Quote: GK Chesterton from 'Orthodoxy'—Nature

The essence of all pantheism, evolutionism and modern cosmic religion is really in this proposition: that Nature is our mother. Unfortunately, if you regard Nature as a mother, you discover that she is a step-mother. The main point of Christianity was this: that Nature is not our mother: Nature is our sister. We can be proud of her beauty, since we have the same father; but she has no authority over us; we have to admire, but not to imitate. This gives to the typically Christian pleasure in this earth a strange touch of lightness that is almost frivolity. Nature was a solemn mother to the worshippers of Isis and Cybele. Nature was a solemn mother to Wordsworth or to Emerson. But Nature is not solemn to Francis of Assisi or to George Herbert. To St. Francis, Nature is a sister, and even a younger sister: a little, dancing sister, to be laughed at as well as loved.

Chesterton GK. 1908. Orthodoxy. Image, New York (2001 Edition)
Chapter VII: The Eternal Revolution. Page 115.

Quote: GK Chesterton from 'Orthodoxy'

Let us suppose we are confronted with a desperate thing—say Pimlico. If we think what is really best for Pimlico we shall find the thread of thought leads to the throne or the mystic and the arbitrary. It is not enough for a man to disapprove of Pimlico: in that case he will merely cut his throat or move to Chelsea. Nor, certainly, is it enough for a man to approve of Pimlico, for then it will remain Pimlico, which would be awful. The only way out of it seems to be for somebody to love Pimlico: to love it with a transcendental tie and without any earthly reason. If there arose a man who loved Pimlico, then Pimlico would rise into ivory towers and golden pinnacles; Pimlico would attire herself as a woman does when she is loved. For decoration is not given to hide horrible things: but to decorate things already adorable. A mother does not give her child a blue bow because he is so ugly without it. A lover does not give a girl a necklace to hide her neck. If men loved Pimlico as mothers love children, arbitrarily, because it is theirs, Pimlico in a year or two might be fairer than Florence.

Chesterton GK. 1908. Orthodoxy. Image, New York (2001 Edition)
Chapter V: The Flag of the World. Page 66.

"Kairos" and the universality of Christ

A central Christian doctrine is the universality of Jesus' death and resurrection and Lordship. This means that the spiritual needs of all people—whether they originate from Europe, India, Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, PNG or Japan—can be fulfilled by following Jesus. Simeon, speaking over the newborn Jesus: "A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel" (Luke 2:32 NKJV). Jesus himself: "If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all peoples to Myself" (John 12:32 NKJV).

Revolutionary stuff, particularly in this age of post-modern thought and the promotion of pluralism and tolerance. In actual fact, however, the above admission of the universal sufficiency of Christ can promote a love for others that is far greater and deeper than a live-and-let-live tolerance of those differences.

Modern mission training recognises the beauty and significance of different cultures and promotes the understanding of different cultures by all Christians. It also maintains that Christ should be seen as the fulfillment of the hopes and dreams of each culture, on the premise that every culture has legends, beliefs and traditions that point to the one true God. Examples of these can be found in Don Richardson's very interesting and inspiring book "Eternity in Their Hearts". Finally, current teaching on cross-cultural mission warns against the danger of confusing cultural tendencies with Christian truth, and encourages the moulding of methods of proclamation and forms of worship (NB: NOT core doctrine) to the pattern of what is natural, acceptable and God-glorifying in the culture being reached.

Recently, I participated in the Kairos course, which was developed by Living Springs International and is being run in about 50 countries throughout the world. Its emphasis is on the cross-cultural proclamation of Jesus' death and resurrection and the implications of this event for the lives of those who decide to follow Him. It is a great course and well worth doing if you have the chance. A particular highlight of the course was the video by J. Edwin Orr on the role of prayer in spiritual awakening.

Other useful internet resources for those interested in cross-cultural mission include the Joshua Project, and Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Statio

The Bible is an amazing book and one that I recommend to all. Heck, even Richard Dawkins at his recent talk here in Christchurch recommended that people read it. Yet when I came to deciding whether or not I should put a random Bible verse generator on this site, I realised that I was reluctant to do so. Fears that readers may feel that I'm ramming something down their throat, question my objectivity as a scientist, or that it's just plain too cheesy all led me to be somewhat wary of putting it up there.

It's up there though, and this is why. I blog for myself, and am slowly making this site a place that has links to everything that I need. One thing that I need an easy way to read a random bible verse and meditate on it briefly throughout the day. This sort of thing is rooted in a practice followed by Benedictine monks called "statio"; a standing still. I first came across it while reading "Reaching for the Invisible God" by Philip Yancey, but there's an outline of the practise in this article by a doctor. I'm hoping that having this bible verse up here will get me thinking more on Christ and His love and keep my perspective on things that matter.

