I would have loved to be a fly on the wall listening to you and Dennis discuss God, or anything for that matter. Dennis has influenced my life since I was in my early 20’s when I read the Eight Questions People Ask About Judaism, before he added question 9. I continue to pray for his health and recovery. His voice is so needed. And you, Andrew, zoomed into my later years and have added joy and insight into so much. Like today’s post. Reading your posts (and Spencer’s as well), are not a one and done. They are like a great meal, eaten slowly while savoring each bite. Beautiful post today. Again. Thank you.
manner has sprung from the flooded plains of Mesopotamia and has done so for thousands of years fertilising the surrounding land, creating one of the cradles of civilisation .
This isn’t to minimise the tragedy in Texas which I can only pray for those in their grief at such a difficult time. At that flooding of Texas.
Though the natural events that caused these kind of traumatic events are of a bigger picture of an eco system that has given life in which was lost in those Texas floods . And only a parent can truly understand the grief at such a loss of their innocent child , but there is one God that parent can speak to who understands that exact same loss .
Your usual clarity of observation and thought has abandonned you. You say, "In every single instance where proof is available, we are capable of translating the mysterious Out There into a responsive In-Here analogue that consistently behaves as we expect it to behave." I am sorry, but this strikes me as self-referential nonsense. What is the basis for our expectation of how something should behave? What do we have other than experience? Every day we see horrors - children swept away, friends eaten alive by cancer. We have no idea how to reconcile what we witness with the idea of a loving God who usuallly is notable only for His silence. I have deep respect for your Christian faith. Please tell me how you keep your faith when you see gratuitous suffering and cruelty everywhere.
Is the question that we all ask at some time or another. Faith is the first principle of the doctrine of Christ and it is no Joke. It asks us to trust that there is more out there and that we need not be bound in time or what we are immediately experiencing. I assume you at least sense this since you read these letters. God is notable for a few things other than silence. He sent his most beloved son to this cruel place to show us many things but most of all His love. When his perfect son pled with him for relief and even felt to shrink, he stayed his hand. If you truly want to understand how people hang on to their faith, read the word. It will open up your mind and heart to things as they really were, as they really are, and as they really are to come. But most importantly it will inspire you because of how it will speak to your soul. And you will be able to acknowledge the evidence that you have in your own life, and as Andrew says “that God was there all along.” the word will teach you how
To live in time and not despair.
As you learn the example of Christ in your own place and see your part to play, you will
start to desire to make those around you suffer less and to bear the burdens of others and make your life matter because you spend it lifting others. Satan convinced a third of the hosts of heaven to follow him in his plan to destroy the law and have no consequence. The fact that you are here means that you fought for and chose the opportunity to come to a mortal and temporal place and through experience and wrestle learn how to Integrate the immediate and the eternal. You can only learn heaven in some degree of hell.
I am grateful for your thoughtful, helpful response. Thank you. The foundations of faith for me are belief in what Christ tells us and trust. True belief and trust cannot, however, be forced or willed, but they can perhaps be nurtured despite nagging doubts. I am reminded of the apocryphal story of rabbis in the death camps who decided to put God on trial. They convicted Him -- then held their usual Torah reading and prayer service. The best I can do is never to give up trying to build a relationship to God through Christ even though half the time I wonder if I am just talking to the wall. Reading the word does help. Your note is a gift of encouragement.
I hope you are having a better day today. I can relate so well to your sense of despair in your comment yesterday.There is a pattern I noticed
of "great loss to ultimate gain" in the old testament in the stories of the covenant forefathers. One of the most touching stories in the Old Testament to me is the story of joseph when they tell their father they have to take benjamin. For him this seems like all is lost. Surely it seems to him that there is no good that can come of it and no solution. It seems to be a compounding of loss of covenant promise. His sons know it will kill him. And yet god has something so joyful and hopeful for him and his people. We can't see how things will be fulfilled or turn for our good, but they will if we turn our hearts to the fathers. I hope you can find some peace in strength and what you are going through.❤️❤️
I would have loved to be a fly on the wall listening to you and Dennis discuss God, or anything for that matter. Dennis has influenced my life since I was in my early 20’s when I read the Eight Questions People Ask About Judaism, before he added question 9. I continue to pray for his health and recovery. His voice is so needed. And you, Andrew, zoomed into my later years and have added joy and insight into so much. Like today’s post. Reading your posts (and Spencer’s as well), are not a one and done. They are like a great meal, eaten slowly while savoring each bite. Beautiful post today. Again. Thank you.
