Of Spaghetti Monsters and Men

Some of you may be unfamiliar with the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or maybe you’ve seen the Jesus-fish-like FSM decal on the back of the car in front of you and wondered what that is all about. I thought I would take this opportunity to explain what it is and to thoroughly debunk it.

The FSM is an invention of atheism/agnosticism that equates the belief in God to the belief in the monster based on the fact that neither can be seen or physically proven, therefore neither can also be disproven. It is a modern version of Russell’s Teapot. In 1952, philosopher Bertrand Russell argued,

“If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time.”

The Flying Spaghetti Monster is rooted in the same argument, only instead of a teapot, it is a “god-like” creature with a body of noodles and meatball eyes. The term was invented in 2005 in a letter from a 24-year old Oregon State graduate, Bobby Henderson, protesting the decision to permit the teaching of intelligent design in public schools in Kansas. The key difference between the teapot and the FSM is the level of mockery towards the idea of God. In the case of the teapot, Russell wasn’t arguing that it was God, but rather that it couldn’t be proven or disproven. The FSM is designed to make the idea of God seem ridiculous and stupid. It has become incredibly popular with atheists and agnostics in these past 10 years, and has been promoted by the world’s most famous skeptic, Richard Dawkins. They love to equate their “god” with God, but I’d like to demonstrate why that comparison is as stupid as the very idea of a spaghetti god.

The comparison fails for one big reason: there is absolutely no reason to believe in the FSM. On the other hand, there is very good reason to believe in the Christian God. For starters, God cannot be less than His creation. Spaghetti cannot explain chicken or cats or people. It certainly cannot produce intelligence. Spaghetti can only explain itself. If the universe were entirely spaghetti-like, we may have good reason to believe in a spaghetti god. Perhaps if our bodies or the ground we walked on, and everything that we saw resembled spaghetti, we might have reason to suspect origins of spaghetti. On the other hand, we believe in the God of the Bible because we do see Him in creation. We believe that God is intelligent because we are intelligent. We believe that God is immeasurable, because the universe is immeasurable. We believe that God is personal, because we are personal. Likewise, we believe that God is loving and cares for His children because we humans love and care for our children. The creation cannot be greater than the Creator. The FSM is subject to creation, a mere product, limited by time and space. The God of the Bible created time and space and Himself transcends their limitations. If there is no God, we have a lot of explaining to do, and in fact, are more likely to resort to such idiotic ideas as the FSM to explain the existence of anything. Throughout history, humans have invented countless gods that much more closely resemble the FSM, that merely are gods over something like rain or thunder, and are themselves limited. God, by His definition, is unlimited. He is greater than His creation. If creation is greater than God, than He ceases to be God, and the creation becomes god over Him. These are childish, unsophisticated ideas of what a god is, and therefore wholly irrelevant to comparisons with the Christian God.

The God of the Bible is complex. His triune nature is incomprehensible to the human mind. We are not capable of grasping Him fully, because we are not Him. We are lesser. The only reason we can understand anything specific about Him is because He has revealed it to us through nature, through His Scriptures, and through the visible life of Jesus Christ. To say that belief in God is as unsubstantiated as belief in the FSM is to deny history. We have the revealed Word of God, given to us over thousands of years, put down by roughly 40 human writers that testify to historical events, the rise and fall of kings and empires, as well as the lives of individuals who lived in those times. Most importantly, we have the accounts of the life of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. His life and death and resurrection resulted in the explosion of Christianity, which remains to this day the most influential force in the shaping of the world we live in today. No other religion has impacted the world like Christianity has. Many religions have shaped their surroundings, but none have had the global impact of Christianity. It only makes sense that if there is a God who claims to be personal, and to be interested in the lives of men, that there would be evidence of His existence in the world. He would be effective. There is no evidence of the life of the FSM. He has made no impact on our world. As far as “gods” go, he has done a pretty lousy job at getting his message across, if he has any. He is powerless, and he is dead. He never was, and there was never a reason to believe in him. Our God is alive, and every attempt to destroy Him has ended with Him victorious.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)

Why We Celebrate Easter

Why do we celebrate Easter? I thought I would take some time to explain why this particular holiday is so important, and why we still have reason to celebrate in 2015. Perhaps you’ve never heard it explained, or maybe you have celebrated Easter your whole life, but never quite grasped why the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was necessary for our salvation.

