Austin Maddox, a vociferously die-hard Trump supporter who loves God and damned kids was arrested for reading to children at a library while dressed as a woman.
- Doc
Not sure why you shared this story. Are you making a point?
I didn’t think that this thread would come back to the forefront.
Although it deserves to! Ha ha. It was a good thread.
Interesting. I would have guessed that the combination of being skeptical toward human reasoning and logic and a deepening understanding of how much we don't know would result in stronger faith that would broaden the tightrope into a comfortable path. In my LDS extended family, those who fell off the tightrope did so in their earlier years, with those in their golden years maturing into a strong, quiet, confident faith. I can't think of anyone in my extended family past the age of 60 who has lost their faith in the LDS church.
I'm not doubting your experience. It's just a perspective that is new to me. Does posting here help you maintain your balance on the faith tightrope?
My faith in the restoration and the claims made by the CofJCofLDS have developed into a deeper faith than at any other period in my life. And yes, as I’ve participated on this board off and on over an extended period of time I believe this has played a part in deepening my understanding of the tension between faith and doubt. That faith ultimately becomes a reasoned choice based upon a multiplicity of factors.
But underneath the layers of understanding gained I am fully aware of the limits of human understanding in regards to mind/body/spirit and that much of what we think we understand may be based more on the subjective than the objective. While at the same time knowing that much of what we have considered to be more or less objective knowledge is also subject to change or modification.
So we live in a world in which that which is right in front of our eyes can be known at least on a surface level. But it’s the levels (unknown in the main) underneath everything that we readily observe that I find more interesting to think about than that which is mundane and subject to objective analysis. Although that is also interesting/useful on a certain level. After all, that’s where we live day to day.
I am comfortable in believing that the church has a place in the eternal scheme of things (yes, that’s on the assumption that there is a world that’s not right in front of our eyes) that plays an important part in the trajectory of intelligent entities that coexist with that which is eternal and at this time unobservable to the natural eyes.
But that’s faith, right?
Faith is only for those that have eyes to see and ears to hear.
That’s not a slam against those that don’t. It’s just reality.
Regards,
MG
Mentalgymnast's A.I. has some advice for him:
Saying that faith is "only for those with eyes to see and ears to hear" could come across as dismissive or exclusionary to people who don't share that perspective.
Ultimately, I think it's all about finding a balance between being true to our own beliefs and being respectful of others.
We can share our own experiences and perspectives without implying that people who don't share those experiences are somehow lesser or "wrong."
