Steven Colborne's Blog, page 70

Sunday Summary | 05/08/18

In this post I’ll be offering a round-up of the articles I’ve published on Perfect Chaos over the last couple of weeks. I’ll also give a few brief reflections on what’s happening in my life at this time, plus a Question of the Week which I’d love for you to answer in the comments. Let’s get started!

Recent Posts

On July 23rd I published this post asking for your feedback about which of two album covers you prefer. I designed the covers for my album project and it was fantastic to get your feedback. More info on where I’m at with the project in the personal reflections below.

On July 27th I gave a detailed update of the situation involving my neighbour and his antisocial behaviour. I was so happy to receive your support and prayers, and I’ll give an update on the situation below. If you missed the post, you can read all about my tricky situation here.

On July 31st I published a philosophy post entitled The Experience of Understanding. In the post I explore why it is we are able to read a sentence and understand it. This is a deep post that stimulated some interesting discussion. If you missed it, you can catch up here.

A Few Personal Reflections

I’ve been busy getting ready for my album release. I’m happy to say I’ve now decided the album title and have finalised the artwork. I’ll be announcing all the details, including who won the competition to decide the title, this coming Friday. The release date for the album is 10th September 2018. If you’re new to this blog you can read all about the project here.
Some of you will be curious to know what’s been happening with my neighbour. You may recall that the housing association representative was going to write a general letter to all residents about antisocial behaviour. I haven’t received a letter, but I’ve noticed my neighbour’s music has been less loud than usual, so I’m hopeful that he did receive a letter and has taken it seriously. That would be AMAZING. On the other hand, it could be that the letters simply haven’t arrived yet. I’ll keep you posted!
This afternoon I’ll be spending some quality time in prayer, and I’ll be sure to lift up all my readers to the Lord and ask for His blessing and favour over your lives in the coming week. So if you’re reading this, know that you’re covered with at least my prayers as we go into the new week 

The Experience of Understanding

I have spent some time thinking about and examining the experience of understanding. In general we are all able to relate to one another through conversation, whether spoken or written, and as you read these words you are most likely having the experience of understanding them. But why is this? What is the nature of this experience? Aren’t the words that I type merely a mishmash of lines and curly symbols on a page? At what point do they become meaningful and what is the cause of their meaning?

In this post, we’ll briefly explore some answers to these questions.

Let’s begin with a helpful quote from Bryan Magee which hones in on the problem.

If I listen to a sentence or a tune, the actual sensory input at any given instant can consist of no more than part of a single note, or pause, or consonant, or vowel sound. For me to hear the sentence as a sentence, or the tune as a tune, I need at each point in it to retain in my mind’s ear all the sounds that have gone before, and to link them with one another and with my current aural input into something that I then apprehend as a whole.

Magee, B., Confessions of a Philosopher

(London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1997), p259

In the 21st century Western world we’re inclined to see cognition as a process carried out by our brains, which are often believed to be like machines or computers that process information and control our thoughts and actions. That’s one possibility I’d invite you to consider. Do you really feel as though there is a computer in your head powering your understanding, or does your understanding feel more organic and free-flowing than that?

Another possibility, and this is where I believe the truth of the matter rests, is that our experiences are brought about by God. God is behind every sensation, thought, and emotion that we experience. He is animating all of the processes that we experience as part of our aliveness; everything from our hearts beating, to our blinking, to our thinking – to our understanding.

So the reason why we experience the sensations associated with understanding a sentence or a tune, is because God is giving us those experiences.

On close examination, what constitutes understanding is actually a series of subtle impressions in awareness, that can be best described as sensations of tension and resolution. Tension is caused, I believe, when God makes us feel a degree of isolation, and resolution is a sense of greater connectedness with God’s being, which is love. Isolation and divine love are the two extremes of human experience, and the process of cognition is a subtle back-and-forth interplay between the two.

