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TRUEBLOOD: Faith, five senses lead to God

Published: Thursday, September 10, 2009

Updated: Thursday, September 10, 2009 22:09


Last Friday I spent nine hours in a car driving across the seemingly flat, open Nebraska landscape with four other girls. The ride itself was fun: We sang songs, talked about our junior high days and discussed the things we like to do with our parents. As much as we enjoyed the ride together, nothing could exceed our growing excitement more than the thought of our destination.

We made the trek across Nebraska to enjoy a weekend retreat with the Navigators leadership team at Navigator-owned Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs. The 2,225-acre estate, comprised of red sandstone mountains covered in a variety of coniferous trees, has been a place for Christians to gather for fellowship and prayer for more than 50 years.

As we entered through the front gate of the property, I could not deny the spiritual aura permeating the thin mountain air surrounding us. My friend commented that it felt as if we were entering "God's house." I and the other girls unanimously agreed. There's something enlightening about being in a place so old and natural, where the unadulterated mountains jut into the pure blue sky free of city smog, where the trees grow tall and vibrant without the help of fertilizer.

In my day-to-day life, I've felt just a hint of the spiritual atmosphere of Glen Eyrie. The chaos of life, however, often masks the magnificent magnitude of what I perceive to be God. When I'm surrounded by the beauties of nature, I become more internally tuned to the divine works around me and have a heightened awareness of the way the world's been marked with God's fingerprints.

My awareness is not a merely human sensation but a fulfillment of what the Apostle Paul declared in the book of Romans: "For ever since the creation of the world, (God's) invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So (people) are without excuse (altogether without any defense or justification)" (Romans 1:20, Amplified).

Paul states here that God's "handiworks"– the mountains, trees, oceans, sky, anything not made by human hands – are plain evidence of God's "eternal power and divinity," leaving every human without a valid excuse against His existence.

A.W. Tozer, a renowned theologian, observes in his book "The Pursuit of God" that the same terms used to express knowledge of physical things, are also used to express knowledge of God.

For example, in Psalm 34, the psalmist writes "O taste and see that the Lord is good." Tozer explains that we possess "spiritual faculties" that allow us to know God as well as we know material things by using our five senses.

One sense mentioned by the psalmist is taste. Think of the most delicious fruit you've ever tasted. For me it would be a strawberry fresh off the vine. When I sink my teeth into the plump, juicy red berry, it permeates my taste buds with a pure, heavenly sweetness that I can't help but think proclaims God's goodness. The strawberry is only one of the many natural foods I like to imagine the angels eat.

Another sense the psalmist addresses is sight. In Psalm 19:1 the psalmist writes, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." As I've already mentioned, everything that hasn't been created by mankind attests to God's power and craftsmanship.

In addition to all of the marvelous masterpieces of nature, the Lord's goodness could not be more fully understood than in the most remarkable miracle of all: human beings. The various colors of skin, eyes and hair, the range of heights and body builds, and the unique variety of temperaments and personalities instills a sense of wonder at our inherent diversity. Our capability to feel, think, love and form relationships with each other is another amazing thing that declares a goodness greater than us.

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32 comments

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J Waite
Sun Nov 15 2009 13:34
Hi guys,

Man's religions, whether atheistic or those that include deities, are all variations on one theme: man can be righteous enough on his own. Even most Christian churches, although they give lip-service to the tenet that man is a sinner, nevertheless somehow convey the counter-belief in the undercurrents that human beings have something to bring to the table - a contribution of righteousness deserving of respect. The basic Christian message is that man has NOTHING at all to offer, and that his offerings of righteousness are nothing more than pretentious falsehoods. This prideful trusting in one's own goodness is dangerous: it will lead to perdition because it forecloses trusting in Christ alone as the source of all goodness and righteousness. Beginning in the Garden, Adam and Eve attempted to protect their image with fig leaves, but could do nothing about their sinful essence. The first hint that God himself would have to supply our righteousness came when God replaced the leaves with animal skins (in the same Genesis story). This foreshadowed the Lamb of God, and the sacrifice He would have to make to redeem man's essence. He would also have to serve as the barrier between man-the-sinner and God's judgment of sin. Image is rubbish, but we can be very successful at fooling ourselves and others with it. That is why Jesus reserved his angriest statements for the religious hypocrites of the day and why he would hang out with the outcasts who could make no such pretenses - the prostitutes, tax-collectors, and profane fishermen. That is also why it is prison inmates who so quickly respond to the true Christian message. It is harder for them to believe they have any true righteousness or that they have a lot of rosy options in life. What they've done is out in the open as a matter of public record for all to see. The rest of us can kind of sweep things under the rug and go on pretending we measure up to the divine standard.

