Russia has crossed the line. I'm not talking about the Ukraine foolishness going on. That is in itself a horrible mess and a reminder of humanity's hopelessness when it comes to working out our own problems. What I'm talking about is the smack talk going on concerning our space program.
Basically, in response to the US move to sanction Russia over their operations in Ukraine, a Russian official played the space card. He suggested that Russia might take their rockets and go home, leaving NASA to try to use trampolines to get to the ISS.
The nerve.
I mean who does Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin think he is? Just because we BUY rocket use from Russia doesn't mean we are dependent on them to get to space. It just means they are cheap. It is not as if they are giving us the usage of their rockets out of the kindness of their heart. They didn't toss NASA the keys and say, "Just fill it up with gas when you're done."
What a joke! We have private companies ready and willing to send folks to space, but finances (and bureaucracy) make it simpler for the time being to use Russia's Rockets. They are making $60 million per person that we send to space. He is basically asking us to take our business somewhere else. I hope we do, as soon as possible.
Also, THIS IS AMERICA! If we decide we want to launch astronauts using a trampoline we will find a way to do it. But trampolines are lame. If we decide to use alternatives to rockets it would be something cool like a slingshot. It would be called the Slingatron and it would rule.
Good day.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
You Are a Pervert
Yesterday, I used a word in my sermon that, hopefully, made some people uncomfortable. Yes, it was my intent to make people uncomfortable. It is not naturally something I like to do. In fact, it is exactly what I don't like to do. I am much more disposed to making people feel comfortable. It is my joy to show mercy, to overlook faults in others, to dwell on the good, and to forgive the evil. It is the way God made me.
However, God also made me a preacher of the Gospel. There is one aspect of the Gospel that shows no mercy. With this particular truth of the Gospel there is no room for softening or sugar coating. There is no explaining or excusing or hedging or hem-hawing. There is not a nice way to say or a flattering way to frame it. So it was my duty and responsibility to find a word that cannot be construed as nice or respectful or flattering.
PERVERT
Yes, I could have used the word "sinner." I could have talked about our fallen nature or how we are rebels or traitors or some other word that would have been accurate enough. The problem is we've grown accustom to all those words. We don't feel too bad about being called sinners, after all "nobody's perfect." We're fine with recognizing that we are fallen and that mankind is in rebellion. The word I chose to use still makes us uncomfortable. As it should. If you are in a public place you are probably uncomfortable just having the word on your screen lest someone should walk by and wonder what you're reading about. We generally reserve this word for people who have so far diverted from the human path that they are sick in the head. We put these people on lists and make them do all sorts of humiliating things so we can protect our children from them. We keep online databases of where they live so they can be harassed by vigilantes.
But here's the thing, I believe there is no better word in contemporary language to express our spiritual condition before God. Here is the internet definition of the word from Dictionary.com:
We have been led astray morally; we have turned away from the right course; we lead others into mental error and false judgement; we have turned our lives to improper use; we have misapplied our gifts; we have misconstrued, misinterpreted and distorted the Truth; we have brought this world to a less excellent state; we have changed to what is unnatural; we have converted to a religious belief that is wrong; we practice sexual perversion. Sick. Twisted. Messed up. That's what we are.
Am I wrong? Of course I'm not. Read the news. Look at your own heart. Human kind is downright inhuman. The fact that we can still recognize it and be disturbed by it is evidence of God's common grace. The fact that we can be distressed by this condition and yearn for something better is perhaps the clearest sign we have that we are in need of a savior. If we are all perverts then who can help us? Other perverts? That's a joke. Perverts distort the truth. Who can we trust? Who can we turn to? All of us deserve to be put on a list, a searchable database with a map of where we live and a disheveled mugshot. It should say, "Don't trust this person. They are a pervert and will try to hurt you. They are sick in the head and cannot help but try to manipulate you, use you, reject you and harm you."
If not humans, then who can we turn to? God? But won't he destroy us? If we are so guilty, he is the only one who can judge us. Wouldn't turning to him for help be to sign our own death warrant? A just God would surely put a quick end to perversion. We are better off hiding from him as long as we can. Criminals who turn themselves in expect judgement and punishment. But our guilt is against a holy and eternal God. The punishment is too much to bear. What a sorry state we are in!
This story is bitter, but true. It is written not only in scripture, but in our very consciousness. We can see it in the depths of our own minds. Psychiatrists see it, though they may explain it differently. Counsellors understand it. Police, divorce lawyers, tech support workers, teachers, social workers--they all know this story to be true. If you deal with enough people you will see the recurring theme that there is something deeply wrong with all of us. This Wrong makes us fear people and hurt people. The more we fear, the more we hurt. The more we hurt, the more we get hurt. The worse we hurt, the more we fear. We are stuck in a cycle that leads us away from God, into the Abyss. The fate of perverts.
