Response to an atheist

I continue to review and respond to Michael's questions:

He states, "The first is that my principal objection, as an atheist, to the idea of God is that if God is here, we should not be. If he is God, he is perfect, omnipotent, omniscient and transcends time. If those things are true, there could be no reason, not only for him to create , but to *do anything at all.*

I can understand the argument. I remembered discussing this very thing in philosophy classrooms in the late 1970's and theology classrooms in the 1980's. In the end, I think the answer is one word: "Love."

God did not create us because of any lack in Him. He did it because He desired to provide us an opportunity to exist. Michaels' assumption, 'because God is perfect" therefore "He cannot need or want anything." This is a fair statement, based on philosophical assumptions about God. There are many logical reasons to believe this. BUT, the God of revelation is different from the 'god' of speculative human reason.

Herein lies the difference in our thoughts. Michael states that "a perfect, omnipotent being for whom all time is now"  is unable to need or want. Probably, one answer, is simply to say, "It is a mystery. Stop talking and worship." [I personally think that is the message of the book of Job and places in Isaiah.] I think it is logical and reasonable to say, "The mystery of God is beyond our meager intellectual capacity." But the problem is, our theologies impact our activities (lived faith). I have heard complaints that all of this stuff in the blog lately is too difficult. Perhaps. But in the end, even simple people have theories and make statements about God. Even simple people need to address their assumptions, beliefs and the consequences of those beliefs.

I believe that God has the ability to choose. I do not think God created us to worship Him (as I heard the Bible Answer Man tell a young boy yesterday on the radio). The idea that God needs worshippers seems to be the sort of thing that Michael's arguments would address.

I think the question really is, 'what does perfection mean?' Why is it that we need to think that a perfect God in a timeless state could never be a God of love who chooses to create, out of sheer grace, a world where there is beauty and goodness, and freedom? I believe that God desires that others enjoy the wonder of life, of love, of service, of joy. It is His nature (something Greek philosophy did not include in its pondering, to any large extent) to love. This is also the scandal of Christian faith.

God made time. God made a universe. God enters that universe. From the Beginning, He comes and goes (see Adam and Eve where God comes at the cool of  the day and cries out, "Where are you?") From the beginning God has chosen to limit Himself (WITHIN CREATION) as part of the cost of this love. To be in relationship with creation has cost God something. The cross is no accident, it is a revelation of what it means to be God in relationship with a limited, concrete, material, in-time creation.

But Michael's point, "God does not need" is vital to remember. God does not need us. Ever. Yet He made us, because He is love. The psalmist asks, "What is man that you should care for him?" What, in deed?
We are privileged to know, love and serve God. We are invited into relationship with an Infinite and Perfect Being. We are even allowed to blog about Him (and not be smote!). But in the midst of all the speculation and thinking we must stop to pray, to praise, to love and to serve. I am going to do that now.

Advent Spirituality 2

More on waiting.

As most people know, we have lots of doctor appointments and some extra worries about our baby. There is much we do not know about his development. We have to "wait and see".

On the one hand, all of us have unknown futures, so in reality we must all wait and see. I am keenly aware that his sister and brother, both vibrant, healthy, bright, beautiful children have an equally unknown future. Illness or accident could transform them in a moment into a much different type of person. I have memories of my parents, both struck down as young adults with serious medical issues. Heart disease, cancer and assorted maladies twisted them and finally took them from the earth at a relatively early age. I was at a parish party, talking and laughing with one of my dearest friends a couple of years ago. A healthy, strong man, a few hours his heart stopped. So, yes, life is uncertain. I get it, still....

On the other hand, there is a difference about an unknown future and waiting to find out how things will turn out. When a doctor says "maybe", waiting for the results is different than the regular unknown. Uncertainty feels different when it has been identified as a possiblity.

Advent waiting should be like that. We have been told that Jesus may be back today. No one knows (except the Father). There is a difference in waiting for His return and wondering what the future will  be. We know, to some extent, that the future will be under His Kingship. We know that Justice, Righteousness, Peace, Joy, Love are all part of that future. We know that living in His Kingdom will be a gift, a grace, a blessing. We cannot earn it. We also know that living in His Kingdom will take a different skill set. We will have to be changed, all of us (even and especially Christians). Our values will  need to be reordered. We will need to learn obedience and service. We will need to worship more and complain less. So there is much effort to extend to become the kind of people we need to be.

Advent waiting is a time to try on those virtues. It is a time to be shaped today for the future glory; a time to become today what we need to  be to live in that tomorrow. Advent is not Lent, but this year I have added some "mini-Lenten" disciplines to my Advent. Little 'fastings' which will sharpen my awareness that it is not Christmas season and it is a time to hunger for His return. I suggest increased Scripture reading (I am in Genesis and marveling, once again, at the amazing stories in the Torah). I suggest some small "fasting' from something. Heighten the awareness. Sharpen the desire for Jesus' return to reign. Focus on, desire, hunger for the divine consumation. Maybe if we all prayed more, "Come Lord Jesus!" this year He would hear our prayer and come among us as Lord and King! That would be the best Christmas ever!