It all began with the first man, Adam. He had a special relationship with God, who communicated directly with him, and gave him a wife to help him look after the Garden of Eden and tend it. It was a beautiful, peaceful world. However, God gave him one command, not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If he would, death would follow. When he disobeyed the direct order from God, sin and its natural effect, death, infected Adam and Eve and all the children they would bear. From that point forward, Man continued to sin, and we faced the consequences through suffering, pain, and death. Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death.” All it takes is one sin, and as Romans 3:23 states, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” As all men fell short of perfection, there needed to be a way for Man to be made right with God once again. In order to do so, God set up a system of substitutionary atonement through the death of an innocent life. This began immediately after Adam and Eve were banished from the paradise that was the Garden. In Genesis chapter 4, we see that the first children of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, were practicing this system of offering, though Cain’s offering of fruit did not meet God’s requirement of innocent blood. Abel, on the other hand, offered the firstborn lamb of his flock. The lamb bore the punishment for Abel’s sins, and he was able to stand reconciled before God. However, any sins Abel would later commit would again require this sacrifice. Of course, Abel did not live much longer, as his brother’s jealousy drove him to murder, the clearest sign of how far Man had fallen in the wake of Adam’s sin. The knowledge of good and evil was leading Man to self-destruction.

As the story of the Old Testament continues, God develops a special relationship with a faithful man named Abraham, whom He promises to bless with children greater than the stars he could number in the sky. He also promises that through his family, all the nations of the world would be blessed (Genesis 22:17-18). God was going to use this man to accomplish something remarkable for all of humanity, though the specific details were not revealed to him. Abraham’s family would become the nation of Israel, and they would be God’s representatives in a fallen world. Throughout the centuries, they would observe God’s laws and continue to offer blood sacrifices to atone for their sins. As it becomes quickly apparent in reading through the Old Testament, those sins would be many, as His people would repeatedly turn away from God. Still, God used them to ultimately accomplish His plan for the whole world. Through the bloodline of Israel, prophets prophesied that a Messiah would come. He would be the one to save His people.

Then one day, an angel appeared to a young, unmarried girl named Mary, whom he declared would give birth to the Son of God who would rule over Israel, and whose kingdom would have no end (Luke 1:30-33). The Messiah was coming! This Savior was born and He was named Jesus. Shortly before Jesus was born, a man named John (the Baptist) was born to Mary’s cousin, and this man would be the one to “bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe (John 1:7)” In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John the Baptist bore witness to Him, and as Jesus came to John to be baptized, John declared, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)” What God’s people were anticipating was a man who would establish an earthly kingdom and rule for the nation of Israel, but John here declares that His purpose was to make payment for the sin of the world as the Lamb of God. How incredibly contrary! The Son of God would not come to rule, but to be killed. His blood would be shed for the sins of the whole world, just as the lamb sacrificed by Abel was shed for Abel’s sins. He was to be the perfect sacrifice, one that was pleasing to God. He was the only Man worthy to be sacrificed because He was the only Man who was Himself without sin. The One without guilt would pay the price for the guilty.

Jesus would be faithful to His purpose, and after three years of earthly ministry in which He performed countless miracles and spread the word of His kingdom, He would be offered up on a cross and His blood would be shed. The perfect sacrifice would be made, and it would be possible for Man to be made right with God. Romans 5:12-21 tells us how the death of Jesus Christ atones for the sin that entered the world through Adam. Verses 18-19 say, “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”

This payment explains how all the sins up to the time of Jesus’ death could be atoned for, but how about the sins that came after? Wouldn’t we still need to have payment for our sins going forward? Hebrews 10 addresses this. Verse 10 says, “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all,” and continuing in verses 12-14, “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” There is no limit to the sufficiency of the blood of Jesus Christ as payment for all sins past and present, because Christ Himself is infinite, and His blood is of infinite value. There is no need for further sacrifice.

