These videos were interesting to me for a number of reasons. From the title alone, I wasn't exactly sure what the videos were going to be about but I've come to realize that I can't really be prepared for anything in this class. The first video had my mind reeling from the start simply from trying to comprehend everything that was being said. I'm not sure if it was my mind having trouble following or what, but it seemed as though things were jumping around a lot. The first concept I was grasping was "why are we here?" and for me that it is probably the easiest question to answer: we are here because God created us, along with the rest of the world, to praise and give Him glory. Whenever I hear that question I have mixed feelings because on one hand I know what the truth and the answer to the question is so I don't relate to the people who are continually searching for the answer, but on the other hand I'm not surprised that people spend their entire lives searching for the answer to that question. It is the question that you ponder in the early morning as you are watching the sunrise or any other indescribably breath-taking view. It's the question that prevents you from going to sleep some nights as you lay there wrestling with the reality that there is a power- a supernatural being- that longs for you to have a relationship with Him. The fact is that people don't like the truth because it requires a surrendering of their lives in ways that they aren't willing to surrender. As a result, many people search and search for an even "deeper" meaning to life and rather than embracing the truth they feel better about saying "there is no way to know for sure" or "everyone makes their own answer". Many people (and I believe that I would fall into this category if I wasn't a Christian) are content in their ignorance and don't like to go down the intellectual paths that these videos take you down. When you find an answer you are then confronted with a responsibility to act on your findings. You are held accountable for what you know, therefore ignorance is very often bliss! We don't want to think about eternity or the true meaning of life because that will take away from me completely indulging myself right now. Everyone will, if they haven't already, heard the answer to that great question of "why are we here?" but the reality is that the vast majority CHOOSE to reject the answer to it. The fact is that there are many, many, MANY different philosophies and concepts and things that honestly go way over my head about life and this world and sadly they are just rabbit holes that continually send people farther and farther away from the Creator of the Universe and their souls. When I see videos like these I don't get angry or upset- I definitely don't entertain the majority of what they are saying because I already know the truth- but it opens my eyes to just how many different world views are out there as a wisely crafted diversion from the truth.
One aspect that I think they nailed on the head was when they were talking about the complexity of the mind and body. The Bible speaks about how we as humans are fearfully and wonderfully made in the likeness of God. I completely agree with the narrators when they spoke about how there are so many things of this world that we couldn't even begin to comprehend. The truth is that our finite minds can't fully grasp the infinite wonder of God's creation. He gives us glimpses and that alone is enough to blow our minds! Even as the "Hidden Messages in the Water" video depicted, it is almost frightening what our minds can do. How we can take things and completely change reality in our mind to dictate specific circumstances or view points that we have. One of the speakers mentioned how it is foolish to try to dive into the complexity of these things because the more we try, the farther into the rabbit hole we will fall and I believe that completely. Knowledge is a two-edged sword in my opinion. It is a great and powerful thing that gives us insight and illumination about things that we often times need a little explanation in order to act appropriately. But there is such thing as too much knowledge. I've seen it many times where people, especially young adults in college, have allowed knowledge and information change the way they think about life. They begin to over analyze things and basic truths ultimately get turned into major philosophical issues. I consider myself blessed that I've never had an insane hunger for knowledge because I see how it can destroy people if it isn't controlled. The Bible says that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen". As a Christian, our entire lives are to be lived by faith. We will never understand God and I believe that that's a main reason why people choose not to believe in Him. I don't have to see or touch God to know that He is real but that is the opposite of a lot of the sciences of today. Everything has to be proven and understandable in order to be real. Now don't get me wrong- God is MORE than able to prove His power and I believe that the world is going to be exposed to the power of God in ways that they haven't been to this point. We are seeing it now with the natural disasters and the issues in the Middle East and there is much more to come as He prepares to send Jesus back for the church of Christ. But faith is such a foreign concept to our generation and we are instructed to search and study and only do things that we completely understand and I have to say that I can't do that as a Christian.
The law of attraction was also interesting. Once again, I feel as though it is a concept that has been twisted in order to remove God from the picture and rather than admit that there is a sovereign God who orders every person's steps it states that the universe is making things happen based off our attitudes. This concept I'm going to probably pick apart the most because there are underlying truths mentioned in it, but I don't believe it the way it was stated in the video. I don't believe in coincidence or fate- I'm definitely guilty of using those words from time to time but I know that they aren't real. Nothing happens without God's knowledge and permission and everything happens for a reason. Now, I can't even pretend to start answering all the questions about why there is rape, abuse, molestation, natural disasters that kill thousands or any of the horrible things that are in the world. All I can say is what I do know and that is that God works all things together for good and that He is always in control of each and every situation. Even though God is always in control and nothing can thwart His will for each of our lives, we do have choices. We have the choice to react certain ways to circumstances or to view the world positively or negatively. I can say from personal experience that the majority of times when I see the world the way they describe in the video- negatively and focusing on bad things- is when I'm completely absorbed with myself. But once I stop focusing on myself and get my eyes on God and as a result on helping others, the things that seemed so huge and personal "suddenly" disappear. I don't believe that simply by strongly wanting something I can attract it to myself. I DO believe that God will answer us according to the things that are our treasures and therefore know how important it is to have the right treasures. But if I could get what I wanted simply by wanting it then my life would be extremely different right now. I believe that we have the ability to make changes for the better in our lives, but they don't come because we focus on them really hard and then "the universe" gives them to us. Many people are dedicated and driven and have succeed because of those personality traits. I think people confuse what people take for themselves with "blessings". "The universe" will do nothing for us: we have the option to either 1) put our faith in God and receive His blessings as a result of our obedience to Him, or 2) go out and get what we want using our personalities, character traits, and ambitions.
Brooke
ReplyDeleteI find several of your points really interesting. First, I think its interesting that you seem to see exploring the question "why are we here" as being in opposition to glorifying God. In many ways I interpret this question more specifically as what is YOUR particular purpose in life--why are YOU here. This puts more of a reason to what God put you on earth to do--if we know we are all here generally to do God's work, then how exactly should each of us fulfill that person with the very particular talents, interests, skills, etc that God gave us...why are you here, what is your purpose, what were you put here to do for God? Your purpose is different from mine. So to say we are here because God created us and we are here to glorify him I think might simplify how we serve God. Each of us glorifies God in different ways by what we choose to do with our lives...so searching for your unique purpose within this ultimate goal that you mention can be important.
The other interpretation of the law of attraction was also interesting. I never saw this as simple as just want something really bad and it will come to you. But more of your comment about how when you focus on God the ugliness of the world seems to disappear. Sometimes this ugliness is being generated from within--many people that complain about how things suck dont realize that its them that actually suck--their attitude, their outlook. No one that is enthusiastic, positive and happy wants to be around someone that is miserable and angry..thats the law of attraction. That your friendships, your family ethic, your work environment can literally be influenced by attitudes and spirits. People create the FEEL of the environment. So again, as you argue --if we are all focused on something positive like doing our jobs in a way that glorifies God...if everyone worked with that type of attitude how would that work environment probably feel?? Good..
Its more about focusing on goodness and so I see it as actually being in partnership with spirituality and religion not in opposition to it. This is essentially what all religions teach. I find it interesting how we often think that knowledge and complex thought cant reside side by side with spirituality and religion. The Christian prophet Jesus actually worked hard to get people to think more critically about their actions and interpretations of Judaism. God gave us knowledge and minds so I personally believe we should fully love and actualize all of those God given gifts. It helps us to fulfill the spirit with more meaning and deeper understanding. Just my thoughts.