be so vague...
It is NOT about proof- excuse me for assuming that was easy to figure out from my post. Honestly
You're excused.
By all means let's be objective, but not to the point where we're throwing out all reason.
Do you find it 'unreasonable' to think the beginning of the universe was instigated by an existence or entity, which is beyond our perception and comprehension? Considering the continuous trend toward complexity in our preceivable existence; I don't find it irrational to at least acknowledge the possibility that this complexity would continue.
Theists' conclusions are nothing credible and seem to fall into a few categories: Emotion, Delusion, Illusion, Ignorance or any combination
Are you stereotyping theists? Or have your experiences only involved stereotypical (condemning, preaching, bible-thumping, holy-rolling, chastizing, baptizing) theists? Do you know of any that DON'T fit into this mold? Do you consider that the concept of god can have meaning beyond all the dogmatic crap?
And yes it is my opinion, that I feel I am able to promote and debate.
Yes you are, and I love you for it... now gimme a hug... n___n
And you've completely failed to understand what I mean.
It is NOT about proof- excuse me for assuming that was easy to figure out from my post.
Honestly, I think it should have been clear.
I'm not saying the statement ''god cannot be proven or disproven'' is invalid now read what I put and see if you're able to understand what I mean
--Its funny how both theists and atheists can use 'logic' to reach their subjective conclusions.--
By all means let's be objective, but not to the point where we're throwing out all reason.
Theists' conclusions are nothing credible and seem to fall into a few categories: Emotion, Delusion, Illusion, Ignorance or any combination
In other words, many theists come to their conclusion because they embrace the concept, others use what they think is logic but is based on ignorance and illusion (I.e I can't see how this all happened by coincidence), and others are just assuming or haven't really thought about it.
god in my opinion is mythology, nothing that merits serious consideration and I feel qualified to come to this rational conclusion.
And yes it is my opinion, that I feel I am able to promote and debate.
can you see the wind for example? no,but you know the wind exists even you don't see the air.
Really? Is that the best you can do? The easily debunked 'wind' analogy? Air can be heard, smelled, tasted, and felt. Oh, and you can compress air into a liquid and PRESTO! Its visible. Can you compress GOD into a liquid? NO.
You really need to think harder. You've said NOTHING that hasn't already been said before. You're saying the same stupid things, and making the same wrong conclusions, as dozens of other dim-witted zealots that've come and gone in these forums, because they just DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THEIR OWN RELIGION TO JUSTIFY THEIR BELIEFS.
IF you want to actually CONTRIBUTE to any 'worldly' religious discussions, you first need to understand the difference between:
BELIEVING vs. KNOWING PROOF vs. EVIDENCE PROVING vs. CONVINCING
If you can at least grasp that concept, you'll draw significantly less criticism. Now... go practice...
ahem
...all this pointless bullsh*t aside... NOBODY can answer the question, because NOBODY KNOWS if god does or doesn't exist. NOBODY can prove EITHER...
SO DEAL WITH IT.
--who created plants? lets say nature created plants then who created nature? all these questions prove that there is a powerfull god--
god created it? god created the earth 70% water for a land being?
did god create disease, cancer, hurricanes, and predator animals? I think those would have been good things to have left out.
did god create microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses? what for?
did god create the other planets, stars and galaxies? pulsars, gamma rays and black holes?
SILLY.
The ancients who invented god were very ignorant by today's standard which sheds some light on why a creator seems so irrational.
We take up a miniscule part of our galaxy where we reside in the random outskirts of a spiral arm. To think that we're the product of divine attention is absolutely RIDICULOUS.
There are many many other stars with their own planets our planet just happens to be one which developed life that evolved.
and logic and science explain how we got here.
The whole god deal is nonsense and everything is better understood without god in it.
I 'spose this statement isn't so inane if you disregard all knowledge, science and reason.