Christ offered Himself up as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Does this mean then that all are saved? A clear, honest reading of the Bible, including the words of Jesus reveals that this is clearly not the case (see Matthew 25:31-46). Many will be lost and will die without atonement for their sins. Even many who claim to be believers will be cast away from His presence on the day of judgment (Matthew 7:22-23). How then can we be saved? Well, there is a good analogy that comes from the Old Testament. In Numbers 21:4-9, we find the Israelites wandering through the desert and suffering judgment for their sins by way of snakebites. Verses 8-9 recount, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.’ So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.” It just so happens that this, just as with the animal sacrifices, was foreshadowing something greater. Jesus says in John 3:14-17, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Later, in John 12:32 He says, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself,” again drawing from the same analogy. His being “lifted up” was to be His death on the cross, a symbol for us to look upon to find salvation from death. Those who refuse to look to the cross will not be saved. John 3:18 continues, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” To believe is to trust. Do you trust in Him that His death on the cross will atone for your sins?

The Good News is just that, good news! We don’t have to pay for our sins should we trust in Him to have made that payment for us. We can accept the gift of grace that He offers us. This Easter we celebrate that gift, but not only that, we celebrate that the One who paid the price for our sins is risen from the dead! Jesus’ final words on the cross were “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit (Luke 23:46).’” Just as the Father had put His stamp of approval upon His baptism by John with the words, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” so the Father confirmed His promises to rise from the dead on the third day. The women found His tomb empty. He then appeared to as many as 500 people at once. His disciples died as martyrs preaching these truths and the Church grew like wildfire amidst persecution. This is history and it remains relevant to our story. The resurrection of Jesus confirmed the authority by which He spoke, and therefore confirmed that all that the Son said and did was in agreement with the will of the Father, including the statements that suggest His divinity and unity with the Father (ex. John 8:58). This means that God was not only offering up His son on our behalf, but He was offering Himself. He was willing to die so that we could live with Him forever! His resurrection foreshadows the kingdom of heaven where the saints (those of us who trust in Him) will shed the corruptible for the incorruptible, and we will truly be free from the weight of sin and death. We will walk with our Savior in the light of His glory.

Like Father, Like Son

We had a fascinating discussion at my home fellowship group the other night. The conversation turned from the wrath of God to the fear of God. We talked about how many churches focus so much on the love of God that we forget that God is to be feared, and that all those in the Bible who encountered the presence of the Father were filled with holy fear. This got me thinking: what about Jesus? If Jesus is God, should we then be fearful of Him? If not, why should we be fearful of the Father?

All of us who call ourselves Christians believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, so why weren’t those who encountered Jesus while He walked among us also terrified? I suppose those who didn’t believe in Him wouldn’t have been fearful, but those who did came to Him boldly, often for healing or simply to worship. Matthew 26:6-13 tells of the woman who came to pour expensive oil on His head. Jesus not only tells his disciples that “she has done a good work for Me,” but He also says that “wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” We also have the account earlier in Matthew where Jesus blesses the little children saying, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Clearly it seems that Jesus invites us to come freely to Him. He never advised us that we should approach Him fearfully.

This leads me to question how I view the Father as opposed to how I view the Son. I suspect I am not alone in this, but when I think of meeting Jesus in heaven someday, I imagine myself running into His arms with tears of joy running down my face. Yet, when I think of encountering the Father, I am terrified. I realize that my focus shifts. With Jesus, my focus is on Jesus. With the Father, my focus is on myself, and I feel unworthy to be in His presence. I imagine Him looking at me with eyes full of wrath as I curl up in the fetal position before Him. Now, don’t get me wrong, I believe I am forgiven, and that Jesus has paid the penalty for my sins, but it’s still awfully hard to get that belief from the head to the heart. There’s still a part of me that is fearful that somehow I’ve misunderstood His offer of salvation, and that the punishment I deserve awaits me. My faith is still plagued by a measure of doubt about the grace and mercy of God.

