Searching for GOD...

[Brownie]

You certainly have a lot to bear Sass, and you do it very well!  I sincerely hope things improve for you and your family.

[Alan Burns]

Gods love is so big it really does not lessen or decrease because people attack other or call them names.
Gods love comforts and gives us hope in the darkest hours of our days and it does not change with seasons.

These words you wrote are so true, Sassy.  Just hold on to His love and He will see you through

[SweetPea]

There words you wrote are so true, Sassy.  Just hold on to His love and He will see you through

I second that, Sassy.

He's been with me through some rough times, too. We may be feeling lost or low or angry or stressed but if we can become still.... really still and quiet and hold-on to that stillness there is where we find peace. Ahayah (God) is there with us always.

Be still and Know that I am God.

[Alan Burns]

Yesterday during Mass I listened to the story of the prodigal son.  I have heard this story so many times, yet new insights from this simple parable still come through.

I saw the contrast between the temporary pleasures on which the son squandered his inheritance and the eternal unchanging love of the father.

I get glimpses of God's love at certain times during my life - during prayer, in other people, and in the miracle of life itself.  These insights often bring tears of joy.  There are so many things which separate us from His love, but they are temporary, and God's love is constant.

God's love is there for anyone to discover.  It is beyond human understanding.  It can't be discerned through scientific methodology.  Its profound nature is summed up so well in the words of Psalm 62:

In God alone is my soul at rest

[bluehillside Retd.]

AB,

Yesterday during Mass I listened to the story of the prodigal son.  I have heard this story so many times, yet new insights from this simple parable still come through.

I saw the contrast between the temporary pleasures on which the son squandered his inheritance and the eternal unchanging love of the father.

I get glimpses of God's love at certain times during my life - during prayer, in other people, and in the miracle of life itself.  These insights often bring tears of joy.  There are so many things which separate us from His love, but they are temporary, and God's love is constant.

God's love is there for anyone to discover.  It is beyond human understanding.  It can't be discerned through scientific methodology.  Its profound nature is summed up so well in the words of Psalm 62:

In God alone is my soul at rest

If this belief comforts you in some way, knock yourself out. As ever though, it remains factually wrong that the "scientific methodology" demonstrates this god of yours.

You can in other words have your own opinions, but you cannot have your own facts.

[Sassy]

Sorry to hear about your daughter seizures, can be very frightening indeed My husband had several major ones after his brain haemorrhage, they really did my head in.

I know only too well, (((Floo)))
It is the major ones that cause the most concern and yet we carry on for their sake helping them and talking to them throughout the seizure. Believe me when I say I have every sympathy and empathy for those with loved ones going through such times.

[Sassy]

You certainly have a lot to bear Sass, and you do it very well!  I sincerely hope things improve for you and your family.

My hope is firmly in God and his word concerning my family and I, and the future.
I believe God is leading us out of the wilderness and so the battle is greatest at this time.

These words you wrote are so true, Sassy.  Just hold on to His love and He will see you through

That I believe, because of Gods love within me which I believe dispelled the fear. Perfect love drives out all fear.
It is Gods love not our own which makes that possible trusting him with all our hearts so he drives the fear out by his love present in us. It is the inside which changes the outside...

It is Gods works we don't know  quite how but we trust him with the work he will finish in us. It is as well we don't know the mysterious way in which he works that way we cannot sabotage it, accidentally or through temptation. God is good and he is strengthening me and helping me.

I second that, Sassy.

He's been with me through some rough times, too. We may be feeling lost or low or angry or stressed but if we can become still.... really still and quiet and hold-on to that stillness there is where we find peace. Ahayah (God) is there with us always.

Be still and Know that I am God.

We need to stand on his word believing his promises and being thankful. Amen Selah,

[ekim]

Yesterday during Mass I listened to the story of the prodigal son.  I have heard this story so many times, yet new insights from this simple parable still come through.

I saw the contrast between the temporary pleasures on which the son squandered his inheritance and the eternal unchanging love of the father.

I get glimpses of God's love at certain times during my life - during prayer, in other people, and in the miracle of life itself.  These insights often bring tears of joy.  There are so many things which separate us from His love, but they are temporary, and God's love is constant.

God's love is there for anyone to discover.  It is beyond human understanding.  It can't be discerned through scientific methodology.  Its profound nature is summed up so well in the words of Psalm 62:

In God alone is my soul at rest

How do you distinguish Elohim's love (as in Psalms) from love in general or from Aphrodite's love?

[BeRational]

Alan Burns

Do you accept that you are not open minded?

You seem to avoid this question.

[Maeght]

These words you wrote are so true, Sassy.  Just hold on to His love and He will see you through

Having a strong belief in a loving God must be a great comfort in difficult times.

[Shaker]

What love? The evil god doesn't know the meaning of love, look at your poor friend Becky!

Harsh.

But not incorrect.

[wigginhall]

What love? The evil god doesn't know the meaning of love, look at your poor friend Becky!

