Modern Babel

The Old Testament scares me. Weird names, fantastic stories, and a God who frequently frightens me. For these reasons and so many more, my wife and I have been casually walking through the OT at the beginning and end of each day. Personally, I think it's silly to run away from something you either don't understand or are afraid of; so we press on. Reading through the OT chapter-by-chapter has its adventures and doldrums. Some days we read genealogies and others we ponder in silence the magnificence of the Hebrew text. Most days we end our reading with more questions than answers.

This morning we were in Genesis 11, which oddly enough contains a story and a genealogy...we were in the double-bonus round. The chapter begins with a story about all of humanity speaking a unified language and working together for a common goal. Nothing strange there, just themes that could be found in an Obama address. The story goes south when God sees the "children of man" building a tower into the heavens. What follows is a confusing statement from Yahweh that left me rereading the passage several times over:

"And the LORD said, 'If as one people all sharing a common language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. Come, let’s go down and confuse their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.'" (Gen. 11:6-7)

Why would God do such a thing? His behavior seems comparable to the bully at school who sees you dominating a healthy game of Jenga, and then knocks over the carefully stacked blocks for a few laughs! Was God afraid of modern progress and an impending industrial revolution? Is Yahweh a spiteful God who likes to watch his creation scramble like ants under a magnifying glass? I am no Hebrew scholar and my OT is weak at best, but I think I understand God's motives and it fits well with the entire scope of the OT.

Early on in the OT, Adam was charged with a guilty verdict and it wasn't because he enjoyed fruit from a naked chick. It's pretty-well understood that Adam and Eve wanted to be like God, so they took the apple and ate. The apple itself wasn't evil, it was the motive for eating the apple that plunged humanity into ruin. All of humanity, from generation to generation, cannot help but replace God with themselves or deficient deities. It's no wonder Yahweh establishes the first commandment to be "You shall have no other gods before me." We cannot resist the temptation to be all-powerful and all-knowing.

When Friedrich Nietzsche penned the prophetic words, "God is dead...," he was responding to modernity's influence on the world and the church's inability to create or offer values in such a movement. In summary, Nietzsche developed the concept of the Übermensch (Superman) and made it the goal to which humanity should ultimately strive. Humanity was to progress past silly ideas like God and create its own values, replacing God in a creation role and thus rendering Yahweh (and other deities) useless. Man replaces God and becomes the Superman.

In Gen. 11, God is trying to prevent history from repeating itself when he destroys the Tower of Babel. Adam and Eve couldn't resist the opportunity to become all-knowing and consequently all-powerful. The same temptation is present in the unified building of the tower. Remember God's words, "If as one people all sharing a common language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be beyond them." God wasn't afraid of building projects or construction sites, He knew if they could create a tower into the heavens they would believe themselves to be the supermen of their day. There would be no need to search for a creator God because they had become that God. It would be anachronistic for me to blame Babel's fall on modernity, but modernity is certainly the culprit in God's modern-day demise.

I'm not afraid of modernity, or any cultural phenomenon, and neither is God. I live with a scientist, so I love science. I have lived with a philosopher and I love philosophy. I'm not so naive, however, as to think I can use modernity's disciplines to build my way into the heavens. I will always discuss the mystery of God and search out answers while on this planet, but eternity is beyond me and modernity. The so-called definitive evidence of modernity is less-than conclusive and satisfies a man-made burden of proof. Babel fell because humanity is prideful. Humanity continues to fall because we refuse to admit our limitations and conceive of a being more knowledgeable, powerful, and loving than our minds can imagine. Think freely and do not be afraid...

I doubt it

I struggle with doubt. I sometimes feel I understand Rene Descartes when he began to doubt everything until he came to his infamous conclusion, "Cogito Ergo Sum" (I think therefore I am). Call it the curse of overthinking because I just can't leave some things alone. When a pastor preaches on Adam and Eve I can't help but spuriously ask whether or not they were real or just characters in a play? If a string of coincidences favor my way and clearly display God's handiwork in my life, I will question the coincidence. I am convinced that if God came to me and revealed his very form I would even then find a way to cast doubt on the experience as time passed. What is faith if I cannot stop doubting?

I recently read a debate between up-and-coming atheist Sam Harris and the pop-pastor Rick Warren. They exchange blows to each other's beliefs and, at one poignant point, Harris questions whether beliefs are really unbeliefs? When addressing Islam, Harris points out to Warren that, on the issue of Islam as a religion, they both stand "in a relationship of atheism." The Californian pastor fires back, "We both stand in a relationship of faith. You have faith that there is no God." They have certainly centered on the real question, "Is atheism a lack of faith in God or belief that there is no God?" I have been wrestling with this very question, not in relation to atheism but to my own doubt. When I doubt am I expressing a lack of faith or am I believing something different about God than what I had beforehand?

