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"God of the Living"
After the publication of his book The God Delusion, outspoken
atheist and Oxford professor Richard Dawkins sat down with the
editors of TIME magazine to debate the idea of God and science
with Francis Collins, a Christian scientist. At the end of the
debate, Dawkins concluded:
My mind is not closed [to the idea of God], as you have
occasionally suggested, Francis. My mind is open to the most
wonderful range of future possibilities, which I cannot even
dream about, nor can you, nor can anybody else. What I am
skeptical about is the idea that whatever wonderful revelation
does come in the science of the future, it will turn out to be
one of the particular historical religions that people happen
to have dreamed up.
When we started out, and we were talking about the origins
of the universe and the physical constants, I provided what
I thought were cogent arguments against a supernatural
intelligent designer. But it does seem to me to be a
worthy idea. Refutable—but nevertheless grand and big
enough to be worthy of respect.
I don't see the Olympian gods or Jesus coming down and dying
on the Cross as worthy of that grandeur. They strike me as
parochial. If there is a God, it's going to be a whole lot
bigger and a whole lot more incomprehensible than anything
that any theologian of any religion has ever proposed.
Parenting Beyond Belief is the newest resource for parents
who don't believe in God.
In a review of the book, Lisa Miller explains that it "aims
to help folks who are raising their kids without religion
deal with the sticky questions that come up about Santa
Claus and heaven," as well as dealing with other concerns
atheistic mothers and fathers have living "in a culture
saturated with talk about God."
Nonbelievers, both well known and unknown, have contributed
essays to Parenting Beyond Belief. One "compelling chapter"
explains how to talk to children about death when there is
no belief in a hereafter. The author recommends telling
children, "No, honey, Grandpa won't come home for Christmas.
He died and is dead for always," and performing rituals for
remembering Grandpa.
Here is Philosopher Richard Rorty, describing his utopia in
Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity: In its ideal form, the
culture [I envision] would be one that was enlightened, secular,
through and through. It would be one in which no trace of
divinity remained, either in the form of a divinized world
or a divinized self. Such a culture would have no room for
the notion that there are nonhuman forces to which human
beings should be responsible.
Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to
Jesus with a question. Questions, doubts, unbelief, hostility,
and rejection – these are the natural human reactions to
presence of God in our world and in our lives.
Why is it so hard to believe? Well, there is a general answer,
a big picture, theological response. Human beings, the way we
are now, come into the world convinced that we are smarter than
God. That’s what happened in the Garden of Eden when Satan
tempted Adam and Eve with the words, “God knows that when you
eat of it [the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil]
you will become like God.” And ever since, that’s what we’ve
been trying to do – be our own god. History is the record of
how that has worked for us.
But I’m really more interested in a specific, personal
reflection on the question – why is it so hard for you to believe?
The Sadducees in our text came at Jesus with a very specific
agenda, a background, a lifetime of attitudes and opinions.
They were the wealthy elite of their society, politically
connected, doing what they believed was expedient, even
necessary to preserve themselves and their whole way of
life. Their belief in God had been watered down to fit
their needs.
Folks I believe that we are constantly in danger of the same
thing. Our culture, our society is OK for the most part with
generic god-talk. It is acceptable to have God in your life
as you understand him as long as don’t get specific and start
talking about right and wrong and the need to stop or change
anything. I think that influence is very hard to resist. We
don’t want to be the bad guys – anti-intellectual, anti-science,
anti progress and technology, angry, judgmental, even hateful.
And unfortunately there are many who claim to be followers of
Christ who are exactly that: angry, judgmental, even hateful.
Sometimes we fall into that trap too.
As one author put it an article in Christianity Today, ‘what
propels people toward atheism is above all a sense of revulsion
against the excesses and failures of organized religion.”
[And then I can’t resist saying St. Luke’s should advertise –
“Tired of organized religion? Come to St. Luke’s, we’re the
most disorganized church in town!”]
