Confronting The Controversies: Week 3

The Death Penalty

My opinion: Our legal system is such a disaster that I find it impossible to isolate any issue for debate. What some call justice seems to me more about economics, politics, emotion and expediency.

So let’s talk about grace.

During our discussion about the death penalty we were asked to think of New Testament verses that might shed some light on how a Christian could approach the death penalty. Somebody mentioned the story of Ananias and Sapphira

Ananias and Sapphira
Acts 5:1, 11 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.” When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events

I wonder if maybe we’re meant to read this story as parable, whether it really happened or not. In a way it reminds me of the parable of the Unmerciful Servant, which I’ll get to in a moment. 

Ananias and Sapphira did not fall dead because they withheld money, which, as Peter makes clear, was theirs to do with as they pleased. Ananias and Sapphira were hypocrites. They chose to make a big show of piety by claiming they gave it all as an offering to advance the work of Christ. But if their lives were really centered on Christ, they would understand that the Holy Spirit knew their hearts. Whenever a Christian speaks or acts hypocritically, showing a false face or speaking false words, isn’t it a denial of the Holy Spirit? Isn’t it as much as denying that Christ lives?        

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The hypocritical Christian risks spiritual death because hypocrisy reveals that the gift of God’s grace was not received or understood. 

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant Matthew 18:21, 35
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

I know about grace. I did absolutely nothing to deserve Christ’s tender touch as He gently turned me toward a new direction and drenched me with living water. I know something else. When we accept the gift of God’s grace, when we truly begin to comprehend what we have been given, everything changes. For me, it was as though I was a wilted plant dangling from a hanging basket. Christ’s living water revived the very core of my being.

Even though God’s grace is offered to every single person, no matter how big a wreck the life, it is our choice to accept the gift. Yet how can we accept grace without some understanding of what we receive? Grace demands to be shared as freely as it is given. Living water cannot be contained. It is not living if it does not flow freely. How can we be alive, spiritually, if we are not breathing out God’s grace as we breath it in?

Romans 3:23, 24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

If you are reading this post, and yet you are in a place where you feel beyond God’s grace, please read this verse again. Please take some time to reflect on the words. God’s grace belongs to you if only you are willing to accept the gift.

Dear Lord,
Let me never forget that You see the real me, no matter the face I present to the world. If You can love me as I am, why should I put on a false face for my fellow fallible humans? Help me gain a greater understanding of Your grace, so that I can better share Your wonderful gift. Lord, I have no fear of physical death. I know it must come to all mortals. But spiritual death, what a truly frightening concept!

Confronting the Controversies

Week 2: Teaching Evolution and Creation in School

For those who read the pre-release version of my novel (And The Dominoes Fall) this past summer, you have a pretty good idea where I stand on this topic. In this discussion I will attempt to keep it simple.

What is Science?

From Wikipedia - Science is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding of how the physical world works. Through controlled methods, scientists use observable physical evidence of natural phenomena to collect data, and analyze this information to explain what and how things work. Such methods include experimentation that tries to simulate natural phenomena under controlled conditions and thought experiments. Knowledge in science is gained through research.

What is Faith?
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

I am tempted to leave it at that. Enough said. Shouldn’t it be obvious that scripture and science do not attempt to answer the same questions using the same techniques? When Moses brought down the Ten Commandments he didn’t say, “Before we put this law into practice we must create some scientific instruments and develop experiments to discover what kind of stone this is and how the tablets were created.” Not only is such a suggestion ridiculous but it would take the people away from the whole point of the law. This was, as Christ taught us, love our God and love one another. 

Should We Include Scriptural Passages in Science Class?

I say, “Absolutely not.”

Most students who take high-school level science courses will not pursue a career in science. Some may never give the physical world a second thought. And yet, by studying the scientific method perhaps they will improve critical thinking skills. Perhaps they will learn to become better observers of their natural surroundings. For me, these are sound reasons to leave science class to the scientific method. Let them learn something of the what and the how of the natural world. After all, they cannot get to the who of creation without the faith inside their own being.       

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 

In other words, Seek and you will find. If we do not believe (at least in some small way) that what we seek exists, how can we begin to find it?

