Messages From Myth

November 29, 2006Posted inDivine Revelation, MythNo Comments

I have written before about the power of myth in my life. Myth is visual imagery, a story, a song, a smell, a dream, and even a touch that communicates spiritual truth right into our hearts and bypasses our minds. In truth, it can be communicated through any of the senses. Mythic messages come to me daily – accompanied by feelings that can only be described as deep joy, borrowing C.S. Lewis’ word, and they remind me about spiritual truths in my life. Here are some of these messages or glimpses of truth that I have received in these many different ways in the last 20 years:

Revelation (a response to Elise’s question)

November 17, 2006Posted inAtheism, God, Religion2 Comments

This is a response to a question Elise had about my understanding of how God reveals himself to people, and how I understand atheism in all of this. Please believe me when I say that I am just like the next guy trying to figure this stuff out. This post represents my best current thinking, and I am not at all 100% sure my thinking is solid, but I am just doing my best I can.As a Christian, I do not believe Christianity is the ‘One True Religion,’ and all others are absolutely false, but rather that Jesus spoke the clearest revelation of spiritual truth than all others. All religions have some truth to them, some more than others, but to me, Jesus’ teachings and the God of the Old Testament, who I believe to be one and the same person, seem to me to be the most purest written revelation that is available to men. That is why I believe it was called the good news. Its the clearest, most direct answer to how to live the spiritual life. All religions, including atheism, are like lights in darkness – some are brighter, some are darker – I simply want to follow the brightest light of all.

God and the natural world

November 6, 2006Posted inGod, Theology, WorldviewsNo Comments

I remember when a girl down the street from me died.

Her name was Andi. She was only 3 years older than me and a senior in my high school. I was friends with her younger brother, who would get together and talk about video games and cross-country running with my other good friend. It was a terrible shock to our small rural neighborhood. She lived with her parents and her brother in a renovated farmhouse, and our whole neighborhood, who were mostly Christian, got together at her house to express their grief with the family. One neighbor tried to comfort the parents by saying that God was in this somehow, and I remember my father coming home upset by that comment and told me so. “You should never say such a thing, he told me – who knows that stuff… it’s better just to cry with them and just shut up.” I was too young and stupid to understand, but I never forgot what he said. Her parents moved away not too long after and we never saw them again.