But understanding also relates to objects, events, and ideas, as well as being merely bodily sensations. If this is true then it must be the case that God, who I believe is omniscient, is able to remember things. When I remember to pick up my keys before I leave the house, God has prompted that memory to arise in my awareness, so I believe it must be the case that God sees and comprehends the big picture, including all past events, and is able to produce in us thoughts and feelings that are related to the past.

We must remember, though, that really the past and future do not exist. In reality there is only an eternal now, which I believe contains the fullness of God. This moment, and God, are ultimately one and the same, and they constitute all that exists in reality. Therefore it makes sense that God is in control of all our bodily processes, including the sensations and thoughts associated with the experience of understanding.

If you’re interested in further exploring the idea that God is in control of all things, I have written a book on the subject entitled Ultimate Truth: God Beyond Religion. You can find out about the book and watch a book trailer here. Thank you for reading!

Dealing with Intimidation

Sometimes I feel so wretched. I know I have come a long way in terms of developing my character and learning to deal sensibly, maturely, and confidently with the challenges that life throws up. I have a very good psychotherapist to thank for that.

But it seems to be God’s will for my life, and for all our lives, that we are continually stretched and tested. We meet with new challenges that aren’t like our previous ones, and we are always made to feel aware of our frailty and dependence on God by events and situations that arise that threaten our peace.

That was a very general introduction to this post, so let me be a little more specific about what’s troubling me. I hope you’ll indulge me for a couple of paragraphs if I talk a little about a personal situation I’m struggling with.

Antisocial Behaviour

I live in a flat within a house that is connected with mental health services in my area. I have experienced serious mental health problems over the past decade which is why I ended up living here. In this accommodation I benefit from affordable rent, as well as regular support from a mental health charity who have a contract with the housing association I rent from (my landlord). There are many blessings I enjoy living here, and I’m always thanking God for providing for me in this way.

However, as I wrote about in this article, I’m experiencing ongoing problems with the neighbour who lives in the flat adjacent to me. The problems have been going on for a few months now. Without listing everything antisocial that he does, I’ll just say that he uses bullying and intimidation as a matter of course, and one particular way this manifests is he plays music at full volume with the bass turned up for about five hours a day. It’s not easy to ignore.

Having tried the obvious response of asking my neighbour to turn his music down on a few occasions, I tried taking things a step further and told him that I would have to report him to the housing association if the loud music continued. He responded very aggressively to this, insisting this would make me guilty of some kind of betrayal.

A few weeks ago I took myself to A&E in the middle of the night because my neighbour’s behaviour was really getting to me, and I felt it was seriously impacting my state of mind and mental health. The following day I had a meeting with the housing manager from the charity who support this property, and I totally divulged everything that has been going on and how it has been making me feel.

The Follow-Up Meeting

The housing manager arranged a follow-up meeting with him, myself, and a representative from the housing association to whom I pay my rent. We had that meeting yesterday. We spent about an hour talking things through and the other two felt it was certainly necessary to take firm action. The housing association representative explained she had extensive experience of dealing with similar situations, and would begin by writing a letter to all tenants in the property outlining our obligations to obey the terms of our tenancies. The letter would be general, and would not implicate him, but if he failed to change his behaviour, then further action would be taken.

How this is Making me Feel

Knowing my neighbour as I do, I have a strong feeling that when he receives the letter from our landlord in the next few days he will immediately suspect I have reported him. Judging from past experience, it’s very likely that this will prompt an aggressive response. The kind of thing I’m expecting is him hammering on my door, shouting and swearing at me, and quizzing me about what I have said to the housing association.

I really don’t know whether or not I’m doing the right thing. There is a strong part of me that feels I shouldn’t have told the landlord what’s going on, because it’s very likely to make the situation significantly worse. Maybe in situations like this it’s best to ‘lie low’, count one’s blessings, and simply be kind and patient. Is reporting him really going to lead to a happy outcome?

I’m not looking forward to the prospect of an intimidation campaign from my neighbour that may well end up with the police involved, and potentially a court case, in which he would most probably lie about everything and try to make my life as difficult as possible.

