This came from my Catholic folder. It really blessed me and I hope it blesses others.
What is God telling you with the problems He permits in your life?
The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you depending on how you respond to them. Unfortunately most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring.
Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:
God uses problems to DIRECT you. Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? “Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.” Proverbs 20:30 (GN)
God uses problems to INSPECT you. People are like tea bags. If you want to know what’s inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God ever tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you? “When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.” James 1:2-3 (NCV)
God uses problems to CORRECT you. Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It’s likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something, health, money and a relationship. By losing it. “It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws.” Psalm 119:71-72 (LB)
God uses problems to PROTECT you. A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem – but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management’s actions were eventually discovered. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” Genesis 50:20 (NIV)
God uses problems to PERFECT you. Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you’re going to take with you into eternity. “We can rejoice when we run into problems they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of Character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it; until finally our hope and faith are Strong and steady.” Romans 5:3-4 (LB)
Here’s the point: God is at work in your life-even when you do not recognize it or understand it. But it’s much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him. Print this out and read this regularly. Some of you could probably use this right now!
“YOU ARE BLESSED — THERE’S NO NEED TO BE STRESSED!”
Author Unknown
I being an atheist have always wondered what god did before he created the universe, this is a serious comment and I’m nit trying to be flippant. Most people will say that god always was, but that seems a convenient answer in the absence of a good answer.
I have always wondered if god made other universes before ours and are there others are us, has he perfected another creation?
Any thoughts?
Garfield,
I know you are not trying to be flippant and are asking the question because it is something that you really want to know.
I know that when I listen to coast to coast Am that sometimes they have a Catholic priest on there and if I remember correctly stated that the Catholic church has not ruled out that God created other universes and that there might be life out there besides ours. I am open to God creating other planets and other life besides just on earth. I don’t think the Bible just says life on earth. I don’t think one can limit God and put God into this neat little box.
God is spirit and I believe he can and maybe did create other life out there. Maybe earth is just one part of his wonderful creation?
I know some Christians don’t want to talk about or even think about God creating other life, but it seems like the Catholic Church is open to the idea. They just don’t know at this point. It looks like there are other planets out there with life forms and if God created earth and us than I believe he could create others. I will leave that up to the church to research, but so far they seem to be open to the idea of other life forms that God created.
A lot of what I believe comes down to faith. I may not see God but I know God is there. I feel him in my life and know that he has saved me from things that if he hadn’t intervined I would be dead now. I believe his hand is upon me. I may not with my own two eyes see God’s hand, but I know in my heart He is there.
Someday I will have the chance to ask God questions I hope. There is so much I would love to ask him.
I have friends who are Pagan. They are very spiritual and believe in many gods. They believe in different deities. Some Pagans worship a Celtic Deity. Others worship Nordic deities. I know Pagans here who consider themselves Wiccan and are looking into Astru. I have a good friend who has been Pagan for many years who is looking into Astru and was sharing me the code of Honor that she printed out. I was impressed with some of the things listed. They had qualities like truth, courage, strength, justice, love, and other things.
Those qualities are good qualities and should be practiced or at least tried to be practice by human beings in general. Catholics, Christians, Baptists, Pagans, Jews, Muslims, etc would do well to embrace many of those same qualites into our daily living. I don’t judge people for the spiritual path that they choose. What is important to me is that they find a path that helps them to become the best they can be. Is the path they choose a path that is going to help them be people who make a difference for good in the world?
Garfield, from the other thread I take it that your mom was Church of England (Anglican). There are Anglicans who speak out with courage about such issues in the world as poverty, crime, helping those in need like the people in Chile who are suffering because of the large earthquake. There are Anglicans, I am sure, like Catholics who use their medical training to help those who because of natural disasters need their medical skills to save their lives. There are Anglicans who have money to buy and send medical supplies, food, and other items needed to help. Their are Catholics who are doing the same thing because our spiritual path teaches us love others and serve others. My Pagan friends want to help too. There are Jewish people who are doing their best to help because their faith also teaches a spiritual path to help others in the world. I don’t know much about Muslims, but I am sure there are Muslims who are sending help and value those same qualities like truth, love, compassion, and helping others.
The sad thing in the world is when people of all religious paths take their faith to the extreem.