To Justin
Fri Sep 25 2009 14:52
Dear Justin,
I want you to know that as someone who believes what Bethany has stated in this article, I am called to share my faith with others. I am aware that others will not share my beliefs and I appreciate you sharing your opinion. I live my life in faith in the Son of God and I have been richly blessed because of it. I don't believe that by writing this Bethany was trying to demean you or the things you believe.
As a Christian, I believe that my sins have separated me from God, and to me God is everything that is considered good. Without him, there is no love, there is nothing good. I also believe that Christ sent his son to die for our sins so when we have faith in him we will not be separated from Him and we can experience these good things he created for us. God giving up his son is something that is the ultimate act of love. Just like you said Justin, the beauty of love is that it does not point out your wrongs. I am here to say I have screwed many things up in my life. I have experience love on earth, but it is not a perfect love. The love I experience in Christ is something so wonderful and flawless that it leaves me speechless. In Micah 7:19 it says, “He will again have compassion on us; He will subdue and tread underfoot our iniquities. (He) will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Amplified). Christ has taken all the things I have done wrong in my life and completely forgotten them-thrown them to the depths of the sea never to be seen or heard of again. He has shown me incredible grace and mercy by doing this. That is incredible!
Because of God’s gift of his son that I just talked about, I believe that there is one way to Heaven-and that is through God. If I TRULY believe that if you don't believe in Christ that you will spend eternity separated from God (apart from everything I consider “good”), what kind of terrible people would I have to be to NOT share that with you? How much would I have to HATE you to not tell you about it and sentence you to an eternity apart from all goodness? While, yes, I do believe that we as humans are sinful, the fact is being a Christian doesn’t make me a “hater of humanity”. It is quite the opposite. I love all humans as equal people, just as you said. In fact, I love you all so much that I want to share with you the wonderful grace, mercy and love I have experienced in Christ Jesus. If I don't share this awesome love of God with you for you to experience for yourself, who will? The truth is, I am not forcing you or asking you to believe what I believe. Instead, I am telling you, out of love, how miraculous God has been to me in order that you may experience that too.
Lastly, I want to apologize to you for the way you have been treated throughout these last few posts. In 1 Peter 3:15 it says, “But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy [and acknowledge Him] as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully.” (Amplified) Throughout this conversation you have had, you have not been treated courteously or respectfully, and I apologize for that. As a Christian, when you ask me questions about my faith, I am to be ready to give you a reply, which is why I am telling you this right now. However, if I don’t do that courteously and respectfully, I am not living out of the love that I am called to live out of nor am I showing you how the miraculous love of God has transformed my life.
In defense of faith
Fri Sep 18 2009 17:39
You are a coward and using your first name doesn't prove anything. Whats your last name?

Where was Beth attacking you?

And what you said about her faith and her religion was very insulting.

Also Where's the proof that God doesn't exist? Never see any of that do I?

Justin says that my statement "Why because in order to disprove God you have to be God yourself."

"makes absolutely no sense. I can prove that parallel lines will never converge on a single point without being either a point or a parallel line; I hardly need to be a god to notice that God's adherents offer insults and violence - instead of evidence and reason - when asked why reasonable people should believe as they do."

Because in order to disprove God's existence you would have to be aware of God Lack of presence throughout every nook and cranny of the Universe. And you can't.

I offer no insult sir. You belief system is unsupportable and to adhere to it is stupid, therefore I can assume you are stupid.

By the way the parallel line argument is ridiculous. All that proves is that parallel lines exist.

chuck
Fri Sep 18 2009 08:11
All I can say is that all nebrasskans should be happy that my shrunken head amulet keeps away fire breathing man eating women killing child kidnapping dragons. It works, there are no such dragons around here.
Justin
Fri Sep 18 2009 02:05
"As a Christian she feels the need to testify to her faith. I have had the privilege of attending a class with Beth and I found her to be a kind, honest, and friendly person. I am glad that her faith has been so uplifting to her.
I think its a shame that Justin is so intolerant and narrow minded. I am willing to respect his atheistic religion even if I find it wrong. He has a right to his beliefs and Bethany has a right to hers. A decent person would respect another person's beliefs not denigrate them. "

It was actually Bethany who denigrated atheists, in the ways that I've explained. I've done nothing to denigrate her religious beliefs; I've simply disagreed with them and defended my own beliefs. Nobody forced Bethany to write an article denigrating atheists. And I can hardly be accused of hiding behind anonymity when I've posted under my own name every single time - something the theists here apparently refuse to do.