As the chorus from a Michael Card song goes:

To hear with my heart

To see with my soul

To be guided by a hand I cannot hold

To trust in a way that I cannot see

That’s what faith must be

That is faith and there is absolutely nothing in the scientific method that can get us there.

Then, what about Genesis? If you want to include the creation story, which one? There are two. Whose interpretation will you use? Some Christians read for literal understanding while many others read the stories as doxology. That is, affirming that the God we worship is God of all that has been created and all that will ever be created. This is a statement of faith, which doesn’t attempt to explain the how.

These days, some Christian groups try to get around the creation debate with Intelligent Design. Once again I turned to Wikipedia for a definition.

Intelligent Design is the assertion that ‘certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection.’

This is not science. Working within the scientific method one cannot declare a conclusion based on faith. Why would proponents of Intelligent Design seek to redefine science to include what cannot be explained by the scientific method? Isn’t it a good thing for a society to have as many citizens as possible who possess good skills in critical thinking? Let science teach science.    

1Kings 19:11, 12 … Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

When I read this passage I understand it to mean that God’s Spirit did not speak to Elijah through the wind or the earthquake or the volcano. God’s Spirit spoke to him as so often happens through a gentle whisper that can only be felt by the soul.

Science is equipped to study the great natural forces of this planet such as earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes and tornadoes. But how can science explain the gentle whisper heard only by the faithful soul?

If we insist on injecting faith into the scientific process, what choice does science have but to reject the concept? What scientific experiment could be devised to hear the gentle whisper of God’s Spirit?

To me, God is too great and too vast to ever be contained by human understanding. Look at the natural world and relish it in awe, in God’s presence. But let us not dishonor God by thinking Him so small and so comprehendible that a mere mortal mind could ever know His ways.       

Quick note: I am in the process of trying to resolve some issues with the style sheet. Yes, I know the page doesn’t look too great.

Confronting The Controversies: Part 1

This is a 7-Part Series based on Adam Hamilton’s book Confronting The Controversies: Biblical Perspectives On Tough Issues

Church And State

The first section deals with the division of Church and state.

First things first. What does our Constitution say about the role of church?

From The United States Constitution:

From Article VI -
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

From Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

Ok. This seems clear enough. The US was not established as a Christian nation. Freedom of religion mattered to our founders. The US was established with the understanding that Christians, Jews, Moslems along with all other people of faith, as well as those with no faith at all should have the opportunity to worship or not to worship as they pleased.

The founders showed great wisdom in not establishing a national church. What if they acted differently? What if, today, we had one national church and religion? Would the congress tell that church what to preach or would the church tell the congress which laws to pass? Either way, I think we-the-people would be the losers.

We are stronger because we have the freedom to worship as we please. Of course this means that we will not agree on the major issues of the day. This is healthy. From debate, we give more thought to why we think what we think. 

While slavery was accepted by some Christian denominations, others were among the most vocal in speaking out against that evil practice. Would slavery have come to an end if it were accepted by a central state church? We are fortunate indeed that our founders valued freedom of worship.  

If the US is not a Christian nation, what is the role of the Christian citizen?    

Matthew 5:13,16 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

As Hamilton points out in the book, salt is an agent of change. It changes the taste of food. Salt is also a preservative. Throughout history, humans have been able to survive long harsh winters and difficult times of famine by stockpiling food preserved with salt. Salt preservers what is nourishing and life-sustaining and changes that which is not palpable.

Isn’t that how the Christian should seek to express citizenship?        

Matthew 5:43,45 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

We live at a time when many people look at politics like a sporting event. We root for our favorite team while jeering the other side.

Titus 3:1,9 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.

While the above reference to law refers to the Jewish laws of Torah I think the words are just as valid in today’s political climate. Look at the evening news or any political program on TV. We spend so much time pointing fingers and quarreling about foolish controversies. These arguments get us nowhere because the agenda is most often to tear down the opposition while gaining political advantage. It is rare in such arguments to find either side genuinely seeking to advance a worthy solution.

At the end of our discussion about Church and State, we were challenged to write a prayer for our country.  The more I thought about this assignment, the more I decided the real challenge would be to write a prayer for all elected officials at every level of government. I tend to be pretty cynical about politics. Seems to me that most of our elected officials are seeking power and personal gain. My goal became to write a sincere prayer from the heart. After all, simply mouthing words or writing them down on paper is not really prayer. Prayer can be spoken or unspoken but it must come from the most earnest longings of the soul.  

