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Category Archives: Tears of the Desert Warrior

A Conversation with God 4

02 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by Bert Amsing in A Conversation with God, Desert Warrior Series, Finding Life in the Face of Death, Tears of the Desert Warrior

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A God who Weeps, Freedom of the Forbidden, Science and Technology, Support of God, The Divine Perspective, Uneasy Truce

“Why are you weeping?”  I said.

He turned his head slightly to look at me and then turned back to look into the night sky. He was seated on a log freshly cut down. “My children have been snatched away.  They are in grave danger.  Most of them I will never get back.  I know each one of them by name.”  His voice was a whisper in the night air.

“What do you mean?  Kidnapped?”

“In a way of speaking.”  His back was still turned toward me, the side of his face visible in the light of the full moon.

“But can’t you just go and get them back?”

A deep sigh escaped into the night.

“They went willingly,”  he said quietly.

“Willingly?”  That didn’t make sense.  “Didn’t you throw them out of the garden?”

“I meant before that,” he said, “when they threw me out.”

I was still getting used to this conversation and I wasn’t sure that I heard him right.  I forced myself to relax and took a deep breath.  He turned his head to look at me, the deep blue of his eyes rooted me to my place, though he looked at me with sadness and his voice was gentle.

“Do you think for a moment I would throw them out of my garden, away from their home, if it wasn’t absolutely necessary and for their own good?”

I could not answer.  The divine perspective was overwhelming in its simplicity and depth of feeling.  I ventured another question, carefully.

“Did they know what they were doing?”

“Yes,” he said, “and no.  They were deceived, it is true, but I warned them of the danger.”

“Maybe they will find a way back by themselves?”  I said.

“No, they don’t even want to come back.  Once you’ve tasted the freedom of the forbidden, no one can come back or even wants to.”

“Freedom,” I said, “well, that’s not so bad.  Maybe you just have to let them go?”

“I cannot let them go.  There is no freedom from me that doesn’t end in evil, and suffering and death.”

“I’m not sure I understand.  We seem to be able to survive.”

“There is no evil in your world, no suffering, no death?” he asked, turning to look at me, his eyebrow arching.

“Well, yes there is,” I said.  I stopped, trying to put it all together. “Sometimes we think we have a handle on it and other times it seems to spin out of control almost as if it has a mind of its own.”

“A mind of its own, that’s an interesting way to put it.”

“But what I wanted to say is that we mostly think that we can handle it.  Science and technology are providing new solutions every day.”

“And creating new problems, perhaps bigger problems, as well.”

“Maybe, but there is sense that we will get through.  The indomitable human spirit and all that.”

“Let me assure you,” he said.  “that the problem is within you, even though the solution is not.  It is not within your grasp.  It is not possible in your own strength alone.”

“Many people don’t believe that.  Especially the leaders and philosophers.”

“Yes, I know.  They think that they can manage or, at least survive, without me but in fact, I continue to support them and make it possible for them to manage and survive.  There is no such thing as “without me” until I create such a place, and, believe me when I tell you, you don’t want to go there.” His face was tight.

“You have been supporting us all this time?” I said.

“I cannot let you go.  I told you that.  There is no freedom from me that doesn’t end in evil and suffering and death.  Eternal death.  It is the nature of things.  It is who I am and it is how I created you.  We were meant to be together. It’s what makes it all worth while.”  He paused thoughtfully.  “But let me ask you a question.”

A question?

“Would you rather manage and survive without me – even with my help – or live with me, under my authority, as my children?”  He wouldn’t look at me.  His face was turned away.

Did the answer matter so much?

I was silent.  I could answer for myself easily enough but I knew that many others would answer differently.  That’s always the question, isn’t it?  What do you want?  Do you want a relationship with God?

That’s a question for lovers, even friends, a question every heart asks of another, a foundation for community, for fellowship, for a life lived together.

“I know your heart, my son,” he said.  “But now you know why I grieve for all the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve.”  He sighed heavily.  “I have opened up a temporary space and time for each of them to answer that question for themselves.  I will support them long enough to give me an answer but, in the end, I will give them what they want.”

“What do you mean, give them what they want?”  Somehow it sounded dreadful and my chest began to squeeze my heart in a vice.

