Thursday, May 22, 2008

The Importance of Belief Part 2: How can one be held accountable for something if they don't believe in it?

Google couldn't find me anything directly answering my question. But indirectly Google revealed Romans 1:19-20 and Romans 2:14-16 which I found quite interesting:

Romans 1:19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, beingunderstood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse

"Although the Gentiles had no written revelation, yet what may be known of God is every where manifest among them, God having made a clear discovery of himself to them. For his being and perfections, invisible to our bodily eyes, have been, ever since the creation of the world, evidently to be seen, if attentively considered, in the visible beauty, order, and operations observable in the constitution and parts of the universe; especially his eternal power and universal dominion and providence: so that they cannot plead ignorance in excuse of their idolatry and wickedness." -Adam Clarke Commentary

Romans 2:14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.15They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

"The expression they are a law to themselves is another way of saying that the demands of the moral law are written within a man. The point is this: the attempt to “accuse and defend” will be brought into broad daylight on the day when God judges the secrets of men. That God will judge men’s secrets is in keeping with the fact sin is often related to the conscience, i.e., the inward and hidden moral reasoning of a man (And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account. ~Heb 4:13). That this judgment will take place, and that Jesus will be the judge, is in keeping with the gospel which Paul preached." -Adam Clarke Commentary

So I guess this scripture answers my question from a biblical point of view. We are accountable to GOD in all things. It doesn't matter whether we believe in being accountable, or not. We are all part of a system that was put in place a long time ago, an invisible reality. A reality I believe left unable to fully prove in order to leave the choice to believe, or not and most importantly the choice to love GOD, or not.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

The Importance of Belief

I am again obsessed with thinking about our beliefs. We can give fake fronts about who we are and say what we believe just to fit in with our friends, but our true beliefs still lay dormant in the core of our being.

Why do we believe what we believe? What is determining those bundles of neurons to connect in such a way to form a belief? My beliefs have changed drastically over my 35 years. I've gone back and forth with some issues swaying from the right to the left on many occassions. In many cases the more I come to understand a certain subject, I really never understood the stance I originally took about the issue.

I believe when we go to the grave certain beliefs are cemented for eternity. Well, that is the question? Are we given another chance? Does it really matter what we believed, because GOD is all loving and he'll understand we were just ignorant feverish little clots. Is it all good? Our beliefs change over time, so that wouldn't be fair if we weren't privy to knowledge that would of changed our belief for the better. And if we did know it's not our fault that we chose the wrong belief beacause life is extremely complex with so many variables and influences. I can only work with the neuron's that I was given at birth. But what if only a few exceptions and no excuses are accepted in the afterlife. Who are we to judge?

Everything in this world revolves around responsibility and accountability. I have to believe that I will be responsible and accountable for how I lived this life. My belief system is the motivation for my actions. Yes, I'm going to make mistakes and go against what I believe at times, but there will always be that belief system in the core of my being administrating my everyday decisions making me who I am. It's amazing how one little belief can change how you see yourself in this world and how one little new belief can sometimes sprout a seed changing one into a completely new being.