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    Comment moderation has been discontinued in hopes that this will better promote a freer flowing converstion. It would be appreciated if we could work together to ensure that spam or disrespectful comments do not have part on these pages. Comments or posts will not be excluded for differences of beliefs or opinions. This should be a place where people can feel free to share and converse.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

"Is there a God?" A Piece of Conversation God. Submitted by Mike.

Is there a God?
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This video was submitted by Mike of "Color of My Mind". Mike suggests that maybe a more important question for us to ask here is "Is there a God?"
The following is the text from his original post over on his site:
"This is my very first vlog where I am talking into the camera, and let me tell you it was quite an experience. I must have attempted my speech 10 times before I could actually get rolling on it. Hopefully it will get easier with time. This vlog is in response to Anthony's project, ConversationGod.com. The postings on the site thus far ask several questions about the big "why(s)" of life. Why is there suffering? Why are specific actions considered sin? Why do bad things happen to good people? In my own way, I attempt to address those issues - or at least direct them in certain directions. It's a little long, but it was difficult to condense 20+ years of thoughts, feelings, and experiences into a short monologue. Running time 12:57."

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Tuesday, August 15, 2006

A Video Response to " There Are So Many Of Us"

This video was made mainly in response to the video by Dave of 90 Seconds of Dave entitled: "There Are So Many of Us".

I was a bit discouraged to see that Dave made a reference to God as being female. I left a short comment on his vlog. Later Andrew Huth also left a comment and directed some questions in my direction.

I decided to just talk about my thoughts. This is unscripted me chatting with you, as I drive, about what I think regarding God, how He describes Himself and also why how we use our language is import.

I would have liked my speaking in this to include less uh's and to flow a bit better but then I would have had to have read you points that I had listed on a page. I choose to share with you in this form instead. It is much more natural though may not always be as concise as I'd like.

With that said please feel free to ask for any clarification on any of the points I make.

Ps. Just so you know this is not a personal attack on anyone. I have enjoyed getting to know Dave in my contact with him and also the friendship I have been able to begin building with him. This is why in part I feel at liberty to challenge Dave regarding this area. I look forward to any conversation this may develop into. And I thank Andrew also for his kindness in the way he presented his thought provoking questions.


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"There Are So Many Of Us" A Piece of Conversation God. Submitted by Dave.

 There Are So Many Of Us
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This video was originally posted on Dave's sight 90 Seconds of Dave. As are most of Dave's videos this one is beautifully created and received many encouraging comments and praises. The first time I watched it I noticed not just the beauty of the work but also the statements made and questions posed. Some of these questions made reference to God using the female pronoun she. The following is the comment I left Dave on his blogger regarding this video and another comment made in response to my comment left for Dave which was written by Andrew.
Dave gave permission to post this video here we both thought this might be a better forum for discussing this topic than in the comment section of his vlog.

Anthony said:
"As usual, Dave, your creativity and use of this medium is awe inspiring. And contained within this 320x240 box is message and meaning. These are more than just visual candies, it seems. Here there are also questions posed, and also statements made. Yes, we are many. Yes, we are so close. Yes, you matter. Yes we all matter. And we matter because we matter to God. I was reminded of this recently when reading this quote "Our greatness rests solely on the fact that God in His incomprehensible goodness has bestowed His love upon us. God does not love us because we are so valuable; we are valuable because God loves us." Yes God loves us and whether He laughs with or for us I believe it matters how we represent God. I must say that I am disappointed with the way God was represented in this video. I don't see it as keeping with the way He has made Himself known to us through the Bible. Using the word she to refer to God is simply not an accurate biblical representation.

Again thank you Dave for sharing with us your creativity and art, your thoughts and your questions. I think we have gotten to know each other enough for me to post this here and for you to know that I do so with love, care, and respect for you. Thank you for sharing this."


Andrew said:
"Dave, I agree with Anthony that this video is amazing. As always I love being amazed by your work. In keeping with the theme of this video in asking questions I would like to ask some as well. This post is a response to Anthony's post above.

First of all Anthony, I can see that you have posted your comment in the vein of love, sensitivity and honesty. I greatly respect that and for your relationship with Dave. I hope I can come across to you the same way. I do not want to come across as trying to call someone out, because my questions truly stems from a genuine curiosity to your question of how God was represented in this video. I am a laymen when it comes to theology and other deep things. I'm just a person trying to live my life with the examples set by Jesus the best I can----fumbling along the way.

I am interested with your uncomfortableness with God being called "she" and represented here as a woman. The question I wonder is why that is? Would the Bible be all that different if the language of the Bible was written as such to imply that God was a woman? Would the core messages of the gospel be all that different? What about Jesus? If Jesus happened to be a woman, would that change the meaning of his teachings and love? I understand that if Jesus were actually a woman rather than a man it would change some aspects of the story and how she would have been treated and related differently in line with the cultural norms and political situation of that time frame. This is not what I mean. I'm talking about the core messages (the ones that are truly important). Would that change if God was a woman? Perhaps it would. Would it make it worse? better? just different? In all sincerity, I am curious as to why it bothers some people.

Again I hope have I come across in this post with the same honesty and sensitivity as you have."


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"Out Beyond Right And Wrong" A Piece of Conversation God. Submitted by Rox.


This is the second piece of conversation submitted by Rox to ConversationGod.com. In this video Rox makes some points about going beyond right and wrong that I think are definitely worth considering and maybe even making some life changes about.
Regarding the love that goes "beyond" right and wrong Rox writes: "Start anywhere. It might be someone in your own family. Or a co-worker. Or a sales clerk. Look past the surface and seek something you share in common. Allow the heart to soften, the mind to open, and things will change." You can see the rest of the text that Rox wrote associated with this post here. You can find Rox on the web at beachwalks.tv.

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"Trees" A Piece of Conversation God. Submitted by Tim.

Trees
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After finding and viewing some of the videos on ConversationGod.com Tim of Reality Sandwich

Here is some of the text, he sent to me in the email, regarding this post:
"A while ago I read a theory that stated that our life is a learning process that we create for ourselves on "the other side" (whatever that may be). I thought it would be interesting to reflect on this, and think on the idea that everything we experience in life is created as a lesson, both good and bad. I hope it stimulates some good back and forth."

went through his archive files and found this post he wanted to share with us.

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