B) “The question assumes that God is the sort of being whose existence is contingent on something else.”

A) “Why couldn’t God be like that?”

B) “Well, one of the most basic ideas about God is that God is the First Cause.”

A) “…but what would have caused this ‘First Cause’…?”

B) “I said First, which means . . . → Read More: first]]> A) “Who or what made God?”

B) “The question assumes that God is the sort of being whose existence is contingent on something else.”

A) “Why couldn’t God be like that?”

B) “Well, one of the most basic ideas about God is that God is the First Cause.”

A) “…but what would have caused this ‘First Cause’…?”

B) “I said First, which means nothing before.”

Having said that, their questions remind us of what it was like to not have thought further about a question.  Take a question like ‘Who made God?’  This is one of the questions dealt with in the new . . . → Read More: child questions]]> I’m looking forward to the profundity of the questions Thomas will ask as he and his mind develop and grow.  Children often surprise us.

Having said that, their questions remind us of what it was like to not have thought further about a question.  Take a question like ‘Who made God?’  This is one of the questions dealt with in the new book, ‘Who Made God? And Other Tricky Questions‘, by missiologist, linguist, and former Carey Baptist principal Brian Smith.

Because kids¹ need to be shown how to identify what is assumed in a question (and an answer to it), any semantic issues involved, and learn to (if necessary) reformulate or rephrase it, think past initial, incomplete answers and get to subsequent less incomplete answers.

1. and some popular atheists – I cannot resist the urge to add…

One of those cursed Philistine arrows found its way into my side, and as I felt the searing heat, I knew that not only this battle was over, but also the life of this king was over. I would not give them have the satisfaction of finishing me off! They would find me having already . . . → Read More: narrative sermon]]> ((SAUL, FALLEN ON HIS SWORD))

One of those cursed Philistine arrows found its way into my side, and as I felt the searing heat, I knew that not only this battle was over, but also the life of this king was over. I would not give them have the satisfaction of finishing me off! They would find me having already fallen on my own sword.

It would only be a matter of seconds before my enemies would reach me, but how eternal those seconds would seem! More than long enough to remember my life. Long enough to regret the wasted years. Someone might one day sing about how I felt in that moment: “just a puppet on a lonely string – oh, who would ever want to be King!?” How different this sadness now feels from the confidence I once felt!

After all, I was, of course, the obvious choice to be Israel’s first anointed king. Samuel sons were unsuitable, and I was handsome and a head taller than anyone else in Israel. And we needed a strong leader like me to defeat those dirty Philistines that were becoming such a problem. All the people wanted it to happen. A strong kingdom needed a strong King! And if the other nations had strong Kings, then we needed one all the more.

What a divine appointment that happened as I was looking for my father’s donkeys! We met Samuel and he anointed me. But how quickly things went downward! I’m not sure he ever fully supported me. As I was publicly announced as King at Gilgal, Samuel quite clearly thought that Israel was wicked in asking for a king, because the Lord was already our King. Not exactly a glorious induction service for me.

First was the fiasco over me not waiting the full 7 days for Samuel to meet me before going to war. The people were freaking out, and scattering, and we needed to make a move. What’s more I was totally capable of offering the sacrifices. Goodness was he upset when he got there. That was the first time he said my kingdom wouldn’t last.

He was even more upset after we took back Ahag, the king of the Amalekites, and some of the best livestock – which we were going to sacrifice anyway! Nope, everything meant everything, for Samuel. Every last memory of these womb-desecraters, child-killers must be wiped from existence. Even when I realised my mistake, and asked Samuel to forgive me, he still was firm: I was being rejected as King.

And then there was that shepherd boy David. I only grew to despise him more and more as I knew him. After he killed Goliath, wearing MY armour!!!, people started to like him more. “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten-thousands”, they sang… to my ever-growing fury.

I remember being surprised at myself for hurling that spear at him – his music had been so soothing for my evil moods – now it seemed to just provoke me. He was so good at everything and people began just waiting for me to disappear so he could be King.

Lying here with my own sword through me, it all seems such a waste… such an utter, embarrassing failure. Look now! Here is my end! This uncircumcised Philistine approaches to finish me off… I cannot move, let alone scream, but he recognises who I am, and pauses briefly to look at me with disgust. In the split second before his sword strikes, I lament not grasping sooner the truth that was certainly also hidden from the mind of my killer. Perhaps Samuel was right. How foolish indeed it was
to ever think that anyone but God could ever truly be King!

((SAUL, NOW CALLED PAUL, ABOUT TO BE BEHEADED))

The wood against my neck was hard and indifferent. It would all be over now, in a matter of seconds, and I would finally depart and be with the Lord… Death was the penalty for all who pledged allegiance to any King other than the Emperor – in this case, Nero – whom everyone knew was growing more insane by the minute.