If you read the entire Harris v. Warren debate, you will find that Harris emphatically expresses belief at various points in the discussion. Both men are trying to interpret the world around them through evidence, experience, and bias. After reading the article in its entirety, I have concluded that atheism is a set of beliefs and unbeliefs. Similarly, when my doubt peeks its head, I am interacting with beliefs about God and his character as well as unbeliefs about what I have known him to be. It is at this crucial pivot point where my experience is ushered to center stage.

My friend John Wilson once told me the greatest encouragement to his faith was the experience of his conversion. "The reason I continue to believe," he would tell me with great intensity, "is that I was once a certain way, living a certain way, and not wanting to change, then God interrupted my life with love and now I am heading in the other direction." Truth be told, John was a rebellious jailbird when he met Jesus and now he is an incredible family man and soon-to-be scholar. He would invariably follow his story with John 9:25, "though I was blind, now I see;" a quote from a blind man Jesus healed.

We frequently turn faith into this magic feeling we must always maintain or else face the terrible judgment of God. More often faith is presented as an act of remembrance in the life of a believer. In Psalm 103:2-3, David writes, "Bless Yahweh, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit..." David goes on to declare the wonderful things God has done to interrupt his world with love and mercy. He further reminds man how small he truly is in view of eternity (vv. 15-16). Faith as an act of remembrance is what Robert Robinson had in mind when he wrote in "Come thou fount," "Here I raise mine ebeneezer, hither by thy help I come." An "ebeneezer" is a stone of remembrance whereby the Israelites would remember God's help.

My friend John proudly carries his ebeneezer stone of remembrance. When my faith is in peril, as it has been for the past five months, I need only return to "mine ebeneezer" to remember the God who rescued me from darkness. Beyond my conversion, I can bear witness to countless blessings and times when God has intervened to show me his unending love and affection towards me. What is your ebeneezer and when is the last time you sat before it? Gal. 2:20.

Song of the Week

This song makes me believe again and again in the love stronger than all of our doubts...

how long you have traveled in darkness weeping
no rest in language, no words to speak
but there in the wreckage beneath bricks and bindings
love has come, love has come for you

against the night sky of your waiting
your face is like starlight when he walks in
everything worth keeping comes through dying
love has come, love has come for you

so lift up your heart now, to this unfolding
all that has been broken will be restored
here runs deep waters for all who are thirsty
love has come, love has come for you

ten thousand angels will light your pathway
until the day breaks fully in the East
they will surround you and make your way straight
love has come, love has come for you
love has come, love has come for you

-"Ten thousand angels," Cademon's Call

See More Clearly

I love going to the gym because it is a spectacle of humanity. We are all in there putting our bodies through torture so we can appear less tortuous to other people's eyes.  One of my favorite things in the world is to catch the guys in the gym, and we all do this, looking in the mirror at their newly defined muscles. I will often look around to make sure I won't get caught and then, in a flash of brilliance, I lift my sleeve to reveal my own work of fitness art. "Vanity of vanities!"

Today I was washing my hands and caught another glimpse of myself in the mirror.  Only this time I felt pride well up inside of me concerning how my reflection looked.  I quickly turned away, not wanting to give my pride the fleeting joy it so greedily desires. The Scripture passage in 1 Cor. 13 quickly came to mind; it reads--

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known" (v. 12).

In the day of Paul, mirrors were hard to come by. They would often use a piece of polished metal to observe their own reflection; the best mirrors would be owned by the very wealthy. Paul probably caught a glimpse of himself in the water on occasion, but I doubt he knew his appearance well enough to associate it with his identity.  As he put it, "I have been fully known;" what else did he need than to be known by his good Father?

My culture places the highest premium on outward appearance, ignoring the realities of what makes up a person. When you look in the mirror, what you see is not "you"!  "You" are made up by your personality, character, sense of humor, and a million other non-physical traits. Our culture refuses to believe in God because they cannot see him, but we cannot see one another (see J.P. Moreland)! You don't see me when I pass you by, you see my shell.  "I" am a whole host of traits passed down from my family and developed through years of interaction with others. 

We as believers in the heavenly Father need only look to him for identity (I realize this is much easier said than done). We have been called sons and daughters, heirs, friends, and beloved. I am constantly fighting to remember who I am. I want to avoid being like Narcissus, the son of a god in Greek mythology who obsessed over his reflection and met his demise. Like Narcissus, I am a son of deity; the one true Deity. I only pray I can, like Paul, "look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18). 

Will return soon...

Faithful readers,

As you have probably noticed in the past two months, I have not been very active in the blogosphere.  I have a lot to write about but I have been spending some time refining my motives for writing and being refined.  The last thing I ever want to do, even on a small stage like this blog, is to write for the sake of impressing others or appearing as wise.  I have been convicted and am seeking my good Father's face through this season.  Please stay tuned because I plan on writing again soon.  Much love!

John

Where am I?

