Thank you very much for putting this class together and I also like the Blog. I have no experience with blogging. So here goes......
I've read the entire book, many parts more than once. I've also read a lot of other information from famous writers on faith and doubt. It seemed to me in all of the writings that the idea of goals, formation of goals, or any description concerning goals is completely missing. Martin Luther doesn't metion goals and Mr. Palmer doesn't mention goals. To me before you make any decision about anything you have to set a goal in mind. For example, taking a step forward while you walk. Your goal is to move forward to a different position. Once you have reached that position, you have reached that goal. But in your mind you have to know what the goal is before you take the step. You have to know physically if you can step that far. Is you other foot strong enough to complete the walk. I could sit and go on forever about this, but you get the general idea. Goals are missing. Why?
Day 1 - Building
6 years ago
2 comments:
A part of the answer to your question may be that Luther and Palmer (like in ch 2) want our entire focus for faith to be towards God's character and faithfulness. When we start to talk about goals we move toward our own ability to be more faithful or as Palmer says on page 27, "Faith is not growth in the methods of trusting but in growth in our confidence in the character of God." Maybe that is why they are reluctant to talk about goals.
I am responding to Adam's comments regarding goals.
I agree that we need to be seeking and asking questions, but, as I suggested in last week's class, in referencing Philippians 2:12 and 13, God is actively supporting our seeking. If we get hung up on our specific goals, we may be limiting His answers to our questions... On page 36 of chapter three, Earl says, in reference to God's respect for our personal dignity and freedom, that God "answers a deeper question than we asked, but his answer takes more time than we expected." I wonder if our personal goal setting can severely limit the freedom of our search.
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