Advent Spirituality

I want to follow up on the Advent Theme. "Waiting" is a major theme of the OT and NT.  ('Watch' occurs 61x and 'wait' 91x in the New King James Version) It is a reminder that it is God Who makes the definitve act of salvation. We look toward that day, but waiting and watching are not passive, they are actions.

One of the hardest things for Christians to talk about is Christian behavior in relationship to God. This is especially true in the post-Augustine, post-Reformation Western church. The emphasis on God's activity sometimes is supplemented by a total disdain for human acts (refered to disparagingly as 'works'). Biblical verses like the one from Isaiah 64:1-9 this Sunday ["all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth"] illustrate this position well. "See," we are told, "the best we can do is garbage."

I am easily persuaded by such a position. Philosophically, I am keenly attuned to the idea that God's ultimate perfection is unbridgable, and in comparison to His perfect Goodness and Beauty all we have to offer is like garbage. The problem is, of course, at some point a thinking person becomes aware that "if the best I offer to God is garbage, then what difference does it make?" There is a reason why we generally make relative assessments. If a second grader was graded relative to the expectations of a PhD program, then probably the smartest kids would be getting 15% or so. Everyone would have a big, fat 'F' and the smartest kids would be told that they do not measure up. True, accurate and totally unhelpful. It is much better to grade them based on expectations of eight year olds. When a Christian [e.g., me and you] internalizes the belief that all our righteous deeds are a filthy rag, how long is it until one stops trying?

Without getting too deep into the exegesis of Isaiah, what he is saying  here is not a universal declaration that we are incapable of ever pleasing God. He is certainly not saying that good and bad deeds are all the same. He is not exhorting ancient Israel to give up trying to please God. What he is saying, and it is important, is that Israel's sin has produced desolation. That the sin is killing her. That God alone is the hope for deliverance.

Waiting and watching are active. Staying alert, scanning the horizon, living in preparation for the coming visitation is active. We are not passively laying around. We are active. Advent is active. It is focused. It is disciple (pray, study, Bible) and it is apostle (preach, teach, heal, exorcise), it is pasoral (counsel, feed hungry, provide for needy) and it is community centered (worship and work together). Those who wait for the Lord are very busy, it is just that the busyness is focused on the right things. And the busyness is directed to welcoming the Savior Lord.

If I can delight in the smiles of a six month old child, I imagine God can delight in the "righteous deeds" of His children. God does not need us, true, but He loves us. We have little to offer Him besides our love. And it seems to be the case that that is exactly what He wants. He is a Father (Isaiah also makes that point Sunday!) I know something about being a Father. I have art work on my desk which my kds made some years ago. No museum would have them, but I would not trade them for a Van Gogh! They are beautiful to me because of who made them! So compared to God we may be worth nothing, but He treasures us none the less. Plenty of reason to think that what we do matters. Plenty of reason to make the Advent season central to our spiritual discipline in the coming weeks.

Happy New Year!

It is New Year's Eve and everyone is preparing to celebrate, or maybe not. Actually, the changeover to a new liturgical year is probably something that few people pay much mind. Many Christians have rejected liturgy and so they do not even know it exists. Most liturgical Christians are only mildly invested in the calendar, so though they might know it is Advent, they really do not think through the ramifications of a new year.

At Morning Prayer this morning I read about Jesus enterring the city, with a blind man (Bartimaeus) crying out for mercy. Jesus asked him, "What would you like me to do?" The man said, "I want to see." That is the last image of the year past, for me, asking Jesus to heal me so I can see.

Sitting here at my desk with tri-focals on my nose I have some awareness of how poorly I see. I am also aware that there is a deeper, spiritual meaning to the story. Jesus is going to meet His doom (His destiny). He will be confronted by any number of blind people in the course of His trial and suffering. That is the way things happen here on planet earth. Blind people run the show. In the end, we are all blind, that is why we need Jesus.

Lately I have run across several articles by economists who are writing about the influences on human decision making. Their point is that we make lots of bad choices for lots of bad reasons. That fact correlates to the Gospel message. We need deliverance and are incapable of doing it for ourselves. That is why political movements fail, in the end. New leadership is blind, too.

Advent points us toward the hope of salvation. Today's readings speak about waiting. There is a deliverance coming our way, from God. We wait for it. I will preach on what that waiting looks like, how one waits faithfully. But I wanted, prior to that, to reflect upon the new beginning. We will read Mark's Gospel. We will begin by looking at The Day of Deliverance, then shift our gaze to the Birth of the Messiah. Soon, baby Jesus will be leading us through Lent to His passion and death. Then Pentecost and the long season which follows. And in a year, we will begin the cycle again.

Each new year is part of the cycle and a reminder that some day all will be new. That is the Good News. Someday it will all be new. In the meantime, we are to live as people who trust in His deliverance and wait for it with patience and love. Keep attuned to the season, it will shape you.

