soul man wrote:
I think one thing that confuses many is the role of the bible in the life of the faithful. The bible is not God. It should not be worshipped as a monolithic tome or as God. The bible is the story of God's relationship with humanity, humanity with itself (community), and the human being's internal life. As I prepare a series on Exodus for this fall, it amazes me how the commandments are more about how we treat each other as human beings (adultery, stealing etc) than specifically "God directed." In fact, it seems we live out our relationship with God by how we live out our relationship with one another (or not). The bible tells stories of people who are just like us---trying to make our way in the world. It is very contextual (when it was written and who wrote it), but it is very timeless in its understanding of human nature and our search for meaning.
As Joltin' Joe alludes, faith is not a provable commodity. I cannot prove to you the existence of God any more than I can show the love that I feel for the people in my life. Sure, I could point to the gifts and the way I treat them, but one could easily say I do that for selfish motives. How can I prove what I feel?
Which way to the football discussion board, it is GAMEDAY!
Wow!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
You need to chuck this football stuff and start a career teaching about God.
The above statement sounds like the explanation I gave to the Pastor of the first church I joined when I was 24 or WHY I felt uncomfortable "belonging to a church"; the explanation to why the "Baby Boomers" left and have generally stayed away from organized religion; and the clarion call for all fundamentalist religions to sit down and have a gut check.
It's about "the message": Not "the words" that describe Jesus's teachings.
And, Cleets has concisely explained the importance of personal spirituality, as well as the importance of the absence of a church doctrine which (IMHO) distorts the message. Every life form is designed to "advance" to a noble, higher purpose. Man has been "blessed" by being on the cusp (ground floor) of sentience, allowing him to explore that purpose, yet not wise enough to devise the methodology for that exploration: Hence, he creates the church.
BTW, Soulman, since you're discussing the Exodus this fall...one of my pet peeves in understanding the "plight" of the Jews, is
underscoring how altruism has embodied their journey. Once the concept of "self sacrifice" is understood not as a "sacrifice", but rather (when done consciously) as a necessary step in accepting the teachings of Christ and understanding the message, the "plight" is illuminated as an enlightened act of Godliness, rather than a modern notion of hardship. A concept lost on our material world.
Peace to all. Thanks for getting involved Cleets, and always interjecting the "existentialists" viewpoint.
Off to the football game.
