Holy Spirit Outcomes

A prayer taken from the Eastern Church, quoted in Moving in the Spirit, by Richard J. Hauser, S. J., 1986, p 24.

Without the Holy Spirit, God is distant,

Christ remains in the past,

The Gospel is a dead letter,

The Church is just an organization,

Authority a domination,

Mission is propaganda,

Worship a ceremonial,

And Christian way of life a servitude.

But in him: the cosmos is uplifted and groans

In giving birth to the kingdom,

The risen Christ is here,

The gospel throbs with life,

The Church is communion in the Trinity,

Authority is a liberating service,

Mission a Pentecost,

The liturgy both memorial and anticipation,

And human life is deified.

Ignatius di Latakia. Discourse given at the Third World Assembly of Churches, 1968.

Book Review: The Lost World of Adam and Eve, by John H. Walton

Professor Walton’s twenty one propositions carefully argue for a few key propositions:

• Genesis does not state that Adam and Eve were materially created de novo.
• New Testament theology focuses as on Adam as an archetype rather than a progenitor
• The primary focus of the Genesis account, and of Paul’s theology, is that God gave Adam and Eve specific functions and assignments as His vice regents in the Garden of Eden; their sin, and their and humankind’s fall, was the appropriation of His prerogatives and His provision as their own.

Along the way numerous insights buttress the logical argument. A basic tenet is that when Moses recorded this account, God was speaking to people immersed in an ancient culture to set straight propositions in their fallen religions (Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Canaanite) in the context of their understanding. The issues of the day did not focus on material origin, but on function and purpose, indeed the very nature of God (or the gods). Recent archeological excavation of numerous ancient texts have filled out the worldview of ancient pagans, in their creation stories (about purpose, functions, and assignments), as they constructed meaning for their lives. Millennia ago, pagans answered the question, “What is the chief end of man” not with the Westminster catechism, but creation myths. So YHWH had Moses set the record straight. But He did so in a language and using concepts that the ancient Israelites would understand. He was not speaking to 21st century scientists. 

As a consequence, interpretation of Scripture as inerrant does not require either a young earth or Adam and Eve to be literal progenitors of the human race. God called and gifted them to be priests in His Holy place (Eden), just as He called Abram, and later the Israelites. In these last days He has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. Two points: continuing to read the Epistle to the Hebrews, one finds priesthood repeatedly a focus (although Adam is not mentioned); and time seems unimportant to the eternal God.  Genesis 1-3 tell of beginnings, but they are the beginnings of purpose, meaning, and function. God created the heavens and the earth, but that is not what most of this passage is about.

The practical implication: “The order that God brought focused on people in His image to join with Him in the continuing process of bringing order, but more importantly on ordering the cosmos as a sacred space.” (Proposition 16). Both Adam and Jesus have historical and archetypal roles in New Testament theology, and as Paul explains, Jesus, the last Adam, became a vivifying spirit. There is a profound excursus by N. T. Wright on Paul’s use of Adam, embedded as proposition 19. His bottom line is that we are rescued by the blood of the Lamb to be a royal priesthood, not simply to be saved ourselves, but to be liberated from sin and death and anointed by God, in order to bring His wise order into a world that is a terrible mess. 

One other consequence of this hermeneutical view. If we allow the passages in Genesis to speak about purpose, function, and use, and not insist they deal with material origin, then there is space to reconcile evidence for material evolution (such as geologic evidence for an old earth, or phylogenetic continuity) with God’s revelation. This opens the door to a better understanding of evidence discovered, and also allows new generations to not be faced with a take-it-or-leave-it approach to doctrines often promoted as the only true interpretation of Scripture, such as a young earth or de novo creation of Adam. Can we resist the temptation to claim for our interpretation of Scripture the same authority as Scripture itself? 

C.S.Lewis on why we need theology

C. S. Lewis - Mere Christianity (Book IV, section 1)

... and by extension why we need the church and other believers.

