When does your summer start? I hope you're able to relax at home and have a good time; the permanent existential angst sounds more exhausting than the exams. Your problem is why I won't drink coffee. I do agree that freedom of will is an achievement. But for the sake of argument, suppose that the Creator made the created with his own strengths and weaknesses, his own preferences, his own beauty. The Creator knows the created better than he could know himself, because He made him. The Created made him with a free will, so he can choose to do what he likes, but he can only be MORE himself and really know himself if he allows the Creator to direct him to find it, if that makes any sense. Your "freedom of will" is ability to choose preferences (music, clothes, style, attitude, beliefs, etc.) and not to give them up because that's what you want. Am I right? I think a well-balanced person can have both your freedom of will and my surrender of lordship.
I've never heard that about the "kingdom of God" and "kingdom of heaven." Though I would say that since Jesus was God's Son, He used God's name often, and the gospel writers transcribed His words. Obviously I don't agree about the date the gospels were written, but we don't need to go into that. It seemed like Ivan was using his argument to prove the existence of Christ, not to ignore and obliterate the evidence as the grand inquisitor was. Could you explain what you mean?
The exams are going well, but I could do more. I understand your enthusiasm for moving away, but right now what I want is to visit my home for summer and find peace - the last month I had some anxiety problems and a difficulty to sleep whose cause may lie ont the fact of my drinking a lot of coffees (except ofcourse for the permanent existential angst that tortures me). I think I' m familiar with the bible but we must remember that it was written (I' m talking about the 4 gospels) between 60 and 100 a.d., which means that it is possibly based on second hand stories: in other words the perspective of the writer could affect its content. For example, one of the synoptic gospels uses the phrase "kingdom of heaven" instead of "kingdom of god" because it was directed to a christian community with a past in judaism where god's name isn' t mentioned; also in the last gospel, that of John, take place many miracles which are completely new etc. I don' t agree that a christian should give the right to be his own master - and I dont' agree on your evaluation of its difficulty: I see all the time people obbeying sth else except theirselves (even if they fail to understand it). I think the difficult task is to be your own master, because only then your moral substance is meaningfull. Most religious people have not sucrificied their free will, because they never had it. (Jacques Lacan, a famous french psycoanalyst of the 60's used to say that it' s the Other that desires through our desires - if you have in mind that the majority of people have similar tastes in music, clothes, style, attitude, beliefs etc. you will probably agree that the freedom of will is an achievement -which needs to be guarded all the time- that follows severe attempts of thinking and understanding the structures of society and even the concepts of "freedom" and "self"). p.s. my view on the Nazarene is similar to Dostoyevski's in his story about the grand inquisitor which is included in Karamazof brothers.
I'm glad to hear things have improved. I guess you're having exams now; how are they going? I am moving away to college in August. I've never lived away from home before, so I am excited. Also I love school. I'll try. I don't belong to a particular denomination. My church takes the Word of God as its only authority, unlike a denomination which has an organization in charge and requires its pastors to attend seminary. We believe that Jesus was God's Son, was born of a virgin, grew up like any other human boy, except that He was sinless. Because He was perfect, He didn't have to be punished for His own sins, so He was able to bear the punishment for mankind's sins. He died on Calvary, was buried, and rose from the dead three days later. Because of that, anyone, no matter what their sin or how long they have avoided confessing it, can confess their sin to God and forsake it, and ask Him to be their Lord. So they will no longer be sent to hell as punishment for their sin, but to be with God in heaven forever. Some people say that the Christian's salvation is too easy, that we should have to give something up for it. It seems to me that giving up the right to be your own master is difficult enough. That is basically what we believe, and it's all in the Bible. We're certainly not perfect people. The point is, we don't have to be. I hope this answers your question? There is a lot more the Bible says, but that is just the basics of our faith, and you can read the Bible yourself. It will make much more sense than I do.
Right now it's going quite well. Difficult times shall come in June when exams take place! I am going to need one more year (total: 5, now I'm at 3rd) to finish university but my grades are high and life seems to me more pleasant than ever. What about you? Also, would it be easy for you to tell me in which church you belong and explain the doctrines? Differences within christianity interest me as much as differences between communists.
Ah, yes! We say that here, too: "He is risen, indeed!" though we are not Eastern Orthodox. How is school for you?
It is what eastern-orthodox christians say to each other for 40 days after the easter. It means "Christ is risen" and the answer to this greeding is sth like "Indeed"! Although not exactly a man of the church I always find (for one week every year) myself deeply influenced from the religious atmosphere which followes the Passion...
Thanks for the note! Translation, please?
Χριστός ανέστη, Lady M.!...
Thanks, Josef!
