tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post2493281425590671137..comments2023-11-03T11:37:04.473+00:00Comments on nothing new under the sun: Seasoned with salt: grace-filled conversations IIIbyron smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-81066875030627134742008-04-01T01:02:00.000+01:002008-04-01T01:02:00.000+01:00Hi Byron,Lots of it is just trial and error, and i...Hi Byron,<BR/><BR/>Lots of it is just trial and error, and it probably changes depending on the topic. I usually managed about a 1 in 4 success rate, and of these, maybe 1 in 4 of those might spark a 'conversation' over several days. But you never know how many conversations this might have prompted in day to day life. <BR/><BR/>I felt the best kind of responses mixed gentle humour with a self Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03148452877425621293noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-8833613366702325982008-03-31T23:49:00.000+01:002008-03-31T23:49:00.000+01:00Joshua - nice letter. The move from "benevolence" ...Joshua - nice letter. The move from "benevolence" (which always sounds so impersonal to me) to "love" is important. Yet also important in your letter is the implication that God is here with us in our groaning, not just watching from a distance and pulling strings.<BR/><BR/>And even though I hadn't yet offered any points for the picture, have <A HREF="http://nothing-new-under-the-sun.blogspot.combyron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-31318248645460488272008-03-31T11:19:00.000+01:002008-03-31T11:19:00.000+01:00Oh, and I forgot to mention, I recognise the Sydne...Oh, and I forgot to mention, I recognise the Sydney Harbour Bridge in that picture. Taken from the eastern side looking west.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-66874297078179070812008-03-31T11:16:00.000+01:002008-03-31T11:16:00.000+01:00Just to get a few more bragging rights, here's a l...Just to get a few more bragging rights, here's a letter of mine the SMH published after the tsunami. It was in response to a particular editorial piece:<BR/><BR/>May I suggest Edward Spence ("Waves of destruction wash away belief in God's benevolence", Herald, December 30) swaps the Judeo-Christian attribute of God's benevolence for love, which he recognises as the core message of Christmas? The Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-58263752000731044742008-03-31T01:17:00.000+01:002008-03-31T01:17:00.000+01:00Byron. My use of God reflecting our destructivenes...Byron. <BR/><BR/>My use of God reflecting our destructiveness was more to do with reflecting and getting back to Davids original letter about why God allowed Jose to be shot. <BR/><BR/>I then qualified my statement by stating that Gods ways were more to do with helping those in need more so than it is to destroy. <BR/><BR/>I think the tsunami shows us our total powerlessness in the face of Craig Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15588042075470456058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-34842322473432211532008-03-30T12:42:00.000+01:002008-03-30T12:42:00.000+01:00As with last time, there are some fascinating idea...As with last time, there are some fascinating ideas here.<BR/><BR/>Drew - I love the idea of inviting further conversation. Which kinds of question do you think are best? (I assume open-ended, but any further thoughts?)<BR/><BR/>Dave - yes, the priority of experience over explanation for those whose suffering is more than theoretical. Often it is the onlookers who most desire explanation. I love byron smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17938334606675769903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-23551033358637911042008-03-30T10:00:00.000+01:002008-03-30T10:00:00.000+01:00I couldn't answer as I haven't found a satisfactor...I couldn't answer as I haven't found a satisfactory answer to satisfy myself. It makes me a little uncomfortable every time I think about it and questions similar. <BR/><BR/>But then again, maybe I haven't read enough. Can you point me anywhere?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-50873168427999099852008-03-30T09:37:00.000+01:002008-03-30T09:37:00.000+01:00Go Victor! Great letter. I used to do this for a ...Go Victor! Great letter. I used to do this for a while, but got depressed at the game-ness of it all.<BR/><BR/>Here's what I thought:<BR/><BR/>"David Harris Manly demands God's alibi for the 2004 tsunami. Tying down a location on an omnipresent God? A bit tough, but what was he doing there? There's the rub."<BR/><BR/>The art is to beg further questions - ie. a conversation - not necessarily Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03148452877425621293noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-40208875848048463252008-03-30T00:13:00.000+00:002008-03-30T00:13:00.000+00:00When the Tsunami comes and takes my nine month old...When the Tsunami comes and takes my nine month old son, I don't want a metaphysical explanation for suffering; my son is worth more than that, much more. What I want is for someone to live through the suffering with me, in all its awful reality.<BR/><BR/>For Christians, the clearest picture we have of God is Jesus. We don't see a detached, omnipotent, (and largely unattractive) deity. Instead we dave saxeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02967220769653391385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-6496461830888449162008-03-29T07:47:00.000+00:002008-03-29T07:47:00.000+00:00Hmmm... hard to think of something short and sweet...Hmmm... hard to think of something short and sweet...<BR/><BR/>Jesus was once asked a very similar question (Luke 13:1-5), and he moved the discussion from the question of blame to a different question: Given that the Tsunami has happened, how is it going to cause YOU to change your life? Perhaps it's only in answering that question that God's involvement begins to become evidentMatthew R. Malcolmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07497951834775057051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28189019.post-51344176349734925422008-03-29T00:41:00.000+00:002008-03-29T00:41:00.000+00:00I would say that the 2004 tsunami shows us our utt...I would say that the 2004 tsunami shows us our utter powerlessness within creation. And is a wakeup call that we all need to turn to a greater power than ourselves. <BR/>Perhaps God was reflecting our ways of destroying each other, through the tsunami. The result which gave us a chance to reflect his ways by banding together to help those in need.Craig Bennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15588042075470456058noreply@blogger.com