A Prayer For Our Elected Leaders

Dear Lord,

Be with All our elected officials and those running for office during this election season. Guide them. Help them make wise decisions that will benefit our country’s future.

Often we, the citizens, disagree on the major issues of the day. Still, I think that most of us want what is best for our country’s future. Help us to find ways to listen to each other’s concerns. Perhaps if we spend more time listening, the noise-level will come down a bit and we can think issues through together.

Help us to learn to disagree without being disagreeable.

Help our leaders understand that they have been given a profound responsibility. They have the choice to make decisions that are in their own short-term interest, or they can take the consequences of their actions seriously and put the security and well-being of this nation’s future first. Please guide them toward wisdom.  

If every person of faith prayed for all our elected officials and all those running for elected office, would it change our political climate?

I don’t know. Perhaps the greater change would be in ourselves.

My Story: The Prodigal Daughter 

Back when we were little girls, my mother kept green hickory switches within easy reach on top of the refrigerator. Now don’t get me wrong. She wasn’t the whippin’ sort. She has always been a sweet, soft-spoken sort, who never so much as raised her voice. But when my sisters and I were out of line, we could expect a stinging swat across the legs. Mostly, though, the threat was enough to keep us in line: “Don’t make me get my hickory switch.” 

I tell this story because it seems a good analogy to my childhood experiences in our fundamentalist Southern Baptist church. We were taught to fear God. When I say fear I do not mean the profound awe and reverence definition. I mean, the better be good if you don’t want to spend eternity burning in hell definition. And let me tell you, those preachers knew how to paint vivid pictures of an eternity in hell.

I thought about God in much the same way I viewed those green hickory switches. Better be good and keep out of His notice. Or else!

Honestly, I cannot recall a single time as a child when I felt God’s loving presence. I think my fear was like a wall. I mean, if a child is constantly told she better be good or else her father will condemn her to an eternity in hell, would you expect that child to run to the door with open arms when Father comes home from work? More than likely she would run and hide whenever she heard the car pull into the driveway.

Written several years ago, this is an excerpt from my book Liberation about my experiences as a visually impaired writer online. (The book is no longer available since I plan a complete rewrite when time permits.) I only include this excerpt because it shows my thinking back before everything in my life changed.

There was a time when I was about twelve, I was invited to attend a service at a small Pentecostal church. So I found myself at this church on a hot, muggy, summer Sunday evening. After the electrified service, those who wished prayer for healing were invited to come forward. I was coaxed toward the altar and as I knelt in prayer, the entire congregation fervently prayed for my eyes to be healed. I recall the heat of the night and of the people, well-meaning strangers pressed around me with hands on my eyes as they passionately prayed for healing. These people were so intense in their faith that for a moment, I could almost believe that heal­ing was possible. If healing were possible, it would certainly happen on such a night and in such a place.

But when the prayers were over, nothing had changed. When I woke up the next morning, still half-expecting a miracle, nothing had changed.

I suppose that was the last time I permitted myself to believe in mira­cles or anything else that was not tangible or provable.

I share this excerpt, not because this was the event that caused my doubt, there was no single event. The older I became, the less reason I saw to believe

As I grew into adolescence, I became aware of hypocrisy in the church. The illogic of their dumbed-down, Sunday school, literalist, if-it-says-so-in-the-Bible-it-happened brand of theology was more than I could accept. By age fourteen, I seriously doubted that God existed. If God was as they taught, I didn’t really want to believe, anyway.

I never considered myself an atheist. My view was simply, I don’t believe the stories in the Bible really happened, particularly the stories in Genesis. According to my fundamentalist upbringing, to question the literality of those stories was the same as doubting the existence of God. So, my view became, while none of us can know everything, I seriously doubt God exists. I was an utterly uninterested agnostic, content to have nothing more to do with religion.

I married my wonderful husband, Don. While he grew up in the Catholic Church, he also wanted nothing to do with religion. Within a year our son, John, was born.

