Iron Bru › Forums › Non Football › Idiot of the Year › Reply To: Idiot of the Year
Deerey wrote :’Interesting point about ‘fossil fuels’. How do Christians reconcile using a fuel that they perceive to be the result of Satan putting some living forms behind rocks to deceive us? Satan’s fuel – shouldn’t more Christians be pushing for renewables? Apologies for the aside – I know how ‘going off topic’ bothers some.’
Deerey’s question is, as he says, off the main topic. But I thank him for it and can’t resist at least a brief(ish) acknowledgment.
This is a development from Gurney’s previous puzzlement: ‘ Incidentally, as a practising Christian you might take issue with the expression ‘fossil fuels’. Fossils are usually over 10,000 years old, considerably older than the bible suggests for the age of the earth. How on earth does a practising Christian (Catholic sic) reconcile that?’
I think the kernel of the question ..( if Deerey would indulge me for starting with a question he didnt directly ask).. may have already been touched upon in several other threads. This centres on the notion that no intelligent or educated person could surely be an advocate of whatever it is that ‘Christians’ are supposed to believe, especially in matters of Science which surely has to be seen as at odds with their worldview. I certainly remember giving a detailed and lengthy
response to IAs assertion that belief in ‘Fairy Tales’ will die out as people get more educated and intelligent in their thinking. I listed any number of historic and contemporary figures who describe or described themselves as Christians, including a range of modern Scientists and Nobel Prize Winners. I would dig it out and post it again if requested.
An easily read Article is accessible on PDF simply by Googling ‘A Christian physicist examines the Age of the Earth’ by Dr Steven Ball.
More specifically to Deerey and Gurney’s actual questions I would first say that not all Christians believe the same about all things. Thats why there have been Synods and Councils and schisms and new denominations throughout history. Quite creative in some cases but,tragically, all too often pathological and deadly. A certain poster on this Forum has very different views and approaches to me and yet we read the same Bible.
My view on fossils, Gurney, irrespective of what Catholics may or may not assert, is that they reflect the reality that God probably created the Earth several Billion years ago. I find no contradiction between my faith and trust in the Bible .. although I recognise that many Christians find it difficult to distinguish between the different styles of writing in the 66 Books of the Bible. Some are History, some are Poetry, some are Prophecy, some are Apocalyptic etc. Sometimes statements are to be taken absolutely literally and some may be Hyperbole, Rhetoric, Mataphor etc If every Christian were to take literally and obey every single statement of Jesus then there would be Churches full of people with no right arms and with eyes plucked out! Thats just one crude example.
From that, Deerey, you can see that I don’t need to find an explanation for fossils centring on a Satanic scam to plant fossils and fool everyone. Personally I’ve not come across that one in the circles in which I move but I’m sure that it’s one of several explanations given.
To throw out another provocation ..and possibly to be more ‘on topic’ .. as a Christian I do believe that not only is God the Author of all Creation but also that He sustains it and will one day remake it. Hence, whilst I have care and concern for the environment and feel that we are to steward Creation wisely, I dont have any deep Climate anxiety. Just as He made the cycle that gives us life giving freshwater rainfall and Osmosis and Transpiration to see vegetation grow, so He gave us just the right amount of radiated heat and Sunlight…. just the right atmospheric conditions for life … and BOOM .. deposited coal and oil and natural gas as energy sources along with wind, sunlight and water along with huge potential in the structure of atoms for energy release by ‘splitting’, fusion or even more. Our job is moderation in all things and wisdom in any transitions.
OOps. What did I say about brief?