In times of adversity, many seek solace and guidance from God. But does God respond to our calls in moments of pain? Join us as we explore the role of divine presence amidst life's challenges.
This From God To Jerry To You challenges conventional notions of God as a rescuer from hardships. Rather, Jerry prompts us to consider if God is more of an ally of strength, wisdom, and love during times of struggle – shifting the perspective of God from a shield against life's trials to a beacon of illuminating compassion, justice, beauty, and gratitude.
Explore how God's purpose may be to align us with timeless virtues, enriching our lives with a purpose that transcends worldly strife. Tune in for illuminating insights that offer solace and understanding to those seeking light and truth.
God: An Autobiography, As Told To A Philosopher, is written by Dr. Jerry L. Martin, an agnostic philosopher who heard the voice of God and recorded their conversations. Dr. Jerry L. Martin was head of the National Endowment for the Humanities and of the philosophy department at the University of Colorado at Boulder and founder of Theology Without Walls.
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The podcast began with the Dramatic Adaptation of the book and now has several series:
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Scott Langdon 0:17: This is God: An Autobiography, The Podcast. A dramatic adaptation and continuing discussion of the book God: An Autobiography, As Told To A Philosopher by Jerry L. Martin. He was a lifelong agnostic, but one day he had an occasion to pray. To his vast surprise, God answered- in words. Being a philosopher, he had a lot of questions, and God had a lot to tell him. Episode 173. Hello, and welcome to God: An Autobiography, The Podcast, I’m Scott Langdon.
Scott Langdon 1:10: In this week’s episode we once again bring it straight From God to Jerry to You. Jerry’s thoughts this week focus on a very specific and often-asked question: Does God still speak to us? In the midst of our daily lives when tragedy strikes and suffering occurs, we often cry out to God and it can often seem we are crying out to no one and into nothing, a big void. Is God even there? It is obviously Jerry’s experience that God is in fact there and in this episode he shares what God would like us to know about the issue. Does God still speak to us? It’s a fair question. Here, now, is Jerry with his thoughts on the answer. I hope you enjoy the episode.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin 02:04: You know, some of my friends, I'm thinking of two in particular, are going through some very, very hard times right now, and perhaps you have friends like that. Perhaps you're going through something very difficult yourself, and you know it seems that in spite of our most fervent prayers, tragedies do happen. Mom is in intensive care. We pray, Lord please save my mother and, as if God were stone-deaf, she dies. So we wonder, is God listening? Hello, are you listening? We cry out in vain, it feels, and we wonder does God just not care? Or maybe God can't do miracles after all? And if so, what good is God? What good is God? If we're believers, we try to make excuses.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin 03:11: I heard a beautiful gospel singer who gave personal testimony during the intermission. Just this past year she said her mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and so they all prayed, and they all prayed, and they all prayed, and today she declared my mom has a new mind. And the congregation shouted and thumped, “Hallelujah, praise the Lord,” until she went on. She died in August and a heavy sigh, oh, went through the crowd. That was not the answer they were looking for.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin 04:01: There is no doubt a standpoint of eternity from which the ups and downs of our lives have a very different look to them. But still, we live down here. We live in real-time. Sometimes, if we're believers, we like to think there must be some divine plan that makes it all OK. We usually can't think of any plan that would compensate for the horrors of life, but maybe human beings lack imagination or perspective. GK Chesterton said it's like looking at a beautiful tapestry, but from the wrong side, where it's just a tangle of loose threads. Sometimes that is certainly true. What looks like a setback can open new opportunities. When I was coming up for tenure, my dad said, “Son, you never know, if you don't get it, it might be the best thing that ever happened to you.” And of course, he was right, that could be, but is it true for all of life’s setbacks? There is another possibility.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin 05:21: I'm told in prayer, God is not a rescue squad. I forget the exact words, but it was something like God telling me- I do not swoop down in a helicopter to get people out of trouble. God is not a superhero, or a fairy godmother, or a genie who grants wishes. We might like that, but that's not what God is. Now, if you think God is in control of everything, that God writes the world's script, then it's natural to blame God for anything that goes wrong. But I’m told in prayer that history is not predetermined by God, the script is not written in advance and it does not have only one author. We and God are the co-authors of our unpredictable lives, and the world is not a Disney movie. It's a hard reality. We act within that hard reality and God does too.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin 06:40: Is God's listening? Is God listening? Yes, God is always listening. I am told that God is never absent. God is always paying attention. Does God care? Yes, God cares so much that when we suffer, God suffers. God suffers. God is right there in the trenches, in the hurricane, in the hospital ward with us and pulling for us.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin 07:16: But if God isn’t a rescue squad, the third question remains- what good is God? What good is God? Seems like an important question, but what does it really mean? Does it mean what use is God? What use is God to me? What use is God for getting what I want? Is God like a 9-1-1 number? If no police show up, the number isn't working. Is God like an insurance policy? If it never pays up, it's no good.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin 07:57: Is this the best idea we can come up with for the divine-human relationship? Suppose God does sometimes seem to put a big thumb on the scales to help us out, to tilt the game board, you might say, to have things come out a little better. Sometimes patterns that did not make sense at the time are seen later as providential. Suppose we sometimes sense the divine presence as a loved one is passing away, or we feel it in our hearts when we're fired from our job or rejected in love or feeling hopeless, and it comforts us and sustains us.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin 08:46: Suppose, further, that the purpose of God is not primarily to help us avoid the avalanches of life, but to guide us daily to be more loving, to do the right thing, to notice what is beautiful, to pause, to be grateful, to orient our lives toward what is noble and enduring and divine, and thereby to give it a kind of meaning that all the rescue squads in the world know not how to provide. You may have been looking for the wrong thing from God. Your relationship might just need, as they say, an attitude adjustment. It's worth a try. If this speaks to you, please subscribe and like and share it with your friends. It might be just what they need to hear today.
Scott Langdon 10:15: Thank you for listening to God: An Autobiography, The Podcast. Subscribe for free today wherever you listen to your podcasts and hear a new episode every week. You can hear the complete dramatic adaptation of God: An Autobiography, As Told To A Philosopher by Jerry L. Martin by beginning with episode one of our podcast and listening through its conclusion with Episode 44. You can read the original true story in the book from which this podcast is adapted, God: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher, available now at amazon.com, and always at godanautobiography.com. Pick up your own copy today. If you have any questions about this or any other episode, please email us at questions@godanautobiography.com, and experience the world from God's perspective as it was told to a philosopher. This is Scott Langdon. I'll see you next time.