Two city girls driving down a country road saw a shirtless farm boy carrying two large buckets of water. His muscles brought on the giggles as they pulled over, calling out, “How heavy are those buckets?” Without looking up, he hollered back, “Depends on how far you have to carry ‘em.” Insulted, one girl approached him asking, “How far do you have to carry them?” Glancing her way he said, “Depends where I’m taking ‘em.” Intent on his attention she boldly asked, “Do you think I’m pretty?” He smiled, “Depends on how tired I am.” He put the buckets down and walked toward her with quick, long strides. She laughed coyly, and backed up toward her car till he was chasing her. Wide-eyed, she climbed in behind the safety of her door, and asked, “Are you crazy?” Tossing his head back with friendly laughter he replied, “Depends on how long it’s been since I’ve seen a pretty girl!”
Depends….
Am I a good person? …depends on who you’re comparing yourself to.
Is there a purgatory? …depends on which religion you’re asking.
Once I’m saved by grace, can I do anything I want? …depends on who’s doctrine you’re going by.
Will I go to heaven when I die? …depends on where your faith lies.
That farm boy knows it and so do we, our questions wear more Depends than folks with bladder control issues. If you’re anything like me, one question leads to another. Answers that include the word ‘depends’ leave me frustrated. Aren’t there absolutes in this world? Again, we can say, “Depends on _____” and fill in the blank with any number of answers. I’d say; depends on whether or not you’re willing to accept the absolutes. Sometimes black is simply black and white is simply white. And sometimes we have to face things we’d rather not look at, believing it’s easier to hide in a ‘depends…’
Some of us believe we’re ‘not so bad’ – ‘basically good’ people. Good and bad are both relevant words, and words we interchange as time goes on. (Younger generations use the word ‘bad’ when referring to something they think is very good.)
Ponder this:
There are (at least) four verses in the Bible that make the point: “there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Psalm 14:3; Psalm 53:3; Romans 3:10; Romans 3:12)
And First John, verses 7-10 tell us that: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (KJV)
Helen this was a great reminder on how we should think and act I loved it
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what you're trying to say here. It almost seems as though you're questioning your faith, which I'm far from thinking is a bad thing. Like me, you have a very inquisitive personality and want to know the answers to... well, pretty much everything. The difference I see between you and I is that where religion is concerned, you seem to have formed the questions that bother you about christianity but seem content on the answer, "I'll find out when I get to heaven." I have a hard time buying into the blind faith concept.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I think everyone is entitled to believe whatever they want to believe. Sometimes I wish there was a god who could answer life's problems but I can't bring myself to actually believe it. There are too many "depends" answers in the world where religion is concerned. I think there may have been a "creator" that helped spark humanity but that the species who brought us about either left or is long dead.
Among the various questions I have I'll ask only this for now. What makes one religion any more factual or likely than another? Most religions borrow events, morals or stories from other religions and a few religions predate Christianity and Islam by thousands of years. Greeks and Romans had religion before Christianity and Islam came into existence, then people stopped believing in them and they became "mthology". Sometimes I wonder if in a few thousand years people will look back on Christian and Islamic beliefs and refer to them as mythology as well.
Again - GREAT to see you here, Scott!
ReplyDeleteQuestioning my faith - or questioning my God? Hmmm... I question my faith all the time, in regards to can I dare to believe what I say I believe? My answer is always yes, but then I wrestle with why I don't always put my faith into action when I know I should. Question God? Yes, I question Him all the time. That's my style of learning, by asking questions. He's not threatened at all.
What was I trying to say in this post? The paragraph after the questions sums it up, really. '. If you’re anything like me, one question leads to another. Answers that include the word ‘depends’ leave me frustrated. Aren’t there absolutes in this world? Again, we can say, “Depends on _____” and fill in the blank with any number of answers. I’d say; depends on whether or not you’re willing to accept the absolutes. Sometimes black is simply black and white is simply white. And sometimes we have to face things we’d rather not look at, believing it’s easier to hide in a ‘depends…’
Just about every question we ask can be answered with an 'it depends' type of answer. But as I mentioned, to me, it depends on whether one is ready to accept that there are absolutes. Our pastor often says the gospel message is so simple, you need a good theologian to confuse you. :)
I'm not content to 'find out the answers when I get to heaven' - that's why I ask the questions here. Quite often I get the response: 'unknown'. Honestly, I hate that response - surely SOMEONE knows, and I want it to be me. I do recognize that there are some questions I may not find the answer I'm looking for, but that's my fault for looking for a certain answer. Perhaps the answer I'm looking for isn't truly the answer at all.
