quote:
I have not by this time learned new things, whereby my disputing may cast down every claim of yours by knowledge, but I have increased the knowledge of science within me, through the reading of the theory you affirm, which though it intrigues me, I do not believe, by reason of my faith in the Word of God.
No, your faith is in men who tell you that the Genesis stories are the word of God and tell you that God meant them literally - and who try to gloss over the disagreements (have you noticed how the story starting in Genesis 2 portrays a much smaller God, than Genesis 1, that it’s much more like a pagan myth?).
I don’t think those men are worthy of such trust.
quote:
But I ask you this: if they agree: if you can somehow show they agree for my sake, that I may believe the word of God, and yet not disbelieve science. But if it is clear that they disagree, then the word of God, in that my faith will remain.
If you insist that the Genesis stories are literally true then they do not agree well with science. There are concordists around who try to find agreement but if you want to speak to them I think you should try elsewhere - like the
Peaceful Science forum.
Or perhaps Kenneth Miller’s book
Finding Darwin’s God might be of interest (although I haven’t read it)
quote:
I ask you also, although to further my knowledge of logic, already have I begun, what books would supply my mind with clearer thinking. For many books I have read on style, but none on how to think.
I would suggest that the first thing to do is to explain your points. Quoting a Few Bible verses without any explanation, for instance, is not good for anyone - and when you seem unable to explain when asked, I’d say you have a problem.
I think your problem is that you put conclusions first, and your thinking is just attempting to find excuses to dismiss anything that threatens them. That is no way to understand or to find the truth.
Start with the facts - and make sure that they are actual facts - before coming to conclusions.
For instance it’s a fact that not one book of the Bible explicitly claims to be the Word of God. You’ll find that some books have God speaking as a character in the story and some books have messages that are claimed to come from God. But always there is more to the text which makes no such claim. Think about that.