> Travis Edmunds <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >From: Deborah Harrell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > > Travis Edmunds <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
<snippage throughout>
> > > .... However, I
> > > would argue that if one isn't fanatical about
> > > his or her religion, then they
> > > aren't being 'true' to their religion.
> >Yet all of my friends who profess an organized
> >religion....are wise
> >enough to understand that one size does not fit
all.
>
> A very sensible approach. One that I personally
> agree with....
> > > ....So why would a god lay out principles to
> > > adhere to in the first place?
> >To keep the world from descending back into Chaos.
> >To test for obedience.
> >To keep people living harmoniously together.
> <smiling at the 'indulgent one'>
> 'Twas merely a rhetorical question.
But sometimes it's fun to answer them! :)
> >I ask, 'who says these rules come from the Divine,
> >and what proof do they offer?'
> If one has such questions brewing in their mind,
> then a mug full of
> organized religion would not be nearly as palatable
> as a cup of personal belief....But
> it cannot be equated with the store-bought product..
True; hence my quasi-affiliation as a heretic
Lutheran.
> > What I have had to adapt to is the silence of
> >uncertainty, despite the recurrent sense of a
> >Presence.
> The silence of uncertainty is a silence that screams
> in my ears daily. As
> for the sense of a 'presence'...I'm just not
sure....
> as part of the congregation....I felt something. But
> I would not ascribe 'a presence/THE Presence' to it.
> Merely a sense of
> communion with those around me....But such can be
> found at any 'gathering' of
> sorts. Divinity? Herd mentality?
There *is* something to a gathered mass of folk with
the same purpose; as you mentioned, it can occur at a
live band concert. <grin> When I saw Genesis, I
recall the air feeling positively electric; a drum
solo had us all stomping and clapping and
hooting...Fiben would've been pleased!
> Perhaps even finding God and not knowing
> it! For the quest for God may be inside ourselves.
> And what better way to
> find 'it', than gathering? And for a common purpose
> no less. Be it belief in
> a specific faith. A shared affinity for a particular
> rock band. A family reunion even!
>
> Ah! But do you hear it? The silence of uncertainty
> beckons...
> >It is neither easy nor particularly reassuring, but
> >it is...exasperatingly hopeful.
>
> In my personal writing career, I have this project
> that I dump random ideas
> into. One such idea took the form of a quote from
> yours truly:
>
> "Optimism is, in most cases, a complete disregard
> for the truth."
<grin> Goes well with my personal philosophy,
Pragmatic Idealism.
> I consider myself a realist. At least as much as I
> can be. And while I think
> that the above quote holds true more often than not,
> I am inclined to be
> optimistic, to be hopeful, for the sake of my own
> sanity. Yet I constantly
> ask myself when being the least bit hopeful about
> something, if I'm not perhaps going overboard.
>
> Thay say aim high. That way you won't hit as low. I
> say aim low. That way
> you haven't got so far to fall.
But it *is* important to have good expectations, of
yourself and others, or you risk a sort of
self-fufilling prophecy. It doesn't always work, but
I know that when I expect my horse to go forward past
some scary thing, s/he is much more likely to overcome
er's fear and do it, rather than if I anxiously worry
'will s/he go?' <yet another horse analogy!!!!>
Debbi
Bow Not To The Lowest Common Denominator! Maru ;)
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