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What is God's power in this world?


dkm3870

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On 9/15/2020 at 4:29 PM, thormas said:

And that has been answered............simply not by you in a way that would be helpful to today's audience.

I have no question for you since, as stated previously, you provide "no answers for 21st C people." 

 

___________________

As for the Holy Spirit: as a Christian I was not taught nor do I believe the Spirit is a 3rd separate being. Not sure what you are talking about or whose teaching your are referring to. 

 

I don't know what you mean with 21st C people. 

Show me where I can find that question. 

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On 13/04/2020 at 10:05 AM, thormas said:

That might take care of suffering but why must there still be pain? If you fall off a 3rd story roof and break your leg, there might be suffering (even if we accepted it as a bad thing that just happened) but there would definitely be pain and probably lot and lots of pain. So as dkm asks, why (suffering and) pain?

Let me speak to this as someone who has a genetic disease that causes constant, severe pain. And as someone who has studied the neurology, physiology, and psychology of pain for years. 

Pain isn't suffering. Suffering is suffering. Pain is just a sensation. It's what it prevents you from being able to do that hurts.  

When I was a doctor, in a giant pile of student debt, and my field was doing procedures with my hands, a pain in my arm, shoulder, neck or back was terrifying as an injury could (and did) destroy my career. 

Meanwhile, I had an incident that caused severe internal bleeding, which is horrifically painful, 10/10 painful, but as soon as I found out that it would heal on its own with no lasting damage, and all I needed was rest, I was fine. I incidentally had already booked two weeks off of work, so didn't even need to cancel patients or lose income. All I had to do was rest on the couch and eat pizza and watch trashy tv, which is really what my body and spirit needed at that point anyway. 

They offered me powerful drugs and I declined because I know pain and I know that it is not suffering. The pain would keep me immobile on the couch and unable to focus much. That's what I needed, so the pain was fine. 

That's not to say that pain and suffering can always be separated. 

I later developed a pain that was impossible not to suffer from. It left me curled up in a ball, frequently crying or screaming and wanting to die. Literally, I knew that if I couldn't improve my suffering, I would have no choice but to kill myself within the year. That's when I left my career that I loved. The cost was enormous, but the suffering demanded it. 

That pain was inextricable from suffering because it prevented me from doing literally anything and there was no end in sight. The suffering came from having no concept of when it might end. Had I been told it was guaranteed to end in a month, I would have been fine, but there was no end, and it has never ended since. 

Seriously, for years I have been in the kind of pain that would stop any normal person from doing anything. Every day is a sick day for me. I am what they call "profoundly disabled". 

Granted, it's not as bad since I retired. The pain is still terrible, but I'm able to do a lot more than I used to. Most days I can read and walk, and that's more than enough for me to enjoy my days. 

I'm not really suffering much anymore. I'm actually a very happy person with a very rich sense of life and going through this is how I rediscovered Christ (much to my own shock) which has been pretty cool. 

Life is never perfect. Life is never flawless. Life would be utterly pointless if nothing was hard. 

My life has been hard. My illness has not even been the hardest part, it's just been a very strong force in shaping my path. 

Divinity isn't about being comfortable and feeling "good". A good life is not one that is free from pain or suffering. It is not a gift to have an easy life. 

There's a reason the most quoted person on happiness and meaning in life was a Jew who survived a concentration camp. It's not that you need life to be horrific to find meaning, the point is just that suffering doesn't in any way make life *less* meaningful, or make people *less* connected with God. 

I am blessed because I feel connected to my sense of divinity. Did my suffering help with that? Absolutely. Was it necessary? Who knows, maybe? Maybe it doesn't matter. 

All I know is that I go through this garbage and it makes me want to give more to the world. 

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17 hours ago, Kellerman said:

Let me speak to this as someone who has a genetic disease that causes constant, severe pain.

Thanks for sharing Kellerman and I agree with John, a very moving and thoughtful post.

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I'm happy to share. 

I do really have a wonderful life. I've done so many things that most people never get to do. I've helped so many people out of pain and through their own suffering, which is one of the greatest joys and privilege a person can experience. 

I've been pushed so far out of my own comfort zone that I had no choice but to confront everything I have ever believed about...well...everything. 

This is what lead me here. I'm seriously considering ministry, as I know that my profound understanding of suffering and light is somehow what I'm supposed to do with my time and energy. 

No idea how, but I figure that will become clear over time...maybe, lol

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I don't have that kind of pain. But, being 68 next month, and now retired, I'm at a bit at a loss to know what to do. So I create problems for myself.

40/50 years back, I did think about the ministry, but had just enough commonsense to know I'd be hopeless at it. And, anyway, got attracted to the idea of getting on in business. Nowadays - feel like I'm back to where I was 40 years ago - haven't much of a clue what to do with the life remaining, now that the business does better without me, kids have grown up, etc.. Find it hard to take life "as it is". Tried meditation, Buddhism etc, but never got far with it.  

Anyway, just for background....don't take anything I say seriously, let alone coming from a "sorted-out place".....

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