Don’t you just love to be convinced of something you have had much doubt about? It could be a belief, a news story, someone’s opinion…any number of things. It’s that “aha” moment that suddenly gives us a new perception of an old conviction.
When we meet someone this convincing it’s as if they could talk the devil into going to church. Happy Saturday.
“To decide we don’t believe in something, it has to exist for us to have an opinion about it.”
The above came to me from a daughter of a friend who is an avid reader and collector of quotes and it makes perfect sense to me.
Choose something you don’t believe in and see where it takes you when you truly think about it….very interesting concept.
Did you know that singing is good for the soul? Singing also relieves stress, exercises the lungs, and decreases depression. All this is my own opinion, but it works for me. And take this little guy…can’t you just hear him? (Of course, he could just be waiting to be fed but I prefer to believe that he is singing a new song).
Recently I was told by a clergyman that yoga is not God-centred, that it focuses on the practioner’s self. I disagree. Yoga focuses on breathing which is the life force, which to me, is the breath of God. Yoga is also an extremely beneficial exercise for relaxing the body and calming the mind. It benefits concentration and discipline. I practiced yoga for years and still consider myself to be a God-centred person. Here is my acronym for yoga:
You
Only
God,
Amen
As promised, here is my response to a young man’s thoughts on the Book of Job, and Christianity in general:
First of all, let me direct you to Biblica.com and the links Biblica/Home and Bible FAQs. It explains the writing of the Bible.
My core belief is that God is the author of the Bible, writing through all the people who chose to record the happenings of the day as they were inspired by him. (Just as I have been inspired by him to write my book.) This is borne out in the Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered within a ten year period between 1946 and 1956. The Bible is also a wonderful history book, crammed full of hisorical events and happenings. And yes, it certainly is subject to interpretation, and many translations. But at the core, when you sort the grain from the chaff, is God’s basic love for mankind, which only comes to light fully in the New Testament when he stopped being mad at us for being such a bunch of dunderheads.
Christianity survived in spite of political leaders, even though those leaders had an innocent man put to death because he was a threat to their governing, and the god they believed in. Christianity still survives in spite of political agendas because of that murdered man.
God does not “hold it all together”. We are all given free will to choose how to behave, what to believe, and how to live our lives. This is why you believe what you believe and I believe what I believe. And that’s okay, providing we are open to learning everything we can in the short time alloted to us on this planet. It is why we are here.
I suggested reading the Book of Job because of Satan. Most people think it was God who dumped on Job, but as you read, it was Satan’s aim to cause as much harm in the world as possible, both way back then and to this day.
Life is a battlefield of Good and Evil (take an “o” out of good and add a “d” to evil). You can see that in our day to day life, and we all wage our own battles every day.
Please don’t make the mistake of not believing in the devil, because that is just what he waits for. (Aha, I just got another one!)
A little humility is good, and a little less ego is even better.
I’m not here to tell you what to believe or not, but please don’t shut the door on the possibility that there is a God, and that he loves you more than you’ll ever know, and waits for you to give him the chance to tell you so. He is telling you now, through me!
I trust you are intelligent enough to not let “intelligence” get in the way of a great learning experience.
These are my thoughts on your thoughts, and my opinions/beliefs on the matter.
P.S. Have you figured out why you celebrate Christmas yet? It is because of that murdered Man. It’s all in the history book! 🙂
And may I add here that it is my hope that we have continued conversations when circumstances and time allow.
The following is a result of challenging a young man to read the book of Job, after a lengthy discussion about God, Jesus, Satan and the Bible in general. Because of his claim to atheism, we agreed to disagree on a number of things, but he did agree to read Job and here are his thoughts, posted with his permission.
Above all else the Book of Job is an allegory for people to appreciate what it is that they have, and to persevere when times get tough. This, in my opinion, can be understood by believers and non-believers alike, since the main message is quite clear. However, I don’t think that you need God in order to use this story in every-day life. Every person goes through trials and tribulations, some that are more challenging than others, but in the end one has to persevere and continue to work hard to make those hard times pass. For me, a deity is not the main source of either good or bad times, and it is only through what we do during those hard times that shapes and influences us as a person. Ultimately, I believe that we as humans must accept all that happens as our own responsibility and not blame or praise any one or any thing else since we can only control what is in our power to control.
There are many things from the Bible and the Scriptures that we can take and make good use of, since the main message is to be a moral and contributing member of society. However, that message was passed down from mankind for centuries since it helps to serve our own needs and our own purposes, and we do not need a God to tell us not to hurt other people since we fully understand that hurting people leads to a dysfunctional community. When the Bible was written some 1800 years ago (and as early as 1500 years ago), society was quite primative in that clearly defined laws were still rudimentary and people were still trying to figure things out. Societies around the world rose and collapsed as they tried to codify laws that worked for their civilization. Christianity survived because the main political leaders found utility in it (yes, I know that makes me sound like a cynic) and that’s how it was able to spread. But the message, the essence of the Bible, to be a good person is something that should be instilled, but I do not think that an omnipresent and omnipotent God is needed to hold it all together. To give praise to a supreme being for when things go well, and to accept full “blame” for when things go bad is in complete contradiction to human nature and human ego. You are right in that humility is something that all people need to practice–to know one’s limitations and to accept one’s shortcomings–but, again, for me, God does not factor into that.
There are many things in this world that I will never understand, and there are things that humans cannot understand, and may never understand, but thats OK since the fact that we live on this floating rock orbiting a giant star is the most random occurrence out there (in my humble opinion).
I am curious to hear what you have to say about this, and look forward to reading what your opinions/beliefs are on the matter.
My responsive thoughts will appear tomorrow. (God willing).
My Precious Life 