Old Erich Proverb - Escape

There is an escape from any prison, if you know the God who holds the keys.

A Voice from the Past - Luther

Therefore, if you have received this gift from God of being more powerful, higher, more learned, nobler than others, then remember that he has commanded you to take this gift and serve your neighbor with it. If you do not, then you should know that even a poor shepherd boy, who compared with you, has no gifts or standing whatosever in the world, is far greater and far closer to heaven in the sight of God and the angels.

Martin  Luther, 1483-1546, Sermons, At Torgau Castle Church, 1544 (translated by John W. Doberstein, Luther's Works, Helmut T. Lehmann, editor, Muhlenberg Press, 1959, Vol. 51, p. 349)

How can we avoid exalting people for their gifts rather than their love of others? What steps can we take in our own life to avoid this?

Body and Soul

As well as being made in the image of God, human beings are made up of body and soul. We are connected to the spiritual and the physical realms. This was not a mistake; we were created to be this way (Genesis 2:7; 35:18; Matthew 10:28). Also, our goal involves the resurrection of our bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42; Romans 8:23; 1 Thessalonians 5:24). Therefore, our body, and how we use it, is important to God (Romans 12:1; 6:12-14; 1 Corinthians 6:13-20). This opens the door to all manner of interesting questions. Are we three parts: body, soul, and spirit, or two parts, spirit and soul being aspects of the same thing? What precisely is the state of the soul between death and the resurrection? These are interesting to speculate on, but are not worth contending or dividing over. But there is a more basic principle.

If the body is created by God, we are not able to dismiss the body and the physical world as simply evil. We should therefore avoid extreme moral positions based on harsh treatment of the body that is rooted in the assumption that matter itself is evil (Colossians 2:20-23; 1 Timothy 4:1-5; Titus 1:15). It also can result in a withdrawal from other people, which makes it hard to reach them (Matthew 9:10-12; Luke 7:36-50; 19:1-10). And if this is true, it is hard to believe that God could really become a man (John 1:1-18; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 2:9-18). Those who hold it therefore end up frequently denying either Christ's deity or His humanity.

Or we can go to the opposite extreme and see life as simply physical. This leads to a total focus on sensual pleasures (Colossians 3:15-7; 1 Peter 2:11; Jude 4). It results in conformity to the world and its practices (1 John 2:15-17, James 4:4; Romans 12:2). This can end up in the idea that we are a mere cosmic accident without any meaning or purpose. And if we are nothing but a glorified mechanism, then all our thoughts and actions are a result of our programing, and it is questionable that we can know anything.

What we are left with is a delicate balance that has traditionally been called being in the world but not of it (John 17:14-19). This is something that Christians throughout their history have struggled to maintain. It is an ongoing quest to find the right combination. But we need to avoid straying off the path on one side or the other.

Living with Mystery

One of the problems about dealing with suffering is that it has no easy, pat answers. And we want pat answers. The Bible repeatedly repels the idea that all suffering is based on what we deserve (Job 1,2; John 9:1-3; Psalms 73). There is a Biblical case for God disciplining sin (Hebrew 12:5-11; 1 Corinthians 11:31-32; Acts 5:1-11). But nice, neat, easy-to-understand suffering seems to be the exception rather than the rule. And I am convinced that without the clear revelation of God, we should be very careful of concluding in any particular case that suffering is discipline. Now God can use suffering in the life of believers to make them stronger (2 Corinthians 4:17,18; Romans 8:28; James 1:2-4). But that does not mean we will understand it while it is happening or even afterwards. Did Job ever understand the reason for his suffering? We do not know. I suspect that one of the points of suffering is that we do not understand. If we understood, we would not be forced to trust God. Also, with all suffering there is a choice. We can trust God through it, or we can reject God because of it. This is why the whole issue is so complicated. But I believe there is fundamental truth in the message of Christ that is worth living in mystery to hold onto.

To Have Our Thinking Challenged

It difficult for us to be willing to have our thinking challenged. I started out in the sciences, and I am convinced that one of the characteristics of good thinking is being willing to test our opinions by the facts. For the Christian, one of the basic sources of facts is the Scriptures. Now we all have backgrounds and traditions that can keep us from seeing things clearly. But we need to be willing to test what we believe. This can be a dangerous thing. I have been afraid that I will come up with such a combination of beliefs that no church organization would ever accept me. I have not ultimately succeeded in that, but there were times I have come close. But I believe the endeavor is worth it.

We need to be willing to think our positions through. This means being willing to think and to encourage others to think. It can mean going back to the beginning and working things out step by step. This can be hard, for we may have always understood certain Biblical passages one way. And we may find it hard to see them any other way. One thing that helps here is being willing to read or interact with people from different theological positions and time periods. This can be scary. But I believe a faith worth having will stand up to being challenged. And an unexamined faith will rarely stand up under pressure.

Also, we need to be willing to admit that we do not have all the answers and may never have all the answers. We can get the idea that we need to have dogmatic answers to every question. But sometimes it is better to reserve judgment or to hold to an answer tentatively, rather than feeling we need to have solved every problem. I have found that meditating on a question over time often leads me to better conclusions than I would have come to if I forced myself to reach an immediate conclusion.

Also, we need to get past the stained glass barrier. We can see the Bible through a false pious veneer which keeps us from understanding it. We can see Noah and the ark as a boat full of cute little animals. But the flood certainly was not cute. Or we can read the Sermon on the Mount with vague veneration, rather than being overwhelmed by what it requires. Sometimes it might help to go back and ask how we would react to something if we met it for the first time. But this also can be hard to do.

It is worth facing the difficult issues and working your way through them. As C. S. Lewis points out, progress is only made through resisting material. He says it is just the part of the Christian faith that I do not understand that contains the truth I most need to know. And we should not evade dealing with it.

A Touch of Humor - New Problem

How difficult is the information we should teach children? What are the boundaries?

Old Erich Proverb - Prison

It is a narrow prison to have your thinking stuck in your own time period.