Reflections

Thoughts about living a more beautiful story.

Don Jaques 10/2/23 Don Jaques 10/2/23

The only thing that counts (part 2)

If “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” what does this mean about the “non-negotiables” of our Christian beliefs about salvation? Here are some thoughts from a Facebook conversation.

How far away is God, anyway?

To the people who wrote the Bible, the organization of the universe was quite simple. There was “down here”, “up there” and “down there”. It was a 3-tiered cosmos.

There was no solar system. There were no galaxies. There were no billions and billions of miles of empty space in all directions outside the atmosphere of a spherical planet. There was just this place, and it was the center of God’s attention and activity.

But now, since Copernicus 500 years ago and especially since Galileo 400 years ago, we know better. There is no “up” and “down” from a rotating spherical planet that is part of a solar system in a small galaxy among billions of galaxies in a rapidly expanding universe. If God is “up there” and the devil is “down there”, where exactly are those places?

Can we talk about eternity and hell?

Scientists believe the earth is 4.5 billion years old. Stretch those years across the 100 yards of a football field and you go over 90 yards before you start seeing mammals appear on the earth. Humanity as we know it shows up in the last inch before the goal line. Your life and mine are less than 1/1000 of a millimeter on this football field.