quote:

Originally posted by embroiderer:
Where is GOD?

"Each finds him in his own way."

- Ray Bradbury, The Man

from The Illustrated Man
And here's another way some found God: The preachers of the deep south back in the day found him in slavery. To wit:

Around the time that Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves, a lot of preachers were urging him not to do so.

In a climate in which even the United States Supreme Court declared that African Americans were only three-fifths human, America's preachers were called to action. But instead of preaching against the evils of slavery and helping bring an end to that damnable institution, our preachers did something shocking.

They quoted the Bible in defense of slavery.

They declared that it was God's will that people be kept in chains, as furniture. They said that it was ordained by God to be this way, that white men should own black men.

And those religious slave masters quoted the Bible to back up their claim, both the old and new testaments . . .

"And as for your male and female slaves whom you may have, from the nations that are around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves. Moreover you may buy the children of the strangers who sojourn among you, and their families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become your property." (Leviticus 25:44,45 <Old Testament>

"Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel. " (1 Peter 2:18 <New Testament>

Maybe it's not the best idea to take everything so literally!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Doug Spaulding,

Come on...EVERYBODY knows He lives on a small ranch just outside of Helena, Montana.
Locals say he goes fishing every once in a while, and no matter whether they're running or not...He always gets his limit.

BTW: Doug quotes Ray here...
"Each finds him in his own way."

- Ray Bradbury, The Man

He's trying to tell people something here.. I think it means that cutting out certain religions and peoples out of the 'God and Heaven' loop because their beliefs may differ is inherently WRONG.

quote:

Originally posted by Robert M Blevins:
Come on...EVERYBODY knows He lives on a small ranch just outside of Helena, Montana.
Locals say he goes fishing every once in a while, and no matter whether they're running or not...He always gets his limit.

BTW: Doug quotes Ray here...
"Each finds him in his own way."

- Ray Bradbury, The Man

He's trying to tell people something here.. I think it means that cutting out certain religions and peoples out of the 'God and Heaven' loop because their beliefs may differ is inherently WRONG.

Well, God could do worse than Montana, I'll tell you what!

Peoples is a good word.

The trouble (!!!) with much of what God does in the daily events of life, is that it looks so gosh darn normal stuff. You can't tell it from regular everyday stuff that happen every moment. And in that, it's awfully difficult (impossible?) to describe it to someone other than words like...God dwells in the everyday occurances of life!

I couldn't find the quote, but C.S. Lewis said something about everyone every day progressing toward becoming holy or demonic.

One quote I did find:

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."

quote:

Originally posted by Robert M Blevins:
Not everybody thinks that the Bible word-for-word is the voice of God.

Robert Blevins is right, in fact without understanding pre-Genesis history and becoming thoroughly familiar with humankind and their beliefs concerning spiritual matters, trying to understand the bible is like trying to nail down jello.

(I say this primarily to divert attention away from the "other" (prayer) thread, so folks'll leave Nard alone, as I don't think he really wanted comments over there.)

Not everyone thinks the Bible word-for-word isn't the voice of God, either.
I prefer to read what those brilliant folks who lived and died for Christ had to say regarding the understanding (and exegesis!) of the Scriptures; St. John Chrisostom, St. Athanasius, St. Gregory The Theologian, St. John of Damascus, to name a few.

Good idea there, Dougster, to: keep the discussion here and the request there.

"You ascended in glory, O Christ our God,
Granting joy to your disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit;
Through Your blessing
They were assured that You are the Son of God,
The Redeemer of the world!"

Troparion for The Ascension (today) Tone 4

quote:

Originally posted by Braling II:
St. John Chrisostom, St. Athanasius, St. Gregory The Theologian, St. John of Damascus, to name a few.

Ah, the Desert Fathers. I know them from my BTh work.

quote:

Originally posted by Braling II:
Good idea there, Dougster, to: keep the discussion here and the request there.

Thanks! I thought so.

That's why I've refrained from saying anything over there - I think it was a request, not a thread.

quote:

While Nard may espouse a more fundamentalist view than I hold...

I believe Mr Kordell is much more an evangelical than a fundamentalist.

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:
Please carry on praying - don't mind me.

I like it when the British say "carry on".

Further, Jesus was in India, and he also spent much of his youth in England, believe it or don't!

We British made a whole series of films from that phrase "Carry on". Carry On Praying wasn't one of them, however, although perhaps it should have been... Kenneth Williams as a Bishop, Charles Hawtrey as a village vicar, Hattie Jacques as a nun...

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:
We British made a whole series of films from that phrase "Carry on". Carry On Praying wasn't one of them, however, although perhaps it should have been... Kenneth Williams as a Bishop, Charles Hawtrey as a village vicar, Hattie Jacques as a nun...

Phil - What about Sid James as the randy verger?

In answer to your q, Doug Spalding - though you've most likely forgotten - I'm a thoroughbred Sassenach residing in Tinseltown, England. That's Twickenham to you, home to Rugby Union and film studios spawning such gems as Blade Runner; The Crucible; Saturday Night, Sunday Morning; American Werewolf in London; the Beatles movies etc.

To the zealots - we tend not to be fundamentalists over here. Despite our lack of a written constitution, we uphold the concepts of truth, justice, freedom of speech, religious belief, sexual orientation and so forth.

None of us knows from where we came, why we're here, where we're going. You could debate this til the cows come home and you'd be none the wiser. If you need inspiration from the Bible, why not follow the advice in Mark.12:29-31: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."?

tinkerbell: It's a sorry state that you don't know where you came from, why you are here, and where you are going. And make statements to say, in effect, that no one knows. As a Catholic, I was taught about those basic things in Cathecism in 2nd grade.