Parenting God's Way

When I was a Christian I signed-up for an email news letter that I still receive from Ever Increasing Faith Ministries, a mega church in Los Angeles founded by Dr. Frederick K. C. Price, who is now an Apostle. The letter I received this week is titled "Parenting God's Way". It starts off "Dear EIF family, God's perfect plan for His children..." I thought about God (whatever this means) as a parent, the only idea presented to me as someone born in so-called Western Civilization, is Jehovah, a bronze age despot, who put his creation (i.e. his so-called children) in a garden to be tempted by a talking snake to eat fruit that caused mankind in a downward spiral that led to murder, war, crime, etc. He blamed them for falling to the temptation that cause hardship on Adam, Eve and their offspring. He confused mankind's language to divide them when they were united, tempted Abram to sacrifice his own son, only to do it himself 2,000 years later, and from this mankind sin was paid for, but nothing changed, there's still murder, war, crime, etc. I don't think I want to Parent God's way, he has not been an ideal parent in my book. Although I think this is a bronze age myth, if this god Jehovah really existed,then he is a bad role model. Think about it. The Skeptical African

Thinking about the absurd and Myth

As I have previously posted, "The Absurd" is when we rational humans try to find meaning in what appears to be an irrational or at least indifferent world. In the past there have been two traditional philosophical responses to this human condition, hope in something or someone that transcends the absurd or suicide which means you agree with the universe as being absurd but not worth living in, I think both are escapes from the absurd. Albert Camus offers a third approach of agreeing that the absurd exist and is true but instead of running away from it to face it by your revolt, your freedom, and your passion. In other words, as I have felt for long time life is its own point and you cannot improve or transcend it you can only add to what you have or to what it is. The way I like to say it "it is what it is". In other words, in spite of the world's indifference we should live our lives anyway and live it well. Another aspect of what Albert Camus calls Absurd Reasoning and what it amounts to is his argument against Rationalism. Rationalism as he presents it; is thinking that our human reason can make sense or give an explanation of this universe, this too he feel is absurd. Upon reflecting on this I learn something new, which is good, I learn that I am guilty of trying to think I can understand or use reason or rationalism to understand something that is indifferent or doesn't care to answer what my reason or rational mind begs an answer to. This is the absurd it is the confrontation or my desire for unity, clarity, for meaning, for a reason in a cold silent universe and my illusion that the universe will relent and answer. From this, I agree I should not take life too seriously because until proven otherwise, life is impermanent or temporal, and is the only one I know of, and I should live with what I know this life is, instead of what I don’t know, an unknowable afterlife. I think Joseph Campbell alluded on these themes in his writings that life is about the experience of being alive and myths are a way of describing or helping us get that experience of being alive and so the myth of Sisyphus informs me.