Christianity and the 5th Disc. LO9100

Bill Richardson (bill@bain.oz.au)
Wed, 14 Aug 1996 17:17:47 +1000 (EST)

Replying to Rich - LO9075

> The question that is raised in my mind is this - Is there room for
> absolute truth? Is there any bedrock?

Assuming the validity of the Christian message (ie that Christ is the Son
of God), the only absolute truth is the knowledge of salvation through the
grace of God through his son, Jesus Christ. God created the universe and
everything in it to suit his plan, which we can never comprehend. Thus our
lack of knowledge is complete. Paraphrased -
1. The boss is always right
2. If the boss is wrong, see rule 1
(Though by definition, Christ's divinity precludes this)

> My belief is problem that many Christians (through the ages) run into is
> defining the water line. ie what is absolute truth versus something that
> changes with increased understanding (Galileo the easy example).

Once again, assuming the validity of the Christian message -

It is very difficult to determine if there is a water line, given the
above assumption that we really know nothing - theology is an
investigation as much as any other science. As someone else has pointed
out, this is the difference between religion and spirituality.

The long history (or success) of religion makes it that much more
difficult to change with gained knowledge - one doesn't want to throw the
baby out with the bathwater (and there is probably much of both :)).
Remember that it is only in the last hundred or so years that the
Christian message has not been central to Western society.

Yet perhaps the message survives not due to the success of the
organisation, but simply because God wanted his message to survive. Yet
religion treats belief as a verb, not a noun. You can see the problem.

Reverting to absolute truth -

Maybe we can learn from the following -
o Success breeds success - Christ's method of teaching via parables is
still among, if not, the, best, and probably a key to a successful LO
o Survival of the fittest - The disciples were sent out into the world
without ANY resources - those that made would have been pretty special.

Please insert smilies as required and have a nice day :)

Bill R

-- 

Bill Richardson, Bain & Co, Sydney, Aust. (Usual disclaimers apply) //\\ Phone (02) 258-1512, (0414) 232-987 // bill@bain.oz.au || You will never be the same, when your eyes meet mine - Radio Birdman. **

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