True, I am envisaging worst-case scenarios, and I certainly believe in an infinite God who is in control of this situation, and I don’t believe there’s any reason why He can’t bring about a happy resolution, perhaps in an unexpected way. I will certainly continue to pray for that. But my thoughts are currently filled with the threatening behaviour I may face in the coming days and the words I will have to speak to my neighbour and the phone calls I will have to make if things get serious.

Thank You for Your Support

This blog is primarily focused not on my personal life but on big ideas about God and faith and life and truth. Check out the archives and that should be clear enough. I haven’t published philosophy and theology posts for a while because I am in the process of releasing an album of songs I’ve written, and that’s taking up a lot of my time at present. And of course I have the neighbour situation absorbing some of my attention.

The community here on WordPress is like a group of friends; people who I feel I can trust with my fears and insecurities. So I hope you’ll forgive me for once in a while writing a post like this where I share what’s on my mind and the struggles I’m going through.

Even though I don’t presently identify as a member of a particular faith community, I still really appreciate prayers (I believe there is one God over all creation), and I know many of you do pray for me, because you have told me. If you do pray for me please ask God to protect me and guide me and help me to deal with this difficult situation in the best way possible. Thank you so much!

Life GOD is a great teacher, so I’ll try to remain optimistic and believe I will come out of this situation with gratitude and joy in my heart. And may my neighbour experience a breakthrough in his life that will encourage him to act with greater humanity and kindness. I have no idea what he has been through in the past.

Blessings upon you all!

Steven

Artwork for my Album

I’m in the process of finalising my album and am tentatively working towards a 10th September 2018 release date. I’m planning to produce a limited run of CDs as well as making the album available digitally through Apple Music, Spotify, and a range of other outlets.

At the moment I’m working on artwork for the album and have finished two possible designs. It would be great to get your feedback! Option 1 reflects the electronic element of the songs and is quite minimalistic and abstract, while Option 2 reflects the theme of some of the lyrics on the album and has more of a link to faith and theology.

If you haven’t been following the project so for you can listen to most of the songs that will feature on the album via this YouTube Playlist.

Here are the two options for album artwork!

OPTION 1:

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OPTION 2:

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You will notice that the album name is different on each image, which is because I haven’t finally decided on the title yet. I’m also aware of copyright law and there’s a chance that I may not be able to use one or both of the main images if I can’t get permission. I’m waiting to hear back about this.

But copyright issues notwithstanding, which cover do you prefer and why? Which one do you feel best suits the songs? Which title do you prefer and why? Which cover would make you intrigued to hear the album?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

A Few Photos from my Trip to Berlin

My first time visiting Germany has been a lot of fun. The main purpose of my visit was to spend some quality time with my sister, who lives in Berlin, but I was also able to visit a few of the major tourist attractions and get a feel for the culture of the city.

Here are a few snaps from my trip.

[image error]Outside the Brandenburg Gate
[image error]Berlin Cathedral
[image error]The famous TV tower, viewed from the top of the cathedral
[image error]Having a beer in Neukölln, where my sister lives
[image error]A chapel that was part of the Berlin wall memorial exhibition
[image error]The holocaust memorial
[image error]About to depart on a boat trip in central Berlin
[image error]The Berlin Tiergarten, a large park the size of 300 football pitches

The highlight of the trip for me was playing ridiculous games with my sister. We share a crazy sense of humour and at one point I laughed so much I spat coffee everywhere. Good to have a proper belly laugh!

I’m writing this post at Berlin Tegel airport as I wait in the departure lounge for my plane. I should be back in London in a few hours, and I’m looking forward to catching up with everything blogging-related over the next few days.

I hope you’re all well and have had a wonderful week!

Blessings, Steven

Weekly Roundup | 15/07/18

Welcome to my weekly roundup post, where I’ll be recapping my week in blogging, giving you some brief reflections on what’s happening in my world, and asking a Question of the Week to help me get to know you a little better. Let’s begin!