The Cross! The Cross, what a shameful, disgusting thing! What a spectacle of inhumanity! What prominent example of our perversion! If you or I, not used to such displays, happened upon the scene of the cross we would have thrown up and fainted. Why would Jesus subject himself to such a thing? Why would the Word, God's Only Son, subject himself to the full display of our sinfulness? Why would a perfect Son of Man, the only human not deserving such a punishment, submit so willingly to be completely stripped of his humanity by people acting so fully inhuman?
There is only one answer that makes sense. God is love.
Could anything but love lead to such a sacrifice? Could any love but God's be powerful enough to accomplish this? His love compels him to do the only thing that can remove our hurts, our guilt, our perversion. Jesus' physical act of sacrifice is a mirror of the spiritual truth that our perversion destroys us. He allowed our perversion, our inhumanity to destroy his flesh--his human flesh--so that we can know that our inhumanity also destroys our souls. He took that destruction upon his perfect self as a just punishment for our sins. The Atonement was not just Jesus removing the wrath of God from those who would trust in him. In it he restores to us our God-given HUMANITY. He makes the way for us to be human again the way that God created us to be. He loves us! Why? Because that's the kind of God he is! And glad we should be. We should celebrate that the bitterness of our story is being overcome by a sweetness that gives the story a perfect flavor of richness, depth and delight.
In Jesus, the Holiness of God and the Perversion of Humanity were crossed. Two opposite (yet not equal) things were crushed together in the flesh of Jesus. It was and is a bitter and ugly thing. It is a reminder of our guilt, but it is a reminder that should make us all the more thankful for the outcome. The love of God is so powerful that even the Perversion of Humanity could not overcome it. The inhumanity of humankind is overcome by the perfect humanity of our savior, the one and only, Jesus Christ.
However, God also made me a preacher of the Gospel. There is one aspect of the Gospel that shows no mercy. With this particular truth of the Gospel there is no room for softening or sugar coating. There is no explaining or excusing or hedging or hem-hawing. There is not a nice way to say or a flattering way to frame it. So it was my duty and responsibility to find a word that cannot be construed as nice or respectful or flattering.
PERVERT
Yes, I could have used the word "sinner." I could have talked about our fallen nature or how we are rebels or traitors or some other word that would have been accurate enough. The problem is we've grown accustom to all those words. We don't feel too bad about being called sinners, after all "nobody's perfect." We're fine with recognizing that we are fallen and that mankind is in rebellion. The word I chose to use still makes us uncomfortable. As it should. If you are in a public place you are probably uncomfortable just having the word on your screen lest someone should walk by and wonder what you're reading about. We generally reserve this word for people who have so far diverted from the human path that they are sick in the head. We put these people on lists and make them do all sorts of humiliating things so we can protect our children from them. We keep online databases of where they live so they can be harassed by vigilantes.
But here's the thing, I believe there is no better word in contemporary language to express our spiritual condition before God. Here is the internet definition of the word from Dictionary.com:
per·vert
[v. per-vurt; n. pur-vert]
verb (used with object)
2.
to lead astray morally.
3.
to turn away from the right course.
5.
to turn to an improper use; misapply.
6.
to misconstrue or misinterpret, especially deliberately; distort: to pervert someone's statement.
7.
to bring to a less excellent state; vitiate; debase.
8.
Pathology . to change to what is unnatural or abnormal.
9.
to convert or persuade to a religious belief regarded as false or wrong.
noun
Am I wrong? Of course I'm not. Read the news. Look at your own heart. Human kind is downright inhuman. The fact that we can still recognize it and be disturbed by it is evidence of God's common grace. The fact that we can be distressed by this condition and yearn for something better is perhaps the clearest sign we have that we are in need of a savior. If we are all perverts then who can help us? Other perverts? That's a joke. Perverts distort the truth. Who can we trust? Who can we turn to? All of us deserve to be put on a list, a searchable database with a map of where we live and a disheveled mugshot. It should say, "Don't trust this person. They are a pervert and will try to hurt you. They are sick in the head and cannot help but try to manipulate you, use you, reject you and harm you."
If not humans, then who can we turn to? God? But won't he destroy us? If we are so guilty, he is the only one who can judge us. Wouldn't turning to him for help be to sign our own death warrant? A just God would surely put a quick end to perversion. We are better off hiding from him as long as we can. Criminals who turn themselves in expect judgement and punishment. But our guilt is against a holy and eternal God. The punishment is too much to bear. What a sorry state we are in!
This story is bitter, but true. It is written not only in scripture, but in our very consciousness. We can see it in the depths of our own minds. Psychiatrists see it, though they may explain it differently. Counsellors understand it. Police, divorce lawyers, tech support workers, teachers, social workers--they all know this story to be true. If you deal with enough people you will see the recurring theme that there is something deeply wrong with all of us. This Wrong makes us fear people and hurt people. The more we fear, the more we hurt. The more we hurt, the more we get hurt. The worse we hurt, the more we fear. We are stuck in a cycle that leads us away from God, into the Abyss. The fate of perverts.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.How could God do such a thing for perverts? Well, let's think about what Jesus did. Knowing the situation we might think the most loving thing he could have done would have been to release his grip on Creation to end it all in a moment. But that's not his style, you see. Instead, Jesus...