I recall, on one occasion a neighbor persuaded me to visit her tiny Southern Baptist church. The pastor spent the entire sermon criticizing Catholics and the Vatican. While I had no real interest in religion, I would not subject my son to hearing the condemnation of my in-laws church. Faith meant everything to both my Catholic mother-in-law and my Baptist mother. I was in my late twenties when this happened, and it was the last straw. If faith mattered to other people, that was their business. To me, religion meant various groups tearing each other down. For what? A God that probably never existed? This was how I felt.      

Life went on. Life was good! John grew up and went off to college. I spent a lot of time writing. I had everything I could possibly want.

Then…

During the spring of 2006 I serialized a novel online called Ash. Set in a fictional community in East Central Florida, the story chronicled the struggle for survival after a cataclysmic volcanic eruption at Yellowstone National Park leaves most of the US uninhabitable. Problem was, the story left readers feeling that something was lacking. I felt the same way. What was missing? I put the story away with no interest in future revision.

However, this feeling of incompleteness persisted. The problem was in me, and therefore manifested in my writing. As the months progressed this uneasiness only grew stronger. One night, in tears, I woke my husband and told him that something was seriously wrong with me. I couldn’t stop crying. As strange as it sounds I felt a desperate longing for faith in God. I wanted to believe, but scarcely understood what I wanted to believe.

This made no sense! Throughout my adult life I honestly cannot recall a time when I wanted anything to do with religion. Answers could best be explained through science, I reasoned. I have always loved natural history, reading, ravenously, everything I could find about nature and this planet’s evolution. If other people needed religion, fine. Only, please leave me alone to think for myself.

Why, then, did I suddenly feel this disquiet in my innermost self? What caused this anguish, this desire for faith? Life was good. Nothing in our circumstances had changed. Why did everything feel wrong at the core of my being?

During this time, it was as though God was reaching into every area of my life. Dreams included Christian imagery. Passages in books took on unexpected meaning; reframes from hymns played in my head. No, I did not experience a dramatic Damascus Road blaze of light moment, only a steady sense that my soul was wilting and needed nourishment, now.

Then, during August 2006, a couple of months after I woke up my husband in tears, our family experienced a crisis for which we were unprepared. Then I understood why God wanted my attention. Only by knowing His presence could I survive what was to come. God made clear to me that whatever happened I would never face any difficulty alone.

What an amazing, astonishing realization. Despite those many years of skepticism, God’s love was unwavering. Knowing what our family was about to experience, He grabbed my attention in a way that I could not deny. This was not only the beginning of faith, but also trust, joy and peace. Today, we still face challenges as a family, but I can honestly say that all is well with my soul.

Still, many questions lingered. I suppose I thought all Christian teachings were about the same as those taught in the fundamentalist Southern Baptist churches of my childhood. But a literal reading of Genesis is certainly not consistent with what is known about the history of this planet. 

Every question I took to God in prayer. I read many books, reading a wide range of theological views. My sister Vera, who has taken many courses in religion, introduced me to the works of Marcus J. Borg. And I truly began to look at The Bible in new ways. To my great surprise and delight I discovered that those childhood Sunday school lessons were only one rather childish interpretation of scripture. Understanding begins when we live Christ’s teachings of compassion and forgiveness. 

And still, this magnificent planet has so much to teach us. We should relish the opportunity to study and learn all that we can from science. However, what we experience of God can never be quantified or dissected in a laboratory. We need not try to explain God, scientifically, or accept the popular misconception that science negates the need for spiritual growth.   

During this time of seeking answers I wondered how could I express my thoughts about religion and science, how could I explore these topics in my writing. Why did my mind keep going back to my discarded story, Ash? Then the thought came: If a life can be reborn, why not a story? The thought kept expanding until I found myself writing And The Dominoes Fall.

Today, God is at the center of my life, and every endeavor. I don’t feel the need to define God for those who need definitions. The truth, God is so much more than my mortal, fallible mind could ever comprehend. God is beyond definition. God can only be experienced once our minds are free from fear and pride.

I believe that change is the constant in our universe, but God is unchanging. Creation is continuous in nature, and in ourselves. God is Creator in the present tense. So it really doesn’t matter if we call this process evolution or creation. It is a process that never ceases.

