Is God an Evolving God?
We know that many of the practices in the Bible are not continued today, mainly because of cultural differences and also because of chronological differences between the very old times and now. Men who want to justify having more than one woman will always refer to the Kings of old times and argue that the men in the Bible had multiple partners so why shouldn't it be the same today. I argue that it was a different time and a different culture. Some would go as far as to say it was uncivilized. One of my girlfriends quiet rightly said, "Dem hav de money whe dem did have fe tek care a more dan one woman?" I guess thats another way to look at it. Back in those days, those men could support multiple women, and men were expected to do so. I mentioned to one man that had this disposition that back in those days with one man and multiple women, they also had barbaric punishment - like hanging and being stoned to death. He quieted down with this point of view. In other words, if you want your ten concubines you can go live in the middle east, but be prepared to accept the barbaric punishment that comes with it when you break the law over there. In other words we consider both practices uncivilized.
One cannot take the Bible literally at all times and you have to look at the context and the times in which a passage was written. This leads one to ask the question - Is God an evolving God? How would God look at gays, for instance, today. I do not understand the thinking of a gay person. I cannot fathom what makes them attracted to their own sex. It is for this very reason of not understanding them, why I cannot judge them. Personally, I believe gays are the way they are because of Psychological effects from their childhood. Some would also say they were born with the mind set of the opposite sex of their physical body. With this in mind, I cannot imagine that God would throw gays in brimstone and fire. While I do not condone the practice of gays, I feel that there has to be some amount of tolerance because of the complexity of the issue. I would imagine that God would want to get to the root of the problem, rather than condemn. (I believe there are two sets of gays. Those who struggle psychologically with their sexual identity and those who just want to venture out of the norm- indulge in sexual deviance - for a greater high.) I would be more tolerant with the first group.
About God being an evolving God, I have played with that question over and over and I want to agree that God is an evolving God. One of God's most profound evolution or change of mind was when he sent his son to die in place of the constant ritual of sacrifices. This leads me to believe that God is capable of changing his mind. Yes, certain things about God is a constant - like love, the word and truth, but when we read stories in the Bible we need to realize the times and contexts in which they were written.
What do you think. Is God an evolving God? Share your point of view. We can always learn from another's perspective. Add your comment below.
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