...although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
The Cross! The Cross, what a shameful, disgusting thing! What a spectacle of inhumanity! What prominent example of our perversion! If you or I, not used to such displays, happened upon the scene of the cross we would have thrown up and fainted. Why would Jesus subject himself to such a thing? Why would the Word, God's Only Son, subject himself to the full display of our sinfulness? Why would a perfect Son of Man, the only human not deserving such a punishment, submit so willingly to be completely stripped of his humanity by people acting so fully inhuman?
There is only one answer that makes sense. God is love.
Could anything but love lead to such a sacrifice? Could any love but God's be powerful enough to accomplish this? His love compels him to do the only thing that can remove our hurts, our guilt, our perversion. Jesus' physical act of sacrifice is a mirror of the spiritual truth that our perversion destroys us. He allowed our perversion, our inhumanity to destroy his flesh--his human flesh--so that we can know that our inhumanity also destroys our souls. He took that destruction upon his perfect self as a just punishment for our sins. The Atonement was not just Jesus removing the wrath of God from those who would trust in him. In it he restores to us our God-given HUMANITY. He makes the way for us to be human again the way that God created us to be. He loves us! Why? Because that's the kind of God he is! And glad we should be. We should celebrate that the bitterness of our story is being overcome by a sweetness that gives the story a perfect flavor of richness, depth and delight.
In Jesus, the Holiness of God and the Perversion of Humanity were crossed. Two opposite (yet not equal) things were crushed together in the flesh of Jesus. It was and is a bitter and ugly thing. It is a reminder of our guilt, but it is a reminder that should make us all the more thankful for the outcome. The love of God is so powerful that even the Perversion of Humanity could not overcome it. The inhumanity of humankind is overcome by the perfect humanity of our savior, the one and only, Jesus Christ.
Monday, January 27, 2014
The Parable of the Sower
Jesus told a story about a farmer. If we forget for a moment that Jesus is a spiritual teacher and look at the story just as a story it might seem rather unremarkable. A farmer is doing a chore. He’s doing his job. Jesus observes that some seeds fall in places that they do not grow well for various reasons. On hard-packed ground, on weedy ground, on rocky ground. He points out however that the seeds that fall on the good soil produce a crop that makes up for all the wasted seed. This is a common sense story.
The disciples ask Jesus what it means. They feel like there must be more to the story than a day in the life of a farmer. I wonder if they had not asked, would Jesus have explained the story? He doesn’t bother explaining most of his parables. In this case he points out that his disciples are a special group of people who are being given special insight into the Kingdom. But why? Why can’t Jesus just explain it to everyone? He has a good crowd going. If it is simple enough for the disciples, it is simple enough for everyone.
There is an important principle I would like to here insert. God enlightens us how and when He wants to. I am an not saying that we have no responsibility in seeking and learning and growing, but if we find it impossible to learn something, we can be sure God does not want us to learn it. He has his reasons, and we can trust that they are good ones. Perhaps we are not ready yet. Perhaps we have not finished the last lesson he had for us and cannot advance without mastering it. Perhaps it will be better learned under new and unforeseen circumstances. Maybe we will know why we had to wait or maybe we won’t. That is in God’s hands as well.
When Jesus told the disciples that they would be given understanding, when exactly did that understanding come. Jesus goes on to explain some of the parable, but not the whole thing. Why was the farmer so extravagant with his seed? Why did the seed produce ten times the normal amount? Jesus explains the seed and the soils but neither the sower nor the harvest. Also, this explanation only refers to this one parable. Jesus said they would understand the Kingdom. For the disciples this understanding would come much later (if ever).
But isn’t that just like God? He is always giving us glimpses. Whether we know it or not, we’ve only just had a peek at all there is. Just when we think we’ve begun to master something about God He shows us that we’ve only just learned the alphabet. When we think we’ve come to the end of our ability to know him a new world of understanding opens to us.
Then there’s this difficulty of the reference to Isaiah. Jesus says the people will be seeing but not understanding and listening but not hearing-- or something like that. Is God hiding from people? I guess another way to read it is to assume Jesus is referring to the fulfillment of prophecy. In other words, some people don’t understand what I say and this is expected. It was foretold by Isaiah himself. Still, it seems that Jesus is avoiding the “plain truth” by talking in riddles. Even in answer to the disciples he doesn’t come out and just say what he is getting at.
Sometimes when I wonder why Jesus or God didn’t do something I try to imagine what would happen if he actually did do what I expected. In this case it might have gone like this...
“Jesus, what does that parable mean?”
