One of my very early mistakes as a young man was to deny the calling of God on my life to be a minister. In my defense I did not completely deny Him but I wasn’t willing to fully rely on Him to provide for me. I wanted a contingency plan.
I knew full well that generally speaking that ministers were not financially well off and I wanted to be able to provide for my family. I wanted to be able to buy things I had always wanted and give my children things that I could never have. I knew that more than likely that would not be possible in the ministry.
Then what if I lost my job what would I do? I would have nothing to fall back on. I would be forced to work some menial job that was under paid and over worked. I had to have something to fall back on. I was living the Life of a “what if” Christian.
It is all a matter of faith, really. If we profess to trust God we must trust in Him fully. Back up plans limit us and prove just how little control we are willing to allow God to have in our lives. We live in the fear of what if I get hurt, what if I stumble, what if I mess up, what if I don’t make it or what if it doesn’t pan out. These doubts, while natural are hurdles we must overcome as believers. We must use our faith to grow and find satisfaction and fulfillment in our Christian life. The Plan B’s and C’s have to be excluded. We should find ourself in a Plan A life. No fall back plan because truthfully we don’t need it our Plan A is God and that is pretty sure fire if you ask me.
passionburnswithin.com 
It would mean the world to me if you were to read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.
I know we haven’t talked in years but you were there for me in many a time of need and I’ll always think of you as a brother.
Anything new with your music?
I actually have that on my “to read list”. I think and speak of you often. You were the one person in my life that challenged me to think beyond what I knew and what I accepted. It changed my life.
Music and I drifted apart like lovers too occupied with frivolous things to notice what they were missing out on….and when they awaken their relationship is all but salvageable….I will always play but I have no desire like I once had
Great book –
ck out the Apologetic Resource Center in Alabama. My nephew works for them. Reviewed Dawkins Del.
You might also ck out the site he and his associates have. They are working on site.
summa philosophiae
I never get it when someone says that something is “great” when at the same time they’re out to discredit it. That seems like double talk and deception to me.
I recommended that book to you for the same reasons you’d recommend The Bible, but we’re never going to convince one another to join the other’s side so I was probably wasting my time.
Science clearly defines the reality we live in, Jason. In doing so it also reveals religion to be nothing more than a human social construct developed by men to control and govern other men. I’m not saying that science explaine EVERYTHING but it does offer a system and method by which we can observe and learn more about the world around us with.
The concept of a Deity/creator is not only unscientific but blatantly anti-scientific and immature. We as humans need to stop asking for someone to save us and start saving ourselves.
As much as I love you, man, I hope one day you’ll find peace within yourself beyond any learned foundation of metaphysical mythology.
Actually Jeff there are many “great” things I do not agree with. I think what makes something “great” is not that it affirms your position but rather challenges you to examine your position. I read many many books nowadays not to make me feel great about myself but rather to expand myself. The apostle Paul says in the book of Philippians that he never views himself as having arrived. I am in a continual process of growth.
You are a smart guy and we have had some great discussions but the facts is that if I operate under the paradigm of a debate and try to convince you to join my side then i will only succeed in failing. The fact of the matter is I have to convince you of nothing. You have heard the words you have heard the reasoning and you have rejected it. That is your choice. I don’t have to like it but I respect it even though it saddens me.
As for peace I have lived on both sides of the coin. Never as an atheist but I have lived apart from God. It was when I sought to put my life into sync with what God had to offer that I found real peace. It has allowed me to overcome many many challenges. I am at peace. So why, oh why would I ever abandon what has brought me peace in search of something else that may or may not bring me peace again. That seems paradoxical to me. My way works for me. I hope you way works for you. You were quite the tortured soul way back when, looking for something you never could find looking in so many places. Many times you were full of anger rage and at the root of it all, pain. I hope you found peace. It would suck going through like shaking a fist at the world and only finding comfort in artificial means.