ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
August 17, 2016
This is a letter to our friends –
What is He like?
In the last post we reasoned that every person who ever lived can know that there is a creator-God. We concluded that every man (generic) has a choice to honor the existence of God, or seek to deny His existence by rationalizing an alternative first cause.
Such speculation leads to absurd theories. A lifeless golden statue of a calf made by human hands is worthy of worship as a supreme being! A large explosion in space began a chain reaction that caused everything we see to evolve without intelligent design!
Ultimately all that produces concepts of what God is like. That is, man creates a god in his own image!
What can we know of God’s being and personality – given: ONLY our surroundings and ourselves?
God is all-knowing and very big or very fast or both in order to form the universe. Since the universe exhibits great energy and power, God has even more to have created it! Since physical laws hold the universe together, God is omnipresent.
God likes what he created because he arranged for it to reproduce itself. That was his choice. He did not have to do that. God made rocks and dirt and trees and plants and animals. All this is governed by the laws of nature – cause and effect; photosynthesis; instinct.
God also chose to make man. Unlike all His other creations, God made man to be governed by choice – as He himself is governed!
Everything that has life has a means for sustaining that life. Man needs food, water and air – all provided. Man needs liberty to seek those things – all provided. Man needs to gather (make it his property) for it to nourish – all provided. Therefore God wants what sustains man – He cares.
Consider – There is a wholesome means of fulfillment of every need we discover. Now consider – What if you had a real need that could not be fulfilled! That would cause real suffering. Conclusion – God loves you.
This line of reasoning leads to an image of God that is loving, joyous, peaceful (and wrathful!), patient, gentle, good, faithful, humble, self-controlled.
I agree that the Bible teaches all these things. My point is – All men are capable of discovering them on their own and thus, are without excuse,
These columns are archived since 12/10/09
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