Comments for resident-aliens.org http://resident-aliens.org Reflections Of One Not At Home In This World Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:58:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Comment on God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut by anng105 http://resident-aliens.org/2008/04/11/god-bless-you-mr-vonnegut/comment-page-1/#comment-3824 anng105 Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:58:28 +0000 http://resident-aliens.org/?p=45#comment-3824 This sentence at the close of your paper resonates deeply in me: "So he put his back to the repetitious task of moving a boulder of words up a hill only to have to roll back down again and again. He took up his pen and dutifully danced with death. It all sounds so absurd." I found your weblog through LibraryThing (we have several books in common) and have read several posts here. Thank you for your thoughts on the eternal questions. I feel the hush of a monastery or a convent here. I have started writing as a way to work through issues of forgiveness. I am a catholic who lost a son last year at age 35. I read your poem describing the taunting thoughts in the darkness of night ---I know that state well. Catholics believe in salvation through faith alone, not merit. I agonize over what that means, I accept it completely but can't help analyzing the meaning of forgiveness--- the boulder in my writing. Thanks for your words. This sentence at the close of your paper resonates deeply in me: “So he put his back to the repetitious task of moving a boulder of words up a hill only to have to roll back down again and again. He took up his pen and dutifully danced with death. It all sounds so absurd.”

I found your weblog through LibraryThing (we have several books in common) and have read several posts here. Thank you for your thoughts on the eternal questions. I feel the hush of a monastery or a convent here.

I have started writing as a way to work through issues of forgiveness. I am a catholic who lost a son last year at age 35. I read your poem describing the taunting thoughts in the darkness of night —I know that state well. Catholics believe in salvation through faith alone, not merit. I agonize over what that means, I accept it completely but can’t help analyzing the meaning of forgiveness— the boulder in my writing. Thanks for your words.

]]> Comment on Questions: Adam and Eve by Bo Grimes http://resident-aliens.org/2009/11/15/questions-adam-and-eve/comment-page-1/#comment-3818 Bo Grimes Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:09:37 +0000 http://resident-aliens.org/?p=177#comment-3818 Follow up when you get a chance with why is marriage a symbol of the Church? God a husband in Jer. Paul in eph 5. Hosea. concept of one but other. Marriage as the only God pleasing sexual relationship. The only mention of a committed relationship for a reason, and there must be something very profound and mysterious both about why God chose to use it so often as a metaphor. Follow up when you get a chance with why is marriage a symbol of the Church? God a husband in Jer. Paul in eph 5. Hosea. concept of one but other. Marriage as the only God pleasing sexual relationship. The only mention of a committed relationship for a reason, and there must be something very profound and mysterious both about why God chose to use it so often as a metaphor.

]]> Comment on Which Theologian Are You by resident-aliens.org » The Hermeneutics Quiz http://resident-aliens.org/2008/01/15/which-theologian-are-you/comment-page-1/#comment-504 resident-aliens.org » The Hermeneutics Quiz Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:11:43 +0000 http://resident-aliens.org/2008/01/15/which-theologian-are-you/#comment-504 [...] last month I took a quiz to discover which theologian I am, and now I found The Hermeneutics Quiz. Here are my [...] [...] last month I took a quiz to discover which theologian I am, and now I found The Hermeneutics Quiz. Here are my [...]

]]> Comment on Religious Freedom by resident-aliens.org » The Lord is My Shepherd http://resident-aliens.org/2007/08/19/does-the-vetern-give-religious-freedom/comment-page-1/#comment-503 resident-aliens.org » The Lord is My Shepherd Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:26:35 +0000 http://resident-aliens.org/?p=3#comment-503 [...] I may make a plug for myself, I said much this same thing last summer in a post about religious freedom. What Dr. Bailey didn’t say, not did I, is that David also did not pay “The Lord is my [...] [...] I may make a plug for myself, I said much this same thing last summer in a post about religious freedom. What Dr. Bailey didn’t say, not did I, is that David also did not pay “The Lord is my [...]

]]> Comment on Why I Am Lutheran—Part I: Liturgy by resident-aliens.org » Why I am Lutheran—Part II: Baptism http://resident-aliens.org/2007/12/02/why-i-am-lutheran%e2%80%94part-i-liturgy/comment-page-1/#comment-38 resident-aliens.org » Why I am Lutheran—Part II: Baptism Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:27:45 +0000 http://resident-aliens.org/2007/12/20/why-i-am-lutheran%e2%80%94part-i-liturgy/#comment-38 [...] while studying the Reformation and then fully embracing it after attending a Lutheran church.  In Part I, I described the importance of the liturgy and how it helps to enable me to worship God in Spirit [...] [...] while studying the Reformation and then fully embracing it after attending a Lutheran church.  In Part I, I described the importance of the liturgy and how it helps to enable me to worship God in Spirit [...]

]]> Comment on Ancient Wisdom on Abortion by resident-aliens.org » Marriage, Abortion, Fatherhood http://resident-aliens.org/2008/01/17/ancient-wisdom-on-abortion/comment-page-1/#comment-33 resident-aliens.org » Marriage, Abortion, Fatherhood Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:27:04 +0000 http://resident-aliens.org/2008/01/17/ancient-wisdom-on-abortion/#comment-33 [...] Yesterday, I stumbled across a quote by Tertullian on abortion at the same time that I received an email promotion for two movies on abortion.  Today I was going through some old files I found and I found a letter I sent to “The Guardian” (the one at WSU in Ohio, not England) back in 1996 when she was pregnant with our third child.  I was responding to a letter or article by someone named Craig Naiper. [...] [...] Yesterday, I stumbled across a quote by Tertullian on abortion at the same time that I received an email promotion for two movies on abortion.  Today I was going through some old files I found and I found a letter I sent to “The Guardian” (the one at WSU in Ohio, not England) back in 1996 when she was pregnant with our third child.  I was responding to a letter or article by someone named Craig Naiper. [...]

]]> Comment on Mapping God by Andy http://resident-aliens.org/2007/09/28/mapping-god/comment-page-1/#comment-2 Andy Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:55:49 +0000 http://resident-aliens.org/2007/09/28/mapping-god/#comment-2 I would agree that God is both transcendent and immanent, but I wouldn't say "wholly external". In fact, my use of that term was to distinguish between Tillich's "wholly other" (which I meant to represent by my "ontologically distinict") and a view which tends toward deism (what Dawkins calls "supernatural theism"). If you consider Tillich's view of God as "the ground of all being" it becomes clear, I think, that this God cannot be external to anything in any way. I would agree that God is both transcendent and immanent, but I wouldn’t say “wholly external”. In fact, my use of that term was to distinguish between Tillich’s “wholly other” (which I meant to represent by my “ontologically distinict”) and a view which tends toward deism (what Dawkins calls “supernatural theism”).

If you consider Tillich’s view of God as “the ground of all being” it becomes clear, I think, that this God cannot be external to anything in any way.

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