God is very real. I have no doubt. Our interpretations are just that. We have a tendency to define God in whatever way suits our own minds. Religion, all religions, are human-invented rituals to worship God in group settings. They vary depending on how we define God, and the emphasis is often refined through tradition and culture. I think the best we can do is to try to resist defining God. After all, what is the difference in a god our mind defines and an idol made by our hands? Be content to experience God in all Creation.   

This is important to understand, so that we do not confuse religion with God. I think many, like myself, turn away from religion because it has lost meaning in our lives. I don’t think it is accurate to say that I turned away from God because, while I memorized numerous Bible verses and Hymns as a child, I never really knew God back then.

Now I know that we are the ones who make God invisible when fear, pride or ignorance keeps us from acknowledging His presence. But His presence is with us. He loves us more profoundly than we could ever comprehend.      

 Sarah

In the fading afternoon light I watched as Tropical Storm Fay flooded the backyard with relentless rain. Our electricity had been out most of the day. The rain continued as twilight deepened to night. How high was the water? I opened the screen door a few inches and stuck out one bare foot. Water rolled over my toes.  My yard couldn’t take much more flooding.

Then more rain bands arrived, one after another, blowing water onto our large screened porch and dumping much more onto my saturated yard. Soon the porch was flooded up to the sliding glass doors.

Knowing in advance that flooding was a possibility I left the wheelbarrow in the garage. Working by the light from a couple of battery-powered Colman lanterns we scooped up and filled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow. I carefully rolled them through the garage and dumped the water out front, when the yard slopes toward the road.

I don’t know how many wheelbarrows we filled. Twenty? Thirty? Finally the rain let up a bit and we felt we could take a break.

Don went back into the house. I sat on the porch swing, in total darkness, and listened to slow but steady rain. Could we keep the house from flooding? So far, and thanks to our hard work, we kept the flooding contained to the porch. But all it would take was another fierce rain band and our work would be for nothing. I didn’t expect to get much sleep that night.

As I sat in the dark, my bare feet gauging the status of the flooding, my mind turned to prayer. How should I pray? I knew that many people were certainly facing much worse flooding.

I wondered how many other believers were sitting in the dark, wondering how much more rain would fall, wondering how high the water would rise. Although I sat alone on that wet porch, I was far from being alone in my concerns. At that very moment, how many other people were sitting or kneeling in prayer?

I stretched out my hands and asked God to join my prayers with all the others seeking comfort. Sometimes it seems we spend all our time arguing over differences in our beliefs. Yet when you’re sitting in the dark not knowing what the night may bring, how trivial our differences become. Our unique experiences may cause great variation in perspective, yet how can that matter while sitting in the dark waiting for the flood to rise?

I stretched out my hands to join will all who prayed. What did it matter if we were separated by geography and perspective? We all needed comfort from the same loving God.  

The water didn’t rise any higher that night. Indeed, by morning it had begun to recede. Now, as I sit typing, I watch as Hurricane Ike threatens Texas. Once again, tonight, many people will be sitting in the dark as the flood waters rise. If you find yourself in that situation stretch out your hands and let yourself join with all the others in prayer. What you share in that moment is so much more powerful than trivial human divisions.

Dear Lord,

Comfort all those feeling anxious about Hurricane Ike. Let them feel the peace of your presence. Let us remember that when we reach out to each other, we also reach out to you. Your love and comfort is so much more powerful than any storm.

The following is my view of Noah’s Ark as allegory.

Noah’s Ark (An Allegory)

Some of the ancient Bible stories, particularly those in Genesis, are easy to dismiss as mythology. They can’t possibly be accepted literally. So, how can we find significance?

What if they are allegories designed to teach prosperous living through trust in God?

Take the story of Noah’s Ark, for example. Read literally, we have a story about an angry God who decides to destroy all creation with a flood that will cover the entire surface of the planet. He does, however, decide to save Noah and his family because Noah follows God’s will. God instructs Noah to build an ark to specific dimensions and causes two of every animal to come inside.

Read literally, what choice is there but to dismiss the story as mythology? No flood ever covered the entire planet. It’s not possible! The concept of transporting two of every type of animal in the world is absurd.

Is there another way to look at the story?

