Light in the Darkness


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://biologos.org/blogs/archive/light-in-the-darkness
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Sadly, because I forgot the name of the theologian saying it, I can´t underline it with a quote, but I just have a hard time taking people seriously who dismiss those questions as “irrelevant”. But this complete lack of philosophy is an obvious side effect of the sole focus on the STEM subjects and also too visible on campuses here in Germany.

Beautiful message, and one that conveys the true meaning of Christmas. The idea of apathy and feeling God is irrelevant is also one of the reasons given by youth and millennials as to why they are leaving the church in droves.

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From the blog post:

All of us long for something better. Light to shine into our darkness. Peace and understanding rather than our sad divisions. Kindness in place of hate. Truth in place of lies. True joy in place trivial entertainment. Hope for the future. Love and deep friendship. Eternal significance. In our culture today, everyday conversations do not often include religious matters, but those deep longings are still there. We long for truth, beauty, and goodness, but we settle for Twitter. Who can we turn to? Where is our rescue?

May I pick a nit? I think this is a little overly dramatic. While I think it is true that people do desire peace, understanding, kindness and truth, I don’t think we must all long for it helplessly until we are rescued. And none of those things require religion as a prerequisite and neither does the sincere embracing of a religion guarantee those things to anyone,

That said this line struck a chord with me: “True joy in place of trivial entertainment.” Whether religious or not, I find some people are excessively rational, seemingly in all their pursuits. To insist on rationality is to cling to control. Our human condition permits us more than that. There are depths our understanding can reach if we don’t insist on rappelling there one carefully justified proposition at a time. Christianity can provide a structure for such understanding by way of prayer. But even we non-Christians can also ask, wait and reflect even without addressing our questions to God. I liked that line about true joy because I think that comes when we open ourselves to something more, where ever we may conceive of it as coming from. When we cling too much to rational control I think it is hard to escape triviality.

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I think that Dr Haarsma’s positive message is good. I wonder, however, if the typical skeptic (or some Christians, too) would not be overjoyed to hear that we are not able to be good or to seek God. This sort of, if I understand it correctly, relies on a Fall. That’s not something that everyone from a skeptic standpoint (or from the Ennsian or related crowds; in contrast to Calvinist) would accept as logical or hopeful; not good news, perhaps.

I wonder if the skeptic would like to talk more about a different approach–perhaps the emphasis on the Dr Haarsma’s last portion–that which lasts, is more than the trivial. I understand that today’s generation emphasizes social justice; Jesus was a social justice warrior who also gave grace.

I do appreciate the hopeful tone; and especially seeking what lasts rather than triviality.

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Thank you for sharing. I appreciate this site.

Wishing you and all Biologos members a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Lynne

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