When people insist that the Apostles Creed is where you have to start, its no wonder that you wind up with some people who dont believe in God and other people who dont believe in the World. Peter is 61 years old. ), and you certainly dont hear much about divorce, suicide Read article the other day that said they refused to accept myth as fact. This emphasis on experience is important at a simple, direct level (participating in corporate worship, daily prayer, seeing/hearing God in others, etc. It is a form of knowing often described as contemplative. How do you know these are HIS words? We know by comparing our own, internal, subjective experiences of sight that this is a largely reliable sense. 'The board voted 18-9 to suspend Enns, an Old Testament professor whose book created controversy on how to interpret the . pages we were years from learning The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable To Read It. But one alternative is to have a church, mosque, and a Jewish, Buddhist and Hindu temple, close together on every corner with no ones sign larger or higher than the rest, to remind ourselves we can indeed all truly get along. 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. What do you think of people like George Mller? Some people really like what I say. When a faith fights the fight of certainty of an understanding the world as-is putting iron age as-is foundations against present-day as-is understandings, the battle is already conceded. But by putting these experiences on the table and sharing them, we can say some objective things about them. Here are a couple ways: 1) Do they insist on making incorrect statements about the world as-is? Enns's methodology seems to be in direct conflict with an understanding of Scripture that affirms one divine author (and therefore one truth), and with a hermeneutic that, for the sake of knowing God and his gospel better, seeks to bring the entire relevant teaching of Scripture to bear on a particular passage.36 This is the reason, it seems . Previously he was a Senior Fellow of . Israelite history; Old Testament and ancient Near East; Old Testament theology; biblical theology; wisdom literature; Second Temple Judaism and the New Testament. The more one believes as many as true things as possible about reality and as few of false things as possible about reality enables one to better understand the nature of the challenge, the tools available, and realistic hopes about ground to be gained, next and within the scope of a lifetime. It is based on direct and personal encounter. (Ive blogged on Benner several times, for examplehere. As long as the genes replicate, its worked. Normal people can figure it out. M While specific sins against a particular God, prophet, holy book, holy place, or sacrament, are as diverse as could be. So lets give that a shot. One final question. Roman Catholics and conservative Protestants have much in common and face common enemies in terms of secular humanism and all of the other anti-Christian hate groups and religions of the world. An Atheist Evolutionist Asks a Good Question of Dr. Peter Enns October 22, 2012 It seems that Young Earth Creationists are not the only ones who find BioLogos' attempt to "reconcile science and faith" lacking. not be confused with experience. For the Tibettan Buddhidist, they may experience a vision of the peaceful and wrathful deities. . Also check out The Inner Eye of Love by a Jesuit named William Johnson, or try books by Dom Bede Griffiths, a fellow convert with C. S. Lewis but who spent his life in India dialoguing with people of other religions. The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible does and doesn't say about human origins Jonathan Jong 2012, Theology and Science Abstract In this review, I summarize and critically evaluate Peter Enns's claim that evangelicals ought not read Genesis 13 literally. I am not sure that is the name. So sad to have so much education without conviction. Rather, knowledge of God is described by terms like: immediacy 1. In this context, for practical reasons, some times its time to stop thinking and to take action based upon the best information and limited brains computational power and time available. As is knowledge of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva. Try the works of John Hick, former Evangelical who became a fascinating philosopher of religion and sought a common transcendental basis for them all. If I have the experience of perceiving spiraling motion when looking upon a static optical illusion, you cannot deny that I have the experience of perceiving motion. No matter how much you imagine or try. where Paul regards Adam's disobedience as the cause of universal sin and death from which humanity is redeemed through the obedience of Christ. None can fully understand or explain His Being however hard he my try. To conclude, I'd like to quote Enns one more time. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. And I echo your sentiments on the value of a more contemplative way of life. Here might be some: Healing, forgiveness, graciousness, redemption, justice, protection, universality. Scrivenings Christians depression, suicide. Can I find a certain kind of longing and hope to possibly be filled even on the Trump Train? He argues that the Bible should not be used as a literal "instruction manual but as a model for our spiritual journey," a very liberal take on Christianity. And there seems to be a bit of a one-way mirror phenomenon going on. Sorry for the aimless rambling and thanks again for your post! At best, such persons hopes could make an iron-age reality better. Anyhow, as I have stated before I respect your thoughts and journey, but I do not think it has to be every doubters Journey. Or read my own my testimony where I mention the effect that finding and fully acknowledging goodness in people of all beliefs or none had on me. It certainly seems that way as we compare the experiences of people across faiths. As an admittedly poor psychology major in college, I was particularly fascinated with neurology and how humans process and interpret information/stimuli. So same with spiritual experiences. Its not that we dont know, its that our knowing is ultimately so relative. Furthermore, I believe it just to consider that biases are adaptive. Robert Anton Wilson pointed out how many people cling tightly to a single reality tunnel and dont dare to seek all the ways their tunnel overlaps with that of others. Who said God is a HE? Evidence presented to our reasoning faculties is one way of knowing, not the only way, which is obvious. Here in this comment thread, we havent really talked about the latter. [pp. Why do I believe in God? Thanks Pete, I expressed my full view in a direct response above. In addition, he late dates the Exodus in the mid . Both accounts included a boat in which just a few people, along with animals, are saved from a universal flood. Culturally, we tend to have a project-based approach toward church life. I think about that question a lot. What I have noticed especially in connection with your point about knowing God outside of our default rationalism, Pete, is that both as a church and as individual Christians in the West, we find it difficult knowing how to spend time in silence, or in solitude, away from our faith projects or church systems. And I echo your sentiments on the value of a more actively contemplative way of life. Im familiar with various concepts of God. Instead only their book features inspired writingsthe truth and stories necessary to believe, and of course conservatives, moderates and liberals differ concerning what that book really means or what the most essential and necessary lessons are. Rule out experience and youre forcing yourself into mysticism. Enns' view is that the Bible is essentially a human collection (s) of different stories (by different authors/editors) that have a common reference to "God". Adam's name appears first in Genesis 1 with a collective sense, as "mankind"; subsequently in Genesis 2-3 it carries the definite article ha, equivalent to English "the", indicating that this is "the man". We would then be wise to doubt the veracity of our own sight. . As we come to the end of this year, we begin a new theme for the Daily Meditations. Piper argues that God's judgments are just and shouldn't be questioned. Then here you go! Regardless of Paul's (faulty, through no fault of his own) view of human origins, three very important elements remain in his theology, despite the acceptance of evolution: 1. Enns-FR.jpg. By some measure, through Jesus of Nazareth and the ensuing religion of Christianity, a longing has been fulfilled; there has been great participation. In fact, there are now around two billion adherents to the faith. I dont think God would. I have met lifelong atheists who never got high on Jesus in their youth like you or I did. The rule that clarity is the standard of truth subsequently achieved dominance in the Enlightenment (Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 1 vol edition, 486). Also, be sure to read the book rather than a blurb to see what I am after. Id be interested to know then what your thoughts are with the more broad, inclusive sense of evidence then. I think the sooner the Church heals the Great Schism and returns to the even the faith of Jesus certainly before Constantine and possibly before Paul, the better she will be on a cosmic mission. It seems like deep human contact or contact with God can exist only within the framework of these projects, based on the protocols of the overarching system. He has taught courses at several other institutions including Harvard University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Download Free PDF View PDF. Though I do see you headed in the general direction of Frank Schaeffer author of the recent book, Why I am an atheist who still believes in God. In recent years, Pete has become well known for several highly popular books, including How the Bible Actually Works, The Bible Tells Me So, and the book we discussed with him today: The Sin of Certainty. Doesnt everyone including yourself feel an urge to respond given an open forum and divergent points of view? Thats not to say that understanding the world as-is doesnt matter; it does. I have asked many people who say that they dont believe, what evidence would be sufficient for them to believe that God exists, and I think the opposite, what evidence would be sufficient to convince me that God does not exist This blog was first posted in March 2016. 