I noticed while working as a Teamster in a warehouse years ago that it took only about one hour of idleness until one or another of the workers would become angry about some bitterness or another. From there, it would build until they were just about to go tell the boss off and quit. They didn't handle idleness well, and in my mind seemed to use anger as a structural support. I often wonder if idleness and boredom with modern life don't provoke the same responses.
I honestly do not understand how people without belief in God get through the challenges that are sure to arise in every life.
My sister lost her 21 yr old son in a pedestrian/SUV collision where he was the pedestrian. He had been out of the Army for less than a year. He fought with the 4th Infantry Division in Iraq in 2002-2004. He went into holes to see if there were any "WMD". They found caches of regular guns but not WMD. When he came home, he had a sense that since he survived that experience, he could survive anything. I see this especially in "unanchored" young men. The sense they are invincible. Sadly, many find out that is not true. How could someone who doesn't believe in God even live through the experience of losing their only son at the age of 21? It broke my sister. For a year she simply did nothing. We were raised in the Conservative branch of the Lutheran Church Missouri-Synod. We went to Sunday School, vacation bible school and got confirmed. She eventually started reading the bible and going to a church where she felt a community with.
I was diagnosed with Stage IV de novo breast cancer at the start of July. It's been a rollercoaster of imaging, appointments and discussions ever since. No cure, only control. Again, I do not understand how someone who doesn't believe in God can even process that information. I praise him daily for giving me access to great health care and having another day to share with my family. Sure, there are times when I want to shout, Why me? But then I remember, we are not promised an easy life free of disease. We are promised eternal life. God Bless you all. Michael Smith, your writings are interesting and insightful. Thank you for sharing them.
Great essay! I've been thinking a lot since the death of Charlie Kirk about how I've been mocked for my religious beliefs for most of my life. I was a church-going Christian in a mainline Protestant church until 2016, when my church became and anti-Trump rally and Jesus was pushed out of the building. I stopped going and instead went to my Zendo to practice Zen every Sunday. In December of 2023 I started exploring Judaism seriously and going to synagogue, though I eventually left the Reform synagogue where I had been attending Friday night services and events because of their leftist politics and lukewarm attitude toward Israel. Lately I've thought that I'm not really going to convert because I'm not really a Jew, I'm a Christian Zionist like many before me and like many evangelicals. I had never heard of Charlie Kirk before he was killed, but I was very moved by Mrs. Erika Kirk's speech and her faith. Wrote about that over here at the Aeon Chronicle: https://aeonchronicle.substack.com/p/i-am-not-mrs-kirk
People who have rejected God and thus having no moral compass to guide them fall into whatever deceptions attract them. It’s spiritual darkness that begets a psychosis which deepens these deceptions, influencing often horrific acts. This doesn’t remove responsibility for one’s actions but helps clarify in my mind how rebellion against God is at the root. Some might state: Well, I don’t believe in a god but I’m a moral person. Our minds devise all sorts of bad things when left adrift but self control and reason keep most people from carrying out their fantasies. Self control and reasoning are gifts from our Creator, some of the many that separate us from animals. We squelch them by continually subjecting ourselves to immoral thoughts, behavior, and outside stimuli. Rebellion.
Charlie Kirk was a Conservative because he had a deep Christian faith which was his root and reason for speaking so courageously and effectively. He was a sinner saved by grace and given an incredible ability to reach millions. The standards and values he spoke of and lived are from the very beginning of time itself, if time has a beginning. Though Charlie was taken from us, the truth of God stands forever.
I envy those that can "will' a belief in anything--let alone a true belief in God. My own beliefs are more about what I witness to be true and real. Religious belief is spurred by the emotional side of humans--not the intellectual. I do believe in a force of "creation" that we see all around. But not a God who enforces right from wrong. That seems to be man himself. Having said that--for most people who DO believe--it is a comfort against life's enormous challenges--and that's a wonderful thing.
