:D LOL.
As I was reading this, I was thinking....huh??. lol. No offense. But think about it. I understand, to an extent lol, what you are saying. But we complicate things sometimes in our efforts to make them simple. While an algorithm might take those numbers and arrange them for you; you still have to spend time and thought in making the code. Now, take those with the simplistic approach. They take the number 1 and put it first or last, then they take the number 2 and do the same, so on and so on. Does it take time? Lets see.
1000 numbers. Lets take the numbers 1-10 in random order and see how long it takes. But, of course, it would indeed take longer than what you would think, because you are looking through 1000 numbers instead of just 10. But now, think about it, if you scan the number list, to see the highest number, put it first or last, then fill in the rest...or are there 'missing' numbers? Ahh...now thats a different ball game, but still, the man or woman who does not understand or comprehend algorithms would simply sit down and put it in order one by one. Taking what? An hour? lol. How long did it take you to develop the code? You know I am just 'joshing' :D you right? lol
Haha. Figures you would go right for my computer science analogy. :D I was relating it because of the slightly more abstract/general idea of how things can overlap (think: Ven Diagram), but not be completely equivalent in all areas (like for example I've found myself agreeing with certain persons on this thread over and over on certain doctrines, as if they were on a roll, and I begin to think we believe the exact same things but then I eventually discover that they diverge on some certain, although sometimes small, scriptural understanding such as whether the eucharist "transsubstantiates", whether water baptism saves, whether you sprinkle or immerse in water, or whether Jesus is God or not etc. - which all come from different understandings of Scripture). I really think my "building" analogy about how pieces seem to fit together for a while until the very end was more clear,
because I've done that when building a bookshelf before!
I put the book shelf together and even got almost to the last step only to discover that I had attached the bottom piece up side down
even though it fit perfectly like it was! lol. Odd how things seem to fit, but aren't necessarily right some times.
As another example, I used to think for a while based on Scriptures that since "God is Spirit" and due to Jesus being refered to (in the Trinity) as being the "Spirit of Christ" that it meant that Jesus in his glorified state is now completely Spirit (which as God, this made perfect sense as a default assumption). I couldn't comprehend Jesus still being in flesh (although glorified) and still having the nail holes in his body [he was too "holy" for that - being God and all, who is spirit - ...I thought] and it even
seemed to fit lots of scriptures (and I thought this way for a long time, and not like its a huge doctrine but it can lead you down slightly miscalculated ways of thought) until one day my Dad forced the point upon me that Jesus is still revealed as the 'Son of Man' in Daniel when he comes back again. Bang! I realized I had flipped the bottom piece in the wrong direction! I needed to reconstruct/realign my former ideas to fit the new revelation/realization. It didn't seriously affect my other theological ideas (that is, until I got into a discussion of Jesus' nature, which led to the discussion between my dad and I) and it even seemed
to fit some aspects (thus I could
agree with others on certain points) of Christ's glorified state (but not
all aspects -
and that's the point), but I had missed a small but important detail. Essentially the prior view I held, I realized, was "semi-docetic" (full doceticism being a Gnostic heresy - and yet it seemed such an innocent and small detail for the longest time!). And afterward it made even more sense and I had a yet
clearer understanding of the idea. You unfortunately do not learn most of these deeper theological things in more traditional Baptist Churches.
I could relate to you story after story like that of every idea that I have "matured", tested, or changed to conform with Scriptural proof before. Some theological ideas just "work" and get you by (we certainly didn't understand everything correctly when we had just been saved, did we? we had to learn the meat over time) for a while until, or "unless" (assuming you seek better answers about the truth at all), you
really examine it.
P.S. My computer sorting algorithm idea was meant to convey that, but alas.... it is flawed. :D For the record, I was refering to a cool trick I would never have thought of (in the "purist" coding techniques you are normally bred with in a CIS curiculum) which one of my professors taught our class of how to write
intentionally broken code algorithms which
miraculously happen to work well for sorting between 60%-90% of a number array correctly before finishing. Then sorting the remaining percentage of those still distributed randomly through the now mostly sorted array becomes a trivial exercise of writing a simpler algorithm. I liked this approach because often on homework my plea would be, "well, it
mostly works...". :D
God Bless,
~Josh
you a little.