God

In the Beginning – God

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We have finished the 1st two of 24 online classes in the “Principles of American Government” (PAG) course. A few details may interest you:

“Context” – When you teach, always create a context for the subject.

Suppose I were to begin telling you about some sequins. I would specify the colors, the dimensions, the material, etc. – You would be wondering, “Where do I store this data? Why do I need it?

Suppose I said, “The earth is a sphere drifting in space. It is surrounded with an envelope of gas and its surface is solid and liquid (land and sea). The land is divided into continents. Off the continent we call Europe are some large Islands we call Britain. London is a large city in Britain. There is a Shakespearian theater in London. On that stage is a cast of the play “Othello.” The actor playing Othello is wearing velvet slippers. I want to tell you about the sequins on his slippers. NOW – You know where to “store” the data.

God teaches in context. The first sentence in the Bible:

In the beginning ,,,”

In the beginning – what?

In the beginning, God …”

In the beginning, God – what?

“In the beginning, God created …”

It takes a whole bunch of verses to get down to grass and trees – eventually, to Adam – finally He got it right! He made Eve!

Think about the context. Suppose God had made the cow before He had created a pasture. One confused cow!!

I have discovered – when you seek to create “context” for any subject, if you go back far enough, you always end up with God, the “first cause” of everything.

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Download: Natural Theology – Winkie Pratney notes.pdf

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In the Beginning – God!

–By Ben Gilmore

In the Beginning God...
In the Beginning God...

  “They who assert that a blind fatality (random chance) produced the various effects we behold in this world talk very absurdly; for can any thing be more unreasonable than to pretend that a blind fatality could be productive of intelligent beings?  There is, then, a prime reason:…
[Charles Montesquieu (1689 – 1755) , “The Spirit of Laws”]

The writings of Montesquieu, like those of Sidney, Locke, Blackstone …were read and honored by those who formed America’s government.  A common thread in in their understanding was the existence of a “prime reason”, a First Cause (God).

Today, those who understand the existence of this First Cause are divided into innumerable camps (denominations and sects).  Were we united in some fundamental understanding, nothing would be impossible for us.  [Genesis 11:16]  God’s opponents want to keep us divided.

They, the ungodly, understand human nature.  We take our corporate “identity” by our differences, rather than our common understanding that there is indeed an eternal, all powerful, all present, all knowing First Cause (God).

I suspect, should this unique God release a wave of righteousness across America, it would be opposed by a large part of America’s churches, “because it did not originate with us.”

The ungodly adopt a false presupposition:  This first cause is a blind fatality (random chance).  In order to support their idea that everything developed without intelligent design their theory demands eons of random occurrences.  Even then, there is no response to Montesqueiu’s challenge regarding “intelligent beings.”

  “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’.”  [Psalm 14:1]

On the other hand, honest observation and reason demand the existence of God!  The Genesis (6-day) account of creation by an “Intelligent First Cause” is far more reasonable!

“But,” respond the ungodly, “How do you explain the “evidence” of million year old rocks and light from stars light-years distant?

I will begin by asking if the first man could reasonably have occurred by random chance as a fertile ovum?  Of course not!  Thus, when this first man, Adam, was only moments old, how old did he appear?

Further: Prior to Adam’s creation, the Genesis account states that everything for Adam’s continued subsistence (the garden of Eden) had been created.  Had Adam sawed down  a tree in that garden, would he have discovered tree rings?  It is unlikely a tree without tree rings would not have strength to stand and bare the weight of fruit.

Tree rings can be used to trace the history of the tree (wet and dry seasons).  But the trees were only days old!  Thus, we discover that this Creator God also created a virtual history for the tree.

Any Intelligent First Cause able to create the stars should have no problem creating the light rays from those stars at the same instant!

HOW BIG IS YOUR CONCEPT OF GOD?

  Next, I hope to show how reasonable men may discover the attributes of this First Cause (God).

Ben Gilmore
[Contact Ben]

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Ben Gilmore 1929-2023

On March 30, 2023 Ben Gilmore, the co-founder of ACHStudyGroups (co-founded with his wife Fran), went to be with the Lord in Glory.

A Memorial: https://www.mykeeper.com/profile/BenGilmore/