tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post1067362723342246686..comments2024-02-19T04:50:58.170-08:00Comments on Shuck and Jive: An Earthling's CreedJohn Shuckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00798753206614838161noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post-21407310188398590572008-09-27T13:11:00.000-07:002008-09-27T13:11:00.000-07:00In life, or death we are the Lord's, and for me th...<I>In life, or death we are the Lord's, and for me that is the hope of the resurrection.</I><BR/><BR/>I couldn't agree more.John Shuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00798753206614838161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post-60791084417749625272008-09-26T17:32:00.000-07:002008-09-26T17:32:00.000-07:00I so agree that the earth is sacred. I feel a stro...I so agree that the earth is sacred. I feel a strong connection to the natural world. My husband, and I live in the N. Appalachian mountains. When we first moved here, I walked all around our land, and noticed every tree, all the flowers, even the chipmunks.:)<BR/><BR/>We are all part of this web of life, and creation is a blessing. For me, the hope of the resurrection has never caused me to devalue our lives, or the earth in the here and now. I think it's all connected, part of a continuem.<BR/><BR/>To my mind, God has made us for Himself, and put eternity in our hearts. We instinctively know there is more.<BR/><BR/>I had a terrible riding accident when I was young, and could have died. I remember lying on that operating table, and being told that I was bleeding internally, and the doctor needed to immediately operate.<BR/><BR/>I was absolutely terrified, just paralyzed with fear. I couldn't even make a decision to give consent. All that I could think of was to cry out to God, "Help me, I don't want to die. I'm not ready, not now."<BR/><BR/>And, then, John, God actually showed up there in that room. I don't mean physically of course. But, my whole mind was suffused with a sense of His love, and presence.<BR/><BR/>And, I knew, really knew that no matter what happened on that operating table God was there with me, and in me. His love is so constant. I saw that when my time to die came that I would be ok, because God would cause me to be ready.<BR/><BR/>In life, or death we are the Lord's, and for me that is the hope of the resurrection.Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17018475588969974790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post-21468709842260048782008-09-26T09:56:00.000-07:002008-09-26T09:56:00.000-07:00Welcome Mother Wit! Thanks for stopping and comme...Welcome Mother Wit! Thanks for stopping and commenting. Good thoughts.John Shuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00798753206614838161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post-55401674598157060002008-09-26T09:43:00.000-07:002008-09-26T09:43:00.000-07:00I agree with your comments about how sacred Earth ...I agree with your comments about how sacred Earth is, but I don't agree that everyone who believes in existence after death does so out of entitlement. <BR/>I <I>hope</I> for infinite consciousness because I don't think my human brain can know all I want to know. Human existence impedes spiritual understanding. Maybe some deeply spiritual gurus can attain that wisdom, or oneness while on Earth. But, I'm not one. As observant as I am in my role as Mom and Earthling, I still hunger to <I>know</I> all the answers.<BR/>Nothing's to say that dying will prove educational or enlightening when it happens. But, it seems the only hope I have to finally <I>get it</I>.Julie Roberts Towehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03984530627925463357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post-56894464468908908032008-09-26T08:40:00.000-07:002008-09-26T08:40:00.000-07:00John,That, I believe, is what living by faith is r...John,<BR/><BR/>That, I believe, is what living by faith is really all about.Jodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15447125159108080797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post-31579333477253162552008-09-26T07:35:00.000-07:002008-09-26T07:35:00.000-07:00Lewis was going through some of your ontological j...<I>Lewis was going through some of your ontological journey and then stepped back from it to let God in. It may give you something to ponder.</I><BR/><BR/>I guess that has to do with what we mean when we use the word "God."<BR/><BR/>My journey at this point has taken me back to Earth. If "letting God in" has to do with being at peace in my own skin and of being aware of Earth as sacred or as Thomas Berry puts it, seeing Earth and all beings as "a communion of subjects" than I am with Lewis.John Shuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00798753206614838161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post-13095049522731588992008-09-26T07:25:00.000-07:002008-09-26T07:25:00.000-07:00When I was young (8, 9, maybe), I used to lay awak...<I>When I was young (8, 9, maybe), I used to lay awake and devil myself with sadness, projecting into a future where my parents were gone. "How will I live without them?", I used to think. Well, at 9, I couldn't have lived without them - or someone in the caretaker role.