Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Craig has some good God questions
Craig has three questions:
How do we trust God when our perception of reality is shattered?
Why do we trust our perception of reality more than God's?
Why is service such a big part of recalibrating our perception of reality?
Please, I extend his invitation, go over and give your 2 cents worth. They are honest questions, he is asking genuinely, and y'all all are thoughtful peeps. So, go, and tell him ER sent ya. :-)
Here are my off-the-cuff answers, which I left at his place. Please go and do likewise, and leave your answers here in the comments, as well.
How do we trust God when our perception of reality is shattered?
We trust that God IS, not that God DOES, or God WILL DO. The Jewish Scriptures that we inherited as Christians have God declaring His name to be I am that I am -- which, is a verb. Not a noun. As a verb, God then is Someone we experience, not a subject we count on to act, or an object we count on to substantiate our trust. We jump into the Verb of Life, which is God -- and hold on tight.
Why do we trust our perception of reality more than God's?
Not sure what this means, but it presupposes than we have a clear view of God's perception. We have neither a clear view of God's perception nor our own. I don't know what else Paul could have meant when he said we see as through a glass, darkly. Myself, I trust no perception. I throw myself onto the Cosmos and All That Is and I trust God.
Why is service such a big part of recalibrating our perception of reality?
Again, not sure what you're asking. But there is no Christian faith that is not also "service." It is not some thing that is separate from "faith." It is all of a piece. And we do it -- we love, we give, we help -- not to recalibrate anything or for brownie points or for any other reason that Our Lord asks us to, and if we love Him we will do as he asks. Then, we often find we are being healed. But if we don't do those things, and more, then we have no faith in the first place.
Oh, BTW, this here is my TWO THOUSANDTH post! :-)
--ER
How do we trust God when our perception of reality is shattered?
Why do we trust our perception of reality more than God's?
Why is service such a big part of recalibrating our perception of reality?
Please, I extend his invitation, go over and give your 2 cents worth. They are honest questions, he is asking genuinely, and y'all all are thoughtful peeps. So, go, and tell him ER sent ya. :-)
Here are my off-the-cuff answers, which I left at his place. Please go and do likewise, and leave your answers here in the comments, as well.
How do we trust God when our perception of reality is shattered?
We trust that God IS, not that God DOES, or God WILL DO. The Jewish Scriptures that we inherited as Christians have God declaring His name to be I am that I am -- which, is a verb. Not a noun. As a verb, God then is Someone we experience, not a subject we count on to act, or an object we count on to substantiate our trust. We jump into the Verb of Life, which is God -- and hold on tight.
Why do we trust our perception of reality more than God's?
Not sure what this means, but it presupposes than we have a clear view of God's perception. We have neither a clear view of God's perception nor our own. I don't know what else Paul could have meant when he said we see as through a glass, darkly. Myself, I trust no perception. I throw myself onto the Cosmos and All That Is and I trust God.
Why is service such a big part of recalibrating our perception of reality?
Again, not sure what you're asking. But there is no Christian faith that is not also "service." It is not some thing that is separate from "faith." It is all of a piece. And we do it -- we love, we give, we help -- not to recalibrate anything or for brownie points or for any other reason that Our Lord asks us to, and if we love Him we will do as he asks. Then, we often find we are being healed. But if we don't do those things, and more, then we have no faith in the first place.
Oh, BTW, this here is my TWO THOUSANDTH post! :-)
--ER
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congratulations on your 2000th post.
I'm with you: I'm not entirely clear what Craig's questions mean.
Now that I think about it, I reckon I could guess.
1. I'm guessing he means when we've been let down and what we thought was true and right turns out not to be so. As when someone we trusts does us wrong.
I wouldn't go so far as to call that a shattering of reality, but maybe that's not what he means.
2. I'm GUESSING here that he means why do we trust our own ways rather than God's Ways. And there's some good validity in asking that question, as Paul did - "why do I do those things I don't want to do?"
But I think mixed in with this is the assumption that we can know pretty well what God's ways are and when we (in some people's minds) fail to oppose abortion, we are trusting our perception of reality more than God's.
In other words, I'm wondering if there are some political assumptions based on human tradition built into Craig's question. But maybe not.
3. I'm guessing he's talking about service to the least of these. This is the one question I think I understand and can answer (at least to my satisfaction): When we serve WITH and FOR and TO the least of these, we are increasing our knowledge of the real world around us better calibrating our perception of reality than if we merely hang out with the well-to-do who are like us.
Anyway, congratulations.
I'm with you: I'm not entirely clear what Craig's questions mean.
Now that I think about it, I reckon I could guess.
1. I'm guessing he means when we've been let down and what we thought was true and right turns out not to be so. As when someone we trusts does us wrong.
I wouldn't go so far as to call that a shattering of reality, but maybe that's not what he means.
2. I'm GUESSING here that he means why do we trust our own ways rather than God's Ways. And there's some good validity in asking that question, as Paul did - "why do I do those things I don't want to do?"
But I think mixed in with this is the assumption that we can know pretty well what God's ways are and when we (in some people's minds) fail to oppose abortion, we are trusting our perception of reality more than God's.
In other words, I'm wondering if there are some political assumptions based on human tradition built into Craig's question. But maybe not.
3. I'm guessing he's talking about service to the least of these. This is the one question I think I understand and can answer (at least to my satisfaction): When we serve WITH and FOR and TO the least of these, we are increasing our knowledge of the real world around us better calibrating our perception of reality than if we merely hang out with the well-to-do who are like us.
