"its the sticks and stones that wear us down, that often save our lives"

[mpatt]

tonight i was helping with my second to last element this semester and we had a speaker with an incredible story.

Comments

[roselyn]

Michael, it sounds like that guy told a really inspiring story. I'm glad that it got you thinking. It got me thinking too. I would never want to attack you for your faith or beliefs but I have my own questions and thoughts stemming from this discussion

[mpatt]

notice how i say "a part of the answer" (emphasis added)--not the whole answer, but just a thought that sheds some light on why some (not all) crap may happen, especially to those of us in america who have more than we could ever need and all too rarely see ourselves as needing help. i was not intending to assert that this is the sole reason why bad things happen everywhere in the world, but rather that it could be one reason why stuff is allowed to happen especially to those, like us, who live in comfort. i should've been more clear on that.

obviously, the people you speak of are not dying because they're not learning to 'give up' control of their lives so to speak. i don't claim to know precisely why all of that is allowed to happen (i can give only a very basic and totally unsatisfactory 'answer' which is basically my take on a few of c.s. lewis' writings). but if i ever have a grand revelation about why all the junk in the world exists, be sure that i will make a post about it

[roselyn]

Ah, OK, that clarification helps a lot. I would definitely agree with you that affluence makes a huge difference. As for people in developing countries though... man, it stinks to be them (to say the least). If you have a perspective on that, I'd like to hear it too sometime.