Howdy all. From my brief bio, I guess you know that I'm a native Texan currently residing in Austin. Let me start by saying that I "heart" this city because it's not what you would consider a "traditional" Texas town. It's a land of vegans, hippie hollows, dot coms and unfettered coffee shops. In a lot of ways Austin is like me because it is full of counterintuitive devices that come together and somehow work.
For example, I detest Oreos, but love cookies n' cream, I'm pretty liberal and I dig Bill O'Reilly, and I'm a gay Christian.
When I found out that I would be posting for Faithbook, I thought about how faith can function as a sort of avenue, or cohesive agent to bind the things that may seem unlikely or impossible together and make them work. After all, anyone who believes in God finds themselves in the uncomfortable position of reconciling their reasonable minds with the most strange and magnificent circumstances that make up their religion. Life after death, the parting of seas by men and virgin births? Yet we believe them, we lean on faith and not on our own understanding.
Still, many of us go out of our way every day to avoid or shun anything that seems complex or comprised of unlikely variables. As a person of faith, I try to accept that there are going to be things in life that don't add up and things that I won't really understand. That said, I can rest in the fact that although counter intuitive parts seem like they should not work together, by the grace of God they do. And they do it well.
Comments (1)
Satina,
I like your essay, but it seems to me that a person can reach the same conclusions as you about the nature of life and the world without any belief in a god.
It's just how the world is, or, as Buddhists say, the natural result of causes and conditions. No diety required.
Best wishes.
Posted February 20, 2008 7:33 AM
Posted on February 20, 2008 07:33