When Studies Collide

Anthropology is the study of mankind (or humankind to be politically correct).  Theology is the study of the nature of God and religious belief.  Charles Darwin was a nineteenth century, English anthropologist known for his theory of evolution. Another not so well-known Charles, Charles Spurgeon, also practiced in England at that same time.  He was a well-known theologist, to those who follow that kind of stuff.  This week in our small group, we talked about how anthropology and theology either collide or overlap.  I was hoping to find a Youtube video of Darwin and Spurgeon duking it out behind their lecterns, but apparently Youtube deleted all their 19th century videos.  Here's the best our group could come up with:  If anthropology is the study of man, and theology is the study of God, we can just study Jesus, since we believe He is fully both.   If the idea interests you, I did find this video featuring Dr. Mark Cortez from Wheaton College talking about how the study of man and the study of God relate to some current-day issues.

More Joy

There has been a lot of pain in our world dealing with the pandemic, racial injustice, and political violence, just to name a few topics.  This week in my Spot On The Lake real estate post, in an effort to improve my state of mind, I wrote about the pure joy of being on Lake Hartwell with my family.  I also stumbled on this new music from Lauren Daigle today.  Her words speak directly to our times.  "Whatever comes my way.  I'm safe. You cover me.  I'm under Your wings."  I want to do more than just hear those words.  I want to believe them and meditate on them.  As you watch Lauren sing, you can see and hear that she believes every word of what she is singing.  I love that about her.  Make a concerted effort to put some joy in your life today, and give thanks to the true source of all of it.

One Nation Under God

I watched with horror and sadness as Americans attacked our Capital in an attempt to use violence to force their agenda on government officials.   I was further disturbed that some of the signage indicated that the terrorists thought of themselves as Christians.   The media has labeled these people Christian Nationalists, but I don't believe the people use that term to describe themselves.   There are lots of definitions, but the general description of the Christian Nationalist is someone who believes that since their country was founded on Christian principles, that Christians should therefore have a position above any other religions and that the government should enforce that.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  While I do believe that Jesus is God, and I am commanded to lead others to Him, forcing the way I think on a political system has no part in Christianity or in a democracy.  Nothing could be further from Jesus's teaching than what happened on that day when terrorists attacked our Capitol.  For a more in-depth review of these ideas, check out this article by Paul Miller.  (no relation as far as I know)

Close Friends

 

On a cool September night, two close friends strolled along Addison's Walk next to the River Cherwell.  Their conversation was "spirited" as usual and took them well into the next day.   They frequently didn't agree, but their common interests and deep friendship ensured that their conversations were almost always civil.  Both men were authors, and both were students (and teachers) of ancient myths.  On this evening, Jack proclaimed that "myths are lies".  Tollers replied, "Myths are not lies.  The myths we tell reflect a fragment of the true light."   A couple of weeks later, Jack wrote to another friend: "The story of Christ is simply a true myth: a myth working on us the same way as the others, but with the tremendous difference that it actually happened."   Jack gives credit to Tollers for leading him to see the truth of Christ.   The year was 1931, and the two men are more well known as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

C.S. Lewis is the author of the Chronicles of Narnia and some of the most popular Christian Books of all time. I thank God that J.R.R. Tolkien cultivated a friendship that allowed him to share his truth, and I pray that I will have the courage to do the same with others.

Most of the information for this post came from this article.  Also, a non-profit group is trying to buy Tolkien's home where he wrote "Lord of the Rings" so that it can be established as a literary center.  Click here for more.

My Prayer

Dear God, I am so thankful for the people that you put in my life to protect me, encourage me, teach me and strengthen me.  Generations before me have battled with each other, and with themselves, in an attempt to understand and determine their place in this world.  These battles, both public and private, are the seeds that were planted allowing me to develop into the person I am.  I know that there are those who don't know you.  There are others that feel that they have nothing to give.  Help them to know that each quiet act of dignity is what feeds their soul.  And their souls will never die.  When my children look back on my time on this Earth, what will they say?  What will my legacy be?  I hope they will say that I was willing to share the blessings that I received - that I gave my best to You. 

This is my prayer which was inspired by the song, American Anthem (not The National Anthem), which I listened to for the first time this week.  Listen and watch here, and if you prefer to listen to the original performance by Nora Jones with lyrics, click here.   By the way, I love my country, too, but Gene Scheer did a pretty good job with that one already.

Doodles

Pete was at school one day and whatever the teacher was talking about had lost his attention - either because he already knew the subject matter, or he just didn't care to know the subject matter.  He started doodling a small caricature on the lower corner of the page his math book was open to.  He turned to the next page and drew a second image just slightly different from the first, and so on, and so on.  He noticed by flipping the pages quickly with his thumb that his character came to life.   He was rather proud of himself.  His teacher, not so much.  When the teacher reported the offense to his parents, Pete expected the worst.  But instead, his parents gave him a pad of post-it notes that you could buy for a nickel and encouraged him to use those instead of his math book.  Pete Docter probably went through quite a few post-it notes when creating his latest Pixar film, "Soul".  Pete had already demonstrated considerable success with his earlier movies, "Monsters Inc", "Up" and "Inside Out". "Soul" explores the vast idea of "what are we here for?" and has received high critical acclaim.   While the movie doesn't answer the question for the viewer, it does provide a great platform to encourage personal thought and discussion with those you care most about.  I was interested to see Pete give credit to his parents and his wife for leading him towards the foundation for his own answer to the question.   "I know some people say Jesus is a great teacher, or whatever. I think there’s something fundamental to the Christian faith that speaks to the core of who we are … That’s what Jesus brings: A personal relationship with God that is really unique. It’s the only sort of religion that I know of that offers that.”  I pray that some other people watching this movie come to the same conclusion.  For more about Pete Docter check out this video or this article where I first learned about him.

Gut Punch

Just as the celebrations for ringing out 2020 were ending, we get punched in the gut by violence, chaos, and death at the Capitol this week.  2020 will be remembered for the year we dealt with COVID-19.   While it's hard to place blame for what started the virus, the attack on the Capitol is nothing but pure evil -  pure evil by those that were there breaking the law and pure evil by anyone in leadership that encouraged or condoned the activity.  I pray that all of us will be able to listen to and attempt to understand the positions of others that are different from our own without anger, attack or vitriol.  There is no question that people will not always think the same.  That will never change.  But I hope each of us becomes a little better at dealing with it.