Sigh* Ok, fine, I’ll just spell it out for you. The Word of God is such a potent and powerful thing that those who are sharing it don’t need to hold anything back. Any kind of person can hear the word. Now what you can’t control is how they respond. There will be all kinds of responses. Much of the preaching of the word will fall on deaf ears or uncommitted ears or fickle ears. It isn’t because the Word is weak. It is because those who heard it were not able to allow it to take root and bear fruit. Those who do accept God’s word and have the opportunity to let it take root in their lives, they will outweigh the good of all the others. You see, it is a principle of God’s nature that quantity does not necessarily reflect value, and things seen are not always equivalent to things that are and will be. You may not know how people will respond when you share the word, but God wants you to share it anyway because he is able to produce a yield that will overcome any amount of apparent waste. In fact much of what I’m saying to you right now will not sink in and take root in your heart because you are not ready to hear it yet. So even the truth that parables are reflective of deeper truths that sometimes must be left to speak for themselves is something that you will not be able to accept at the moment, and even when you do start to discover the truth of it you will only just be seeing a blurry shadow of the high definition reality of an infinite God with unspeakable depth.
“Oh. So like. Farmers and...you know, birds and thorns are like...um. Yeah, we think we understand.”
Laughing* Do you remember the story as I told it?
“Yes. Totally. More or less.”
Ok, that’s enough for now. Make sure someone writes it down.
The disciples ask Jesus what it means. They feel like there must be more to the story than a day in the life of a farmer. I wonder if they had not asked, would Jesus have explained the story? He doesn’t bother explaining most of his parables. In this case he points out that his disciples are a special group of people who are being given special insight into the Kingdom. But why? Why can’t Jesus just explain it to everyone? He has a good crowd going. If it is simple enough for the disciples, it is simple enough for everyone.
There is an important principle I would like to here insert. God enlightens us how and when He wants to. I am an not saying that we have no responsibility in seeking and learning and growing, but if we find it impossible to learn something, we can be sure God does not want us to learn it. He has his reasons, and we can trust that they are good ones. Perhaps we are not ready yet. Perhaps we have not finished the last lesson he had for us and cannot advance without mastering it. Perhaps it will be better learned under new and unforeseen circumstances. Maybe we will know why we had to wait or maybe we won’t. That is in God’s hands as well.
When Jesus told the disciples that they would be given understanding, when exactly did that understanding come. Jesus goes on to explain some of the parable, but not the whole thing. Why was the farmer so extravagant with his seed? Why did the seed produce ten times the normal amount? Jesus explains the seed and the soils but neither the sower nor the harvest. Also, this explanation only refers to this one parable. Jesus said they would understand the Kingdom. For the disciples this understanding would come much later (if ever).
But isn’t that just like God? He is always giving us glimpses. Whether we know it or not, we’ve only just had a peek at all there is. Just when we think we’ve begun to master something about God He shows us that we’ve only just learned the alphabet. When we think we’ve come to the end of our ability to know him a new world of understanding opens to us.
Then there’s this difficulty of the reference to Isaiah. Jesus says the people will be seeing but not understanding and listening but not hearing-- or something like that. Is God hiding from people? I guess another way to read it is to assume Jesus is referring to the fulfillment of prophecy. In other words, some people don’t understand what I say and this is expected. It was foretold by Isaiah himself. Still, it seems that Jesus is avoiding the “plain truth” by talking in riddles. Even in answer to the disciples he doesn’t come out and just say what he is getting at.
Sometimes when I wonder why Jesus or God didn’t do something I try to imagine what would happen if he actually did do what I expected. In this case it might have gone like this...
“Jesus, what does that parable mean?”
Sigh* Ok, fine, I’ll just spell it out for you. The Word of God is such a potent and powerful thing that those who are sharing it don’t need to hold anything back. Any kind of person can hear the word. Now what you can’t control is how they respond. There will be all kinds of responses. Much of the preaching of the word will fall on deaf ears or uncommitted ears or fickle ears. It isn’t because the Word is weak. It is because those who heard it were not able to allow it to take root and bear fruit. Those who do accept God’s word and have the opportunity to let it take root in their lives, they will outweigh the good of all the others. You see, it is a principle of God’s nature that quantity does not necessarily reflect value, and things seen are not always equivalent to things that are and will be. You may not know how people will respond when you share the word, but God wants you to share it anyway because he is able to produce a yield that will overcome any amount of apparent waste. In fact much of what I’m saying to you right now will not sink in and take root in your heart because you are not ready to hear it yet. So even the truth that parables are reflective of deeper truths that sometimes must be left to speak for themselves is something that you will not be able to accept at the moment, and even when you do start to discover the truth of it you will only just be seeing a blurry shadow of the high definition reality of an infinite God with unspeakable depth.
“Oh. So like. Farmers and...you know, birds and thorns are like...um. Yeah, we think we understand.”
Laughing* Do you remember the story as I told it?
“Yes. Totally. More or less.”
Ok, that’s enough for now. Make sure someone writes it down.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Imaginative Eisegesis: Luke 7:37,38
She did not care that they were eating. She had not been invited or expected. She knew, in fact, that she would not, under normal circumstances, have been welcome at all. She did not care. This was her first--perhaps her only--chance to do something. Her life had been changed. How could she deny her heart this chance to express the gratitude she felt? So, she did not care that they were eating.