The Week in Review

It’s been a relatively quiet week on the blog, with only two posts published. The first was an invitation for you to listen to the 10th and final song from my music project, which was released on Tuesday. To read about the song and give it a spin, click here.

My main post this week was published on Thursday and it’s a post I spent a lot of time working on as it covers a hotly debated topic that can provoke strong opinions. The post is on the subject of suffering and in it I explain the reasons why I believe suffering is part of the human experience. To read the post, click here.

I previously wrote that I’ve been experiencing some technical problems switching between different WordPress plans. Unfortunately, this resulted in a few posts losing all their ‘Likes’ as well as images (the images have now been replaced). So I apologise if any of you were wondering why some of your Likes had disappeared!

A Few Personal Reflections

Due to a really busy July so far I haven’t been engaging with other blogs and bloggers as much as usual over the last week or two (so sorry!). I aim to get back into the swing of things with gusto after my holiday next week.
I’m traveling to Berlin very early on Tuesday morning and will be away for four days. I’ll be staying with my sister, whose WIFI is broken, so won’t be online as much as usual (although I’ll still be connected via the data on my phone). So it may be a quiet few days on Perfect Chaos…
Thanks so much to those of you who keep me in your prayers. I know God hears you and it means a lot to me. I’m planning to spend some quality time in prayer later today and on Sundays I always pray for all my blog followers and the community here on WordPress!


Question of the Week

Have you ever been to Germany? Any tips?!

Let me know in the comments!

 

Why Does God Allow Suffering?

One of the toughest problems in the study of both philosophy and theology is the so-called ‘problem of evil’ (also referred to as the theodicy problem). The problem can be formulated in a variety of ways, but is normally considered in terms of a specific question: If God is all-loving and all-powerful, why is there so much suffering in the world?

In this article I would like to focus on what I believe are the key issues related to this question, and I will offer my suggestions for why I believe suffering exists.

Rephrasing the Question

Those of you who are familiar with my theological perspective will know that I have a very high view of the sovereignty of God. I believe that God is by nature omnipresent and omnipotent, and that it logically follows from these attributes that God is in control of all events in existence. I take God’s omnipresence to be literal – His being is boundless which means that all of creation exists within God and is an expression of God. His control over all events necessarily follows from this.

Taking these thoughts into consideration, I believe we need to rephrase the question that is the title of this post. Instead of asking why God allows suffering, it would make more sense to ask: Why does God make us suffer?

Important Considerations

I believe that in order to understand why God makes us suffer, we need to consider a few things about the nature of God and the nature of existence. I agree with many theologians who have, after deeply considering who and what God is, deduced that He holds the attributes of omnipotence and eternality. The fact that God is both all-powerful and eternally existing begs the question of what God is going to do with all this time and all this power. What would you do?

In my article entitled God’s Grand Game I explained how I believe God’s pastime is to create wonderful complex storylines for the creatures He has created. I believe that the unfolding of such stories over thousands of years gives God pleasure; perhaps a sense of anticipation, excitement, and focus.

Does God Suffer?

In another article I argued that God might experience a certain kind of hell – that the restrictions of being unable to ever ‘switch off’ from existence, and also the matter of being alone for all eternity, might be a form of terrible suffering that God has to endure. I speculated that the reason why God makes His creatures suffer might be in order to give them a taste of His own suffering.

On the other hand, it’s perfectly possible that God doesn’t suffer at all. Those who seek union with God through meditation and other spiritual disciplines often report experiencing a wonderful bliss in the deeper stages of their practice, and I myself have experienced something like this when I have been immersed in deep meditation. This leads me to wonder whether God’s essence is perfect bliss, and that He might be perfectly at peace in Himself, regardless of the ‘limitations’ on His being that I discussed above.

The Most Probable Reason for Suffering

If God doesn’t make us suffer to give us a taste of His own suffering, then we must look for alternative explanations for why He makes us suffer. The argument that I find most compelling is that God always brings good out of evil.

