Problem of god response
In her book, Big Questions; Worthy Dreams, Sharon Daloz Parks explores human beings’ relationships with “meaning and faith.” Having “faith” is defined as “something that all human beings do;” it is a dynamic understanding of truths and meaning in one’s life (18). Parks states that we all, each in our own distinctive way, “compose a sense of the ultimate character of reality and then stake our lives on that sense of thing” (20). It takes many forms: faith in God or a supreme power, faith in nothing, faith in multiple “center[s] of value, power and affection,” faith in a “narrow” feature, or faith in a larger and more integrated meaning of all aspects of one’s life (22). It can be devastating when one’s faith is shattered, for example by losing a loved one or failure to achieve a goal, and suffering will inevitably ensue. When there is a “collapse of meaning…of self, world and ‘God,’” a “primal, elemental force of promise stirs within us…upon us,” to transport us into “new meaning, new consciousness, new faith” (28, 29). Parks’ professor, Richard R. Niebuhr, uses the metaphor of “shipwreck, gladness, and amazement” to illustrate how a “new knowing,” or higher consciousness, wisdom, and spiritual transformation come through suffering (28). It allows us to cope with life’s surprises and hardships, and gain strength as we continually vacillate between “fear and trust, hope and hopelessness, power and powerlessness, doubt and confidence, alienation and belonging”(31). Thus, faith is a “tapestry” and “canopy” in our lives, a foundation and protector against life’s catastrophes that enables us to ultimately experience life more profoundly (24,5). Through suffering, faith broadens our perspective and allows us to face “bigger questions and larger dreams”(32).
For me, Daloz’s “meaning and faith” chapter articulates why my cousin has little patience for insincerity and becomes irritated when her friends “obsess over the small stuff.” Three years ago, her mother died and through her intense suffering, my cousin has entered a “larger dimension of consciousness”(30). Although she is still a teenager, she is sophisticated and wise because she has experienced “deepened questions of meaning, purpose and significance”(30).
For me, Daloz’s “meaning and faith” chapter articulates why my cousin has little patience for insincerity and becomes irritated when her friends “obsess over the small stuff.” Three years ago, her mother died and through her intense suffering, my cousin has entered a “larger dimension of consciousness”(30). Although she is still a teenager, she is sophisticated and wise because she has experienced “deepened questions of meaning, purpose and significance”(30).