Religion at work, day 2.

So just as I thought I wouldn't get to share some of my ideas, it turns out I did get to.

It also turn out that I wasn't the only person thinking about our conversation while driving home last night. And it turns out that some people are interested in the subjunctive and do want to discuss these things, some feel a little uncomfortable though.

Conversation this time was in the middle of the day, so was cut short with necessary work that needed to be done.

I did get to share some of my ideas from my previous post but these things have only generated more thoughts.

When we discussed the idea of knowledge and how it evolves I shared my idea of how we are constantly looking to increase our knowledge to also become omniscient. I didn't say it specifically but basically suggested that we are not only aiming to be with God but be like God. I know this was understood as one guy then decided he wanted to be Dzus.

I shared this with a little reluctance, knowing that this is a forgiven concept to most people, or so they think.

I'm pretty sure that the idea that if we live our live so perfectly we can become a form of super power is not exclusive to our faith. For example, look at the Catholic faith. They elevate some of their leaders and make them saints. In Buddhism, are we not reincarnated until we live a good enough life to be accepted into some form of heaven?

I don't expect anyone to chance as a result of what I share, and my colleagues know that I'm not trying to convert them, I'm just sharing what I believe. But you never know. As stated earlier, these conversations have clearly made each of us ponder a bit more where we stand and maybe someone will move closer to the God camp and further away from the nothing camp.

Religion at work

Last night was one of those rare moments when I was involved in a religious discussion at work.

At 1st I was avoiding the discussion because those that instigated it were being very critical of the bible and there didn't seem to be much point entering at that point. The discussion progressed and moved away from the bible and a dominant negative attitude and moved towards some basics, such as heaven & hell and the very existence of God. It was at this point I decided to become an active participant in the conversation.

I know the chaps know I'm religious and they confirmed that they were waiting for me to join in and were obviously interested in what I had to say.

I did suggest that everything is here for no reason whatsoever and that there is no god. And I suggested that alternatively all of this is here for a reason and that there is something else going on. Both ideas are equally as ridiculous and hard to comprehend as the other. Both schools of thought have many unanswered questions. Of all the people that ever lived on the earth, and do live on the earth, a significant portion of them believe in something, and that can not be ignored. I pointed out that I think every person should dedicate some time to considering what it is they believe.

I was asked the common question regarding infant deaths and why God allows such things to happen, which I tried to answer in two parts. The 1st being that you cannot be held responsible for your grown children's auctions. This lead to further discussion about responsibility and unfortunately I didn't get to my second part of the answer which hopefully would have offered some kind of peace, which is that you can't be repentant or be condemned until you are old enought to comprehend the decisions you are making. Thus young children are innocent and automatically go to heaven.

The conversation then went quite deep with one guy reverting back to science a lot which I struggled to follow.

As per usual though. It wasn't until after the conversation as I pondered the points I heard that I came up with my best responses to his questions. This was good for me as they reaffirmed my own testimony. It's just a shame I couldn't share these better responses with my work colleagues.

Having considered these issues though and formulated answers, I know I will be slightly better prepared for the next conversation.

One idea that I pondered was the idea of knowledge and opinion of God. One guy had a hard time with the bible because he perceived the God of the bible to be a harsh God. For example why would he insist Abraham sacrifice his son? Basically he had a hard time understanding God.

The same chap, however, was willing to accept that there is a lot we don't know about life and the universe. What we know is nothing compared to what we know we don't know. And I suspect he subscribes to the idea that what we know we don't know is nothing compared to what we don't know we don't know.

So I find it odd to hear him say he struggles to comprehend an omniscient (all knowing) and omnipotent (all powerful) God when he himself admits that he knows relatively nothing.

To illustrate my point I might ask him to recall a time when his wife has asked him to do something that he does not understalnd, maybe something relating to raising the children. To him what his wife is asking him to do seems crazy, but he trusts her and so he does what she says. Sure enough, she was right. Or another example would be to ask him to recall the thrill of one of his expeditions, hiking though the countryside. I have very fond memories of training with my wife for our 100km challenge. When we tell people about it, we are regularly told we are crazy. But we loved it. And when he tells people about his experiences some people would also tell him he is crazy, they would much rather just stay at home.

Is this not similar to his idea about God and what he asks us to do sometimes. How on earth can we think we know better than him. How can we think that he is barbaric when he asks us to do something when at the same time we know that what we know by comparison to him is absolutely nothing.

I wish I had thought of this point during the conversation. Unfortunately I didn't. But I was given the opportunity to come to this conclusion myself and as a result, my resolve to believe in God was strengthened.