His head could not be reached. All the better, for what right did she have to approach his head? His feet would do. Yes, it would be fitting that she would exalt the humblest part of him. It would illustrate perfectly how much she valued, honored, loved him. The humblest and filthiest part of his body is worthy of her anointing and tears and more!
She stood observing for perhaps half a moment. Afraid to tarry lest she loose courage and abandon her grand gesture, she stepped away from the edge of the courtyard and prepared to approach his feet. What a shame they had not been better cared for! Here was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! He should be given the greatest of hospitality. His very head should be anointed and his entire body exalted; it is shameful that they would neglect his feet. Never mind that. She would express gratitude not in respect to the one who saves the world, but in submission to the One who brought forgiveness for her. Never mind that many had repented and come to be cleansed; it was her victory over condemnation that moved her. She who had much to forgive could not suppress her desire to worship.
Before she realized it she was standing behind Jesus. Tears were flowing so she could hardly see. She looked down for the target of her activity. Blinking she realized she had already begun anointing his feet with her tears. She felt audacious and overly bold, but her heart was moved. She was torn between feeling she had gone too far and knowing she had not gone nearly far enough. Her focus collapsed to those feet. Those beautiful feet that had traveled so far. Those beautiful feet that had brought the Good News of God Almighty. Elohim’s Messenger, his Lamb, the Messiah. She was now on her knees, framing his feet with her hands, oblivious to the stares and the silencing banquet. Her savior’s feet were now wet with her tears. She had bowed so close that her hair hung near. Without thinking she wiped the feet with her hair. Later she would realize how insane she looked. She would hear the stories and the whispers about the scandal she had created. She may have never heard that her story would one day be written down and that others would worship this same man because of her.
She wiped his tear-muddied feet with her long, scandalous hair and remembered the task for which she had come. She pulled the precious white vial from her robe, unsealed it and wasted it upon those feet. Its value was great in the eyes of men, but she held it as too small a sacrifice for this man who had changed her life. Perfume -- an extravagance for those who could afford luxury and were unconcerned with mere survival. Even for the wealthy it was used with discretion and reserved for occasions of full effect. But for this man she would hold nothing back. She poured until empty. The last drop fell and the bottle was satisfied, but her heart was still full. So, she poured forth kisses upon his feet, a further anointing with the sacred perfume of her heart. Unlike the bottle, her heart would never run dry.
His head could not be reached. All the better, for what right did she have to approach his head? His feet would do. Yes, it would be fitting that she would exalt the humblest part of him. It would illustrate perfectly how much she valued, honored, loved him. The humblest and filthiest part of his body is worthy of her anointing and tears and more!
She stood observing for perhaps half a moment. Afraid to tarry lest she loose courage and abandon her grand gesture, she stepped away from the edge of the courtyard and prepared to approach his feet. What a shame they had not been better cared for! Here was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! He should be given the greatest of hospitality. His very head should be anointed and his entire body exalted; it is shameful that they would neglect his feet. Never mind that. She would express gratitude not in respect to the one who saves the world, but in submission to the One who brought forgiveness for her. Never mind that many had repented and come to be cleansed; it was her victory over condemnation that moved her. She who had much to forgive could not suppress her desire to worship.
Before she realized it she was standing behind Jesus. Tears were flowing so she could hardly see. She looked down for the target of her activity. Blinking she realized she had already begun anointing his feet with her tears. She felt audacious and overly bold, but her heart was moved. She was torn between feeling she had gone too far and knowing she had not gone nearly far enough. Her focus collapsed to those feet. Those beautiful feet that had traveled so far. Those beautiful feet that had brought the Good News of God Almighty. Elohim’s Messenger, his Lamb, the Messiah. She was now on her knees, framing his feet with her hands, oblivious to the stares and the silencing banquet. Her savior’s feet were now wet with her tears. She had bowed so close that her hair hung near. Without thinking she wiped the feet with her hair. Later she would realize how insane she looked. She would hear the stories and the whispers about the scandal she had created. She may have never heard that her story would one day be written down and that others would worship this same man because of her.
She wiped his tear-muddied feet with her long, scandalous hair and remembered the task for which she had come. She pulled the precious white vial from her robe, unsealed it and wasted it upon those feet. Its value was great in the eyes of men, but she held it as too small a sacrifice for this man who had changed her life. Perfume -- an extravagance for those who could afford luxury and were unconcerned with mere survival. Even for the wealthy it was used with discretion and reserved for occasions of full effect. But for this man she would hold nothing back. She poured until empty. The last drop fell and the bottle was satisfied, but her heart was still full. So, she poured forth kisses upon his feet, a further anointing with the sacred perfume of her heart. Unlike the bottle, her heart would never run dry.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Not A Post Entirely About Phil
I'm not going to blog about Phil. That's being handled by others.
