tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post5042526258888426329..comments2024-01-20T07:17:13.678-05:00Comments on Phil Wyman's Square No More: Darkness: a Thin Place for My SoulPastor Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-56198149258319396142009-01-05T21:22:00.000-05:002009-01-05T21:22:00.000-05:00And yet this is merely ONE creation story's versio...And yet this is merely ONE creation story's version of light vs. dark. {There are actually so many creation stories . . . )<BR/><BR/>I might just write a new one: In the beginning, there was total darkness, and a fog that settled like a thick blanket upon the land . . .SunTigerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06598114139320753890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-38135130750695560402009-01-04T19:29:00.000-05:002009-01-04T19:29:00.000-05:00men's hearts love the darkness...what is that all ...men's hearts love the darkness...what is that all about?dedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04110715735805987539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-823528721477042532008-12-13T23:01:00.000-05:002008-12-13T23:01:00.000-05:00Kathy,Thanks, and thanks for being a synchie with ...Kathy,<BR/><BR/>Thanks, and thanks for being a synchie with us!Pastor Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-85249963758772742152008-12-12T00:06:00.000-05:002008-12-12T00:06:00.000-05:00phil, oh so good, as always...love the tension of ...phil, oh so good, as always...love the tension of both, the fog, the mystery, the darkness, the thin spaces...kathykathyescobarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17756461407732884797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-72607534116590930762008-12-11T12:32:00.000-05:002008-12-11T12:32:00.000-05:00Groundie,Thanks for popping by. You've got a an i...Groundie,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for popping by. You've got a an interesting site yourself. <BR/><BR/>Gwyn dy fydPastor Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-77364539458074706582008-12-11T12:30:00.000-05:002008-12-11T12:30:00.000-05:00Hi Sally,I particularly identify with the creativi...Hi Sally,<BR/><BR/>I particularly identify with the creativity element of darkness - no absence of God indeed.Pastor Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-45902539454503473122008-12-11T12:14:00.000-05:002008-12-11T12:14:00.000-05:00Interesting post! I Will be back for other entries...Interesting post! I Will be back for other entries as well! Keep up the thought provoking commentary....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-80910942317522024602008-12-11T11:42:00.000-05:002008-12-11T11:42:00.000-05:00what a great post Phil, I both love and loathe dar...what a great post Phil, I both love and loathe darkness, I enjoy winter evenings, but crave sunlight too...<BR/><BR/>..but I do know that the darkness can be a place of great creativity and does not denote the absense of God...Sallyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01759963926280667938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-21320350479825866812008-12-11T09:00:00.000-05:002008-12-11T09:00:00.000-05:00Hi Jeff,In terms of writing the post my references...Hi Jeff,<BR/><BR/>In terms of writing the post my references are far more poetic, and less parsed than a dry theological journal. So of course, darkness is not the salvation of my soul in a literal sense, but just as friend who spends the time to help someone through the throes of a drug habit can be called that person's salvation so I use the reference to darkness.<BR/><BR/>Yet, I am not saying that all darkness does is show us our lostness. To say that would still maintain the strict dichotomy that darkness is evil, and light is good. Such a strict dichotomy flies in face of common sense, and even scripture. For example: in the parable of the sower the sun and heat bring the death of the seed with shallow roots, and the parable tells us that coming of the sun's light tribulation and trouble. Thus light=trouble in this text. Ever lived in the desert? Common sense tells you that night is good on many a day.<BR/><BR/>Now it is true that darkness is an illustration of evil, confusion, ignorance and such negative things far more often that light, but as illustrated in the post, and above in this response this is not an absolute dichotomy, and literal light and dark are not intrinsically good and evil respectively.Pastor Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-16991299509684617802008-12-11T08:48:00.000-05:002008-12-11T08:48:00.000-05:00Beth,Wonderful illustration. Having lived in the ...Beth,<BR/><BR/>Wonderful illustration. Having lived in the California desert I know by first hand experience exactly what you mean.Pastor Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-74028977867999604892008-12-11T08:46:00.000-05:002008-12-11T08:46:00.000-05:00Hey Carl,You should join the SynchroBlog list. Yo...Hey Carl,<BR/><BR/>You should join the SynchroBlog list. You can always hop on board and do only as many as you like.Pastor Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-7671663502108129632008-12-11T00:28:00.000-05:002008-12-11T00:28:00.000-05:00maybe darkness doesn't equal salvation but rather ...maybe darkness doesn't equal salvation but rather points humanity to face its own lostness and, thus, leads us to salvation. just a thought.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-24839203030663531392008-12-10T20:39:00.000-05:002008-12-10T20:39:00.000-05:00I always think about the dark of the earth as a se...I always think about the dark of the earth as a seed must. It's in the dark that it germinates, gathering strength and stamina so that when the perfect storm of light, heat, moisture and whatever else happens, it is ready, sometimes in a very short period, to sprout.