tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943366568013445284.post7282564159506911793..comments2024-02-09T06:15:27.088-08:00Comments on josh barkey: The Impossibly-Just GodJOSH BARKEYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056229250824359708noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943366568013445284.post-28855312369701431272013-03-22T03:45:04.012-07:002013-03-22T03:45:04.012-07:00Thanks, Nina.Thanks, Nina.JOSH BARKEYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02056229250824359708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943366568013445284.post-86704482610396824102013-03-22T03:44:50.897-07:002013-03-22T03:44:50.897-07:00Yeah... I seeya on those points, cuz. Liberating, ...Yeah... I seeya on those points, cuz. Liberating, indeed -- it's nice to no longer feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I guess the upside to losing the fellow-feeling connection to those who think the way I used to is that I'm no longer emotionally troubled at the thought that I might somehow "get it wrong" and fall out of line with what I'm "supposed" to believe.<br /><br />I already know I've got it wrong. So I can focus on behaving in a loving manner toward everybody -- even those who think I'm an idiot :)JOSH BARKEYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02056229250824359708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943366568013445284.post-4981247024827785392013-03-22T00:04:32.686-07:002013-03-22T00:04:32.686-07:00"It's not a question of whether you'l..."It's not a question of whether you'll get God wrong, but rather how badly, and to what end. If your goal is to get God a little less wrong and in a direction that does more good, then it's my belief that you could do far worse than to make Love your primary lens for the interpretation of the divine."<br /><br />I very much agree with you on this - particularly on the idea that we will necessarily and always get God wrong. And I agree with you in the way in which I will risk getting God wrong by erring (ideally) on the side of love. The difficulty comes in saying we should err in the "direction that does more good". Again, I happen to agree with your thinking on how I choose to see God and how I think that means I should interact with the world around me, but I don't think you are going to find many Christians (or humans in general) who say that they like to err in the direction that does less good. I believe that our more conservative brothers and sisters will argue that erring on the side of good means focusing on evangelizing in light of coming judgment or wrath or the general crappiness of the human condition. I don't know what to do with that tension of both sides thinking the other has a myopic and one-dimensional view of who God is. I hate to say it, but I'm finding less and less in common with that sort of Christianity. I don't want to seem condescending but I can't change the fact that I feel so liberated since I (mostly) left that mindset behind. God is love, love is the answer. Let love rule. <br /><br />As an aside, I happened to see Lenny Kravitz play in Barcelona last summer and he finished his show with a 12-15 minute version of Let Love Rule. It kicked ass, and it's the perfect message for the world today. Darrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06549528575133755181noreply@blogger.com