I find comfort in the words of Jesus in John 10:30: “I and My Father are one.” If Jesus is one with the Father, then we can know that the Father is compassionate and desiring to forgive, and loves us so much that He’s willing to lay down His own life for our sake. In fact, Christ came to us in the flesh so that we might know what our Father is like. Jesus says in John 8:19, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.” Jesus later says in John 18:37, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Jesus being one with God, bore witness to the truth of who God is, so we can know that the Father is like the Son. 

I am stating the obvious here, but we don’t understand the Trinity. Though we believe that God is three persons in one, we can’t possibly grasp that truth, and we don’t understand the relationship between them. How is it that God the Father and the Son have existed from eternity past? How can Jesus be the Son without having been born after the Father? And don’t even get me started on the Holy Spirit! Can anyone even begin to understand it? (The Newsboys gave it a shot back in the day.) This whole idea is so incomprehensible, it’s no wonder that Jehovah’s Witnesses have their own translation of the Bible that changed or removed all references to it. It’s also no wonder that Islam rejects the idea as polytheism. Likewise, atheists ridicule the idea as being illogical. Nonetheless, I believe it. Why? For starters, the idea is so strange and intellectually challenging that I don’t think anyone would have devised such an idea if they were looking to sell people on a new religion. For another, I believe the Bible is proven to be reliable in all other areas, and it certainly leads us to believe in a triune God. I also believe that if there is a God, it is likely that He exists in a way that is greater and more mind-bending than we can imagine. Why would He be simple enough that His creation can fully grasp Him? The fact that He came to us in the flesh implies that He needed to step down to our level so we could even begin to know Him.

I think that maybe all of this leaves us a bit confused on how we see our God and how He sees us. Our God is good, and He loves us more than we love ourselves, yet it is so easy to become fearful of Him. Perhaps our fear is a reflection of our inherent guilt. We know we are not worthy to stand before God Almighty. 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” None of us love perfectly, so we remain fearful. That could explain our fear of the Father, but it still doesn’t explain why we aren’t so fearful of Jesus. Perhaps it’s because He walked among us and experienced what we experience. Hebrews 4:15-16 says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

It seems that our God wants us to put aside our fears and come before His presence, yet at the same time, have a healthy dose of holy fear in the knowledge that He has the power to do with us as He pleases. Jesus warns us in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Many of us do not have a healthy fear of God. We either don’t fear Him enough that we do as we please without regard for Him, or we fear Him so much that we cannot accept the grace He gives us. For some of us, we go back and forth between the two extremes. It’s just so hard to get it right. I want to know God for who He is, and not for who I have made Him out to be. I trust that He is good.

I pray that God would help us to truly honor Him as our Lord and Savior. In these two words we find the balance of a God who is a king and a judge, who has the power to condemn or show mercy, and One who is willing to lay down His life for us in the desire to be with us for all eternity. Our Lord and Savior. Like Father, like Son.

Living in Loneliness

It’s been a few years now since I last wrote about my struggles with loneliness. While much has changed in my life since then, I remain single and lonely. However, much has changed in my perspective on my singleness and loneliness, and thus the motivation for writing this post.

I owe a huge debt to Rich Mullins. As many of you who know me best already know, Rich is undoubtedly the most influential person on my life who I never met and who isn’t also the Son of God. Much of my way of understanding God’s love and grace comes from the example of his life and the authenticity of his music. Even when I went through a period of significant doubt, I would listen to his music and know that there was something real and substantial that couldn’t be dismissed with the same skepticism I held for much of “churchianity.” In the years since, I have continued to be impacted by his life. Perhaps the fact that he was a single man until his death at age 41 plays a role in why I can relate to him so well. Recently, I re-read the book “An Arrow Pointing to Heaven,” which recounts Rich’s perspective on the 10 main themes of his life and music. In the chapter entitled “Bound to come some trouble,” his words on loneliness deeply resonated with me.

