I can’t even imagine how wonderful it must be to see the world through Noah’s eyes. Children have wonderful ways of seeing things. I’m glad you are perceptive and attentive and able to enjoy watching Noah grow and explore.

Thank you for your comments. I hope you’ll share if you think of anything else! Oh, and are you traveling for Christmas, or is your family nearby?

minijonb - Very interesting thought. Do you think God has a consciousness?

Deb - Glad you liked the sarcasm I can do sarcasm. Especially about the robots. So many people use that illustration, and don’t seem to have thought through the implications.

Andrea - Before I respond to the topic, I just want to let you know that I went to your blog–great pictures! I hope you and Tim are doing well!

Ok, on to the topic. The “faith like a child” thing is cool, but that doesn’t mean it’s an unintelligent faith. (Not that you were saying that.) Jesus tells us to count the cost. And before anyone counts the cost, (and even after and while they count the cost), some big questions need to be answered. If these are questions you have already come to terms with, great. Before you are able to say “Who am I to question God?”, first you have to know Who you think God is. (Just incase I’m wording it poorly, I’m not saying that God is Whoever you think He is, I’m just saying that you will act based on Who you perceive He is.) Some of the questions you could consider are: Why should I consider dedicating my life to this Being? Do I have any obligations to this Being? (For example, did He create me?) Is He good or bad? Is there punishment/reward involved? Does He do what He says He will? Does He have my best interest in mind?
I don’t have to know all the minute details. Heck, I don’t think I WANT to know all the minute details. But I’ve had enough learning/experience so far in my life to see that for me, there are some perceived inconsistencies with some of those basic, foundational questions such as who I think God is compared to what actually happens in the world. Does this mean that God is bad? Of course not. The biggest struggle is to find out what is really true, and what I’ve learned about Him that may not be true. For example, if Joe tells John that I can grant wishes, John is going to be mad if I don’t grant his wish. But I never said I could grant wishes. That was bad information from Joe. (Note that I’m not saying everything we learn is wrong, I’m just saying that especially in America, there are some biases and assumptions that we make based on our culture and expectations that may not be true or completely accurate.) And as to the question of am I really listening? Yes. Which brings up another thought (from a flawed human, granted) that may or may not be totally off, I’m just throwing it out there–an omnipotent Being would know when His creation can’t hear Him. A loving Being would care enough to pursue the person a different way if He sees His creation is not hearing what He wants them to hear, especially if the creation is earnest. (I’m not saying that God isn’t omnipotent or loving.)

Thank you for your thoughts. I think this is a very healthy process. The more you research and become convinced of something, the more deeply you hold on to it. But, like the old example, before you have faith that the chair will hold you, you have to be convinced that there IS a chair.

Thoughts?

I’m comfortable with questions. I’ve been asking them all my life…even to God and about God. Asking questions is often how we find out more about someone or someONE and even ourselves.

I’m at a place in my life right now where I don’t HAVE to have all the answers in order to be happy, move forward or feel alright. I’m glad that I don’t have to understand everything because, frankly, it used to be that when I wouldn’t understand or have the ability to make something make sense then that used to make me feel nuts. I don’t like feeling nuts.

I also recognize that just because I ask doesn’t mean I’m entitled to all the answers.

So, I’m content with knowing what I know, asking questions and not having expectations that I’m going to get the lowdown on everything just because I ask and being ok with God being God and me not being God.

I suppose things could change and I’ll want to be God again next week, but until then, I know I couldn’t do a better job then He’s doing so I’ll leave it to Him.

“phyisical” should be “physical”

Therefore, God really isn’t a Him or Her… it’s a just the world around us. God equals nature.

Nature can be a real jerk sometimes (Global warming, hurricanes, dying dogs and sick loved ones, etc.), so I guess that means God can be a jerk when He/She needs to be.