“Those who want me will find me, if they want me with all their hearts but those who want nothing to do with me will also get what they want.”

“What are you saying, that you won’t…..support them anymore?  Will you turn away from them completely?”

“I cannot support evil and rebellion forever. This uneasy truce that I have established is unnatural and unsustainable.  The very foundations of creation groan and cry out for a return to paradise.  It is because I love them that I give them this brief space and time to respond.  And if, after everything is said and done, they want nothing to do with me – that, too, can be arranged.”  His face was dark, unreadable.

“But will they understand the question?  Will they know what is at stake?”

“I will go personally and speak to them and I will show them without question that I want them back and that I would die for them.”  His eyes narrowed with thought, reaching far into eternity.

“If that isn’t enough,” he said finally, “then nothing is.”

*****

Click here to read more……

A Conversation with God by Bert A. Amsing
Excerpt from Tears of the Desert Warrior by Bert A. Amsing
Copyright © 2012 by vanKregten Publishers.  All rights reserved.
http://www.desertwarrior.net      info@desertwarrior.net

Footnotes and references included in the original manuscript.

A Conversation with God 5

01 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by Bert Amsing in A Conversation with God, Desert Warrior Series, Finding Life in the Face of Death, Tears of the Desert Warrior

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Freedom of Choice, Image of God, Knowing Good and Evil, Slavery of Love

“Adam and Eve wanted to be like you, knowing good and evil.  Why is that so bad?”

“Because those are two entirely different things, being “like me” and “knowing good and evil”.  They knew evil by experiencing evil.  They participated in evil but there is no evil in me.  So, it wasn’t an innocent desire to be like me.”  He looked up into the night sky for a long moment and then spoke again.

“They were already created in my image,” he said.  “They are like me in many ways.  This was something more.  They wanted the knowledge of good and evil, thinking that they would have the power to decide between the two, to choose for themselves what they wanted, as if evil was an option for them, even if I didn´t like it.  They made the freedom of their choices more important than the slavery of a loving  relationship with me as their Father and Creator.  They wanted to take my place, to decide things for themselves and thereby make me irrelevant.”  He paused, the look on his face unreadable.  “They kicked me out.”

“They wanted to take your place?”

“In relation to their lives, yes.  Often in relation to others as well.”

“Is that so bad?”  I said.  “Don’t you want them to make their own decisions?”

“Yes, of course.  Decisions and judgments and choices but in the context of a relationship with their Father, their Creator.”

“So, this was a way of saying that they didn’t want you in their lives at all anymore.”

“Exactly.  But that is impossible.  It simply isn’t an option.”

“Why not?”

“For one thing, that is the point of being the Creator.  I am essential to life.  Even more, a conscious relationship with me is essential to their natures, to their eternal lives.  That’s how I created them.  But there is another reason.”  He paused.  “Even if I was prepared to remain on the sidelines – which I’m not – it still wouldn’t work.”

“Why not?” I repeated.

“Because they weren’t created to make the ultimate decisions about right and wrong.  That’s my job.  Only I can see the consequences of every action, only I have all of the pertinent information and can process it appropriately, only I have the ability to control events and protect them so that the intended consequences of their actions are accomplished.”

“I never thought of it that way before,” I said.

“They need me whether they like it or not.  I am essential to life in every way imaginable.”  He stopped for a moment and looked at me curiously.  “But there is one more reason, the essential reason, why life and morality does not work without my active involvement.”

“What is it, Lord?”  I was truly entranced.

“Because morality is intrinsic to the structures of the world, and the structures of the world are a reflection of my nature.  It is my fellowship within the divine that is the ground and the pattern for good and evil.  There can be no other.”

*****

Click here to read more…….

A Conversation with God by Bert A. Amsing.  Used with permission.
Excerpt from Tears of the Desert Warrior by Bert A. Amsing.
Copyright © 2012 by vanKregten Publishers.  All rights reserved.
http://www.desertwarrior.net    info@desertwarrior.net

Footnotes and references included in the original manuscript.