“I think that part of being human is being alone. And being lonely. I think one of the stresses on a lot of our friendships is that we require the people we love to take away that loneliness. And they really can’t. And so, when we still feel lonely, even in the company of people we love, we become angry with them because they don’t do what we think they’re supposed to. Which is something that they really can’t do for us.”

Rich recognized that loneliness is a fact of life. There is no escaping it. One of his closest friends is quoted in the book, “I learned from him that there is within us all, if we have the guts to admit it, a terrible void created by our loneliness for God that can never be fully satisfied in this life.” Rich saw the reality of loneliness. It is that which calls us to a relationship with our Creator, and since we only know in part what we will one day know in full, will not be fully satisfied this side of eternity.

I share all of this not to discourage those of you who are struggling with loneliness (I assume all of you). I actually find it quite encouraging. If we can learn to accept loneliness as a part of life and let go of our expectations that any person can fix our loneliness problem, we can begin to find freedom in the struggle. I’ve thought a lot about how this applies to my singleness. For so long, I looked at my singleness as a curse of loneliness, and that if I found just the right person, I could be cured. Many of you likely remember the movie “Jerry Maguire” and the famous line, “you complete me.” This works well in Hollywood romance, but it is far from reality. I’ve come to realize just how unfair it is to put that kind of expectation on someone. I’ve also come to realize that maybe being single isn’t such a bad thing because my loneliness can motivate me to find other avenues to connect with people. While I don’t expect any person or group of people to fill the void, having community is very helpful. Finding groups of people who are in similar places in life has certainly been a blessing to me, as well as being part of groups that are quite different from me. Being single has its advantages because I can join any group or take part in any activity that fits within my schedule. I don’t need the approval of another person to do what I feel like God is calling me to do. I am free to serve or minister in any capacity. Ultimately, this life is not about me and having my needs met, which is impossible, so I might as well let go of that vain pursuit and focus on giving to others.

All of that being said, I don’t make the most of my singleness. In fact, I often waste much of my time on selfish endeavors. This is why I need community. I need people to be around me, and I need to take the initiative to be around other people. I tend to shelter myself from the world, and that’s the beginning of trouble. Absolutely central to the idea of being like Christ is to be in the fellowship of others. Sure, Jesus had His time alone with God, but He modeled community in the fellowship of His disciples. It is also worth noting that our God exists in Himself as a community. Before the foundation of the world He was the model of love within His triune nature. This relationship of the Trinity is how we know that God is love, as visibly demonstrated by the Son in His obedience to the Father, through the selfless act of death on the cross on our behalf. The greatest commandment is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37),” and the second, which Jesus says is like the first, is “Love your neighbor as yourself.” To love God is to love others. You cannot truly do one without the other. There is no going it alone when it comes to being a Christian. It may seem like a contradiction, but we need each other more than we need a person. We cannot put on one person what we need from God, and individual people will always disappoint us. It is a burden too great for one to bear. A friend will always fail, yet we need friends. A wife or a husband will fail, but we need relationships.

The loneliest period of my life was when I was married. I didn’t need my wife to fill a void in my life, and I couldn’t fill the void in her’s. I needed the fellowship of believers. I needed people to provide support, that I could share my struggles openly, who would pray with me and I with them. I needed to experience the love of God as demonstrated through the Body of Christ. If I ever do marry again I know I will do this differently. I will not look at my wife as some kind of Messiah, the one who cures my ills. She will instead be the one who I choose to love and live with because God has spoken clearly to do so. She will be the one who He makes it known that it is better to marry than to remain single. She will be the one who draws me closer to Christ than I would be without her as my wife. It will not be about meeting my need to not be lonely, or satisfying my physical desires, it will be about answering God’s call to serve. It may be that God can use me better if I remain single. I am coming to a place of accepting that possibility. It’s quite freeing. The moment you take the pressure off of yourself that you have to find someone to marry, it is a great burden lifted off your shoulders. I do not need a wife specifically, but I do need other people in general. Whether or not I’m provided the former, I will take the initiative to seek the latter. And I will be lonely. But that’s OK. It just means that I still need God. And that’s a good thing!