I noticed while working as a Teamster in a warehouse years ago that it took only about one hour of idleness until one or another of the workers would become angry about some bitterness or another. From there, it would build until they were just about to go tell the boss off and quit. They didn't handle idleness well, and in my mind seemed to use anger as a structural support. I often wonder if idleness and boredom with modern life don't provoke the same responses.
Trying to fill the God-sized hole in our hearts with things other than God is like trying to fill the Grand Canyon with marbles. - Peter Kreeft
I love Dr Kreeft and have read almost all his books.
I honestly do not understand how people without belief in God get through the challenges that are sure to arise in every life.
My sister lost her 21 yr old son in a pedestrian/SUV collision where he was the pedestrian. He had been out of the Army for less than a year. He fought with the 4th Infantry Division in Iraq in 2002-2004. He went into holes to see if there were any "WMD". They found caches of regular guns but not WMD. When he came home, he had a sense that since he survived that experience, he could survive anything. I see this especially in "unanchored" young men. The sense they are invincible. Sadly, many find out that is not true. How could someone who doesn't believe in God even live through the experience of losing their only son at the age of 21? It broke my sister. For a year she simply did nothing. We were raised in the Conservative branch of the Lutheran Church Missouri-Synod. We went to Sunday School, vacation bible school and got confirmed. She eventually started reading the bible and going to a church where she felt a community with.
I was diagnosed with Stage IV de novo breast cancer at the start of July. It's been a rollercoaster of imaging, appointments and discussions ever since. No cure, only control. Again, I do not understand how someone who doesn't believe in God can even process that information. I praise him daily for giving me access to great health care and having another day to share with my family. Sure, there are times when I want to shout, Why me? But then I remember, we are not promised an easy life free of disease. We are promised eternal life. God Bless you all. Michael Smith, your writings are interesting and insightful. Thank you for sharing them.
Great essay! I've been thinking a lot since the death of Charlie Kirk about how I've been mocked for my religious beliefs for most of my life. I was a church-going Christian in a mainline Protestant church until 2016, when my church became and anti-Trump rally and Jesus was pushed out of the building. I stopped going and instead went to my Zendo to practice Zen every Sunday. In December of 2023 I started exploring Judaism seriously and going to synagogue, though I eventually left the Reform synagogue where I had been attending Friday night services and events because of their leftist politics and lukewarm attitude toward Israel. Lately I've thought that I'm not really going to convert because I'm not really a Jew, I'm a Christian Zionist like many before me and like many evangelicals. I had never heard of Charlie Kirk before he was killed, but I was very moved by Mrs. Erika Kirk's speech and her faith. Wrote about that over here at the Aeon Chronicle: https://aeonchronicle.substack.com/p/i-am-not-mrs-kirk
People who have rejected God and thus having no moral compass to guide them fall into whatever deceptions attract them. It’s spiritual darkness that begets a psychosis which deepens these deceptions, influencing often horrific acts. This doesn’t remove responsibility for one’s actions but helps clarify in my mind how rebellion against God is at the root. Some might state: Well, I don’t believe in a god but I’m a moral person. Our minds devise all sorts of bad things when left adrift but self control and reason keep most people from carrying out their fantasies. Self control and reasoning are gifts from our Creator, some of the many that separate us from animals. We squelch them by continually subjecting ourselves to immoral thoughts, behavior, and outside stimuli. Rebellion.
Charlie Kirk was a Conservative because he had a deep Christian faith which was his root and reason for speaking so courageously and effectively. He was a sinner saved by grace and given an incredible ability to reach millions. The standards and values he spoke of and lived are from the very beginning of time itself, if time has a beginning. Though Charlie was taken from us, the truth of God stands forever.
I envy those that can "will' a belief in anything--let alone a true belief in God. My own beliefs are more about what I witness to be true and real. Religious belief is spurred by the emotional side of humans--not the intellectual. I do believe in a force of "creation" that we see all around. But not a God who enforces right from wrong. That seems to be man himself. Having said that--for most people who DO believe--it is a comfort against life's enormous challenges--and that's a wonderful thing.