etchinsights

It's Not Your Fault

2011-11-16T08:15:00.000-06:00

I have heard some people say that Jesus died because of their sins. I think that perhaps this misconstrues the sublime truth of Jesus' sacrifice. Jesus died for our sins to be sure but his death is not the result of our action. It is the result of his love. We are at fault for the wrong we have done and we are called to repent of the wrong we are doing. We may live because Jesus chose to carry out God's love.

Creatio Ex Nihilo

2011-08-03T17:19:00.001-05:00

The below is the beginnings of a blog entry started several months ago. I never posted it because as I read and thought more it seemed that my thoughts were reperesented in extant literature. I am posting this incomplete entry so that you may see some of my thoughts. My present conclusion is that the love of Jesus is creative and sustaining. Since I believe that love is eternal ("the ground of all being" as established in discussion between Bill, the Wesleyan and Al, the Taoist)
and all things come subsequent to and by Jesus, I suppose I don't really believe in creatio ex nihilo. Yet I, think I still hold onto the notion that God can do what God will do.

Incomplete post follows:

I had started a point by point commentary on some conclusions of a discussion held over three years ago. I have abandoned it but will share what I had done so far.

I just came across the following while trying to do a little catching up on some subjects that interest me: http://www.crivoice.org/exnihilo.html. The link records two "... lists represent[ing] the main ideas proposed in a panel debate/discussion at the Wesleyan Philosophical Society meeting, Duke University, March, 2008." The author of the lists, Dr. Oord (http://thomasjayoord.com/) , is a professor at Northwest Nazarene University where I studied. (Online that is.) Dr. Oord had pointed out that he and I may think alike. That may be so but I don't pretend to have put in but a small fraction of the thought and work he has on this subject but I have spent a little time considering the problems of reconciling the perceived dichotomy of God's sovereignty and human free will. I think that issue lies at the heart of the subjects of the lists: "Nine Problems with Creatio Ex Nihilo" and "Twelve Advantages to Creation out of Chaosmos". You will have to refer to the original article to know what my "Twenty-one Reasons I Think God May Have Created Something" is addressing. I will key my reasons with the numbering of the original article: One through nine and one through twelve.

1. In my opinion, what can not be conceived by the mind of man can be revealed by the activity of God. There is a theory that God can do absolutely anything. Every one I have asked about this problem says they can conceive of it. There is an apologetic for the existence of God that postulates conception of the notion of God as evidence of God's existence. I don't know of anyone who thinks that is very sound reasoning. It would seem that inconceivability is no better evidence of non-existence especially when someone claims to conceive of the inconceivable.

2. It seems to me that this suggestion involves a bit of interpretation. If one has ruled out the possibility of nothingness then one would expect scripture not to suggest nothingness. Scripture suggests to me that there is that which exists before the beginning. I think of that as being not water, deep, or chaos. I term that God. That God's creation somehow issues from God seems to me a biblically sound notion. Dr. Bratcher's article talks about the case against seeing a dichotomy between what are sometimes termed matter and spirit but I am not convinced that there is not an important distinction between creator and created that remains unsettled (at least in my mind.) More on this later.

3. The local Methodist pastor thought me enough of a Wesleyan to fill in for him at a bible study but I certainly don't have any real authority in that regard but I wonder if Arminius' statement explicitly limiting God's sovereignty is ever uncategorically endorsed by Wesley. I think a decision to limit oneself does not reduce one's power but merely exercises it.
4. Does faith require empirical evidence? Even from a legal standpoint some things are established on the basis of testimony.
5. The issue is not really emergence but creation. If creation occured in the absence of anything then there would be no empirical evidence.

6. I think that orthodox notions of God never purport solitary power. The concept of Trinity may obliterate a notoin of solitariness in the activity of God.
7. What God has the power to do and what he does may be very different things.

8. Some say that sin is the cause of all evil. To say that God is culpable for evil will probably get you drummed out of many Christian gatherings but to say that God temporarily allows evil might be acceptable in the same gathering. Laying the call of culpability aside to the category of "not my job" for now, I would say that a major point of Jesus' crucifixion is God taking responsibility for sin.

9. I think this may be an inference not entirely implied by the notion. As long as I had not considered the possibility of a limited God, I didn't perceive God as a heartless tyrant. Just because someone has absolute power does not mean they will impose control on others. Whether God creates from nothing or just makes up a recipe for the materials at hand, my faith is that God is good. More on that later.

1. See 1. above.

2. The idea of a "biblical notion" is in some ways in the mind of the beholder. I can easily say that the "long ago" of 2 Peter 3:4-5 (NIV) (^"They [scoffers] will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.) is after "the beginning of creation." Consequentially God may have created the water from which he formed the earth. Doesn't the whole discussion in some way circumvent the assertion of God as first cause?

