tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8249128850320807701.post4342580359969004980..comments2023-10-20T05:53:39.965-07:00Comments on Ruminating on the Profundities: Now What?--Become and Apostle!RUMINATING ON THE PROFUNDITIEShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17635082319246533931noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8249128850320807701.post-64193456802047168382010-10-18T03:05:35.077-07:002010-10-18T03:05:35.077-07:00Great blog, dad. You're not crazy, your just f...Great blog, dad. You're not crazy, your just filled to the brim with bullshit. Spew. <br /><br />Word.David Hatfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08171582539078900206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8249128850320807701.post-43649309373471688342010-10-17T00:16:21.808-07:002010-10-17T00:16:21.808-07:00wow, can I have some of what you are on. this was ...wow, can I have some of what you are on. this was really fun to read. thanks for the share!!!!!!!!!michael mikolonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231876469450848755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8249128850320807701.post-12559190832542010902010-10-14T03:33:12.619-07:002010-10-14T03:33:12.619-07:00I've heard of Peter and also Paul.... so why n...I've heard of Peter and also Paul.... so why not the Apostle Don?<br /><br />I recently read something that resonated with me in a similar way to what you have said in your post. Maybe I just keep hearing the same message in the challenges, disappointments and spoiled fruit in my own life. Rather than paraphrase, what the author wrote I have quoted it below. Don, for your benefit, please note the repeated use of the word self-donation, but don't let it distract you from the message.<br /><br />"At its core, however, the scandal of the cross in a world of violence is not the danger associated with self-donation. Jesus' greatest agony was not that he suffered. Suffering can be endured, even embraced, if it brings the desired fruit, as the experience of giving birth illustrates. What turned the pain of suffering to agony was abandonment; Jesus was abandoned by the people who trusted in him and by the God in whom he trusted. 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' (Mark 15:34). My God, my God, why did my radical obedience to your way lead to the pain and disgrace of the cross? The ultimate scandal of the cross is the all to frequent failure of self-donation to bear positive fruit: you give yourself for the other—and violence does not stop but destroys you; you sacrifice your life—and stabilize the power of the perpetrator. Though self-donation often issues in the joy of reciprocity, it must reckon with the pain of failure and violence. When violence strikes, the very act of self-donation becomes a cry before the dark face of God. This dark face confronting the act of self-donation is a scandal.<br /><br />Is the scandal of the cross good enough reason to give up on it? Let me respond by noting that there is no genuinely Christian way around the scandal. In the final analysis, the only available options are either to reject the cross and with it the core of the Christian faith or to take up one's cross, follow the Crucified—and be scandalized ever anew by the challenge. As the Gospel of Mark reports, the first disciples followed, and were scandalized (14:26). Yet they continued to tell the story of the cross, including the account of how they abandoned the Crucified. Why? Because precisely in the scandal, they have discovered a promise. In serving and giving themselves for others (Mark 10:45), in lamenting and protesting before the dark face of God (15:34), they found themselves in the company of the Crucified. In the empty tomb they saw the proof that the cry of desperation will turn into a song of joy and the face of God will eventually ‘shine’ upon a redeemed world."<br /><br />(Miroslav Volf, Exclusion & Embrace)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8249128850320807701.post-75519591697286014002010-10-13T04:07:34.272-07:002010-10-13T04:07:34.272-07:00Don I finally found a free half hour to read your ...Don I finally found a free half hour to read your book! Not just read it, but really try to understand every word you said. I don't think you're crazy at all. I think you're on the right track. Change, yes its inevitable. Do we embrace it? No, not usually. When the rug feels like its pulled out from under us, Jesus is always there to catch us if we want. <br /><br />You just might be saner as ever...Susan Rouxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01811139850899265798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8249128850320807701.post-60538786836842425502010-10-12T04:33:17.996-07:002010-10-12T04:33:17.996-07:00A walking gift...and a marvel of deoxyribonucleic ...A walking gift...and a marvel of deoxyribonucleic acid.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728620967098066840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8249128850320807701.post-36010297069529106072010-10-11T11:36:30.897-07:002010-10-11T11:36:30.897-07:00Don, such depth of thought............if you were ...Don, such depth of thought............if you were not crazy before you wrote this you certainly must be now. I, myself, am waiting for dementia to set in and be blissfully happy letting every one else take care of me. The other scenario is, I've seen the end........and we win!Carol Blackburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02744965568317454970noreply@blogger.com