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In the beginning was the word - but what was the word? Is it written down somewhere? And how do we define 'the beginning'? The beginning of what?

n
n Answered:

"In The Beginning" is the same as, "Once Upon A Time..."

It was the beginning of the story of humankind as the Hebrew people understood it to be.

The Word to some is the beginning of human language/learning/perception.

To others The Word is interpreted as Christ/Messiah/Son of God

And to others the Word is the "mover" of man's psyche into consciousness

The true meaning of The Word becomes clearer, the more you read the story, that is, if you read the story with a sincere heart and not to mock or make fun of it.

 

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Physicalist
Physicalist

NJOY--One cannot help but make fun of the ancient explanations about where we come from. Have a sense of humor will you. You spend too much time loving a divine spirit whom you surely must also fear. If you don't fear god then you are not familiar with his actions that invoke fear. He is unmerciful and unwilling to correct the absurdities of life on Earth. This is hardly a divine world as my grandmother could conjure up a better model for mercy and love for each other. 
 
n
n

I honestly do not "fear" God if you mean be afraid of Divine Love.  I respect God, but have no fear of Him.

Humor?  Of course  I have a sense of humor.  This world is not divine because we (mankind) have not adhered to the Word of God.  We(as a whole)  have chosen to go our own way.  But there is still pockets of Divine Love to be found and blessings galore, but we have to have eyes with which to see....really see...There are many who do see and understand and reflect Divine Love in their lives, and of course there are some who choose not to.
 
Anonymous
Anonymous Comment

New Age thinkers show their true colours in what they believe about God. To them, God is not a Supreme Being distinct from creation -- He  IS  creation. In developing a worldview about the material and  immaterial world, New Agers reach a faulty conclusion. To them there is only one essence in the universe, and everything and everyone is part of  that essence. This is known as "monism," which comes from the Greek word
monos, meaning "one".

 

Monism is a common view of Eastern religions, especially Hinduism.  All creatures, as well as inanimate objects, are viewed as part of this  divine essence. Some of the more commonly known groups in the United  States that share this Hindu view with the New Agers are Transcendental  Meditation (also known as the Science of Creative Intelligence),Christian Science and Unity School of Christianity. In fact, in The  Aquarian Conspiracy, Marilyn Ferguson lists Unity churches under "discussion groups" of "Aquarian Conspiracy Resources."

 

The monism of the New Age Movement is really pantheism, believing that all (pan) is God (theos). Following this line of reasoning, whatever exists -- whether it's a person, a poodle or a pickle -- is part of God. This leads observers to say that the worldview in the United States has  switched from the atheism of secular humanism (man is the measure of all things) to the pantheism of the New Age Movement (man is god).

 

The god of the New Age Movement is an impersonal presence, not a person with intellect, emotions and a will, as the Bible presents Him.  The God of the Bible is a personal Father, not an impersonal force. This reveals why New Agers cannot accept the teaching of the Bible.  They are not able to get beyond the first five words: "In the beginning  God created" (Gen. 1:1). Because they confuse God with creation, the New Agers see God as part of creation -- not separate from it.  Biblical Christianity clearly distinguishes between God and creation.

 

While rejecting the Bible's distinction between God and creation,
the New Agers accept and believe the lie of Satan. Eve told the Tempter that God had said they would die if Adam and she ate from the tree in the middle of the garden. But the Seducer said, "You surely shall not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:4,5).

 

Notice that not even Satan indicated they would "be" God -- only
that they would be "like" God. And even this was in only one aspect: "knowing good and evil." After the fall of Adam and Eve, God  acknowledged what had occurred: "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil" (v.22). "This knowledge, as absolute, is an attribute of God (3:5), who is omniscient," wrote Merrill F. Unger. "But man, created with only the knowledge of good, acquired the experiential knowledge of evil through pride and disobedience, and in this manner fell into a state of sin and misery."

 

Satan's lie -- as verified by history -- was "You surely shall not
die!" (v.4). Adam and Eve immediately died spiritually, for their act of disobedience separated them from God. They later died physically as a result of their sin (see Romans 5:1 2).

 

Because the New Agers think all is One, this leads them to thinking they -- and everything else -- are part of this divine essence. They believe each person is "intertwined" with God. New Agers even use the Bible to support their erroneous beliefs. They are especially fond of Jesus' words "the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21, KJV). New Agers use these words to claim that each one has a divine spark within because he or she is part of the divine essence.

 

As in other instances where they use the Bible, New Agers twist the context and words to mean what they wish. Jesus Christ had come to earth to present Himself as the Messiah of Israel. The Pharisees were opposed to Him because He was ruining their established man-made rules, which they had added to Old Testament revelation. They were always trying to pose some question to disprove the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. When
they demanded of Him an answer concerning when the kingdom of God would come (v.20), He answered, "The kingdom of God is within you" (v.21).

 

Jesus did not mean that these Pharisees had the kingdom of God inside of them. To the contrary, they were the enemies of everything the kingdom stood for. The word translated "within" is entos. Although it can have the meaning of "inside", it can also mean "in your midst". This latter possibility fits the context, as well as the rest of the Bible's teaching. Jesus Christ Himself was the King -- the ruler of the kingdom. When the Pharisees asked Him when the kingdom would arrive, Jesus told them that the kingdom was in their midst, because the King (whom they rejected) was standing right in their presence.
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