Well can they?
Different people have different perspectives on this issue. Some believe that it is possible, others that it isn't. Others believe that while it is possible to believe in both, believing in evolution will undermine the faith of the Christian and make full maturity more difficult.
Disclaimer: I take the Genesis account as written, and so don't believe in evolution.
I think it matters what you are converted to. Here's what I mean by that:
Many Christians go off to college and "discover" the theory of evolution. This is incompatable with waht they have been brought up to believe, and this rattles their faith. If they end up believing evolution, they end up NOT believing the Bible.
On the other hand, if you are brought up in a secular environment, like myself and one of my closest friends, Kal, and then you become a Christian, then you can believe in both. I think this is because you are personally convinced of the reality of God, and so you are more able to be content with apparent inconsistancies. Perhaps they are resolved (mine are - I go with the Bible) and perhaps not. Perhaps they are resolved correctly, perhaps not. But it doesn't shake your faith in the same way.
Just my thoughts...
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Friday, 15 January 2010
Thoughts From my Quiet Time
Jeremiah 14:10-22.
Jeremiah in his prayer to the LORD remarks "You are the one who does all this." He means both the sending of the rain so needed for crops and the sending of judgement on the rebellious nation of Israel.
We so rarely realise that today. We are so unlike Job, who remarked "Should we accept only the good from the LORD, and not the bad?" (my paraphrase). We refuse to believe that anything we don't want is from God. No, we say, it is of the devil. Well, the devil has only the power God allows him to have. ALL things are from the LORD!
There is plenty in my life that I do not like, but it is from God to strengthen me for the challenges ahead. This has been so real lately. When some of the children cried for hours I realised this, and it gave me the strength not to get upset. One day I will need what I went through today - even if it is learning how to cope with a child who won't stop crying.
LORD, help me to remember this.
Jeremiah in his prayer to the LORD remarks "You are the one who does all this." He means both the sending of the rain so needed for crops and the sending of judgement on the rebellious nation of Israel.
We so rarely realise that today. We are so unlike Job, who remarked "Should we accept only the good from the LORD, and not the bad?" (my paraphrase). We refuse to believe that anything we don't want is from God. No, we say, it is of the devil. Well, the devil has only the power God allows him to have. ALL things are from the LORD!
There is plenty in my life that I do not like, but it is from God to strengthen me for the challenges ahead. This has been so real lately. When some of the children cried for hours I realised this, and it gave me the strength not to get upset. One day I will need what I went through today - even if it is learning how to cope with a child who won't stop crying.
LORD, help me to remember this.
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
The Painless Sacrifice
Society nowdays is geared towards painless sacrifices. You know, the "only a dollar a day" type. It's marketed to everyone as something that won't hurt.
But not only is it not the type of sacrifice that Jesus wants from us (think the widow and her two mites) but it isn't even the type of sacrifice that WE want to make.
This thought reminded me of two songs, Pussy Willow and The Impossible Dream:
"She longs for the East and a pale dress flowing
an apartment in old Mayfair.
Or to fish the Spey, spinning the first run of Spring
or to die for a cause somewhere."
"This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause..."
The thing is, we all want to sacrifice something. We want to be able to have a no middle ground kind of life. There's a reason there are so many people who are literally willing to die for their cause. It's because deep down, we don't believe in painless sacrifices. We believe in painful sacrifices.
And perhaps the most painful sacrifice of all - that of Christ's, the just for the unjust.
May all of our sacrifices be built on His, and in line with His will.
But not only is it not the type of sacrifice that Jesus wants from us (think the widow and her two mites) but it isn't even the type of sacrifice that WE want to make.
This thought reminded me of two songs, Pussy Willow and The Impossible Dream:
"She longs for the East and a pale dress flowing
an apartment in old Mayfair.
Or to fish the Spey, spinning the first run of Spring
or to die for a cause somewhere."
"This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause..."
The thing is, we all want to sacrifice something. We want to be able to have a no middle ground kind of life. There's a reason there are so many people who are literally willing to die for their cause. It's because deep down, we don't believe in painless sacrifices. We believe in painful sacrifices.
And perhaps the most painful sacrifice of all - that of Christ's, the just for the unjust.
May all of our sacrifices be built on His, and in line with His will.
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