It is possible to see the ongoing history of evolution, comprising as it does ever increased complexity and interrelations, as the way that the promise of the past is being fulfilled. Perhaps one of the ways we might see redemption of this kind is to consider that the wonder of human architecture, or the transcendence of music, or the capacity of human love is actually bound up with the meaning of the extinction of past creatures we never knew.
Our stories serve their stories and vice versa. Other equally meaningful and fruitful possibilities of redemption along the road of time no doubt were not explored in order that our road might be. God is always working toward redemption, though the specific realization of redemption is flexible. Is this at all plausible? Is it really possible to have a God who is at every moment working toward the good of each existing individual while also working toward the good of the legacy left by every creature of the past?
In her book Wandering in Darkness , Eleonore Stump explores stories of suffering and redemption. Drawing on the book of Job, she suggests that stories of similar redemptive shape are nested within each other in such a way as to become what she calls fractal. A fractal is a type of self-similar and infinitely complex pattern in which the smallest unit resembles the shape of the whole.
Seen from this perspective, the individual and the system are not set against each other competitively, as is so often the case in reasoning about animal suffering or extinction. At the same time, a view of ongoing, ever-building fractal narratives means that we never relinquish an extinction event to the rubbish heap of history either.
Another way to envision fractal narratives is to think of a photograph that is a complex mosaic of smaller photographs.
The shade, light and texture of each individual photograph are arranged to create a larger image. This kind of photo mosaic is different from a tapestry, because in a tapestry each thread is not a valuable and unique whole in itself. A thread becomes something worthwhile only when it is a part of the finished tapestry. A thread may easily be replaced by any other thread. In a photo mosaic, however, each photograph that acts as a pixel is in fact a complete image in itself——apart from its involvement in the larger image.
But the individual photograph is also a necessary component of the larger picture. The uniqueness of each photograph is, in fact, precisely what makes it a component of the larger image, and its unrepeatable blend of color and shade means that it uniquely fits in that space, better than any other available picture. The levels of the photo mosaic are not limited to just two, either. As we look at a smaller picture, it could itself be made up of a mosaic of still smaller pictures, each a whole in itself.
There is no limit to how small or large the scale may go, and no limit to the complexity of the arrangement. Even this analogy is too static. Each picture remains what it is without change.
Reality and relationships, however, are dynamic. So instead of imagining photographs that merge together to form a great photograph, we should imagine little videos so artfully arranged that together they create a larger, more dynamic video. To the complexity of this picture we must add that each video, both the small and large, are not carefully acted and scripted pieces, but dynamic real-time scenes, full of improvisations.
The end of each individual video, as well as the end of the large-scale video, is not yet determined in detail, and all of the actors have the freedom to determine their own response to divine direction in their own capacity. God winds the texture and reality of each of these into the larger-scale video, which is influenced but not determined by each pixel of its makeup. Two scriptures that come to mind are Romans , in which it seems God's intended future becomes disrupted through the willful resistance of humanity, but God takes the occasion to refashion destiny through turning humanity out into their own devices which leads to a telos in which disobedience keeps humanity in a place for God's merciful returning offer for redemption for humanity Rom.
Paul describes a journey-like movement of God's ongoing redemption that runs through divine weaving of human events along with nature's groaning for eternity toward a telos of completion Romans Sollereder's article completes for me a lot of what I have been striving for in striving for grasping the striving declared through the biblical story toward the glory of God.
I appreciate her contribution, particularly because I am both ordained Lutheran and I dig up dinosaurs. Reactionaries to the article might consider the words of E. Everything can be seen directly, except the eye through which we see. Both are assumptions. Lambchopsuey seems to think to have discovered evil in the world and that the rest of us had not noticed it. In fact, faith in God has always lived with the contradictions, with all sorts of things that may witness against it.
But he needs to take his line of thought further. Instead of merely affirming that the world, as he sees it, makes no sense, the logical conclusion to that line of thought is that neither does reason itself. His conclusion should be that it is not just religion that is absurd, but so is everything else, too, i. But almost no one goes there.
But more than logic is always involved. Therefore, there are no gods. Blogs and letters to the editor are really inadequate for such a topic. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything.
No, God became the Creator because of his desire for people to share in his goodness and glory. And of course that takes place when people are led to embrace Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in faith as their Savior John Keep fighting the thoughts of your sinful nature. It is entirely opposed to God Romans He does uphold basic doctrines such as the Trinity, the virgin birth, and so on. A quick tour of his site suggests he focuses on fundamental doctrines and does not deal specifically with controversial doctrines, since this is not his purpose.
There is no question in your submission for me to answer. If you are looking for more reading material on Christian apologetics, you might be interested in Clearing a Path for the Gospel: a Lutheran Approach to Apologetics.
The book provides detailed information on biology and science, as it presents scriptural teaching. Without Jesus, there is nothing. With him, we have everything we could ever want or need. The Holy Spirit creates saving faith in Jesus through the gospel Romans The Spirit uses that same gospel to strengthen and preserve faith. Hebrew helps puts Genesis 1 and 2 into perspective: we take God at his word when he tells us how he created all things.
God was the only one present at creation. To claim a different way in which this world came about is to call God a liar. You can trust Jesus. Statement of Beliefs. By accepting this message, you consent to our cookies on this device in accordance with our cookie policy found in the WELS Privacy Policy , unless you have disabled them. We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 13 1 2. Were there really dinosaurs on earth? If so, when and how is this compatible with the Genesis account of creation? I am struggling with the biblical account that the earth was created in six, hour days. There is significant scientific evidence that the earth and the universe are significantly older.
Carbon dating is just one example of a scientific method that helps determine the age of historical objects. As an example of evolution that we see, bacteria are constantly mutating based on exposure to anti-biotics. Man bred wolves to become multiple breeds of dogs; is that evolution? I would appreciate your response to these questions. When were angels created? What do I do when my child's public school teaches evolution? I very much believe in creationism.
Does the Bible preclude life on another planet? With the vastness of space, we often hear of other planets that could be capable of sustaining life. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions.
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Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page. Were there really dinosaurs on earth?
If so, when and how is this compatible with the Genesis account of creation? Hours: Monday-Friday a.
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