Life, Liberty, and a Pursuit of Truth: My Journey so Far

Copyright © 2016 Dana D. Linderman.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-3290-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3291-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3289-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016903187

WestBow Press rev. date: 3/8/2016

Contents

I. What is Real?

1. Messed Up

2. True

3. God’s Voice

II. Who is Right?

4. Mask

5. Crowd

6. Me

III. How should I Respond?

7. Logos

8. Ethos

9. Pathos

IV. When Is The Risk?

10. Urgent

PREFACE

A few years back, I had a little misunderstanding with the Marine Corps. I had taken an unauthorized vacation and upon returning was sentenced to a motivational training program. One day while there, I was put in a bare room that had a mirror on the wall, and a sign under it which read, Why am I here?

This is a question that has plagued me all of my life. Unlike most people, my life has been a search for the answer to this question. My rationale has been that if I will exist beyond this life, especially if it is forever, I had better get it right, now, during this life on earth. I have tried to be pragmatic enough to work and pay bills, raise my children providing opportunities for them to pursue their dreams, and honestly to enjoy some of the comforts this world has to offer me. I have had my ups and downs because this essential underlying search has been my greatest need, and I have had to continue to refine the answer I have found.

This book is an attempt to share some of what I have learned, and help those who are driven to know what the truth is. It seems like most people have no sense of how important this is, if we as humans do exist forever. If you are driven to know why you are here, please consider this presentation.

I

WHAT IS REAL?

1. Messed Up

Murder-suicide. The news talks about a father in a nearby town who shoots his wife, his two boys, ages six and nine, and then himself. Four dead. Extremist Islamist Terrorists apparently are not getting the shock and attention they want by cutting hostages’ heads off, so they burn one alive in a cage.

We live in a world that is messed up. I can’t imagine that any thinking person would disagree with this statement. How can we make any sense out of the world? Or should we save our energy and just live our lives without trying to make any sense of it?

Those of us who have been around for a while, here in the United States, have seen a huge cultural change during our lifetimes. Are we a product of evolution just here by chance for no over-riding purpose? Are all religions of equal value?

Is there any way of knowing if there is objective truth? Is there someone or something beyond what we are able to see and evaluate beyond our earthly perspective? Can people who are in conflict with diametrically opposing beliefs both be right? If there is no objective supreme standard, who is to determine right and wrong, or if there is actually any such thing as right and wrong? Is it all a matter of personal belief and preference?

I could not imagine someone who does not think the world is messed up having an interest in this book. This book is written for those who know it is, and still seek to make some kind of sense out of it, believing there must be some over-riding reason that explains all the disturbing events we continually experience in our world.

As I begin to write this book, let me highlight just some of the events that have happened recently that I am aware of, which to me prove my point. Last weekend a boy who went to high school with my youngest daughter committed suicide. He was a sophomore and a quite normal looking boy. I have no idea why he committed suicide, but it is horrible to know such a young man ended his life. The only thing I heard was some bullies robbed him of lunch money at school, and certainly, this contributed to his feelings of hopelessness and despair. I am angry and devastated by it, and I did not even know of him before this. I wish I could have helped him. I wish someone would have helped him. How awful. How sad. How messed up.

A father recently threw his five-year-old child off a sixty-foot bridge in Florida. The child died. We hear of such offenses against children all the time. How messed up is that? An elderly couple went to look at a car they were interested in, and were murdered. Their bodies were pulled out of a pond with their car. Senseless. Three teenagers robbed an elderly man nearby, who was also suffering from dementia and Parkinson’s. They robbed him and beat him up. How heartless and despicable is this type of frequent behavior?

Nigeria has been plagued by crimes against humanity for years. Thousands of people have been murdered and innumerable others have suffered from assaults of every cruel description. There is very little concern by the world, and very little assistance for these people who are desperate for help. There are many other people in the world in similar situations. The more we care about people, and the more we believe in justice, the more we are outraged by this type of situation, and want to do what we can do to help. Unfortunately, this may not be very much, which makes these situations especially unsettling.

I hate death. If you have had someone die who you loved very dearly, you probably have hated death with your whole being as well. When I was eleven, my eight year-old brother died in a house fire. It was sudden, violent, and completely unexpected. He was the closest friend I had in the world. We did everything together. That was 48 years ago, and there is still that void in my heart because of the enemy death. Since then I have known quite of few people who have died. My other brother, and both parents, have gone on. Many friends have died. It is especially upsetting when someone dies when they are young. My life was shattered when the first baby conceived with my wife was lost with a miscarriage. It sure helps to figure out what really matters, and how short our stay on this earth is, when looking into the casket of a loved one.

We could go on with the horrible things that continually occur in our world, but just this sampling of current events should be enough to remind the normal thinking and caring person that we really live in a messed up world. Is there any way to make sense of it, or is this just the way it is, so we should not worry about it, but go after what we want, like many people do? Are we wrong to expect that