We know that Jesus frequently expressed his teachings in parables. Is it really such a stretch to believe that many of the more ancient stories were allegories, using symbolism to express profound truths far beyond the literal reading?

Biblical scholars believe that after Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 587 BC, and the Israelites were forced into exile, the priests rewrote many of the ancient stories to keep their people from losing religious identity, and assimilating into Babylonian culture. Laws governing the Sabbath were emphasized along with animal sacrifice. In the ark story this probably meant adding that Noah took seven of each “clean” animal and the description of animal sacrifice. Therefore, these details probably have no relevance to the original allegory.

What are the important details?

Noah lives in obedience to God. When God warns that a calamity will occur, he puts his trust in God. (The flood can be viewed as any calamity or deluge of troubles.)

The ark represents a cocoon or womb, In other words, Noah sought safety by wrapping himself in trust-in-God.

The animals symbolize those things that Noah wanted to survive the calamity. They could represent thoughts, personal traits or beliefs. They are those things that we wish to survive and hold close once our troubles have passed.

According to the story rain fell for 40 days. The number 40 appears frequently in scripture. Some believe that 40 may not represent a specific length of time, but rather the amount of time that it takes for a thing to reach completion.

As the waters begin to drain, Noah sends out a raven. Ravens were viewed as clumsy birds representing clumsy, unfocused thoughts. Their black feathers suggested ignorance, in the world of Bible symbolism. Its habit of preying on weak and feeble animals reflected the confusion that preys on the weakened, fear-filled mind. Noah’s troubles were not over just because the deluge ended. His mind was still in a state of fear and confusion, as so often happens even after a bad situation has passed. Scripture says the raven flew back and forth until the waters dried—meaning mental confusion continued. Confusion does go back and forth pecking at the fear-filled mind causing even more anxiety—IF WE LET IT! 

Next Noah sends out a dove. The dove represents peace. Through his continued trust in God, Noah is beginning to find inner peace. But as so often happens, peace of mind takes time. It doesn’t happen all at once. The dove flies around but can find no place to land, so Noah pulls it back to him.  

After a week Noah sends out another dove. This dove returns with a freshly picked olive leaf in its beak. An olive branch is another symbol of peace, so we see that Noah is making progress. As he seeks peace, peace is returning to him.

A third time Noah sends out the dove. This time it does not return. Peace of mind has been achieved. Noah has let go of all the anxiety that controlled his thoughts and he is now free to get on with his life.

Most often, a calamity is not over when it ends. We are still troubled by fear and anxiety. If you witnessed a terrible car accident or were attacked, for example, it would take time for the anxiety to leave. Anxiety goes to-and-fro in the mind, pecking at fears. The difficulties and challenges in life are only over when we find inner peace.

The steps for achieving inner peace are plainly laid out in the ark allegory.

1. Envelope yourself in trust-in-God

2. Keep close those things/thoughts that you want to survive and to be a part of you/your life when the difficulty is finally over.

3. Realize that like the raven, fear and anxiety will go back and forth in the mind, keeping it clouded from clarity and peace—IF WE LET IT!

4. The ultimate victory over any difficulty is peace of mind, which comes with time and when we seek guidance from God.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. -Mathew 7:7,12 (NIV)

Through Christ’s teachings we learn how to look at God, our Heavenly Father. While this is central to Christian teachings there seems to be many different views of our Heavenly Father’s temperament.

Is he an angry, dictatorial father who comes home from work, storms into the house and deals out punishment for all the mistakes the children made that day? Is he the sort who looks for reasons to explode? The kid hands him a report card filled with A-‘s and he spends the entire evening raging because he will settle for nothing less than A+?

Is he a distant and remote father who comes home from work, goes into the study and ignores his children’s requests and pleas for help with homework?

Is he an absentminded father who means well but keeps forgetting his promises?

Or is he a father with unconditional love for ALL his children?

I grew up in a small town, Southern Baptist church that spent far more time preaching hellfire and Satan that the teachings of Christ. But what exactly does fear of God mean?

