Its proved again that "God is with you always when required"

[cldlhd]

I also envy those with strong beliefs sometimes as it must be comforting. Some of the people I've told about my "situation" have told me it was God who had my aneurysm discovered in time and made my arteries show up clean in my catheterization and if that indeed is the case then thank god for that but then a cynical thought pops in my head saying " well while he's at it he could get rid of the aneurysm and replace my BAV with a normal one" but since those who have said this to me were being kind and offered to pray for me I just thank them . Hey who knows?

 

[pellicle]

Tom, I've thought about this for some time, and wondered how best to respond to your veiled put down of me.

Tejumurthy, Sorry your thread got hijacked. We are not all "godless heathens" on this forum : ) Actually your post is not about your beliefs, too bad some focused on the title. Hope your recovery is going well.

My focus (as was previously discussed was on the plight of Newbie, not to focus on the title. Perhaps that's an indicator of something bothering you. As has been mentioned by Agian my post was not a denial of God.

Since you are such a defender of "the faith" and quick to put someone down I thought I would give you some readings. I would turn your attention to the following scripture:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6:5-6

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

So not all people see the need to scream out to the crowd our strength of faith. Indeed some cry out that their faith is tested. Perhaps you have never been tested and perhaps if you were you showed yourself to be better than Peter himself.

None the less I would then draw your attention to Luke:
Luke 6:37

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

still on the topic of Lukes teachings ...

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke 10:25-37

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
...
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

For those who are not aware of who Samartins are ...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritans

The Samaritans are adherents of Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism. Based on the Samaritan Pentateuch,[3] Samaritans say that their worship is the true religion of the ancient Israelites prior to the Babylonian Exile, preserved by those who remained in the Land of Israel, as opposed to Judaism, which they say is a related but altered and amended religion, brought back by those returning from the Babylonian exile.

Based on this issue here are some other links which may be of use to you:

http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Reading-Comprehension

http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/instructionalmaterials/tp/rdgcompretensn.htm

I do not expect you to have the strength of character to apologise to me for this, instead I expect you'll say something like "I didn't say it was you"....

Best Wishes

 

[Paleowoman]

I'm glad your recovery is going well Teju !

I believe in "God", but I'm reminded that there are people in third world countries who die of preventable heart conditions and other illnesses - does "God" forsake them ? I don't think so, I think it's nothing to do with "God", I think they have the misfortune not to be able to access good medical care.We in the west are very lucky. I think we are here and it's up to us how we use our time to get close to realise "God", I don't believe in getting things from "God" apart from getting close to "God" (I use inverted commas because I believe 'God' is for all religions and spiritual paths.).

PS - the hospital where I had my surgery is one administerd by a Catholic order of nuns. In every room, including the operating theatres, was a cross with Christ on it. Although I'm not a Christian, I liked this because I felt I could identify - to a degree - with Christ's sufferings on the cross when things were difficult.

 

[Agian]

Paleogirl, dying children do not often have the luxury of being able to contemplate the nature of God.

 

[Paleowoman]

Paleogirl, dying children do not often have the luxury of being able to contemplate the nature of God.

But 'God' doesn't "do" things for people who are able to contemplate, if that were true then "God" would be no better than a powerful person who rewards those who are nice to him - and that would limit "God" who is way beyond that, without name, without form, neither created nor destroyed, within everyone even if they do not know it, even when they are babies, even animals and plants. But we are probably taking about a different meaning of "God".

 

[Agian]

If God is 'everywhere' then he must also be in my washing machine and the cockroach I killed yesterday. Or is this not logical? You see, it is not we who were created in his image, but the other way around. And if I'm going to Hell for being a heathen, the God would have known that before I was even born. Let me ask you something, if the pious are so convinced of their beliefs, wouldn't they be embracing death as an opportunity to enter heaven, rather than grovelling for an extra year on Earth? After all, God might be doing us a favour by letting us die on the table.

 

[Paleowoman]

If God is 'everywhere' then he must also be in my washing machine and the cockroach I killed yesterday..

Well, yes, since "God" is all pervasive (to my belief that is). Mind you, neither the washing machine nor the cockroach can begin to 'realise' "God". within themselves. But this conversation is pointless. There are many different ways of believing in "God". For some people He is a highly personal God, whether the God of Christianity, Judaism, Islam or some God on a Pacific Island. For other people "God' is a formless Universal Spirit. Whatever path a person follows in their belief can take them to "God". However, I cannot believe that just because a person suffers and another does not that the person who does not suffer is somehow being extra looked after by "God".

 

[Agian]

Well this is sort of what I'm trying to say, Paleogirl. God means different things to different people. We see in God what we want to see in him. I can praise God's greatness for allowing me to survive an OHS, or I can just as easily blame him for giving me a bicuspid valve, in the first place. I choose to do neither, but that's just me. Much to the dismay of the world's holy men, people can think for themselves. Live and let live.

 

[Paleowoman]

Well this is sort of what I'm trying to say, Paleogirl. God means different things to different people. We see in God what we want to see in him. I can praise God's greatness for allowing me to survive an OHS, or I can just as easily blame him for giving me a bicuspid valve, in the first place. I choose to do neither, but that's just me. Much to the dismay of the world's holy men, people can think for themselves. Live and let live.

I think we are thinking the same then Aglan !

Words do get in the way of understanding don't they