Justin
Fri Sep 18 2009 02:03
"True or not the existence of God has been established for thousands of years"

Established by what evidence, specifically? What established it?

"And if you say God never exists when you fly in the face of thousands of years of accepted belief"

So do you, by being Christian and not Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu. After all it's also been established for a thousand years, by the same logic, that there is no god but Allah and Mohammed is His prophet. It's also been established that there is no such thing as Allah. It's been established for three times as long as Christianity has existed that Lord Vishnu is the creator of all the world, and been established just as long that Lord Vishnu doesn't exist.

All these competing, inconsistent claims have been "established for thousands of years" of belief. It hasn't made any of them true.

"Why because in order to disprove God you have to be God yourself."

That makes absolutely no sense. I can prove that parallel lines will never converge on a single point without being either a point or a parallel line; I hardly need to be a god to notice that God's adherents offer insults and violence - instead of evidence and reason - when asked why reasonable people should believe as they do.

Proof of diety part one
Fri Sep 18 2009 00:49
Science without Religion is lame.
Religion without Science is blind. Einstein

"The harmony of natural law reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection." Einstein

'The religious inclination lies in the dim consciousness that dwells in humans that all nature, including the Humans in it is in no way an accidental game, but a work of lawfulness that there is a fundamental cause of all existence. " Einstein.

"Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernable laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force that is beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in fact, religious." Einstein.

As a child I received instructions in both the Bible and the Talmud. I am a Jew but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene." Einstein

"No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life." Einstein.

"I am not an atheist. I don't think I can call myself a pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they were written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, seems to me is the altitude of even the most intelligent human towards God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand those laws." Einstein

Terry Ahlstedt
Thu Sep 17 2009 22:56
I thought Bethany Trueblood 's column was well written. I disagree with the writer who questioned its journalistic credentials, its an opinion piece and she has a right to her opinion. Nor is it religious propaganda. Propaganda is information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause. She is simply telling us what her faith means to her. As a Christian she feels the need to testify to her faith. I have had the privilege of attending a class with Beth and I found her to be a kind, honest, and friendly person. I am glad that her faith has been so uplifting to her.
I think its a shame that Justin is so intolerant and narrow minded. I am willing to respect his atheistic religion even if I find it wrong. He has a right to his beliefs and Bethany has a right to hers. A decent person would respect another person's beliefs not denigrate them. That is the worse kind of bigotry.
I'm not surprised that he hides in anonymity(Come on Justin how many Justins are there in this school alone and how many more in Lincoln and Nebraska?) Only a coward would say the things he says. Bethany Trueblood shows more courage and conviction than the Justins of the world and whats more she show more honesty as well.
In defense of the faith
Thu Sep 17 2009 22:30
"The existence of God has never, ever been established. It is merely taken by faith for millions of adherents. But numbers don't make you correct - no matter how many people believe something, that doesn't make it true."

True or not the existence of God has been established for thousands of years and the burden of proof lies with those who question Gods existence. So come on wonky proof God doesn't exist Because you can't. And if you say God never exists when you fly in the face of thousands of years of accepted belief than I'm sorry Justin but you have to prove it and you haven't so far all you've done is made an ass of yourself.

By the way your use of the quote "We must all admit that none of us can prove or disprove the existence or non-existence of God or Allah or Buddah or Shiva or Zeus....." and "Which is exactly what makes belief in any of those deities so unreasonable." is in error is possible to prove the existence of God and impossible to disprove God.

Hey Chuck with your "God is not dead. He was never alive in the first place." Dawkins is a pretentious ass and atheists are ignorant superstitious numb skulls. Why because in order to disprove God you have to be God yourself. And that pretty much defeats your belief system doesn't it.
And since you can't disprove the existence of God than it is safe to say that atheism is unreasonable.

Atheists are stupid.

chuck
Thu Sep 17 2009 21:26
Evolution is God's redundancy notice, his pink slip. But we have to go further. A complex creative intelligence with nothing to do is not just redundant. A divine designer is all but ruled out by the consideration that he must at least as complex as the entities he was wheeled out to explain. God is not dead. He was never alive in the first place.
Richard Dawkins
Justin
Thu Sep 17 2009 11:42
"The existence of God has been established for thousands of year."