So no I don’t know what God was doing before he created us; but I do know that he created us and maybe other planets with life on them. What is important to me is that he did create us and that he wants us to be good stewards of this one. Garfield, both of us love and fight to protect the environment and it makes me sad that so many people just don’t care. They don’t think about what effect we have on the planet. For me because I am a Catholic that wants to follow God’s teachings I do care and try to be a good caregiver of the environment. My Pagan friends they too want to be good caregivers of the planet. You Garfield, you doesn’t believe in God wants to be a good steward of the planet. We all come from different spiritual paths but because of that spiritual path we walk it makes us to be people who want to fight to protect the planet from the effects of pollution, climate change, and over population.
Have you ever read C. S. Lewis. An Anglican priest I used to know here in Sun Lakes loved his books. Lewis didn’t believe in God and set out to prove that God didn’t exist and came to believe in God. ” Mere Christianity” I think is the name of the book. Very interesting book.
One of the concepts Lewis talked about was if God didn’t exist how can everything on the earth work like clockwork everyday. Every morning we know the sun will rise from the east and that every evening the sun is going to set on the west. We know that everynight there will be a moon and stars. That there is an order to life. If some kind of God didn’t exist he thought, how could that be? Lewis came to the conclusion that some kind of God did exist. Someone was watching over things.
Don’t ever be afraid to ask questions here regarding faith Garfield!!!!!!!! No question is stupid and no question will be dismissed as you just trying to cause trouble. I may not be able to answer your question but I am not afraid to say I don’t know.
Other people read this blog. Maybe someone else can answer your questions. The important thing is that you are thinking about things.
Chrisy
Garfield, Please allow me to offer this suggestion…On more than one occasion I have listened to programs about professed atheists,such as yourself say they had made a commitment to prove there was no God. Why not begin an in depth study of the Bible for yourself and just see what you come up with. Couldn’t hurt, right? I know that I have heard Jack Van Impe say that scientists have discovered many universes or galaxies just like ours. I have also read a scripture in the Bible that says “Before you were in your mothers womb I knew you.” so that says to me that we were with God before we were here on earth. I just know that if you can’t find the answer you are looking for in the Bible you will understand why after an exhaustive search. Best wishes..Katie
Katie,
Thank you for your comment to Garfield. I know you are sincere in your words and good wishes.
” Before you were in your mothers womb I knew you.” so that says to me that we were with God before we were here on earth.” Katie said
I think your answer to Garfield’s question is a good one. Before we were born God knew us. He formed us into being. So in order for God to know he we either had to be with him as spirits or he created us from the moment of conception and knew us growing in our mother’s womb.
The creation of life is so beautiful and wonderful. As human beings we might not totally understand the miracle of life. When I lived in Marshfield, MA I had horses, dogs, and cats. I remember when my barn cat Maxie had kitten and watching them being born. It truly is amazing. I had a friend Bonnie in KS who raised puppies and she talked about the miracle of puppies being born. She also had the joy of watching a colt being born. I would have loved to be a vet, but my mind doesn’t process science and technical information very well.
Garfield, maybe you have read the Bible before. I know for me it is a hard book to understand. I would encourage you to get a more modern translation than the King James. Though some Christians really love the poetry that the King James has, but for me personally I like a new version put into the more modern langauage.
Even though Garfield Protestants and Catholics are all Christian and we believe in the principles of the Christian faith there are differences. I know our Catholic Bible has more books in it. I have read many versions of the Bible when I was in convent school studying theology. The version I used then and I still like the best is the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition) I find it very easy to read and understand. The exact version I have a called Catholic women’s devotional Bible. I am sure they have one for men. The edition I used in the convent was the St. Joseph editiion and it didn’t have the daily reflections that the Catholic women’s Bible has.
I know Baptists like the NIV (New Internation Version) which is very popular. Some still like the KJ(King James version)
A good book to start with is one of the gospels. Some like John and others like Matthew. As I read the book I am reading in the Bible I also read books written by priests about the book of lets say John to better help me understand the meaning.
The most important part is prayer. Before you start reading let’s say five verses a day pray that God’s word will come alive to you. Read those few verses and really think about them. How do they speak to you? What do they say to you?
I am always here if you want to ask questions. You have received some good suggestions from both Katie and I. C. S. Lewis and his book mere christianity is a good book to read as you are reading one of the gospels.