“Fear of God” … one of the most misunderstood and misused expressions from the Bible. So many use it against the believers saying God demands that you be afraid of Him when it couldn’t be farther from the Truth. Looking at the definition of “fear”, where “fear of God” appears in the KJV there are three translations to “fear.”

yir’ah {yir-aw’}: respect, reverence, piety, revered

pachad {pakh’-ad}: terror, dread, object of dread

phobos {fob’-os}: reverence as in for one’s husband (or wife)

So, if one opposes and rejects God one should dread (pachad) fear what He will do (and won’t do). If one loves Him one should revere, honor and respect (yirah or phobos) fear Him. Yirah or phobos fear Him even in the marriage sense as we, the believers, will be collected as His Bride at the Rapture.

I “fear” God. Deeply. But I am not afraid of Him.

Now that I have come to know God’s love in a very personal and profound manner, how do I view Him as Father? Let me share a brief story.

One spring we found a fledgling cardinal in our yard. She couldn’t yet fly. Since it was nearly dark we brought her inside and cared for her throughout the night.

The following morning we took her out onto the screened back porch while we debated what to do. We weren’t even sure where the cardinal nest was located. The one thing we knew for certain, we were not qualified to act as segregate cardinal parents.

We set her down on the table to see if she would attempt to fly. She didn’t. Instead, she began a steady, persistent chirp.

A few moments later her chirp was answered by a similar chirp, and then we saw bright red wings circling ever closer to the porch.

The father had found his daughter. He knew the sound of her chirp and he came when she called.

We took the fledgling outside and set her on a low branch. We backed away.

The father cardinal flew down directly in front of his daughter and flapped his wings. He would fly up a bit then return to flap his wings some more. All the time he made a soft chirping sound that seemed to comfort and reassure his child.

As this activity continued, the daughter seemed to grow in confidence. She flapped her wings and then flew up into the higher branches of the tree. The father went with her and they stayed together, father and daughter, until she gained the confidence to fly on her own.

As God’s Holy Spirit stays with me and teaches me to fly I am so reminded of the faithfulness and patience I observed in the father cardinal. He came when she called and without anger or judgment he taught her and protected her until she was strong enough to fly.

Would I have understood the phenomenal parenting skills of the father cardinal if I hadn’t watched him with His daughter? No. Could we understand our Heavenly Father’s unconditional love if we had not come to know Him through the words of the Son? I don’t think so.

If you want to understand our Heavenly Father, read the words of the Son.

Yet we are not to rely on our own understanding, so let me look at scripture to see if I have this figured out correctly.

Can we know the Father by knowing the son?

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  -John 14:9

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. -Mathew 11:27, 28  

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.  -John 14:6,7

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. -John 17:25  

Would God come to find His lost child like the father cardinal came for his daughter?

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost. -Mathew 18:12,14

In our noisy world would God know his child’s voice, as the father cardinal knew his daughter’s chirp in a neighborhood filled with nesting birds?

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.  -John 10:15 

Can we know God’s voice separate from all the clutter in our mind, just as the fledgling knew her father’s voice?

The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.  -John 10:3, 4

Would He show understanding when He found His child, like the father cardinal who was far more interested in helping his daughter, than fearing that she smelled like humans?

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. –Luke 6:36

Do we, did Christ, learn from the father’s example, just as the fledgling learned from the father cardinal’s lesson of flight?

Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.   -John 5:19

Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.  -John 14:10

By knowing the teachings of the Son, we come to know the Father our God.

-Sarah Mankowski

Dear Lord,

How do You put up with us?

When it’s raining we ask for sunshine.

When the sun shines too brightly we pray for rain.

When the air becomes too still we beg for a breeze.

When the wind blows too hard we pray for calm.

When it’s cold we want warmth.

When it’s hot we plead for shade.

When we fall down we ask You to help us up.

When You help us up, we think we did it on our own.

When we’re hungry we sometimes forget to thank You for our daily bread.

When we eat too much, we pray for help losing weight.

When we let worry intrude, we plead for help falling asleep.

When we keep reckless hours we want You to keep us awake.

When we make a mess of our lives, we beg You to make things right.

When You make things right, we say, “No, I didn’t mean like that.”

Dear Lord,

Teach me to remember each and every blessing, whenever I am tempted to ask for more.

Teach me to simply say Thank You!

