I am not
sure why I am starting a blog but am doing so on the encouragement of others. I
do not know what I have to say that might be of interest to others. But here
goes.
You will
notice that the blog is called "Thoughts of a Scientific follower of
Christ". I think that title needs some explaining.
To start
with I am an evangelical follower of Jesus the Christ who I believe is the
personal manifestation of God on earth during a period starting the first
century C.E. or A. D. if you like, was born and lived as a man but with our sin
and was put to death on a cross by the Roman government having lived a sinless
life and by dying a death he did not deserve he paid a price for the sins of men
who may or may not chose to accept this gift. Jesus rose from the grave and
after spending a shot time with his followers he returned to heaven.
According to the Websters online
dictionary there are a number of definitions of Evangelical. merriam-webster.com
I would
like to look at two of these definitions.
3 :
emphasizing salvation by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ through
personal conversion, the authority of Scripture, and the importance of
preaching as contrasted with ritual
4 :b often capitalized : of, adhering to, or
marked by fundamentalism
The first comes closest to my
view of evangelical with an emphasis of spreading the story of Jesus Christ to
others though the expression of love and ministry. The second is
one I tend to reject. I plan on devoting an entire blog to the last term in 4:b
fundamentalism, so I will not discuss it now except to say that I do not
consider my self as a fundamentalist.
I also consider my self a
scientist. I have a very skeptical scientific frame of mind. I believe there
are naturalistic explanations for the way the world works that can be
discovered through rigorous application of the scientific methodology.
Many people might find this
difficult to reconcile, an active passionate follower of Jesus who believes in a
monotheistic God, who also maintains a scientific world view. Some, from both
schools of thought, argue that these two views are mutually exclusive. I beg to
differ and know of many others who think as I do.
If you have a naturalistic world
view and reject any theistic beliefs, I hope to provide you things to think
about. If you are firmly theistic and want to chose which scientific theories
and data you accept, I hope to provide you with things to think
about.
For the rest of you who find
yourself as I, in the overlap of the Venn diagram of these two paradigms I hope this blog will be a refreshing home,
away form the often strident dialog that often comes from the two seemingly opposing
camps.
Next: Who am I and why do I
think I can discuss these topics.
