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Comments by Maynard S. Clark - 13 Jul 2008

In Reference to: 14 July 1991 - ACKNOWLEDGING THE BLESSINGS OF GOD

In terms of blessings, I think foundationally of some very arcological issues:

Why is there anything at all?

Why does anything at all work (and things do) - all the many things that don't are, compared with what does work, "exceptions"?

Each of us can find reasons to be individually thankful, but in the face of the broader picture, our individual wants and whims are RELATIVELY moot, insignificant IF the broader picture is indeed tragic.

But lots of things DO go very well most or all of the time.

If most people died at 15 years before reproduction is possible, there might be a few humans on the planet, and nothing would be accomplished.

Oddly, because reproduction is so successful, we can focus on other things, like accomplishing something in our lives.

There WILL be more human beings, even if we don't make such contributions, and we don't need to focus energies in youth or elsewhere on making that happen early.

And if our companion animals die, there will be more where they came from.

Oh, but there's suffering...

That's been a problem for a very long time.

Are theologies about God's goodness based on our presumption that things most often DO go relatively well and that life is, overall, kinda worth living?

Hmmmm,, maybe it's not as good as we think it is, but still, overall, it's pretty good.

Well, by the time we get older and things start going wrong (read about this in Ecclesiastes or watch network TV discuss this), we'll have lived enough where our memories can keep us going and thinking that, overall, life really is pretty good. Unless, of course, our memories get really short...

Maynard S. Clark

Go on to:  Comments by Suzanne Marienau - 14 Jul 2008

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