...

Leonard Cohen, Sherwood Schwartz, John Donne and Hezekiah

2011-07-13T09:40:00.000-05:00

The "oriental sensibilities" observation may be somewhat a reflection of my propensity to see connections where others don't or perhaps just where there are none. Of course, what I see as connected has at least the connection that I have seen them. The reason I get so stoked about these things stems from my understanding that what I see is sometimes what God is revealing. Sharing them here is a way to take them out of the possibly unhealthy realm of personal interpretation and into light that I think comes from conversation. So please feel free to comment.
The following link is to some FB comments on a quote from a Leonard Cohen song that I see as having some bearing on the seek and find of Matthew 7:7.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=218968948138296&id=100000686952437&notif_t=feed_comment

After posting the quote, I heard a report on the radio of the death of the creator of Gilligan's Island who left the following letter to be published after his death.

http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/sherwood-schwartz-posthumous-letter-20321/

That reminded me of a quote from the works of John Donne that I have been misquoting for decades as "The road to heaven is paved with heaven". The real quote and a little extra is included below.

"Howling is the noise of hell, singing the voice of heaven; sadness the damp of hell, rejoicing the serenity of heaven. And he that hath not this joy here, lacks one of the best pieces of his evidence for the joys of heaven; and hath neglected or refused that earnest, by which God uses to bind his bargain, that true joy in this world shall flow into the joy of heaven, as a river flows into the sea; this joy shall not be put out in death, and a new joy kindled in me in heaven; but as my soul, as soon as it is out of my body, is in heaven, and does not stay for the possession of heaven, nor for the fruition of the sight of God, till it be ascended through air, and lire, and moon, and sun, and planets and firmament, to that place which we conceive to be heaven, but without the thousandth part of a minute's stop, as soon as it issues, is in a glorious light, which is heaven, (for all the way to heaven is heaven; and as those angels, which came from heaven hither, bring heaven with them, and are in heaven here, so that soul that goes to heaven, meets heaven here ; and as those angels do not divest heaven by coming, so these souls invest heaven, in their going.) As my soul shall not go towards heaven, but go by heaven to heaven, to the heaven of heavens, so the true joy of a good soul in this world is the very joy of heaven" - John Donne in Sermon LXVI in The Works of John Donne: With a Memoir of His Life (1839) edited by Henry Alford, p. 177

My bible reading for today included this passage:

^"18 Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone ¹⁹ who sets their heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of their ancestors—even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.” ²⁰ And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people." 2 Chronicles 30:18-30 (NIV)

Many have said that heaven is to be in the presence of God. Christian understanding of Communion has at its heart a sense of the presence of Jesus. The Lord does not abide in the presence of the unholy but the passover called by Hezekiah proves that as we turn to God in repentance pardon may be granted and healing may be done.

Sometimes When You Touch Me I Break Down And Cry

2011-07-07T08:42:00.000-05:00

My story of salvation involves a a particular moment of realization of who I am in the face of what Jesus is. That was the "I do" event. That event came about in the progress of what I might articulate as a wooing process. I was convinced that there were people in my life that loved me. This love came in spite of my and their flaws. Amazing grace as they say. I am pretty sure in some way that realization ought to inform every moment of existence that comes after but what I really want to say is that sometimes Jesus touches me and it brings me to tears. Forgiveness unfeigned - repentence unrestrained - salvation attained. Or as William Booth put it,

O boundless salvation! deep ocean of love,

O fulness of mercy, Christ brought from above.

The whole world redeeming, so rich and so free,

Now flowing for all men, come, roll over me!

2 My sins they are many, their stains are so deep.
And bitter the tears of remorse that I weep;
But useless is weeping; thou great crimson sea,
Thy waters can cleanse me, come, roll over me!
3 My tempers are fitful, my passions are strong,
They bind my poor soul and they force me to wrong;
Beneath thy blest billows deliverance I see,
O come, mighty ocean, and roll over me!
4 Now tossed with temptation, then haunted with fears,
My life has been joyless and useless for years;
I feel something better most surely would be
If once thy pure waters would roll over me.
5 O ocean of mercy, oft longing I've stood
On the brink of thy wonderful, life-giving flood!
Once more I have reached this soul-cleansing sea,
I will not go back till it rolls over me.
6 The tide is now flowing, I'm touching the wave,
I hear the loud call of the mighty to save;
My faith's growing bolder, delivered I'll be;
I plunge 'neath the waters, they roll over me.
7 And now, hallelujah! the rest of my days
Shall gladly be spent in promoting his praise
Who opened his bosom to pour out this sea
Of boundless salvation for you and for me.

