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August 02, 2004
Knowing about God
From Pope's Essay on Man, Project Gutenberg edition:Even so. We have very little data on God, though a considerable amount on Man.
Say first, of God above, or man below
What can we reason, but from what we know?
Of man, what see we but his station here,
From which to reason, or to which refer?
Through worlds unnumbered though the God be known,
'Tis ours to trace Him only in our own.
Posted by erasmuse at August 2, 2004 11:09 AM
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Comments
The first "data" that pops into mind is Creation itself - complex, intricate, beyond understanding, orderly, mammoth, benificent.
And if Godly, must it not be purposeful?
Posted by: Anonymous at August 2, 2004 10:34 PM
Yes-- the Creation certainly is a datum for us to learn about God. But our data is very limited. Some of it comes from Nature, some from viewing Man, some from the BIble, and some from History generally. But we can't expect to get as complete a picture of God as we can of Man. That is one reason Faith and Grace are so important. I don't think we'll get unbiased, open-minded people to agree on God, because the data is incomplete nad can be interpreted more than one way.
Posted by: Eric Rasmusen at August 8, 2004 11:25 PM