Building the Tower

29 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by Bert Amsing in Desert Warrior Series, Tears of the Desert Warrior, The Essence of Religion

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What is becoming evident is that the tower is being built strong and tall, the foundations have been laid and another level of interpretation of reality has been developed, taught and accepted as truth.

Let us review what we have learned so far.

  • We started with the awareness of self and the belief in our own inherent value and right to survive and flourish.
  • We built on that an awareness of an unfriendly and even dangerous world of nature and other “wills” that may or may not value our right to survive and flourish as much as we do.
  • Yet we need this world and we need the “others” in this world.  We are dependent on nature (and others) when we desperately want to be independent and in control.  We are unavoidably social (and corporate) by nature and necessity.
  • Therefore, we have an obligation, an “ought,” towards others, again by nature and necessity.
  • That “ought” has been grounded in a naturalistic, utilitarian social contractualism on the one hand, or systematized into religious belief in a transcendent ground for morality on the other.
  • In either case, society or religion (or a combination of both) has attempted to provide a necessary motivation for morality (and the social contract and law) through a system of rewards and punishments and a belief (in the case of religion) in a just universe despite appearances.
  • We have even considered the suggestion that the problem is within us, within our very natures, but we shy away from that bit of truth like a nervous filly on a frosty morning.

We have not yet reached the pinnacle of the tower, nor have we tried to open the gates of heaven.  The workers are still busy with their labors and the architects are still pouring over their plans.

To change the image for a moment, the participants around the table are still discussing the nature and interpretation of reality and how we can deal with our differences.

Yes, no doubt.  There is certainly more to be said.

*****

Click here to read more……

Tears of the Desert Warrior by Bert A. Amsing
Copyright 2012 by vanKregten Publishers.   All rights reserved.
http://www.desertwarrior.net     https://desertwarriornet.wordpress.com/

Footnotes and references included in the original manuscript.

Is Freud for Real?

28 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by Bert Amsing in Desert Warrior Series, Tears of the Desert Warrior, The Essence of Religion

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In the meantime, Freud would suggest that this “illusion” called religion may be a necessary evil but it certainly isn’t true.

What is interesting is that his perspective is more rooted in his “predisposition against the supernatural” than because of any philosophical or metaphysical argumentation (of which he makes none at all).

Freud makes it clear that he believes that “science fully reflects what is real.”  There is nothing else.  There is no God to go to and find your answers.  It is all an illusion, a necessary illusion perhaps, but an illusion nonetheless.

Yet his “positivism” about the scientific metaphysics of reality is out of fashion today, especially in light of recent scientific and cosmological advances, even though many people still believe that his opinions about religion stand the test of scientific and philosophical inquiry.

That is not necessarily true.  There is still more to be said.

*****

Click here to read more……

Tears of the Desert Warrior by Bert A. Amsing
Copyright 2012 by vanKregten Publishers.   All rights reserved.
http://www.desertwarrior.net      https://desertwarriornet.wordpress.com/

Footnotes and references included in the original manuscript.

The Evil Within

27 Tuesday Nov 2012

Posted by Bert Amsing in Desert Warrior Series, Tears of the Desert Warrior, The Essence of Religion

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But that is the essence of the ongoing debate.

If it isn’t true, then how can it be comforting?  We have to believe the illusion.

And if it is true, if we do live in a just universe, then how will it affect us? How will we fare in the face of the kind of implacable justice that sees all and knows all and shows no mercy?

That truth is dangerous.

For there is one other, last reality that we all must face which is rooted deeply in our very natures – a reality that many would recognize (even if they try to explain and interpret it in different ways).  That is the reality of “evil” in our own natures.

The concept of “evil” here is a value judgment based on our experience that this “lack” or “incompleteness” or “perversion” within us (however defined) is not in our own best interest.

Peter Byrne speaks of “evils afflicting the pursuit of the good” in the world around us (suffering, pain and death) but he also speaks of “imperfect wills” and a “self (that) is enmeshed in evil.”  At one point, he speaks of the “cussedness of the human will” and the fact that we are “prone to choose evil over good.”

This is a mystery.

Why would that be the case?  Is it related to the defense mechanisms that we all develop to protect ourselves in a dangerous world?  Perhaps.  Perhaps it is more than that.  But in the end, the reality of it is there and some sort of answer must be given to account for it.

