I attended the funeral of a friend's father last week. I had my doubts about going. Surely, it would have been easier to not go. But I went, and I was glad that I did. It was good to hear of the life of a man I barely knew. A man who impacted a great many lives in a positive way. A man who kept a positive outlook and a spirit of service to others right up until the last. I marveled at his daughter's ability to eulogize him at length, and to stay remarkably composed right up until her last few words. An emotional farewell. Beautiful was her rendition of Amazing Grace, sung in duet with her daughter and accompanied on guitar by her daughter's husband.
The Pastor's eulogy included a passage from Ecclesiastes Chapter 7:
A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
This morning I get a phone call letting me know that my Uncle John has passed, suddenly in his sleep, at 75. I remember taking runs with him when I was a teenager. He was still remarkably fit, many years after his service for this country in Vietnam. He continued to serve his community, working most of his life as a firefighter. He never really retired, continuing to serve as an inspector for the Fire Marshall.
This funeral will require me to make a larger sacrifice of time, given that it is a day's drive away. But I'm pretty sure I'll be going.
tuna55
MegaDork
3/15/22 10:49 a.m.
This could be a good thread. For those who haven't figured it out yet, I am a Christian as well and am happy to discuss anything on or offline. Death is sad. Sorry about your Uncle and the friend.
He sounds a lot like my Uncle Charles who died last year. Charles was a rancher who spent his entire life on the ranch in Oklahoma except for the time he was in the army and stationed in Germany. He ran the ranch and taught math at the local high school. The entire town came out for his funeral. He meant that much to the entire community. We drove all the way up from Dallas. I thought guys like him lived forever.
The older I get and the more I see, the more I believe there is some kind of higher power up there.
Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:
The older I get and the more I see, the more I believe there is some kind of higher power up there.
The more I develop my math / technical skills the more I agree with that statement...at this point, I'm basically certain.
"Random unguided mutations that give the appearance of design"...clinging to established scientific dogma despite considerable contradicting observation and experimentation renders it nothing more than a new religion.
BTW, In his 1859 publication of On the Origin of Species, Darwin himself said that he had no idea how life got started, only how it has evolved over time.
He also noted that the Cambrian Explosion was in conspicuous violation of what his theory would predict and hoped that future researchers would fill in the holes in the fossil record to create far better continuity.
What has turned out is the complete opposite with much better preserved fossil records being discovered in Canada and China that further indicate an inexplainable "Explosion" of advanced life.
Anyway, life is short, live every day being ready to meet your maker.
RX Reven' said:
Anyway, life is short, live every day being ready to meet your maker.
This is what I strive for. I frequently feel that I fall short of the mark but I'll keep plugging along as best I can.
In reply to RX Reven' :
I've always seen it that way; faith or not, the probability of the approved scientific reasoning seems ridiculous when leaned against intelligent design.
Unless my maker wants to inherit a project car, they're not ready to meet me.
Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:
The older I get and the more I see, the more I believe there is some kind of higher power up there.
There are times I wish I could feel that way, but the older I get the less I believe in any higher powers. Unfortunately, I made mistakes many years ago that make that path one I can never deviate from. Be careful what you wish for.
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
All of us have made mistakes. In the end, they don't really matter. All you have to do is ask.
In reply to Toyman! :
Some mistakes cannot be undone, no matter how much you wish them so. Asking for the world to be flat does not make it any less round.
mapper
HalfDork
3/15/22 3:18 p.m.
I normally don't talk about my faith on the internet but just remember the two thieves crucified with Jesus.
From Luke 23:40-43
But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
John 3:17
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Romans 10:13
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
If you are an atheist, agnostic, Muslim, Buddhist, etc., more power to you. What I posted was for Ian F.
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
Undone, no. Mistakes can never be undone and we will have to live with the knowledge of them until the end of our days.
But they can be forgiven. Just ask.
Yea, me and my mom are fine.
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to Toyman! :
Some mistakes cannot be undone
Actually, the prevailing thinking in quantum mechanics circles is that they can.
Super abstract, complicated stuff that's wildly beyond what I could possibly do justice to in an internet post but...
It looks like the future affects the past just as much as the past affects the future...what you do ten years from now, really can change what you did ten years ago...you'll just never notice the change as it becomes part of your experience.
There's a nice 30 minute video on YouTube titled "What is Reality" that does an excellent job of explaining the concept.
BTW, the narrator, Marion Kerr, is very easy on the eyes so there is that.
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to Toyman! :
Some mistakes cannot be undone, no matter how much you wish them so. Asking for the world to be flat does not make it any less round.
But some magical person in the sky can say "it's ok" and apparenly it is.
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
No one is perfect, we all make mistakes. It's not as difficult as some make it. Childlike faith. Here is a book my daughter gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago. Makes a lot of sense. Explains alot. Nothing heavy, just the Truth.
In reply to Steve_Jones :
Yea pretty much. Just have to ask.
SV reX
MegaDork
3/15/22 3:59 p.m.
In reply to Steve_Jones :
That's the beauty of it. He never has done that.
Every mistake ever made was paid for fully. No magic. No fairy dust. No cheap grace.
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
The concept I subscribe to is progression. It doesn't matter where you are, or even where you've been, just the direction you're headed.
Steve_Jones said:
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to Toyman! :
Some mistakes cannot be undone, no matter how much you wish them so. Asking for the world to be flat does not make it any less round.
But some magical person in the sky can say "it's ok" and apparenly it is.
I find it very crass to mock other people's religion.
mapper said:
If you are an atheist, agnostic, Muslim, Buddhist, etc., more power to you. What I posted was for Ian F.
Buddha wasn't a Christian, but Jesus would have made a good Buddhist.
In reply to Toyman! :
That's the thing. There is nothing to forgive. Again, wanting the world to be flat does not make it so.
Religion is simply something I can no longer participate in.
YouTube videos about quantum mechanics and other ideas about the universe are the same way.
I play with my toys... and I live my quiet little life.
tuna55
MegaDork
3/15/22 4:54 p.m.
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to Toyman! :
That's the thing. There is nothing to forgive. Again, wanting the world to be flat does not make it so.
Religion is simply something I can no longer participate in.
YouTube videos about quantum mechanics and other ideas about the universe are amusing to me in the same way.
I play with my toys... and I live my quiet little life.
If any part of you wants to talk about this even the slightest bit, please send me a message.
In reply to tuna55 :
Thank you, but I came to terms with what I am a long time ago.
I have read the Bible. I have read the Koran. I have read a lot of Eastern Philosophy and Stoic Philosophy.
I don't really see a lot in any of those texts about whether or not the world is round or flat or about magicians in airplanes throwing fairy dust around. I focus more on the content about how to treat your fellow man, how to stay out of trouble and how to get by in a world gone mad.
