That’s a description I just heard of God. And it blew my mind. God is old. Possibly somewhat decrepit. Ok, all powerful. But at bare minimum, He’s old, right?
I have never in my LIFE heard anyone describe God as young, let alone eternally young.
The ramifications are many. Endless, like God?
Source: http://pray-as-you-go.org/home/ (listen to Wed, Dec. 9)
Text: Isaiah 40:25-31
This is a surprisingly cogent and impressive argument against same-sex marriage:
http://www.motherofallpeoples.com/2013/06/a-natural-law-argument-against-same-sex-marriage/
It’s deeply valuable to me to hear all sides.
This is quite thought provoking and if I had time, I’d write those thoughts, and try to find a way to embed the comic in this post. No time. Enjoy!
If experience is the only true knowledge, then of course we have extreme difficulty and ultimately failure in the world of the abstract, because “abstract” by definition is not experience.
So if the only things we know are sensory, and these slowly get translated into knowledge and later words, but we feel like all the answers are in the abstract (i.e. philosophy and theology) then failure should feel natural. I literally don’t have the tools. Or we could say that of course a great/grand explanation of the universe will come to me only through a veil and, I must safely conclude, will be wrong along a great many points.
What does it mean for God to be good and for excruciating and endless pain to exist? Should I change my view of pain? Should I change my view of good? Or, last but not least, I could change my view of God.
Good = desiring the health of the other.
Pain = not health.
God = good?
I recognize complexity plays a role. So when I talk about “the other” I am talking about 7 billion + humans. They can be thought of individually or collectively. Both creates new problems.
Had my quiet time this morning, audio version, and the speaker encouraged the listener to rest in God’s goodness. Rest isn’t possible in the middle of pain. Pain forces the sufferer to do everything within its power to remove the pain – i.e. it forces action.
But what to do, what to believe, when nothing removes the pain?
I actually read this in relation to user experience design. But, being philosophical, its truth transcends, and I really appreciated it.
“To understand the whole of a book it is necessary to grasp its individual words and sentences, but those words and sentences only have meaning within the larger context of the book, hence interpretation must be a matter of constant revision: revising one’s sense of the whole as one grasps the individual parts, and revising one’s sense of the parts as the meaning of the whole emerges.” -Paul Kidder – Professor of Philosophy in Gadamer for Architects
Apparently this “generating gratefulness” is hard work. I keep forgetting to write down three things I’m happy about.
So I’ll do 9! To make up for the last 2 days.
1. Sometimes professionals are professional. I called my 401k people about the $2500 they had lost for me (minor freak out) and they informed me how I was wrong (kindly) and I got a little education AND (most important part) I was no longer freaking out. Aaah life. Sometimes I am my own problem. But yeah for $2500 back! Kinda.
2. Another instance of a professional actually being professional. I’ve been dealing with a lawyer, an old employer, and one mean nasty insurance company who’s charging me thousands years after the service was rendered and paid for (by magically taking the money back! How do you do that?! I don’t know!!) My old employer actually provided the document needed by the lawyer guy in a timely manner. I wasn’t even sure I’d get the document! Yay! Should I follow up each of these “happy points” with yay?
3. Carrot juice. Lots of carrot juice and flaxseed oil in the morning can give you an incredible amount of energy – instantly – and (the real reason I’m taking it) possibly get your digestive system going (to make you regular). I hate carrots but somehow I like carrot juice. Flaxseed oil is nasty stuff.
4. I’m pretty proud of myself for getting this far in my list. Does this point count? Yay! (If adding “yay!” at the end, that makes the point legitimate.)
5. My boss is hands off. WAY hands off. I don’t even see him most of the time. He trusts us! That is cool. Amrish is a cool guy.
6. Sometimes when professionals aren’t professional, they compensate for it, in monetary form. I love when they do that. So this expensive piece of furniture I’m buying that is coming late? They are now paying for part of it due to their lateness. Thank you! I’ll take that…
7. My parents. I don’t know how this happened, but my parents are now pretty much the coolest people I know. Really. I didn’t see this coming. I visited them last week, and saw them in a new light! The ease with which they approach life, their laid backness, their child like joy and silliness (seriously – my parents are kids), and their smiling acceptance of this awful life, their industry despite things that would crush most people (or would at least crush me). I had the greatest time just watching them actually love life!
8. This is hard work… something else to be grateful for. Ah! My neck! I can now hold me head up without pain. As pathetic as that sounds, its true. Chiropractors are one of Gods greatest gifts to mankind. While this doc hasn’t healed most of me, he has healed what all else couldn’t. As I type I can feel my head sit loosely on my body. So weird (I’m used to pain) and so wonderful.
9. I’m so grateful for finally being done with this list! Mwhahahaha! That makes me sound like I’m 10. I do hold down a full time job, generally have the respect of my friends, and contribute economically. I promise. 🙂 I love the sun. That is my last and final note of happiness.
I just read some thoughts on creating gratitude, and one idea was to write down three good things from that day, every day. So, gonna do that… No guarantee on how interesting this will be.
“When I see the blindness and wretchedness of man, when I regard the whole silent universe, and man without light, left to himself, and as it were, lost in this corner of the universe, without knowing who has put him there, what he has come to do, what will become of him at death , and incapable of all knowledge, I become terrified…. And there upon I wonder how people in a condition so wretched do not fall into despair. I see other persons around me of a like nature. I ask them if they are better informed than I am. They tell me that they are not. And thereupon these wretched and lost beings, having looked around them and seen some pleasing objects, have given and attached themselves to them. For my own part, I have not been able to attach myself to them, and, considering how strongly it appears that there is something else than what I see, I have examined whether this God has not left some sign of Himself.”
-Blaise Pascal, “Pensees“
Every morning I ride the train to work. And every morning I hear the automated voice calmly say “Caution. The doors are about to explode”. Except that’s not exactly what the voice says. It’s always what I think it’s about to say. Instead it simply says the boring and mundane “Caution. The doors are about to close”. Seriously, they should add some drama to their informational messages.
I chalk this up to one too many movies. I’m a good American. I’ve seen a lot of shoot-em-up flicks, far more explosions than anyone should see, car rolling away in flames. Thanks America.
So mostly I sit down in my seat, giggle, hear the corrected phrase float across the nearly silent morning crew of commuters, and wonder at the health of my psychological state. This occurs daily.
Musings 