*****

Click here to read more…….

Tears of the Desert Warrior by Bert A. Amsing
Copyright © 2012 by vanKregten Publishers.  All rights reserved.
http://www.desertwarrior.net     info@desertwarrior.net

Footnotes and references included in the original manuscript.

The Moral Gap

26 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by Bert Amsing in Desert Warrior Series, Tears of the Desert Warrior, The Essence of Religion

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Yet, here also, we find a “gap” – the moral gap.

We experience a world in which “good” is not always rewarded and “evil” is not always punished. In fact, quite the opposite is often true.

There is a gap between moral action and the expected and appropriate results of those actions.  What are we to make of a world in which there is no apparent ground (and therefore motivation) for our moral efforts?

Freud suggests that this, too, is part of the “illusion” of religion.  We want to live in a just universe and so we create “gods” or, especially in this case, “a God” who is the supreme justice over all of reality and who will bring order out of the chaos of our existence.

Finally, when all is said and done (religion would claim), there will be justice – good will be rewarded and evil will be punished.  We live in a just universe.

A comforting thought, most would say – whether true or not.

*****

Click here to read more……

Tears of the Desert Warrior by Bert A. Amsing
Copyright 2012 by vanKregten Publishers.  All rights reserved.
http://www.desertwarrior.net     info@desertwarrior.net

Footnotes and references included in the original manuscript.

Morality as a Limit to our Wills

25 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by Bert Amsing in Desert Warrior Series, Tears of the Desert Warrior, The Essence of Religion

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Morality is the “ought” that relates the self to others (although we will come to see that there is a fundamental “ought” that also relates us to our own “self” and the role of our ego in determining what is good or bad for us).

In any event, the moral expectation is that we must strive for good and avoid, or fight, evil.

Good and evil are not only defined individually but also socially.  Morality is more than a social contract, it captures our highest values and instincts for what our lives could be and should be (at least according to the majority).

Our highest good is inevitably bound up with the highest good of the others most closely connected to us.  Morality is unavoidable if for no other reason than it is a necessary limit to our “wills” in the pursuit of our own “good” (as well as the “good” of others).  We are, whether we like it or not, corporate (as well as, social) creatures.

The social contract is practical and necessary and immediate.  It is sometimes (and to a degree) backed by common law and justice and is punished and rewarded accordingly.  Often social expectations have an unwritten system of rewards and punishments that may or may not affect our ability to relate economically or socially with others.

Morality is deeper still and is oriented toward those attitudes and actions that go beyond the social contract and, in fact, under gird the way that we deal with each other.  “Honesty is a good policy.”  “Keep your promises.”  “Every person is valuable and deserves our respect and care.”

These are not things that can be legislated for or against.

*****

Click here to read more……

Tears of the Desert Warrior by Bert A. Amsing
Copyright 2012 by vanKregten Publishers.  All rights reserved.
http://www.desertwarrior.net     https://desertwarriornet.wordpress.com/

Footnotes and references included in the original manuscript.

Corporate Defense Mechanisms

24 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by Bert Amsing in Desert Warrior Series, Tears of the Desert Warrior, The Essence of Religion

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In that sense, both of these men would postulate that one of the key “corporate” defense mechanisms developed by society over time is the concept of religion.

Both Feuerbach, in his Lectures on the Essence of Religion and Freud, in his The Future of an Illusion, give a grounding for theistic religion as a way for the “self” to deal with the “not-self” (others and the world) by creating “gods” or even “a God” who can deal with others and nature on our behalf.

Of course, the underlying assumption is that our “gods” are not only able but willing to act on our behalf to give us what we want or need.  When that doesn’t happen (as is so often the case), we develop manners and means to entice, please, or obligate “God” to do something for us either through ritual and sacrifice or, in more refined cases, through moral effort (however defined).

Because religion is, according to Freud, a social “illusion,” the motivation for moral effort becomes a central issue.  If religion is the ground for moral effort, but religion is an illusion, then why bother?

On the other hand, morality appears to be unavoidable.  Some form of morality is necessary but it has no basis for motivation in religion since (in this view) religion is an illusion.

What kind of morality can exist in that kind of vacuum?