It can be hard for us to understand why God might inflict rape, murder, torture, and other such horrors on His created subjects. I have myself experienced some intense episodes of suffering in my life, and have often questioned why God put me through them. But the evidence from my own life, and from countless other testimonies, is that our suffering is always under control, and limited. While God might make us suffer for a time, He always releases us from that suffering, whether it be through healing, a turn of events, or release in the form of death.

While the nature of the afterlife is of course mysterious to me, I have a hope that those who have suffered terribly in this life will encounter marvellous rewards in the next life – perhaps even a peace and joy that will totally eclipse the pain of any earthly suffering.

Conclusion

The whole of existence can be seen as a grand performance or play directed by God as a way of expressing and exploring the infinite possibilities that exist within His nature. The ability to inflict suffering seems to be an aspect of God’s power that He likes to express, and I believe we should trust in His wisdom and that He has good reasons for making us suffer.

The evidence seems to me to suggest that while people often suffer terribly, God is ultimately merciful and chooses to limit our suffering to what is necessary for His purposes and plans. My hope is that all who suffer will receive recompense for their hardship through the experience of an enduring joy and a peace that far outweighs their troubles.

For more on the problem of suffering and an exposition of the spiritual journey that led me to these conclusions, I invite you to check out my book entitled The Philosophy of a Mad Man. The book is available with free worldwide delivery, and you can find out more about it here. Thank you for reading!

Listen to my New Song!

Today I’m releasing the 10th and final song of my music project. The process of recording this album has been wonderful and on the whole I’m really happy with the songs. I hope you’ve enjoyed listening to them, and of course there’ll be a further opportunity to hear all the songs when the album is released later this year.

A quick reminder – you can still enter the competition to decide the album title and win a prize; this post has all the details regarding how to enter.

The song I’m releasing today is titled ‘Independence’ and is an upbeat and funky electro-rock instrumental. I’ve made a simple video for the song, which is embedded below. If you enjoy the song, please give it a thumbs up on YouTube or a ‘Like’ here on WordPress. Without further ado, pop on your best headphones and turn it up!

Weekly Roundup | 08/07/18

Welcome to this week’s roundup. In this article I’ll be summarising my week in blogging, sharing a few personal reflections on my life at this time, and asking a Question of the Week to enable me to get to know you a little better. Let’s get started!

The Week in Review

On Monday I shared an update on the new WordPress editor, Gutenberg. After getting the latest news from WordPress support I thought it would be helpful to share what I know about the changes that are coming, which will affect all WordPress.com users. To read about Gutenberg, and to try out the new editor, click here.

I posted again on Wednesday to let you know about some technical problems I’ve been experiencing with the blog since upgrading from WordPress Premium to the Business plan. Many of these problems are ongoing and are rather complicated. I will persevere, and am learning a lot. To read the post, click here.

On Friday I was happy to publish a post that wasn’t related to technological challenges (Phew! This is not a tech blog!). In the post, entitled ‘Is Philosophy Important?’ I discussed what true philosophy is and the huge impact it has had on my life. I shared how studying the subject has led me to a deeper understanding of the nature of God and reality. To read the post, click here.

A Few Personal Reflections

A recent comment discussion on Perfect Chaos led me to realise that it’s been a long time since I wrote anything about suffering, and the reasons why we suffer. I’ve been working hard on an article on the subject, and God-willing I’ll be publishing it next week, probably on Thursday. I think it’s an important one so keep an eye out!
In just over a week I’ll be visiting Germany for the first time. I’ve got a lot to do between now and the date I fly (17th July), but I’m looking forward to this little adventure and catching up with my sister, who lives in Berlin and is the reason for my visit.
This coming Tuesday (10th July) I’m going to be releasing the final song of my music project. I’ve finished recording the song but still need to work on artwork and a few other things. There’s still time to enter the album competition. I made a short video explaining all the details, and you can view it here.


Question of the Week

What is the focus or ‘niche’ of your blog, and why?

Let me know in the comments!

 

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Is Philosophy Important?