Why I Write

As I’m sure you are well aware, the internet has no shortage of bloggers. The ones who seem to generate the most interest are those who shout the loudest and invite the most controversy, often by grabbing you with a shockingly blunt headline. I sometimes ask myself where I fit in amongst the madness? What would I need to do to go viral? Everyone who writes wants to be read, and it’s easy to become discouraged when I consider that much of what I write here on this blog will not be read by more people than can comfortably fit in my parents’ living room. Sometimes, I’ll admit that I have asked myself if it is really worth it. Why spend so much time and energy writing for so few people? Should I employ shock and awe tactics to draw in more readers? I don’t think that’s what I’m called to do. So I provide this as an answer to the question and a reminder for myself: Why do I write?

1. It gives me something productive to do.
There are plenty of ways I find to waste time, and writing is not one of them. The more time I spend writing, the less time I am wasting away. Of course, this point in and of itself doesn’t prove its productivity, but by the time you reach #7 you should agree.

2. It exercises my creative muscles.
There is something satisfying in taking an idea and seeing it realized. I often have a general idea of what I’m going to write about with certain key points established in my mind, but a lot of pieces fall into place through the writing process. Often times things go in a slightly different direction. A good reason to write is because what you set out to write doesn’t already exist. I see no point in writing an article about something everyone else is already talking about with the exact same perspective. If I’m going to write about something, it’s going to have an angle that I haven’t seen elsewhere. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist, but simply that I haven’t seen it put in words. It should reflect the unique perspective of the writer.

3. It cements my beliefs
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, most of my writing is a reflection of my beliefs, particularly of my faith in Christ. I find that through the writing process, I challenge myself and the positions I’m taking to see if they stack up to the truth test. As I’m simultaneously writing and investigating what I’m writing, I’m either confirming what I set out to write, or making modifications to get it right. My objective is to give the clearest explanation of what I believe, so that anyone who happens to read it will get my drift. Hopefully they will agree, but at the very least, they should understand where I’m coming from. This process of “checks and balances,” so to speak, helps me to confirm for myself the points that I am making. It helps me to remember those things for future reference as well, in case they should come up in everyday conversation. I find that I am growing more certain of my beliefs, and more confident in sharing verbally with others as a result.

4. It’s a way for others to get to know me better.
Everyone who knows me can tell immediately that I’m an introvert. I tend to keep my thoughts to myself, but writing helps me to break out of my comfort zone. People who read my writing may be surprised to see that I have such developed views about really important topics. Seeing what I focus on in my writing reveals what I focus on in my mind. These things are important to me. So important, that I feel compelled to share.

5. It brings my faith out to the light. 
The most important thing I can share is my faith. My whole life I have shied away from speaking up about my beliefs. I have struggled with a fear of rejection and persecution. Through this blog, I have put myself out there so that anyone who I know who has a Facebook account can see (if they so choose to click on the link) what it is that motivates me. Whenever I see my friends in person, I know there’s always a chance that they have checked out my blog at one time or another. They have at least seen my Facebook posts, which in themselves should make it clear that I am a Christian. This also gives me confidence to be open and honest in personal conversations.

6. It might introduce one person to the Gospel.
The greatest reward for all the time invested in writing would be to know that just one person came to know Jesus Christ as a result. It may not happen directly, but it could even be that something shared here helped a fellow believer who then was able to pass along what he/she learned from reading. Perhaps some words of encouragement helped a Christian who was struggling with doubts or a particular issue that they didn’t know how to address. I believe that as a believer, the Holy Spirit can use me to speak to others. That doesn’t mean that I’m infallible by any stretch, but something that God has put on my heart could be just what another person needs to receive at a particular moment.

