Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 (first published 6 June 2004)
"What is the meaning of life?" This is one of the questions that philosophers and theologians have discussed for centuries or millennia. It is closely related to the question, "Does God exist?" If the answer to the latter question is "no," then it is likely that life has no ultimate meaning. But even if we can assume that God does exist, does that imply that the universe has a purpose? Not necessarily. The Deists, including many of the founding fathers of the United States, believed that God existed, but they envisioned a God who created the universe and the natural laws, then more or less abandoned it, at most observing it from the outside. One could argue that meaning in such a universe could be derived from the value of creation (if it had no value, why would God have made it?) and perhaps the beauty of natural laws (e.g., the law of gravity or the laws of motion), but it would be hard to find any great meaning for an individual life. Today's reading from Proverbs describes wisdom as God's partner in creation and beyond. Wisdom, personified as a woman, describes herself as the first of God's creations, present with God when God created the earth, before the bowels of the earth, or its springs, or its mountains were formed. But wisdom was not just created first and then cast aside. She played a role in the formation of the heavens and the seas and the land. She was a "master worker" before God who rejoiced in the inhabited world and delighted in the human race. It is clear that the wisdom teacher responsible for this passage believed that God valued the created world and especially human beings. Creation was not a haphazard series of events, a random confluence of energy and matter that combined in accordance with the laws of physics and probability to form the present world. No, there was real meaning and purpose in the created order. Philosophers and theologians will continue to debate whether life has meaning, and if so, what it is, but I take my cue from this passage and others like it, and from my observations of the world around me. I believe that God exists, that God remains in contact with the universe, and that life has meaning. I can see it in my own life and in the lives of those I care about.
One of the areas of greatest controversy among Christians today
revolves around the so-called Intelligent Design (ID) theory. For
Christians who can't imagine that humans evolved from simpler--or at least
earlier--life forms, yet can't bring themselves to ignore many of the
established truths of science, such as the immense age of both the earth
and the universe, ID seems like a good compromise. It wears the clothing
of science, but at the same time it gives credit to a usually unnamed
Intelligent Designer, who, of course, is the Christian God. That the
universe in which we live is a wondrous place is undeniable, and
contemplating the vastness and beauty of space often makes us feel
insignificant, as the psalmist says, "When I look at your heavens, the
work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care
for them?" In my opinion, however, ID fails to live up to its hype,
either scientifically or theologically. From a scientific standpoint,
just calling something a theory does not make it so, and ID is definitely
not a theory. It's not even a hypothesis. ID is an attempt to poke holes
in some of the "assured findings of science," especially, but not
exclusively, Darwinian evolution. Attempting to falsify an existing
theory is undeniably a valid scientific undertaking, if it is conducted
according to the accepted rules of science--i.e., the scientific
method--but ID does not do that. Instead, it relies on argument about
probabilities and irreducible complexity which are either mistaken or at
best purely hypothetical. Pointing out that scientists can't explain
every aspect of biological evolution, for example, is worthless as an
attack on science, for scientists already know that many unknown remain.
The fact that ID has been unable to falsify any facet of commonly accepted
evolutionary theory--much less the entire system--demonstrates its failure
from a scientific viewpoint. From a theological viewpoint ID is just as
weak, for it relies on an argument from incredulity: "God must have
created the universe in a certain way, because I can't believe God could
have done it any other way." Incredulity is not proof. In fact,
incredulity is not faith. Saying that God could not use the Big Bang or
natural selection or quantum mechanics to produce the world we live in is
saying that God lacks wisdom, or power, or both. Christians who put their
trust in ID are backing a losing horse. To me, the universe bears witness
to a God who is wise enough and powerful enough to generate the present
universe in a way that is fully consistent with the laws of nature.
After all, God is the one who designed them!
