A Touch of Humor - The Fix-It Man

Can we sometimes look for quick, easy fixes to problems in the spiritual life? How can we avoid this?

Old Erich Proverb - Righteousness

In the final analysis, righteousness is more important than nuclear weapons.

A Lesson in Anthropology

Ouraka stood by the door of the craft and stared out the window. Parurda was late. And doing anthropological studies in primitive cultures was always dangerous, and that was worrisome. And if Parurda got in trouble out there, there was little they could do except try to recover the remains.

As Ouraka's digits were beginning to plait in nervousness, the purple light on the safety lock started to blink. The door opened, and what seemed to stalk in was a vision of one of the planet's pink-skinned residents. He stood firm for a moment, seemed to shake, and the vision, both skin and clothes, split down the front. As the shell collapsed it revealed Parurda's blue carapace.

"So what have you got for us this time?" remarked Ouraka, relieved.

"I have been studying the inhabitants' theological beliefs," returned Parurda, handing Ouraka a data crystal.

"What have you found?"

"Not much unusual for a culture of this age. There are a not really unusual collection of strict theists, ranging in emphasis from rigid enforcement to gracious forgiveness."

Ouraka marveled at the persistence of the strict theists. There seemed to be those in every culture who believed God had really spoken. He had to admit he felt a certain attraction for strict theism. But he had to maintain his objectivity.

"There are also many who are approaching nominal theism," Parurda continued. "They seem to be still sorting themselves out. All very much to be expected. At this stage in society, there always seem to arise those who cannot totally throw off the belief in a God, but wonder if much can be certainly known about Him."

"Anything really interesting?"

" There are some interesting revivals of primitive beliefs. There also appear to be those who believe in a Flying Spaghetti Monster and Invisible Pink Unicorn," Parurda's antennae waved in puzzlement. "I am not really sure, if they are serious or not."

"Anything else?"

"There is an interesting idea among the anti-theists."

"Go ahead," replied Ouraka. The anti-theists also seemed perennial.  There were always some who questioned if there needed to be a definite being to start the universe out. They tended to be a vocal minority because they could not explain where everything came from.

"They hold to this interesting idea that everything came out of nothing, absolutely nothing."

"How do they justify that?"

"They use quantum mechanics. They say that because there is a calculable probability that matter can suddenly appear, the universe could come about that way."

"But how could there be physical laws with nothing for the them to be about or a probability with no time or space for it to exist in?" Now it was Ouraka's antennae that were waving .

"It is a strange idea," responded Parurda. "But not without parallel. Besides it is difficult to be an anti-theist once you realize that the universe as we know it is runnning down."

"So tell about this Flying Spaghetti Monster?"

 

A Voice from the Past - Lewis

Of course patriotism of this type is not in the least aggressive. It asks only to be left alone.It becomes militant only to protect what it loves. In any mind which has a pennyworth of imagination it produces a good attitude toward foreigners. How can I love my home without coming to realize that other men, no less rightly, love theirs? Once you realize that the Frenchmen like cafe complet just as you like bacon and eggs - why, good luck to them and let them have it. The last thing we want is to make everywhere else just like our own home. It would not be home unless it were different.

C. S, Lewis, 1898-1963, The Four Loves, Likings and Loves for the Sub-human (Harcourt Inc., 1988, p. 24)

Is this the right root of patriotism? How should it affect our behavior?

Trust in the Machine

It is easy sometimes to trust in our organizations, our strategies, our programs . It is comfortable to think, if we just get the machine, the organization, running right, it will accomplish our purposes. We can adopt this attitude in the political realm. We can also adopt it in the church realm. But can our organizations guarantee the accomplishment of our ends any more than the horses and chariots of the Egyptians could save the Israelites from their enemies (Isaiah 31:1)? Now I am not claiming we should never organize or should not do it well if we do it. But we must trust in the power of God rather than our organization or our methodologies (Psalms 127:1,2; 37:3-5; Proverbs 3:5,6). If not, our organizational ability will prove to be a reed that will break off in our hands (Ezekiel 29:6,7).

The Virtue of Nonconformity

One of the truisms that runs around the church today is that we need to be relevant and meet people where they are at. There is truth to this. Standing in a corner, speaking our own language, and keeping people at arms length is not the way to reach them. But we must also remember that if we have nothing radical or life changing to say to our culture, we are irrelevant. If we are merely echoes of what others say, if we have no message for those around us, we might as well stay home on Sunday and sleep in. I am convinced that the main reason the liberal denominations are losing people like a sieve is they have become so much an echo of the world around them that they have become incidental to people's lives. There once was a time when it was considered respectable to go to church and people would go just because it was expected of them. Those days are long since gone. If we do not have something to offer them, why should they bother?

Now Scripture says that the message of the cross is a stumbling-block (1 Corinthians 1:18-25; Romans 9:32,33; 1 Peter 2:7,8) and that we are not to be surprised if the world rejects us (John 15:18-21; 16:1-4; Matthew 10:17-22). But we are to love and do good to all (Luke 10:25-37; Matthew 5:43-48; Galatians 6:9,10) and to deal with them in a spirit of gentleness (2 Timothy 2:24-26; 1 Peter 3:15; Colossians 4:5,6). This is a hard balance to find, but we must avoid the extremes. We must avoid simply trying to give people whatever they want, leaving ourselves with nothing to say. Or we can try to hide within the walls of our church, only accepting those who are willing conform to our preferences. Rather, we need to evaluate whether people are rejecting our message or rejecting us and the way we do things. We need to build bridges to people by changing the incidentals and keeping the message. Now ultimately no one comes to God unless God works in their hearts (John 6:44; 2 Corinthians 4:3,4; Acts 16:14). But it is still our job to present the message in the best way we can to reach people. And if we simply water down the message to meaninglessness, we are not doing our jobs.       

A Touch of Humor - Bewildered

Can we sometimes exalt patriotism to a level where it is confused with devotion to God? What is a healthy patriotism?