dagblog - Comments for "What Is Praying?"

A lesson to hear:

barefooted — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 00:08:56 +0000

In reply to And I didn't mean to imply

A lesson to hear:

Don't say more than you can see ...

Silence opens eyes.

And I didn't mean to imply

moat — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 22:12:35 +0000

In reply to I don't mean to imply a bland

And I didn't mean to imply that what you were referring to a soulless obedience.
My cryptic responses on these matters comes from a wish to not say more than I can see. But the brevity is only making me more obscure.

I think I will step away from the theological for now and stay with my main skill sets: Demolition and Pencil sharpening.

I don't mean to imply a bland

PeraclesPlease — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 02:57:07 +0000

In reply to It makes sense to see

I don't mean to imply a bland sheepish following. Think of Obama's followers in 2008 - creative, enthusiastic...

It makes sense to see

moat — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 02:12:07 +0000

In reply to As a society we preach the

It makes sense to see following as a kind of acceptance of a duty or necessary sacrifice. But one could hear the action as a simple matter of going the same way as another did. You wouldn't be able to know if the direction taken meant you would arrive at any particular place.

As a society we preach the

PeraclesPlease — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 15:50:00 +0000

In reply to I did not mean the third

As a society we preach the importance of leadership, and then demand that most everyone follow. The Church is perhaps unique in that it teaches following and even leadership as "following the call" - not an ego-driven move, but directed by God still (whether everyone actually takes it that way....). We also don't impart quite the same honor on following a calling and the sacrifices made for that - I guess it makes sense that things you do for God are considered more important than these mere trifle of worldly things, even though "as ye do to the least of my brethren..." line would seem to somewhat override that rating system. The military of course teaches followership to the utmost, but regards its machine as creating leaders as well. Anyway, many good stories from those who follow with passion and/or dedication - the apocryphal tale of Peter having himself hung upside down one of my favorites - a purely selfless act with only painful results, zero upside to it (pardon the pun) but great symbolism.

Thanks for ‘this excellent

rmrd0000 — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 14:44:38 +0000

In reply to What Is Praying?

Thanks for ‘this excellent piece. In social movements, the type of prayer offered up reflects the Biblical emphasis of one’s religion. Conservative Christians seek order. Liberal Christians seek justice.The action one takes to achieve the goal of the prayer is much different. In the Civil Rights era, some black pastors felt the action was to be an upright citizen and allow God to change white men’s hearts by having blacks function as respectable member off society. This kept the order. Other black pastors felt that peaceful protest with marches and sit-ins was the true Christian action. This action was made to disrupt. The first group of pastors focused on order, the second on justice. The prayer mindset for the two groups was vastly different.

It's okay, moat. As I said,

Doctor Cleveland — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 14:14:58 +0000

In reply to I did not mean the third

It's okay, moat. As I said, that paragraph is a little confused and therefore hard to parse.

I did not mean the third

moat — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 10:21:47 +0000

In reply to Thanks for the comment, moat.

I did not mean the third paragraph as any kind of criticism. I was thinking how difficult it is to be a follower of Christ. I am sorry for any pain my words gave you.

"God, help me be a better

PeraclesPlease — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 07:31:38 +0000

In reply to Doc, I'm a hard-bitten

"God, help me be a better atheist."

Do you know the Catholic

artappraiser — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 04:09:05 +0000

In reply to Doctor Cleveland, you are

Do you know the Catholic practice of saying the rosary, moat? (Is no different than meditation to this parochial school girl, just another mantra.) Or even better, The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola? Just wondering if you do, what you think in the context of your comment.