Everything Happens





This is hubris to the fullest extent of the law.




Praise Socrates and pass the plate of uncertainty.





Thank you.



Let’s just say things happen…and love makes them bearable.



  1. Probably a good thing you didn’t finish (or publish) that other blog post.
    I understand that some–if not most–of what you write is meant to provoke responses from your students/readers. But provoking immaterial, unprovable/disprovable ideas brings out a lot of passion, a lot of circular arguments, and a lot of headaches for both sides.

    There’s a reason you’re a communications professor after all.

  2. Hey Jimmy,
    though I am a conformist to the religious sect, I agree with you about the phrase “everything happens for a reason.” From my view it makes God out to be a great controlling orchestrator who wills good to some and bad to others, when it is much more complex than that.
    I do have a clarifying question for you though: you say that you like to push people to question everything (which I appreciate), but it sounds as though you are settled in your uncertainty? Isn’t the point of questioning to find truth? It seems pointless to end your search by contenting yourself with uncertainty.
    Am I wrong?

    • Hi Emma! I was just telling Rene’ this evening how highly I think of you Riley kids….seriously, I respect you all so much as each of you are so grounded, intellectual, while wholly committed to your faith. I seriously respect the “horse poop” out of you all. I also thank you for allowing me to assist with judging your speech contest and completely expect I will be invited back again….I hope. Sure this heathen was uncomfortable as hell residing in “Purityville” for a few hours, yet I find such weird sadistic pleasure while being in such discomfort :).

      Sooo…..when you spend 4 decades of your life searching for “truth” (which is different from “faith”) and conclude uncertainty, uncertainty becomes your truth (lower case t). The question you pose assumes all searches must end in certainty and assumes there is a truth to be found. This is why I believe the distinction between truth and faith is so important…faith is a belief in something unseen that one decides to follow while truth is declaring the ultimate answer without dispute or question. But, hey, I committed long ago to never engage in theological dispute ever again. I completely support your wonderful faith and religion and am so pleased the expression of your faith makes the world a much better place…so I genuinely thank you. Please send my best regards to Seth and Rebekah.

  3. I’m supposed to argue with a post, and I chose this- not because I want to argue, but comment. Everything happens for a reason is the WORST. It plays into dogmatic understandings and leads to the opposite of the comfort it is wishing to convey, in most cases. I find it super interesting you were once a pastor, but not surprising. I think the idea of questioning, is usually met with some sort of faith or study thereof. Hopefully, it doesn’t end with a, “oh, cool that’s it then, I guess I don’t need to question anything anymore, it’s all figured out for me.”, no matter how comforting that place can be. I admit, I have vacationed my emotions, and my mind there for some time, and thankfully no longer look to that comfort in seeking peace, solace or answers. I have for the majority realized answers are never what you think they should be, and hardly ever are what they are. I know it sounds like garbage, and in obvious instances it is completely untrue, but when you’re looking for the meaning of life, why bad things happen or any other thing that is beyond comprehension, you can’t really rest on the simple answer. It’s usually a bit more than you think, and maybe evolving with the time in which you ask it. At certain points plague was caused by sin, then economic turmoil was caused by immigrants, and now we conflate both to sanitary practices and money trends. Our understandings of things are constantly changing based on our information sets, experiences, and perspectives. We can’t agree wholeheartedly with anyone’s beliefs because when it comes down to it, we haven’t been them, and we really cant see fully the way we see. I don’t really know why I felt the need to jump on this exact post, but I do agree with the, fuck “just have faith” as a comforting argument in any case. Second rabbit hole, and then I will be done (at least this part will connect slightly better), I posted about the impeachment of Trump being scary, because then that would mean we would get Pence. The first response I got was a laughing emoji, to which I responded I did not find it a funny situation. This resulted in a long winded post about trusting in God’s purpose, having faith, and having nothing to fear as a believer in God. What. The. Fuck. I have been there though, I have been to those depths of belief in which any bodily, worldly harm seemed meaningless in the scope of eternity. This is the level of faith that usually makes it hard for non-believers to ever take a religious person seriously. It can be infuriating, and in most cases offensive to the people’s who are most concerned by whatever ill effects are being ‘faithed’ away. It started brewing a little on my post, but was mostly mediated, because it’s hard enough to read that stuff from someone you know and marginally like, let alone a stranger you could give two fucks about. So maybe the point of this post is to treat people with the filter that, while you may think they are stupid, they more than likely have no ill intentions. Or, and this one is more likely- I agree, thanks for giving me a space to pre-schizophrenic rant, (pre, because I hope it’s somewhat easier to follow than most alien people, conspiracy theory, corner rants).

  4. I think when most people, at least for me when I say things “happen for a reason,” I think of it as a lesson or it is part of life. Maybe I also think of it as “God’s plan.” I think I do that as a way to make myself feel better about a crappy situation; to be positive because that is just who I am, but not always. It is also okay to say, “this just sucks, and I am sorry that this is happening.” It is better than saying, “that’s life man,” which could be another way of saying, “things happen for a reason.” I really appreciate what you said about things being uncertain in the unknown can bring new hope. I have never thought about it that way. That can be scary, but in a good way. I am going to have to remember that in the future.
    I know I am suppose to argue this, but I agree with so much. It gives me more perspective on life and death that I haven’t ever thought about before. The reason I chose to reply to this one is because I agree that things do happen for a reason because it is apart of life. With that said, life can be pretty hard and crappy, and great and wonderful. We can’t help that things that happen to us. I don’t believe that people pass away for a reason. That’s silly. But a lot of other stuff does happen for a reason. At least that’s what I believe.

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