Hugs for Marcus Welby and Ben Casey or Embracing A Paradox

2011-07-06T09:10:00.000-05:00

Zen may pursue the embrace of paradox as a spiritual exercise. Chesterton may advocate it as an attainment of reason. Some would say that it is an illusion. The idea that chaos may be a manifestation of levels of order beyond our perception might dovetail with this latter view. Quantum physics attests to laboratory proofs of some of the most mindbending paradoxes imaginable. I think what we call paradox is in some ways an attempt to articulate our knowledge of what we do not understand.

http://www.basicincome.com/bp/egsofparadox.htm

Prevenient Love

2011-07-04T11:34:00.002-05:00

I was thinking about love while doing the dishes after having listening to the podcast linked below. Wesleyan understanding of prevenient grace might be expressed as God's holiness being in place before it is brought forth in the experience of salvation/sanctification. A helpful perspective of that concept might be to accept that those individuals we seek to evangelize and disciple already have some experience of love. Missiology suggests that we don't reject all elements of the culture of the peoples we are trying to help accept Jesus. As difficult it as it may be for us to open our hearts and minds to those we deem as unsaved or unsanctified we might want to consider that what they conceive of as love might be what God has put in their lives as the foundation for the bridge to Jesus.

http://homebrewedchristianity.com/2009/03/20/a-tour-de-amore-with-thomas-jay-oord-homebrewed-christianity-47/

Crossword Puzzles

2011-07-02T06:40:00.000-05:00

I enjoy doing crossword puzzles. It is in some sense an exercise in exegesis as one tries to figure out what the puzzle writer tries to reveal and try to hide at the same time. Cross words are sometimes encountered in our communications with the people around us. It might prove to be a fruitful endeavor in these situations to try figure out what these words really mean and where they come from.

Down and Dirty

2011-07-01T07:04:00.000-05:00

At some time in most of our lives we encounter betrayal of one sort or another. The tendency is to react with recrimination and bitterness. Looking around, we might realize that the tragedy that has befallen us is common to a great many individuals. I would even say that betrayal and our reaction to it is of great spiritual importance. Even though Jesus crucifixion was at some sublime level a betrayal, His reaction to it was compassionate and ultimately he used it as a touchstone to make contact with his betrayers.
With these thoughts in mind, I invite your attention to the song Humbled In Love on Leonard Cohen's album Recent Songs.

Babies

2011-06-30T07:30:00.000-05:00

As a Nazarene preacher, one is constantly striving to articulate the doctrine of Holiness in an accessible manner. I have found it useful to convince people of a moment of sinlessness. Many people are usually pretty clear about their imperfection and on reflection can find sinfulness abounding. The "every day in thought word and deed" sin concept is at odds with a teaching of holiness realized. The acceptance of the reality of a single moment of complete abandonment to the spirit of love can bridge the gap to the understanding of God wrought purity for an entire life. One example I use to try to help people arrive at that acceptane is that of holding a baby. For some people this experience may be selfless enough that they realize their reaction to it must come from God. For those that don't really like babies, I suppose we need to fall back on salvation sermons.

Speaking the Truth In Love

2011-06-29T05:36:00.000-05:00

When people use the phrase "speaking the truth in love", it seems to me that they are often talking about a way to deliver bad news in a pretty package. The idea being that love somehow acts like the "spoonful of sugar" for the unpleasant medicine. Duly noting Mary Poppins' great wisdom, I think there is a more intimate connection between truth and love than that of packaging and present or between medicine and sweetener. The poet has said that beauty is truth. I think that love is truth. If what we speak does not have at its heart the concern for the person we are addressing and regard for the relationship we have with them then it is not really true. Sometimes what one tries to pass off as truth are sincerely held opinions. Other times it is deep seated emotion.
I once heard a couple of friends of differing philosophical perspectives arrive at the conclusion that the ground of being is love. Truth, I think, must be moored in that ground. What we speak that has lost the connection is no longer truth. Factual accuracy is no substitute for love.

The Beginning of Evil

2011-06-28T10:19:00.000-05:00

After Sunday School last Sunday, Laura asked at what point did evil begin. She of course knew about Adam and Eve and the fruit buisness but Satan seems to exist before that fateful day. She seemed to think of Satan as a personification of evil rather than an actual entity. I asserted it would be a mistake to not understand Satan in isolation from an understanding of free will. The evil wrought by Adam and Eve's disobedience might be considered to abet the evil of Satan's own disobedience.
Discounting the human limits of time perception, we might say that evil is a function of free will. It comes into existence at that point where an act not in accord with God's will is realized. Satan, Adam, Eve, you or I may possibly only know that we have free will in the negative expression of disobedience.