One
of our most regular, and very welcome, visitors while we've been
living here has been Brigit, a Dutch woman, in her early 70s, who
lives near Esperaza, a little market town about an hour away. Brigit
and her German husband, whom we have also met, are Jehovah's
Witnesses. And I do so admire, and somewhat envy, the strength of
their convictions!
We
have had some great discussions with her, sometimes I think rather
shocking her with some of our views, such as being evolutionists
while, on a good day, believing in a Creator God, and questioning
whether the Bible can accurately be described as The Word of God. My
take is that the word of God may be in the Bible, in terms of the
inspiration of its human writers, but not in an exclusive way: I find
it hard to accept the concept of a God who doesn't interact with
creation in many ways, with many 'voices', manifest in many cultures,
faiths, and philosophies.
That
said, I would love to possess that absolute faith in the infallible
truth of the Bible. If I could do that then yes, I might well agree
with Brigit and the JWs that, since 1914, the destruction of the
present world system has been imminent, and that afterwards God's
peaceful kingdom will be established on earth. If only! But my
sceptical and academically trained mind does not allow me that
comfort.
Sorry, Brigit.
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