It is Humanly Impossible to Have all the Answers
Herbert W. Armstrong seemed to think that he had all the answers about life on earth. He had "the mind of God", understood the "future" and generally considered himself far and above all other human beings on planet earth.
Of course Herbert W. was not alone because the world has always had such personalities who saw themselves as "God" in the flesh. They may never have stated that they were "God" on earth, but they implied that they were at the "right hand" of God and represented Him. The Mormon Church, the Jehovah Witnesses, the Roman Catholic Church and many others have had the same human idea. It is not really any different than all the human governments of men who also think that they have a "right" to totally control your life from the cradle to the grave, because "its the law." Without force, governments of men would not exist. Without persuasion and deception the religions of men would not exist.
In the long run does anything among human beings really matter? One hundred percent of all human beings will exit life on earth. Will the belief that "the Bible is infallible and inerrant" really make a difference when human beings have returned to dirt in the grave yards? Will being a republican, democrat, communist or any other political concept make a difference when all such people are in their graves? Ultimately it seems that the things that humans place such great emphasis upon are really nothing more than dust in the wind. Who has a voice in the grave?
We argue, we antagonize one another, we differ and we all have strong opinions. In the end we all perish and most of us will never make a dent in human life on earth. We criticize one another and we are sure that what we think is what "truth" is. I suspect that God Himself is far more intelligent than we know or can comprehend. Anyone who has lived FOREVER (God) has to be exponentially more knowledgeable and wise than mere humans, whose short life span is ridiculous in terms of eternity. The age of the Internet has changed the playing field of human life. At least until the human governments of men, who always live in fear of losing their power, censor the Internet, the world currently has the most advanced means of human communication the world has ever known. Knowledge is more readily available than ever in the history of human life on earth. Unfortunately there are still millions of human beings who never take advantage of the vast amount of information that is available through the Internet. Of course as with all human media, the Internet is both a source of truth and also propaganda.
There is no religious group or organization on earth, anymore than there is any human government on earth, who has all the answers to humans issues or human problems. The "law courts" of human governments are no more the source of right and truth than any other human system of men on earth. Placing faith in men is in fact a misplaced faith and it matters not whether that faith is in "pastors", churches, politicians or human governments. All men are human and that includes those who penned the so called "Bible" and those who form human governments.
Tenacious "faith" in the Bible is not based upon reason or human intelligence, but is based upon indoctrination and human emotion. Bible apologists don't really have all the answers about "the Bible", they just deceive themselves that they do. Is there any human being on earth that is worthy of placing total faith in? Many church goers seem to place undying faith in their local "pastors" as if these individuals know and understand what "truth" is, but it is a juvenile deception. Faith in God is one thing, but faith in any human leader is another matter altogether, for the simple reason that the leader also is a human being with bias and human nature. It is simply outrageous that so many sit in church pews and think that what someone standing in a pulpit says is the unvarnished truth. This is in fact why so many fall into a bottomless pit of darkness by believing that Herbert W. Armstrong was "the" representative of God on earth in our day and age. A TOTAL DECEPTION!!!
None of us have absolute truth, even though we all think that what we believe is what "truth" is. We all convince ourselves that what we think is what "truth" is. It applies to all humans, including Bible apologists, atheists, Deists, agnostics or whatever we have been indoctrinated to believe, or whatever has shaped our thinking. We are all unique and so we believe based upon our own personal human experiences and the total input into our minds and thinking. Without doubt we are all one-hundred percent influenced by other human beings. Do they really know what they are talking about and what influence shaped their thinking?
It is humanly impossible to have all the answers.
Van Robison
3 comments:
Does that mean I can't believe my pastor when he says the following? "We have men who have studied all these things. Just believe what we tell you."
Does that also mean when he says, "The Bible is the most accurate history book ever written." that I can't believe him?
I am so dis-illusioned and glad I no longer have any illusions!!!
I failed to add this comment. I no longer look for absolute truth like I once did. I no longer accept the premise that anyone has absolute truth like I once did.
I now seek better understanding about the things I previously understood as truth. The vast majority of my discoveries are this. I didn't understand at all! I just accepted as truth the things I was told.
I would say I was most gullible and naive. But the search for better understanding continues. As Carl Sagan once said, "We have traveled this way before and there is much to be learned."
Armstrong isn't about finding answers, it's about finding a place for malcontents.
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