John wrote:
I do not believe you.
Full of Doubt... <sigh> I know.
John wrote:
but if you do not want ot give a concise statement
of your belief relating to what I have written, I think
I understand why.
Asking for a concise statement of my belief is fine, but that is not what
you asked me for. You asked me to correct you. I cannot correct that which
is unintelligible.
In concise form, here is a statement of my belief relating to what you have
written. I believe Adam and Eve were real people. I believe Adam was
created as Genesis says, from the dust of the ground, and I believe that Eve
was created from a rib taken from his side. I do not believe that we are
genetically descended from Apes, which are supposed to have descended from
reptiles, which are supposed to have descended from amphibians, which are
supposed to have descended from fish, which are supposed to have descended
from invertebrate aquatic creatures, which are supposed to have descended
from some simple single celled organism, which is supposed to have been
created through some undemonstrated process of abiogensis. I believe that
Adam and Eve were not created as mortal creatures. They as well as the rest
of creation ate only plants, not animals. Animals did not kill each other
for food; hence, there was no death. A time came when Adam and Eve sinned.
Eve, having been deceived by Satan, joined him in his rebellion against
Yahweh. Adam, in his love for Eve, followed her. This brought death upon
him that very day. I believe that drastic changes took place, and began
taking place at a rapid rate, within his physical body. The chemistry of
his body changed, as did the chemistry of the rest of creation.
Evolutionary processes began shaping the destiny of both man, animals, and
plants at a drastic rate, much higher than the levels presently observed.
Those processes quickly selected flesh which exhibited behavior that was
selfish, propagating those genes that yielded sinful behavior into the
population of man. For example, righteous Able's descendants were cut off
by Cain, yet Cain's descendants propagated and flourished in the earth. To
make matters worse, angels joining in the rebellion against God began
producing children by cohabitating with women of human kind. This
introduced additional genetic material and contributed to the process of
man's flesh becoming exceedingly sinful. The world became so bad, that God
had to destroy it with a flood. I believe that only 8 souls survived this
flood. The flood brought huge environmental changes to the earth. Prior to
the flood, the atmospheric conditions were much different. There had been
no rain. Seasons were much more mild. Soon after the flood, in the days of
Pelag, the continents split apart and rapidly moved apart, creating oceans
between the land masses. The lifespan of man rapidly declined in response
to these environmental changes. Evolutionary processes, once again, took
off at a rapid rate, evidenced by the production of giant men like the
Anakims. Such again directed the flesh toward more selfish / sinful
behavior. Therefore, as we come to our time, I have an understanding that
behavior which comes from the flesh is inherently selfish, and, therefore,
inherently sinful. The spirit, on the other hand, has a lamp of God within
it, a spark of the Logos. That lamp is deadened, however, by the usurpation
of the flesh. As we get older and our mind is able to begin to hear the
voice of the conscience and hear the Logos actually articulated by those who
have been touched more readily by Him, our spirit begins to respond to that,
if we are inclined with a love toward the Logos. On the other hand, if we
hate the Logos within our heart, we flee from such. At the same time, the
Holy Spirit is at work calling those whom he wills, and at some point, many
of us find ourselves experiencing a new birth, not a birth of the flesh, but
a birth of the Spirit. The weight of our sins is lifted, our conscience is
suddenly clear and alive. We slowly but surely begin to apprehend the
things of God's kingdom. This leads us to pursue the kingdom that we might
possess it. In order to pursue the kingdom, we understand that
righteousness is required. The flesh, on the other hand, has no interest in
such things. Therefore, we must completely surrender ourselves unto the
Logos and trust in Him with all of our hearts. This necessitates ignoring
the flesh, and even considering it dead. It means putting down those
temptations that would lead us toward that which is against the Logos, and
embracing all that is about the Logos. So is born the spiritual man, the
one who denies himself and his flesh, and follows Jesus Christ with his
entire being, looking forward to the time when his flesh will die and he
will be reborn in the flesh as he has already been reborn in the spirit.
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