Findind God in the Aesthetic
May 7, 2008 by chillinatthecabstand
Chris Taylor recently wrote this under my “Occam’s Razor” post:
I challenge the pointless-ness of having God IN the equation. To know that God, a designer, started the whole series of events, adds such a deeper, passionate understanding of the world we live in.
What if you took a spiritual world-view and started with God, God in the events of your day. God in the relationships that you have. God in the grief that you will somedays endure.
What if you used science to seek God instead of using it to try to disprove Him?
I can guarantee you of one thing. the very existence of life, the very acts of people become exponentially more vivid.
Ahhh that is true [that belief in god can hold you down]. Some people use religion to hold people down.
But Christianity “SHOULD BE” (not often is in actuality) about helping others. Serving others needs. Reaching out to the widows and children. The homeless and hurting.
The word “Minister” actually means “serve” in scripture. A public servant. Yet we Christians are all called to be ministers.
When faith is expressed through love, real brotherly/sisterly love, then amazing things happen. However, if you are doing it without a relationship with God, then it remains empty.
Even solid Christians drag their feet doing something for someone else, but after they are done, there is this incredible peace because you’ve drawn closer to God.
The effects of a “good deed” wear off. The effects of drawing closer to God do not.
…
I’m glad he brought this up, because I’ve been meaning to write about the whole “God is real because nature is so aesthetically pleasing” thing.
MY RESPONSE:
I challenge the pointless-ness of having God IN the equation. To know that God, a designer, started the whole series of events, adds such a deeper, passionate understanding of the world we live in.
I meant pointless as in “it’s an excess explanation” not “it never helps anyone.” It doesn’t add a deeper understanding, but clouds our understanding with myth and superstition.
What if you took a spiritual world-view and started with God, God in the events of your day. God in the relationships that you have. God in the grief that you will somedays endure.
Been there, done that. Something helping you doesn’t make it true. Just like getting a placebo that helps you doesn’t make sugar pills a miracle drug.
What if you used science to seek God instead of using it to try to disprove Him?
Then I would find that it didn’t stack up. You should know as well as I do the hilarious lack of validity found in creation science.
I can guarantee you of one thing. the very existence of life, the very acts of people become exponentially more vivid.
For you; that doesn’t hold true to my experience. The things around me were no more vivid, just trying to comprehend “the creator” is vivid, but it devalues the creation itself by making it just some toy god threw together.
Ahhh that is true [that belief in god can hold you down]. Some people use religion to hold people down.
No, it holds the believer down. I wasn’t referring to using it to hold others down. Just yourself.
But Christianity “SHOULD BE” (not often is in actuality) about helping others. Serving others needs. Reaching out to the widows and children. The homeless and hurting.
That’s what you say. Every Christian invents his own bastardization of Christianity and then says that all of the other versions are just “false Christianity,” as you are doing.
The word “Minister” actually means “serve” in scripture. A public servant. Yet we Christians are all called to be ministers.
When faith is expressed through love, real brotherly/sisterly love, then amazing things happen. However, if you are doing it without a relationship with God, then it remains empty.
Love isn’t empty. It’s a little sad that you can’t appreciate love’s amazing power without validation from something else - namely, god.
Even solid Christians drag their feet doing something for someone else, but after they are done, there is this incredible peace because you’ve drawn closer to God.
Really? I feel peace and contentment from having helped someone. I’m beginning to think you have some pretty bad motives for helping others, like pleasing god. Why not help for the sake of helping?
The effects of a “good deed” wear off. The effects of drawing closer to God do not.
A good deed does a lot more than you would think, whereas sucking up to an invisible dictator isn’t going to get you anything. It’s an impure and immoral motive to just try and help people to suck up to god, making civilians just pitiful inferiors caught in the crossfire of your spiritual scattershot of pseduocharity riddled with ulterior motives.
True, there is a lot of solid research out there (and a whole lot of “nutty”).
So instead of investigating/seeking God for yourself (as I’ve already shown), you took a look around, saw all the discrepancies and “warts” and threw it all out.
Tell me something. When was the last time you did something selfless for someone?
Here’s the kicker. You don’t even know what “love’s amazing power” even is if you do not know God.
How quickly does it fade?
I help others because people need help.
Doesn’t mean you don’t get tired, frustrated, busy etc. Conflicts in schedules, sacrifice of family to help a stranger.
Tell me, when was the last time you _SACRIFICED_ time with someone important to you to help someone you did not know or even “like”. That what TRUE love is. Loving the people that you find hard to even like.
Tell me.
Think of a person you can’t stand at school. Someone who’s personality conflicts directly with you. A jock? A nerd? A gay person? A redneck? An english teacher? A CHRISTIAN?
It’s easy to help people you like. There is no sacrifice in that. There is no sacrifice in giving someone money when you have plenty, how about giving someone money when you don’t have enough to buy groceries?
You think you are basically a good person. Well, being good is not enough.
See my previous comment.
God Bless,
Chris
I’ll respond later. Maybe.