I would like to point out that all the controversy boils down to an old man telling an old dirty joke. I mean he didn't tell it the usual way, but at it's root it is the same as hundreds of other gay vs. hetero dude jokes. I heard them all in middle school. The underlying humor is more about mechanics than morality.
It is a lame joke that, judging by the writing of the GQ journalist, would go over well with their target readers. It is politically incorrect and irreverent. The journalist makes it clear he would never say such a thing, but he doesn't go so far as to say he wouldn't laugh at it. Way to play it safe.
Actually, I think the most interesting part of this story is Magary's extensive self-referencing in the story. It comes across to me as his attempt to brag about the time he met the legendary man of the swamp and got to shoot his guns and ogle the old man's bare feet on the recliner. It switches schizophrenically between admiring the manly, adventurous life of a rags-to-riches pioneer and snickering behind his back because the preacher talks a lot. There are moments where the journalist shows his skill as a writer describing landscapes and characters. Then, just in case his readers had lost interest or started to think him uppity, he awkwardly drops profanity like a nerd trying to earn street cred. My guess is that Magary is potentially a good writer but is inclined to lower his standards to appeal to his readers (or editors, judging by the crude pun of a headline).
The reaction to all this should cause Christians to check themselves. Are we willing to listen enough to understand why his remarks are offensive to some? Sure, this is mostly media blow out and headline seekers looking to cash in to gain some political capital or perhaps a few more mouse clicks. But there is a percentage of people who are shocked and hurt that a "nice guy" could say such a thing. Honesty is a good thing, but it doesn't keep people from getting hurt. Phil wasn't given the luxury of a face-to-face conversation with the people he was talking about. If he had been, perhaps he would have pointed out that we are not only the perpetrators of sin, but also its victim. What sounds to the world like condemnation from a self-righteous fundamentalist, is more likely meant to be a wake-up call from someone who knows and has experienced the power sin can have over us. If the world isn't hearing the message about grace then we have to speak it more clearly. They can't get past the "you're a sinner going to Hell" part to hear the whole "But God who is rich in mercy..." part of it.
We are in danger of doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. It is probably good for so many to come to the defense of Phil, but I would argue that we don't need to do so to protect the rights of Christians. It's not really about free speech. If we are going to stand with Phil then let it be on the part of the interview that isn't being talked about. I'm talking about the part that is truly offensive where he shares the Gospel with his interviewer. My prayer is that people are offended at the interview, but not because of a lame dirty joke. I pray they are offended by the Gospel because then I know they have heard the truth. Remember, friends, the Gospel is an offence to those in rebellion against it. At one time that included all of us.
"BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE,
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ro 9:33.
I would like to point out that all the controversy boils down to an old man telling an old dirty joke. I mean he didn't tell it the usual way, but at it's root it is the same as hundreds of other gay vs. hetero dude jokes. I heard them all in middle school. The underlying humor is more about mechanics than morality.
It is a lame joke that, judging by the writing of the GQ journalist, would go over well with their target readers. It is politically incorrect and irreverent. The journalist makes it clear he would never say such a thing, but he doesn't go so far as to say he wouldn't laugh at it. Way to play it safe.
Actually, I think the most interesting part of this story is Magary's extensive self-referencing in the story. It comes across to me as his attempt to brag about the time he met the legendary man of the swamp and got to shoot his guns and ogle the old man's bare feet on the recliner. It switches schizophrenically between admiring the manly, adventurous life of a rags-to-riches pioneer and snickering behind his back because the preacher talks a lot. There are moments where the journalist shows his skill as a writer describing landscapes and characters. Then, just in case his readers had lost interest or started to think him uppity, he awkwardly drops profanity like a nerd trying to earn street cred. My guess is that Magary is potentially a good writer but is inclined to lower his standards to appeal to his readers (or editors, judging by the crude pun of a headline).
The reaction to all this should cause Christians to check themselves. Are we willing to listen enough to understand why his remarks are offensive to some? Sure, this is mostly media blow out and headline seekers looking to cash in to gain some political capital or perhaps a few more mouse clicks. But there is a percentage of people who are shocked and hurt that a "nice guy" could say such a thing. Honesty is a good thing, but it doesn't keep people from getting hurt. Phil wasn't given the luxury of a face-to-face conversation with the people he was talking about. If he had been, perhaps he would have pointed out that we are not only the perpetrators of sin, but also its victim. What sounds to the world like condemnation from a self-righteous fundamentalist, is more likely meant to be a wake-up call from someone who knows and has experienced the power sin can have over us. If the world isn't hearing the message about grace then we have to speak it more clearly. They can't get past the "you're a sinner going to Hell" part to hear the whole "But God who is rich in mercy..." part of it.