Anyway, congratulations.
How? A lot of it is His being (doing as part of who He is), and doesn't happen overnight.
It's a long, painful, screaming at Him in anger process, but He manages to bring you through to that point of trust again (although it will never be as naive again).
You'll never be the person you were before, when what you perceived was your reality (emphasis on the you and your), but in the end you'll see that it was necessary in order to really see who He is (emphasis on the He). And that's far more important that your any of your own "perceptions".
Now I can't remember the second question and am too computer illiterate to save this and go back.
Service takes us out of ourselves. It's in our intense focus on our own perceptions that the danger always lurks that we'll construct some new personal reality that's bound to explode or crumble. Even worse, we project our perceptions onto God and think that that's what He's thinking too. Those are probably the most painful ones when they shatter. Or how about the perceptions we acquire and accept from other people (including the church)-thinking that those are "real". Serving others show us God's great love for diversity
and HIs love for every human, carrying around his/her own perceptions of "reality"
...and
congratulations!
It's a long, painful, screaming at Him in anger process, but He manages to bring you through to that point of trust again (although it will never be as naive again).
You'll never be the person you were before, when what you perceived was your reality (emphasis on the you and your), but in the end you'll see that it was necessary in order to really see who He is (emphasis on the He). And that's far more important that your any of your own "perceptions".
Now I can't remember the second question and am too computer illiterate to save this and go back.
Service takes us out of ourselves. It's in our intense focus on our own perceptions that the danger always lurks that we'll construct some new personal reality that's bound to explode or crumble. Even worse, we project our perceptions onto God and think that that's what He's thinking too. Those are probably the most painful ones when they shatter. Or how about the perceptions we acquire and accept from other people (including the church)-thinking that those are "real". Serving others show us God's great love for diversity
and HIs love for every human, carrying around his/her own perceptions of "reality"
...and
congratulations!
# posted by 
: 7:32 PM
: 7:32 PM
1. How do we trust God when our perception of reality is shattered?
In that we can never know what reality is outside our perceptions of it, if our perception is small enough to be shattered then we need to re-build a larger and stronger perception. Yes, God is outside of our perception, to realize that, is to realize how small God is to most people.
2. Why do we trust our perception of reality more than God's?
We only know our own, and can not know God's. Beside if we dig so deep into ourselves and go so far out to the extremes of the cosmos that we begin to approximate God's perception, then it scares the shit out of us and we run back into the comfort zone of our own perceptions.
3. Why is service such a big part of recalibrating our perception of reality? I beleive that there are and have been and will be many paths to God. Most of these paths share the rule that you must do to or for others what you would have done for or to yourself. They all require that you love others and that you love God. Providing for the needs of others is the esscence of "service". Providing service is expressing God's grace.
In that we can never know what reality is outside our perceptions of it, if our perception is small enough to be shattered then we need to re-build a larger and stronger perception. Yes, God is outside of our perception, to realize that, is to realize how small God is to most people.
2. Why do we trust our perception of reality more than God's?
We only know our own, and can not know God's. Beside if we dig so deep into ourselves and go so far out to the extremes of the cosmos that we begin to approximate God's perception, then it scares the shit out of us and we run back into the comfort zone of our own perceptions.
3. Why is service such a big part of recalibrating our perception of reality? I beleive that there are and have been and will be many paths to God. Most of these paths share the rule that you must do to or for others what you would have done for or to yourself. They all require that you love others and that you love God. Providing for the needs of others is the esscence of "service". Providing service is expressing God's grace.
Sorry to be late to the party. I was at the beach...
Question one, I'm with you, ER: either you do or you don't, pretty much.
Question two, well, as all of us have noticed at one point or another, we are not right all the time, but neither are other people, so there's yer problem with objective truth.
In the meantime, scary as this sounds, all you really have to go on is your own limited perception. It is incomplete, true, but it's also all you have, since you cannot know the mind of god, and other people may lie, be crazy, etc.
Question three, I suppose, has a specific meaning for the author that I'd understand if I went over there and looked at it. I bet 'service' has a particular definition, for instance.
But from over here, I'll say: hey man, if you're doin' it right, Everything recalibrates your your perceptions. Think you're not part of the big wheel? Think again.
Or, as a friend of mine put it nicely one time, "Try to name something that Isn't Zen."
And so, when you do right toward others, then you're acting in service of the universe, and you become part of the biggest narrative of them all.
As opposed to that equally long (or longer?) narrative of actively doing wrong, and feeling proud of it.
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Question one, I'm with you, ER: either you do or you don't, pretty much.
Question two, well, as all of us have noticed at one point or another, we are not right all the time, but neither are other people, so there's yer problem with objective truth.
In the meantime, scary as this sounds, all you really have to go on is your own limited perception. It is incomplete, true, but it's also all you have, since you cannot know the mind of god, and other people may lie, be crazy, etc.
Question three, I suppose, has a specific meaning for the author that I'd understand if I went over there and looked at it. I bet 'service' has a particular definition, for instance.
But from over here, I'll say: hey man, if you're doin' it right, Everything recalibrates your your perceptions. Think you're not part of the big wheel? Think again.
Or, as a friend of mine put it nicely one time, "Try to name something that Isn't Zen."
And so, when you do right toward others, then you're acting in service of the universe, and you become part of the biggest narrative of them all.
As opposed to that equally long (or longer?) narrative of actively doing wrong, and feeling proud of it.
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