And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
I like the Desiderata a lot. But I totally disagree with this. Totally totally. When you don't believe God is in control, you have to be discontent. I don't know what the difference is between being at peace with your soul and being at peace with the world. I love the world heaps, but I'm certainly not at peace with it. The world sucks arse a lot of the time. I don't understand how people believe that someone who loves them wants the world to be this way. If Satan took control from God, would anybody notice?
“I don’t understand how people believe that someone who loves them wants the world to be this way.”
I don’t think God does want the world to be this way. But, (a question, not a challenge) if you were God, what would you do?
matt / 3:14pm / 11 February 2004
But isn’t it part of God’s plan. What is a plan except the way you want things to be?
I don’t think there is anything God can do. Not if he’s going to maintain his promise to us of having free will. What makes free will significant is that it means that often things won’t go to plan. There are many situations that I think can’t end well without coercing people. If two people want to kill each other, and God has given them the ability and right to stick to that decision no matter what, then there is nothing God can do. He can try and persuade them perhaps. But he can’t control it.
Making peace with the world is only possible if you don’t care, or you assume that God is controlling things. If he knows that everything is going to be OK, then there must be some people that he is bending to his will.
And if God is able and willing to coerce people, then why is the world so crap? He’s either incompetent, or unwilling or unable to control the world. I think I believe that he’s just unwilling.
Ryan / 3:41pm / 11 February 2004
Well, I don’t think it’s asking you to be at peace with the world. It’s just asking that you find a stillness within yourself that you can go to, particularly when you /can’t/ find peace in the outside world.
Haley / 7:10pm / 11 February 2004
Incorrect, sir. Simple as that.
‘Unfolding as it should’ does not necessarily mean ‘better and happier’ — not always, in any case.
Wil / 8:29pm / 11 February 2004
I’m assuming that you believe there are problems with the world. If you don’t think there are problems, then it doesn’t really matter that much if God’s in control or not.
I don’t really believe in the concept of “unfolding as it should”. I believe in better and happier and kinder. And in giving more potato mash to anyone who wants it.
Ryan / 9:18pm / 11 February 2004
Yes please!
Potatoe mash with a side order of free will. Yum.
Willem / 1:21am / 13 February 2004