I also realize that there may be many answers right in front of me and I'm not recognizing them.
You said, 'Sometimes I wish there was a god who could answer life's problems but I can't bring myself to actually believe it.' - That's the whole point of relationship with God - coming to a place where you CAN believe it.
As far as the religions of the day - toss the out a window, Scott. None of them is better than another and none will do you any good - nor will they do God any good. Religion is man's attempt to find a god worthy of their faith, love, trust and worship. Rather, seek after a relationship with that Creator you referred to.
If you spoke something into existence as truly incredible as this world and all that's in it - would you just walk away from it? Unlike a stern dictator, God only wants worship and love from those willing and wanting to worship and love Him. He's not wanting any of us to perish, but He loves and respects and trusts us enough to give us the right to choose - the right to deny even His existence.
Would you want your children to love you only because you commanded them to? Does your heart ache when you think they might not love you? And really - you provided the sperm. Imagine, if you dare, the Father in heaven watching His children by the billions turn their back on Him.
I've again gotten to wordy - I need to say more with less words! :) I love you, Scott.
My point was that you're content enough with the answer, "unknown" to continue believing. That doesn't work for me.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the "creator" of man, if there even was one, spoke anything into existence. If it was anything more than evolution, and that is a very big "if", my best guess is that the science of this "creator" was what brought about the beginning of humanity, not simply some magically spoken words.
I also don't believe anyone "gave us the right to choose" anymore than we were given the right to breath or the right for our hearts to beat. It's simply our nature to make our own decisions, just as it's in the nature of animals to do the things natural to them. Even they have a "right to choose" in some forms. They can choose where they eat, sleep and roam among other things.
The bottom line here I guess is that if I'm supposed to believe that something is true, I want factual evidence to back it up.
So..... can you dig back into your memory banks for a time or event that was pivotal where you either believe 'God failed you' or something occurred that made you stop believing in the God you were raised to love?
ReplyDeleteIn Isaiah 1:18 God invites you to have this conversation with Him. He challenges you to 'come reason with Him...'
(Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.)
So - He must have the evidence you need to back up everything He wants you to believe.
Ask the God I believe in, 'God, what's a lie I believe?' and see if you hear He say anything to you.
I think for the most part it was a gradual process as I grew older and began thinking about the liklihood of whether these things I'd been taught since I was young were actually true or if it was just man's need to believe in something higher than himself.
ReplyDeleteIf there was a pivotal point that really made me cast my doubts on religion, I'd have to say that it was when I was re-reading the bible as an adult for the book I tried to write a few deployments ago. Re-reading it and seeing the contradictions, hypocritical nature of parts of it, favoritism for a certain people and simple impossiblities through educated, adult eyes put the final nail in the coffin, so to speak.
I've never heard an audible voice answer any prayers and I think that anything I may have thought I heard in my head was just my own brain answering questions I formulated. I've never seen divine miracles that were common in the bible... the dead rising, blind men seeing, etc. If it happened then, why wouldn't it happen in modern times?
As I've said before, I think parts of the bible make a good moral compass to follow, and other parts may be based on historical facts, but as a whole, I do not believe it is much more than stories.
I don't mean to question your faith, and I'll stop commenting on your blogs if you like. I hate when people try to preach their point of view to me, so I'll not try to push my beliefs on you unless you simply want to debate the subjects.
No, by all means - I welcome every single comment you have. You can comment or question or challenge anything I say! I've tried my best over your adult years not to preach my point of view to you - and I don't intend on starting now. And by sharing your points of view with me - I don't consider it pushing your beliefs on me.... The only one that receives beliefs pushed on them is one who has no beliefs of their own.... What I believe evolves over the years - simply because I experience more, so more goes into the equation. Personally, I could never stop believing in God any more than I could stop believing I breathe air. If God didn't exist - neither would I. 8)
ReplyDeleteBut I totally welcome every ounce of interaction with you - you're one of the very people God uses to make my heart beat! I love you so much more than you know. Being a parent yourself should teach you THAT! 8)