You have relatively few views at this time relative to the quality of your content. You are a breadth of fresh air and a drink of cold water. You explained here why I feel alone on my long journey. I’m 63 and have been a Christian since I was 17. I feel that I’m just now beginning to have a healthy view of the whole bible. The parable of the sower teaches that fruit begins with understanding. If the seed remains in your heart, it’s because you understand it. Faith and understanding go together. I appreciate your approach of seeking understanding in faith.
Hi Brian. I respect your work and have been watching your videos. Aren't you kind of basically describing a way to soothe the natural dissonance that occurs when facing difficult facts about your religious beliefs? Is this not a way to maintain belief without resolving the dissonance.. just.. putting it to bed as it were?
Hi @MouseQueso-if I understand you correctly here, this is a fantastic question, I think. I guess in my view, a little off the cuff here, is that the kind of “natural dissonance“ that might come up is indeed natural and cannot ever be put to bed! It will always be there. These metaphors are, for me, ways of teaching myself how to take that difficult journey, and yet still come out on the other side. But in terms of making a problem “go away“ or something like that? I guess I’m getting old enough now to see that the problems I’ve had are not going to go away anytime soon, that I have to live with them. So my encouragement to students of the Bible here in this video is to use these kinds of metaphors as ways to conceptualize where you stand and who you are and the pain you feel. None of these metaphors is perfect, though, or “solves” the problems at hand.
@briandoak I suppose this is a good way to look at it. Toward the end of your video you mention that learning will have an effect on your faith, it's unavoidable. I think this is important to acknowledge. As a person who lost their faith completely I appreciate your balanced approach. It is a sad thing to lose faith, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, though I can't seem to generate that faith in myself anymore. I also have struggled to learn not to be suspicious of faith, as I come from a tradition which exercised an adverse amount of control in my life, to my detriment (former Jehovah’s Witnesses). It is hard now not to look at faith and see the magic trick instead of the magic, and look for the deception instead of the truth.
Timely. Needed. Thank you. Keeping this to review again and again.
You have relatively few views at this time relative to the quality of your content. You are a breadth of fresh air and a drink of cold water. You explained here why I feel alone on my long journey. I’m 63 and have been a Christian since I was 17. I feel that I’m just now beginning to have a healthy view of the whole bible. The parable of the sower teaches that fruit begins with understanding. If the seed remains in your heart, it’s because you understand it. Faith and understanding go together. I appreciate your approach of seeking understanding in faith.
What a gift of a comment - thank you so much
Hi Brian. I respect your work and have been watching your videos. Aren't you kind of basically describing a way to soothe the natural dissonance that occurs when facing difficult facts about your religious beliefs? Is this not a way to maintain belief without resolving the dissonance.. just.. putting it to bed as it were?
Hi @MouseQueso-if I understand you correctly here, this is a fantastic question, I think. I guess in my view, a little off the cuff here, is that the kind of “natural dissonance“ that might come up is indeed natural and cannot ever be put to bed! It will always be there. These metaphors are, for me, ways of teaching myself how to take that difficult journey, and yet still come out on the other side. But in terms of making a problem “go away“ or something like that? I guess I’m getting old enough now to see that the problems I’ve had are not going to go away anytime soon, that I have to live with them. So my encouragement to students of the Bible here in this video is to use these kinds of metaphors as ways to conceptualize where you stand and who you are and the pain you feel. None of these metaphors is perfect, though, or “solves” the problems at hand.
@briandoak I suppose this is a good way to look at it. Toward the end of your video you mention that learning will have an effect on your faith, it's unavoidable. I think this is important to acknowledge. As a person who lost their faith completely I appreciate your balanced approach. It is a sad thing to lose faith, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, though I can't seem to generate that faith in myself anymore. I also have struggled to learn not to be suspicious of faith, as I come from a tradition which exercised an adverse amount of control in my life, to my detriment (former Jehovah’s Witnesses). It is hard now not to look at faith and see the magic trick instead of the magic, and look for the deception instead of the truth.
@@MouseQueso thanks for sharing that. The loss of faith journey sounds so difficult. Wishing you peace and understanding in the journey.