One thing to always remember is that God loves you Garfield right where you are at. God never judges you as people do, but loves you and is wanting to be close to you. Sometimes it is our guilt that keeps us away from God. I know that feeling of staying away because I felt I failed God again. Yet, it doesn’t matter how many times we blow it, if we confess our sins with the heart of not wanting to do it again we are forgiven. Lent is a good time for going to confession and dealing with those areas in our life that need to be dealt with, but haven’t been.
So yes, Garfield before you were even born as Katie reminded us God knew you Garfield and loved you. He still loves you.
Katie Says:Why not begin an in depth study of the Bible for yourself and just see what you come up with. Couldn’t hurt, right?
Been there done that Katie about 20 odd years ago, I have found no real validation that the bible is anything other than good reading in history. No disrespect here but I find no god there, and blind faith is something I reject as I’m a realist and cynic. My question was to stimulate a debate about other worlds and whether we are all alone as humans, no I no sure of the little green men theory but I am open to most ideas.
Garfield,
Thank you for sharing your honest feelings about the Bible. I remember taking a course in college called the Bible as Liturature. The Bible has some of the most wonderful poetry contained within it.
You are reading the Bible as Liturature and not as the Word of God. Whereas I as a Catholic read the Bible a book that contains the teachings of Jesus that if I apply in my real life will make me a better person. In the Mass we stand when the gospel is read. Then the Priest speaks about the readings that we read. I believed that it is God’s word but that man wrote it. We don’t just take the Bible to guide our Catholic walk as we also take what the church teaches as well.
I know Protestant Christians like Baptists believe the Bible is the Word of God and believed that God wrote it through man. That God dictated it word for word and that every word is from God. They put more focus on the Bible than Catholics do.
Yes, you read the Bible but did you read it through the eyes of faith? Until you read the Bible through the eyes of faith it will be just a good book that contains some good poetry. You must have an open heart when you read the Bible and be open to what Jesus is saying through his words.
I know I am not explaining this very well.
Are you open to the concept that God exists? Or have you closed your mind to even believing that a Higher power created life on earth? If your mind is closed to the point of even considering that God created all life, then you have totally rejected God and therefore the Bible would not touch your heart as you wouldn’t believe that there is anything real about God or Jesus.
Jesus is the one knocking on your door(your heart), but you (Garfield) have to answer the call and let him in your heart. God is not going to force himself on you Garfield. If you reject Him and do not believe that he created all life either on earth or on other planets, than it is your choice. God believes in free will and will never force you to believe in Him.
I hope you will read Mere Christianity by CS Lewis and let me know what you think about it. Garfield, I read it when my faith was going through a crisis. I had lost God and my faith because I allowed anger to destroy my faith in God, the church, and my Catholic brother. Because I was so angry and felt that the church had a double standard, (one standard for rich Catholics and another for poor Catholics) I allowed another form of Christianity into my heart. Jeff was Christian Identity. I deceived myself into thinking Jeff was a pastor of God. Further and further I traveled away from God and closer and closer to the misery that hell is. I sat there in silence when I heard Jeff and other Baptist Pastors preach hate toward Catholics and the Catholic church. There was no love preached but HATE preached as God Word.
After I left Jeff there was a period of time when I checked out the Pagan faith. I didn’t want to serve the same God that Jeff served and I didn’t want to serve a God whose church used a double standard. If you were to research some of my old postings on SF you would see that I posted a lot in the Pagan section. Yet, the whole time I still knew that God was real and so I would go back and forth. My Pagan friends here in AZ know that for years I was going back and forth. I would start Pagan 101 classes ( year and a day class) but I could never finish them. It was my Pagan friends that helped picked up the pieces of my spiritual path. They didn’t judge me harshly like other Catholics had who only saw the worst in me. There wasn’t a double standard of if one is a poor Pagan they are condemned for their sin but a rich Pagan can get away with their sin and even be praised for it. There wasn’t HATE and being told time and time again that I was inferior because I was born a woman and because Eve ate the apple first women were responsible for all the sin in the world. Like children who have parents who only tell them how bad they are and then the child acts bad, I was acting out what Jeff had branded me as. He said I was a witch because Rebellion was the same as witchcraft and I refused to submit to him and his Hate filled White Nationalist Christianity. So who did I hang out with? I hung out with other Pagans since I would suffer the same punishment as they would receive.