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. 2. Which may be revealed when two people have mutually incompatible direct perceptions in these experiences. http://infidels.org/library/modern/ed_babinski/experience.html, Speaking of the vibrant Christian life, Leaving the Ministry. As claimed, the Incarnation passed through our material and human existence. He has taught courses at several other institutions including Harvard University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary. How sure are you that those are eyewitness accounts. But you can deny that my experience reflects actual motion in reality. Peter Enns Age He was born on January 2, 1961, in Passaic, New Jersey, in the United States. Im still working on itof course. There is none for 11 Peter, a writing a majority of critical scholarship places at some point in the 2nd century long after Peters death (Wikipedias page on it is a decent starting point showing the various arguments). Lets not let a label lead us toward an equivocation. Really, evidence is simply a modern, western way of coming to belief or faith or knowledge? It just begs the question, which one? Whoever accepts His Attributes to be other than His Person then actually forsakes the idea of Unity of God and believes in duality ( He and His Attributes). Love, compassion, empathy, etc. The Christian scriptures are clear that we can indeed experience God if we respond to Him when He calls us. That is a blessing from God. Most people seem to have never seen or heard a literal voice of God like Abraham or Noah allegedly received. There is a type of love that can only be experience I think by a parent for their child. Instead of humbly stating this belief as an opinion, Joker3857 blatantly says "then dont be one". . apprehension uncluttered by thought Perhaps its ones urge for drinking mothers milk when one is first born (who gave you a mother? If you ask your typical Tibettan Buddhist monk, deeply committed to this same type of contemplative knowing, to describe their experience they will articulate something akin to everything you describe. ), but its also important in a much deeper way. Out of curiosity may I know your position on 2nd Peter. It is vitally important that we respond with a yes when He calls, and this is why humility is sooo important. While the truth of non-material claims can not be measured, the effects of the beliefs in them can be considered and studied. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. Are you willing to also consider; Hindu scriptures, Muslim scriptures, Buddhist, scriptures, Taoists scriptures, etc? Catholics see Angels, Mary and Jesus, Protestants usually just see Angels and Jesus, and one Protestant apparently saw a talking Bible in his NDE, while another claims to have been to heaven dozens of times and seen images from everything In Revelation, and Mormons have their own NDE bulletin, Betty Eade had a bestseller about meeting a Mormon Jesus who was not God, universalist NDEs, then there are Hindu and Buddhist visions and NDEs, like seeing a talking Buddhist turtle god, while native Americans have totem animal visions, and New Agers and some other folks claims to have seen Angels, UFOs, aliens of different species. They explore the potential behind reading the Bible creatively, the dangers of our modernist sense of truth, and the growing desire for . But nonetheless they witness them. 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. Or at least you have come near enough to listen and understand much of what Frank has to say. Legitttttttt. Wonder of breathing and wonder of stars and wonder of babies are indeed wonders. By Edward Wagenknecht, There is also the Alan Watts definition of the difference between having beliefs and having faith. I want to be like you. Are they indeed properly basic?. If there is still to be a link to truth there at all. Peter K. Enns is a Professor in the Department of Government and the Brooks School of Public Policy and Robert S. Harrison Director of the Cornell Center for Social Sciences. It goes without saying that the writings you mentioned can contain interesting concepts, but they do not reveal the God of the universe anymore than an Agatha Christy mystery, which I dearly enjoy. I think the proper locus of religious conviction can help one find meaning in a religion better than help one find a religion. For those who hold the view that the Bible contains an ever-expanding revelation of the truth and knowledge of God from beginning to end, what is to be taken away from your article? Proceeding ahead and remixing words just a bit, Thinking one can prove or disprove the existence of *any* God through rational analysis is to apply to *any* God a wrong way of knowing.. People who can conceive N concepts of God seem more adapt at considering the one concept of God of the person who can conceive one concept of God than people who can conceive one concept of God making sense of the N concepts of God of the others schema. He is a former Senior Fellow of Biblical Studies for BioLogos and author of many books and commentaries, including Inspiration and Incarnation, The Evolution of Adam, and The Bible Tells Me So.His most recent book is The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our "Correct" Beliefs. Which faith offers the greatest fulfillment of the cosmos longings? Peter Enns is Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University, St. Davids, Pennsylvania. One of the things about the Western way of knowing is that it isnt really a Western way of knowing. People who call others incredibly stupid and foolish beyond measure for not sharing their own religious positions ought to take a look in the mirror. Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies, Back to Undergraduate Theology Department, Graduate & Online Undergraduate Admissions, Palmer Theological Seminary and Palmer College. Also, your point about eyewitness testimony is inaccurate. Dr. Enns resides in Lansdale, PA with his wife Sue, and has three adult children. straight into the night our hearts were flung Objectively and factually so. Let us have both a precision of mind and openness of heart in dialoging on these matters. And for doing it at Westminster Theological Seminary, just as Paul Seely did. Deities that the Christian faith does not hold to exist. He has written widely on hermeneutics, Christianity and science, historicity of the Bible, and Old Testament interpretation. These failures in relationships (failure to relate, especially failure to love) are far more damaging than our many failures to understand, our sessions of doubt or even our failures to understand how we know. and Ph.D. Harvard University 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. So please do not think I am trying to quantitize it in some scientific sense. Peter Enns is a very appealing writer evidenced in his The Bible Tells Me So. Pete: I much prefer your brand of Christianity to others, and the world would be a better place if more people thought like you. . Show Notes This episode was . Pages turning A Review by Norman Geisler of Peter Enns's, Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids . Dr. Peter Enns (PhD, Harvard University) is Abram S. Clemens professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University, St. Davids, PA. (Yawn.) But you do know that you know because your knowing has a depth and immediacy to it that is never present in simply knowingabout thingseven merely knowing about God. Even Yale was founded by some conservative ministers displeased at the growing moderation, liberalism and theological excesses as they say it, happening at Havard. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. And it is worth noting that my list is subjective too. All, or none, of the above?). Mitchel Modine. As is our deference in religious spheres to authorities revelations. On what basis is God still an option for you?. Again, while it takes a God-given faith to believe the substance of Peter and Johns testimonies, are we to take from your article that we should not put trust in the authenticity of their writings? Simply, the method yields divergent knowings, perhaps even a different sin of certainty. You are presuming that I am naive about other religions. that Christians suffer like everyone else. Bravo for that! I tend to experience *both* God and people in the manner described. The human mind cannot think alone. I think you are conflating your own journey with mine. But is that version of a Messiah a bringer of healing to all? But, that we ourselves interact, relate, care, love is even more important. Their work involves moving from the phenomenon through the perceptual equipment to the physical biology that makes subjective states objectively real. Specifically on love as a way of knowing. The good news is that those who humble themselves and say yes when He calls do experience Him in an undeniable complete way. Peter Enns (PhD, Harvard University) is the Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. These "ancient, ambiguous, and. . Peter Enns (Ph.D., Harvard University) is Abram S. Clemens professor of biblical studies at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. Bringing people together seems easier when their differences are not discussed. We also know how it may be tricked to produce the illusion of say motion or scale that is not really there. To me there is a sacred goodness in characteristics of the way and Christianitys wins over the centuries are attributable to this. So Im not really sure what your point is. Some people live with more uncertainty than you do. THIS IS CANCELLED: His main public presentation will be Saturday, February 15, at 8 p.m. in Sydnor Performance Hall, Schewel Hall, University of Lynchburg, drawing from . What of our spiritual experiences then? I am committed to encouraging young Christian men and women to explore their faith by engaging Scripture, and in so doing make their faith their own and mature as followers of Christ. 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. One of the hallmarks of progressive Christianity is a rejection of biblical sexuality, and an affirmation of same-sex marriage and premarital sex.

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