7. It is obedience.
If the Holy Spirit is working in me, and I feel a calling to write, then writing is obedience. It would be wrong, and dare I say, a sin to not share what God has put on my mind. This can be a little scary though, because there are certain topics I’ve been hesitant to approach for the fear of offending others. I need discernment to be sure that what is on my mind is from the Spirit and not the flesh. I need a good dose of humility and grace. It’s easy to begin to believe that I really know what I’m talking about and to take credit for any wisdom that gets through. Those of us who are believers are all a part of the Body of Christ, and as such we each have different functions. I believe that teaching through writing is a specific function for which I am called to serve at this point in my life. For others who read this, you may or may not be called to write. If you are, I encourage it for the reasons listed above. I feel I have grown a lot in the years that I’ve been doing this, despite the fact that my audience has been shrinking. The flesh has been discouraged at times, but the Spirit is pressing me onward. I hope and pray that those of you who read have been encouraged and strengthened in your faith. At the very least, I know I have. Thanks for reading!

Issues of Life and Death

The news is breaking this evening that Brittany Maynard, the 29-year-old San Francisco native who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, ended her life today. She recently moved to Oregon, where doctor-assisted suicide is legal, and news of her decision brought the “right to die” issue back to the forefront after a good number of years since Dr. Jack Kevorkian stirred up the debate. Listening to talk radio in these recent weeks, it seems like the public at large has changed its tune quite a bit from those days to be much more welcoming of human euthanasia. Listening to callers defending “death with dignity,” one can’t help but see it as a reasonable, maybe even morally positive option for people in very grim situations. The argument largely centers on pain and suffering. If you can be relieved of tremendous pain and suffering, isn’t that a good thing?

A week or so later, I was listening to the same talk show, and the host, Chris Daniel (on Fresno’s KMJ 580 AM for those who are curious), made the connection between Brittany and Robin Williams. He argued that we as a society vastly underestimate the very real and unimaginable pain and suffering of the mentally ill, particularly the chronically depressed. Much like in the case of those with terminal physical conditions, those who are suffering severe depression are unable to live lives of dignity. Their existence is hell. While I’m not sure where he was going with that point, to me it is logical to conclude that if it is merciful to allow those who are physically suffering to die, it should also be seen as merciful for those who cannot be cured of their mental agonies. Pain is pain, and that’s what this argument has been framed to be about. If suicide is always committed to relieve unbearable pain, I then ask, is there ever a time when it is not justified? Can you see where this is going? We have defined quality of life as the absence of pain. The pro-life movement has even adopted this philosophy into their reasoning. There’s an ad currently running during these talk radio shows that gives the audio of the heartbeat of a child in the womb. It’s an effective ad, though it too adopts this approach in its argument against abortion, noting at what stage the child can feel pain. While I agree with the position, I fear we are losing the argument when we take this approach. The other side can (and does) just as easily argue that abortion is a merciful act, saving the child and the mother from a lifetime of financial and emotional suffering if that child should see the light of day. I can say with absolute certainty that they are mostly right. Both mother and child will experience much pain and suffering in this world. Any child born into this world will experience these things in form or another. Can you not then argue that the most merciful act the human race can commit is to abort itself? Shouldn’t we put an end to all the poverty and hunger and disease and depression by sterilizing all of us so this miserable existence justly meets its end?

I hope you see the absurdity of this argument. The truth is, pain and suffering of any kind is not a good excuse for ending human life. Pain and suffering is a part of life. Sure, it’s a much bigger part of life for someone who is dying in a hospital from a painful disease, but it’s still a part of life. We live and we eventually die. We experience much pain and suffering in that in-between time. In my life thus far, I’ve had very little physical pain, but I’ve had a great deal of emotional suffering. There are certain struggles with anxiety I’ve had for the great majority of my life, and I’m not sure that I will ever see relief this side of eternity. I’ve also lost the best friend and companion I ever had: not through death, but divorce. Sometimes I wonder why God would allow me to go through these things. Why must I feel such pain? Why am I left with this loneliness or frustration? But then I consider that maybe feeling these things is not such a bad thing. To feel pain and to suffer proves in a very real and tangible way that I am alive. How much worse would it be if I felt nothing? Yes, these things suck, but they are part of this experience that is living. With the bad, we also get a lot of good. It’s a package deal. We will have triumphs and failures, love and loss.

