[Vision2020] Smells like freedom

[Mike Lawyer]

Joan wrote:
"It's all a matter of faith, isn't it?"

To which I respond: Not really. Everyone has faith. What or whom we have
faith in is the issue. We all live our lives based on what we think about
life and consequences and death. The question is, Is the god in whom you
have placed your faith worthy of it? And how do you know?

We want things to be simple. "You believe what you believe and I'll believe
what I believe" sounds good until either someone wants to act on what they
believe and it bothers someone else (murder, rape, etc.), or someone brings
up the notion of truth. Everyone getting along, believing what they want, is
fine until someone notices that despite the evolutionary notion of
relativity, some things are true and therefore some things are not. Nothing
that matters is simple.

Faith is a word that shows belief or trust in something (an idea or notion)
or someone (parents, God, etc.). We have faith in X. Or we believe in X. Or
we put our trust in X. X being whatever or whoever our god is. Joan and
others put their trust or faith in their own abilities and strengths, or in
politics, or their religion, or whatever. I put my trust and faith in the
God of the Bible.

I prefer to put my faith in the God who created what I see around me,
including that old fellow I see when I look in the mirror. God is worthy, of
my trust. This is not because I believe it, that would be fideism (faith in
faith). And believing something doesn't make it so (despite those folks who
think that visualizing world peace will accomplish anything). I believe in
the God of the Bible because he has been faithful throughout all of history.

The Bible tells us that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11). It then goes on to list a number
of Biblical characters who lived their lives trusting in the love and mercy
of God. The point of the whole chapter is to tell the reader that God has
been faithful throughout history and is therefore worthy of our trust. We do
not believe simply because we want to, but because he is one who is worthy
of trust because he is faithful to do what he says he will do. I believe in
a trustworthy God.

Another thought along these same lines that springs to mind because of the
season, is the fact of Christmas. God was not only faithful to his people in
the Old Testament of the Bible, but he proved his faithfulness in what we
call the New Testament. God promised that he would come to earth and live as
a man to save his people from their sins. We sing about it every year when
we say, "Joy to the world the Lord has come." Or "Hark the herald angels
sing, glory to the new born king." Or "Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose
birth the angels sing; Come, adore on bended knee Christ, the Lord, the
new-born King." Or "...Peace on the earth, good will to men, From heaven's
all gracious King! The world in solemn stillness lay, To hear the angels
sing."

We know it is true because the Bible says Jesus was the God the king of the
world before he came into the world. We know that he came into the world to
save his people from their sins. We know that Jesus saved his people by
dying on their behalf (and this is love). We know that it is all true
because Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. We know that it is true
because Jesus is now seated in the throne room of Heaven and he rules us now
in a much more glorious way than he did before. We know it is true because
nothing else we see around us makes any other sense.

And because it is true and God is God and we are not, I choose to put my
faith in the one who is faithful and trustworthy.

Merry Christmas all,

Mike Lawyer

 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-admin@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-admin@moscow.com] On
Behalf Of Joan Opyr
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2003 12:44 AM
To: vision2020@moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Smells like freedom


Mike tells us:

>But invariably doing your own thing means leaving the things that were
>wholesome and beautiful and wonderful and trading them in on something 
>false
>and selfish. And so the Israelites became decedent and evil. They said 
>right
>was wrong and good was bad. They said and did whatever they thought they
>ought to do with no thought about what God had in mind.
>
>After a few years of this, God gave them over to the lusts of their hearts
>and minds and they sinned until it stunk up the place. Finally, God grew
>tired of this outright rebellion and turned the nation over to their
>enemies. In each case foreign nations came in and destroyed the nation of
>Israel, carting off their women, destroying their cities, enslaving their
>people.

So, what's the message here?  Do what God says or he'll kill you?  You'll 
excuse me if I find that unappealing.  Nevertheless, I want to thank you, 
Mike, for so ably illustrating the absolute necessity for freedom of 
religion.  You can believe this, and I'll believe . . . something else.

It might surprise you to learn that I am quite familiar with the Bible, 
particularly the King James Version.  It features some glaring inaccuracies 
in translation, but it's also quite pretty in places.  I especially like the

psalms.  I do not, however, take the KJV Bible, or any other Bible, for the 
literal and unerring word of God.  I choose instead to make room for my own 
intuition.  And I'm free to do that, just as you're free to believe that the

Bible is clear, consistent, and error-free.

It's all a matter of faith, isn't it?

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment

PS: I wonder which sins are the smelliest?  I mean, what would I have to do 
-- eat beans, stop changing my socks, switch to one of those deoderant 
crystals -- to really stink up the place?  Living my life as I see fit, in 
accordance with my own beliefs and conscience, and recognizing that everyone

else is free to do the same; that smells pretty sweet to me.

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