We are in danger of doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. It is probably good for so many to come to the defense of Phil, but I would argue that we don't need to do so to protect the rights of Christians. It's not really about free speech. If we are going to stand with Phil then let it be on the part of the interview that isn't being talked about. I'm talking about the part that is truly offensive where he shares the Gospel with his interviewer. My prayer is that people are offended at the interview, but not because of a lame dirty joke. I pray they are offended by the Gospel because then I know they have heard the truth. Remember, friends, the Gospel is an offence to those in rebellion against it. At one time that included all of us.
"BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE,
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ro 9:33.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Advice to Myself
Put your hand over your heart. Beneath your hand there is a heartbeat. There is breath going in and out. Feel it! That means something. You know it is true when I say it. The staunchest naturalist will deny it, but deep down you know it is true that there is meaning to what is happening beneath your hand this moment. That meaning may be inexpressible to you, it may seem tragically indecipherable, but a strong and yearning feeling tells you that it is there.
And what if I’m wrong? Are we afraid to ask that? What if the naturalists are right and all that is currently happening inside our heads and chests are the mechanical and chemical interactions of matter randomly existing under the inexplicable yet unflagging influence of natural laws that, beyond the probability of each moment, continue to apply without cause or influence from any source? Many have resolved in themselves that this must be true. Though it leaves the questions of life unanswered they admit defeat and claim that there is no meaning or purpose to life. No one except the criminal and the lunatic lives out the full implications of this admission, and even criminals and lunatics cannot claim to live a life fully without meaning. So even those who claim to believe in the meaninglessness of life cannot help but seek to discover truth and purpose long after they have admitted that they do not exist. Some suppose this is a quirk of human nature, a vestigial remnant of an evolutionary advantage, produced naturally and randomly in humankind, that helped humanity develop into an advanced society. They see it as a weakness in themselves that can be tolerated and even accepted in order to have a pleasurable existence. Yet, they see themselves as “playing along” with inferior minds so as not to upset the order of things. They believe that all is vanity and existence itself is basically a joke against humanity--an illusion. When they feel a twinge of the desire for meaning they laugh it off like the boogey man and congratulate themselves on having the courage to admit something (even if only to themselves) that their fellow men cannot. They may even, at times, venture down a path toward exploring the meaning of life, but sooner or later they recoil and abandon the search because, they tell themselves, it only leads to make believe and nothingness. If they do happen to stay on such a path for long (most likely out of boredom) they only do so with half a heart. They see it as a scientific undertaking to learn more about how humans act rather than a chance to learn what it means to be human. They see themselves as undercover. They are only pretending to believe there is purpose and meaning to life so they can see what it is like. After they have gathered the experience they know, in the end, it too will be meaningless.
But most people do not go so far as to accept the meaninglessness of life. Most people are willing to believe that there is some greater purpose even if it does seem to be against all odds. Scientists tell us (though Science does not) that we are an accident of the Universe. Our hearts tell us that we have a reason to live even though, at times, it sounds like the most foolish thing imaginable. If for no other reason than this shared foolish feeling we have, we must press on. The fact that all of us share the awkwardness of humanity, that feeling that we are both powerful and ridiculous, should encourage us to keep trying. Yes, the awkwardness of humanity. It is the paradoxical nature of life that shows creation to be a great joke, and yet, makes us feel most alive. When we are lonely, afraid, rejected, dissatisfied, bored--it is in those moments when we often share most fully with the rest of humanity. When we are severely rational, sufficiently satisfied, merely entertained, distracted; it is then we forget our awkwardness. We experience neither joy nor mourning. In those moments, human beings as merely natural creatures make sense. Then un-looked-for, reality comes. We have irrational feelings. The loneliness creeps in. Perhaps we are stirred to love or to seek adventure or to desire revenge. Suddenly, life feels incomplete. In our joy we feel a hope for better things. In our sorrow feel a loss of how things should be. Behind all these feelings is a sense that life does have meaning if only we can find it.
You, dear reader, should chase that feeling. Here’s why. If it is all just a joke, the only way to know will be to enter into the joke fully. No one can make a joke funny by explaining it. All they can really do is tell the joke again. If you don’t get it from the telling you won’t “get it” from the explaining. The meaning of life can be put into words perhaps, but hearing those words will not help you “get it.” The only way to find the purpose in life is to experience it. If you think you are watching a magic trick then by all means seek to discover the trick, but not by ripping away the curtain. To really enjoy an illusion you must observe it on its own terms. If you can, you will then discover that the meaning of the illusion is not how it was achieved but the effect on the audience. In the same way the meaning of life will not be discovered by understanding with greater and greater detail the mechanisms that produce our existence; rather, it is by observing the effect that our existence has on us that we can begin to see our purpose and what this life means.
So when you are tempted to give up seeking purpose, do not retreat into distraction. Do not recluse yourself into a world of shallow relationships and frivolous entertainment. Do not close the door to meaning by scoffing at the paradox of our existence. I challenge you. Venture out onto the stage of life. Perhaps you are the butt of a cosmic joke. If so, play the fool to the fullest. You have nothing to lose. Perhaps your seeking will never lead to satisfaction in this life, but at least you won’t be ignoring your desire. If life is a comedy then earn the right to laugh all the harder. If a tragedy, set yourself up to wail the louder. If a romance, strive for the passion to love most deeply. In any case, I believe this is what we were made for. The desire for Truth and Beauty is built into our hearts so that one day--That Day--we may be satisfied. All the better if we spend our days hungry in anticipation.
