Astrophysics

Park Street Cafe had an astrophysicist as the speaker for it's once a month large group meeting last night! He talked about why you don't have to interpret the creation account in Genesis as taking place in 6 literal days. That's nothing new to me and I've believed in an old earth for quite a while, but I'd say Park Street is pretty conservative, so there were definately some people who were like.. whoa! The cool part was that after the meeting I talked to him a little about some of the books I've been reading (Elegant Universe, Constants of Nature) and he knew what I was talking about.

Man's Will Vs God's Will

One of the theological issues I've been thinking about recently is God's will. The book I'm reading (over to the right) definately rasied some questions and with this whole Iraq thing going on it has kind of come to the forefront. First off I think that most of the Evangelical Christians I know haven't really considered this issue in too much depth. I don't mean this as a criticism necessarily, but I feel like there is a bit of a contradiction in some prevalent views. The first view is that man definately has a free will and that we excercise this will in daily life. I'm not sure if the Calvinists have a different take on this, but I'd say most 'Gelicals that I know would back this up. The second issue to consider is "God's will" or "Plan". These terms are used so frequently I'd say they border on (or over) cliche. They boil down to statements like, "I'm searching for a new job and I really want to find God's will in the matter" or "That terrible thing that happened was a disaster, but it must be a part of God's plan". The tendency that I see as a possible contradiction is that "God's will" or "Plan" get's applied to such a detailed level that it could interfere with man's ability to have a free will.

I definately believe that God has "a will" (The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action) and that he even has "a will" (A desire, purpose of one in authority) for me. I know for sure that God's will is that I love my neighbor as myself, and love God with all my heart (All the laws of scripture boil down to these two statements). I'm honestly not sure whether God's will includes that I take job X over job Y. I believe that God has a plan. From scripture I know his plan includes providing a means of salvation and at some point establishing a kingdom (Heaven) for all the faithful. I'm honestly not sure whether God's plan inlcudes me making a green light or even the US going/not going to war.

I think it's really hard to reconcile all these things together and I definately don't claim to have done so. With such an ominous event as a possible war looming you begin to see how it is kind of important. Can you say that a war is or isn't God's will? Can you afford to not really think about it and rely on God having a Plan that will definately work out? The questions are big and important, applying not just to wars, but rippling down to the very details of a Christian's life.