Haven't read the book, so can't comment on its other layers.
I was simply responding to the question of whether and how seeing ourselves as "not alone" shapes our behavior.
To me the idea that we belong fully to Jesus now, not just that he'll pick up the option on us in the end, makes a difference in how we live. The present presence of God changes things, even when it is not fully grasped.
Many, many moons ago, I was dangling over the pit - feeling totally alone. In the end, I came to understand that the reason I was dangling over (not falling into) the pit was that I was not alone. I was being upheld by the one who owns me. Doesn't remove the pain, or even the loneliness, but knowing that in your bones does change how you walk through it.
God made pretty clear, in the beginning, that aloneness is "not good." Ever since we've been doing a lot of things to avoid being alone. Casual sex, racism, nationalism and gangs come immediately to mind as unhealthy ways that are tried and true.
Perhaps Enders concern for the alien shows that one road to not aloneness comes when we embrace the "them" that is the inevitable biproduct of the fraudulent "us" that we manufacture to fill our emptiness.
Posted in: Ender's Theology
Isn't this exactly the point of Q&A1?
My comfort (and strength) lies in the fact that I am not my own (alone), but that I belong (not-alone) to Jesus.
450 year old words from a 20-something whippersnapper, siill go a long way.
Posted in: Ender's Theology
Haven't read the book, so can't comment on its other layers.
I was simply responding to the question of whether and how seeing ourselves as "not alone" shapes our behavior.
To me the idea that we belong fully to Jesus now, not just that he'll pick up the option on us in the end, makes a difference in how we live. The present presence of God changes things, even when it is not fully grasped.
Many, many moons ago, I was dangling over the pit - feeling totally alone. In the end, I came to understand that the reason I was dangling over (not falling into) the pit was that I was not alone. I was being upheld by the one who owns me. Doesn't remove the pain, or even the loneliness, but knowing that in your bones does change how you walk through it.
God made pretty clear, in the beginning, that aloneness is "not good." Ever since we've been doing a lot of things to avoid being alone. Casual sex, racism, nationalism and gangs come immediately to mind as unhealthy ways that are tried and true.
Perhaps Enders concern for the alien shows that one road to not aloneness comes when we embrace the "them" that is the inevitable biproduct of the fraudulent "us" that we manufacture to fill our emptiness.
Random thoughts as I sit home alone.