I will always be grateful to my Pagan friends for letting me sort out my feelings about religion and faith. The last year and a day class was taught by a wonderful man who I wish the best for. The other people who took the class will always have a place in my heart for too. The rituals that we did reminded me of the rituals of the Catholic Church. God really worked on me and through it all brought me back to the Catholic Church. My Pagan friends don’t judge me badly for going back to the Catholic Church. I don’t judge them for their beliefs either.
Anyway, when I was still living in South Carolina and was working at one of the resorts there I had time to read a lot. I had bought C. S. Lewis’s book with the workbook that went along with it. At the same time I was taken a druid course by mail. The questions that C. S. Lewis asked were some of the questions I also had. Yet, you Garfield would have to be open when you are reading and asking yourself the questions that you have.
If you are interested and you are willing to read C.S. Lewis mere Christianity I will read it too and we can discuss it. We can ask each other questions. I know some Christians feel you should start with the Bible, but I disagree.
I know you didn’t want to talk about your belief or lack of belief in a higher power and just try, but maybe God wants to have this discussion with you and that is why this tread is turning out the way it is. Will you read “mere Christianity” by C. S. Lewis and we both reflect on the book together?
These are some deep trenches you want me to wade into, are honestly I have covered them years ago and planted nice flowers on top.
Can I open myself you believe there is a god? In all honesty I would have to admit no, if there is I doubt it would not change my outlook on life nor my political beliefs. I’ve done the happy clappy scene more than 20 years ago, spirit filled, born again thing. That was a lonely time in my life and I honestly found joy there, but life goes on and I became more racially aware and left that scene.
I simply cannot bring myself to believe that a god would allow such suffering in this world and the destruction of the planet when he has it in his power to prevent all these and future events. The suggestion of free will and god’s tolerance to allow such things is a human cop out or a flaw in the very nature of him. The concept of blind faith is not a reality I find logical, nor does it address the core needs of any man. Food, shelter, love, sex were described by Maslow as the basic needs of humans.
CS Lewis the apologist, I would have to consider whether reading his works would be of value to me.
Garfield,
I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do. You have the be the one who wants to dive into spiritual matters.
You bring up that if there was a God why would he allow suffering in the world. I don’t know why some people suffer more in life than others. Does the suffering have anything to do with making us stronger? Is the suffering an effect of our sin? I just know that for me I keep on believing that God is watching over me and is protecting me. Yes, I may suffer a little in this life, but look at the suffering that Jesus went though in dying and paying the price for my sins.
If you don’t want to read C.S. Lewis that is up to you. Just because the book helped me doesn’t mean that it would help you. You have to be open and unless you have an open mind and heart than it doesn’t matter what books you read or what church you attend; because if you aren’t open than it won’t have much effect on you.
Chrisy58,
Thank you for your kind comments. Yes, it is true that I believe the Bible is the Word of God, inspired by God (2Peter 1:19-21) and yes I do love the King James version, but only because I have to really stay focused on what I am reading. To me the Bible is Jesus, in writing (1 John 1: 1-14) I also believe in being “filled with the Holy Spirit” as the apostles were. It was only then that I was able to understand the Bible. When I was a child we used to go to a Baptist church, so I absolutely understand the lack of love idea that you speak of. But what I know in my spirit to be sure and true is this…That Jesus is the son of God and he died for my sins and only through him can I enter Heaven. I believe we are commanded (not asked) to walk in love for all mankind. I can not judge any one but myself. It is ok to hate sin but not man. I believe there will come a day (much sooner than we think) when all mankind will believe in God (Romans 14:11) You are totally right about the suffering of Christ, and if the Son of God suffered how much the more shall we who believe suffer, knowing that the trying of our Faith increases our patience. I think sometimes we don’t really know what we are made of until we go through something very difficult. Its like the purifying of fine gold. Only when gold has been purified by fire can one see them self in it. God puts us thru the fire so that he can see himself in us.
