A funny thing happened to me a while back in that I thought a co-worker had a symbolic message artfully welded onto the backside of his company vehicle. The first thing I was drawn to at the very center (significant) of the sign was a “T” which to me looked more like a cross based on where the lines intersected and then on both sides were the symbols “X” and “O” (Hugs and Kisses) which I immediately thought he was trying to creatively communicate His love for Jesus. Looking his way, I proudly gave him a thumbs up as pointing to the back of his truck and then when I questioned Him about the church he attended he gave me a puzzled response towards the relevance of making such a statement as quickly telling me that it was only the company logo, something I should have known or recognized considering I’ve been employed there for nine years. Needless to say, I was embarrassed over my misconception but not ashamed of what I thought it represented. Come to find out he did go to church even though his purpose was not to share the gospel with his tailgaters.
Anyway, this example could lead to various applications as to lessons learned, such as, immediately jumping to conclusions before having all the facts, inattentive as overlooking the obvious, that postmodernism is erroneous as these letters were intended to have an objective meaning, instead of a relative significance, according to the designer’s (welder’s), not the observer’s, intent. That such faulty occurrences, like pareidolia, are often misread into explaining certain phenomena as a mystical sign in wrongly deciphering the facts. So what some may regard as a valid interpretation to a modern art abstraction (former e.g.) or a symbolic apparition of a cryptic text (later e.g.), proved itself to be neither.
Also it goes to show that sometimes we can be biased in our views or hold certain presuppositions in only seeing what we want to see while refusing (key) to see what is really there or maybe it’s due to having a limited framework of knowledge, as within culturalism, in being sincere about one’s belief but sincerely wrong.
Nonetheless, there are all sorts of epistemic problems we could imagine to this scenario as leading to a poor hermeneutic but one important matter I wanted to bring out in this blog is that even though my perspective was entirely off and wrong my heart was not, given that the case for Christian theism is a warranted position.
In respect to such a consideration, what is your primary focus or aim in life? What quickly captures your imagination or attention? Could God be the furthest thought from your mind, as blinding, unable to catch your eye or deadening in failing to get your auditory attention? Ironically, if God made such functions even possible to begin with then it is reasonable that He wants us to take notice. Yet, why is mankind so dysfunctional towards sensing their Creator? If there are sufficient signs as to the created order, then why should others, such as naturalists, expect even more signs from God as proof when they are not really listening or looking for Him anyway? Some would rather offer excuses that it’s not enough and when is it ever? Jesus said, you can easily discern the earthly signs as to the weather and for today new-agers may know their zodiac sign so that a scientific and religious community has connections to both the heavens and the earth; yet, to only be preoccupied with such forms is to miss or miss out on the One who is transcendentally formless and who cannot be conformed, conned to be formed, to our will, but rather we have a need, because of a sinful rebellious nature, indicated by a negative response to the above questions, to be transformed to do His will on earth as it is in heaven so that the very essence of our person is a love for God in which our heart’s deepest desires and mindful thoughts become foremost rather than hindmost in what we see(k).
Mark 12:30
30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
How to know God
Atheist and Agnostic Resources
English Articles on Atheism and Agnosticism
Seekers