Well, the trouble is, that 'God will see you through' could not be false.   I mean, if you were being tortured by IS, and then had your head cut off, you could argue that God was with you the whole time.   The fact that he didn't stop it is apparently a small price to pay, because God gives you what you need, not what you want.  Hurrah.

[floo]

Well, the trouble is, that 'God will see you through' could not be false.   I mean, if you were being tortured by IS, and then had your head cut off, you could argue that God was with you the whole time.   The fact that he didn't stop it is apparently a small price to pay, because God gives you what you need, not what you want.  Hurrah.

Yeh, how wonderful is that?

[wigginhall]

Yeh, how wonderful is that?

Well, my mother lost two children, and it was definitely a comfort to her that God had decided that this is what she needed, and didn't intervene.    There is a note of sarcasm here, by the way. 

[bluehillside Retd.]

Maeght,

Having a strong belief in a loving God must be a great comfort in difficult times.

That’s the one argument for religions that gives me pause. Utter nonsense from top to bottom or not, it’s clearly therapeutically useful when who believe it are under great duress. Pointing out at times like that that their beliefs are probably wrong just sees gittish to me.

That said, the moment these folks start along the road of “it’s true for me so it must be true for you too” then they must expect the roof to fall in.   

[Rhiannon]

Well, the trouble is, that 'God will see you through' could not be false.   I mean, if you were being tortured by IS, and then had your head cut off, you could argue that God was with you the whole time.   The fact that he didn't stop it is apparently a small price to pay, because God gives you what you need, not what you want.  Hurrah.

Can you imagine though, Wiggs, the descent into torment that the likes of Alan would experience if they stopped believing that? How quickly everything would unravel? It really wouldn't be pretty.

[Rhiannon]

Having a strong belief in a loving God must be a great comfort in difficult times.

Only providing you don't stop to question the logic of that belief in times of suffering.

[Shaker]

Can you imagine though, Wiggs, the descent into torment that the likes of Alan would experience if they stopped believing that? How quickly everything would unravel? It really wouldn't be pretty.

I've said that many a time before. The psychological defences he must have to put up to prevent even the possibility of that ever happening would put the Maginot Line to shame.

[bluehillside Retd.]

Rhi,

Can you imagine though, Wiggs, the descent into torment that the likes of Alan would experience if they stopped believing that? How quickly everything would unravel? It really wouldn't be pretty.

There's a lot of truth in that I think. It's not that AB and his ilk can consider the arguments and take a view - rather everything must be made to fit the paradigm of "god is". The pattern seems to be first to attempt some very bad arguments for god; second, when they're undone to complain that all that logic and reason stuff is just "man-made" or maybe the devil's temptations in any case; and third to go back to asserting personal faith beliefs as objective facts.

And that's why we have a dialogue with the deaf: no matter how many times AB has it explained to him not only that 2 + 2 does not equal 5 but why it doesn't equal 5 he cares not a jot - having decided that 5 is the answer come what may, nothing can be allowed to disturb that. As you suggest, if ever he allowed himself even to conceive of a godless universe then every piece of the jig-saw that undoes his position would cause his entire world view to unravel - and that could get very messy indeed.     

   

[Ricky Spanish]

I have got to be honest. This thread is the epitome in circulus in probando.

There is nothing we can say that will make AB think differently. There is nothing he can say that will make us believe in a biblical apocalypse. Or a heaven. Or a hell. Or redemption for our "sin" through believing Jesus is a "Christ"/being baptised in water and/or spirit. Or any other important Christian thing I have missed out!

[Rhiannon]

Alan wants to convince us of his beliefs but I'm not sure tha's why others are disagreeing with him. I'm just finding the conversation interesting and rewarding for its own sake.

[bluehillside Retd.]

Thrud,

I have got to be honest. This thread is the epitome in circulus in probando.

There is nothing we can say that will make AB think differently. There is nothing he can say that will make us believe in a biblical apocalypse. Or a heaven. Or a hell. Or redemption for our "sin" through believing Jesus is a "Christ"/being baptised in water and/or spirit. Or any other important Christian thing I have missed out!

Quite. The problem is that all that some of us have is reason and logic and argument and evidence - and when the likes of AB are indifferent to all of it then what's left to say - "my faith is deeper then your faith, so I'm right and you're wrong" madness? 

[Ricky Spanish]

Burnsie is not just thick-skinned, he is encased in lead and concrete.

[Alan Burns]

As ever though, it remains factually wrong that the "scientific methodology" demonstrates this god of yours.

If you read my post I said that God's love could not be discerned through scientific methodology because it is beyond human understanding.

My earlier posts were meant to draw attention to the limitations of science and encourage people to look beyond the limits of our man made logic to discover the truth that lies beyond.

[bluehillside Retd.]

Thrud,

Burnsie is not just thick-skinned, he is encased in lead and concrete.

Whilst all the while claiming to be open-minded!

One of the many ironies here is that he tells us just wants the rest of us to be open the "possibility" of god - an open door in any case as most of us already are open to the possibility of anything - while at the same time himself refusing to be open to the possibility of no god.