tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post111624569060931706..comments2024-03-21T12:51:21.667-04:00Comments on Whisky Prajer: Good Questionsdpreimerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09905531259256800022noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1116411101847795782005-05-18T06:11:00.000-04:002005-05-18T06:11:00.000-04:00Thanks for dropping by, J. If your site is any in...Thanks for dropping by, J. If your site is any indication, it certainly backs up your "generally joyful" claim; it displays an enjoyable mixture of authenticity and mischief - keep it up!Whisky Prajerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14076228013022881173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1116357522615520492005-05-17T15:18:00.000-04:002005-05-17T15:18:00.000-04:00Maybe some explanation is in order? I don't know w...Maybe some explanation is in order? I don't know what makes a Calvinist "strict," so I won't pretend to answer that. I'm preaching this Sunday at a church that is not professedly within a Calvinistic tradition. My hope is not that I "get people" to ask these questions; rather, knowing that people struggle often with feeling hopeless, unwanted, lost-cause, and that so often these struggles are unwarranted, I want to be able to address those unwarranted struggles with hopelessness. I'm thinking most specifically of those who compare themselves to others who seem to be doing "spiritual work" while they're home packing lunches or in the cubicle beating themselves up because they don't see how they're doing "good" work. I ask these questions to better get a feel for the specific things that people struggle with as a way of anticipating objections, which is good rhetoric, Calvinist or not. For the record, I'm a generally joyful guy despite my occasional selfish lapses into over-self-analysis. The last thing I intend to do is to encourage paralytic navel-gazing. For what it's worth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1116253873344835892005-05-16T10:31:00.000-04:002005-05-16T10:31:00.000-04:00Et tu, Scottus? Maybe I'm missing something here....<EM>Et tu, Scottus?</EM> Maybe I'm missing something here. If the cheerlessness you refer to is related to the bulk of text on either link, I have but one disclaimer: my usual approach is to scan-read and forget anything that doesn't resonate. In this case, the questions resonated (see above), so that's what I remembered and commented on.<BR/><BR/>Isolating the questions from their (Calvinist/Stoic) context doesn't depress *me* - yet. Maybe what I'll do is supply a few of my own considered answers. If I seem too glum to you, then please hail DV and stage an intervention!Whisky Prajerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14076228013022881173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1116253199310364482005-05-16T10:19:00.000-04:002005-05-16T10:19:00.000-04:00Ouch. GS & J are certainly Calvinists; I'm certai...Ouch. GS & J are certainly Calvinists; I'm certainly not, but I'm still attracted to the questions, and wonder why an atheist, or even a contradictions-embracing Buddhist, couldn't be as well. The first question reminds me of Spalding Gray's wonderfully engaging maelstrom of self-doubt. I'm thinking of his horrifying train-ride conversation with the military man in "Swimming To Cambodia", which (eventually) triggers Gray to wonder, "What if he's right, and I'm wrong? I call myself a liberal, shouldn't I be questioning eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeverything?"<BR/><BR/>Mostly, these questions appeal to <EM>me</EM> because I'm in the entirely predictable throes of midlife goofiness. If you're worried for me, DV, all I can say to reassure you is my path through this will not be the "orthodox" one. Cheers.Whisky Prajerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14076228013022881173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1116252825708810162005-05-16T10:13:00.000-04:002005-05-16T10:13:00.000-04:00I have a stong tendency towards melancholia but re...I have a stong tendency towards melancholia but reading that list makes me say, "Whoa Debbie Downer...go for a walk in the park or something!" I've discovered over the years that considering one's own flaws is important for growth, but only if you're celebrating your good qualities as well. Otherwise, it's just wallowing.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329360007920754967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329706.post-1116246994087288162005-05-16T08:36:00.000-04:002005-05-16T08:36:00.000-04:00These "Good Questions" can only come out of the mi...These "Good Questions" can only come out of the mind of a strict Calvinist. Is there even an iota of a possibility of tepid Good coming out of answering any of these questions? Those who try to answer should not be near a body of water and they should <B>most definitely</B> not be tied to a block of cement.<BR/>However, if there are plans to thin out the population of your town, posting these q.'s should do the trick.DarkoVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11572734667248592785noreply@blogger.com