I remember once when I had been giving a talk to the R.A.F., an old, hard-bitten officer got up and said, ‘I’ve no use for all that stuff. But, mind you, I’m a religious man too. I know there’s a God. I’ve felt Him: out alone in the desert at night: the tremendous mystery. And that’s just why I don’t believe all your neat little dogmas and formulas about Him. To anyone who’s met the real thing they all seem so petty and pedantic and unreal!’ 

Now in a sense I quite agreed with that man. I think he had probably had a real experience of God in the desert. And when he turned from that experience to the Christian creeds, I think he really was turning from something real to something less real. In the same way, if a man has once looked at the Atlantic from the beach, and then goes and looks at a map of the Atlantic, he also will be turning from something real to something less real: turning from real waves to a bit of coloured paper. But here comes the point. The map is admittedly only coloured paper, but there are two things you have to remember about it. In the first place, it is based on what hundreds and thousands of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic. In that way it has behind it masses of experience just as real as the one you could have from the beach; only, while yours would be a single glimpse, the map fits all those different experiences together. In the second place, if you want to go anywhere, the map is absolutely necessary. As long as you are content with walks on the beach, your own glimpses are far more fun than looking at a map. But the map is going to be more use than walks on the beach if you want to get to America.

Now, Theology is like the map. Merely learning and thinking about the Christian doctrines, if you stop there, is less real and less exciting than the sort of thing my friend got in the desert. Doctrines are not God: they are only a kind of map. But that map is based on the experience of hundreds of people who really were in touch with God—experiences compared with which any thrills or pious feelings you and I are likely to get on our own are very elementary and very confused. And secondly, if you want to get any further, you must use the map. You see, what happened to that man in the desert may have been real, and was certainly exciting, but nothing comes of it. It leads nowhere. There is nothing to do about it. In fact, that is just why a vague religion—all about feeling God in nature, and so on—is so attractive. It is all thrills and no work: like watching the waves from the beach. But you will not get to Newfoundland by studying the Atlantic that way, and you will not get eternal life by simply feeling the presence of God in flowers or music. Neither will you get anywhere by looking at maps without going to sea. Nor will you be very safe if you go to sea without a map.

Book Review: Out of the East (Eothen) by Alexander Kinglake

Book Review - Eothen - by Alexander Kinglake

Eothen (Out of the East), by Alexander Kinglake, recounts his travels through the Near East in approximately 1834, when he was about 25. It would be a dramatic understatement to say that the culture of that era and location are unlike our own. In his encounters with various regions and peoples of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, Syria), what stands out most starkly is the clash between British cultural chauvinism (in Kinglake’s commentary) and the local cultures and traditions of impoverished peoples living on the ruins of ancient civilizations. 

A passage near the end of the book serves to illustrate both the richness of language, and the author’s view of the contrast between the Near East and Western Europe. He recorded this when he saw the Mediterranean while transiting a pass in Lebanon on his transit from Syria to the sea, where he would take a ship on the journey home.

I had grown well used of late to the people and the scenes of forlorn Asia—well used to tombs and ruins, to silent cities and deserted lains, to tranquil men, and women sadly veiled; and now that I saw the even plain of the sea, I leapt with an easy leap to its yonder shores, and saw all the kingdoms of the West in that fair path that could lead me from out of this silent land straight on into shrill Marseilles, or round by the pillars of Hercules, to the crash and roar of London. My place upon this dividing barrier was as a man’s puzzling station in eternity, between the birthless Past, and the Future that has no end. Behind me I left an old and decrepit World—Religions dead and dying—calm tyrannies expiring in silence—women hushed, and swathed, and turned into waxen dolls —Love flown, and in its stead mere Royal, and ‘Paradise’, pleasures.—Before me there waited glad bustle and strife—Love itself, an emulous game—Religion a Cause and a Controversy, well smitten and well defended—men governed by reasons and suasion of speech—wheels going—steam buzzing—a mortal race, and a slashing pace, and the Devil taking the hindmost—taking me, by Jove (for that was my inner care), if I lingered too long, upon the difficult Pass that leads from Thought to Action. I descended, and went towards the West.