Morality is more than practical self-interest.  It must go beyond the self to engage the intrinsic value of others.

*****

Click here to read more…….

Tears of the Desert Warrior by Bert A. Amsing
Copyright 2012 by vanKregten Publishers.  All rights reserved.
http://www.desertwarrior.net     info@desertwarrior.net

Footnotes and references included in the original manuscript.

Individual Defense Mechanisms

23 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by Bert Amsing in Desert Warrior Series, Tears of the Desert Warrior, The Essence of Religion

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It would appear that the “self” in that context needs to develop some self-protection from others, some self-justification for the pursuit of his or her own desires and needs or, at the very least, to develop a plausible self-understanding in order to deal with the dynamics and social norms necessary to accomplish the goals of his or her own self-interest.

This “self” will necessarily develop defense mechanisms for its own protection as it interacts with the world around it.  The final result, with all of the defense mechanisms, inferiority complexes, anxieties, beliefs and values in place, may be seen as a necessary evil.

What do we mean by a necessary “evil”?  That is a value judgment.  It is, paradoxically, both a necessity in a world which lacks proper protection as well as an impediment to necessary social integration.

In other words, this concern about our self-interest (and the need to protect our ego in a dangerous world) is often not in our own self (or best) interest – not just in terms of our relationship with others, but also in terms of our relationship with ourselves.

Much has been written about the effects of this “estrangement-dependency” on the development of the self, but it is good to keep in mind that the “egoism” which normally develops is the root of all kinds of problems.  

*****

Click here to read more……

Tears of the Desert Warrior by Bert A. Amsing
Copyright 2012 by vanKregten Publishers.  All rights reserved.
http://www.desertwarrior.net     https://desertwarriornet.wordpress.com/

Footnotes and references included in the original manuscript.

The Secular Worldview

22 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by Bert Amsing in Desert Warrior Series, Tears of the Desert Warrior, The Secular Problem of Evil

≈ 6 Comments

Today, the Secular Humanists (backed by their scientific metaphysics) would claim that “science fully reflects what is real”. 

The world can be understood in naturalistic terms and the supernatural is not necessary.  They would claim that “traditional religion” is no longer essential to the modern world.

Perhaps.  Perhaps not.

What is clear is that they also provide an interpretation of reality and, in that sense, their naturalistic explanations can, at the very least, be called a “worldview” if not a “religion.”

Fine.  What matters is truth, not religion (or even worldviews).

Truth is simply the way things are – the structures and content of reality.  An accurate understanding (or interpretation) of that reality will provide meaning, purpose and significance as well as the proper orientation and foundation for morality.

That is the end goal of the entire discussion.

Jesus might have been the one to say that the truth will set you free, but most people, in any religion or culture, would agree – at least in theory.

*****

Click here to read more…….

Tears of the Desert Warrior by Bert A. Amsing
Copyright 2012 by vanKregten Publishers.  All rights reserved.
http://www.desertwarrior.net      https://desertwarriornet.wordpress.com/

Footnotes and references included in the original manuscript.

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  • Seeking Jerusalem – Day 43 “Truth on Trial”
  • Seeking Jerusalem – Day 42 “The Divine Irony”
  • Seeking Jerusalem – Day 41 “The Dark Night of the Soul”
  • Seeking Jerusalem – Day 40 “The Gathering Darkness”
  • Seeking Jerusalem – Day 39 “Messianic Prophecy”
  • Seeking Jerusalem – Day 38 “The Secret”
  • Seeking Jerusalem – Day 37 “The Helper”
  • Seeking Jerusalem – Day 36 “The Struggle”
  • Seeking Jerusalem – Day 35 “The Delivery”
  • Seeking Jerusalem – Day 34 “The Wedding”
  • Seeking Jerusalem – Day 33 “Hosea and Gomer”
  • Seeking Jerusalem – Day 32 “The Sweet Spot”

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The Desert Warrior

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© 2012 vanKregten Publishers and Desert Warrior Ministries. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to vanKregten Publishers, Desert Warrior Ministries and/or Bert A. Amsing with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Specific reprint permission will be granted upon request via email for inclusion in digital and print media.

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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2012 by vanKregten Publishers. All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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