Well it has been awhile since I updated and i told myself i would do this more often, though i really should be doing my homework.
Tonight in bible study we read Habakkuk and the main question was: why is there evil? Basically it seemed that the answer was that there is evil because it is all part of God's plan. He uses it to make points, or to show people how to act. But the problem is, and you can attribute this to my IB/TOK education, it makes me wonder, do the ends justify the means? I know it is God and all, and I am in no way questioning is authority or his plan. I know that he has it all set out for us and he would never do anything to hurt us or keep us away from him. However, why bring up evil to quell evil? It doesn't compute for me.
I know that God is outside of my logic, I know that he understands things that I never will be able to. But the question was raised nonetheless, and it makes me wonder. He uses the Babylonian people, a godless and vicious people, to teach the Israelites a lesson. It just seems almost redundant to me. For, to teach the Babylonians a lessons, wouldn't he have to bring up another nation? I get the basic concept, I am just spilling my thoughts. Thinking on paper, if you will.
Just something to think about.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Today is the day.
Well I guess that I will finally start to use this. It has just been sitting here for awhile because I refused to join the craze of bloggers, but the more I think about it the more I begin to like the idea. I figure it can't be all bad to get what my thoughts on the paper, maybe even share them with a few people. I'm not quite sure how I plan to use this, but I hope to stick with it.
Recently, in my English class, we (were supposed to) have read, and have been watching, A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt. The book is set in the time of Henry VIII, the one that split from Catholicism and started the Church of England so that he could get remarried, and focuses upon Robert More. More was the Chancellor to the King at the time when he was seeking his divorce from Catherine; he was also one of the Kings most trusted and honored friends. The story is very interesting as it focuses upon, not the King, but the choices made by More. You see, he was asked by the King to support his divorce and he could not. He was asked by the King to support his break from the Catholic church and he could not. He was forced by the King to take an oath admitting the King as the head of the church and he could not. In the end he was charged for high treason and beheaded.
While the fact that he stuck to his decision is, at the least, admirable; during the whole ordeal he would not speak-out against the the King and his actions, but merely kept quite is what I find to be interesting. He had a very strong sense of self; nothing could change how he felt or what he believed to be right. Along with that sense of self, however, is a man that is not over-bearing, not pushy, but a man that allows others to make their own decisions; while all along, sticking to what he believes in, but not hiding it. He has a family consisting of a wife, a daughter, and a son-in-law; all of whom he cares for (well maybe not the son-in-law so much, he was a Lutheran). It was made clear that he hopes for them to go to heaven. He wants in every way for them to be as happy as possible. Yet, he does not force them to be silent also; they all take the oath and are free from the wrath of the court. He is not downtrodden on their decision; he tells them he cannot, but he never tries to force them to do as he says.
There are many lessons I see and tangents I could go off on from this book, but I think I'll head in this direction for now. I think that we struggle with doing what More has done. How often to do we try to push our beliefs or our ways onto someone else? When someone goes against our beliefs, how often do we try to correct them and force them to see our way? Instead I think that we should stand strong in ourselves and lead them by an example. We don't have to force feed our beliefs down their throats, a simple explanation and conversation about them should suffice. We weren't called make the tree, but simply plant the seed. You can't force someone into something, they have to make the decision to do that on their own. They are the only people that can make the decision about whether they are ready or not. Simply putting the idea out there and making it available is a huge step, and can be an easy way for them to turn around.
I know that we have had many a lesson on this subject, and it has always been something I have struggled with, but I think that this has really helped me to gain a more firm idea on how I see and feel about it.
So I guess in retrospect, don't be pushy! Stand firm in your beliefs, but be friendly and live a happy, enjoyable life; people will appreciate it.
Recently, in my English class, we (were supposed to) have read, and have been watching, A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt. The book is set in the time of Henry VIII, the one that split from Catholicism and started the Church of England so that he could get remarried, and focuses upon Robert More. More was the Chancellor to the King at the time when he was seeking his divorce from Catherine; he was also one of the Kings most trusted and honored friends. The story is very interesting as it focuses upon, not the King, but the choices made by More. You see, he was asked by the King to support his divorce and he could not. He was asked by the King to support his break from the Catholic church and he could not. He was forced by the King to take an oath admitting the King as the head of the church and he could not. In the end he was charged for high treason and beheaded.
While the fact that he stuck to his decision is, at the least, admirable; during the whole ordeal he would not speak-out against the the King and his actions, but merely kept quite is what I find to be interesting. He had a very strong sense of self; nothing could change how he felt or what he believed to be right. Along with that sense of self, however, is a man that is not over-bearing, not pushy, but a man that allows others to make their own decisions; while all along, sticking to what he believes in, but not hiding it. He has a family consisting of a wife, a daughter, and a son-in-law; all of whom he cares for (well maybe not the son-in-law so much, he was a Lutheran). It was made clear that he hopes for them to go to heaven. He wants in every way for them to be as happy as possible. Yet, he does not force them to be silent also; they all take the oath and are free from the wrath of the court. He is not downtrodden on their decision; he tells them he cannot, but he never tries to force them to do as he says.
There are many lessons I see and tangents I could go off on from this book, but I think I'll head in this direction for now. I think that we struggle with doing what More has done. How often to do we try to push our beliefs or our ways onto someone else? When someone goes against our beliefs, how often do we try to correct them and force them to see our way? Instead I think that we should stand strong in ourselves and lead them by an example. We don't have to force feed our beliefs down their throats, a simple explanation and conversation about them should suffice. We weren't called make the tree, but simply plant the seed. You can't force someone into something, they have to make the decision to do that on their own. They are the only people that can make the decision about whether they are ready or not. Simply putting the idea out there and making it available is a huge step, and can be an easy way for them to turn around.
I know that we have had many a lesson on this subject, and it has always been something I have struggled with, but I think that this has really helped me to gain a more firm idea on how I see and feel about it.
"The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you."I always struggled with the word "hate" in this verse; I always wondered how strong the hate had to be, but I don't think it means that we have to make them hate us, just simply that they will. We shouldn't behave in a way to give them a negative outlook on us; that would be impractical, but we should act in a different way than them. More was obviously hated by the world, but he never spoke out against them; he merely lived a different life than they had expected of him. He chose to save his eternal soul as opposed to his time on earth. I know that is a bit drastic of an example, but the same principles apply to our lives.-John15:19 (NLT)
So I guess in retrospect, don't be pushy! Stand firm in your beliefs, but be friendly and live a happy, enjoyable life; people will appreciate it.
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