But unlike the other apostles and co-workers, there would be no cross for this Roman citizen. I would have a noble and ‘clean’ death; but it was still death, nonetheless. As the executioner stepped forward with sword in hand, these mere few seconds seemed an eternity – more than sufficient to remember the road that led me here.

I was a Hebrew of Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin, zealous for God and his Law – and named after Saul, the first king of Israel. So zealous, that I passionately persecuted this new, radical sect which was so blatantly blasphemous, and opposed to the Law of Moses and all that was holy. This Nazarene they hailed as Messiah (even calling him Lord!) was most evidently not the anointed King we all were waiting for. For starters, the Romans were still here, and as well, Messiah’s, by definition, don’t die on crosses. This crucified criminal was hardly fit for David’s throne.

I was headed to Damascus to round up more of these followers of the Way, when it happened. Jesus himself appeared to me in a bright vision, and turned my whole world upside down – including my sight for a few days. He was indeed still alive. The stories were really true and not just fabrications. What’s more, we had been expecting the wrong kind of anointed King – the wrong kind of Messiah.

As I regained sight and strength, more and more became clear to me. Not only was Jesus the fulfilment of all of our false and failed human Kings from ages past, right down to Saul, but He was also the True King of the whole world, which was the office claimed by Caesar.

That kind of talk would get you killed. And it had got Jesus killed. When Pilate had asked if Jesus was the King of the Jews, they were so intent on having him killed that they even shouted out “We have no King but Caesar!” Not words that should be found on the lips of a Jew! Instead, “We have no King but God!” should have been heard.

It had got Jesus killed, and now it was my turn. As the sword of my executioner was lifted, ready to be wielded swiftly and decisively, I felt unusually calm and content. I now knew, and had lived the last thirty years testifying to the fact that Jesus was the only true King. No Jewish king had every brought freedom. No Roman king ever achieved peace for the world. Nor could they have. For we have no other King, and will give our allegiance to no other King but the true King – Jesus!!

I just picked up an other-than-standard-size light bulb for new place.  It reminded me of working for a lumber/hardware store in which I had to order, merchandise, and sell (among various other things) lighting supplies. It’s all bulbs and fixtures when it comes to lighting, really.

But then there’s another way to do lighting.  Focus, redirect, or otherwise use natural light . . . → Read More: lit up]]> theological musing:

I just picked up an other-than-standard-size light bulb for new place.  It reminded me of working for a lumber/hardware store in which I had to order, merchandise, and sell (among various other things) lighting supplies. It’s all bulbs and fixtures when it comes to lighting, really.

But then there’s another way to do lighting.  Focus, redirect, or otherwise use natural light (i.e. sky-lights).

This (I don’t remember how exactly) got me thinking about different ways of thinking about Christian Spirituality.

In once sense, you could conceive electric lighting as humanly engineered (i.e. trying to live the Christian life in your own strength), and natural lighting as divinely sourced (i.e. 100% of the Spirit living the life of Jesus in/through me, and 0% of me).

I wonder if another sense might take more account of the entire New Testament?  Maybe a ‘both/and’ understanding?  After all, whilst humans may take wood, metal, sand/glass and create fixtures and bulbs, they didn’t create any of them, nor did they call electricity into being.

The NT picture includes images of ‘partnering’ or ‘co-labouring’ with God, ‘striving and labouring’ but not with one’s own strength (as if we could create the charge), but ‘according to the energy that He energises in me with power (Colossians 1:29)’.

(Few translations do this verse well.  “…κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἐμοὶ ἐν δυνάμει.”  Transliteration w/ literal notes: “…kata [according to] ton energeian [the 'energy'] autou ton energoumenon [?? the energising??] en emoi [in me] en dunamei [in/with 'dynamite'/power].”  Dale’s translation [as if he knows what the heck he's doing]: “…according to the energy which He energises in me with power.”  Or – shifting the syntax around for ease of Englishness – “…according to the energy which is powerfully energised in me.”)

Perhaps the difference would be between a lovely yet non-light-giving light bulb or fixture which has no connection to the power source, and a functioning one that does.  The analogy can have quite a few extensions tacked on to it as well, but I’ll refrain

Note Jesus' hand guiding Thomas' . . . → Read More: end of luke]]> I’ve the privilege of preaching the last passage in Luke (24:13-53) this Sunday night.  Wow.  What a passage!  Just for the hey of it, here’s a painting by Caravaggio called ‘The Incredulity of Thomas’, based on this and the other parallel gospel passages.  What a painting!

