A theological question for my readers...
Let me start by asking this in a more abstract way before I go into my petty example. But to my readers I ask this (and it may be an assumption of believing in God to answer this, otherwise just give me your thoughts).
1. Does God play an active role in our lives from day to day? Does he/she forge a path for us and want us to follow it giving us answers to our prayers that we are supposed to figure out?
2. If so, are these paths or answered prayers easy to see and understand? Or are they among the hardest things to figure out in our lives, what God wants us to do? If we make the wrong decision, wouldn't it make God less likely to help us in the future?
Now my example: In the most ridiculous and self-indulgent prayers (and I'm sure I'm not alone in this prayer) but I asked for a boyfriend, or a way to deal with a persistent feeling of loneliness (also don't get me wrong- I kind of don't want to date right now as I am enjoying my singleness- but that is another post). So there is a person who would very much want to date me, I'm just not really that interested in this person. Am I disregarding God's answer to my prayer? There are plenty of stories in the Bible about how someone planned to do something they didn't really want to do because it was God's wish and in the end it turned out to be the exact right thing to do and it enhanced their happiness beyond all measure. So how does one determine what God's path is versus settling because its easier?
Sorry for the religiosity of this post.
1. Does God play an active role in our lives from day to day? Does he/she forge a path for us and want us to follow it giving us answers to our prayers that we are supposed to figure out?
2. If so, are these paths or answered prayers easy to see and understand? Or are they among the hardest things to figure out in our lives, what God wants us to do? If we make the wrong decision, wouldn't it make God less likely to help us in the future?
Now my example: In the most ridiculous and self-indulgent prayers (and I'm sure I'm not alone in this prayer) but I asked for a boyfriend, or a way to deal with a persistent feeling of loneliness (also don't get me wrong- I kind of don't want to date right now as I am enjoying my singleness- but that is another post). So there is a person who would very much want to date me, I'm just not really that interested in this person. Am I disregarding God's answer to my prayer? There are plenty of stories in the Bible about how someone planned to do something they didn't really want to do because it was God's wish and in the end it turned out to be the exact right thing to do and it enhanced their happiness beyond all measure. So how does one determine what God's path is versus settling because its easier?
Sorry for the religiosity of this post.
Labels: religion
posted by Hateful, Party of One @ 1:48 PM
8 Comments:
At 3:37 PM ,
Anonymous said...
God gave us free will, and with that the ability to accept or reject him. That is the most basic and ultimate decision we have to make, assuming one has a religious belief. Now, given that God has given us the ability to reject him, he also has given us the ability and right to forge our own way in life, making our own decisions. If we can choose to reject him, we can choose our own path in life. He does not interfere in our lives, or make defined paths for us, unless of course you ask. Even then, you may not like the answer or path, if there is one given.
Given this, one can spend their lives looking for the answers to their prayers, or one can live their life as the best they can.
Ask yourself…Is this opportunity the answer to your prayer, even if you feel you are settling? Or is this just another choice to make in life, devoid of divine will? How can you tell the difference?
If you’re not interested, you’re not interested.
At 4:08 PM ,
Michael J. Kaplan said...
God is an imaginary friend for grown-ups.
At 5:30 PM ,
Twingonaut said...
Beats me!
At 7:45 PM ,
Anonymous said...
The universe doesn't always give us what we want, but it always gives us EXACTLY what we need.
Unless this guy is creepy in the way that would cause you to run to a therapist or the police, go out with him. You have no idea yet what it is he has to offer...
Maybe it won't be a long-term boyfriend (or even a short-term one)but it might be something else you don't yet realize you need.
At 8:29 AM ,
Anonymous said...
Erm, I don't really believe in God (nor do I have a strong disbelief), but I have spent enough time around hippies who discuss "paths" and "fate" and so on to have absorbed some of those beliefs. I don't really think that there is a hard and fast path you must follow, though different paths lead to different serendipitous discoveries.
Part of this hippie talk, though, involves knowing yourself and trusting your instincts and so on. In that case, I would say not to go out with him. But it could be worth a shot.... I'm sure you appreciate all of this firm advice!
What are your answers to the questions?
Rhiannon
At 6:45 PM ,
Anonymous said...
When Oedipus was told his fate of killing his father and marrying his mother, he set of on a voyage to avoid his fate. And in the end, he killed his father and married his mother.
You can read this as an argument for God's divine plan and how we have no choice in the universe. But I think the moral of the story is actually that if you follow some "divine plan" laid out by a blind virgin priestess who is living in a cave, high as a kite from the fumes and weird fucked up herbs she eats for breakfast, you get what you deserve.
If you read "god's message" in anything and everything, you're gonna leave your kick ass job as king and slaughter your dad and have retarded incest kiddies guiding you around in the sequel.
I personally believe that God is real and does have a plan for you. But I doubt God speaks in obtuse secret signs and odd riddles. (The burning bush was a dirty metaphor. People are more likely to pass down stories if they have some innuendo.) Its more about just trusting your gut and doing what feels right.
Most answered prayers are probably more coincidence than anything. I think there is an active divine force in our lives but I don't think its as specific as we usually want it to be. Ignoring divine guidance is not reason for it to stop. I just think eventually you will start to tune it out. You'll stop trusting your instincts that God gave you. It'll still be there, you just won't be aware of it.
To bring this to your boy trouble: If your not interested in a boy, don't date him. God does not want you to date boring people or to settle. He wants you to be happy (and if your Protestant, have babies, preach on the subway, and generally hate people.) Dating someone because they are there and you are lonely is a cheap solution to your loneliness.
Perhaps the lack of suitable men who interest you and vise versa means the solution to loneliness isn't as simple as finding a good man. Maybe its more about searching inside yourself. Maybe your are mistaking something more nuanced and subtle for loneliness. Its easy to distract yourself from that feeling when there is a boy around, so suddenly the feeling is gone. . . logic says the feeling is loneliness but I think its not. I think an obvious solution to loneliness presented itself: this boy who is crazy about you. And you don't want him. Trust your gut: you don't want him. Wouldn't that imply the problem is something other than simple loneliness?
At 11:13 AM ,
J said...
I believe God likes to play tricks on us. You ask for a boyfriend, he provides it, but it's not someone you're attracted to. I would love to think there is a God watching over us and planning our life out but unfortunately there isn't. We're all alone in this life and it's up to us to make sure we don't stay alone.
At 1:41 PM ,
Gay Canuck in the Capital said...
People need to believe in something. For some it is god, for me it is the power and wonder of biology. I don't care what you believe, but don't you dare suggest that my beliefs are inferior to yours or try to set up a political system where only your beliefs are considered acceptable. And yes, I am an athiest.
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