Honest to Procrastination
Okay, so I read like 3/4th of Honest to God on Saturday and for some reason I chose not to Write a post before Monday night at 11:00pm. Regardless, what's up everybody? It's your boy, Noah, back at it again with another blog post and BOY do I like this book but despise it at the same time.
Honestly (hahaha), this book has me stumped. Everything is going so far over my head that even if I had a rocket ship to blast me into space where "up" is then arbitrary, I still couldn't grasp what it's saying. That's a half-truth, I think I understand this a little bit better because I have a bit more background with the Word than before. First off, on page 61, the last sentence before the break tells the tale of the modern world today, but the wording needs to be changed just a bit: "A right relationship to God depends nothing religious; in fact religion could be the greatest barrier to it." I believe this isn't more true to the fact that is stated. In this world, it seems so easy to get caught up in the act of "religion." Do you go to church every Sunday? Do you sing the songs during worship? Do you bow your head and close your eyes like the rest of the congregation? Do you know when to say 'Amen'? These are things that the "average Joe" can easily pick up on and perform, but still never truly get to a one-on-one relationship with God. Yes, religious practices help us get to that relationship, but if we become numb to what we're doing and we become mindless zombies essentially, then we're fooling ourselves that we have anything at all. It becomes an act.
Second, I'd like to appreciate the fact that Robinson brings up the concept of God being a deus ex machina. It's always something that when I watch movies and I see that I begin to almost start screaming in the theater because the events that just transpired shouldn't have. If you want an example, look at Star Wars: The Last Jedi (if you haven't seen it, you should be ashamed...Zelda, but SPOILER WARNING if you care about that kind of stuff). In the movie, Leia is in the bridge of a rebel cruiser and it is blown up. Her body is still intact and she is IN SPACE. You know, the area where a normal human being would die in mere seconds? Anyway, Leia is already frosting up from the lack of heat, BUT FOR SOME REASON she gains the ability to use the Force right then. When she's dying. In the vacuum of space. With no prior training in the Force...so she pulls herself back to the cruiser using the Force (which she was like 100 yards away, AT LEAST) and gets back in and she lives. Mhmm, yeah, that's reasonable, not impossible at all.
Anyway, I just love the concept of deus ex machina. It's a love hate relationship...it's complicated.
Comments on Zelda and Sofia's posts.
Honestly (hahaha), this book has me stumped. Everything is going so far over my head that even if I had a rocket ship to blast me into space where "up" is then arbitrary, I still couldn't grasp what it's saying. That's a half-truth, I think I understand this a little bit better because I have a bit more background with the Word than before. First off, on page 61, the last sentence before the break tells the tale of the modern world today, but the wording needs to be changed just a bit: "A right relationship to God depends nothing religious; in fact religion could be the greatest barrier to it." I believe this isn't more true to the fact that is stated. In this world, it seems so easy to get caught up in the act of "religion." Do you go to church every Sunday? Do you sing the songs during worship? Do you bow your head and close your eyes like the rest of the congregation? Do you know when to say 'Amen'? These are things that the "average Joe" can easily pick up on and perform, but still never truly get to a one-on-one relationship with God. Yes, religious practices help us get to that relationship, but if we become numb to what we're doing and we become mindless zombies essentially, then we're fooling ourselves that we have anything at all. It becomes an act.
Second, I'd like to appreciate the fact that Robinson brings up the concept of God being a deus ex machina. It's always something that when I watch movies and I see that I begin to almost start screaming in the theater because the events that just transpired shouldn't have. If you want an example, look at Star Wars: The Last Jedi (if you haven't seen it, you should be ashamed...Zelda, but SPOILER WARNING if you care about that kind of stuff). In the movie, Leia is in the bridge of a rebel cruiser and it is blown up. Her body is still intact and she is IN SPACE. You know, the area where a normal human being would die in mere seconds? Anyway, Leia is already frosting up from the lack of heat, BUT FOR SOME REASON she gains the ability to use the Force right then. When she's dying. In the vacuum of space. With no prior training in the Force...so she pulls herself back to the cruiser using the Force (which she was like 100 yards away, AT LEAST) and gets back in and she lives. Mhmm, yeah, that's reasonable, not impossible at all.
Anyway, I just love the concept of deus ex machina. It's a love hate relationship...it's complicated.
Comments on Zelda and Sofia's posts.
This is one of those times when I’m tempted to get into a semantics debate… You and I immediately understand “religion” to mean “the empty shell of acting like you know God” in Robinson’s writing. But the genuine and heartfelt prayer and worship done alone at home, just between you and the God you love, still technically falls under the category of “religious.” (Call it a relationship all you want, but if you’re communing with and worshipping a higher power, you’re still religious to some degree.) Part of me is against blanket terms like “Religion is bad.” Relying on religion is bad. I see it like works: it’s not going to get you anywhere on its own, but it directly results from faith. We wouldn’t want people saying they’re saved because they pray, but at the same time people who say they’re saved and have never once prayed probably aren’t saved.
ReplyDeleteI really resonate with you one the first paragraph. Second, not so much. He does very much so encourage a real faith in Christ, a walk with him rather than a performance. I can't say with a clear conscience that I've always been that way. In fact, more often than not I have to ask God to humble me and teach me not to fake my faith, but chase Him.
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