Note Jesus' hand guiding Thomas' own hand

Isaiah 11:4a “…but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.”

This Hebrew parallelism has three pairs, with the second term being a related term that means not . . . → Read More: judging]]> One of many references that show that ‘judgment’ does not always mean (negatively) ‘to damn’ or ‘to punish’, etc., but can have positive connotations.

Isaiah 11:4a “…but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.”

This Hebrew parallelism has three pairs, with the second term being a related term that means not exactly the same thing and the first, but develops the meaning further, broadening the picture.

• ‘righteousness’ and ‘justice’
• ‘judge’ and ‘give decisions for’
• ‘needy’ and ‘poor of the earth’

Fantastic to be in a classroom talking about culture and look around and see (in no particular order!) kiwis, Taiwanese, Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Fijians, Samoans, etc. – male and females . . . → Read More: cultural diversity]]> Tuesday night course at Carey this semester (in addition to Romans on Monday night): Understanding and Interrogating Culture, with Phil Halstead (who also teaches the Intro to Counselling course I recently took).

Fantastic to be in a classroom talking about culture and look around and see (in no particular order!) kiwis, Taiwanese, Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Fijians, Samoans, etc. – male and females – young and old.

One of the many, many reasons I love Carey Baptist College.

The spectrum seems an honest one.

Nihilism is as . . . → Read More: meaning]]> I’m happy to be accused of ‘middle-ism’¹, but with regard to the question of inherent meaning in/to any things or events², it seems that meaningfulness is between the extreme on one hand of seeing too little – or no – meaning (nihilism)³, and the extreme on the other of seeing too much meaning (superstition)⁴.

The spectrum seems an honest one.

Nihilism is as far as you can go in the direction of denying any/all kinds of meaning, purpose or value.  Superstition is as far as you can go in the direction of affirming any/all kinds of meaning, purpose or value.  Judaeo-Christian monotheism opposes both.

In opposition to nihilism, monotheism says that there is inherent meaning, purpose and value to things/events⁵.  Life is seen to have at least some kind of purpose, meaning and value – even if non-omniscient humans cannot omnisciently know the content of them⁶.  Life (from amoeba to anthropos) is seen as the result of a purpose, desire/will, intent – and not a meaningless accident with no purpose.

In opposition to superstition, monotheism resists falsely attributed meaning to things like cats walking under ladders, mirrors breaking, crystals, idols, necklaces (yes, even cross-shaped ones).  It is not that ladders, necklaces, cats, crystals and mirrors have no meaning or value, but that meaning/value is falsely attributed to them.  Ladders evidence human tool-making, and necklaces their art; cats and crystals show the creativity of the Creator (and the natural processes employed), and broken mirrors point to anything from carelessness to human art/illustration⁷.

There are other points on the spectrum on both sides of monotheism that (in both directions) gradually approach nihilism and superstition.  Something like this gradient seems accurate: nihilism (atheism), pantheism, panentheism, deism, monotheism, henotheism, polytheism, animism, voodoo/spiritism.

Pantheism (I like to say) is characterised by a rejection of all particular beliefs, whilst affirming the general notion of some kind of universal ‘energy’ that can be appreciated, sensed, or ‘felt’ etc.  Even ‘prayed to’; there are degrees within pantheism, too⁸.  Pantheism⁹ is very tolerable and acceptable as it allows people to identify as ‘spiritual’, without having to bother with ‘doctrine’.  It prefers general over the particular.

Polytheism, however, has a myriad of gods whose action is attributed to all manner of things/events.  The sun god brings out the sun, the corn king provides corn, etc. ad infinitum.

To the nihilst/atheist, all other positions (including monotheism) are superstition.  To the polytheist, monotheism is a kind of nihilism/atheism.  The early Christians, for example, were called atheists – for they were ‘atheists’ about the Roman idol gods¹⁰.

1. Painting two extremes and arguing that the middle is best or most correct
2. In a sense, things are events??
3. from Latin nihil – ‘nothing’
4. from Latin superstitio – ‘over-standing’
5. Interestingly, however, Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, thought that – at some level of experience – ‘everything is meaningless’.
6. Stop and ask, however: Isn’t our utter inability to know everything one of the first things we can truly know?  And doesn’t this overturn full-on agnosticism?
7. I shattered a mirror in a camp talk making the point about how sin shatters human nature which like a mirror reflects God into the world.
8. I’ve heard people talk of putting thoughts ‘out into the universe’ which will return, etc.
9. Atheism and pantheism are mere millimetres apart.
10. Ah, but ‘some of us just go one God further’ is the Dawkinsesque line.  But as we’ve seen, the spectrum is not like that – killing off all meaning is a bit harder than killing off extreme superstition.