The clash of religions seems muted in Kinglake’s accounts of how his Western Christianity dealt with, and was treated by various Islamic (Musselman in this context) practitioners. In our day and in Western civilization, the comparative merits or truth of competing faiths is implicitly scored by cultural and individual freedom, prosperity, etc., i.e., the world’s standards, just as Kinglake does. We should not expect a 19th century aristocrat to judge with 21st century values or perspective, but Jesus did say “ What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?“ (Matthew 16:26) well before Alexander Kinglake toured the mideast.

A 21st century travelogue through the third world would likely encounter similar clashes, but hopefully with different context. Despite grinding poverty, or perhaps largely because of it, faith in the third world is strong, although those who live there seek material improvement. But the clash of religions is also much sharper than two centuries ago. Militant Islam seeks to overturn the verdict of history. The Holy Spirit is being poured out in unprecedented measure on Christians around the world. Let us pray that we do not look down on those whose history and current circumstances are so different from our own — in short, that we not judge by the world’s standards.

Book Review: The Lost World of Genesis One

Book Review - The Lost World of Genesis One

In The Lost World of Genesis One, John Walton presents a way to understand the Genesis 1 creation account based on Aristotelian epistemology without once citing Aristotle. Aristotle defined four types of causation: material, formal, efficient, and final. Walton proposes that while most believers view (and have been taught) that Genesis 1 is an account of material causes of existence, the ancient Hebrews, and other ancient civilizations, would have received it as describing efficient and final causation. Restated in different words, the author of Genesis described the creation of the functions and purpose of the universe and its contents. It describes the nature of completion; God rested on the seventh day by taking His place in the cosmic temple that He had set in order. 

The difficulties that arise from trying to interpret this passage as a scientific description of material origins are numerous. Equally difficult, in a different venue,  is trying to use scientific theories to prove metaphysical truth. These problems do not arise when we receive Genesis 1 as a description of spiritual realities. God’s purposes in His kingdom are described as bringing light, life, provision, and order out of chaos. Walton points to God’s words to Job (38:1-40:2) as a warning against  trying to link our scientific understanding to proof for or against His existence or His actions.

“The book [of Job] is full of Job’s demand for an explanation. When God finally appears, he does not offer an explanation, but offers a new insight to Job. By confronting Job with the vast complexity of the world, God shows that simplistic models are an inadequate basis for understanding what He is doing in the world.” (p 132)

In eighteen propositions, after explaining his epistemological approach to Genesis 1, Walton proposes an approach to deal with teaching science as it relates to matters of faith. The relation of evolution, intelligent design to empiricism and teleology must be addressed in order to properly teach science and the humanities.  He proposes that a clear divide does exist between the empiricism that defines science, and the humanities that address purpose and meaning. There may be evidence pointing to purpose in a scientific theory, but it cannot be proven because it is the wrong sort of stuff. They operate on different layers. 

The bottom line on the first chapter of Genesis is, for believers, that God is the immovable mover, the first cause, at all levels of existence, but this account does not provide scientific details. Rather, the chapter is written to describe that God, the YHWH of the Jews, assigned functions in order to accomplish His purposes, and then entered into the role He had prepared for Himself, as the God of the universe.

China's future and the West

In chapters six and seven of “Making Sense of  GOD” , Timothy Keller describes the implications of three possible sources of identity. Historically, people defined themselves by their society and its values and advancement. He gives the example of warriors who counted it an honor to die in battle for their people. Modern society tells people to find themselves in their own desires and values, regardless of social constraints, mores, and values. Biblically, believers in God defined themselves by their relationship to Him and in Him.

There is a curious shift in society to which I have no insight. In the past few decades, China has shifted from a very tradition-honoring society to one in which entrepreneurship is highly rewarded. While paying homage to the wisdom of ancient Chinese culture and tradition, it appears that China is moving culturally in the direction of valuing innovation and modernity, not foe their own sake, but because they promote efficiency, productivity, and prosperity. The outcome of this shift is outside my understanding, but it raises a question for believers.

