Love Bypasses Public Policy Once Again

Tolerance never comes to pass by will, mandate or legislation.

If, and only if, you are beloved can you love anyone.

And it is only through love can you be tolerant.

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Religious Hash?

This past Monday when I was at the grocery store the checkout clerk was talking about the bad behavior of a public figure. “Well, he’ll get his, you know,” she declared. Then added, “I believe in karma. You know. He’ll get his!”
What I think she meant was that she believes in some sort of cosmic retribution or payback. I didn’t ask her to explain the source of her belief system-mostly because I pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to, other than ‘gut instinct.’
It did get me thinking about the smorgasbord of beliefs people walk around with-mostly a mixture of pseudo-science, some religious faith, superstitions and a lot of hoping-for-the-best. Now and then I run into people who “have no faith but science” which really doesn’t explain much. Why? Even the best of the scientists admit that they have no ultimate, verifiable information on how we came to be and why we are here, not to mention the philosophical questions (morals, ethics, afterlife,etc.) that religious faiths do address. It's been said that it takes a leap of faith to think that science has the answer stored up inside it (-don't misunderstand, science has answers but not of this sort). Lewis speaks to this "faith" in this paragraph regarding the accidental production of our universe:
“If the solar system was brought about by an accidental collision, then the appearance of organic life on this planet was also an accident, and the whole evolution of Man was an accident too. If so, then all our present thoughts are mere accidents – the accidental by-product of the movement of atoms. And this holds for the thoughts materialists and astronomers as well as for anyone else’s.
But if their thoughts-i.e. of materialism and astronomy-were merely accidental by-products, why should we believe them to be true?
I see no reason for believing that one accident should be able to give me a correct account of all the other accidents.
It’s like expecting that the accidental shape taken by the splash when you upset a milkjug should give you a correct account of how the jug was made and why it was upset.”

• C.S. Lewis, From “Answers to Questions on Christianity”

How Man Manages and Searching for Meaning

I've noted polar opposite (and extreme) differences in the way people live out their lives on earth with respect to time. At one extreme, I call it “Managed Man.” He’s carefully, thoughtfully, planned out and managed his life so as to reach the end in the fullness of health and wealth. Managed Man plans against all possible disastrous occurrences, and plans to avoid them all. Managed Man has little use for God. God is beyond his control. The problem with this life is that everyone dies in the end. God cannot be avoided.
The second group is the one that lives for today, often times he’s the one who thinks he’s going to die young anyway. He’s Hell-On-Wheels, Live-for-Today. He’ll take too many known risks: drinking, drugs, poor eating habits, bad behaviors, etc. For some reason, he’s decided he’s not worthy of God’s respect and love, so why bother trying? Often he assumes he’s “not good enough” for God and “going to hell anyway,” so he might as well enjoy life here. Live-for-Today Man, despite his cocky attitude, is quite afraid to face enquire into what the truth might actually be: God as Father does not treat His sons as hated sons who are worthy only if they perform, but as beloved (and needy) little ones-whom He craves to be loved by.
Most people fall in the middle between these two extremes. Wherever we are now, if we ignore the Big Questions, we'll always be distracted and caught up in the little questions. Big Questions deserve honest and focused exploration. If we instead choose to live in distracted denial, we'll abort a significant growth step. 
I submit that it would likely embarrass humanity if we had any idea that the only thing God craved yet lacked a return on the love He has for us.
I Clearing The Ground:
Let's say "Managed Man" and "Live-For-Today" man have both decided to take a step forward and to take stock of what is ahead of him beyond this temporal life. When he does, he will soon realize he cannot do this alone, he'll find that man cannot shut himself up in himself, as if in a little world, and have all he needs at hand to sufficiently explain himself to himself. I suggest each man should first make a personal inventory of his immanent resources.
To do that, he should recognize both his aspirations towards things that are good, a thirst for truth and faithfulness, or certainty, or a sense of fulfillment. If he is makes an honest and concerted effort to do so, will find that he cannot reach these goals or ends on his own. The gap left between the desire and dream and his ability to comprehend it, points out simply that man needs, desperately needs, some kind of transcendent help beyond this little world.
It is at this point he has cleared the ground and has begun a search for meaning.
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