THE IDOLATRY OF THE MIND…

“David, your brain on the edge of a razor blade is like a BB on a four lane highway.” That’s what my seventh grade friend shouted at me one day when he was upset at something I’d done. I’ve long since forgotten what provoked the comment, but after all these years this vivid image still brings a smile to my face.

I have to confess that it was this comment that popped into my mind recently when I listened to Stephen Hawking, the world-renowned British physicist, talking about his “proof” for the non-existence of God. In the realm of theoretical physics he’s an unparalleled genius and yet, in the realm of philosophy or religion, he’s inordinately ignorant…or biased. Take your pick. I kept wondering as he spoke, does he really think that by explaining the material origin of the universe he can eliminate what the philosopher Aristotle referred to as the “prime mover” or what the theologian Thomas Aquinas later referred to as the “first cause”? In his Summa Theologica Aquinas wrote extensively about the so-called cosmological argument for the existence of God. Simply stated, it goes like this. Everything in the material universe is the result of previous causes, but this series of causes cannot possibly go back in time forever. Therefore, there must be a “first cause” and that first cause is God.

Don’t get lost in the headiness of this. Just note the fact that a celebrated atheist like Hawking has proved nothing about God when he expounds on how the world came about. Should we be impressed with his prodigious intelligence? Sure, but don’t let this translate into believing that his argument for atheism holds water. It doesn’t. Science might speak to the HOW, but it can never speak to the WHO. Only Biblical faith can do that. And what does Biblical faith teach us? Simply this, that behind all that we see, touch taste and smell, i.e., behind the entirety of the material world, lies the great I Am, whose spoken Word brought all there is into being. Does this tell us all there is to know? Of course not, but it’s the starting point for all we need to know. John the apostle, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, expressed it this way, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:1-3)

In my judgment Stephen Hawking and many like him are victims of an idolatry of the mind. To them, if it can’t be understood it isn’t real. But just imagine what a small world this would be if the human mind were the final measure of ultimate reality. Should we learn from Hawking and others like him? In matters of science, sure, but in matters of religion, forget about it. As brilliant as they are, they’re out of their league.

Love and blessings,

David

SIXTY AS THE NEW FIFTY

Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of my contemporaries saying something that I find rather amusing, sixty is the new fifty. Have you heard this? If you’re in my age-range maybe you’ve even said it. If so, then I apologize if I’m about to burst your bubble. Trust me, sixty is not the new fifty. Sixty is sixty. It always was, it is now and it always will be.

So why the self-delusion?

I wish I knew, but I suspect it has something to do with the need among persons my age and older to avoid the fact that, well, we’re getting old. Let’s face it, if the normal course of things plays out those of us over sixty are in the last trimester of our time on this planet. A rude awakening, but no less true by virtue of our artificially trying to strip away a decade from our accumulated years.

Granted, these days most of us sextegenarians probably do a better job of keeping ourselves healthy than our forebears did. Better medicines, better beauty products, better fitness habits and better foods…all these factors contribute to the prospect that we’re likely to be healthier for a longer period of time than our parents, or their parents before them.

And yet, I repeat, sixty is still sixty.

So, how do we who have accumulated more than six decades of life change our perspective and simply accept what is? Well…maybe we don’t. Maybe we doggedly perpetuate our denial, but if we do, why stop at fifty? Why not shout from the rooftops that sixty is the new forty, or the new thirty-five? Frankly, I like the sound of that a lot better!

Now, if only I could remember why I’m writing this…

Proverbs 16:31 says, Gray hair is crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.

If you’re old maybe this will make you feel better.

Love and blessings,

David

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CHURCH WEDDING?

Over the last ten years I’ve noticed a trend away from young couples marrying in a church. For example, of all the marriages that I’ve performed in the last decade, only one out of four took place in a church sanctuary. All others were held in a park, a hotel or some other religiously neutral site, usually one that is geographically close to a reception hall, allowing guests to move from ceremony to party without having to travel.

Clearly, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this. After all, I’ve performed some gloriously beautiful and spiritually rich ceremonies in extra-church settings, but lately I’m beginning to wonder if I might be missing something. Does this trend represent yet another evidence of a creeping secularization? Are many brides and grooms-to-be now so detached from a vital faith life that marriage in “the house of God” means little or nothing to them?

