You've Got Mail!
I didn't actually expect a response to my Letter to My Christian Friends article I posted on New Years day, but lo and behold I received a response from John! Welcome John to A God-Sized Puzzle and thanks for visiting. I found myself responding back with a page long comment so instead of squeezing my response into the comment section of the prior post I decided I would respond to you with a whole new post. So here is John's comment and my reply (the original can be found here).
You are desparately adding/deleting/modifying spiritual worldviews and trying to place them in a new package.
Your mind has been corrupted by none other than the master of corruption. So all day and all night your brain toils to try to find some connection, some belief that makes sense and weaves the mysteries of life all together in a way that satisfies you. You bounce from Christianity, spirituality, new age, atheism, and back again.
You eat, but your stomach is not filled. You drink, but your throat remains dry.
Friend, remove the secular corruption from your mind. Unload the nonsense that you have adapted and accepted as fact.
Re-program your brain with the truth. Reprogram your mind with the software that the master creator designed to run in your mind. Stop trying to solve a puzzle in which the answer has already been provided.
If you don't do that, I fear for your soul. I have seen a downward spiral before, and you are in a deadly spiritual downward cycle. It only gets worse from here, trust me. I have been where you are now.
I wish you the best, and may you find your way back. I will pray for you.
John-
Thanks for visiting and joining the conversation. It's always good to hear from new people with different perspectives. I'd like to make a couple comments to your reply if you don't mind.
It only gets worse from here, trust me. I have been where you are now.
The thing is John, I've been where you are now and from my perspective things have been getting better. Or, to be perfectly honest, I've been where I think you are now. Each one of us are completely unique in the universe, there will never be another John or Sam (that's me) with the same life experiences every again. Everything about us is completely unique including our spirituality, our connection to God and each other. So when I say "I've been where you are now" I can only say that I've shared in your beliefs at one point. But the difference is I don't find myself spiritually more mature compared against anyone else, just more mature than what I used to be.
Re-program your brain with the truth.
We can go in theological and philosophical circles on the concept of truth but the bottom line is that individually we are the final arbiter of truth. In the end we decide what is truth. You have chosen Christianity because it means something to you, because it helps you connect to the divine. And I honor and respect that. I really do, or else I wouldn't bother writing back. Christianity is a part of me as much as Islam or Buddhism is a part of me. Their point of convergence is not on the truth statements they share but how they bring out the best part of my humanity to the forefront. I embrace more than JUST Christianity not for any sort of self satisfaction but because there are more than just Christians on this planet and the more religions I speak the more I can connect with my fellow man.
John, the heart of my spirituality does not lie in spiritual practices or beliefs but in Love itself. God IS love, Truth is Love, and Love is what drives me. To me God is not a noun but a verb. It is the act of Love that guides me past all the truth statements, beliefs, and practices of the world, including Christianity. If you're feeling a bit fuzzy as to what I believe then by all means feel free to dig through my archives, or even my blog series.
Stop trying to solve a puzzle in which the answer has already been provided.
And finally John, the point of this blog, or my spirituality, is not to solve some giant puzzle but to connect with my neighbor. I'm not desperately trying to seek a connection when the connection to life, each other, and the universe is already there. It's just a matter of reaching out and embracing one another.
New Year. Final Post.
10 years ago
8 comments:
Heh! I get these too. Good for you for being patient. :)
Hi Sam Of course you already know about the "christian" who was berating me for so long on my blog because i tend to think like you do. I tried to explain my thnking to these individuals to no avail and when i told them I would not ever feel the need to "defend" my truth they even accused me of leading others to destruction, of smoking something(THEY NEVER Actually said what it was I must be smoking, only that it must be really crazy stuff.The reply to your blog reminded me so much as to what I have already been thru on my blog.At least these folks who wrote you havent accused you of smoking something or that youare being arrogant as they told me I was.I loved your response to the writer to your blog but I really doubt if they will truly understand your thinking. Just dont let anybody convince you you are not doing a great service for many folks here.Take care my friend and good luck with the naysayers!
Just this past week one of my Christian friends gave me a sermonette on "lean not upon thine own understanding." I asked: Well, then, upon whose understanding shall we lean? Frankly, I don't want my brain programmed at all. I want to keep it open.
Again, I just see clear delusion on your part. You say you are happy and so forth. Doesn't look that way at all reading some of your posts.
You don't look nearly as comfortable with your beliefs as you say you are. Maybe from you looking inside out you feel that way. But from me looking outside in, it just looks like you are miserably confused.
Furthemore, you think truth is something we all just imagine in our heads? Wow. So when you get cancer, that is only true if you actually believe you have cancer? Interesting outlook on life. Truths exist in this world, and I doubt you are going to find it if you can't see it at this point.
Also, I have been many religions, including atheist. I have been where you are now, and I am now where you have not been. Because had you been where I am now, you would have never left. It is that simple.
Finally, wouldn't it be lovely if we could all love and embrace one another, with open arms eating rainbows and crapping out butterflies all day. Unfortunately, that should be reserved for a novel for children-cuz we both know it ain't gonna happen in this life. A quick reading of any news station should convince you of that.
I just can't help but wonder how much love and embrace you may have for someone who wronged you (and continued daily) for an extended period of time. Something tells me your tune would change. So based on that reason alone, I can't really get what you mean.
John-
Thanks again for the continued dialogue. First I would like to say that you use a lot of "looks like" and "maybes" when attempting to pin down my spirituality. That is the problem when dialoguing in the digital world. You can't get a clear picture of the other person's intention and beliefs. All one can do is interpret and assume, and both can lead to dangerously skewed images of our neighbor.
My spirituality has grown and evolved over the years and there have been times where I have struggled over various beliefs. Without struggle there is no growth and we become stagnant. I admit that I am not comfortable with beliefs because they are just that beliefs. What I am comfortable with and what I ground myself in completely is Love. Without love, relationship and connection there is no point to religion. Without love there is no point to humanity.
"Furthemore, you think truth is something we all just imagine in our heads? Wow. So when you get cancer, that is only true if you actually believe you have cancer? Interesting outlook on life. Truths exist in this world, and I doubt you are going to find it if you can't see it at this point."
This is entirely wrong. I have an auto-immune disease and I can't wish it away. I will have it for the rest of my life. I am a rational person and firmly believe truth exists in this world. Truth is not something we imagine, we can measure, analyze, and observe the known universe. Only an irrational person would ignore evidence that appears before them. You're jumping to conclusion based on faulty observations and interpretations.
"Finally, wouldn't it be lovely if we could all love and embrace one another, with open arms eating rainbows and crapping out butterflies all day."
There is no need to use language because there is no need to feel threatened by my words. If you feel threatened then you might need to reevaluate why you feel threatened by a complete stranger.
And for my last point, just because this world is tearing itself apart is not going to stop me from loving my neighbor. I follow in Jesus's footsteps to love God and my fellow man. Always.
Overall your comments come across as bitter and resentful. But I admit that's just how it sounds. It would be rude of me to claim knowledge of your personal experience when all I have your words to base it on.
I wish you peace and blessings.
~Sam~
Yeah, I have been approached many times by folks like John. It is interesting how they believe snarky, tense, and belittling rhetoric is somehow supposed to translate to me as a truth I would care to emulate.
@ John-
Wait. This isn't Ben is it, from the blog Discovering God's Holy Plan?
Excellent response Sam!
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