On Sci-fi and reality

John 20:24 This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my clothes among themselves and threw dice for my robe.” So that is what they did.”

One thing that always amazes me about fantasy and sci-fi is the propensity to turn characters into near God like beings. In Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game and its sequels, we see a boy with hyper intelligence who can seemingly do anything as a result. In Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series, we see Richard who is the most powerful wizard alive, but who doesn’t know how to use his power. In deep need, however, it strikes out with inevitable finality. And in Frank Herbert’s Dune series, we see the godhood of prescient insight (seeing all the infinite possibilities of the present and future) and other memory (having the memories of all one’s predecessors). Mankind has a since of what it means to be god, but keeps trying to cast themselves into the roll. But it fascinates me how these contrivances of godhood can give us insight into the True God.

In Herbert’s God Emperor of Dune, I think we see one of the most striking demonstrations of Predestination. It takes place thousands of years after the original Dune book and is about the sone of Paul Atradies, Leto II, who in (if I remember correctly…) the third book, Dune Messiah, finds a way to become one of the great sand worms of Dune so he can live long enough and be indestructible enough to shape the course of mankind’s future down what he calls his Golden Path. Leto II, like his father, can see the future, not as a single possibility that has already been determined, but in the infinity of possibilities which can result from mankind’s decisions, and his Golden Path is the only path he sees through that infinity of possibilities which will guaranty humanities survival. His million year reign is felt for another million years throughout the events in the books that fallow God Emperor, and the characters of these books usually realize at some point that their very own actions could quite likely be a part of the God Emperor’s Golden Path, the only path to mankind’s salvation.

Yet the God Emperor is called a Tyrant and in the end of the book he is killed by a trusted ally, yet this too is a part of the God Emperor’s Golden Path. He legislated peace and denied people the right to travel. He got rid of many struggles by limiting freedom. His reign was stiflingly peaceful. In centuries to come, he is hated and feared, even when he is respected. And those who worship him do so more in a desire for power rather than an understanding of who he really is. No one understood his actions, though his reasons were the best.

Consider how often we are confused by God’s actions: the early death of a parent, a marriage gone horribly wrong, or an overwhelming financial burden, or any other number of things, from the simple to the complex. Now overlay that with The Tyrant’s perspective which was so deep and wide no one could fathom it. God, obviously has this perspective and more. God already knows the end results of every action; he knows just how far flung the effects of each choice will be felt. And above all he knows the purpose of our lives, something few sci-fi writers have got even close to. I think each even in history is key. Have you ever been amazed at how small the new testament is compared to the old? The old is a gross history of man’s complete ability to keep to God’s plan. It’s long and complex. Then Christ comes (and I would say he comes at the only time in history that he could have come and still have been able to accomplish his goal) and we have the new testament, which is comparatively speaking, small! Yet the depth and power of the new testament always amazes me. It is concise and powerful and could have contained all the history of church growth and events up until today, but it doesn’t. God knew just what to put in it.

The plan of God (hehe… as best as I can see it) is to glorify himself my showing his love to a universe of people who are completely undeserving. He is creating a web of every conceivable circumstance so that every possible life can have lived and still experienced the Love of God. In eternity, I don’t think you will ever be able to find a type of life that has not lived and been saved. And eternity will be sharing our Story, our experience with the All Mighty, the All Loving God, and glorifying Him in it.

And what we will find is that everything He intended to happen, has happened, and that in every pain, there was an awesome purpose which we will then rejoice over eternally.

