Elijah by the brook

I'm leaving for church in about ten minutes. I've been Elijah by the brook since Halloween last year (there has to be some enormous cosmic joke behind my moving day being on Halloween).

It's felt like the brook for the last six months...it's felt like a period of transition, of daily bread and meat from the ravens and water from the brook. But I do feel a new chapter on the horizon, and I feel it coming sooner rather than later.

I'm starting to feel the early stages of the brook drying up...but no marching orders to "Go at once to Zarephath," or anywhere else for that matter.

So I'm going to church today and will pray about the brook and try to open my ears and eyes to whatever is coming next.

Trust and obedience have to be the two toughest requirements of faith (other than having faith itself).

That is all.

:-)

...perhaps his time by the brook was transformational, as well.

Certainly, the Elijah who returns as a shape-shifter, in disguise to "means test" human empathy, has a larger heart chakra than the earlier one who burnt rival priests to a crisp during a theological showdown?

...and the question, which I can't answer today, is will the transformation occur exclusively at this particular brook, or will I be moved to another where the process will continue?

That's the inherent challenge of living one day at a time, being centered, giving thanks, and having faith.

reason and logic. it will better serve you than trust and obedience.

...I am currently re-reading Theron Q. Dumont's "The Power of Concentration"...published in 1915...which, in essence, says the same thing.

Faith, trust, and obedience are great...but it's like you are in a car on a single-lane, tree-lined country road out in the middle of nowhere, and you're a passenger in the back seat of the car. You feel like you are headed in the right direction, but all of a sudden the road dead-ends, and the driver says "this is as far as we go" and you respond "but I'm not there yet," and the driver repeats himself..."this is as far as we go."

trust and obedience lead to things like crusades and flying planes into bldgs.
To question is to affirm your humanity.

and into a path of fulfilling potential that you didn't know you had.

that you claim to be so upset with how Christians are bashed on here, and yet here you are feeding the fire by insinuating that atheists are somehow constrained by a "logical, conventional straitjacket."

"Do unto others...," "turn the other cheek...," I guess they are all easily discarded when one feels like it. Yet one gets to remain a True Christian regardless.

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Those sentiments are being attributed to the Christian ideal.

Yet he considers himself a Christian. It's all very confusing - people tell us that the right-wing fundies aren't Christians because they don't follow the words of Jesus. But liberal Christians don't either, yet they ARE Christians?

I am of the opinion that there are no moderate or liberal christians/muslims, just "bad" ones.

I trust that the fundamentalists are following the religion more "correctly" than any liberal. What makes them fundamentalists, the fact that they follow the religion as it has been followed in the past? why is their way "wrong" according to the moderates/liberals? just because it doesn't fit in with today's society and they need a way to hold onto Santa clause for a few centuries longer, even if only by a few strands?

Give me a break. If anything, since fundamentalists are adhering to a method of observance that is closer to Jesus'/Mohammed's own time, the probability they're doing it right is higher. I mean, its not like Jesus or Allah put out any new books lately.

engineers and scientists keep that jacket on, otherwise we'd still be praying for the invention of cars and computers and disease curing drugs. That logical "conventional" strait jacket is the reason you're able to sit on that computer and do that type of bashing.

without questioning where that will lead you. Hmmm? That always works out so well.
Trust and obedience, that is the ticket.
Isn't that exactly what the fundies, whom you do not want us to lump you in with, are doing?

Trust and obedience to the person in authority in your church because they tell you what they think scripture says?

I treat advise from pastors as one of many inputs, nothing more.

And I don't reject the scientific method.

I'm talking about decisions in one's personal life.

I'm talking about the time when you get a seemingly odd inspiration, and logic tells you you shouldn't go for it, but it won't go away, and even though you're scared, you follow it, and it turns out great, despite what all the "logical" people told you.

without the use of critical thinking can and does lead people to horrible actions for themselves and others.
Don't you think people who abandon medicine for faith healing, or give all their money to a church charlatan or become a suicide bomber and not following trust and obedience.
Trust and obedience to me means you are allowing another (a person or God) to make your decision for you.
Or are you talking following some inner inspiration or divine revelation, which is an entirely different conversation.

That's what Christians generally mean by faith and trust.

perhaps another discussion. Inspiration vs critical thinking (we have threads about that) But trust and obedience usually refer to one thing. The uncritical following of another. You even mentioned the "logical straightjacket", so you aren't really responding to my examples when trust and obedience are destructive.

"I'm talking about the time when you get a seemingly odd inspiration, and logic tells you you shouldn't go for it, but it won't go away, and even though you're scared, you follow it, and it turns out great"

You mean like when Scott Roeder killed family physician George Tiller? Turned out great for the anti-abortion zealots - one less person to provide abortions!

:eyes:

not just a single, recent murder.

The point, however, was valid.

...is the example of Scott Roeder not applicable? On the contrary, it's a huge problem for you and your beliefs. Which is why you jumped to an ad hom rather than address it, obviously.

even remarkably courteous for R/T, but I need to get a whole lot of things done in preparation for a trip, and so we'll leave things at that.