The End of the Age

We are studying 2 Esdras on Thursdays and the High School Sunday School class is doing Revelation. So I have been reflecting a bit more on apocalyptic writing lately. In the last few years I have been more intent on trying to understand ancient writing. What exactly is their purpose?

These two lines, 2 Esdras 4:26-27, jumped out at me yesterday:

• "If you are alive, you will see, and if you live long, you will often marvel, because the age is hurrying swiftly to its end. It will not be able to bring the things that have been promised to the righteous in their appointed time because this age is full of sadness and infirmities"

The centuries before Jesus and the first century were times of great upheaval. The prophetic wrtings morphed into a new literary style. This style increased the use of symbolism and emphasized a coming time of judgment and deliverance in a different way. It had two dimensions, the current situation and God's final solution. Sometimes when reading it is hard to know exactly which one they are focused on. Jesus was part of this tradition, as is the first century church. Even in places where the wilder aspects of apocalyptic is missing, some of its core assumptions are prevalent. The scholars debate alot about how Jesus understood the end of the age. I have found it helpful to understand that the "End of the Age" may refer to a transition in time, "it is the end of the world (as we know it)!"

The world's history is measured by two types of time. Linear time is the long stretch from creation (Beginning) to Final Judgment (The Harvest). However, the movement from beginning to end includes cycles. Cyclical time is the repetition we see throughout history in the proverbial "rise and fall" of one Empire after another. This is why we divide history into ages. We often refer to "the end of an era" when marking the passing of a significant time period. (I am sure the death of Steve Jobs is just such a marker for his industry.)
So a cyclical 'end of the age' is a type of the linear final 'end of the ages.'

No one quakes today at the Italian army, but the Roman legions were certainly the world power for a long time. Babylon and Persia were Empires while Iraq and Iran are their truncated remnants. Our biblical apocalyptic writings were written about the Roman Empire, but often used the name Babylon (symbolic metaphor). The are a model for understanding the rise and fall of any empire set against God and His people.  For Americans, the current shifting of global power to China has all the feel of another such end/beginning.

Yesterday's headline, "World's Economy Worst Ever" may be another such 'apocalyptic' message. Sir Mervyn King says that the current global disaster is the worst since 1930 and quite possibly the worst ever. My grandparents lived through the depression. My parents were born in 1934, smack dab in the middle of it. I recall their stories, but they are all long dead and my living connection with that period of history was buried with them. I wonder about my newborn son, will his world be like theirs?

Ten years ago I read a prophetic blog pretty regularly. In it, he shared visions of a coming time of great upheaval. He warned of judgment and exhorted to greater faithfulness. My preaching has often included a warning of the coming days. It was almost a vague feeling. I remember telling folks, "it is coming" not always sure what the it was. At times I feared I was just being morose. (Thats what people tell me, that I am pessimistic....) I have noticed that I do not preach about it so much the last couple years. As I ponder why, I think it is because the time has come. Now it is more imporant to preach repentance and hope.

I know that we are in the end of the age. The 'foundations' are being shaken. The changes in Europe, the Middle East, China, and the US are all substantial. I am not an economist, but I can figure out that the ongoing employment and financial problems are a big deal. I do not know if this end is the final end. I am not sure Jesus would have me speculate on that. I do know that Jesus warns me (and you) that we need to get our own house in order. It is time. The way it was is not the way it will be. This age passes away. Will the next age be better or worse? It depends on what matters most to you. Perhaps we are given a second chance to reset our priorities: a chance to worship, trust and serve the Triune God more completely and to love one another in word and deed. It is an apocalyptic end of the age, there is suffering and there will be more. Wars and rumor of wars (check out the Israeli military preparations today), earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, economic collapse and widespread riots---these are NOT the end, but they are the birth pangs. And so the church prays, "Maranatha!" Come Lord Jesus!

October

I am a baseball fan. When I was a young boy about seven my dad was watching a game between the White Sox and the Yankees. I asked him, "Who do we want to win?" He said, "The White Sox." It was the equivalent of an arranged marriage. At that moment I pledged my heart. I have always been faithful.

If he had said the Yankees I would have regularly experienced success. They have been the best of all. Instead I was given to the White Sox, a team of historic failure. Historic failure without the affection and mythology attached to the Cubs.

October is the beginning of the post-season. Most of my life my season ended long before the last day of the season. That was true this year.  So October (except in 2005) has always been about someone else's success, some one else's joy. I learned as a prayerful little boy that you could bombard heaven with a hundred prayers a day and still your team could lose. Sometimes lose more often than they won. As a young boy I wrestled with the question, "Why pray if it doesn't work?" Later, as I grew in faith I came to understand that baseball was not near important enough to invest that type of spiritual energy. That led to another question, "What really does matter? What should I care about and focus on?"

I still enjoy the game. I still hope the Sox can win. I still spend some part of most days thinking about baseball. It has not been a waste either. Because through baseball I learned to pray sincerely and to re-evaluate what I pray for. That is part of the Joureny in Faith, at least my journey. And in 2005 they did win it all. For once in my life I saw the Sox called Champions.... And it was great to know that there were more important things to me.