Think harder, and remember how the scientific method works. How can you scientifically prove or disprove something that cannot be perceived to begin with?
but for the most part I find it meaningless.
Really? Have you or any one else actually PROVEN that god doesn't exist? CAN you? By all means, TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY. But be sure you understand what 'prove' means before you start... grumpy...
inquiry works by following the evidence to the most logical conclusion.
Its funny how both theists and atheists can use 'logic' to reach their subjective conclusions. The concept of god DEFIES logic.
then our life make no sense as long as we live we will die eventually but don't you think what there will be after that ?god created us on this planet to test us if we are able to understand him and be with him in the after life.if we do not understand him and ignore him we are all gonna die and have one life.then what is the meaning of living one life ignoring the creator?your mother gave birth to you.so you can't deny that your parents brought you to this world,so don't ignore god just because you cannot see him.can you see the wind for example? no,but you know the wind exists even you don't see the air.I hope you are convinced if no,then you don't want to,you refuse the truth and everybody does
Either you believe in a god or you don't. (Or you are hesitant to declare which, for me, was merely a transition point to Atheism.)
But in any case, this is a faith based question, not a factual question. Even an Atheist is dealing with faith because there is no PROOF of the absence of a god, just as there is no PROOF of the presence of one, either.
Whether there actually is / or isn't one is a point that neither end of the debate can PROOVE. My personal thoughts - no god.
There is no YES or NO answer. This isn't a matter of true or false, it's an essay question.
I'm agnostic. I believe the possibility exists, but since there is no proof, no one can know for sure either way. Some would call it 'sitting on the fence'. I believe in a higher power and a certain degree of fate in our lives. Is this God? Maybe. Whatever you believe, you're not right and you're not wrong. Like ichibanarky said, it's your personal faith. That's all there is.
--because NOBODY KNOWS if god does or doesn't exist. NOBODY can prove EITHER--
I 'spose this statement isn't so inane if you disregard all knowledge, science and reason.
but for the most part I find it meaningless.
inquiry works by following the evidence to the most logical conclusion. And from that, I find it appropriate to regard god as mythology.
If you disagree, go do so at a church.
Well... ^ that ^ was certainly pointless...
no you deal with the fact that god exist and we all know that
Its NOT a fact... and you DON'T know that, you simply BELIEVE that... idiot, learn the difference.
and you should know that all religions are based on faith.and only faith nothing else
You just said you KNEW God existed, now you're basing it on faith. MAKE UP YOUR MIND, idiot.
how do you say there is no presence of god, the universe is the biggest proof of god existence so yeah god exist
What about science? And who created god?
And you BELIEVE that there is something taking care of you, it doesn't mean that there is really something taking care of you.
So it seems 'adviceman' has taken to copying other people's longwinded posts, because he cannot contribute any of his OWN thoughts to the discussion... saaad...
By the way... spamming is against the rules...
Do you believe there is?
If you believe there is a God, then there is a God.
If you do not believe there is a God, then there is no God.
It's all directly proportional to your personal faith.
no you deal with the fact that god exist and we all know that,and you should know that all religions are based on faith.and only faith nothing else
if you believe it is then it is. it just all depends on what you believe in. to me, yes god is real, but it is all up to you!
how do you say there is no presence of god, the universe is the biggest proof of god existence so yeah god exist
for me god is present because he takes care of me, and listen to my prayer .isn't that a good proof?
look I did my job here it is not my problem that you don't want to believe in god ,end of discussion
In that case, who created god? What a specious argument angelicgirl
YES YES YES YES YES!! THERE IS A GOD!! :D and he lurrrves us !
I believe there is a God(: and im happy with that conclusion
I don't believe that adviceman exists. How do you prove that?
Is there a more annoying and oft repeated question? No.
You cannot know this one. You can only believe in it...
Oh no Ty are you secretly a fundie? say it ain't so!
Its your answer dont let others make you decide.
It's very unlikely.
YES!
