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Post by Rob W. Case on Nov 28, 2013 23:32:40 GMT -6
Thanksgiving in the Midst of Strong Adversity (MP3 PODCAST)If you have experienced tremendous adversity within this past year, how would you react at the thought of Giving Thanks? While many people would try to focus on what happened to them, and why, how would you cope with adverse circumstances, and hardships? In this special Thanksgiving edition of Making Sense with Rob Case, we look at the life of the Apostle Paul, who had experienced so many difficulties, adverse circumstances, and hardships that would, upon a close, contemplative look, make ours pale by comparison. And amidst everything Paul went through, he was able to tell the people of Thessalonica, “ n everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Can circumstances make concept incompatible, or something that can be taken to heart? You will be surprised at what you’ll discover when everything is laid out in its proper perspective, as we take a look at the nature of how we handle hardships, and how we handle them with the power of God in this edition of “Making Sense with Rob Case.”
To access the podcast click HERE! Thank you, and God Bless!
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Post by rampage on Oct 18, 2022 1:20:16 GMT -6
I am not a religionist. I do not seek or expect salvation from the external. In hoping to make an enlightening, constructive point here I'm not invoking any supernatural anything.
Some find grounds for discontent in their daily surroundings. Within reasonable bounds, it's helpful. It helps us to sweep the floor once a week, take out the trash, even paint the garage.
Like so much else, to excess, it can degrade instead of benefit. Pick your own example: wanting a new car, the latest smart phone, perhaps a prettier wife.
Reductio ad absurdum. Think it through. How long would it be if you had the best car, the best smart phone the best garage, the best, before the novelty wore off? So what?
It's important to insure your longing isn't merely festering discontent.
The good news: of what benefit is having all the best if you don't appreciate it? And if you're sincere about appreciation, do you really need the absolute best to appreciate what you do have? Mark Twain said he used to complain about not having any shoes, until he met a man without any feet. The pessimist can lament his glass half empty. Is his disappointment not self-inflicted?
Why victimize yourself? It's not about a glass. It's about your life. It's about you. And both of these can be optimistic, or pessimistic. It's YOUR choice. So what was that about not being a religionist?
We needn't invoke the supernatural to count our blessings. That's a term religionists often use. We can also call it optimism.
Therefore, is happiness having what you want? Or wanting what you have? Count your blessings. It may not upgrade your smart phone. It may do something for you much better than that. Upgrade your life, your world-view.
Join us @citizenvoice.us
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Post by Rob W. Case on Nov 6, 2022 8:17:41 GMT -6
I am not a religionist. I do not seek or expect salvation from the external. In hoping to make an enlightening, constructive point here I'm not invoking any supernatural anything. Some find grounds for discontent in their daily surroundings. Within reasonable bounds, it's helpful. It helps us to sweep the floor once a week, take out the trash, even paint the garage. Like so much else, to excess, it can degrade instead of benefit. Pick your own example: wanting a new car, the latest smart phone, perhaps a prettier wife. Reductio ad absurdum. Think it through. How long would it be if you had the best car, the best smart phone the best garage, the best, before the novelty wore off? So what? It's important to insure your longing isn't merely festering discontent. The good news: of what benefit is having all the best if you don't appreciate it? And if you're sincere about appreciation, do you really need the absolute best to appreciate what you do have? Mark Twain said he used to complain about not having any shoes, until he met a man without any feet. The pessimist can lament his glass half empty. Is his disappointment not self-inflicted? Why victimize yourself? It's not about a glass. It's about your life. It's about you. And both of these can be optimistic, or pessimistic. It's YOUR choice. So what was that about not being a religionist? We needn't invoke the supernatural to count our blessings. That's a term religionists often use. We can also call it optimism. Therefore, is happiness having what you want? Or wanting what you have? Count your blessings. It may not upgrade your smart phone. It may do something for you much better than that. Upgrade your life, your world-view. Join us @citizenvoice.us By your own admission, you are a naturalist/materialist. It is the very narrow view that the only thing that exists before you is what you can hear, touch, see, taste, and smell. I say that it is a very narrow view because it completely and unequivocally ignores the very notion of what the Bible actually is. I can tell from your comments that you have never read the Bible before, because your point is a very common one made by naturalist/materialists. It is a viewpoint and an opinion with many restrictions that only a naturalist/materialist can maintain if they seek the ideological material needed to maintain it. In other words, you have to shut a lot of facts and information out if you're going to maintain it. Why? Because If you even went beyond the boundaries of your view and tried reading the Bible, you would have to acknowledge the fact that the Bible is in fact a history book, and in that history, it documents people, times, geographical places, and events that tie in (are involved with and affected by) the ancient world empires in world history (Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman). Threaded throughout all of that material is a common thread, a theme, and a history that we are experiencing and can resonate with this very day.
