Just What Are You Saying?

I read Susan Jacoby's article "Darwin The Disturber" today at the Washington Post site, having gotten there through a link from the blog "Indigenous Stranger".

There really was nothing new that I had not heard before. Just a collection and rehashing of all the old arguments. However, I was left with the impression that Jacoby really didn't have anything to say and has not yet found a place in herself to deal with Darwin.

I do have to give her credit for bringing to light an interesting observation. "Science is not really a way of "knowing" but a method of inquiry seeking knowledge that is never final and always modifiable by new discoveries."

Science is good. It has led to many great discoveries that have benefited all of us immensely. But it has serious limitations. It relies only on what can be physically observed and duplicated in a controlled environment. But not all of life can be explained in that way duplicated in a lab environment. In fact, only a small portion can. Only certain things can be discovered and verified by science.

I often wonder why some try to use science to disprove God or the authenticity of what is presented as historical fact in the Bible. Why is what is presented there not regarded as the observations of those present? Why are they mostly dismissed out of hand as fable and unprovable? To use this standard dismisses all of history. There is nothing of history that is observable, provable or able to be duplicated in a laboratory. There is nothing science can do to prove to us that the American Revolution took place. We have to rely solely on the observations and writings left behind of those who were present. Their observations are hardly scientifically sound or repeatable, yet we accept them, for the most part just quibbling about details.

Yet, if King David, or Moses, or even Adam and Eve themselves leave behind any kind of record, it is dismissed out of hand as fable. I can't prove its not, but is that really the point?

I suspect the obvious. The Bible and faith is dismissed because it contains an element a lot of people don't want to face. Me is not all there is. Me is not the center of life. There is accountability. There is inherent right and wrong that exists in a much larger scope and realm than we are willing to acknowledge. Because to acknowledge it means I must deal with it and let it deal with me.

I doubt we will ever see science explain love and why it exists and why it can be expressed in so many ways. If you think science will eventually unlock this mystery, then think about this. Do you really want to go home to your loved ones, your children, and explain to them that your love and care for them has no more significance than the random alignment of chemicals in your brain? Do you really believe that's all it is?

Life is more than what we can see and touch and feel through our physical senses. To not recognize this is to entirely miss the point of your existence and to relegate yourself and everything there is to meaninglessness.

So how do I deal with Darwin and that whole thing? I think he has interesting observations, some of them valid, but I think that whole thing is beside the point. A distraction. Like the wrong discussion to have in the first place.

Black Holes

They are everywhere. I don't mean the astronomical ones where scientists speculate and postulate and then attempt to tell us what's in them..

I mean the Black Holes people fall into. They are everywhere. You used to have to watch your step because you might fall into one. Not anymore. The Black Holes are everywhere and growing larger every day. People are disappearing into them and not coming out. Its not sci-fi. Its real. Think about those who used to walk with you. How many have fallen into one Black Hole or another? How many have we written off?

Followers of Jesus can't escape dealing with the Black Holes or those caught in them. There are too many holes and too many victims. We have to go into the holes and bring them out.

Why? Because Jesus loves them, that's why.

Where You Headed?

Jesus in America? These days I wonder if Jesus hasn't just packed up and caught the last bus out of town.

I know that is not the way it really is, but it sure feels that way. But Jesus hasn't left America. America has left Jesus is closer to the truth.

Bar Bands

While at Cornerstone Festival, I twice heard about people forming bar bands. The purpose is not to show up and preach, but to just be there and see what Jesus does with it. What a great move!

Having many musician friends who are not believers, I know you can't show up and preach at them and tell them they are going to hell. You need to be willing to have a beer with them and be there no matter what is going on in their lives, even when it conflicts greatly with your values. This is what Jesus will use and He will use it in His time, not mine. And He has.

It will be a cold day in hell before these people show up in church for help on anything. But sometimes they will meet Jesus in the bar.

In my mind, I bounce back and forth between feeling a little guilty for being involved in something looked down on by many Christians and the feeling that God can use me here.

I think I the church needs more bar bands.

Francis Schaeffer Revisited

Back in the 80s and into the 90s I read most of Francis Schaeffer's works. I also read some of his son's, Franky Schaeffer V, as well. His work was foundational for me and what I gained from it has served me well over the years. It has also gotten me into trouble a few times as some in the church had a hard time dealing with it.

It was here I was introduced to the idea that the personal piety movement had actually led the church down the wrong road! Now, I will admit it can be hard to wrap your head around the idea that paying too much attention to your own spiritual condition can actually lead you in the wrong direction. How can this be?

Well, its not a huge leap. Where is it said that we were put here to pay attention to ourselves? Or to separate ourselves from "the world"? Rather, we are here to play a significant role in every aspect of life, not just the "spiritual" parts. Politics, arts, education, social issues, whatever. God has called us to be involved in it all. If Jesus is Lord of all, then is he not Lord of all areas of life and culture? And if He is Lord of all these things, why would He not want us involved in all of it?

Last week while perusing my bookshelf I came across Schaeffer's "A Christian Manifesto", which was basically a response to "A Human Manifesto" editions I and II. If you had told me Schaeffer has written it yesterday I would have believed you. (Yes, I know he died in 1986). To have a work whose truth spans generations speaks to his credit. This is no pop religious work designed to sell books. It strikes to the heart of what being a follower of Jesus means.

I have been too long uninvolved. My prayer is God releases me soon.

Emerging, Emergent, PostModern... Huh?

For some time now the terms Emerging Church, Emergent Village, Postmodern Church, etc. have been showing up on my radar. Sounded interesting, so I decided to check it out. After a fair amount of research I still can't figure out what this really is. It seems to have no real definition other than most of those involved don't like wherever it was they came from.

Now that is nothing new, and in some ways is refreshing. I came in through the Jesus People movement in the early 70s. One of our badges of honor was NOT being the traditional church. We saw it different. We did it different. While the mainline churches scoffed, ridiculed, and preached against us, we reached into a culture that rejected many of the mainstream "values". We also made huge mistakes. What remained constant and unchangeable was the centering in Jesus, salvation through the cross, and the authority of scripture.


I like the emphasis on social justice and action. All evidence I can find in scripture says Jesus is right there with you. But there is a reason for it and improving the general life experience is not in an of itself the goal. Restoration to the Father is.


I like the "conversation" part of this. I think everyone has something to contribute to the collective church consciousness. It is also a great tool for discovering truth. I am a big believer in the concept that those who seek Truth will find it. For creating truth? Not so much. Not everything I think or add to the conversation is right, even if it is popular.

The cross still stands as the entry way to relationship with Christ. Without it you really don't have anything. Adoption of the right life philosophies mean nothing without it. Social action is empty if in the end the beneficiaries are in hell. Spiritual conversation is just blathering unless it helps point me to Jesus as the author of faith. Everything we do and everything we are about should serve to point others to Him.

I thought I would feel good about this movement. I still want to. I am hoping it is this generation's incarnation of what we did. And maybe it is. But after reading and researching, I can't figure out where this movement stands on any of the important absolutes. Can't they just say plainly where they stand? I am left wondering if obfuscation is the point?


And that troubles me.

Political Jesus?

Its not really very hard to have a political position. Not for me, anyway. The dilemna comes in when trying to figure out Jesus on this one. He didn't pay it much attention. He had other matters He came here to deal with, except for a couple of times when He seriously disappointed His followers telling them He wouldn't be setting up that earthly kingdom they were manuevering for.

Most Republicans I talk to believe "God is on their side". Most Democrats just look at me funny.

So just where is He on this one?

Inquiring minds want to know...