{"id":22870,"date":"2022-10-06T09:08:36","date_gmt":"2022-10-06T14:08:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/?p=22870"},"modified":"2022-10-07T19:06:14","modified_gmt":"2022-10-08T00:06:14","slug":"god-no-god-important-consequences-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/god-no-god-important-consequences-2\/","title":{"rendered":"God…No God. Important Consequences."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(Give this to a 20\/30 Something)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just west of Des Moines, Iowa, Interstate 80 hits a fork in the road. If you\u2019re going to San Francisco, you keep on I\u0016-80 heading west. If you want to go to Houston, you bear south on I\u0016-35 \u0016- two roads heading to two different places. Where do you want to go?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s like life. Where you want to go determines which road you take. Most times our choices are \u201cday to day\u201d and have to do with groceries or family gatherings or what\u2019s on TV. Seldom do we think of the Big Picture (Where AM I going with my life?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two roads lie ahead of us. One directs our lives to God. Do you want to meet Him in heaven? The other road is in search of some happiness here on earth before the lights get turned off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The God Factor is critical in how you experience life. Things go off in two very different directions depending on what you believe about God and whether this God has a purpose for your life. See what you think. . . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what happens if there is no God<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

(or if there\u2019s no way of knowing anything about him anyway).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Nothing means anything. \u201cGood\u201d or \u201cbad\u201d is merely your opinion. What you think is \u201cyour truth\u201d. What I think is \u201cmy truth\u201d. In fact, there is no ultimate truth.<\/li>
  2. Since there is no ultimate goodness to guide our actions, then \u201clesser gods\u201d will serve. Money, pos\u0016sessions, leisure and pleasure are what life is about.<\/li>
  3. Might makes right. My wanting more makes me a potential threat to what you have. (Why can\u2019t I take what you have? You say, \u201cthat\u2019s not right!\u201d I say, \u201cSays who?!\u201d)<\/li>
  4. Sickness, poverty, or tragic happenings can only be seen as absurd or real bad luck. Flee these things. Pity those who encounter them. They are the \u201cunlucky ones\u201d.<\/li>
  5. Any moment of beauty or longing that our lives have ultimate meaning is an illusion and should be tolerated like Santa Claus with our children. (Let this God myth continue as long as it keeps people happy).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    1. An \u201ceye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth\u201d is the best way of dealing with human conflict. But who has the authority to declare something as righteous or criminal?<\/li>
    2. Our best hopes for our children would be that they were skillful hunters in getting what they want in a world that doesn\u2019t care.<\/li>
    3. About the best thing we can wish anybody is \u201cGood Luck\u201d.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Pretty grim, wouldn\u2019t you say? Yet that is the way of the human heart without God. You see, we humans were MADE FOR<\/strong> God. Made to enter into relationship with Him and without Him . . . . we lose our purpose for existing. We become, as the great theologian Romano Guardini put it, \u201cclever animals\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      The revealed God of Christianity changes everything.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      Here\u2019s what happens when you let God into your life. (These contrast with 1-\u00168 above).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Everything means something. The fact that something \u201cis\u201d gives it purpose in the plan of God. All that exists shares to some degree in the truth of its maker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The \u201clesser goods\u201d become what they were intended to be \u0016\u0016\u0016joys in life that point to a loving God who wishes our happiness. They are not an end in themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      By God\u2019s love (revealed in Christ), we become brothers and sisters to each other, NOT<\/strong> \u201cthreats\u201d or rivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The hard things in life (sickness, etc.) have been re- deemed. They too now serve God\u2019s purpose. They reveal true love. (We only know this by Jesus Christ who took suffering and death to himself to reveal what God\u2019s love is like.) \u201cLove bears all things.\u201d 1 Corinthians 13<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Longing for peace or purpose in life is a grace put there by God to remind us of our true home. \u201cOur hearts are restless until they rest in thee Oh Lord.\u201d St Augustine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cWe hold these truths to be self\u0016evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator . . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Our best hope for our children is that they would grow to be good and kind and happy in \u201cdoing what is right and just\u201d. And that they too would come to know the presence of God in their life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Our best wish for someone? \u201cGo with God\u201d. Go with God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Fr. Tim<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      (Give this to a 20\/30 Something) Just west of Des Moines, Iowa, Interstate 80 hits a fork in the road. If you\u2019re going to San Francisco, you keep on I\u0016-80 heading west. If you want to go to Houston, you bear south on I\u0016-35 \u0016- two roads heading to two different places. Where do you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-column"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22870"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22913,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22870\/revisions\/22913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}