18/06/2016
Go Ahead and Ask!
I have this friend, a friend who is more like family. I have a longing in my heart to undo all the damage that Religion has done to him and replace it with the Love of God. Sadly it has become a taboo subject. He knows I have an abundance of faith and yet he finds it laughable.
You see his only memories of God, Christ and the Bible are tainted by an abusive and legalistic school system. Forced to believe in a God he could not identify with, and expected to behave in ways completely foreign to his nature. He was told to accept teachings that made no sense to him or God would send him to an unending place of torment and fire. Now this is bad enough in itself, yet he was abused further for asking challenging questions when he had doubts about the teachings he was being held captive by.
For those of us who have also experienced this type of controlling religiosity, and because the scriptures are often confusing for us in our immaturity, it is no wonder many pull away from God, from Christ and from the Bible. Especially as the basis of any faith comes from a place of what makes sense to us, not just what we are told, otherwise it simply unravels as we grow in understanding and maturity. We begin to realise that the theories we have been taught no longer line up with our reasoning and comprehension. Just as Santa Claus is easy to believe when we are very young, as we grow, we start to have doubts, we begin to ask intelligent, rational, and reasonable questions such as, *How does he reach every house in only 24hrs? Or *How does he get to the Christmas tree of houses that have no chimney. *Why do we let someone we have never met into our homes when we sleep? *Why did I get all these presents when I have been naughty?
This friend of mine is extremely intelligent. He values wisdom and historical knowledge and reason. So when he was punished for investigating the parts of religion that made no sense to him, he gave up any shred of faith he may have had in the God of the Bible. His rational doubts were met with irrational responses, which gave him few other options than to conclude that they were all talking a load of rubbish.
His teachers were afraid of his challenges, they were angry at his doubts, and yet the truth has no need to fear investigation.
In this fantastic message which I heard recently, came this insightful quote. “Doubt creates a space for faith to exist, for without doubt, faith is irrelevant”
Doubt is a vital and important part of developing the stability of faith. Without doubt, God becomes a concept only for the naive and the ignorant. Without doubt there would be no challenge to pursue truth. Without doubt we would believe every lie. There is an enemy of God out there, deceiving and lying, and as far as I can see, those who aren’t allowed to doubt, and aren’t allowed to question, end up either accepting the concept of a God different to the One True God. Or they give up on God and try to get as far away from the notion of God entirely.
Once we begin to ask the right questions we can begin to piece together what makes sense to us, and that forms the foundation of our beliefs. Religion tells us to believe what we have been told no questions asked, but God wants us to ask and ask and ask. To never stop asking, never settle on a belief until we find the answers that match the still quiet voice of reason deep within our core.
Here is a place to start… Why would God want us to ask the hard questions instead of just simply believing what we have been told? – The answer is genuine connection and Love!
To prove that we are all made in God’s image He put the desire to be loved, not just the desire but the necessity. Not just to be loved but to connect on a deep level with something other than our own conscious ego. Because He is Love, because he wants to connect, He needs to connect.
Look at it this way, if you found someone you wanted to connect with, someone you wanted to love you, and you gave them a love potion. Sure enough you have their attention, their confessions of love, their attraction, their passion. Yet your trust, your connection, is not based on the genuine truth of their love, it is based on your trust of the potion.
This is why He wants us to question and to discover reasons that make sense to us to Love Him, to decide of our own free will to love, to connect, to trust, to revere. So that He can have trust in our love for Him. Then and only then is true unity, euphoric connection, ultimate fulfillment, possible for both us and for God!
Points to ponder….
*Truth can handle being reasonably investigated
*Lies are abundant and deception is rife
*Doubt is essential and discernment crucial
*God loves us and wants to connect with us
*Why not ask the tough questions
The scriptures say that God is Love. God is full of Truth. Let us not become naive about our beliefs, swallowing whole the lies of the enemy that seek to corrupt the virtue of God’s Love. Seek out the truth, discover what makes sense to you in your pursuit of God’s Love through His word, through a personal relationship with Him, questioning all who claim to understand Him. Its time we did away with these poisonous teachings of an abusive and unreasonable God, determined to send us to our unending torture, when the reality is that His love is the only way we can overcome all that seeks to destroy us. Lets no longer be like children who misunderstand the loving authority of their parents. Lets build a reasonable and rational foundation for our faith starting with the truth that God is Love!
14/09/2012
My Answers…*
In a recent post I explained how I adored our office white board and its ‘Life changing question of the week’. In it I shared a few of the questions which we have been asked and hoped some of you would join in. I was so blessed to find that a fellow blogger had dedicated a post to answering one of these questions. I admire the story she shared to capture her answer. You can read her wonderfully creative vision here… One return-trip in a time machine.
I thought it only fair that I give you a couple of my own answers and an idea of the answers from those who I share my days with…
*Would you willingly give up your arms, if you knew you would grow wings in their place?
My Answer – “I would keep my arms and wait for heaven, where I hope to have both arms and wings”. 😉
Most of the staff agreed to keep their arms, they liked the independence and their usefulness. One young guy said he would take the wings and become famous enough to pay others to do everything he could no longer do while he flew around all day! Hahaha
*Would you give up sleep, if you knew you would never get tired again?