Any way, it is nice to read your comments. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and keep you safe…Kay
Garfield,
I don’t believe in the “little green men” either. I do how ever believe there is scientific data that does support there being universes like ours. Because I am a stanch believer in the Bible or as I prefer to call it the Word of God I am not so sure there is another race of beings on some other planet. This is not discussed in the Bible and I know of no scientific data to corroborate it either. I do believe that it is man who is responsible for all the suffering in the world as it was man who brought about the “curse”. I know,of course, that you will not agree with this and thats ok too. I agree with Chrisy that it is each persons right to choose what they believe. I just know that I was on the brink of suicide before I turned my life over to God, and he took me by the hand and saved me. You may believe my faith to be blind, but it is that very Faith that gives me Hope of a better life to come. As far as deep trenches…I have heard tell of a place where the trenches are bottomless and go on forever. I wish you well Garfield. My heart goes out to you and I know that even though you may not believe it at this time….Jesus loves you very much and he would have still chosen to die even if he knew you would have been the only person on earth that would accept the free gift he was offering. Peace Brother…
Katie,
Thank you for your wonderful comment. I know it was address to Garfield, but I just wanted to let you know how I felt.
God is wonderful isn’t he? He saved you and he saved me. So often I think of the song Amazing Grace as the story of my walk with the Lord. Katie, I truly was lost. I was angry and allowed myself to be deceived into embracing a view point that was not of God. I was on the road to hell. Yet, when I cried out to Jesus one rainy night in OR God heard my prayer and saved me. He has been working on me ever sense. He didn’t give up on me. I wish I could say that I hadn’t fallen after that time, but it took a while longer to heal my mind and soul.
I agree with you that the suffering in the world is caused by men and not God. Like you, I know that Garfield will not agree with us. As you say Garfield will have to choose for himself to either accept Jesus or reject God all together. The important thing to remember is that we both have planted a seed for Garfield and hopefully someday that seed will bear fruit. We never know what will happen.
God bless you.
Chrisy
Katie, thank you for those kind words, it so seldom these days to find a person who will discuss such an emotive issue without loosing sight that we are all fundamentally different and unique. You are correct in your assertion that the bible does not speak of other life nor planets, yet we should not discount this as the basis of fact merely due to an omission in the bible. We all know that climate change is going to one day destroy this planet and that in 50 million years the sun will be extinct, the bible makes no reference to these things yet we know it is true. Although the word of god is used as a moral standard by all xtians, it cannot be used as a similar standard to measure scientific exploration. Although we cannot prove there is life on other planets or an alternative universe we can equally not disprove such an assumption merely because the bible fails no make reference thereto.
If you have read my comments in this blog you will find I have never condemned a persons spiritual belief, they a very personal path that we each follow and there is no proof required as to why a person follows that path. Its a free will choice and personal journey.
It is strange why we always blame man for the shortcomings in religious belief, this is one of the fundamental stumbling blocks for me, its just too easy to blame ourselves when things go wrong, yet when an earthquake hit Haiti it was an ‘act of god’. It was an earthquake and no more, destiny is shaped by our actions and I believe the earth is showing signs is ‘sickness’ and of course the signs will result in massive events which are now occurring. However as god is an all knowing god he allows these tragic events to unfold and I cannot accept that the same god utters words like ‘ come to me all ye who are weary and I will give you rest for your soul’, this does not make sense in any way. I appears to me as a contradiction in the essence of a loving god.
Sorry I’m rambling on……………….
Garfield,
You are not rambling on. We are all discusing a very interesting topic to me.
Garfield said: ” If you have read my comments in this blog you will find I have never condemned a persons spiritual belief, they a very personal path that we each follow and there is no proof required as to why a person follows that path. Its a free will choice and personal journey.”
I actually agree with you that each one of us has to choose the spiritual path we will follow. I do believe in free will and letting each person decide for themselves their own spirituality.
I have a good friend that I have known for many years who is Pagan. I remember the day that we were at one of the local bookstores and I went back into the store to buy her a fairy deck as she loves fairies. When I got back to the car she told me that she was reading the book Living Wicca and that she thought she had found a spiritual path. For her the Pagan path of spirituality is what speaks to her and helps her be a better person. For me the Catholic path is the path that speaks to me and makes me a better person. I have a friend in KS who is Southern Baptist.