It is hard to believe at least in part because our culture and
society does not like the very specific message of the gospel
of Jesus Christ - that the troubles of our world and our lives
are the result of sin, that God cannot and will not tolerate
sin and will punish eternally those who have even the tiniest
speck of sin on them, that there is only one way to be free
from sin and therefore rescued for now and eternity, that Way
is the through faith in the life, death, and resurrection of
Jesus Christ; believe in Him, believe that He is God in human
flesh, believe that His death is the punishment you deserve
and all your sin is forgiven, washed away, you stand before
God spotless and clean.
And then in the midst of a culture and society that doesn't
want to hear the one specific solution to the world's problem
we are also afflicted with the specific circumstances of our
own lives. For me, folks, sometimes it is hard to believe, just
because of the never ending rat race of the daily grind. Maybe
I'm alone, but I doubt it. You have to step back and scratch
your head and wonder - God where are you in this mess? And
then it intensifies as the pain of living in a sin-sick and
dying world goes from a dull ache to heart-piercing stabs as
you face death, divorce, cancer, depression, financial setbacks,
addictions of every kind, gossip, injustice, meanness, people
who won't give you a second chance, violence, intolerable
situations at home, at school, at work, failure, accidents,
war, crime, dishonesty, corruption, how long should I make the list?
In Our Greatest Gift, Henri Nouwen, a renowned Christian
author, tells a parable of faith and hope. He imagines twins - a
brother and a sister-talking to each other in their mother's womb:
The sister said to the brother, "I believe there is life after birth."
Her brother protested vehemently, "No, no, this is all there is. This
is a dark and cozy place, and we have nothing else to do but to cling
to the cord that feeds us."
After some silence, the sister said hesitantly, "I have something
else to say, and I'm afraid you won't believe that, either, but I
think there is a mother."
Her brother became furious. "A mother!" he shouted. "What are you
talking about? I have never seen a mother, and neither have you.
Who put that idea in your head? As I told you, this place is all
we have. Why do you always want more? This is not such a bad place,
after all. We have all we need, so let's be content."
The sister was quite overwhelmed by her brother's response
and for a while didn't dare say anything more. But she couldn't
let go of her thoughts, and since she had only her twin brother
to speak to, she finally said, "Don't you feel these squeezes
every once in a while? They're quite unpleasant and sometimes
even painful."
"Yes," he answered. "What's special about that?"
"Well," the sister said, "I think that these squeezes are
there to get us ready for another place, much more beautiful
than this, where we will see our mother face-to-face. Don't
you think that's exciting?"
The brother didn't answer. He was fed up with the foolish talk
of his sister and felt that the best thing would be simply to
ignore her and hope that she would leave him alone.
In his letter to the Romans (8:22) God spoke these words through
a man named Paul: For we know that the whole creation has been
groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the
present time. "I think these squeezes are there to get us ready
for another place, much more beautiful than this where we will
see our Creator face to face. Don't you think that's exciting?"
Jesus listened to the Sadducees question, he absorbed their anger,
rejection, and their hatred of him and he took it to the cross.
That's what he's still doing. He takes our questions, our frustrations,
our doubts and fears, even our moments of anger, rejection and hatred
and he bears them unto death. You are forgiven, washed clean to stand
in the presence of God for eternity. And then he points the Sadducees
and us to the resurrection.
In effect Jesus told the Sadducees that their question about marriage
and the resurrection was silly because their isn't anything in this age
that we can really use to compare what it will be like in that age -
at the resurrection of the dead. The Bible is full of verses like that.
(1 Corinthians 2:9) However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no
ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those
who love him"-
(1 John 3:2) Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we
will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,
we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Consider the resurrection. This is what we believe. Listen to God
through another man named Peter: (2 Peter 3:9) The Lord is not slow
in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient
with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
(2 Peter 3:13) But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward
to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
Consider the resurrection. Stand firm in what you have been taught. Look
at the last verse of today's Epistle: (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17) May
our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by
His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, {17} encourage
your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. It's
time to go, forgiven, renewed and strengthened for another week of
life, real life, eternal life. It is the life of faith in Jesus Christ
displayed in your attitudes, your words, your actions. It is the best
and only way to really live.
Amen.
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