Comments on: Three God Statements

By: onemlw

onemlw — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:05:47 +0000

Wasn’t it Einstein who said “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible.”? I think he may have actually been speaking of the universe!

Kinda like an ant tying to understand physics! Therefore,

I think one of the most profound things ever said was “ignorance is bliss”! Whoever said that?

Man’s intelligence only serves to further confuse him the more he has… So, without “faith” he is “hopeless”!

All the while the so-called ignorant find faith more easily and happiness abounds within the comfort of that faith.

While the intellectual eventually find themselves Agnostic without any for sure hope!

Of all the things i don’t know of God only one thing i do know… He has one hell of a sense of humor!

By: Bret Whissel

Bret Whissel — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:43:36 +0000

And thanks for your kind response, DoubleN.

By: DoubleN

DoubleN — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:23:07 +0000

Beautifully written. In particular, I’ve never heard the “I am” explained in quite that way. Thanks for sharing!

By: Bret Whissel

Bret Whissel — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:39:52 +0000

Hi, Becky. I’m glad you found the calculator informative and useful for illustrating the cost of borrowing money. I’m also delighted that you found something worthwhile in this essay. Thank you for taking the time to write!

Bret

By: becmollet

becmollet — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:30:35 +0000

Hi Bret, Just want to thank you for your “easy” amoritization calculator! I have limited knowledge about accounting but wanted to explain “simply” to my daughter about what her loan was costing her.:) Then I started poking around and found your 3 God statements – how refreshing and reaffirming. Thank you for “rambling” and “being still” and allowing God to use you to bless others with your gifts/talents. Becky

By: Bret Whissel

Bret Whissel — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:57:52 +0000

Reflecting on my previous comment, I think it’s probably fair to call this process some sort of Socratic method, self-inflicted.

I am all for getting the outside into alignment with the inside, so kudos on taking brave steps in that direction. It’s a life-long journey, ridding ourselves of our own hypocrisy, and it’s hard work!

Best wishes on the road, Myra!
Bret

By: Myra

Myra — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:52:59 +0000

Truly! Maybe my brain IS childlike in that it is RARELY still!

I spent a good deal of my life trying to “look right” on the outside and never allowing myself to think about whether I actually believed what I was saying and doing. Living that way will make you crazy over time — and so some twenty years of therapy later, I have become a devotee of telling myself the truth.

The process of determining the truth sometimes gets complicated and confusing; and I have found, like you, that getting the idea to words and the words to paper takes me a long way toward understanding what I think, know, believe, or just wish is the truth.

And then there are those times when I just have to be the parent and put my childlike brain in time-out — it’s just safer all the way around!

By: Bret Whissel

Bret Whissel — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:06:55 +0000

lol, I don’t know too many children to which the description “being still” applies… (but I know what you mean!)

I think it is often the case that we don’t understand ourselves: our thoughts, our feelings, our motivations, our beliefs. Sometimes it’s useful to take a closer look, break it down, test the boundaries, confront the inconsistencies. So the way I see it, I have a belief system, some tenets to which I cling; but I don’t always know what they are until I’ve tried to articulate them. Once I’ve tried to put an idea into words, it becomes something I can evaluate, refine, sculpt further. So what “I think I believe” is that set of things that has been through at least one articulation process, subject to further revision.

By: Myra

Myra — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:46:21 +0000

I like the way you phrased that: what I think I believe. Sometimes I let my brain get too involved and I can think myself right out of believing anything. What a blessing it would be if I could live in a state of childlike faith — a constant state of being still and knowing.

By: Bret Whissel

Bret Whissel — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:59:43 +0000

Hi, Myra. Thank you!

If there is Truth here, I’m absolutely sure it’s not the whole picture. But it is an attempt to clarify and understand what I think I believe.

I appreciate your comment.