Fast Fridays: 30 Minutes for God: Difference between revisions
Fast Fridays: 30 Minutes for God (view source)
Revision as of 18:45, 27 September 2024
, 27 September→Friday, Sept 27: "Religion is the opium of the people" (or nothing new under the sun?)
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Maybe not. We will discuss how our faith does not intoxicate, but uplifts; does not replace our pain, but refocuses it upon the Cross; does not excuse or justify suffering, but admits of it; and how our faith does not reflect our lives, but instead makes our lives. | Maybe not. We will discuss how our faith does not intoxicate, but uplifts; does not replace our pain, but refocuses it upon the Cross; does not excuse or justify suffering, but admits of it; and how our faith does not reflect our lives, but instead makes our lives. | ||
----We will start today with one of the best-known passages from Scripture, [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ecclesiastes/3?1 Eccl 3:1-15], "There is a time for..." The passage has been used in popular songs, just about every funeral, and as a lame excuse for murder (yes, there is a time for that, too). The quick read is that God not we are in control and whatever we have, good or bad, is a "gift of God" (verse 14). The first section of the poem ends,<blockquote>Thus has God done that he may be revered. What now is has already been; what is to be, already is: God retrieves what has gone by.</blockquote>Whatever popular culture assumes of the poem, Christ teaches (he always extends the OT!) to "glorify your heavenly father" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5:16 Mt. 5:16]). As the paralytic picked up his mat and walked off "glorifying God" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/5?25 Lk 5:25]): so must we -- no matter in joy or | ----We will start today with one of the best-known passages from Scripture, [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ecclesiastes/3?1 Eccl 3:1-15], "There is a time for..." The passage has been used in popular songs, just about every funeral, and as a lame excuse for murder (yes, there is a time for that, too). The quick read is that God not we are in control and whatever we have, good or bad, is a "gift of God" (verse 14). The first section of the poem ends,<blockquote>Thus has God done that he may be revered. What now is has already been; what is to be, already is: God retrieves what has gone by.</blockquote>Whatever popular culture assumes of the poem, Christ teaches (he always extends the OT!) to "glorify your heavenly father" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5:16 Mt. 5:16]). As the paralytic picked up his mat and walked off "glorifying God" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/5?25 Lk 5:25]): so must we -- no matter in joy or sadnes | ||
----Today our good friends let Michael run his Marx rant -- joined, God bless, by Teddy's own rant in which he taught us about [[wikipedia:Andrei_Platonov|Andrei Platonov]] and his dystopian critique of Marx's crazed (and sadly implemented) vision of heaven on earth. In Platanov's novel, [[wikipedia:Chevengur|Chevengur]], every Marxist tenet was fulfilled, but with all the physical satisfactions Marx could dream of the people were miserable, empty. | |||
Here we have the answer to Michael's question: is human suffering any different with or without God? No! Pain is pain. It is no more or less if God is present. What God does, however, is give it context and meaning. Besides, even the wealthiest and most comfortable among us still suffer -- there is no heaven on earth; as Justin and Teddy explained we live in a fallen world, and it is our job to reconcile ourselves with God through our savior the Lord Jesus Christ. | |||
== Friday, Sept 20: Typology and Salvation History == | == Friday, Sept 20: Typology and Salvation History == | ||