I had an interesting conversation with two older ladies at my grandmother's funeral earlier this week. These women were friends with both my grandmother and grandfather ,and along with their husbands would go on huge RV camping trips with them in their latter years.
They recounted a couple of years ago they made the trip down to the Old Canton Mississippi Cemetery to see if my grandfather had his gravestone delivered and set up.. They had trouble finding it because they assumed he was buried by his brother.
Well all of a sudden a man in white and having a white pickup truck showed asking them who they were looking for. They said my Grandfather.
They recounted a couple of years ago they made the trip down to the Old Canton Mississippi Cemetery to see if my grandfather had his gravestone delivered and set up.. They had trouble finding it because they assumed he was buried by his brother.
Well all of a sudden a man in white and having a white pickup truck showed asking them who they were looking for. They said my Grandfather.
Well this man knew all about my grandfather and even talked about how many of his fingers were stubs ( he had lost all or parts of many of them in various farming accidents). He also talked about other facets of his life. It should be noted very very few people still alive in the Canton area would know this. For those that are there we can account for them and don't usually go around cemeteries in white trucks. Well he showed them to his grave that was the opposite end of this rather large cemetery. They had turned their back briefly on him and then turned around.
He was gone. No man no pickup truck no nothing.
They believed he was an angel and I have to tell you I have little reason to doubt that theory.
So that personal story brings us to this GET RELIGION piece that highlights a good USA TODAY piece. See That ‘What, me worry?’ semi-faith story . Basically a lot of folks are skipping doctrine and heck might be bypassing the "spiritual "stage too.
A good bit of this I think is because we are dealing with one of the most religious illiterate generations in history. There are of course other factors.
The Get Religion piece makes an interesting observation at the end:
During a visit to the Czech Republic a few years ago, I heard journalist after journalist discussing two interesting trends. The first has received plenty of ink, which is the fact that this nation is one of the most secular on earth. The second trend, however, can be seen as the second piece of a paradox. The Czech Republic has also become one of the world’s most superstitious nations, with millions of unbelievers who, in effect, turn to superstitions to replace the mysteries that once were defined by organized forms of faith.
What would this look like in an American context? Perhaps this trend could be linked to all of those atheists who, according to researchers, continue to pray?
Lots of questions. Yes, but these questions are based on the assumption that this is an important story.
More coverage, please.
I really wonder if that is where we are heading. Because to be honest I think the average person knows there is a other, that there is for a lack of a better word a supernatural. I am really to bet a good many people have had a rather jarring experience like the old ladies I mention before.
Against my better judgment I watched the History's channel' Decoded show last night. Last week they ran a show on the Vatican and the alleged murder of John Paul the I that was well just shoddy and horrific. However I have watched this show before and some shows are better than others.
Last night they talked about the famous Houdini and if he was murdered. This show was slightly more responsible. A major component of the story was the Houdini war against the Spiritualist and their scams. It's is quite interesting how history repeats itself. The nation , like the world, goes through periods of doubts it seems about "revealed" religion. It is amazing how many people were using these folks and related superstitions to contact the dead. They were quite influential.
Are we going through another cycle where the people leave organized religion for whatever reason and delve back into superstitions and Spiritualists to replace that? Well maybe so and that might be lead to some not nice results. I think Pope Benedict commented on this in a Book regarding the Europe of the past. If I can find it I will do a part II.
He was gone. No man no pickup truck no nothing.
They believed he was an angel and I have to tell you I have little reason to doubt that theory.
So that personal story brings us to this GET RELIGION piece that highlights a good USA TODAY piece. See That ‘What, me worry?’ semi-faith story . Basically a lot of folks are skipping doctrine and heck might be bypassing the "spiritual "stage too.
A good bit of this I think is because we are dealing with one of the most religious illiterate generations in history. There are of course other factors.
The Get Religion piece makes an interesting observation at the end:
During a visit to the Czech Republic a few years ago, I heard journalist after journalist discussing two interesting trends. The first has received plenty of ink, which is the fact that this nation is one of the most secular on earth. The second trend, however, can be seen as the second piece of a paradox. The Czech Republic has also become one of the world’s most superstitious nations, with millions of unbelievers who, in effect, turn to superstitions to replace the mysteries that once were defined by organized forms of faith.
What would this look like in an American context? Perhaps this trend could be linked to all of those atheists who, according to researchers, continue to pray?
Lots of questions. Yes, but these questions are based on the assumption that this is an important story.
More coverage, please.
I really wonder if that is where we are heading. Because to be honest I think the average person knows there is a other, that there is for a lack of a better word a supernatural. I am really to bet a good many people have had a rather jarring experience like the old ladies I mention before.
Against my better judgment I watched the History's channel' Decoded show last night. Last week they ran a show on the Vatican and the alleged murder of John Paul the I that was well just shoddy and horrific. However I have watched this show before and some shows are better than others.
Last night they talked about the famous Houdini and if he was murdered. This show was slightly more responsible. A major component of the story was the Houdini war against the Spiritualist and their scams. It's is quite interesting how history repeats itself. The nation , like the world, goes through periods of doubts it seems about "revealed" religion. It is amazing how many people were using these folks and related superstitions to contact the dead. They were quite influential.
Are we going through another cycle where the people leave organized religion for whatever reason and delve back into superstitions and Spiritualists to replace that? Well maybe so and that might be lead to some not nice results. I think Pope Benedict commented on this in a Book regarding the Europe of the past. If I can find it I will do a part II.
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