I think it would surprise you, Robert, if you and I got a chance to sit down and discuss beliefs. We would probably match up on several things.
Since you're an art major, allow me to explain what I mean: God is a lot like an priceless work of art; like a Waterhouse or a Brueghel. It is what it is and what it is is unchangeable. However, whenever new eyes find the canvas it becomes something else and that changes with every pair of eyes. The art is still art, but the application and purpose of the art changes because each person who sees it needs it to do something else for them. Some people see The Birth of Venus and find it erotic, some see love, some see comfort, some see a mother, some see pornography, some are untouched. The real beauty of the art is nothing inherent at all--well, maybe a little--; instead the beauty is that every emotion evoked and every thought created is real, true, and applicable. What I love is real and what you love is real. What I hate is real and what you hate is real.
That is the beauty of God. The Bible serves only as a window through which we may view the way the Jews, the Greeks, the peasants, the farmers, etc. viewed God. It helps us learn. Even the things that are factual errors show the things that were important about God to that author. With that in mind, every religious book, blog, paper, thought, tradition, article, translation, etc. becomes a new chapter in the Bible. It all serves as our ability to view the things about God that are important to another believer and/or non-believer.
The beauty is that if someone is looking for an immuteable, concrete truth then they've found that very thing in their own belief system. It may not look exactly like another person's, but for you it is concrete, valid, and perfect. With time it may change for you, for me, for anyone, but at any given time you are experiencing your truth.
That's beautiful.
That is the beauty of God. The Bible serves only as a window through which we may view the way the Jews, the Greeks, the peasants, the farmers, etc. viewed God. It helps us learn. Even the things that are factual errors show the things that were important about God to that author. With that in mind, every religious book, blog, paper, thought, tradition, article, translation, etc. becomes a new chapter in the Bible. It all serves as our ability to view the things about God that are important to another believer and/or non-believer.
The beauty is that if someone is looking for an immuteable, concrete truth then they've found that very thing in their own belief system. It may not look exactly like another person's, but for you it is concrete, valid, and perfect. With time it may change for you, for me, for anyone, but at any given time you are experiencing your truth.
That's beautiful.