Another conclusion I come to it that it is interesting that we all have the same evidence before us. We all have the world and this life to study and make our decision. Yet, despite the same evidence before us, we come to varying conclusions.

A bit about love

I have started to listen to the radio less and turn on the Mormon Chanel on my car journeys to and from work. Mainly to increase my spirituality and fill my head and soul with more wholesome material. After all, we are what we consume.

I was listening to a show where they were interviewing a singer/songwriter who said her grandfather who is less in touch with his feelings didn't say the words 'I love you'. I can relate to this. While I do often (but maybe not often enough) tell my wife I love her, I don't tell my parents. My makes a thing of it, which now makes it harder.

In my church we sometimes say it. Not very often though. Yet the 1st two commandments are all about love, showing exactly how important this principle is.

We know that actions speak louder than words and that couldn't be more true when it comes to love. You can say 'I love you' all you want, but unless it is backed up by action nobody will believe you. On the flip side, while it is nice to hear, it isn't necessarily essential to say. If you regularly prove it with action, kind deeds, help, gifts, kindness etc then those actions are the words. However, I suppose sometimes, or maybe often, those actions are not translated correctly.

In my church a lot of people do a lot of things for other people. There are people serving all over the place, some direct service and some indirect service. I hope that if each act of service could be vocalised we would hear the words 'I love you' regularly in our church community.

A little Pleasure

Pretty much all jobs in my church are voluntary, unpaid and are carried out in addition to all the other responsibilities of life including full time work. This includes bishops, teachers, group leaders and even missionary work.

My current responsibility is to run a series of self help classes (Self Reliance classes). It can be exhausting serving in the church. Sometimes you don't want to do it.you are tired, there are jobs that need doing at home, or another reason could simply be because I'd rather go home to my dinner.

Every Thursday I'm giving up an evening to help some fellow members. We were discussing education. And I was talking to a guy called John. john want to train to be a joiner. He's into his 50's and does not own a computer or use the internet. I had the idea to show him some of the virtues of the internet. There is lots of learning to be found there. I pulled up you tube and searched 'joinery' and was able to show him a load of training videos about his subject. When I showed him I saw something that I wasn't expecting. Something that made the sacrifice of my dinner that evening worth it.

He smiled. He grinned. He was amazed & delighted that such information is available to him and anyone to help him improve. It was a pleasure to whiteness.

Imagine feeling unsafe all the time. Living in a constant state of fear.

An estimated 1/5 million people have perrised in this civil war. Imagine living in a country where every major city is a target for civil unrest and highly likely to be bombed at any moment. Half your city has been destroyed already. You would feel unsafe outside, and you would feel unsafe indoors. Nowhere is safe. Naturally, you would choose to leave.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/09/14/world/middleeast/syria-war-deaths.html?_r=0

Hungary is earning a bad name for itself.

This is upsetting.

Migrant crisis: People treated 'like animals' in Hungary camp

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34216883

The short of it is that Hungary seems to have a very cold attitude towards the migrants/refugees. They are receiving a lot of bad press about how they are making life for them even harder by fencing off the boarders, collecting people to take them to registration posts rather than escorting them across the country and there was even a report of a Hungarian camera woman/journalist tripping up a father carrying a child as they were rushing to avoid the rather brutal police.

This article has a video which shows the conditions of one of these registration points. The most disturbing thing most people will notice is a policeman throwing sandwiches to the refugees. I'm not saying this is the case but it very much portrays the impression that this policeman is treating these people like lesser humans, like animals. He clearly has a pride issue. I also notice that none of his fellow workers stop him. While they are not throwing the food, they are not stopping him. They have also chosen to not order the people into lines and ask for civility but instead allowed a scene of chaos to ensue, further supporting the idea, though less obviously, that all these men (policemen) are treating these refugees poorly.

The article compares the scene to a concentration camp. And it is hard to then not compare the policemen in this video to Nazis. They may not realise it themselves, but I'd hope if they were to review their behaviour they would see why they are being compared in this way. I'm sure nobody would want to be compared to a Nazi, and I'm also sure these policemen and other Hungarian leadership have very ill feelings towards Hitler and his regime, so I really do hope they change their behaviour very soon, otherwise people might start reading about the Nazi like/concentration camp behaviour in history books in future.

I'm appalled at the apparent inhumanity that this video conveys. I sincerely hope that that this is an isolated case and there are other locations throughout Hungary where the migrants are generally treated a lot better.

Devastated Syria

A few articles have been showing the conditions the refugees are fleeing from. This BBC report shows the devistation.

Syria: Snapshot of life inside Assad stronghold

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34192568