Conversations Concerning Us

  Let’s Talk             Well, here we are, most of the way through 2020, and COVID is still at large. With this pandemic, it has ignited more to look at the problem of evil. People are questioning how a good God could allow the world to be rattled with a virus such as this. To me, these questions seem to be coming from an emotional place rather than an intellectual one. There does not seem to be any contradiction in a good God allowing evil to occur in the world. I think the professional literature is quite strong on this. However, there is always a counter-argument to be made but I am not here to write about this logical problem of evil or something of this sort. Rather my concern is giving my personal experience and my emotional response to this question of evil. Personal experience seems to be a decent approach, since many are coming from this emotional side. My Experience with Evil      ...

Introduction             Is it the will that wills or is it the soul that guides? Maybe it is the heart that possesses each and meticulously orchestrates the pathways of life. Whatever your perspective, one thing is for certain, we all must deal with the inner parts of ourselves. Below is a collection of letters that were discovered. These letters were written by the inner parts of one man, let us call him Dave. Dave is unaware of these letters, nor is he aware of the finer workings of the writers. There are times when he (Dave) seeks to live out a certain position, his own. There are also times when he seeks out to live according to the word, Christ. A dichotomy lies deep within him for he desires so much and contends with his heart. His mind makes suggestions which the heart ignores. He becomes torn and hopeless yet filled with hope at the same time. Dave is trapped between liars and truth-bearers, wrecked by every passing day. ...

Introduction             It has been some time since my last article with a moderate amount of depth. Here, I intend on presenting an argument against apathy and strong agnosticism. The idea for this is that it seems to be a cultural mantra that we cannot “know” anything, especially if it concerns something outside of the physical world. However, with an apathetic or strongly agnostic attitude, this can hinder one’s ability at inquiry . When I say inquiry, I mean the general disposition at investigating or attempting to gain knowledge. Understanding the Meaning             Though apathy and agnosticism are not traditionally merged, I do believe they are connected. First, let us look at the definitions of both and move forward from there. Apathy is “a lack of interest or concern.” [1] Strong agnosticism can be defined as “the view that any ultimate reality (such as...

(Picture from:  https://www.google.com/search?q=question&sxsrf=ACYBGNQpMqqlAyDskXxNFCc9xldyW1fBCA:1581007557261&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjpsdmOsL3nAhWYPM0KHb38BRsQ_AUoAXoECBIQAw&biw=1536&bih=722&dpr=1.25#imgrc=lS7G0HOpvlifDM ) How Should I (or We) React? As time trickles on and I interact more with people, I find myself asking this very question (How should I react?). This will not be a very long post, but I think it is essential to at least analyze different possibilities and potential outcomes. Think of this post as some light and easy reading before starting your day or while taking a break from work. The intent is not to articulate some proper prose form but rather write as a story, one that flows and nestles nicely with the content so....On we go! In no sense do I proclaim myself as an all-knowing individual. Actually, it is quite the contrary. I am merely living a life of inquiry and believe I have found undeniable...

Introduction As it were, this will be the first post made here in several months. The title of this particular discourse is both descriptive of this fact and of the thought I have in mind currently. This idea of waiting is not something that is looked on nicely by polite society in our current age. With that said, this seems to be an aspect missing from our modern world, the ability to wait. What does it mean to wait? What good does it do me to wait? I'm not sure but what I do know is that there is value in waiting. (Picture retrieved from  https://fortheking2015.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/waiting-on-god/ ) The Will to Wait Waiting seems to be that thing no one has the will to do. So, having lost this overall positive disposition towards waiting, what has that done to the general psyche of the common man? Well, in short, it has nearly eliminated our ability to cope with drastically boring periods in life or those periods where nothing seems to be happening. For example, ...

(Picture from crosswalk.com) Introduction             You are about to embark on a theological journey with me. Let me first explain my general purpose for writing a theological treatise, as opposed to, my normal kind of writing. As of late, I have been studying the Atonement of Christ, which falls under Christology (the study of Christ). What I have found is that the views that have been held throughout time, some more recently, seem to be missing something or do not give a fully developed rendition of the Atonement. It should be stated I do not believe that I can develop a fully adequate idea of what the Atonement was or is or should be. Rather, my goal is to give a view that I believe does more justice to Christology than its predecessors. The general movement throughout this discourse will be to first, lay out a couple of the views that have been or are currently held. Secondly, to present the weakness (not all) o...

(Photo from pbs.org) Introduction             At the outset, I should establish that by no means am I an expert in this area. However, I am pulling much of my information from experts in their field and making a rational judgment. This article is essentially branching off of or a continuation of a design argument for God. With that said, this approach is taking more up to date scientific evidence/ theories and extrapolating a conclusion from that. Now, I am not arguing that because I believe in a designer that is the reason that the universe looks designed so there must be a designer. Rather, I find myself intrigued by outer space and the study of the stars and just so happened to find some of these new ideas about the structure of our universe quite astounding. As I continue throughout this discourse, I will attempt to not use professional jargon but rather simplify concepts or terminology where I am able. Let me jump in...