June 23, 2013

Divine Persuasion

Skeptics have asked, "If we have free will, then how do you explain Divine omniscience?" The answer of course lies in the difference between knowing an event will happen and controlling the circumstances that cause the event.

After becoming a parent, I related this to my youngest child climbing the so-called-no-climb-fence. The design merely slowed her down until I could race out the backdoor and nab her before she got to the top, usually.

It didn't take Divine omniscience to know what would happen should I fail, and my knowledge of the outcome, did not alter her freedom to choose. Same with God and us, except on a much higher scale.

This thought leads me to the idea of praying for someone's conversion, or change in behavior. What happens to free will in that instance? Do we, or God, force the person to act against their will? Of course not. This is where the power of Divine persuasion comes into play.

June 16, 2013

What's for Dinner

There are many weighty issues on my mind, the state of our world, the suffering of so many people, crime, wars, political scandals, personal issues. It is overwhelming.  My heart and soul are bent under the weight of it all.

I have heard all the usual axioms: think positive, don't worry about what might or might not happen, in other words don't borrow trouble. Who's borrowing? One look at the news, or an honest evaluation of my own circumstance tell me I don't need to borrow any. There's plenty of trouble right here in River City. Yes, folks, plenty of trouble.

June 09, 2013

City of Angels - Why Would an Angel Want to Be Human?

One of my readings, from the book of Tobias (one of the books of the Apocrypha), describes the Angel Raphael taking on the form of a man, a man recognizable by others  as a member of a particular family. A footnote to the scripture stated the angel personated the man.


Thinking about angels personating men reminded me of the movie, City of Angels. The premise is endearing, but flawed. How romantic to think a heavenly being would be so passionately in love, he would give up his angel status and become human. On more than one occasion Hollywood has implied this world is far better than the next, and all life would choose to be human.

June 05, 2013

Work - That Four Letter Word

I am aging, getting closer to that golden egg called retirement. I have all these grand ideas illusions about how much time I will have to write, paint and do all the things I've been dreaming about, not to mention not worrying about the stress of work. Am I doing a good job? Am I making too many mistakes? Have I annoyed anyone today? 

Believe it or not, worrying about whether I've annoyed someone gives me more stress than the others, almost. I worry about how I treat others to a nearly obsessive level. Why? Too many years in retail. My entire livelihood depended on whether my customers were happy enough to come back, and tell others about my business. I could not afford to offend anyone.