mentalgymnast wrote:Themis wrote:The trouble is your middle ground/outside the box thinking is not distinguishable from no inspiration or priesthood power to heal.
From the outside looking in I realize this. But for me, it works. So when I see others seemingly pushing against the "middle way" as having little or no basis in rational thinking it kind of ticks me off. But that's my problem. I may have been a bit harsh in my comments made on this thread last evening. For that I apologize.
Even as a believing member I was able to make this observation that the priesthood doesn't appear to be doing any real healing that I could verify. Benny Hinn creates a better appearance then we did in the LDS church. That's not bad since I am fairly certain he was being dishonest.
For what it's worth, again, I would expect and am not surprised that I live in a world in which it appears that everything observable with the five senses is just as it is...natural. As in, nature operating on its own and going on its merry way, or not so merry at times, without any noticeable interaction with deity.
Only because that's all we saw growing up. We were taught certain fairly tales as true. This did not fit with what we observed as we grew older and started to think more critically. This is why we eventually started to question Santa as a real being who lived at the North Pole.
Reason being that if faith and individual choice/progress/trials are necessary components of life, I wouldn't expect God to intervene very often, if at all.
I am going to refer you to a thread I think deals with this problem.
http://www.mormondiscussions.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35346Anyway, in regards to the OP...I think that it is kind silly to start pointing fingers at anyone, or God, at times like this. I think I am actually more comfortable with the idea of a God that intervenes with the small stuff (micro level) rather than the big stuff (macro level). Basically for the reasons I've already expressed.
The scriptures tend to have God being much more involved on a macro level. I am not sure you are more comfortable with God doing only the micro, but that is the only way to rectify what you see with God existing and being involved.
He hasn't helped me find my car keys...but I have had intervention on a micro scale in my life...or so I believe. So yes, I think God will answer prayers of individuals so that they are blessed with knowledge that He loves and cares about them as individuals. Life's circumstances, however, make it sometimes difficult...even for God...to answer the heartfelt prayer. I'm sure that in many, many, cases throughout the world's history as man has inflicted cruel or barbaric practices on his fellowman there were prayers offered up for deliverance or protection. But what's a God to do when one of his children is being prodded/man handled into a gas chamber, etc. ? The intervention would have to be on a macro scale (kill all of the guards, cause Hitler and his henchman to die in an airplane accident, etc.). God doesn't seem to take that approach too often, if at all (Red Sea division for example).
What we see is claims from the Bible, Book of Mormon, etc that God likes to get involved on a macro level. What we really see in the real world that can be verified is nothing.
If God operates, more often than not, at a micro/individual level there are obviously going to be some limits/constraints on what He will/can do. Humans and the evil they do, natural disasters, accidents, and disease/germs...like Ebola... seem to get in the way.
I like to look at, if god exists, what evidence do I have that this is true. So far we cannot go past this hurdle.
