On Realistic Religion and Miracles
Is religion or spirituality realistic? Does religion provide an opportunity for rational thinking? Or, is rational thinking limited to science and materialism?
These are important questions to ponder regarding the reality of religion and spirituality. The spiritual follower will say that belief is a matter of faith. Faith is believing something that you cannot explain. The materialist (defined here as someone who believes that everything is made up of matter and can be understood from a scientific perspective) will say that faith is unrealistic because it cannot be defined in scientific terms.
In his book, "Modern Physics and Ancient Faith," Stephen M. Barr presents a compelling argument for the realistic thought of religion. His thesis is clear. Materialism is not as realistic as religion. Why? Because materialism has a rigid dogma. (Interesting, yes?) That dogma states that "The materialist, by contrast (to the religious)* is in a straitjacket of his own devising. Nothing is allowed by him to be beyond explanation in terms of matter and the mathematical laws that it obeys. If, therefore, he comes across some phenomenon that is hard to account for in materialist terms, he often ends up by denying its very existence.......What cannot be explained by the theory is eliminated from consideration." **
Spiritual seekers, by contrast, have no problem accepting the reality of unexplained phenomenon. They have no problem believing in mystery--that which cannot be explained
Materialism, as explained above, is an extreme dogma. Yet, not all scientists hold this dogma as truth just as not all religious or spiritual believers hold extreme dogmas as truth.
Barr further outlines his his book how quantum physics is helping to bridge the gap between spirituality and science. It seems that the more modern physics discovers, the more materialism falls short. Modern physics asserts that too many coincidences would have to occur for materialism to hold true. Yet, isn't this what religion has asserted all along?
Outside of the realm of science lies the mysterious. Of particular mystery is the occurrence of miracles. I've experienced a miracle or two in my life, of which I will blog about in future writings. Religion and spirituality views the miraculous as a truth. Perhaps quantum physics is devising a way, metaphysically, to begin to shed light on the existence of the miraculous.
Have you had a miracle happen to you?
*author's words
**Barr, Stephen, M. (2003). Modern physics and ancient faith. Indiana: University of Notre Dame. P-17.
Posted by Rev. Barbara S. Eberle at 3/14/2010 8:53 AM 
Categories: spiritual Contemplations
Tags: Become a Minister spiritual Contemplations Get Ordained How to Get Ordained
Categories: spiritual Contemplations
Tags: Become a Minister spiritual Contemplations Get Ordained How to Get Ordained
I would like to share my own type of miracle with everyone! My first wife had decided to divorce me while I was in Iraq back in 2006 and could not have picked a harder time for me to go through something like this. I don't think anywhere or anything could have been worse! But out of this a miracle happened in the form of who is now my current wife and the reason I am here on this site now and going forward with what GOD has been calling me to do for a very long time. To share some really old information, one time at a revival when I was 10 years old an old preacher came up to me and said I was going to be a great man. Now at 10 that didn't mean anything to me just gave me a good lift that I needed I thought just to feel good. Fast forward 5 years and my dad had become a preacher, I will be honest I cannot tell you one of his sermons to this day, nor any others I had heard since. Church was just a show and I just went through the motions. Now fast forward back to 2007. I met my current wife in Iraq, she was my medic for the team I had over there and we worked together day in and day out. We stayed friends and kept in touch and are now very happily married! Because of GOD sending her into my life at the darkest hour I am on the right track. I have never felt closer to GOD than I do now! I have my wife who has been through the same thing as me to thank for helping pull the blinders that I let the devil put on me, and there is no way to make it all better but I can now live my life for GOD the way he wants me to. I am slow to say that I am back on the right track because thats not what I'm trying to say. I just made the wrong decisions when GOD gave me the chance in the past and I am not going to let that happen again. I feel that I am heard by and answered by GOD more now than ever before. Thank you all again for reading, and I hope to see some others miracles posted here soon. GOD Bless
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Hi Robert,
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