<BR/><BR/>One of my favorite places to visit is the Desert Museum in Tucson. The amazing virtuosity of desert plants to thrive in that harsh environment almost makes me weep. Sometimes plants will wait years for rain, and then in a matter of hours will blossom in glorious color. Seeds will sprout after years of dormancy...darkness.<BR/><BR/>Sometimes I like to think of myself in the dark times, as if I were a seed---protected, mute and ready...<BR/><BR/>Thanks for this great post, Phil!Beth P.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02621990661878989356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-44120801341117579662008-12-10T19:47:00.000-05:002008-12-10T19:47:00.000-05:00I agree. Darkness is picked on too much and I reso...I agree. Darkness is picked on too much and I resonate with your last paragraph, alot. At the same time I think "light" lives up to the hype it has in most christian circles.<BR/><BR/>Woops, I wrote on this topic a few weeks back and meant to join in the synchlist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-14718121945891394072008-12-10T12:44:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:44:00.000-05:00Liz (gracerules),There is something all the more p...Liz (gracerules),<BR/><BR/>There is something all the more powerful about a small light in a dark place, isn't there? That little candle flicker speaks something to my soul as well.Pastor Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-73111857563977253792008-12-10T11:11:00.000-05:002008-12-10T11:11:00.000-05:00Phil - I loved your post - it reminded me that my ...Phil - I loved your post - it reminded me that my most precious spiritual times occur after midnight. I am a night owl and love the quiet and peace of that time of night...although I do like to have a soft light, like a candle flickering,in the dark of night.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-15383026729401240392008-12-10T10:22:00.000-05:002008-12-10T10:22:00.000-05:00Yo Seithy,Yeah, I coulda' guessed that. Thanks.Yo Seithy,<BR/><BR/>Yeah, I coulda' guessed that. Thanks.Pastor Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-92158452286797506682008-12-10T09:43:00.000-05:002008-12-10T09:43:00.000-05:00Wonderful, as usual, Pastor Phil. I too tend to l...Wonderful, as usual, Pastor Phil. I too tend to love the dark.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-40897606129359256682008-12-10T09:17:00.000-05:002008-12-10T09:17:00.000-05:00John,Oh yeah - the fear factor! You are an adrenal...John,<BR/><BR/>Oh yeah - the fear factor! You are an adrenaline junkie methinks. I'm all about that excited anticipation too. I wonder how closely this is related to faith?Pastor Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-37594582438578147232008-12-10T09:13:00.000-05:002008-12-10T09:13:00.000-05:00Steve - thanks,Loved your post on the Lord of Dark...Steve - thanks,<BR/><BR/>Loved your post on the Lord of Darkness. Part of seeing God in all things requires that we cross some long held boundaries. As Evan notes above it often requires dispensing with our dichotomies in order to see God in all things.Pastor Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-27814426948299060042008-12-10T06:51:00.000-05:002008-12-10T06:51:00.000-05:00I have always found fog and the darkness mysteriou...I have always found fog and the darkness mysteriously pregnant, who knows what is going to happen and what could come out of the darkness in front or behind, maybe it does come down to how we look at things. Many will stand in the dark and be scared because they cannot see and do not know what is out there, many are excited because they cannot see and they do not know what is out there. We can either step forward in fear or in excited anticipation of what we might find.john heasleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17914216039838827358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-38825234029328303052008-12-10T03:36:00.000-05:002008-12-10T03:36:00.000-05:00Way to go, Phil. God is the Lord of the Dark as we...Way to go, Phil. <BR/><BR/>God is the Lord of the Dark as well as Lord of the Light, and darkness and light to him are both alike (Ps 139:11).Steve Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11283123400540587033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-63267614972092103122008-12-09T23:52:00.000-05:002008-12-09T23:52:00.000-05:00The fact that I am communicating to you through th...The fact that I am communicating to you through the floor ought to scare the beejeebers out of you.<BR/><BR/>Thanks broPastor Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07344719487413688550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-74394635154305974372008-12-09T23:49:00.000-05:002008-12-09T23:49:00.000-05:00Oh, and another thing: I really hope you aren't a ...Oh, and another thing: I really hope you aren't a psychic vampire since we live in the same house. That's scary!evanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07667491120718502790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28637516.post-61960620056643687122008-12-09T23:48:00.000-05:002008-12-09T23:48:00.000-05:00Phil,this was a fantastic post. The fact that you ...Phil,<BR/>this was a fantastic post. The fact that you see good where others see darkness is so you. I love the references to the exodus. I forget those times where God worked in darkness. Like everyone else, I'm conditioned to uphold the dichotomy.evanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07667491120718502790noreply@blogger.com