On empathy and children - one of the things I found most curious which you are correct about, other than being a living example, is that on occasion one can enter the state of the child, find a way to rework their experience, and completely change their inner life in that moment.
To wit, one of my kids smacked into something hard and was laying on the ground on the verge of tears, I saw this and stated "Wow, you almost took that tree down!" which changed it from failure and pain to the thought of hitting an adult tree so hard that it. This isn't a cheap trick and it requires knowing the child and the moment in order to respond without thought in a way that helps them.
Just as you say - it is an imitation of Christ Himself, the original Icon.
There are many such cases of people being christian because of the joy of those in Christianity. Pints with Aquinas has a very beautiful interview with a nun who says as much. I think it's one of the main two ways people come to Christ.
The other reason is learning evil is real, and therefore must be fought and destroyed by good.
It's always interesting to learn the ways people become Christian.
As S.S. says : there's a brief moment in time when you may be able to change the way a child's response and thence his entire life view .
Kudos to those who take the time to do so .
I did this with my son and all our foster boys, some have so much previous damage they can't (perhaps won't) accept any change in the way they face the world, a sad thing as life is to be enjoyed, not endured .
The notion that no one has their minds changed through argumentation is a painful lesson I have had to learn the hard way over the years. Relatedly, this is why people hate unsolicited advice. The question that often arises after this though is how to know when to offer guidance and support to others given this reality.
I was in a Christian group at my university that did on the street evangelism: aka walk up to somebody and try to convince them to become Christian, and I was always uncomfortable with this but wasn't sure how to articulate it, as the response was always "We are called to share the gospel, great commission, etc." I know I don't like it when the Mormons come to my door, so I'm sure the people we walked up to eating lunch in the cafeteria felt similarly. One of the reasons that actually pushed me out of faith was the discomfort I felt from thinking I was pushing my beliefs untowardly on others.
I see somewhat of their point though, as despite the knowledge now that those people were likely unconvinced, and possibly even more hostile to the faith because of their recognition of the attempts to persuade them, I know that being open about faith in the modern world is extremely difficult. At least for the introverts among us such as myself lol. Thus, I worry that this can become a cop out for me to avoid difficult conversations with others that might be fruitful, with the rationalization that it's not going to be helpful anyways. Something I struggle with discerning for sure. Best I can come up with is being a role model and example, and hoping I can influence others that way, but I worry sometimes that's just cope and I'm a coward.
That sounds like Hopium Addiction. Hopium Addiction is such a sad thing to see. How can there be any joy now that Modernity has rotten everything through and Globalism 1.0 apes it's saviorisms?
On empathy and children - one of the things I found most curious which you are correct about, other than being a living example, is that on occasion one can enter the state of the child, find a way to rework their experience, and completely change their inner life in that moment.
To wit, one of my kids smacked into something hard and was laying on the ground on the verge of tears, I saw this and stated "Wow, you almost took that tree down!" which changed it from failure and pain to the thought of hitting an adult tree so hard that it. This isn't a cheap trick and it requires knowing the child and the moment in order to respond without thought in a way that helps them.
Just as you say - it is an imitation of Christ Himself, the original Icon.
Exactly what I was thinking about, great example.
this time i read the entire thing
if you're reading this, have a good day!
There are many such cases of people being christian because of the joy of those in Christianity. Pints with Aquinas has a very beautiful interview with a nun who says as much. I think it's one of the main two ways people come to Christ.
The other reason is learning evil is real, and therefore must be fought and destroyed by good.
It's always interesting to learn the ways people become Christian.
The foolish man seeks to please everyone and never argue. The wise man learns to be fun to jest with.
Randy, if you haven't seen this, it is very important: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj9jhg9-djU
As S.S. says : there's a brief moment in time when you may be able to change the way a child's response and thence his entire life view .
Kudos to those who take the time to do so .
I did this with my son and all our foster boys, some have so much previous damage they can't (perhaps won't) accept any change in the way they face the world, a sad thing as life is to be enjoyed, not endured .
-Nate
Nicely written. The leap of faith has to be with both feet from what I have come to understand. Embrace the absurd
"Jesu, Joy of Mans Desiring" or as I like to call it, the Christian Ethicists Theme Song
The notion that no one has their minds changed through argumentation is a painful lesson I have had to learn the hard way over the years. Relatedly, this is why people hate unsolicited advice. The question that often arises after this though is how to know when to offer guidance and support to others given this reality.
I was in a Christian group at my university that did on the street evangelism: aka walk up to somebody and try to convince them to become Christian, and I was always uncomfortable with this but wasn't sure how to articulate it, as the response was always "We are called to share the gospel, great commission, etc." I know I don't like it when the Mormons come to my door, so I'm sure the people we walked up to eating lunch in the cafeteria felt similarly. One of the reasons that actually pushed me out of faith was the discomfort I felt from thinking I was pushing my beliefs untowardly on others.
I see somewhat of their point though, as despite the knowledge now that those people were likely unconvinced, and possibly even more hostile to the faith because of their recognition of the attempts to persuade them, I know that being open about faith in the modern world is extremely difficult. At least for the introverts among us such as myself lol. Thus, I worry that this can become a cop out for me to avoid difficult conversations with others that might be fruitful, with the rationalization that it's not going to be helpful anyways. Something I struggle with discerning for sure. Best I can come up with is being a role model and example, and hoping I can influence others that way, but I worry sometimes that's just cope and I'm a coward.
That sounds like Hopium Addiction. Hopium Addiction is such a sad thing to see. How can there be any joy now that Modernity has rotten everything through and Globalism 1.0 apes it's saviorisms?