SPIRIT ON THE SAIL
Chapter Seven
Experiencial Gauge
Both the masthead weathervane, and the fluttering tell-tells* on the shrouds confirm the accuracy of the electronic wind gauge before me on the binnacle.
*(Tell-tells are thin strips of material affixed to the cables holding the mast upright)
Even with those dependable wind indicators, I stubbornly rely most on the sensation of wind blowing on the back of my ears and neck. The other indicators only prove what I experience.
Assured of the actual wind angle, a slight easing of the sheets spreads Chubasco's sails wide, wing and wing, in steady midfay fresh breeze.
I can't help but chuckle, stroking my beard as I consider how personal experience overrides even the most reliable instruments when determining normal terrestrial forces such as wind. It's little wonder we insistence on experience as our proof of existing supernatural forces. It seems any attempt to prove God's existence and His reality by other means is automatically trumped by the lack of imperial evidence and then completely dismissed with some contradictory experience.
Satisfied with Chubasco's sailtrim, but less satisfied with our speed. I whisper something meant to encourage my trusty transport, "Chubby, we sure look pretty, don't we." But even though a sailboat is most impressive when her sails are fully ballooned running down wind, it is arguably the slows point of sail. We are already behind schedule, and at this speed we are likely to be caught in the middle of this afternoon's forecasted storm.
However, right now there is nothing much we can do about it, other than firing up the engine, and motor-sail. But God help me, I would rather brave the storm under sail than submit to that.
Lunch Brake
Something I can do now is grab the banana and honey/oat bar along with a chocolate protein drink from my seabag, and enjoy some lunch. "Thank you Lord! What a life."
Settling myself at the helm while take in some tasty nourishment, I resume my "otherworldly" quest for Divine proof thinking:
"If God is truly God, He unquestionably has an objective existence independent of our human notions about Him. And if He truly desires to reveal Himself to us, it is reasonable to expected He also gave each of us the capacity to detect His kind of supernatural revelation.
*(Tell-tells are thin strips of material affixed to the cables holding the mast upright)
Even with those dependable wind indicators, I stubbornly rely most on the sensation of wind blowing on the back of my ears and neck. The other indicators only prove what I experience.
Assured of the actual wind angle, a slight easing of the sheets spreads Chubasco's sails wide, wing and wing, in steady midfay fresh breeze.
I can't help but chuckle, stroking my beard as I consider how personal experience overrides even the most reliable instruments when determining normal terrestrial forces such as wind. It's little wonder we insistence on experience as our proof of existing supernatural forces. It seems any attempt to prove God's existence and His reality by other means is automatically trumped by the lack of imperial evidence and then completely dismissed with some contradictory experience.
Satisfied with Chubasco's sailtrim, but less satisfied with our speed. I whisper something meant to encourage my trusty transport, "Chubby, we sure look pretty, don't we." But even though a sailboat is most impressive when her sails are fully ballooned running down wind, it is arguably the slows point of sail. We are already behind schedule, and at this speed we are likely to be caught in the middle of this afternoon's forecasted storm.
However, right now there is nothing much we can do about it, other than firing up the engine, and motor-sail. But God help me, I would rather brave the storm under sail than submit to that.
Lunch Brake
Something I can do now is grab the banana and honey/oat bar along with a chocolate protein drink from my seabag, and enjoy some lunch. "Thank you Lord! What a life."
Settling myself at the helm while take in some tasty nourishment, I resume my "otherworldly" quest for Divine proof thinking:
"If God is truly God, He unquestionably has an objective existence independent of our human notions about Him. And if He truly desires to reveal Himself to us, it is reasonable to expected He also gave each of us the capacity to detect His kind of supernatural revelation.
Those things being true, it also makes sense that God would come in a human form, namely Jesus, to let us know what He is up to. I know the Bible indicates that part of the reason Jesus came was to be the light of the world, so that seeing Him people would be able to recognise God.
Naturally, flesh and blood human bodies are material, and die. So. Christ's material body also had to die. His physical death could have ended the possibility of first-hand experiences of God, except His Spirit is not limited by space/time material, and therefore has been free to reveal God to all of humanity ever since. His Spirit continues, "to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory (His brilliance) in the face of Jesus."
Rummaging through my memory banks, I recall numerous personal instances, along with the first-hand accounts of many others who experienced the Spirit of God, most of which bare little if any resemblance to a physical sensation like the breeze on a sailor's skin, or a neurochemical reaction in the brain of navigators, or some emotional experience at sea. Though all of the encounters with God's Spirit I know of did arouse physical, mental, and emotional responses, they are commonly recognized as indirect secondary responses to a very direct interaction between an individual and the Spirit of God. It's actually more like a communion between some none material part of us with a mysterious presence eliminating from a source somewhere beyond our physical, mental, or emotional being.
So then, what are the none material weathervanes or "spiritual receptors" all humans are endowed with, which enabling us to detect and recognize His Spirit on the sails of our personalities?"
Where Are We
"Wait a minute Chubby! We need to refocus on getting you to your new marina home. So, how far are we from the San Diego Bay entrance?"
The SD mid-channel buoy is straight ahead, though still out of sight. The curvature of the earth conceals it from view. As the peak of Mount San Miguel visually lines up directly behind the iconic San Diego lighthouse, I squint at the distant horizon over Chubasco's bow. “There it is! That means it's about three miles away.
Triangulating the distance from the buoy sighting I figure it will be at least forty minutes before we reach the safest passageway into San Diego Bay. Then another forty minutes passing through the channel before we actually reach the bay itself. The buoy is also further off our starboard than expected, meaning we are closer to the kelp-beds than I planned.
Making the appropriate course correction, my thoughts return to the question of what exactly are those attributes believers and unbelievers alike undoubtedly possess, which make it possible for us to empirically recognize God and His reality? I can't see it yet, but I know its just over the horizon.
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