Is it wrong to point out that this should have been #271 and not #270 again? Am I just being pedantic?
manner has sprung from the flooded plains of Mesopotamia and has done so for thousands of years fertilising the surrounding land, creating one of the cradles of civilisation .
This isn’t to minimise the tragedy in Texas which I can only pray for those in their grief at such a difficult time. At that flooding of Texas.
Though the natural events that caused these kind of traumatic events are of a bigger picture of an eco system that has given life in which was lost in those Texas floods . And only a parent can truly understand the grief at such a loss of their innocent child , but there is one God that parent can speak to who understands that exact same loss .
I'm grateful for a place where we can encourage one another. I wake up many mornings wondering what the point is myself....❤️
Your usual clarity of observation and thought has abandonned you. You say, "In every single instance where proof is available, we are capable of translating the mysterious Out There into a responsive In-Here analogue that consistently behaves as we expect it to behave." I am sorry, but this strikes me as self-referential nonsense. What is the basis for our expectation of how something should behave? What do we have other than experience? Every day we see horrors - children swept away, friends eaten alive by cancer. We have no idea how to reconcile what we witness with the idea of a loving God who usuallly is notable only for His silence. I have deep respect for your Christian faith. Please tell me how you keep your faith when you see gratuitous suffering and cruelty everywhere.
THIS
Is the question that we all ask at some time or another. Faith is the first principle of the doctrine of Christ and it is no Joke. It asks us to trust that there is more out there and that we need not be bound in time or what we are immediately experiencing. I assume you at least sense this since you read these letters. God is notable for a few things other than silence. He sent his most beloved son to this cruel place to show us many things but most of all His love. When his perfect son pled with him for relief and even felt to shrink, he stayed his hand. If you truly want to understand how people hang on to their faith, read the word. It will open up your mind and heart to things as they really were, as they really are, and as they really are to come. But most importantly it will inspire you because of how it will speak to your soul. And you will be able to acknowledge the evidence that you have in your own life, and as Andrew says “that God was there all along.” the word will teach you how
To live in time and not despair.
As you learn the example of Christ in your own place and see your part to play, you will
start to desire to make those around you suffer less and to bear the burdens of others and make your life matter because you spend it lifting others. Satan convinced a third of the hosts of heaven to follow him in his plan to destroy the law and have no consequence. The fact that you are here means that you fought for and chose the opportunity to come to a mortal and temporal place and through experience and wrestle learn how to Integrate the immediate and the eternal. You can only learn heaven in some degree of hell.
I am grateful for your thoughtful, helpful response. Thank you. The foundations of faith for me are belief in what Christ tells us and trust. True belief and trust cannot, however, be forced or willed, but they can perhaps be nurtured despite nagging doubts. I am reminded of the apocryphal story of rabbis in the death camps who decided to put God on trial. They convicted Him -- then held their usual Torah reading and prayer service. The best I can do is never to give up trying to build a relationship to God through Christ even though half the time I wonder if I am just talking to the wall. Reading the word does help. Your note is a gift of encouragement.
I hope you are having a better day today. I can relate so well to your sense of despair in your comment yesterday.There is a pattern I noticed
of "great loss to ultimate gain" in the old testament in the stories of the covenant forefathers. One of the most touching stories in the Old Testament to me is the story of joseph when they tell their father they have to take benjamin. For him this seems like all is lost. Surely it seems to him that there is no good that can come of it and no solution. It seems to be a compounding of loss of covenant promise. His sons know it will kill him. And yet god has something so joyful and hopeful for him and his people. We can't see how things will be fulfilled or turn for our good, but they will if we turn our hearts to the fathers. I hope you can find some peace in strength and what you are going through.❤️❤️