We as Christian's worship a glorified Jew. We believe God is Triune -- localized in heaven -- yet omnipresent, even within us. When we try to visualize this God -- right now -- what do we envision? Perhaps a large "Spirit-being" "sitting" on a "throne" in another dimension, with a physical-ish Jesus seated next to him, meanwhile the Holy Spirit is...hovering around...in the midst of innumerable angels, elders, and saints "glorifying" this invisible God continually. This is literally happening right now.
This biblical and ancient view of God fits snugly in ancient Jewish minds, perhaps against the backdrop of a three-tiered cosmos or the like. But in our more honest and reflective moments, perhaps we start to experience cognitive dissonance when we internalize the nature of our universe and our place in it. Our modern minds struggle with our reality, our existence, our knowledge, and the one we hold dear and regard as revelatory. Suddenly the God of the bible seems out of place. Here we are with our smartphones in hand, spinning on this pale blue dot in an absurdly vast cosmos, one earth-like planet among billions in one galaxy...among billions...and God is waiting in heaven for the pre-determined time when his glorified sandals will touch down once again in Jerusalem (Acts. 1:11).
OT scholar Peter Enns shares similar thoughts and struggles in his recent blog post. Check it out and share your thoughts.
This biblical and ancient view of God fits snugly in ancient Jewish minds, perhaps against the backdrop of a three-tiered cosmos or the like. But in our more honest and reflective moments, perhaps we start to experience cognitive dissonance when we internalize the nature of our universe and our place in it. Our modern minds struggle with our reality, our existence, our knowledge, and the one we hold dear and regard as revelatory. Suddenly the God of the bible seems out of place. Here we are with our smartphones in hand, spinning on this pale blue dot in an absurdly vast cosmos, one earth-like planet among billions in one galaxy...among billions...and God is waiting in heaven for the pre-determined time when his glorified sandals will touch down once again in Jerusalem (Acts. 1:11).
OT scholar Peter Enns shares similar thoughts and struggles in his recent blog post. Check it out and share your thoughts.
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