Some have suggested that Hurricane Katrina argues against Intelligent Design. Daniel Schorr of NPR went so far as to suggest that the Intelligent Designer "had a lot to answer for" in Katrina.
Donald T. Williams is correct when he writes in Touchstone magazine's latest issue:
"Surely the evidence points quite the other way? We inhabit a universe in which people who build coastal cities below sea level, between a lake and a river that are above sea level, are eventually going to pay for it. If this is evidence at all, it is evidence for Intelligent Design, not against it. It tells us that the design of the universe is working just fine, which is why the design of New Orleans produced exactly what should have been expected. If God exempted human beings from the laws of nature whenever we do something stupid, as the design critics apparently want, then we would indeed have reason to doubt the intelligence of his design."
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
I wanna be like Christ (or do I?)
My wife, Sharon, and I just finished reading John Piper's book, God is the Gospel. (I was glad that we read it together and aloud, it helped me better understand what he was saying.) Toward the end of the book, Piper suggests that when we say we want to be like Christ, we should check our motivation for this pursuit.
"Do I want to be strong like Christ, so I will be admired as strong, or so that I can defeat every adversary that would entice me to settle for any pleasure less than admiring the strongest person in the universe, Christ?
Do I want to be wise like Christ, so I will be admired as wise and intelligent, or so that I can discern and admire the One who is most truly wise?
Do I want to be holy like Christ, so that I can be admired as holy, or so that I can be free from all unholy inhibitions that keep me from seeing and savoring the holiness of Christ?
Do I want to be a loving like Christ, so that I will be admired as a loving person, or so that I will enjoy extending to others, even in suffering, the all-satisfying love of Christ?"
A few sentences later, Piper concludes, "All of God's work...is designed by God not ultimately to make much of us, but to free us and fit us to enjoy seeing and savoring much of Christ forever."
I'm having to chew on this concept. So ingrained in me as a 21st century, North American Christian is the concept that God's ultimate purpose is to make much of me. Subtly (and not so subtly) I believe that somehow, inherent in me, is a loveable character with whom God is lucky to be in relationship.
Which brings me back to Piper's questions. Even my desire to be like Christ is tainted by a self-promoting attitude that wants God and those around me to be impressed with how good I am rather than how good God is. May God continue to work in me so that my deepest longing and more frequent choices reflect a God-changed desire to see and savor God as only One who is entirely worthy of honor and obedience.
"Do I want to be strong like Christ, so I will be admired as strong, or so that I can defeat every adversary that would entice me to settle for any pleasure less than admiring the strongest person in the universe, Christ?
Do I want to be wise like Christ, so I will be admired as wise and intelligent, or so that I can discern and admire the One who is most truly wise?
Do I want to be holy like Christ, so that I can be admired as holy, or so that I can be free from all unholy inhibitions that keep me from seeing and savoring the holiness of Christ?
Do I want to be a loving like Christ, so that I will be admired as a loving person, or so that I will enjoy extending to others, even in suffering, the all-satisfying love of Christ?"
A few sentences later, Piper concludes, "All of God's work...is designed by God not ultimately to make much of us, but to free us and fit us to enjoy seeing and savoring much of Christ forever."
I'm having to chew on this concept. So ingrained in me as a 21st century, North American Christian is the concept that God's ultimate purpose is to make much of me. Subtly (and not so subtly) I believe that somehow, inherent in me, is a loveable character with whom God is lucky to be in relationship.
Which brings me back to Piper's questions. Even my desire to be like Christ is tainted by a self-promoting attitude that wants God and those around me to be impressed with how good I am rather than how good God is. May God continue to work in me so that my deepest longing and more frequent choices reflect a God-changed desire to see and savor God as only One who is entirely worthy of honor and obedience.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Judging Ourselves
Why is it that we seem so surprised when those who are not Christians act like people who are not Christians? Shouldn't we be more surprised when Christians act as if they were not? Why is it we have such a strong tendency to "judge the world and talk to ourselves" when we should "judge ourselves and talk to the world"?
Isn't this the kind of thing Paul was talking about in his first letter to the Christians at Corinth?
I wrote you in my earlier letter that you shouldn't make yourselves at home among the sexually promiscuous. I didn't mean that you should have nothing at all to do with outsiders of that sort. Or with crooks, whether blue- or white-collar. Or with spiritual phonies, for that matter. You'd have to leave the world entirely to do that! But I am saying that you shouldn't act as if everything is just fine when one of your Christian companions is promiscuous or crooked, is flip with God or rude to friends, gets drunk or becomes greedy and predatory. You can't just go along with this, treating it as acceptable behavior. I'm not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don't we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 The Message
Isn't this the kind of thing Paul was talking about in his first letter to the Christians at Corinth?
I wrote you in my earlier letter that you shouldn't make yourselves at home among the sexually promiscuous. I didn't mean that you should have nothing at all to do with outsiders of that sort. Or with crooks, whether blue- or white-collar. Or with spiritual phonies, for that matter. You'd have to leave the world entirely to do that! But I am saying that you shouldn't act as if everything is just fine when one of your Christian companions is promiscuous or crooked, is flip with God or rude to friends, gets drunk or becomes greedy and predatory. You can't just go along with this, treating it as acceptable behavior. I'm not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don't we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 The Message
Getting Started
Last evening in the Home Fellowship Group of which I am a part, we were listening to Hugh Hewitt. One of his challenges was for pastors to begin blogging. My friend Shaun Nolan, who pastors in PA, has been blogging for about a year now and I've always enjoyed his writing so today I'm taking the plunge and beginning the new world of blogging.
I hope this process will do two things. It will help me in processing my own relationship with God and it will stimulate others to consider God as He describes Himself in Scripture.
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