I'm normally not a sucker for reality TV.  I stick mainly to the news at 5:30, the Office, and the occasional, classic Simpsons episode.  Nevertheless, being a husband has changed my perspective on life and has opened my world up to new possibilities.  For example, I did not know that curtains made a room feel "warm."  Nor did I really know how a room could feel worm aside from turning the thermostat up to a higher temperature. When it comes TV, my wife does not watch very much, but she does enjoy Extreme Makeover Home Edition.  

Maybe its because I don't like weeping in front of other people, but I normally stand clear of EMHE because it sucks you in like an emotional shop vacuum!  They always have a family that is in serious distress and by the end of it you are blowing your nose and writing letters to ABC, thanking them for their inspirational programming.  ABC does not need my accolades!  Tonight, however, I was pulled in for the last 15 minutes of an episode that strategically caused me to cry and become nauseated; a volatile mix.  

A blind, wheelchair-ridden man and his family were in a bad way because the disabled man, Patrick I believe, needed a lot of attention.  Apparently the home they had lived in limited his family's ability to meet his needs and EMHE was able to provide.  They built an apartment for Patrick that sat next to their parent's brand new house.  I won't go into details about all the cool stuff Patrick received because that was NOT the best part of the show.  At the end of the episode, Patrick starts playing the piano and singing a song that repeats the phrase "I believe."  Not a dry eye was in the house as Patrick lifted his voice to declare the things of this present age did not concern him because he saw through it.  I was truly inspired and a little embarrassed when my wife handed me the tissue she had been using to dry her eyes so I could dry my own.

One-by-one, each cast member for EMHE came in front of the camera to describe how they had only met Patrick once but now they were forever changed.  One man who works as a regular on the show could not stop from crying as he mentioned Patrick's joy despite his circumstance.  If you listened closely to the words of the song he sang, it was more than obvious that Patrick was a follower of Christ; a citizen of God's Kingdom.  God was using Patrick and his family to display unconditional love and what it's like in the Kingdom of God when the meek are blessed and the blind see (Matt. 5 & John 9). 

I certainly have been rejoicing in Patrick's story, but I have also been lamenting my own inaction.  I'm going to make a guess and suggest the cast of EMHE is not entirely Christian.  Yet, here they are making an enormous impact on the lives of families week-in and week-out.  Where am I?  Why am I not being provoked to action?  I am reminded of a friend who once read that Jack Johnson (the recording artist) passed through a town while on a surf trip, saw there was a need, and set up a fund for the impoverished children he interacted with.  How many followers of Christ do you know do the same in their own hometown where poverty is 15 minutes down the street?  Please make no mistake, my finger is pointed directly at me in this moment because I am ashamed of my inaction.  I want to be a part of a movement of believers who act when they see a need and jump when they see an opportunity to advance God's Kingdom.  Have mercy on me, Oh God.  

Life well wasted

Today was suppose to be a great day.  I woke up next to my wife in our new, and cozy, 800 square-foot home.  Lately my home state of Texas has been doing its best impression of Seattle,but the sun was shining today and the warmth was welcomed.  Allison and I spent an inordinate amount of money at Target, the lower-middle class mecca, buying more stuff for our humble home.  Life was good in suburban America...until I turned on the 5:30 world news.

Wedged uncomfortably in between news about our failing economy and violence on the Gaza strip was a sobering story.  "One more story on our broadcast tonight," Brian Williams mentioned in passing, "Australian actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment of an apparent drug overdose."  Allison and I looked at each other in shock and in sadness.  I know that I am a Christian and that Heath Ledger appeared in Brokeback Mountain, so somehow I am pigeonholed as his arch nemesis.  Regardless of the evangelical earful he was given for playing a gay man who had a gay lover, the story of the man's real life is terribly sad.  

The next 20 minutes Allison and I discussed which movies of his we liked the most and the uncertain future of his two-year old daughter.

I am finally at an age where I no longer feel bulletproof.  I have had a couple of friends die, I am paying for insurance on all sorts of things in case of a terrible accident, and I am feeling more aches in my body now than I ever did before.  I am a 24 year old man with a wife, an American dream, and a heavy heart.  I don't have any particular affinity for Ledger over another actor in my age bracket, like Topher Grace, but I am still in mourning over my generation.  You would think after John Belushi, Chris Farley, River Phoenix, and now Heath Ledger, the youth of America would take notice of the emptiness found in the pursuit of wealth.  I understand that these men seem to be the exception and not the rule, but how many rehab scandals inside of US weekly do we need to read before we realize "the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil"?

So I sit here, in my bathroom with my laptop, thousands of miles away from Hollywood and I am still surrounded by my own poverty.  Why do I need shop at Target in order to have a good day?  Why do I complain about not having central heat and AC when God has given me everything, including His own Son's blood?  I'm not sure where this blog is going but I am not content.  I do not want to pursue a two-car garage, 3.5 kids, and a fat nest egg because it should be the end goal of my "pursuit of happiness."  I look to Heath Ledger and see a life poisoned by luxury.  He had everything and yet he still met his demise in despair.  I am content with my house, I enjoy Target, and I like having a car, but at what point do these good things become god things?  2 Cor. 4:18.