Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Is God, or even the idea of God, holding us back as a species?
'But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will ...[text shortened]... he mere idea of him making us lazy as a species, damaging our progress and independent thinking?
Is God, or even the idea of God, holding us back as a species?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think in a negative sense we should be glad that God is holding us back from becoming completely wild in wickedness. Something is restraining the complete lawlessness of society,
There is a restraining power keeping us all from total anarchy which is knocking at the door, harder and harder.
As for technology, I think we give God less credit than He deserves. The timing of man's accumlation of knowledge, I think, advances both the Gospel and increases the awareness of Divine creation.
'But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” (Gen 11).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good example of God holding man back. I use to wonder why myself. He said now nothing that they do will be impossible for them.
I think the things done by a harmonious collective though would end up being very evil. Anything replacing God can only end up being very evil eventually.
But the example you point to - the Tower of Babel, is excellent. My feeling is that most people would share the viewpoint that it seemed like a good thing that God should not have interfered with.
Upon having more insight and more experience, we learn that this represented a further point of degradation to mankind. At this lowest point of man's fall from God, God calls out Abraham to initiate "the called race".
The created race headed by Adam had fallen to its lowest point in the building of the Tower of Babel. At this low point God, for the sake of saving the world and saving the Adamic race initiated a new race - the called race headed by Abraham.
Why was God so keen to prevent mankind from being united, from reaching it's full potential? Why was it necessary for him to actively confuse mankind, stop us from achieving the impossible? (Which he seems to believe we are capable of).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'll write more on this latter.
And even if God doesn't exist, is the mere idea of him making us lazy as a species, damaging our progress and independent thinking?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I would draw your attention the the concluding chapters of the whole Bible. You have
something there which is like the Tower of Babel but it is called the holy city, the bride of Christ, the tabernacle of God.
You have in
Revelation 21 and 22 a mountain of pure gold as a sign. You have a golden mountain of transparent gold as clear as crystal. It is a city / mountain. The transparency of the gold means that man become transparent in manifesting the indwelling God of glory living now within.
The symbolism is that there God and man are united, mingled, organically joined as one. This is the reality of what man sought apart from God. With Christ's salvation a golden mountain city expressing the harmony of God and man for eternity is the climax of human history.
The Tower of Babel was man's attempt to imitate the ultimate will of God. And thought WE may not appreciate it, God in His wisdom foresaw that its construction would only mean an evil counterfeit of His eternal purpose.
That is my take on it.