April 29, 2007

Next time your finger is cut, suspend your praying over it to see if it heals without a request to God. Then when you get cancer or some other incurable disease, hold off on that praying and see if it heals itself.

The reason we pray for the cancer and not the cut finger is because of fear. Fear causes us to mix superstition in our prayer requests by adding formulas to our prayers.

Formulas are indicated by idioms like:

"if we send up enough prayers they will break through"

"if YOU have enough faith or if you will only believe"

"if you pray hard enough".

Prayer has become a metaphor which has lost its true meaning. It is as to say "God bless you" after sneezing. There is only the connotation of a god and no meaning is needed because we are acknowledging the sneezing, not the reality of a deity. "Pray for the situation" has become more about the situation than the deity I am praying to.

Date: Wed, Oct 28, 2009 at 9:44 PM
...on dying...

I think this is why we both have so much peace.
It doesn't mean I can't be sad or mad about the situation,
but I don't waste time and energy telling God how to handle
things. I rest in him.

Wed, Jul 29, 2009 at 8:18 AM

We are asking, Why God allows evil. The question is based on a false premise. We should be saying God allows free will and man is responsible for the evil. God reveals in Genesis everything He created is good. Freewill not being created because it is the essence of God can not have anything to do with evil. We posses the ability to love but love is not a created thing. It already existed in the God head (Trinity) and we just emulate love. It is not something we posses in out essence. We emulate freewill but we do not posses it in our essence, therefore it cannot in anyway be responsible for evil. Okay I'm exhausted now.........................

from July 23, 2009

One thing you cannot do is use the Book of Proverbs to make a specific doctrine and there is a lot of the Old Testament which is not meant to teach but is a narrative. Making dogmas from narrative and poetic writings is very dangerous.

in his own words.....and spelling

While clearing out John's facebook messages, I found this one dated Oct. 28, 2009, about two months after his first seizures and surgery. His spelling and words show the effects on his brain. This message shows beautifully his frame of mind about God, life ending, and being at peace with it all. --Laura

If I was independently wealth I could just live out the last 4 years relaxed until I died. However, I am not capable. The doctors have been real honest and I really appreciate it. They told me the tumor was what they expected and at the most optimistically I have is 3-4 years if the tumor response. The slim possibility is past 5 years. I really am glad to have time to plan so I am getting things ready now so those close to me want have so much to do.

It could be a lot worst. There are kids up there who have not really expected high school. I have already done all that. The greatest thing about my situation dieing is my world view. I have taken the last 7 years and examined what I have been taught and found it to be true. Christianity is the only philosophy which makes more since compared against all the other positions. I am following a logical and rational position which Jesus the man/God taught was rational. If this would have happened to me 10 years ago I would have been on my knees crying to go to heal me thinking I could convince Him to do it. Now I am content. With the teaching past down by the inspiration through the Apostles (12) that allows me to be content I will not die. My person will never stop existing. When I leave temporarily my physical body I am promised to return not only to my body but with the Christ in His second advent.

It has been a great last 50 years because I fond God is knowable and He revealed Himself rational.

goals

It is my goal to transcribe John's voice recordings of his beliefs and thinking into posts for this blog. I'll probably get a start on it this summer, but maybe one or two will find their way here before then. They will be new to me, too.
~Laura