Act for the sake of Love

The Copenhagen summit on climate change in December last year promised much and delivered little. During the talk-fest, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams delivered a sermon entitled "Act for the sake of love". Unfortunately, this talk received very little publicity. This is a shame because I for one think that it details very elegantly why the push for action on climate change thus far has largely failed and turns the

A couple of (what I reckon are) the highlights of the talk:

Love casts out fear. If we begin from the belief that God wants us to rejoice and delight in the created world, our basic attitude to the environment will not be anxiety or the desperate search for ways of controlling it; it will be the excited and hopeful search for understanding it and honouring its goodness and its complex, interdependent beauty. If there is any 'fear' around here, it should be fear of spoiling the heritage given us, of forgetting the overwhelming scale and depth of the gift and of our responsibility and care for it, fear of forgetting that we are called to show consistent and sacrificial love for the created world as we must show towards our fellow-human beings.

The second sentence sums up in a nutshell my motivation for what I do and why I love science. The third sentence grounds this motivation in what really matters---Love.

We are afraid because we don't know how we can survive without the comforts of our existing lifestyle. We are afraid that new policies will be unpopular with a national electorate. We are afraid that younger and more vigorous economies will take advantage of us – or we are afraid that older, historically dominant economies will use the excuse of ecological responsibility to deny us our right to proper and just development.

I think that this is a very insightful quote that sums up exactly what happened in Copenhagen. Archbishop Williams does recognise that these fears may be justified:

There is, in a word, no shortage of excellent excuses for turning away from decisions that will mean real change. But at least let's be honest about where they come from: it is fear – not necessarily irrational fear, not even necessarily purely selfish fear, but fear all the same. And so long as that dominates our calculations, we are stepping back from love – love for the creation itself, which we must look at as God looks at it, love for one another and for the generations still unborn

Unfortunately, although Archbishop Williams outlines the principle, he does not give concrete guidelines as to how this works. He has a precedent for this: it tends to be the primary way God appears to operate. This means that it is up to us to work out how "Acting for the sake of Love" looks like. It's a bit easier at the personal level than at the governmental level---at the personal level you don't have angry constituents on your back if you decide something they don't agree with.

Acting out of Love always involves vulnerability, and making yourself vulnerable is NOT the aim of international relations. However, it is the model that Christ gives us and is what frees us from fear, greed and oppression. While it may have largely fallen under the radar, this speech by Archbishop Williams is a great reminder that Christ's redemption extends not only to us and our personal lives, but to the environment also.

Creativity as god?

Something that a number of popular science magazines and websites have been talking about is Stuart Kauffman's latest book "Reinventing the Sacred". I haven't read it, so I won't be commenting about it. However, I did read his Perspectives column in New Scientist.

He uses biological "pre-adaptations" and how we're unable to predict them as being evidence of a "ceaseless creativity, with no supernatural creator."He then goes on to say:

Shall we use the "God" word? We do not have to, yet it is still our most powerful invented symbol. Our sense of God has evolved from Yahweh in the desert some 4500 years ago, a jealous, law-giving warrior God, to the God of love that Jesus taught. How many versions have people worshipped in the past 100,000 years?

Yet what is more awesome: to believe that God created everything in six days, or to believe that the biosphere came into being on its own, with no creator, and partially lawlessly? I find the latter proposition so stunning, so worthy of awe and respect, that I am happy to accept this natural creativity in the universe as a reinvention of "God".

I've been thinking about this, and have to say I disagree. To start with the second paragraph, as astounding as God's creativity and beauty in His creation is, the incredible thing is that that same God who holds the universe in His hand loves you and I with a passion we cannot comprehend. A passion that lead to Jesus' death by crucifixion so that we may have true freedom. THAT is stunning and worthy of awe and respect, far more so than a disembodied, faceless and impersonal creativity.

In terms of the first paragraph: God is the same God through the ages. Jesus taught that God was a law-keeper and judge, and Moses talked of God as being merciful and loving. Greater emphasis was given to the qualities that Kauffman states, but both aspects have been there throughout the revelation God has given us. Indeed, God's love and Jesus' sacrifice is shown more clearly by an appreciation and an understanding of his Holiness and Justice.

References:

Kauffman, S. (07 May 2008)
Perspectives: Why humanity needs a God of creativity
NewScientist.com news service