In that history, there is a God who makes Himself known, and seeks love, involvement, and interaction with on a daily basis. In other words, this God wants your heart. And He tells you what you need in order to achieve this (with the final result being Jesus Christ). When you truly and genuinely seek Him, and follow His directions on how to do so, things happen. I mean, they truly genuinely happen. One of the things that He calls for is humility. That is a key component, because you are at a point where you are acknowledging that you are not the "end all, be all" in your life, and that you don't know everything. By acknowledging God, you are also acknowledging your place amidst the presence of this God. Yet when things happen, and God intercedes for you, stabilizes you, works in front of you (making the impossible in the natural, possible through outside help), it establishes a history of experience that not only cements your faith, but establishes an anchor for which you cannot deny if you adhere to the very truth of it. The only thing you can do is get angry when you're mad, or disengage from others in your funk. What anchors me is how well God has pulled through for me, rescued me from myself, gives me wisdom through the Holy Spirit in connecting dots and putting things together, has made me more positive than I was before, and has provided me with opportunities that have a lot to do with my passion (engagements that require public speaking, radio, podcasting, video production, counseling people, etc.) That's not to mention the provision that He has given me. When I look at people who do not have these things, and they have a very narrow view of God, they show in the way they talk that they do not know or see God in all of this. At best they might have a generic notion of Him, but that's it. At worst, they have an outright combative and resistant disposition at Him, even to acknowledge Him.
Religion:
I am not a "religionist". I know many people who are religionists, and they key to understanding them is this; they've never actually read the Bible either, or if they did, they failed to understand the fact that I mentioned earlier, in that the Bible is a history book that introduces you to a God that is calling out to you, and once you answer that call, and you acknowledge, trust Him, seek Him, and talk to Him, things will change, not only internally, but externally as well. And the experience that is established from that power will anchor, stabilize, and cause you to keep coming back for more. Why? Because it livens and excites you. Religionists miss this point because they go through motions, rituals, recite sayings, and so forth, thinking that they are okay if they do that because the institutions that pervey religionist thinking are telling them that. To put it another way, one is connected to the cold hard reality of things, and the other is following what you're being told.
Thanksgiving:
In the Bible, we are compared to cisterns that always need to be refilled. Cisterns are water storage "tanks" that catch water from the rain and were heavily depended on for water supply in the ancient near east. If it goes without consistantly being refilled, it dries up. It is to that point that what you're saying about things that bring us joy wear off. They do. People everywhere are always looking to be "filled" with joy. Some people go shopping, binge eat, depend on drugs and alcohol, go out and have a good time with friends, and so many other things to feel "satisfied" and "fulfilled". But the moment wears off. Christ does not wear off or wear out. God is more faithful to us than we could ever be to Him. That said, while we who know God may distance ourselves from Him (for whatever reason) and seek those other means to feel "filled", He remains faithful to us. He knows that those things that we are filling ourselves with will not keep us filled and stabilize our "thirst" for water. That's why God refers Himself to the "living water".
Here are two expressions of thanksgiving by the second King of Israel, who knew this dynamic well and what it entailed.
Psalm 63:1 O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
Psalm 107:9 For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
God Himself:
Jeremiah 31:25 I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak.
When you experience that first hand, and you appreciate it. it's something that you never forget. Thanksgiving is giving thanks for what you experienced through God's faithfulness which has been provided for you at a time, place, position, or moment of need where He came through for you, when all else either failed, could never measure up, and/or could not transcend your situations, circumstances, or mindset.
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Post by rampage on Nov 20, 2022 17:06:24 GMT -6
Nov 6, 2022 9:17:41 GMT -5 Rob W. Case said: "By your own admission, you are a naturalist/materialist." [/b][/div] I've done character string searches for "naturalist" & "materialist". The only hits I got are those you introduced into this thread. I don't think of myself as primitive, or even negative, particularly in context of ISIL, or for those with a Christian bent, the Crusades, or the Inquisition.
But my agnosticism has long tenure in human culture:
“Is god willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?” ― Epicurus (341-270BC)
[/b][/div] For me that's not a reason to disbelieve. But it's a component of my reason for skepticism.
And that is what distinguishes my position from faith. Faith by definition means belief without proof.
Nov 6, 2022 9:17:41 GMT -5 Rob W. Case said: "By your own admission, you are a naturalist/materialist."
Perhaps the conspicuous paradox here is, I am skeptical about god as variously described by ostensible experts, who can NOT prove the god they describe exists. BUT !! Many of them present themselves as committed true believers, but they cannot prove god exists.
I can.
But to embrace this it's necessary to subordinate emotion to logic, a price many a devout believer is not willing to pay.
It's simple: The omniverse can be divided into two categories: - those things that are man-made, and - everything else.
That most generous slice of the pie has a name: "Creation". And if there is a CreaTION, then there must be a CreaTOR.
That does not necessarily validate Genesis. BUT !! It rules out the atheist explanation.
