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**18holesin** · 08-31-2007, 01:39 AM

Christ was sinless so how does His lament " My God, My God why has Thou forsaken me" relate to the above understanding of the apparent "absence" of God.

Effie

I can only speak to this part, the rest is a bit more than I am willing to tackle. And for the record, I'm not looking for "depth" or what-have-you in this. I think people are making far too much of what is a pretty universal feeling--that we have been abandoned by God and He's left us to our own devices. That is my understanding of that verse as well. At that moment Christ shared in that universal loss for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. ((Hebrews 4:15)).

A "dark night of the soul" ((all the quotes notwithstanding but thank you for them)) is a spiritual desperation for some sort of tangible contact with God. We all have it. It doesn't make us less Christian ((as some Christians imply)) and it doesn't mean we are somehow admitting that God does not exist (9as some atheists have said outright)). It means that we are human, with all the flaws and needs thereof.

What is more important, IMO, is Mother Teresa's faithfulness and obedience in spite of her doubts and desperation. I find that far more interesting than the fact that she, like me, had some doubts and felt desperation.

JMO YMMV

08-31-2007, 01:39 AM	#8
18holesin Join Date Nov 2005 Posts 580 Senior Member	Christ was sinless so how does His lament " My God, My God why has Thou forsaken me" relate to the above understanding of the apparent "absence" of God. Effie I can only speak to this part, the rest is a bit more than I am willing to tackle. And for the record, I'm not looking for "depth" or what-have-you in this. I think people are making far too much of what is a pretty universal feeling--that we have been abandoned by God and He's left us to our own devices. That is my understanding of that verse as well. At that moment Christ shared in that universal loss for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. ((Hebrews 4:15)). A "dark night of the soul" ((all the quotes notwithstanding but thank you for them)) is a spiritual desperation for some sort of tangible contact with God. We all have it. It doesn't make us less Christian ((as some Christians imply)) and it doesn't mean we are somehow admitting that God does not exist (9as some atheists have said outright)). It means that we are human, with all the flaws and needs thereof. What is more important, IMO, is Mother Teresa's faithfulness and obedience in spite of her doubts and desperation. I find that far more interesting than the fact that she, like me, had some doubts and felt desperation. JMO YMMV
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