I fear so.

As I prepare couples for marriage nowadays I frequently have to remind them of something that was once common understanding…marriage is a sacred covenant created and ordained by the Lord. As such, processing down the aisle to a Paul Anka oldie just doesn’t cut it. I also have to insist that at least two Bible readings be included in the ceremony since most couples have never even considered this possibility. Am I angry or bitter about this? Definitely not, but I am deeply grieved.

You might be wondering, if many couples are so secularized, why do they select a minister to perform the ceremony? Why not a Justice of the Peace? Maybe it’s because they’ve known me for a long time. Or maybe they’ve attended a wedding I’ve done, and liked it. Or maybe…and I hope this is the case…it’s because they retain a glimmer of understanding that marriage is more than just a civil union of two people who love each other. Therefore, a man shall leave his parents and unite with his wife, and the two shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). Marriage, as originally designed by God, is a sacred institution.

For nearly forty years now I’ve been declaring, I now pronounce you husband and wife and the weightiness of this declaration has never left me. Every time the words roll off my tongue my eyes well up and my heart skips a beat because I consider myself to be the earthly spokesperson of God’s divine sanction, a joy and a fright at one and the same time. At that moment I only wish that every couple were able to see what I perceive.

Love and blessings,

David

FOUR STEPS TO FORGIVENESS…

In about six weeks Nancy and I will resume a ministry we love to hate, our Divorce Recovery Support Group. We hate it because those who attend are hurting, big time, and because it’s no fun having to hurt with them. This having been said, we love it because it’s incredibly gratifying to come alongside someone who’s facing severe suffering and to serve as God’s instrument of healing.

There are lots of heavy-duty emotional and spiritual issues that a divorcing person faces, but without a doubt the biggest is the issue of forgiveness. How do you forgive someone to whom you’ve given intimate access to your being only to have that someone cut your heart out? Agreed, not every divorcing situation springs from a hideous breach of trust, but most do and it’s incredibly difficult to handle. In fact, no one can absorb a dagger to the soul like this and still forgive the person wielding the weapon. It’s impossible. That’s one of the biggest bits of bad news about divorce.

However, what we can’t do, God can. So often men and women come into our group, rage-filled and preoccupied with get-even fantasies, only to leave sixteen weeks later having been liberated from vindictive obsessions. What happens during these sixteen weeks? In a word, forgiveness. Complete forgiveness? No. Forgiveness won’t be complete until we meet and greet Jesus in heaven. I’m convinced of that, but a sufficient threshold of forgiveness can be reached in the here-and-now to supplant vengeful fantasies with beneficent, well-wishing prayers.

So, how is this forgiveness, even a modicum of it, brought about? Since it’s beyond our human ability, we preach to our recovery group that you must take four steps. One, don’t wait until you “feel like” forgiving your spouse. You’ll be dead and buried first. Two, accept that you don’t have the inner wherewithal to forgive since our human lust for vengeance is too strong. Three, get in touch with how much you’ve been forgiven by Christ despite your unrelenting rejection of his plans, purposes and principles. And four, “choose” to forgive your former spouse as a way of honoring Christ for his forgiveness on the Cross, even if you don’t feel like it. God will then honor this choice by seeing to it that your “feeling” of forgiveness eventually catches up to the choice you’ve made.

Keep in mind that these four steps to forgiveness work in any situation, not just divorce. A nasty boss, an outspoken friend, a disrespectful child, a jealous sibling, a mean-spirited adversary…we can be badly wounded by anyone for any number of reasons. Should we forgive even if the offender expresses no remorse or need for forgiveness? Yes, as hard as that is, because un-forgiveness always shrivels our ability to access and enjoy God’s love, and that’s definitely not good. The choice to forgive does not require the offender’s cooperation.

On his way to the Cross Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34). Don’t think for one minute that he was only forgiving those who surrounded him. That prayer was also for you and me because not a day, not a minute goes by when we don’t, by attitude and action, effectively declare to him, “I want a divorce!”