</I><BR/><BR/>Snad,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for this. This, and your whole comment, is insightful. I think this helps to explain why we cling to our religious and/or other ideologies so fervently. Until we can develop and grow to some sense of autonomy and confidence, we need beliefs of perhaps a "divine caretaker" and cannot imagine existing without one.John Shuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00798753206614838161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post-80055251063350004182008-09-26T06:56:00.000-07:002008-09-26T06:56:00.000-07:00Lewis was going through some of your ontological j...Lewis was going through some of your ontological journey and then stepped back from it to let God in. It may give you something to ponder.<BR/><BR/>God bless.Stushiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10693178228505134028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post-34377756805839766472008-09-26T04:33:00.000-07:002008-09-26T04:33:00.000-07:00Thank you for this! How hope-full it makes me fee...Thank you for this! How hope-full it makes me feel.<BR/><BR/>And the poem Viola shared, as well.<BR/><BR/>I suspect there is a physiological reason we tend to need eternity with us in it, as a species. Basically (and I may not be eloquent in the details, so forgive me!), when we envision the our world without us in it, we are still seeing it through our eyes - albeit from the end of a very long telescope. Even if I try to place myself outside the Universe, looking in, I'm still there. As long as one's perspective is a part of the perspective, so to speak, we must always be. Does that make sense? <BR/><BR/>When I was young (8, 9, maybe), I used to lay awake and devil myself with sadness, projecting into a future where my parents were gone. "How will I live without them?", I used to think. Well, at 9, I couldn't have lived without them - or someone in the caretaker role. <BR/><BR/>Human consciousness may now just be at that stage, where we <I>must</I> think about how it may be while at the same time trying to convince ourselves that it <I>won't</I>.<BR/><BR/>Another thought is that we may innately understand that, <I>as a species</I>, not individually, we will be carried on. Sort of the reverse of "ontology recapitulates phylogeny" - maybe "phylogeny <I>anticipates</I> success"?<BR/><BR/>One of the greatest crimes to spring from the concept of an afterlife/eternal caretaker is the idea that we can "talk about suffering here below and let's keep following Jesus" - or Whomever. That a group can be oppressed or our planet be exploited, but hey, don't worry, God will make up for it in the next. Boy howdy, if THAT isn't convenient for the exploiter!<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I've mentioned before on this blog that I find great comfort in the notion that once I'm done, I'm done. Yeah, I will no longer be able to experience my being, but it just won't matter, will it? It will be the ultimate loss of loss, so to speak.<BR/><BR/>But I don't want that to happen any time soon - this is just all too much fun!Snadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04055786911610974637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post-77793419183813917972008-09-25T21:13:00.000-07:002008-09-25T21:13:00.000-07:00Stushie,No, I haven't. Tell me about it.Stushie,<BR/><BR/>No, I haven't. Tell me about it.John Shuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00798753206614838161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post-26019946834798657112008-09-25T21:03:00.000-07:002008-09-25T21:03:00.000-07:00John, have you ever read CS Lewis' "Surprised By J...John, have you ever read CS Lewis' "Surprised By Joy?"Stushiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10693178228505134028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post-26156104975802801492008-09-25T20:41:00.000-07:002008-09-25T20:41:00.000-07:00That is a beautiful hymn, Viola. Thank you.That is a beautiful hymn, Viola. Thank you.John Shuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00798753206614838161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30648257.post-44475911993428201782008-09-25T20:33:00.000-07:002008-09-25T20:33:00.000-07:00My God, I love thee; not becauseI hope for heaven ...My God, I love thee; not because<BR/>I hope for heaven thereby,<BR/>nor yet because who love thee not<BR/>are lost eternally.<BR/>Thou, O Lord Jesus, thou didst me<BR/>upon the cross embrace;<BR/>for me didst bear the nails and spear,<BR/>and manifold disgrace,<BR/><BR/>And griefs and torments numberless,<BR/>and sweat of agony;<BR/>yea, death itself; and all for me<BR/>who was thine enemy.<BR/>Then why, O blessed Jesus Christ,<BR/>should I not love thee well,<BR/>not for the sake of winning heaven,<BR/>nor any fear of hell;<BR/><BR/>not with the hope of gaining aught,<BR/>not seeking a reward;<BR/>but as thyself hast loved me,<BR/>O ever loving Lord!<BR/>So would I love thee, dearest Lord,<BR/>and in thy praise will sing,<BR/>solely because thou art my God<BR/>and my most loving King. <BR/><BR/>Edward Caswall<BR/><BR/>Its not about heaven but about Jesus Christ, and yes I love life and earth too.Viola Larsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09146967423654966140noreply@blogger.com