And what if I’m wrong? Are we afraid to ask that? What if the naturalists are right and all that is currently happening inside our heads and chests are the mechanical and chemical interactions of matter randomly existing under the inexplicable yet unflagging influence of natural laws that, beyond the probability of each moment, continue to apply without cause or influence from any source? Many have resolved in themselves that this must be true. Though it leaves the questions of life unanswered they admit defeat and claim that there is no meaning or purpose to life. No one except the criminal and the lunatic lives out the full implications of this admission, and even criminals and lunatics cannot claim to live a life fully without meaning. So even those who claim to believe in the meaninglessness of life cannot help but seek to discover truth and purpose long after they have admitted that they do not exist. Some suppose this is a quirk of human nature, a vestigial remnant of an evolutionary advantage, produced naturally and randomly in humankind, that helped humanity develop into an advanced society. They see it as a weakness in themselves that can be tolerated and even accepted in order to have a pleasurable existence. Yet, they see themselves as “playing along” with inferior minds so as not to upset the order of things. They believe that all is vanity and existence itself is basically a joke against humanity--an illusion. When they feel a twinge of the desire for meaning they laugh it off like the boogey man and congratulate themselves on having the courage to admit something (even if only to themselves) that their fellow men cannot. They may even, at times, venture down a path toward exploring the meaning of life, but sooner or later they recoil and abandon the search because, they tell themselves, it only leads to make believe and nothingness. If they do happen to stay on such a path for long (most likely out of boredom) they only do so with half a heart. They see it as a scientific undertaking to learn more about how humans act rather than a chance to learn what it means to be human. They see themselves as undercover. They are only pretending to believe there is purpose and meaning to life so they can see what it is like. After they have gathered the experience they know, in the end, it too will be meaningless.
 |
| He's not seeking meaning. He is experiencing it. |
But most people do not go so far as to accept the meaninglessness of life. Most people are willing to believe that there is some greater purpose even if it does seem to be against all odds. Scientists tell us (though Science does not) that we are an accident of the Universe. Our hearts tell us that we have a reason to live even though, at times, it sounds like the most foolish thing imaginable. If for no other reason than this shared foolish feeling we have, we must press on. The fact that all of us share the awkwardness of humanity, that feeling that we are both powerful and ridiculous, should encourage us to keep trying. Yes, the awkwardness of humanity. It is the paradoxical nature of life that shows creation to be a great joke, and yet, makes us feel most alive. When we are lonely, afraid, rejected, dissatisfied, bored--it is in those moments when we often share most fully with the rest of humanity. When we are severely rational, sufficiently satisfied, merely entertained, distracted; it is then we forget our awkwardness. We experience neither joy nor mourning. In those moments, human beings as merely natural creatures make sense. Then un-looked-for, reality comes. We have irrational feelings. The loneliness creeps in. Perhaps we are stirred to love or to seek adventure or to desire revenge. Suddenly, life feels incomplete. In our joy we feel a hope for better things. In our sorrow feel a loss of how things should be. Behind all these feelings is a sense that life does have meaning if only we can find it.
You, dear reader, should chase that feeling. Here’s why. If it is all just a joke, the only way to know will be to enter into the joke fully. No one can make a joke funny by explaining it. All they can really do is tell the joke again. If you don’t get it from the telling you won’t “get it” from the explaining. The meaning of life can be put into words perhaps, but hearing those words will not help you “get it.” The only way to find the purpose in life is to experience it. If you think you are watching a magic trick then by all means seek to discover the trick, but not by ripping away the curtain. To really enjoy an illusion you must observe it on its own terms. If you can, you will then discover that the meaning of the illusion is not how it was achieved but the effect on the audience. In the same way the meaning of life will not be discovered by understanding with greater and greater detail the mechanisms that produce our existence; rather, it is by observing the effect that our existence has on us that we can begin to see our purpose and what this life means.
So when you are tempted to give up seeking purpose, do not retreat into distraction. Do not recluse yourself into a world of shallow relationships and frivolous entertainment. Do not close the door to meaning by scoffing at the paradox of our existence. I challenge you. Venture out onto the stage of life. Perhaps you are the butt of a cosmic joke. If so, play the fool to the fullest. You have nothing to lose. Perhaps your seeking will never lead to satisfaction in this life, but at least you won’t be ignoring your desire. If life is a comedy then earn the right to laugh all the harder. If a tragedy, set yourself up to wail the louder. If a romance, strive for the passion to love most deeply. In any case, I believe this is what we were made for. The desire for Truth and Beauty is built into our hearts so that one day--That Day--we may be satisfied. All the better if we spend our days hungry in anticipation.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
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