Mr. A's growth
It is funny because I have come to the thought that whether it is faith or the lack of a better option just believing in God and heaven seems to make sense now. I think I am beginning to move towards bettering my relationship with God, bettering my journey, accepting all with a blind faith because nothing else out there speaks any better or clearer. Don’t get me wrong, I do not believe because of default but it is funny how faith has begun to fall in to place for me. Things are making sense and the other options out there seem just as improbable. But now the improbable seems plausible and the God option tailors to my person and journey. I hope that makes sense because I don’t think I stated it as clearly as possible. I guess it boils down to the idea that it just makes sense to me.
We have turned too much to science and a need for the concrete to explain everything that it has begun to cloud our ability to have faith in anything not just God and enjoy the pure rush of the things that require faith. Although I admit that I am as guilty as the next and I guess you could argue that this exploration has been my attempt to find those concrete answers as well. But what has happened is that my faith has grown and I am starting to realize that I don’t need those concrete answers and that God will provide me with all the answers I need.
I feel reason is our attempt to justify life, experience and knowledge. I would state that God does not fit into this box. We must stop trying to put God in a box and allow our faith to free our minds. It’s amazing how we seek God and try to know him better and can justify these things but continue to question and not follow through. It is our nature that creates these conflicts. But how great is it to have a God who has given us the free will to make this choice to follow him and receive his love and mercy. But I guess that is my biggest hindrance just letting it all go and live fully in God and with God.
I agree but it has strengthened my argument for God. I was always afraid to have this conversation with anyone because of being shot down or not helping one find Christ. But I have now realized that even if I don’t win a soul I at least fought the battle and even opened one’s mind but ultimately strengthening my own faith. This over the past few months with the blog has occurred. I feel stronger in my faith but it has also strengthened several of my relationships and even opened new relationships in my life.
Permission granted although not needed. This is your blog as well and if it fits the purpose of our journey as men then the floor is yours.
I would suggest anyone read Letters from a Skeptic by Dr. Gregory Boyd.
“Man is perishable. That may be; but let us perish resisting, and if it is nothingness that awaits us, do not let us so act that is be a just fate.” I find this interesting because our physical man is perishable, but that is not God’s concern. It is the spiritual/soul man who must resist and fight for something. For nothingness doesn’t get us created. But again this is for one to discover and if you are coming for the opposite perspective I guess this would make sense. Although why would one what to resist for nothing, I guess it all goes back to the “Wherefore” which has been proven to be genus.
I hope you are getting as much out of this as I am Mr. J. Thanks Mr. A.

Mr J’s trial: an affirmation of belief in God.
My trial is about reconciling faith and reason. About wanting to believe in God (I do) and an afterlife despite there being no solid, rational argument for the existence of God/afterlife. I am familiar with just about every rational argument for God and my conclusion is that they suck (please no one take any offense by this, for there are a great number of people I respect and am profoundly influenced by who think there are). Despite this, I have many a reason to believe in God. I have achieved this through the guidance of the philosopher Unamuno. I am guided by him not because he changed my mind, but rather because he underwent the sheer agony of figuring out why, despite the above, people like me still believe in God.
While most of Unamuno’s work argued vehemently for the irrational side of life, he fully recognized rational thought. The battle between the rational and irrational produced the tragic sense of life for him as he was unable to “dominate or violate the other”. This led him to philosophize not only with reason but his whole will and personality; he felt required to fulfill the needs of passion and was unable to do so with reason. This is because what we are, our existence cannot be objectivized but only grasped through pure subjectivity. I’ll let the following Unamuno quote summarize and explain the above:

“ I frankly confess that the supposed rational proofs ... of the existence of God, prove to me nothing; that all the reasons adduced to show that God exists appear to me based on sophistry and begging the question... nobody has succeeded in convincing me rationally of the existence of God, nor yet of his nonexistence ... if I believe in God it is, first of all, because I wish that God may exist, and then because He is revealed to me through the challenge of the heart.”