In the west (Europe and North America) the new definition of self has been tried and found wanting. We have become societies of infinite variability with innumerable factions self-defined by their own values. And the conflict between factions seems to grow without limit. Christians, with centuries of history of sectarianism, seem to still, somehow unite based on the core values of who Jesus is, what He did, and what He commands, but are rapidly minoritizing in western society.

China has a much weaker basis in Christian values than the west although the gospel has been there for centuries and has a foothold. How will China fare as they progress into the social experiment of abandoning their tradition? Will their society dissolve into a sea of conflicting factions, will they retreat into the safety of tradition, or will Christianity have the opportunity to form a new basis for social values and function? How will the west react to the changes in China? Is this the precursor to that period in which the gospel will be preached effectually to every nation and every person? (Matthew 24:14) Will the west seize the weakness of Chinese society to prey on them? Or will China discover a new strength in a society based on Christian values and practice, and simply leave the west to dissolve in the post-Christian chaos of society that worships individuality above all?

A Challenge to the Hallmark Channel

A Challenge to the Hallmark Channel

The romance movies aired endlessly on the Hallmark channel, cookie cutter though they be, have a fanatically loyal following. They are women’s drug of choice, just as DUIT[1] is men’s endless obsession. And to be fair, it must be a profitable product, and far more uplifting than most of the unwatchable drivel on networks. Even though the plots are cut out with a cookie cutter, it is a clean cookie cutter. 

What is the challenge? Simply this: in life, only love that matures endures past the initial rush. C. S. Lewis put it this way [2]

I think the thrill of the Pagan stories and of romance may be due to the fact that they are mere beginnings—the first, faint whisper of the wind from beyond the world—while Christianity is the thing itself: and no thing, when you have really started on it, can have for you then and there just the same thrill as the first hint. For example, the experience of being married and bringing up a family cannot have the old bittersweet of first falling in love. But it is futile (and, I think, wicked) to go on trying to get the old thrill again: you must go forward and not backward. Any real advance will in its turn be ushered in by a new thrill, different from the old: doomed in its turn to disappear and to become in its turn a temptation to retrogression. Delight is a bell that rings as you set your foot on the first step of a new flight of stairs leading upwards. Once you have started climbing you will notice only the hard work: it is when you have reached the landing and catch sight of the new stair that you may expect the bell again. This is only an idea, and may be all rot: but it seems to fit in pretty well with the general law (thrills also must die to live) of autumn & spring, sleep and waking, death and resurrection, and “Whosoever loseth his life, shall save it.”

After the wedding comes a life of growth and change, or else failure. Positive dramatizations of marriage at midlife have typically focused on the children, in sitcoms such as Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, My Three Sons, or The Brady Bunch. There are occasional shows that perhaps show the struggles of a married couple at midlife, and show the moral growth and maturing love that enables them to remain together. But they are few, and often hard to watch. Surely the creative genius of the producers and writers of the Hallmark channel can rise to the challenge of dramatizing struggle and growth in an appealing, compelling way.

Old age brings another type of challenge, as those who have matured in love deal with the gradual decay and failure of their bodies. Transcendent love emerges - the transformation of human devotion to focus on heavenly objectives and beings. The care and tenderness between those who have lived and loved for forty or fifty years is obvious to anyone who spends a few minutes in their presence. The outworking of all that God has done in their hearts over the years makes them almost a different kind of person. When the body fails, the soul is released. Sitting by the bed of affliction of such a saint, perhaps in hospice care, the Presence of God overwhelms the visitor, and the quality of His supernatural divine love is sensed. The Hallmark challenge is to convey this essence via movie and television. There is no cookie cutter for God’s activity in our lives.

[1] DUIT = driving under the influence of testosterone

[2] The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Volume II: Family Letters 1905-1931. Copyright © 2004 by C. S. Lewis