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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tom Kiesel who wrote (21236)	5/3/1998 2:25:00 AM
From: Emile Vidrine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

"As for my own bit on this topic Emile, I am very unsure of my religious standing right now. I was raised a Catholic, but the ground is shifting under my ideological dream house and I'm just sitting under a door frame waiting to pick up the broken dishes (or broken conceptions of God) when it's over. A philosophy class did that to me, got me thinking. Right now I'm theistic, but maybe not a Christian." Modern religions often put a thin veneer over our youthful minds and emotions but leave the understanding of the heart untouched. The Master Potter is clearly preparing to shape a vessel for a glorious use. The Potter most often smash and reshape the clay and at times slam it against the wall to remove all air pockets. It is painful but produces an exquisite vessel. Job was such a vessel. The pain and trauma of being shaped into a useful vessel will one day become delightful memories, but for the presence they are painful and confusing. At the end, Job met God personally and the pottery rejoiced in the glorious vessel he had become. The Potter has begun His work in your life by using the tool of man's philosophical wisdom to break the more harmful air pockets of religious idolatry and religious misconceptions in His clay. Now that you are religously naked, God can proceed to reveal the essence of your religion to you---Jesus Christ Crucified for your sins and raised for your glorification. God tells us that if we seek Him with all our hearts we will find Him. If there truly is a God, and if He truly sent His Son to die for your sins that you could be reconciled to God the Father, would you want to know Him? That is all God requires to reveal Himself to you and make you His son and fill you with His Holy Spirit. It is simply a matter of testing the veracity of His hypothesis. If you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved." It is easy enough to test this hypothesis. All we need is a sincere heart and a broken and contrite spirit.

To: Tom Kiesel who wrote (21236)	5/3/1998 4:55:00 AM
From: Grainne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

Hi, Tom!! It's been a long time since you were at the Feelings thread. Thanks for coming over, and saying something so wise and honest. You are really young, and part of that period of life for a lot of us is dealing with ever-changing belief systems. I remember doing a lot of searching when I was in college, getting blown away by philosophy professors, Catholic folk masses (they were brand new when I was young), the book "Siddhartha", and all sorts of belief systems that were pulling me in different ways. It's kind of a difficult time in that a lot is uncertain, but still very exciting. Have you read "The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell, or watched any of the videos of it, the discussions with Bill Moyers? The reason I thought of it when I read your post is that Campbell is very wise about explaining how God is within us, and in tying together the various mythologies and religions from a lot of times and cultures,and getting to some essential truths. So instead of feeling pulled apart, you feel made whole in a way. I am watching the series of videos now, and am feeling very peaceful. He has a lot to say about Christianity which Emile would probably be repulsed by, but which more moderate, or questioning, Christians could readily embrace to make sense of things, and end up with their faith evolving, instead of losing it completely. Good luck with all of that, and best wishes!!