This article talking about a "calling" from God rings true to me.
Once I married and starting having children I decided that my "calling" necessarily needed to contain these elements of family building. What else was there to do? God would never ask me to divorce and abandon my children for a "higher calling" would he? And yet, the idea of God relocating us at a moment's notice did bother me from time to time early on. (That's what comes from being a part of fundamental/evangelical religious groups.)
I don't believe in a god with a calling, just to be clear. The idea that my so-called "calling" coincided with my personal choices makes sense now. It was my choice all along.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
if there is a God
"If there is a God, atheism must seem to Him as less of an insult than religion."
-Edmond de Goncourt
So what are believers to do with the examples of "odd-balls" I've posted below? There is not a thing they can do about it! It must be terribly frustrating to see people who proclaim the same precepts that you do throw in the extra stuff that you would never say yourself because you're too kind, thoughtful, or worse, afraid. The problem with religion is that it is open to personal interpretation. You'd think that a god would have recognized the myriad of problems which would arise from giving "free will" to the people.
My thoughts... there is no god thinking this stuff through. There is no way we humans can surmise that a god exists. Religion is man-made, plain and simple. This is the explanation that makes sense to me. An unseen god, especially the Christian God, makes no sense considering the current state of the our world.
-Edmond de Goncourt
So what are believers to do with the examples of "odd-balls" I've posted below? There is not a thing they can do about it! It must be terribly frustrating to see people who proclaim the same precepts that you do throw in the extra stuff that you would never say yourself because you're too kind, thoughtful, or worse, afraid. The problem with religion is that it is open to personal interpretation. You'd think that a god would have recognized the myriad of problems which would arise from giving "free will" to the people.
My thoughts... there is no god thinking this stuff through. There is no way we humans can surmise that a god exists. Religion is man-made, plain and simple. This is the explanation that makes sense to me. An unseen god, especially the Christian God, makes no sense considering the current state of the our world.
Friday, June 8, 2012
can you feel the hate?
I'm not really trying to turn this blog into an expose on Christian leaders and their idiot ways, but I can't help myself. I am so glad there is no heaven in my future. It would be unbearable to share space with this person for an eternity!!!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
an enabling god
Recently in Florida a mother shot her four children before turning the gun on herself... five dead. The pastor at the funeral said that it was God's will for this to happen. Here's the USA Today coverage. He went on to say that the husband of the killer and father of the dead children forgave his wife while leaning over her casket in the church.
One way this father can mouth words of forgiveness over his murdered children's killer's casket is if he feels under some threat or danger of this God getting to him. Another reason might be that he is in shock and denial and is unable to think the thing clearly at this time. Perhaps under instruction from his pastor, he mouthed the words to find some relief from the overwhelming pain he's experiencing.
My brain does not work this way. Never has, never will. Pain suffered from egregious acts of senselessness doesn't just go away by saying "I forgive you". This man has lost his entire life. Speaking words of forgiveness may even short-circuit his ability to recover from this horrific tragedy.
Assigning meaning onto an invisible God is what the pastor is doing. Making it "God's will", in my mind, it makes God an enabler of murder and suicide. Doesn't it logically follow? The pastor said that God could have stopped it but then didn't, doesn't that make God a party to the outcome? Those in attendance seem to go along with the idea as something good and comforting.
What this sort of thinking really does is devalue human life. That's what it did inside of me when I thought this way. God is exalted and human value is diminished.
Some might say, "We can't know God's will or actions. We don't understand His ways. His ways are so much higher than our ability to understand." Okay... if God is not possible to know, then how come we humans know so much about Him? The pretzel just gets more twisted as more questions are posed in an attempt to excuse the "unknowable" loving God from acts that run diametrically opposed to the nature assigned him by his people. (A pretzel sentence to be sure.)
So, how do I look at an event such as this? I'm not able to explain the specifics. I'm sure it gets very complicated once you go below the surface of this particular family's problems. I would simply say that the natural world we live in is an unpredictable, scary place sometimes. Human beings are the most dangerous creature on earth. We have positive attributes certainly, but we are dangerous too.
The pretzel loses a number of twists when life is observed naturally. It makes life easier in some ways, but there is still pressure put on the participants to make their own life count.
One way this father can mouth words of forgiveness over his murdered children's killer's casket is if he feels under some threat or danger of this God getting to him. Another reason might be that he is in shock and denial and is unable to think the thing clearly at this time. Perhaps under instruction from his pastor, he mouthed the words to find some relief from the overwhelming pain he's experiencing.
My brain does not work this way. Never has, never will. Pain suffered from egregious acts of senselessness doesn't just go away by saying "I forgive you". This man has lost his entire life. Speaking words of forgiveness may even short-circuit his ability to recover from this horrific tragedy.
Assigning meaning onto an invisible God is what the pastor is doing. Making it "God's will", in my mind, it makes God an enabler of murder and suicide. Doesn't it logically follow? The pastor said that God could have stopped it but then didn't, doesn't that make God a party to the outcome? Those in attendance seem to go along with the idea as something good and comforting.
What this sort of thinking really does is devalue human life. That's what it did inside of me when I thought this way. God is exalted and human value is diminished.
Some might say, "We can't know God's will or actions. We don't understand His ways. His ways are so much higher than our ability to understand." Okay... if God is not possible to know, then how come we humans know so much about Him? The pretzel just gets more twisted as more questions are posed in an attempt to excuse the "unknowable" loving God from acts that run diametrically opposed to the nature assigned him by his people. (A pretzel sentence to be sure.)
So, how do I look at an event such as this? I'm not able to explain the specifics. I'm sure it gets very complicated once you go below the surface of this particular family's problems. I would simply say that the natural world we live in is an unpredictable, scary place sometimes. Human beings are the most dangerous creature on earth. We have positive attributes certainly, but we are dangerous too.
The pretzel loses a number of twists when life is observed naturally. It makes life easier in some ways, but there is still pressure put on the participants to make their own life count.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
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