a The Biblical Faith that God is the Creator	3Back to Home

4 Navigation --------------- Homepage St. Matthew St. Matthew 2 St. Mark St. Luke St. Luke 2 St. John St. John 2 Acts of Apostles Acts of Apostles 2 --------------- The Letters --- Romans --- 1. Corinthias --- 2. Corinthias --- Galatians --- Ephesians --- Philippians --- Colossians --- 1. Thessalonians --- 2. Thessalonians --- 1. Timothy --- 2. Timothy --- Titus --- Philemon --- Hebrews --- James --- 1. Peter --- 2. Peter --- 1. John --- 2. John --- 3. John --- Jude --------------- The Apocalypse

It is the Biblical faith that God is the Creator. He has a purpose for this world or he would not have created it. Since he has placed us here, it is clear that he wants us to help to carry out his purpose right here where we are. Our job is not to escape from God's world but to live within it in such a way that we further his purposes. To believe in creation is to believe in the necessity for ethical action in conformity with the will of God. It is the Biblical faith that the Word was made flesh, that God sent his own Son into the world to live the life of men, not as a superman or a "pretend" man, but as a real man. This means, clearly, that the world, the flesh, and the body are of concern to God, since they represent the arena in which God chose to reveal himself. We cannot indulge in the idle luxury of being concerned merely with "spiritual things" when God so obviously has been concerned with "material things." This is why we can speak of Christianity as the most "materialistic" of all the religions. We are not to reject the body, physical life, the good things around us, but to affirm them and use them joyfully. To put it most concisely from the point of view of Biblical faith, matter matters. It is the Biblical faith that God sent his Son to save men. He apparently thought that we were worth all the anguish and torment of a shameful death upon the cross. He chose to come to us in Christ and win us back to him, even if that was the price that had to be paid. It surely follows that if men are worth that much to God, they must be of worth to us. Anything that is a degradation of the humanity which Christ comes to redeem is a denial of God and of his love. This means that . . . a slum, a discriminatory clause in a real estate contract, a sign "For Whites Only," . . . are contrary to God's purpose and are offenses not only against man but against the God who came to save men. In each case, you see, the belief carries implications in the field of action. And so we have another variation on the theme, "Religion and ethics go together." With which variation, the defense rests. God conquers death God gives us the power to conquer The Only Real "Answer" A Question You Can't Avoid Some Current Answers -- a Dime a Dozen The First Part of the Biblical Answer What Is the "Image of God"? Some Consequences The Second Part of the Biblical Answer What Sin Is Supplying Some Documentation What Sin Is Not Getting Straightened Out How Can I Be Changed? The Third Part of the Biblical Answer The First Step After the First Step The Heart of the Matter Not Once and for All Some Hints for Growing -- Tried and Tested A Final Warning Why Isn't "Individual Religion" Enough? The Case Against the Church -a Bagful of Objections When Did the Church Get Started? Just What Is a "Covenant"? The "New Covenant" Becomes a Possibility Those Words of Jesus to Peter Those "Upsetters of the World" A Rebuttal of the Case Against the Church Why the Church? Last Judgment? Second Coming? What Do They Mean? The Inescapability of Eschatology The Point of Biblical Eschatology: History Is Going Somewhere The Dangers of Literalism Exploring New Testament Eschatology The Kingdom of God A Few Bits of Help The Gift of God Schatology and "What I Do Today" What Happens When I Die? Sheol -- Where God Is Not Present The Community of the Resurrection Paul's Attempt to Describe the Christian Fact A "Spiritual Body" The Facts of the Case I Try to Live a Good Life. Why Isn't That Enough? The "Micah" Variation The "Worship and Action" Variation The "Therefore" Variation The Biblical faith that God is the Creator