Loss of a great man

I heard where William Sloane Coffin, Jr. died the other day. He was the pastor of Riverside church in NYC and was an anti-war activist and on the cutting edge of the social gospel movement. Many of you on the site who are somewhat skeptical of religion, church, and even what you read here in the forums related to religion should give him a try. I consider him to be a voice that needs to be heard.

Here is an exerpt from his eulogy for his son who died in a car accident: "For some reason, nothing so infuriates me as the incapacity of seemingly intelligent people to get it through there heads that God doesn't go around this world with his fingers on the triggers, his fists around knives, his hands on the steering wheels. God is dead set against all unnatural deaths. And Christ spent an inordinate amount of time delivering people from paralysis, insanity, leprosy, and muteness.........The one thing that should never be said when someone dies is "It is the will of God." Never do we know enough to say that. My consolation lies in knowing that it was not the will of God that Alex die; that when the waves closed over the sinking car, God's heart was the first of all our hearts to break.

www.pbs.org/now/society/eulogy.html

Originally posted by kirksey957
I heard where William Sloane Coffin, Jr. died the other day. He was the pastor of Riverside church in NYC and was an anti-war activist and on the cutting edge of the social gospel movement. Many of you on the site who are somewhat skeptical of religion, church, and even what you read here in the forums related to religion should give him a try. I cons ...[text shortened]... od's heart was the first of all our hearts to break.

www.pbs.org/now/society/eulogy.html

Wow, that was powerfull. Sorry to hear he passed. Thaks for sharing and may he rest in peace.

Originally posted by kirksey957
I heard where William Sloane Coffin, Jr. died the other day. He was the pastor of Riverside church in NYC and was an anti-war activist and on the cutting edge of the social gospel movement. Many of you on the site who are somewhat skeptical of religion, church, and even what you read here in the forums related to religion should give him a try. I cons ...[text shortened]... od's heart was the first of all our hearts to break.

www.pbs.org/now/society/eulogy.html

I must admit I'd never heard of him before today. But, reading up on him, he certainly seems to be someone the world is poorer without.

Originally posted by kirksey957
I heard where William Sloane Coffin, Jr. died the other day. He was the pastor of Riverside church in NYC and was an anti-war activist and on the cutting edge of the social gospel movement. Many of you on the site who are somewhat skeptical of religion, church, and even what you read here in the forums related to religion should give him a try. I cons ...[text shortened]... od's heart was the first of all our hearts to break.

www.pbs.org/now/society/eulogy.html

God cares enough about the man's demise to have a broken heart, but not enough to intervene and prevent the car accident.

Sorry, Kirk, but these are the type of problems that contribute to our skepticism.

Originally posted by rwingett
God cares enough about the man's demise to have a broken heart, but not enough to intervene and prevent the car accident.

Sorry, Kirk, but these are the type of problems that contribute to our skepticism.

I think he would have welcomed your skepticism. Keep reading.....if you like. Rob, I hope we keep people with skepticism like yourself. It is profoundly more spiritual than the trite expressions of faith we hear so often that lack the willingness to struggle with the unknown.

Originally posted by kirksey957
I think he would have welcomed your skepticism. Keep reading.....if you like. Rob, I hope we keep people with skepticism like yourself. It is profoundly more spiritual than the trite expressions of faith we hear so often that lack the willingness to struggle with the unknown.

Do skeptics struggle with the unknown any more than those with "blind faith" do? Does a harsh Inquisitor* learn any more truth than a trusting inquirer?

Originally posted by lucifershammer
Do skeptics struggle with the unknown any more than those with "blind faith" do? Does a harsh Inquisitor* learn any more truth than a trusting inquirer?

I can only answer your first question by saying it depends on the individual. You put an asterick ofter "inquisitor". Did you have an example of this kind of person?

Originally posted by kirksey957
I can only answer your first question by saying it depends on the individual. You put an asterick ofter "inquisitor". Did you have an example of this kind of person?

The asterisk was simply because I was referring to the popular image of the Inquisitor, rather than a historical one.

I didn't have a specific person in mind (though quite a few seem to fit the bill) - but I'm sure you've met people whose skepticism is more about rejecting certain lines of thought than it is about critiquing them.