–Sarah Mankowski

The Sin of Self-Pity

Recently, reading from the Gospel of John, I found myself pondering a story in Chapter 5. Here are the verses that caught my attention from John 5: 1-9, 14 (NIV)

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.  … Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

What was his sin? I mean, here is this pathetic invalid who can’t even get into the pool. It’s hard to imagine him running wild on a murderous rampage of participating in drunken orgies. Christ doesn’t simply say “stop sinning”, he adds this caution: “or something worse may happen to you.”

Unless I’m mistaken, this is the only time Christ adds this caution. Why?

I went back and read the story looking for clues about the nature of this man’s sin.

Christ asks him if he wants to get well.

The man says, “Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

Isn’t this a little odd? If you had been an invalid for 38 years and a healer came along and asked if you wanted to be made well, don’t you think the natural response would be, “Yes! Better believe it!”

Instead, the man tells Jesus how unfair he’s treated. “Pity me, this world is cruel to people like me.” Clearly, this man is filled with self-pity. While the others are soaking in the pool, he is wallowing in self-pity.

Not only does self-pity darken our own mind, but it is like feeding poisoned fruit to everybody who cares about us.

Can you imagine how it was for this man’s kinfolk? When they came to take him home in the evening and asked about his day, he would tell them how others always took the best spots and kept him from getting into the water. This angered his family, no doubt, and caused them to feel bitterness toward the people who were unfair to their disabled relative. Over time, they might come to see the whole world as cruel and ugly. Most people have experienced unfair treatment in one form or another, but when we constantly feed it to our loved ones, we slowly poison their hearts along with our own.

This is the sin of self-pity.

When Jesus warns, “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you,” I do not believe this is a threat. This is simply acknowledging reality. After all, we reap what we sow. If he has sown seeds of bitterness and resentment among those who cared about him, this is exactly what he will reap, if he continues to wallow in pity.

Suppose that after he is healed, his kinfolk remind him that now he can find work and pay his own way. They tell him about a vineyard that is currently looking for workers. But when he comes back from the job interview he is despondent. He really tried, but the man in line in front of him took the last opening.

Next day, same story. He didn’t get hired because he wasn’t fast enough or tall enough or young enough. There is always somebody ahead of him in line that’s just a little more qualified.  

How long before the kinfolk’s pity gives way to frustration and resentment? He’s healed, but he still wallows in pity. When they tell him to get over it, he says they just don’t understand how difficult it is to make a fresh start after being an invalid for 38 years. He says they are being harsh and judgmental and they just don’t understand how unfair the world is to people like him.

The kinfolk understand that they carried this ingrate around on his mat for 38 years and now he won’t lift a finger to help himself. His body is healed but his mind is still crippled by self-pity.

Resentment grows and before long they are fed up. After a huge argument with words flung that can never be taken back, he finds himself on the street, alone. His family and friends want nothing more to do with him.

When Jesus cautioned that worse things could happen, he wasn’t making a threat. He was saying it’s time for a new attitude to go with those freshly healed limbs—new wineskins for the new wine. A crippled attitude can be more debilitating than a crippled body. A crippled attitude can cause worse things to happen than a crippled body.

I suppose we have all known people who have undergone unimaginable ordeals: heartbeat that we can’t begin to comprehend. Disease. Disabilities. Disappointments. Some may say, “You can’t understand what this pain is like.” This is probably true. We may not be able to understand that particular pain. Yet most of us understand pain.

I know what it is to cry until there are no more tears and all that is left is swollen eyes throbbing for days on end. I know how it is to feel despair, to think that no good thing will ever happen again, to think that all the brilliant colors of the rainbow are only shades of gray. I know, and I’ll bet most everybody knows to some degree or another.   

Yet we only harm ourselves and the people who care about us when we wallow in self-pity. We make our world darker; we make the world of every person who cares about us darker.

Oswald Chambers wrote: “No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the thrown of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges—always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives.”

Jesus is the light that dispels the darkness of self-pity and self-doubt. Life’s challenges and troubles may still be there, disabled bodies or broken heart, but Christ will heal the crippling darkness in our minds, if we will only ask.

Dear Lord,

Forgive me if I have ever caused another person to become bitter because of my attitude toward the challenges I face in life. Shine your cleansing light into every dark corner of my mind, so there is no place for self-pity or self-doubt to linger.    

Sarah Mankowski