Thursday, April 10, 2008

LET US REASON TOGETHER

Personally, I love the Bible. All of it. When I read in the Old Testament, I can relate to the characters involved. Most of them have weaknesses, and I seem to have many of those weaknesses. Even the giants of Spiritual strength, I have emothions that let me imagine, like a child reading a 'Superman' comic strip, that I had those strengths and desires.
Some of the things that take place in the O.T. however, do not seem to make sense until you study and understand about the culture and laws of the people at that time and in that area. I have learned a lot about human beings and how to relate to them and to have compassion, and also the 'best' way to help others have happiness in their own lives.
There are, of course, many other reasons for studying the O.T., chief among them is the Saviors admonition to the Pharisees to "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have Eternal Life, and they are they which testify of Me.". Of course, one must remember that when Jesus spoke those words, the only scriptures available to search was the O.T. But that is another story.
The New Testament is so beautifully written, and the teachings of Jesus Christ so well proclaimed, that it is no wonder that even those who do not accept Him as the Son of God, still acknowledge that He was the 'Greatest Teacher' that ever lived. I find that statement somewhat hard to believe, because I personally would not ever call a liar the greatest teacher, and if they refuse to believe that Jesus Christ is who He said that He was, namely the Son of God, sent down from God to redeem mankind from their 'fallen State, then they are in essense calling Him a liar.
For many years when I thought I was 'Searching the Scriptures', however, I found that what I was doing was just looking for those passages, many times taken out of context, that would support some pre-conceived idea or belief that I held, and was really just looking for some way to 'prove' or support my belief, rather than to learn the true meaning of the revealed word of God. I believe that that is probably the reason that there are so many different 'interpretations' of the same verses of scripture.
Also, to gain real insight, one must use some intelligent power of reason as one reads. I do not, when I use the word 'intelligent', refer to the way that many lawyers use words to trick or trap people to go along with their way of thinking, or to twist the real intent out of the passages. What I am referring to is to question, for example, say, when Jesus is praying, whenever He is praying, whether it be in the Garden of Gethsemenee as recorded in John 17, or when it is on the Cross, pleading with His Father to 'Forgive them, for they know not what they do.", just Who is Jesus praying to?
Well, that's enough for now. I really do apprecieate your comments and wish to thank those who have made comments in the past. And I look forward to more comments.
Sincerely, Roland

Sunday, April 6, 2008

JUSTIFICATION FOR PRAYER

Did you ever ask yourself: What is the justification for Prayer?
There are, of course, many without an understanding of God who might state that prayer is a form of 'positive thinking', or 'self hypnosis', perhaps similar to the 'placebo effect'. That any results attributed to prayer is simply a coincidence, or even some rationalization to support our 'superstition', even going so far as to state that when our prayers are not answered the way we wished or expected, that 'It was not the will of the Lord.' Many believe that what we see as 'Miracles' would just as well have happened without any prayer at all.
When one has such a mindset, there are no 'logical' answers to help them. Only sincere, meaningful and loving prayer is likely to help them see the light.
However, for those who do pray, my question is why? Let us analyse the possibilities.
First, for prayer to have any positive results, or even meaning, one must have some hope of or belief that the object of our prayer must be some God, or power, or being that number one, can be aware of our petition, number two, has the desire to grant or deny our petition, or three, has the power to do so if It wishes.
I seem to be unaware of how any thinking human being could go through the above analysis and then worship a graven image, or icon, or even a naturally appearing 'sign' from which they would expect to receive results from prayer. Maybe this is just my unenlightened thinking.
But we are going to look at the prayers of 'Christians', and then again ask those same questions. One, Christians generally believe in a God, and it is usually the one described in the Bible. If that is so, then one must assume that they believe that God can 'hear' our prayers, whether spoken or unspoken, as distinctly as if He were in the room with us, and keep our petition separate from the hundreds of millions of prayers being offered at the precise same time as ours. But, does He have the desire to respond? Does He really care? Does He have the Power? Does He have the will? Does He really know me? Does He understand my need or my concern?
Here is where I have some concern. There are many 'Christians' who say that the 'Heavens' are closed. That there is no more revelation. That the Bible contains the whole revealed 'Word of God'. That all of the information that we need to get answers or solve our problems is contained in the Bible. If that is so, then there can be no answer to prayer. Such an answer would in fact be 'new revelation', even if it is only directed to one person.
And yet, I believe that all 'Christians' pray. I have been in many 'Christian' bookstores, and find many books about prayer, how to pray, intercessory prayers for others, and the miracles of prayer. I have attended the worship services of many differing 'Christian' congregations and have heard them all pray.
PS. So as not to offend, when I use the generic term 'He' to describe God, for those who believe that God is a woman, subtitute She. I think that I will stop here, and wait for comments.
With love, Roland

Friday, April 4, 2008

Corrections and Additions

Corrections:

Just thought that I would identify my former 'goofs' in one post, instead of going back and trying to edit each one. I'm lazy, you know. So, I finally found out where that first post titled Getting Smarter was located and so I Posted it. That's why there are two posts with the same title. Also, on another post, titled Priesthood In Action, I left out the fact that Kevin Vreeken was there and stood in the circle with us too. Thats a lot of people for me to remember.

Additions:
Since our last post about Just Visiting, we have had a delightful evening visiting with Greg and Stacey. And they, too, insisted on feeding us. We really enjoyed the visit, and the meal, but we are afraid that if we ask someone if we can come over, they will think we're just looking for a free meal. Not so. But a relaxing visit while eating does give opportunity to talk about a lot of things and get well acquainted. Now that they are both out of school, they are planning for their future and hopefully all that 'Education' will pay off.

This and That:
Hopefully, some day I might write something worth reading, and if I do, it will probably be in the area of life's philosophy. I might also bore some of you with some of my (Roland's) life experiences, and include some of Betty's too.
As most of you know, I love the Lord, and think about how He has blessed my life and the lives of some other people I know.
Like many people, when you have or discover something good, you want to share it with those whom you know that might also benefit. But a funny thing happens with the area of religion. Everyone who belongs to some faith or other, also thinks the same way, so when you go to share, they either shut you off, or try to convince you that you are the one that needs to listen or consider the way that they believe.
Perhaps by just discussing the Bible, which most 'Christians' seem to have some faith in, I will be able to get some sort of dialog started. Hopefully, if this does happen, all who participate will be friendly and open minded and constructive in their comments.
This blog-site will be available to several families that I consider close friends who are of different religious backgrounds, and I really hope that all who read or post herein will consider that the friendship and love felt among us is more important than 'winning an arguement'. With that said, I promise to keep all of my comments and references strictly to the Bible, and not what some person, famous or not, has said. I personally use the King James Version, but whatever version you use is acceptable. I also will abstain from any scriptural references from 'other' scriptures, even though I may believe them to be valid. Enough for now.
If you believe that I am entering dangerous ground, please let me know your thoughts.
With Love to all, Roland