The existence of God has never, ever been established. It is merely taken by faith for millions of adherents. But numbers don't make you correct - no matter how many people believe something, that doesn't make it true.

"We must all admit that none of us can prove or disprove the existence or non-existence of God or Allah or Buddah or Shiva or Zeus....."

Which is exactly what makes belief in any of those deities so unreasonable.

think
Thu Sep 17 2009 10:59
We must all admit that none of us can prove or disprove the existence or non-existence of God or Allah or Buddah or Shiva or Zeus......we are only human. Additionally, what we "know" about God came from a Bible, and the information in that book was written by man.....something to think about.
devil
Thu Sep 17 2009 08:06
come into my parlor bethany, said the devil, as he unbuttoned his fly.
Your name
Thu Sep 17 2009 00:05
Justin: "I know what love is, and I see none of it in your God. I see no love in the God who kills children, the creator of Hell, the God of jealousy and pride. There is nothing at all of love in your primitive warlike God." What God are you talking about? Do you ever know what your talking about?
In defense of faith
Wed Sep 16 2009 23:59
Actually atheism is a fallacious notion. Atheism: defined by Webster as (a) disbelief in the existence of deity (b) the doctrine that there is no deity requires that one have knowledge of the nonexistence of God or any other form of a deity throughout the full totality of the universe. But we are not fully aware of the full scope and nature of the Universe. To disprove the existence of God or some other deity we would need to be aware of all stretches of the Universe simultaneously. So in order to know that God or some other form of deity does not exist throughout the Universe one would need to be omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. These are capabilities attributed to God or a deity. But atheists deny the existence of God or other deities so if their belief is valid it is impossible for them to disprove the existence of God unless they were God or some form of deity. And if they are a God then their very existence disproves their belief system.
This poses two thoughts Justin:
If you are an atheist and if your atheism is valid then you are omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. Thus by your existence I have proven the existence of God.
The other thought is that if atheism requires faith since it is impossible to disprove the existence of God and as such it is a form of religion based on ignorance and superstition.
in defense of faith
Wed Sep 16 2009 23:20
"It's not my job to disprove it, any more than it's my job to disprove Zeus or Allah or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It's the job of the people who believe in those figures to provide evidence for their existence. They never have; there is none."

Yes it is your job! The existence of God has been established for thousands of year. Your claim is a prior claim and is you responsibility to prove your claim which you cannot do. For the rest of your ignorant diatribe its is obvious you have no knowledge of what you talk about it is just ignorant rantings from a hateful bigot.
Prove God Doesn't exist!!! Something you can't do and something you are dodging because you can't.

Your name
Wed Sep 16 2009 23:14
Justin "I'm in love right now! That's how I know that love is so much different than you've described it. It's you who has never known love, I think - you've only known being taken advantage of by those you idolize."

I don't think inflata Amy your inflatable love doll counts.

Your name
Wed Sep 16 2009 23:09
I don't know ask Justin.
Your name
Wed Sep 16 2009 16:13
"A religion with an Fool for a worshiper and an Ass for a god. "

What do you think it says about your faith or yourself when you need to resort to namecalling in this manner?

Justin
Tue Sep 15 2009 23:24
"Tell me can you disprove the existence of God?"

It's not my job to disprove it, any more than it's my job to disprove Zeus or Allah or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It's the job of the people who believe in those figures to provide evidence for their existence. They never have; there is none.

"In what way is that anti-human and anti-social?"

The part where you accuse all human beings, living and dead, of being wretched, of being unworthy of being loved, of being sinners fit only for hellfire. It's a disgusting and anti-human point of view to think so little of your fellow human beings.

"Justin you've never been in love with anyone have you?"

I'm in love right now! That's how I know that love is so much different than you've described it. It's you who has never known love, I think - you've only known being taken advantage of by those you idolize.

" Even if your a slob or screw up or forget their anniversary, even if you don't remember to put the toilet seat down."

I've done those things. I'm only human, after all. The difference between my love and your abuser is that the person I love doesn't make me feel unworthy as a result. They don't make me feel worthless. They don't imply that I should be punished just for being human and making mistakes.

"Such a loathing and hatred that you can't even understand Love the basis of God"

I know what love is, and I see none of it in your God. I see no love in the God who kills children, the creator of Hell, the God of jealousy and pride. There is nothing at all of love in your primitive warlike God.

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