Romans 5:1-5 (first published 6
June 2004)
Today is Trinity Sunday, a day set aside in many churches to honor the
triune God who is at the center of traditional Christian faith. The
passage from Romans is one of several in the New Testament that are cited
as illustrative of the threefold nature of God: Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. We have peace with God (the Father) through our Lord Jesus Christ
(the Son) and have received the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Some of the
earliest controversies in the church revolved around doctrines that would
later be circumscribed by the concept of the Trinity: the divine and/or
human nature of Jesus (Arianism, Nestorianism, monophysitism), God's
relationship with Jesus after his baptism (adoptionism), and the question
of whether the Father suffered on the cross (patripassionism). The
doctrine of the Trinity was developed by Augustine in the West and by the
Cappadocian Fathers (Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of
Nazianzus) in the East. Despite opposition by a variety of people
(Marcion, Arius, Socinius, etc.) the idea of the Trinity was adopted by
the vast majority of the church and remains part of traditional creeds and
confessions of most denominations today. Nevertheless, some Christians
are calling for a reexamination of the doctrine today, in part because
classical arguments for the Trinity are based in philosophies and
worldviews that no longer hold sway. Does the doctrine of the Trinity
still have meaning for Christians today? I think it does. The Trinity
encompasses both the divine and the human. This suggests that the divine
is closer to each of us than we might normally be aware. More than just a
divine spark, I think humans have the capacity for a rich, deep
interaction with God, to have an almost incarnational relationship with
the creator of the universe. That is not to say that humans are divine,
but that they are capable of participating in the divine, which permeates
all of creation, and especially humanity. Ethically, humanity's
participation in the divine should enhance our value in one another's
eyes. Even eyes clouded by racial, ethnic, or nationalistic prejudice
might be opened if we were to understand that all human beings, in a
sense, carry God in them. What we have in common with our fellow humans
should supersede those things that separate us. Finally, the Trinity is a
divine mystery, as is life itself. One of the greatest errors of the
early church was its attempt to explain the nature of God in minute
detail, then force others to believe it. Christians persecuted other
Christians--not to mention non-Christians--over tiny deviations in their
understanding of the relationship between the divine and the human in
Christ and other similar doctrines. The problem was that all who argued
that their understanding of God was right were wrong. A God who can be
explained is no God at all, and a religion without mystery is nothing more
than a human construct, without a hint of divinity. Yes, the Trinity is
still meaningful today, if the concept reminds us that we partake of the
divine every moment of our lives, that every other person also
participates in the divine, and that the true nature of God is shrouded in
mystery that the keenest intellect doesn't have a prayer of penetrating.
John 16:12-15 (first published 6
June 2004)
A documentary based on Robert McNamara's book The Fog of War has recently been released on DVD and video. The film focuses on eleven lessons that McNamara says he has learned over the years regarding war. Lesson number seven is particularly applicable to today's gospel reading: "Belief and seeing are both often wrong." This statement flies in the face of the aphorism "seeing is believing," but it correctly points out the difficulties of arriving at the truth concerning a given situation. Jesus tells his followers, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth." The Spirit, Jesus says, will speak what he hears from Jesus, whose message reflects that of God. It is our duty as followers of God to seek the truth, to proclaim the truth, and to live by the truth. No one has a corner on the market of truth. For that reason, we should admit that we continue to seek the truth, even if we believe that we've already apprehended part of it. The truth is only revealed to people whose minds are open to receive it. The great danger of fundamentalism is not its particular set of doctrines but its claim to possess the truth. As McNamara says, believing and seeing are both often wrong. The one who is not open to changing his or her mind on doctrinal issues, on political stances, or on ethical evaluations has no understanding of the nature of the truth. Many white Christians of an earlier time were convinced that people with black skin were naturally inferior. They believed this with all their hearts, but they were wrong. Many Christian men (and women as well) believe that God has designated certain roles in the church for men--especially leadership roles--and others for women. The believe this with all their hearts, but they are wrong. One things about God's truth is that it is consistent. If all are created in God's image, there are none who are superior to others by virtue of birth. God's followers are called to seek the truth throughout their lives. Although truth can be found in the Bible, it is an insufficient witness. Although truth can be found in the church, it is an insufficient witness. Although truth can be found in a theological analysis of the world around us, that, too, is an insufficient witness. Truth must be sought in many places in order to fully grasp it, to the extent that it can be fully grasped. We need to integrate our understanding of the Bible, the teachings of the church, our theological analysis of the world, and truth that we see in other sources in order to come to a better understanding of God's truth. No, we won't ever attain all truth, but such an approach will put us on the right path.