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Post by Rob W. Case on Dec 2, 2022 18:20:45 GMT -6
Naturalist/Materialist:
The terms "naturalist" and "materialist" are not out of the ordinary terms, particularly when characterizing a concept or idea that is best understood from a metaphysical/philosophical standpoint. What does that mean? Since metaphysics is the science really of conceptualized ideas and/or explanations of thoughts, dynamics, descriptions, and characterizations of things that we cannot hear, see, taste, smell, and touch, it is a branch of the family of philosophy that allows us to ponder what exists, lays out for us “tools” to use to determine what is true, right, and perhaps lasting beyond what's in front of us. A "naturalist", according to Merriam-Webster's dictionary (which best fits your description) is, "a theory denying that an event or object has a supernatural significance." A "materialist", according to the Oxford Dictionary, is, "a person who supports the theory that nothing exists except matter and its movements and modifications". What's interesting about this very dynamic is that many people who are naturalist/materialists do in fact embrace philosophies, which is the study of conceptualized ideas and dynamics that exist or they have faith in beyond their being. From there, other people can decide whether or not those ideas or dynamics have an applicable or resonatable truth to determine if it is indeed "their truth" or "your truth" if that makes sense. Where the very real effects of faith tie into this is that its power can be described through metaphysical and even natural means. But either way, faith provides a portal for response, and that response is what enforces and reinforces it for me on a daily basis. My most recent bout with this works in this way. For example, I was looking very hard for a DVD of some old home movies that I converted from VHS many years ago. My brother and sister in-law requested that I bring it to their house so that my little nephew can watch their dad as a baby. I remember having it, taking it with me during a tumultuous and chaotic move (we had to move out of our house because of "eminent domain" several years ago) so my sense of where things were were all disoriented. Since I have had much experience in praying for God to resurface things, whether it was indeed an item, a thought, an idea, or what have you, I decided to "take God at his offer" to "pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17). While I was getting nowhere on my own efforts, after asking God, the thought then came to me out of the blue to look for the disc in an uncommon area that I would normally not have it in and why. Needless to say, that thought that was brought to me led me straight to that item. This is only my latest example of God stepping in (at this writing), but prayer works. And when God comes to you, or does something for you, it further solidifies your faith.
From my experience/standpoint, I think of faith like amber and what makes it solid. Amber is comprised of a gummy like, translucent tree sap (resin) that hardens in layers. When it pours over something that is living, it preserves it and with each layer, over time, it creates a fossil of that item, keeping the living thing that it encompasses preserved and eternally solid. Faith in God from an experience standpoint works very similarly.
Epicurus and the Problem of Evil:
I’ll have to admit, the world history enthusiast in me has a problem with attributing Epicurus’s quote to the same God I am referring to. Why? Because Epicurus had no concept, experience, or outer knowledge of God in his life or in the environment, society, and culture that he lived in. What do I mean by that? Epicurus lived at a time when the Greek Empire was the world empire of his day, and its religion was rooted in Greek mythology, not Judaism, or Christianity. That said, the “god” he was most likely referring to was Zeus.
But let’s “stretch it out” beyond its proper time, place, and context, and try to apply it to the Judeo-Christian God. What would result? If you know or study God, God is a God of free will. If you ever read the scriptures, one thing that is impossible not to notice is that God does not seek “robots”. He allows free will so that people will choose Him. Why? Because He wants their heart, which means that He wants people to choose Him.
But in the lieu of this, there are two major forces that are detrimental to a person’s ability to have faith, and that is evil and personal pride. While personal pride dethrones God in one’s heart and life and elevates one’s self to the “throne” of his heart, evil gives people a seemingly reasonable justification and rationalization into believing that God does not interact in the affairs of men and the world. But here’s the kicker; men CHOOSE evil, which causes innumerable adversities that cause devastations, desolations, poverty, murder, and a host of many other injustices. In that, people experience their immortality, lack of control over things, their neediness, and really an end to themselves on the “throne” of their hearts. That said, God reaches out to people, whether it’s through other people, provision, or intercession in some way, which humbles people and causes them to put their faith in God.
It is through the experience of that provision that the necessity of giving thanks becomes essential. King David, the second King of Israel, expressed thanksgiving many times in his Psalms, and used those expressions as a potent reminder of who to turn to for hope, inspiration, and light before things get bad, dark, and dangerous. And the more God helped David out, the more David depended on Him, which resulted in more and more Psalms being added to the “bank” of his experience. We use King David’s model in our lives as well, as it keeps us grounded in our personal faith.
Faith without Proof:
You mentioned, “faith by definition means belief without proof”. Hmm.
Faith, according to Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
In chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews, we are shown a list of examples of the substance that was received because of those who believed what God said and acted on it. Faith is an act of give and take. It’s not some lofty idealism that gets people by in life. Faith is believing, acting, and God acting in response. That response is not only proof, but it gives the one acting on faith a confidence that where God gives His word, you can be sure that He will act on it, if you act on believing and taking Him at His word.
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