Would you trust your pastor/priest/minister to look after your spiritual well-being if he believes that the earth is the centre of the universe? Who says the earth is fixed in space, and kept there by God's laws while the heavens rotate around it? And I am not talking about 200 years ago, I am talking about modern times, like the last 10 years or so.
Well, that is exactly what 1000's of Christians have to ask themselves, seeing as I have just finished reading the thesis of one such pastor, in which he uses the Bible to “prove” that the earth is the centre of the universe. I will not do his family the dis-honour of naming him, suffice it to say he was resident in quite a few congregations, and without doubt thousands of brothers and sisters must have listened to him for many years.
His thesis is packed full of selected quotes from the Bible, each one specifically picked to prove his theory. He also makes the classical mistake of assuming that humanity was created for the sole purpose of reigning over the universe, and can not exist on any other planet, only on earth. More biblical quotes to prove this, of course.
O yes, the creation story was in real days, according to him, none of this eras or epoch nonsense. God did it in 6 days, finish and klaar. Eve could be a clone of Adam, he says. Evolution is rubbish, man was made from dust, the sun and the moon revolve around the earth, since the Bible says so. And if you thought the earth rotates, think again, says the pastor. It stands still, the Bible says so.
As for other planets and systems, he says science is unable to prove that there are any above the third heaven, which is a physical place where God resides. Or so the Bible says. As for the flat vs round earth, at least he has no choice to admit that the earth is round, and then goes on to try and bend his interpretation of the Bible to suit him. Did you know a round object has ends? Neither did I, but the pastor does.
I can go on and on, but the mind can only handle so much nonsense before it has to rebel. Even more mind boggling is the fact that someone has to sponsor and approve a thesis, as far as I know. Which sane person would put his stamp of approval on this kind of delusion?
My question remains, if you were in this pastor's congregation, and you knew that he believed the Bible absolutely literally when it suits him, and will create his own interpretations when it suits him, will you believe a word of what he preaches from the pulpit?
I wouldn't.
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