Love and blessings,

David

THE DARK CLOUDS OF ANARCHY…

A prognosticator or a prophet I’m not, but it doesn’t take much insight to see something significant going on in the world. A growing anarchy perhaps? The revolutions of the recent Islamic Spring, the financial implosion of Greece, Ireland and Portugal, along with the pending financial implosions of Spain and Italy, the stalemated conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the unrelenting joblessness in America and the recent free-fall on the NYSE…just a few of the major events that point to the fact that the economic and political stability we’ve enjoyed for the last two generations might be headed for a serious shakedown.

Some of you might read this and say, “No way, what you’re describing is just the normal ebb and flow of life in our modern world.” I hope you’re right, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it. Again, I’m not a prophet or prognosticator, nor am I an expert on reading the tea leaves of modern trends, but I can tell you this, I’ve been around for sixty four years and something about the current climate feels different to me. The political vitriol seems more hateful, the spiritual nihilism more entrenched and the resultant cynicism more widespread. I know of no one who’s drinking in current events and cavalierly holding out hope for better days in the near future.

“Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, ‘You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’” (Matthew 24:1-2) How preposterous this must have seemed to his disciples. The temple was a massive structure, constructed with huge granite blocks some of which measured over 40’ and weighed more than 400 tons. It was to the first century Jew, indestructible, and a visual portent of a secure future. Jesus knew better. Within one generation Jerusalem and this “indestructible” temple were completely plowed under by the Romans. Jesus knew that no human construct is guaranteed, not the improvement of the stock market, not the recovery of jobs, not the survival of governments, not even civilization itself. To believe otherwise, though instinctively alluring, is also naïve. Human nature, while overflowing with grand curiosity and splendid ideas, is also irreparably corrupted by selfish ambition. If only it weren’t so, but over and over again history corroborates this heartrending fact.

Like everyone else I long for a prosperous and peaceful tomorrow, but the dark clouds of anarchy have me more than a little concerned. Centuries ago the Jewish world was on the cusp of unimaginable implosion when the prophet Habakkuk wrote, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no heard in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

Good advice. This is why as Christians our real hope should not rest in or on anything that humankind creates, but in the protective presence of Christ whom the Bible says, “…is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

Love and blessings,

David

THE NEW FOUR-LETTER WORD…

So when did ideologue become a four letter word? If you listened carefully to the recent debt debate in Congress you heard this word bandied about frequently…and never in a positive way. He’s a leftwing ideologue. She’s a right wing ideologue. They’re Tea Party ideologues. The implication is that this ideologue, whoever he or she might be, is an ignorant, uncompromising, on-the-fringe loon who’s only looking out for his or her own left or right wing interests. I suppose in some cases this might be true, but here’s what’s troubling me. Labeling someone an ideologue has become, in current culture, an easy, acceptable and yet destructively flippant way of dismissing his or her opinion. How do you defeat someone with whom you sharply disagree? Slap the ideologue label on them. That’s the surest way to run their views off the road of honest dialogue.

But aren’t we all ideologues? Don’t we all have an ideology by which we live, a system of ideas and ideals that shape our values and mold our choices? I sure hope so. And if so, then why is ideologue such a dirty word? As I see it, being an ideologue is only bad when someone tries to force, by abuse of power, his or her ideology onto someone else. Quite frankly, I like persons who have a strong set of convictions and who strive, to the best of their ability, to look after them responsibly, which is what an ideologue does.

For anyone who knows me or reads my blogs it would come as no surprise that I consider myself to be an evangelical Christian ideologue. Should I hide this? Of course not, and neither should anyone whose ideology sharply disagrees with mine. I might believe their ideology to be painfully misguided, even ruinous, so much so that I feel compelled to fight against it with every ounce of my being, but the last thing I should do is dismiss the person who holds it by pinning a pejorative label on them.

I believe, as the Bible expressly states, that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) and I’ve given my life to defining and defending the ideology that attaches itself to this conviction. Am I right? With all my heart I believe I am, but I’m painfully aware of the many who sharply disagree with me. So how should I respond to these persons? With a derogatory label or with a compassionate yet robust challenge to their convictions? Based on the example of Jesus, I think the latter is most often the preferred course.

Love and blessings,

David