tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593204.post4651128738137295647..comments2023-10-29T00:27:50.643-07:00Comments on 2012: The SparrowRyan Lee Sharphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04483142871305228497noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593204.post-10815506114376316772010-01-25T07:34:20.121-08:002010-01-25T07:34:20.121-08:00Yah, I'd say you're dead on, Thomas. I don...Yah, I'd say you're dead on, Thomas. I don't know that we could ascertain that sort of information. God either is or isn't there.<br /><br />I really want to explore what's behind the desire to have certainty on one's side. And I'm curious why people think that the existence of God is so fundamental to living well on this planet earth.<br /><br />I've found that this is a very difficult conversation to have with someone who is still deeply committed to the idea of God. I guess I understand why that's so. It's hard to be critical about things we hold very close to us. I just don't know how to bridge that gap and slip into a conversation about perspective and essence instead of the Name.<br /><br />Anyway, thanks for reading along.Ryan Lee Sharphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04483142871305228497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593204.post-13483955994783614612010-01-22T15:20:29.430-08:002010-01-22T15:20:29.430-08:00Existence only deals in finite things, at least fa...Existence only deals in finite things, at least far as the sciencey logical positivist crowd goes. As God is infinite, God's existence is kind of a pointless question. <br /><br />I'm probably more committed to the Christian (and particularly Methodist) tradition that you are, but I'm also getting to a point where the whole "does God exist" question seems kind of pointless.<br /><br />It's an interesting book, though I doubt I'd reach the same conclusions as the author on theodicy.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09230149084752831115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593204.post-25835390410571926592010-01-04T16:17:34.683-08:002010-01-04T16:17:34.683-08:00Ryan,
that passage...more than any other affected ...Ryan,<br />that passage...more than any other affected me...it hit me like a knife when i had read it. Reading it all over again leaves me feeling much the same. <br /><br />Your questions are apt ones...and in some ways it reminds me of what Bonhoeffer said within the year of his death, languishing in Nazi prison after a long denial of his expectation that God (and man) would come to his rescue. "In the Light of God we must live as though there were no God."<br /><br />we will talk more.<br /><br />I'm stoked you liked the book my friend.Brittianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09578098379462622105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593204.post-75807688474686034832009-12-19T10:32:31.775-08:002009-12-19T10:32:31.775-08:00I need to find ways to bring these questions up mo...I need to find ways to bring these questions up more often. <br /><br />I hope the existence or nonexistence of an outside God-being wouldn't c change MY life too much.<br /><br />I think the question that should impact our lives (and our decisions about God's existence) is 'what if there is no love?' I think that question's answer WOULD impact our lives in some real ways.<br /><br />And that is worthy of some holiday cheer. *clink*David Wierzbickihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08021741686243670878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593204.post-62906582581412812402009-12-17T21:49:43.456-08:002009-12-17T21:49:43.456-08:00good question.good question.adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170129909326596925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593204.post-14008157141345728692009-12-14T19:46:42.195-08:002009-12-14T19:46:42.195-08:00Yes a wonderful book and it's sequel is worth ...Yes a wonderful book and it's sequel is worth the read as well.<br />Emilio struggles with his conceptions of god while on earth but feels he has truly met the maker when he meets the Runa because it all fell into place for him there. I feel as if I have operated the opposite of Emilio in that I was expectant of god for years but now am resigned to an uncertain, albeit very hopeful and peace-seeking, place where I have let go. I no longer have to wrestle with a vicious god.<br />Here is (my) deal with god right now. Whether there is a god or not the real thing that matters is the human relationships we nurture. All of human activity, even those directed toward a divinity, has meaning and purpose only when shared with others. Contemplatives efforts are only valuable when shared with others. Chris McCandless' (aka Alexander Supertramp) story is only poignant when it is told to others. If god exists it seems to me that these interactions are the form that god prefers for us as far as meaning and purpose.<br />Emilio's conception of a vicious god is not just a result of his horrid abuse but by his seeming utter abandonment.bretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12902455889605979300noreply@blogger.com