Here’s the first podcast of the new year – sorry it took so long to get around to it but January was just a bear. However, here’s an exploration of why faith and doubt should go hand in hand rather than being seen as incompatible. I reflect on the questions posed by a listener who is struggling on the spiritual road and I think it will give you some insights into where I am coming from and where I see 21st Century spiritual discussion headed.
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I just got done listening. It is what I struggle with at times as well. What hit me most was, lack of faith at times. I feel that many times I have a strong faith. I am always seeking it to get stronger. I am currently enrolled in Diakonia. Two classes ago, I was confronted with ideas that really shook my faith. I felt I had been taken down a few notches in my “faith level”. But, what really happened was that God gave me an opportunity to seek out truth, and grow my faith. By taking this challenge head on, I bounced back, and got back those few notches, and then some. Wow!, what a way to grow. Knock you down to bring up. Like someone said to me. Kind of like body building. You need to rip those muscles, in order to build them. Keep up the good work.
A thought just occurred while listening to your January 4th show…
When talking about whether God controls the things that happen to people on earth (the “sadistic, puppetmaster” discussion) and why bad things happen to good people, the bible has a very poignant example of how God does not act as a puppetmaster. In the story of Adam and Eve, and the first sin where the serpent tricked Eve into getting the two of them to eat the apple: If God had ultimate control of our actions, wouldn’t that event have never happened? I too believe that God designed creation to be free-thinking. What I see that meaning is that we are supposed to make mistakes, and we all have free will to make our own choices. Rather than being “right, or wrong” when it comes to individual beliefs, the redemption of Man comes in what we believe in our hearts, and whether we give in to the Evil or whether we act according to a higher code. I don’t think there is any difference in the Muslim, Buddist, Jew or any secular denomination of Christian. These divisions are man-made creations. No one is “right” or “wrong”. Tom is right, it’s not an “either-or” situation when it comes to belief.
Thanks again for the podcast! As always, the show prods and pokes the intellect, and makes me think more deeply about my beliefs.