I might be critized and accused of being a bad Catholic, but I would go to Pagan meetings with my friend. Why would I as a Catholic go to Pagan meetings you might ask. The answer is she is my friend and the Pagan Path is the path she follows and I want to know more about what she believes. I don’t think it is bad to study and learn about other religions. I know in Convent school studying theology we studied other religions and I found it very interesting.
I think that sometimes we Christians make a mistake by coming on to strong. We have christians who come on like gang busters and make others feel like if they don’t follow the Christian path they are evil sinners and going to rot in hell. We even have Christians who believe that Catholics are not true Christians and that Catholics will go to hell. I have heard sermons preached by Protestant Ministers who have stood in front of their church on Sunday morning and condemn Catholics. They don’t understand that we are all Christian if we believe that Jesus was the Son of God and born of the Virgin Mary etc. Yet, because of man made traditions we have infighting among Christians.
I know in the Pagan faith that my friend follows there too is infighting and drama. In the Southern Baptist church that there is infighting. We have infighting in the Catholic Church of some Catholics thinking that Victian II Catholics are destroying the church and want to go back to Latin Mass and toss out Victian II. Then there are those of us who were raised on Victian II that like having the Mass in English and don’t want an all Latin Mass. I have come to believe that no matter what religious path one follows that there is infighting.
Garfield, you seem like an intelligent person. You are asking valid questions. I don’t think there is ever a stupid question. I am just a human being so I can’t tell you why God allows bad things to happen to good people. I can’t tell you why there are earthquakes. I do believe that someday God will answer you if you pray and ask him why and for wisdom to understand. I just know that God has answered my prayers.
So much of what we believe as Catholics is based on faith and trust. I do believe that when we as human beings that God loves are walking outside of His will for us that he will allow bad things to happen so that we will return to him. I also know that everytime I come back to him, go to Confession that I am received with love and compassion. For me by staying close to the Lord and trying to live a life as a good Catholic that things work out so much better for me. When I need help, God sends it in his own way and time. Each of us must develop our own personal relationship with Jesus. I just know that Jesus loves us and he saves us. The first step is faith in believing Jesus is the son of God. The second step is to pray with belief that God will answer your prayer. If you pray to God for answers to your questions he will show you. God can work through other people to bring you the answers or he will show you as you read the Bible or listen to the gospel and the other readings in Mass.
I still think that Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis might be able to answer some of your very valid questions. I know when I was having a crisis in my faith that it really helped me to the point that I returned to the Catholic faith. Only you can decide if you want to read the book. Don’t do anything you, garfield, don’t want to do. Don’t read the book just for me, but read the book because you think it might help answer some of the questions you have. I believe that very question that you asked is answered in the book.
I downloaded the book, now I need to find the time to read the first few pages, I judge a book in its first 25 pages, it either speaks to me or doesn’t. I tried to read Mien Kampf, but I didn’t impress me.
I must say though atheists don’t argue much, lol, we don’t believe in anything so there is nothing to fight about.
Let me know what you think of it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. If you don’t like it, that is ok too. We are human beings and not robots so therefore I think that God uses what works with each of us. He loves each of us.
I read the first chapter about law of nature and law of human nature and I found it rather boring. I then googled ‘contradictions atheism and CS Lewis and bang plenty of sites to read. Then main contention of their argument is that Lewis was never an ardent atheist to start with, I also question his sudden jump from his reference to a ‘higher power’ to suddenly redefining this power to god without any proof of such power or how he came to realize this. He made specific reference to the words ” I finally had to give in that Xtianity…………..”. The argument being that if you have to give in then you where never convinced to start with. I will read further tonight, its hot here today we had 42′C, at least we have cheap beer to cool down with.
Garfield,
It is raining here in the AZ desert. We don’t get rain much so when it does rain it is a treat.
Yes, the book can be boring and that is why I would read a little at a time. I tend to do that with some books.
I do not know C.S Lewis’s heart, maybe the Holy Spirit touched his heart and as he listened to what God was saying to him, he submitted to the Will of God for his life. At some point he had a change of heart and came to believe God is real.
We all have our own conversion stories of how we came to know that God is real.
this teaching will go a long way, l am happy to have been able to locate this web page. l am striving towards holiness thou its not easy but l will need help and support to build myself with the much that you can give to me through your teaching because his righteousness and death is enough hopes and good expectation to a better and promised land.
thanks looking forward to more reading either through your web page or my mail. Byeeee