Good points, micatala. The Biblical God, while I wouldn't call him a 'bumbler', certainly did go through a number of learning experiences in his dealings with his creatures. He regretted his creation so much he moved to drown it all in the flood, then regretted the flood so much that he promised the survivors that he would never again try to destroy his entire creation thus. The Rabbinic tradition and, I should think, much of the Christian tradition in the neonaturalist vein are comfortable with an intelligent God who is able to grow and learn.
Bill Moyers' discussion series on Genesis is good watching if you want to see a number of different viewpoints on the narrative (conservative and liberal Christian, Sufist and reform Muslim, Judaist).
AlAyeti wrote:It all boils down to gathering preachers and teachers to say whatever your itching ears want to hear. "Liberal" theology is just that.
A good Pastor protects his flock.
Now there are "churches" affirming and celebrating abomination.
Psuedo-Christianity.
Antisemitism and anti-French sentiment notwithstanding, your last posts begged a question. A good pastor protects his flock from... what? Liberal theology is not just saying what the liberals want to hear - if you knew anything about the history of Christianity in this country you wouldn't have said anything so foolish. Liberal theologians have often been treated with the same scorn as the prophets of old, especially when they spoke out against the social evils of their day - mainly poverty, social injustice and capitalist excess. And to some extent, we're still doing that. It's just that we haven't had any Reinhold Niebuhrs or Martin Luther King, Jrs. in awhile.
One could just as well say the conservatives are preaching to their choirs, respectively, confirming people in their prejudices and political regression and claiming to speak for God. And the actions of this particular pastor would seem to indicate that some conservatives at least are doing just that.
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