That admission was a fatal mistake. At last they had to admit there was something they did not know. The man seizes on it. So with these infinitely narrow, petty regulations they had surrounded the Sabbath day with such difficulty that one could hardly breathe without breaking the law. This was their excuse to reject Jesus. Some said, "How can he be from God? He doesn't keep the rules." Others were a little more cautious. "Look at the signs," they said. "These are wonderful things he does. God seems to endorse what he is doing." Thus there was division and doubt. Now we see the effect this had on the man, who was listening to them:

answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?" heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" This is author's own experience with faith and science so often it reads a bit memoir-ish, But overall, it's a collection of insights that he considers valuable. Although I found a lot to agree in this book, I also had points of disagreement. That, of course, doesn't really take away from the book as I found both valuable, the latter perhaps even more so as it helped me figure out where I stand on some issues. Most passages were discussion-worthy and ignited me to ponder on the subject matter which I always appreciate.Dear Lord, impart in me an unshakable faith. Forgive me for any doubts. I love You and believe in Your sovereignty, forever. In Jesus' Name, Amen. That is a reference to his blindness. That marked him in their eyes as being a sinner, already cursed of God. I originally thought that this book was for a Christian audience. Having finished reading, I think a more appropriate audience would actually be people who are uncertain of their worldview. I can also see that this book is targeted toward a young audience, including Christians who may find that their worldview is being questioned. With that said, I think that Christians can definitely learn from and appreciate the book— particularly the idea that science and faith are not mutually exclusive. And the parallels between science and Scripture were a lot of fun! Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. The Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." (John 9:14-15 RSV) When our Lord smears clay over this man's eyes he is saying that there is something hindering the man's spiritual sight -- not only his physical, but his spiritual sight. It is the clay of his humanity, his own and that of those with whom he is surrounded. That fallen human nature is a hindrance to seeing spiritual truth and reality. When he sends this man on a stumbling journey to the pool of Siloam he is indicating that there is a difficult time ahead of him. The process of healing his spiritual sight will involve a prolonged and difficult journey that will be filled with obstacles. It is only when he gets to the pool that his inner sight will be granted him.

In the Gospel of John, the public ministry of Jesus Christ concludes at the end of John 12. The “Upper Room Discourses” begin in John 13. These teachings were given to the disciples, not to the general public, so the last section of John 12 is a fitting conclusion to the Lord’s public ministry. It seems to be a summary of the Lord’s overall manifestation of Himself to the nation of Israel, and a final appeal to Israel to believe in Him. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am the man." (John 9:8-9 RSV) He works out the implications of this truth in a number of arenas that are typically thought of as the "domain" of the atheist empiricist - physics, cosmology, even the scientific method itself. In each case he shows how a dogmatic restriction to what can be scientifically tested results either in contradictions or stunted reasoning.

My Book Notes

It’s important to understand that believing in Jesus does not mean that you’re believing in another God, or an extra God, or two Gods. No! The Bible teaches that God is One. God is One in essence but three in Persons - the Person of the Father, the Person of the Son, and the Person of the Holy Spirit. To believe in Jesus is to believe in the one true God.

But Jesus makes clear that suffering is not always directly traceable to personal sin. Sometimes it is! There are texts in Scripture that clearly indicate that people are hurting and suffering and physically depraved and deprived because of their own evil ways. But in the case of this man that is not true. Many people think it is rather strange that the disciples would even think that, since the man was "born blind," as the text declares. How could his blindness be caused by his sin when he was born in this condition, before he ever had an opportunity to sin?Eyewitness accounts of the same incident can differ greatly, because the interpretation is inextricably linked to the mind of the observer. Well, it looked like she was going to hit her. But she was lifting her hand to scratch her nose. I saw a circle of fireflies above my head. But it was an alien spaceship. We often see what our minds are trained to see and don’t allow other possibilities. If we want to be amazed, we have to be truly open-minded. We have to allow for possibilities beyond the expected. The Lord was speaking to the crowds gathered in the Temple courts at Passover, only a few days before His crucifixion. For the most part, an unbelieving crowd was listening to the Lord (v37). Even though some of the religious leaders, such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, had become secret believers (v42), the overall mood of the crowd in the temple courts was one of unbelief. In this Book we have the revelation of the Lord himself. As we come to it we may have to come through difficulty, through hardship, through trial, through resistance, but that is all part of God's way to teach us what these words mean. As we read through the tears, oftentimes, that circumstances place upon us, our eyes are opened and we see the beauty and the glory and the majesty of our God. The same thought is found in John 3:17-18. Verse 17 gives God’s purpose : “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” In verse 18 we have the result: “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God.” If we reject the words of Jesus, we reject God. Dr Guillen (G) tries to drive this basic point home by using various examples from science and religion: All truth does not need 'proof' to warrant its truthfulness. Truth is true by virtue of evidence. And evidence is not the same as proof. Evidence can be observed and/or experienced and/or felt, while proof is just a mathematical endeavor relying on logic - and logic itself has many unproven beliefs as premises, not to mention that logic simply can't handle translogical truths (by definition).

said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

Life Application

For many Christians, the Christmas season is a time of spiritual reflection on the important foundations of the Christian faith. On today’s episode, Thom and Sam talk to former Harvard physics instructor, Dr. Michael Guillen, about his journey from Atheism to Christianity and how he discovered that faith is the mightiest power in the universe.