gross@dg-rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross) (02/05/90)
In article <Jan.25.03.16.15.1990.23765@athos.rutgers.edu> underdog@portia.stanford.edu (Dwight Joe) writes: > >There are some people who must face gut-wrenching failure in >life. > >What does Christianity offer for such people? Does the >philosophy in Christianity offer any advice for these >people? I am talking about the _PHILOSOPHY_, not the >religion, in Christianity, so please don't bring up any deity. Dwight: OFM has given you an answer. Let me share a story from my own life that might give you something to think about. While I enjoy the jawboning that we often do over theology, doctrine, and philosophy, I hold that ultimately the test of Faith rests in one's actions and how well they match the stated belief. The evening had begun getting raw quickly, which was typical for a winter night in Orlando, Florida. I had been working inside for about five hours and wanted to get some cool air to shake the cobwebs away. I walked out front of our coffeehouse mission and took in a big gulp of air. I knew it was going to be a tough night to get all the kids, mostly runaways, into warm quarters for the night. Then I heard a noise coming from around the corner. So I went to investigate. What I found was a young lad of about 18 throwing up. What drugs he'd done was anyone's guess. But to add to his misery, he had drunk some homemade rotgut--probably laced with sterno from the smell. To make matters even worse, he was drifting in and out of consciousness. When he started to nod out, his face would fall into his own vomit and the residuals of the recent rains. In short, he was in danger of drowning in his own vomit and filthy rainwater runoff. There was nothing for it. I went to him and held his head in my lap while he continued to be sick. Finally, there was nothing left in his stomach to through-up. So, next came the blood. I yelled for someone to get help--even before the blood started because it was obvious the direction this situation was going in. One of the other workers came out and saw what was going on. He went to call for a doctor who donated his services to our mission. While waiting for him, I looked down into the eyes of the young lad I was holding. He was looking back at me. The thought went through my head that this was one of the ones that Jesus loved. The young lad, Tim by name, suddenly shivered. I tried to put my arms around him more so that he could share some of my body warmth. With his face quite close enough now for me to smell his breath, he asked, "Why?" I could only reply, "Because He loved me when no one else did." At that point, he threw-up again. To cut this story short, I went with Tim to the hospital. And they admitted him. He was quite ill for some time. I visited everyday. One day, he told me what he remembered about that night. He remembered my eyes and the love that he saw there. He couldn't understand that love. He finally came to meet my friend who taught me about love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and a way of life that brings peace. I'm sorry, Dwight, but you can't separate Christianity into some neat little package of religion and philosophy. No philosophy in the world can lift one person up as Jesus has done in the lives of so many humans. No philosophy can make such a difference in the life of one individual. Our calling as followers (IMHO) is to those who are seen as failures. It is to the sick. It is to the imprisoned. It is to the hungry. And it is to those who are rich as well, because wealth is not material possessions. No amount of wealth can buy what Tim found, nor what I found years before. Peace and Blessings, Gene
jmoon@lehi3b15.csee.lehigh.edu (Jonggu Moon [890911]) (02/07/90)
I just watched a short film called "An Occurrence at Battle Creek Ridge" an adaptation of a well read short story. In it, the hero appears to have escaped death and now is running through the woods rejoicing in his life. Hearing every bird, smelling every flower, savoring all the things that he ignored before. The irony is that we all die anyway. The Nihilist points out that as long as our lives may seem to us, in comparison to the worldly scale our physical lives are mere sparks, short blips on the timeline. Almost insignificant except for the few movers and shakers of history. Even those are not really worth much when you consider that this planet will go in a puff of smoke when our star runs out of fuel. I don't know how athiests handle this ( maybe they just accept it and so thats why they party as much as they can now ) but a Christian looks apon death not as the closing bloop in the blip, or a muffled snap of a spark, but the beginning of eternity. For those who accept Christ's salvation, death is a PROMOTION ! To finally be removed of the pressures and injustices of this world and take ones place in the kingdom of heaven, where the King is good, the men are strong, the women are pretty and the children are above average. The only thing a Christian might have to fear about death is the actual method of dying. Going to bed and not waking up is a good way to go I guess. Sliding down a 30foot razor blade is not. Crucifixion is the worst ( a study was done ). Paul himself looked forward to the day of his death when he can finally get his much needed rest. His dilemme was that he also wanted to continue to do God's work on Earth. Similarly, I too wait for the day of my death with the hope that I will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. But until then, I do what I am supposed to do here, so that I can hear the words "You did well my son" ^>*<^John