It’s interesting how within spiritual circles there are strong and conflicting opinions about the importance of philosophy. I know that many Christians feel the subject is a waste of time, and instead focus exclusively on Biblical revelation as life’s only real source of wisdom.

On the other hand, there are many who feel philosophy and religion go hand in hand, and that it is impossible to defend one’s faith without engaging in philosophy at least on some level.

In this article I will briefly explain why philosophy is important to me, and why as much as I have immersed myself in Christian living, I have never been able to dismiss the importance of philosophical enquiry.

What is Philosophy?

I think that often philosophy can seem like a subject that is highly academic; full of propositions and logic and complex arguments that would give anyone a headache. But for me, this is not what philosophy is at all. Philosophy is the quest to understand the true nature of reality, including ourselves.

Philosophy, for me, begins with fascination and mystery. It starts with the astonishing fact that I find myself in some kind of existence doing something called living, and I seem to experience things like the functioning of my body, mind, and emotions, as well as being aware of a universe that I can observe.

Ever since lying in the bath for hours during my time at university listening to talks by the comparative religion philosopher Alan Watts (when I probably should have been studying), I have been excited to try to understand why I am here, what exactly I am, and why anything exists at all.

Can We Really Know Anything?

I have found that through the exploration of many different spiritual paths and philosophical viewpoints, I have been able to answer a lot of the questions that first troubled me when I began to deeply ponder the nature of reality during my time at university.

It has been a long and difficult journey, but through reading the ideas of deep-thinking people, and more importantly examining the answers to philosophical questions for myself, I have been able to form a worldview that makes sense to me, feels honest and truthful, and gives meaning to my life.

How Did I Get There?

Without a doubt my biggest discovery was that God exists. As a youngster I was an ardent atheist, and the idea of God seemed very illogical and even frustrating. I used to be angered by the seemingly ridiculous faith some people had in an entity that for me was no more real than unicorns.

The thing about God is that He reveals Himself to people in His own time and in His own way.

For me, the revelation of God’s existence came during a spell in psychiatric hospital. I had been desperately searching for meaning and truth for years, immersing myself in the spiritual practices of different faith groups, but only experiencing confusion, hopelessness, longing, and desperation.

When I eventually ended up in hospital after a serious breakdown, I felt compelled to ask the staff for a Bible, which would have been a complete surprise to those who knew me, as I had never taken a serious interest in Christianity before. But God used the Bible and my time in hospital to awaken me to His presence. He began to speak to me and show me that He is in control of my life.

Christianity, for me, was a huge awakening. But it didn’t answer all of the questions that I had about the nature of God and reality. I discovered that Christians were unable to answer fundamental questions about the relationship between God and human beings. There were contradictions and confusions in the Christian worldview that I simply couldn’t ignore.

I ended up writing two books that expound what I have come to understand about God, and these books deal with those questions to which I have found Christians have no satisfying answers.

Conclusion

It is not my intention to in any way belittle the Christian faith. I have been a dedicated evangelical Christian in the past and made the Bible the focus of my life for many years, so I completely understand the passion with which Christians dedicate themselves to their faith. I also fully understand the fear Christians have of being drawn away from Jesus – that’s a fear I have felt myself on many occasions.

But for me, there are philosophical problems with the Christian worldview that are very significant. For instance, I have come to understand that God is in control of everything that happens, which is something a Christian cannot agree with as the whole Christian worldview hinges on freedom of the human will. This is a very significant problem and the implications are manifold.

It is through a joint exploration of faith and philosophy that I have been able to answer my deepest questions. Reading the Bible encouraged me to believe in God, but philosophical enquiry proved to me that without doubt there is a God, and taught me deep truths about who and what God is, and how those truths relate to my own existence and the existence of the world I experience. So that’s why I am happy to argue that philosophy is important.

For a more in-depth look at my philosophical perspective and my arguments for and against Christianity, you are welcome to download my essay entitled An Almighty Predicament from the Essays page. Thank you for reading!

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