[zeek]

Originally Posted by Nell

Zeek,

It isn't Cahn's message that appeals to me as much as it is God's message. To me it's A Wake Up Call - God is Speaking to Us. Cahn is preaching a message that was first presented in God's word. "Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" This message has been renewed for me in this Shemitah year because of Cahn's books.

I do see things wrong with America. Don't you? I want to see those things changed---not judged. What's wrong with that? Prayer changes things. That's really all I know to do.

I'm awake. I'm listening for God's speaking. I want to discuss the 2 books that got my attention. You have every right to challenge Cahn. Go for it. If there are holes in his books, I want to know. However, again, to form an opinion of a man whose books you've never read doesn't lend credence to your challenge. How can someone speak with authority on a book or books they have not read?

But, Nell you haven't answered my questions. How do you parse out God's message from Cahn's? How do you know they are one and the same?

We have established that things we consider good and bad are happening all the time to everybody. How do you measure when something is so extraordinarily good or bad that it represents the intervention of God to judge or bless people? Do you assume that every time something that you consider bad happens to someone that it is God's judgement on them? If you don't know what their sin is, do you assume that they must have some hidden sin? How do you avoid unwarranted suspicion and cynicism?

I haven't bought Cahn's books because I haven't found his propositions convincing on the face. He is making apparently spurious connections that confirm his own values in the name of God. He thinks that America began as a theocracy and he wants us to get back to that kind of state. I think that is wrong. He is promoting superstitious thinking that leads to anxiety and depression. I don't support that. but, I am willing to discuss it here.

We are people who have a common history of being duped by a charismatic preacher in the past. I don't want to see that happen again. I want to better understand the kind of thinking that leads people to abandon reason and give up their rights like I once did.

So, I think Cahn and people like him are interesting and worth keeping an eye on. I am not willing to forsake critical thinking again for the sake of religion. On the other hand, I am interested in healthy religious practices that don't fall into these mental traps. Religion can foster compassion, openness, intellectual humility, a sense of meaning and inner peace. Those are the kind of values I seek to see realized. I don't think Cahn's message fosters them.