By Flip Huggenvik
Big Spring, MN
Herb Panko’s comments on my rebuttal to his original commentary piece are interesting. And he does make some good points on contradictions and the literal interpretation of the Bible. I am a Gentile…a non-Jew. The Bible was basically written by the Jews, about the Jews, and for the Jews. (With the exception of Paul’s letters to some of the Gentile believers.) It is definitely a Jewish book. I have read it cover to cover more than a few times, and it is largely a mystery to me, a Gentile.
The Biblical “scholars” that Mr. Panko refers to have been tearing this book apart since it’s inception in 300 AD. Like so many, Herb and I could go back and forth, tit for tat, every week, for years. But understanding it’s intent?…this Jewish Bible was not written as a book of historical facts, but as Billy Graham puts it: “the Bible is a love letter from God.”
There is one claimed “truth” found in the New Testament that a few choose to believe and many (like Herb) choose not to believe: Christians believe God showed up on this earth in the form of a man…Jesus the Christ. And why would he have to do that?
You would think this glorious and awesome creation of earth and nature would be enough to point one towards a belief in the Creator. This creation is evidence and proof that a masterful Creator exists, and is in control. A Creator that appreciates beauty and diversity and curiosity and experimentation and discovery and wonder and humor and awe and joy. All perfect and harmonious. Our majestic blue planet is His crown jewel in His vast universe. You would think that would be enough.
But no. It wasn’t enough. The human race was in a major downward spiral. Many gods, and spirits, and belief systems. Immoral philosophies and practices and misguided religions. Misunderstanding and stupidity and violence and hatred and bigotry…all run amuck. Multiplying over the years. A lost direction. A lost condition. We needed a lifeline. The human race needed a savior.
So, the Creator came to earth as a man to reveal His true nature. And His nature turns out to be: an incomprehensible love for us lowly humans. It is hard for me to reject this. I choose to believe it.
Herb closes with a great point. “…the Bible, like any other literary masterpiece, does not have to be factually true to be a source if inspiration and beauty.”
God rewards those who sincerely seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) You just have to start looking.
Flip Huggenvik says
Mr. Panko. I am trying to have a civilized adult conversation with you. But you go right in the gutter: “This is a reasoning error one would expect from a 5th or 6th grader, but not from an educated adult” ? I am starting to wonder if the objective with your writings is to inflame. It is not uncommon in the media today.
You can believe, or not believe in evidence and proof. Jurors do this. Some believe in the evidence and proof in front of them, and some do not.
Herb Panko says
Please explain to me how l can have “a civilized adult conversation” with someone who equates opinions and beliefs with facts and evidence. I would love to have an “adult” conversation with you. All you have to do is begin by saying the following: “I know l don’t have facts, evidence, or proof to back up most of my beliefs, but I choose to have faith and realize other faiths are just as deserving.” Then we can begin our “adult” conversation.
Herb Panko says
Mr. Huggenvik: I appreciate your acknowledgement of several valid points that I made in my last article. Most evangelicals would never do that, so thanks. However, I must call attention to a gigantic flaw in your reasoning. You state that the creation of earth and nature “point one towards a belief in the Creator. This creation is evidence and proof that a masterful Creator exists, and is in control.” Here you make the same mistake that most fundamentalist believers make. You conflate “belief” with “proof,” and “evidence.” “Belief” is not “evidence” or “proof.” This is a reasoning error one would expect from a 5th or 6th grader but not from an educated adult. Obviously you want desperately to have your religious beliefs to be factually and literally true. Your desperation and emotions get in the way of sound logic. Of course, wouldn’t we all like there to be a fatherly-like god up in the sky to watch over and protect us, granting our cherished wishes. But at some point in our maturation we must abandon our Sunday School thinking and re-define or re-imagine a different “god” concept, one that avoids the simplistic and concrete. You see as soon as we start defining a god with specific human-like, concrete qualities, we have diminished him, her, it. We then have actually destroyed this god because a god that can be known or described has no infinitude or divine essence and is therefore not worthy of our worship. I prefer the theologian Paul Tillich’s definition of the holy or divine. He states that “God is the ground of all being.” I don’t think one dares to be any more specific than that. May life treat you with kindness.