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No, I don't know anything about Dietrich's last sermon, but I am very excited and now I want to read it right away. All I read were his letters (or his journal?) and did so because I was under a lot of stress at the time and I needed to read something stirring by a person who REALLY endured...

You are undoubtedly correct. I made the mistake of thinking that because I know Bonhoeffer and never heard of von Stauffenberg, Bonhoeffer is more famous. I think there is a term in critical thinking that describes that error. You inspired me to Google Rommel and I was amazed at what I didn't...

No. He is the second most famous member of the resistance. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is more celebrated, I think. I read his prison diaries and they are inspirational, but grim. Things like " When Christ calls, his call leads to death" This may be the reason why it took me so long to become a...

I laughed when I read that I might fit into the "Seeker" category, although I suppose it is an apt description in some ways. I found it humorous because I have always been interested in comparative religion, especially mysticism, but whenever I visited various churches or temples or mosques...

Thanks. I guess I am not a Christian as defined in the faith category list, but I am not a non-Christian, either. They definitely need a category for "Good-willed Christian Wannabes Who Aren't Quite There Yet". I'll poke around some more.

Well, I have been wandering around in this Forum, walking into walls, which is not unusual for me. I think the problem is this....I registered several years ago and I can't recall anything I listed, but whatever I listed, I am fairly confident that my own self-description no longer applies to...

Thank you everyone. I shall have to investigate and find out how I identified myself when I joined. Is there a section for Buddhist Sufi Catholic Jewish Quakers with Rastafarian leanings? I am feeling very optimistic about this Forum. I have been praying a lot lately about finding...

Yes, I did join 6 years ago. I was having one of my cyclical religious crises, as I recall, but I don't remember anything particular about my experience here. I assume I whined a lot. As I mentioned before, soon after that, I ended up on an atheist forum which, oddly perhaps, helped resolve...

Yes, I was here about 6 years ago I was 31 and married about thirty-five years ago. I have reached the point in which I have been married longer than I have been unmarried. My mother said something REALLY cynical in her sixties, which was "Ya spent 25 years trying to find a husband, 25 years...

Poked around this forum, found a few interesting threads, but couldn't respond because I was informed that I have "insufficient privileges." What the heck does that mean? It sounds like the complaint I made to my parents in my childhood. I'm guessing that it's because I didn't pay to join...

I hadn't been notified for some reason that this thread is still going on. I think it may be because my computer has been malfunctioning. Lost Hope. I'm not sure if this question has been asked before and I am too lazy to look it up, but does ANYTHING produce emotion in you?

All we can offer each other is the gift of ourselves. I can't speak in regard to your personal quest, only the history of my own, and I simply have to trust that whatever is important or valuable to you will resonate and the rest will be discarded. If my own faith consists in anything, it is...

This would be a problem if there were only two groups. There are dozens of groups. If I were a Christian, which I am not, I suspect I might be among those who call themselves “Evolutionary Christians” or maybe “Progressive Christians”. Actually, when I do attend services of any kind, it is...

I finished Surprised by Joy and Lewis said one thing that I thought was quite profound and perhaps applicable to you. He said that we can't feel hope and think about hope at the same time. When you hope that God exists, the direction of your gaze is outward toward God. When you think about your...

Well, LH, maybe you should just make a leap of faith to believe and leave it at that. Lewis said something that I thought profound in Surprised by Joy. He said that we can't examine a hope and feel hope at the same time. Hope for God puts the focus on God. Thinking about your hope for God...

Not to speak for LH, but he doesn't strike me as a pietist. He's not looking for any extraordinary experience of God or interpretation of God, just some kind of...if necessary...minimal response. He would be quite pleased if, like you, he tried to be good, failed miserably, and then fell into...

Lewis claims that the longing is universal, but that people may not even be aware that they are searching for God, but focus on "substitutions" instead or, in Christian terms, "false idols." Sometimes it can be a reflection of noble aspirations as expressed in knowledge, art, and literature; at...

What's interesting is that Lewis has an unconventional understanding of the word "joy". It's not happiness, it's more of a longing. He claims that throughout time, people have experienced an unexplainable exigency from within themselves that initiates a persistent search through life. This...

Our friend Losthope didn’t say that he didn’t believe in Heaven. He said that it didn’t interest him. His focus apparently has always been on the here-and-now. I understand that because I feel the same way. I know you were joking, but LH seems very informed in regard to the Bible. Besides, if...

Hey, Lost Hope, chatting with you has inspired me to read "Surprised by Joy" again. The last time I read it was when I was in my early thirties, so it feels like I've never read it before. I've only started it, but am finding it quite interesting. I'll let you know how it goes and if I think...