Brett's Discernment

The Holy Spirit used to be the hardest part of the trinity for me to personally comprehend.
The father is I think partially conceived as such not only because he is literally our creator, but because we have these human relationships to analogize from and also I think the whole conception of God the "father" could have also been partially brought about to connect early to the earliest theistic cultures.
Lately though I have felt the Spirit, both through external events and also through Him moving me toward actions. Kindness is one way.
Leaning more these days toward teaching one more year, as I have a hunger for seminary, to learn, to have a wide array of opportunities in front of me.
At first I wasn't sure if mine and pastor B2's personalities really meshed, but now I really do. I think also he would help me in my call process and going through the committees and such. I am amazed at his humor yet depth, and I long for some of the pastoral experiences he speaks of. I used to be scared of some of the aspects of being a pastor, but I feel like those things are so full of the Spirit that now I feel gradually more called to some of the works which involve my fears in some ways.
I want to know more about the Gospels. I think I need to. I am mediocre-ly well versed in the letters, and pretty well versed in the history and apologetics. But the Gospel is at the root of our faith. I tend to be a Lutheran who prefers or leans more toward the "grace" and "faith" alone side of Luther's religious "alone" trinity, but not as much toward the "word." I was not brought up in a bible-reading culture, although I am not using that as an excuse. I am really interested in learning about the Gospels and how they vary, what the feeling of each is, etc. I guess I should just stop talking about it then and READ them. Come on Brett. But then the other excuses roll on

Although I would still say that I am still ultra liberal for a Lutheran or most protestant denominations, I would say that it is softening somewhat as I realize how traditional I am. Also, I am no longer afraid or ashamed of this. I think while every pastor has their own personal belief set which they may share to whatever extent.

I still don't believe in a literal "Satan" as a being which has its own free will. I still think, and I think I may always believe this, that this reflects a part of the oral tradition, and the need to name and embody the force of sin which is natural in all of us. I suppose that then begs the question, where did the original sin of Eve come from, if not Satan? I think that our sin is rooted in the undeniable truth that GOD (and I mean all three parts of the trinity here) is the only perfect (which I take also to include its original meaning as complete) res aut animus all of creation. The only thing perfect in creation lies between those "right relationships" - God's LOVE is the only perfect, complete, whole, sinless.
I think the Adam and Eve story can be taken anachronistically to further tell that Man needs community to survive, and in human or created community perfection is not possible. This goes back to the idea of "right relationship." God created us "in his image," and said that "it was good," and it most certainly was. But we are not complete, and we can't be. Why? If God is omnipotent? Because God gives us the gift of choice, of free will. Ummm... I don't have a lot of backup for this argument, it's just my gut feeling of faith and what I've been coming to believe and understand over the years.
I have lots of grading to do. Maybe I'll be back on later.