One thing you should know about me and sleep is that I need it! Even if I’m full of energy, I need sleep. I am like an Energizer Bunny, full of nervous energy, I have been known to just keep going, and often at extreme speeds! This leads to high levels of adrenaline coursing through my veins and that puts excess stress on the heart. Sleep gives my busy, flighty brain a chance to unwind, (so long as I’m not having one of my nights of vivid dreams). I have learned over years to do some meditation and relaxation techniques before trying to get to sleep. This gives my body the peaceful rest it requires and makes it easier to get up in the morning. Beside I love my comfy bed and comfy pillows, I love the weight of my heavy quilt covering me like a safety blanket. I like resting my heavy head and giving my weak neck a much needed break.
So ‘No’ I would not give up sleep, even if I never got tired again. Most of the staff enjoyed sleep too much to give it up also. The guy with the wings said he would also give up sleep, feeling it wasted time he could spend more productively….probably flying 😉
*If you had to be on a deserted island with anyone, other than your partner, for 12 months who would you choose?
Some chose celebrities, some chose a survival expert such as Bear Grylls or MacGyver, I chose Jesus… We’ve all heard of the multitude of gifts He has. He is an amazing fisherman, He can bring water from a stone, turn rocks into bread, water into wine, or as my friend suggested, He could part the sea so we could walk off the island whenever we wanted 😉 Then there is the added bonus of course to be able to simply sit in His presence, hearing His voice… Listening to His wisdom falling over me like warm rain….
I enjoyed sharing a few of my answers with you and I hope you check out the amazing answer from my blogging friend at the start of this post. Blessings to you all and remember to keep connecting with questions.
08/09/2012
Connecting with Questions*
There are many things I can say that I enjoy about my new work place (when I say ‘new’ I mean I’ve been there for about 8 months). I really enjoy the company of the staff (in fact I often get a little too excited with my sharing, because I like them so much), we share stories and recipes, music and jokes. I like that the customers are mostly lovely and often enjoy a chat as much as me, (my nickname at work is ‘Chats’). It is not stressful (even though my anxiety still rears its ugly head from time to time). I enjoy the work of helping others, I like how nice, tidy and professional it is. I like the relaxed flow of energy that fills the halls each day. I like that they encourage me to be creative with designing fliers, writing marketing emails and newsletters. I like that they don’t mind if I read or write when things get slow and quiet. I love that I can be home each afternoon with my girls when they get home from school.
I know, I know, I am so Blessed!! Thank you Lord!!
However, the thing I currently like most about my new place of work is the white board in the kitchen…..
Why on earth??? You may ask….
Well it’s because of the ..“Life Changing Question of the Week”..Obviously! 😉
Someone randomly writes a thought provoking question on the whiteboard and everyone writes their answers underneath. It has become a source of insight into our fellow colleagues and gives us a point of reference for office discussions. It brings us all together, even those who do the night or weekend shifts, who don’t get much interaction with everyone on staff. This way everyone can join in..
Here is an idea of types of questions we have been asked….
*Would you willingly give up your arms, if you knew you would grow wings in their place?
*Would you give up sleep, if you knew you would never get tired again?
*How do you measure your level of success?
*If you could stop being you and become anyone else, who would you choose to be and why?
*If you had to be on a deserted island with anyone, other than your partner, for 12 months who would you choose?
*If you had access to one return trip in a time machine, how would you use it?
*If your house was burning down (and all the people and pets were safe) what 3 objects would you try and save?
As you can imagine there have been many laughs, opinions and stories shared as a result of this magical whiteboard. It gives a lovely connection to us all, which is my favourite thing EVER!
Aren’t connections so wonderful and often under appreciated??!!
For many years now it has been common for me to encourage others to play “Questions and Answers” with friends both old and new. You know the game where I ask you a question and you answer honestly and then it’s your turn to ask something, and back and to until we have a better understanding of each other. It kills awkward silences, it shows each other you are interested in them, it sheds light into each others thoughts and experiences. You may think this is usually the result of normal conversations, and for some this is true, but for those who have a hard time making small talk, opening up or interacting on a deeper level this game can be a fabulous tool. Plus it keeps things on an even keel, especially if one tends to talk over the other somewhat …(No … I have no idea of anyone like that 😉 Hahaha)
It was a fabulous new joy to play this game with my Husband and two girls one night recently. The girls had so many questions to fire at their Dad because he has always been less forthcoming with them of his own stories than I have. We spent an evening sharing ourselves openly, we learned more about each other than we already knew, we felt closer and loving, and understood each other a little better. I recommend you try it too!
I love people, people are so interesting to me, new perspectives, different opinions and views. You are all unique and special and I would really like to get to know you all better, experience more joys of connection, so if you want to play along, please add your answers to the “life Changing Questions of the Week” in the comments and lets get to know each other a little better. If you don’t feel like answering, I would still love to hear what you think of connecting with questions. Blessings to you all!
Inner Angels & Enemies 