Preface
How are we to make sense of the Bible in the context of the modern world? To the modern world, the Bible is a text that has been taken out of its context, if there ever was one. However, the way in which the world appears to modern people today is no different from the way in which the world appeared to the ancient peoples who lived during biblical times. In this book I will be unpacking the importance of the way phenomena appear to us�the way in which the myriad phenomena of the world present themselves to our consciousness�and I will be attempting to illustrate how these phenomenal appearances can help us to place the Bible into its only proper context: the world.
In this book, we will be examining the appearances of phenomena scientifically, theologically, and philosophically; most especially philosophically, because I have chosen to examine the appearances of the world phenomenologically. Phenomenology is a particular kind of philosophy that will allow us to reexamine how the world appears to us; this, I believe, can help us to see the world from a new perspective which can enable us to recapture the importance of the biblical teachings and to make them relevant to our everyday lives.
Hopefully, you will find the ideas and concepts set forth in this book easy to understand, although you may, at times, find the subject matter to be intellectually challenging. I have attempted to write this book in such a way that anyone who is interested in the subjects of theology, philosophy, and science might enjoy a quick read, concerning what I believe to be a very interesting concept: that the way in which the world appears to us is far more meaningful than most people think. Appearances are a funny thing, we see the world every day and yet we hardly ever take notice of it. We take the world�and the way the world appears to us�for granted, because we are so familiar with it. It�s my hope that, after having read this book, you, the reader, might begin to see the world in a new way; a way that will enable you to more fully appreciate the world around you.
It�s often said that appearances can be deceiving; in fact, modern science often tells us the appearances of the phenomena of the world are deceiving. Many intelligent, educated, thinking people believe that modern science, long ago, disproved the Bible�s view of the world; but I don�t believe that. Modern science has never disproven the way the Bible describes the world to appear, nor has it ever disproven the way the world appears to us. Modern science simply presents us with its own view of the world from its own perspective. Neither do I believe that the modern scientific view of the world is the only valid perspective of the world: I think the biblical view of the world, as well as our own observations of the phenomenal appearance of the world, are equally valid. In short, modern science does not have a lock on the truth.
I am certain that God, the Creator of the world, does not deceive us. I think God created the phenomena of the world to appear to us as they do because our Creator intends, through these phenomenal appearances, to communicate to us true knowledge of himself, of ourselves, of the world, and of how we should live our lives in-community with others. When you have finished reading this book, it�s my hope that you will realize (if you haven�t realized already) that nothing�nothing�is more important in life than are the people with whom we share our lives. Our lives are very brief, and our lives are wasted if they are not spent helping others in any way we can. Spending our lives helping others is a very simple concept, one that Christ himself taught us, and yet we can easily forget the importance of it. If we desire to gain our lives, then we should be willing to lose them; and if we desire to be rich, then we should be willing to become poor. The tighter our grasp on earthly things becomes, the more easily they will slip through our fingers.
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Page last updated on 08.15.09
� 2009 A.J. MacDonald, Jr.