I recently had a random thought. What are the things that I experience today that the first humans also experienced? I began to list things in my mind; the beauty of light reflecting on water, the satisfaction of completing a task, the sound of wind rushing through trees, the stillness of night, the admiration of the uniqueness of animals, the cuteness of children, laughter, the comfort of a place to sleep, how good a meal can taste after a hard day’s work, the love and affection of another person. The list goes on and on. There is much beauty in life, even in the little things. Our lives are a gift from God. Let us be grateful for every moment, and never deprive ourselves of the gifts another day can bring.

Redemption Stories

Well, it’s been a few weeks now since I decided to once again embark on a journey I’ve been on before. Yes, I have re-entered the magical world of “Lost.” As many of you know, that crazy show about survivors of a plane crash on a mysterious island is far-and-away my favorite TV series of all time. “Seinfeld” is great for laughs, but I wouldn’t say that I’m a better person for having watched it. What really makes “Lost” so great is not the mysteries or the crazy plot twists, although those things add to the experience, but rather the incredibly well-developed characters and the transformational stories of redemption portrayed. It seems clear by the end of the series that the show’s title is more than just a reference to their physical circumstances. Another redemption story, “The Shawshank Redemption,” has been sitting atop the IMDb all-time movie rankings for years now, growing more and more appreciated with the passage of time. I watch these stories and cry for these fictional characters because they very accurately portray something that transcends fiction: the human condition. We are all broken people.

This got me to thinking about how God sees us. We all love to see people find victory over the challenges in their lives. How much more does God rejoice in the redemption of people? This is in itself an answer to the question of “why do bad things happen,” or “why does God allow evil to exist?” I don’t for one moment believe that God causes bad things or evil, as I’ve written before, but I do believe those things play a part in His greater purposes. One of the great mysteries of God is how He can work bad things for good. Another way to look at it is to ask yourself what the world would look like if bad things never existed. What would be good if there was nothing bad? What would it mean to love if there was never hate? What would it mean to have comfort if there were no pain and sorrow? Would the world have been better off in the long run if Adam hadn’t eaten that fruit?

Maybe such a perfect world is really not the best of all possible worlds. Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be that way because God is as big a fan of redemption stories as we are. Maybe He, like us, finds it more rewarding to see the restoration of things than for those things to have never needed the change. It certainly makes for a more captivating story. Yes, God has a reason to allow ugly things to exist, so that true beauty may emerge. Sin and death are ugly things, but God had a plan in mind to defeat them, and that was the cross. Could there be a more horrific image than that of the Son of God being ripped to shreds and then hung on the cross to die a slow, gruesome death? Yet God transformed that which was the most ugly thing into the most beautiful act of love this world has ever seen. The cross of Jesus Christ signifies the ultimate redemption story, not only because He conquered the grave by rising on the third day, but because His sacrifice was on our behalf, to offer redemption for all of us broken people. He paid the price for our sins, and now we can be made free to live the life He desires for us. That life begins when we accept the gift He offers, but it isn’t fully realized until we shed this body of death and join Him in eternity. Revelation 21: 3-5 says:
“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’”

We who believe have a promise of full redemption that will one day be realized. I cannot read these words without getting teary-eyed, because there is so much sorrow and pain to be felt in the meantime, and though we are forgiven, we continue to struggle with the desires of the flesh. But how much greater will it be when He takes it away! This gives me comfort. There is purpose in our suffering because we are better restored than if we were never broken. Our story is part of a bigger story that involves this whole world. How great it is to be a part of God’s great redemption story!