Unamuno felt we have a vital need to believe in God, in immortality, as without it there is no meaning in the Universe. I cannot explain here why Unamuno supported this vital need, but I will try to give a brief outline of mine.

Simply put, it comes down to the fact that I myself cannot accept there is no God/no afterlife. I am not sure why. I am not afraid of hell nor am I looking forward to Heaven. Yet I need God, and he is there when I need him. My very existence makes me needs believe; it leads me to find and know God, no matter how hard reason bats it down ( I suppose this would be heaven so one could argue I am looking forward to it). I would love to describe these experiences in this blog for I think that is why were are writing in it; not to argue for or against God, but to to describe our shared experiences, our journey. Perhaps, given Mr’s A permission, I will do so. But Just in case I am wrong about there being a God, I will let Senancour console me:

“ Man is perishable. That may be; but let us perish resisting, and if it is nothingness that awaits us, do not let us so act that is be a just fate.”

Revelation
A revelation that I had while reading the book Letters From A Skeptic by Dr. Gregory A. Boyd and Edward K. Boyd. In going back to the discussion of the "wherefore" and our journey I came to the conclusion spiritually regarding the purpose of our journey. It is from the spiritual perspective, which I believe in but struggle with, living in the kingdom of heaven for all eternity with God. A life of peace and happiness void of evil. The journey is a way to solidify our faith and be able to have an established, chosen love for God. A path based on our own free will, the choice to love and be good, to fight against the evil. For it is God who gave us this free will.
It is because of this book and our continued ventures through this blog that I have been able to strength this thought and some of the relationships that I have in my life. So I just want to thank all those who have participated in the blog and other conversations that I have had recently and to my wife and daughter.

Mr. K's arrest
Preface: Not having read the book the following response is purely based on a thought.
I was reading the book of Psalms and had a thought regarding Mr. K’s arrest. Maybe Mr. K’s arrest is the world of evil persecuting him for his faith. Of course everyone is going to have an opinion or advice in ways that he should handle the situation. That is how we operate as a society. Always having opinions or something to say or advice about others lives but is quick to change the view when our own life is called into question. It is so easy to persecute and judge others. It is another thing to stand in from of the gate and be judged you. In terms of faith it is something to fight for to maintain at all costs. But it speaks to the fact that one must persevere despite the charges, trial, and accusations and ridicule that one experiences daily. It is faith that one is attacked but also judged on. Mr. K is experiencing all of these things because one day he will be judged by God based on his faith and respond in the face of persecution and trail by evil. It is evils goal to break ones faith and turn their views. They want to skew your thoughts and make one question their beliefs. This is how they are judged. How many souls can they divert and get God to judge harshly. I think the lesson to be taken from this parable is that we will all face judgment or the gate at the end of our lives. It is what we do during our journey when faced with persecution, trial, accusations and difficulties that will provide us with purpose of faith. Do we turn from our faith or do we allow our faith to get stronger? Whether we are searching through spiritual, religious, existential or what have you. Our ideals will be tested beyond any measures, we will be judged by our maker whether we handled these test based on faith or are we quick to recant and conform to the testers ideals and views.
I feel this becomes our biggest struggle in faith and spirituality. How do we believe while things around us go wrong or we experience pain? How does our faith persevere? All these things I guess are the answers we are searching for. Questions I would love to have answers for but have been unable to discover or am I unable to fully believe. Maybe I know the answer but have difficulty grasping or fully believing with blind faith or even seeing them. I know my judgment will be rocky but it is by mercy and grace that I am saved not because I am deserving but because I believe.
Overall I think this is the struggle that Mr. K is experiencing. Where does he stand, where is his journey taking him, how is he being judged, and who does he turn to for answers and what does it mean?
Yes this is the purpose of the blog. To discuss, question, explore and think. All in hopes to find answers or gain a deeper understanding of whom we are as individuals. Thanks for the reminder to be free in my speech and topics of the blog.