On Being

This caught my eye primarily because I love to fish as well as hunt. Really I love anything that has to do with the outdoors. Once I started listening to James Prosek, I immediately related to what he was saying for the most part. I mean some of it was a bit out there for me, but I still kept an open mind. But I know what he means when there is a mystery out in nature that you can feel and sense but can't touch. Half of the enjoyment I get out of hunting and fishing is simply being out in nature and enjoying what we have all around us and its beauty. I don't even have to see or get anything for my effort to be rewarded.

I think that when we stop and look at the beauty we have in this world, we sort of look into a different dimension. How did all of this beauty come about? If you answer that question in a spiritual way, I would say that nature reflects the beauty of God. If someone can make something so beautiful and amazing then there has to be a certain beauty and genius about the maker. I'm not an environmentalist by any means, but we should at least enjoy what we have and maybe if we look hard enough, we can see a different side to things that we have never seen before.

Your conversation with James Prosek was very refreshing and inspiring — and, dare I say, spiritual — for this Lutheran-angler-pastor. Despite what others may have said, I heartily agree with Mr. Prosek's main thesis that trout fishing, properly done, immerses us in deep and joyous pools of life's mysteries. And, by giving space to mystery — to a humble realization that (despite all our efforts to quantify and order life} we know less-and-less all the time — we brush up against God, in a most friendly way.

My wife and I listened to "Fishing With Mystery" via podcast on our way back from Colorado. Two days before hearing this program we fly-fished for Golden Trout on the slopes of Pikes Peak. It was in a crystal-clear, tiny-ribboned stream, where my dad fished less-than-a-month before he died. We caught our limits that day. But, more than that, we caught a precious, fleeting moment with my very-faithful Christian father, who taught me to love trout, and the wild, magical places they inhabit.

While I cannot prove it theologically, nor would I even waste valuable life's time and energy trying, there is room in Christianity — and in all honest, humble, earnest God-seeking — for an appreciation of the 'magic' and wonder of God's mystical Creation. I only hope and pray, Ms. Tippet, that you will find time, and a congenial guide, to go fishing for that most beautiful and inspiring of all fish — the trout.

They say that any attempt to unify atheists is equivalent to herding cats. That's because atheists are not people who share a belief in the non-existence of God; we are people with our own, diverse and sometimes elaborate belief systems, just as different from one another as Catholicism is from Buddhism.

On that note, while it's nice to hear talk of Humanism or atheism on On Being, it's even nicer to hear from non-religious spiritual people like James Prosek. "Fishing with mystery" put me in touch again with my own spirituality, which often gets pushed aside to make room for the daily grind — and by doing so it brightened my day.

I am a regular listener of On Being and enjoy the intelligent, objective approach toward understanding the religious & spiritual beliefs held by fellow humans. I especially enjoyed the interview with James Prosek who seems to share my almost religious reverence of fish and fishing. Krista Tippet continues to keep me tuned in.

Wow! What a unique and superlative presentation! It brought back memories of my fishing days in Virginia (small-mouth bass in the James River) and North Carolina (wild trout in local streams). Krista's interview with James Prosek captured the magic and out-of-the-world experience of fishing. To paraphrase Lance Armstrong "It is not about the fishing rod"!

Thanks to Krista and her staff for a great radio and Web site experience. This will rate as one of the my favorite "On Being" programs ever.

The August 31 show featuring James Prosek sets a new low mark for your conversations about faith. Ordinarily your program provokes serious thought about my Christian faith and the differing (and sometimes exotic) beliefs of others. It's often hard for me to relate to those whose faith isn't Christian but I can certainly relate to Prosek. Living in the lake country of Minnesota, we've all heard his story plenty of times: I don't need to worship God in a church setting; I can find him in the woods or at the lake.

There is a difference between placing one's tithe in the collection plate and spending it on bait and tackle. Regarding his faith, he himself said it best: "I guess I'm nothing." Turf this story to the sports page where it belongs.

My Mother dragged the 8 of us to the old musty church every Sunday, Dad usually left a bit earlier to go fly-fishing. Somehow, without disrespecting my mother, my father sometimes would say in all seriousness and humbleness, "I am off to Church". Not often did he elaborate, I think because he did not want to undermine my mother's genuine faith. Also he did not need to explain, since he tagged us along and this spectacular place spoke for itself.

The Vermillion did not have rainbow trout, but the summer at at Apple River Canyon he caught a rainbow trout, his joy was so strong that at first I thought perhaps he was hurt or angry. This catch was often retold and it rivaled the old great story of the electric eel he caught.

Thanks for the program, It made me really miss my dad, but also made me appreciate my heritage and desire to plan a trip with friends back to this sacred place. Like James Prosek's friend Joe, he never did graduate high school, well frankly because of the depression, he never even attended high school. Yet I think it was his fishing ritual which contributed to him being perhaps the happiest and friendliest man I have ever known.