Out Of The Ocean Into The Knowledge Of Good And Evil
54" by 40" Oil on canvas
I think Mike made some great points.
Miracles are nether faith building or believable (by definition they can't be posable). I would go as far as to say it makes the witness to the miracle look even less credible than if they had not rehearsed the story at all.
Any how, I choose to believe in God and I choose to believe in revelation. At the same time I recognize it is not real unless proven. So admittedly I believe in a story about one type of God among many stories of many types of gods, and my choice to believe it is not based in any type of scientific process or miraculous experience.
3 comments:
what Hume says is confusing. he was involved in Christianity and was recognized as a supporter. in his argument in "of miracle" he is really just saying that when someone experiences a "miracle" they should more likely assume it as a hallucination or a dream than real. even in the variations of the first vision by Joseph Smith it can be more assumed that the visitaions and experiences were dreams more than real people in his presence. second hand testimony is worthless. I had a conversation with someone recently who informed me of some interesting ideas. he and I see the lds chruch in similar ways. I know that many of the things the church has said and done has altered stories and changed doctrine for political reasons. he though still follows the church because he feels it the most correct. he addresses the issues by saying that those in office may be seen as administrators more than instruments of god. he feels that there are truly spiritual people in the world that may hold offices but very few. he also thinks that when it comes down to it you are your own church. leaders are making informed decisions. he feels that he may receive revelation for himself and others reguardless of his calling. in my personal experience I have never had any direct direction from god. if there has been any intervention in my life it would be logically impossible to attribute it to a devine being due to the ambiguity of it. WTF, it's snowing here again. anyway, the only reason I have ever had any interest in god is due to a fear instilled by my parents. when I prayed for things I would never receive confirmation, direction, or even clearly see answers. emotion in my opinion is no reason to believe in something. because times are hard in my life I would turn to god for help and anything good that came after turning to god I would credit as gods intervention. I like the idea of god and would love to follow what god wants me to do if I wasn't being manipulated by everyone in the world that claims they speak in gods behalf. that includes Jesus and his apostles, Joseph smith and his creation, and most other religions in the world. reasons these people are manipulating include self recognition, power, money, and various other more evident concepts. if I want self recognition than I will do it with true intent. I won't hide that I want power money and recognition under religion as a vehicle. if I make an amazing movie and people love and respect it than that will move me there. when I die and god tells me I was wrong and have eternal damnation I will ask him if i was being tested then why wasn't there clear instruction. and in that notion, if I'm wrong, I will gladly receive my judgement. Christian theology is contradictory. I will believe what a person says after I can prove it as long as it pertains to this life. when someone tells me about anything after I label them as non-creditable. I feel that if they can know then I can know but I don't know. another issue I have is that scripture is written to be interpreted in multiple ways. I don't feel that there are right and wrong decisions. I feel that some may affect others in a negative sense and that would be inconsiderate. in that case it could be wrong. but at the same time it's impossible to avoid negative offence completely. I feel I shoulddo what I feel is right and if I'm wrong then it is my obligation to correct myself. why I feel the need to do this then brings the question of why it matters. if I spend my whole lifedoing this and learning correct choices will that affect my after life. I don't know nor should it matter because I am doing these things for the people around me. I'm just gonna stop there because I am just rambling. but I really dig you're picture. everything is arguably wrong but some more than others. hopefully I'll know someday but then again this may just be another cycle of life through space and when I die I sleep.
dude, I wrote that on my iPhone : )
ps, I miss you.
Ones motives are the most telling information about that persons worth. Being honest with ones self and others concerning those motives is a step towards a wonderfully rewarding life.
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