Learning to grudgingly accept fun

It is a dangerous thing for me as a Christian who wishes to do the will of God, to find happiness in any thing in this world. The trick is to thank God for everything, otherwise anything can become an addiction, a distraction, or a sin against God. I'm easily addicted, easily distracted from my loving God, who is the only One who can keep me sane. When not in Him, my thinking becomes insane and I start believing things like "an hour of this video game will make me happy!" when in reality it very well might make me more unhappy because 1. it will distract me from the God who gives me true joy, and 2. because it will set back what ever it is that I need to get done by X amount of time. To me, it is a difficult thing to live in our entertainment driven culture. It is far to easy to desire to live for myself when I see it in every aspect of our culture, from the prevelence of coffee shops, to our entertainment. Yet I don't believe entertainment is bad! I think it can be incredably entriching to life, as well as necesary, freeing us from monotony. My conclusion is that if I can't thank God for it, I shouldn't be doing it. My priority is always 1st to keep connected with God and filled with His Holy Spirit. After that I may grudgingly say "Well, it's not as good as God, but I guess it's fun. Thank you God for this video game, movie, etc." "God, I offer myself to You-to build with me and to do with me as You will. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Your will. Grant me victory over my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Your Power, Your Love, and Your Way of life. May I do Your will always!" (Updated from Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 63)

Leting the Word speak for itself.

I'm kinda fried, mentally, and I'm not too happy with my last entry, so I'm going to keep this simple, until I regain some sanity. John 14 just has so many gems. I'm just going to post them and let them speak for themselves. Oh, and this is New Living Translation, because I know you'll probaby wonder. Enjoy.

There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be wit the Father.

If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

I am leaving you with a gift-peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid.

Skip this one... I'm just ranting about doctrinal statements.

The First Doctrinal Statement John 16 Ok, my mind isn't focusing well this moarning, so I'm going to keep this brief. If your big on doctrinal statements, you might not like my opinion on this one. Near the end of this chapter, the disciples suddenly declare, "Ah! Now we get it! You know everything! And that tells us you come from God!" Jesus: "Sigh... you finally get it, eh?" This just struck me because it is so much like us to do this. We have some "aha" moment and THEN we're ready to make the commitments and believe. We then so often draw up our ideas into nice, well worded phrases which we then teach as doctrine, because we're such gracious people that we won't to make sure no one else has to think this stuff through or, God forbid, listen to God for themselves! Ok, that came down harsher than I ment, so I shall slowly back away. I have a grudge against doctrine. "NOOOO!!!!" Yes, yes, I do. I find it very difficult to respect any group of people who try to summerize and simplify the bible into tasty little bites to be digested by masses of people who are perfectly able to eat meat. And perhaps that is not even my main misgiving. It's the lack of THOUGHT this promotes. "Oh thank you pastor! Now I don't have to read the bible for myself or learn about God through prayer, meditation, and walking with him daily! I don't have to try! I can just take home your easily digestable, nicely packaged comments, put them in the freezer, and SIT ON EM." Hmm... I totally failed to back away slowly... Obviosly this has become a rant, not a bible study. Well GOOOOD! Maybe it will force you to THANK FOR YOURSELF YOU LAZY PEW WARMER! YEAH YOU! YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT! DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT! End of rant.

Plugging in to God or to Games... and an Insignia of Love!

Holy freholes man! Look at what my girl got a friend to make us for valentines day!!! Yeah, she's a babe. Shwing! (Sorry.) Thank you anonymous friend! Great job! I've got to put this on a T-shirt!!! I'll see if I can track down a decent picture of us together later. @;D Ok, on to God stuff (not that a healthy relationship isn't God stuff...) John 15... heavy man, heavy I hope you don't mind being challenged, because this one does it. "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He CUTS off every branch that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more." Hey what? CUT? He's gonna give an unproductive Christian the boot? I'm going to take a stab at saying that this is not necessarily a loss of salvation. Salvation is not contingent on works, "lest any man boast." Salvation is found only in belief in Jesus as savior. Rather, I think this cutting off stuff is in some ways even more fearful. It is being cut off from our source, from love, from the Holy Spirit. Christ is the source of healing, power, resourcefulness... EVERYTHING to the believer. If a believer is plugged into this but is NOT producing, God comes along and unplugs them. This can, also, be a good thing for the believer though, because if you start going "hey, stuff is missing from my life!" ya might just turn back to God and start producing. I think the key is that you must give yourself completely to this loving God, and allow Him to do His will through you. Are you focused on the big I, or the big I AM? Example: I like video games. I'm a recovering addict of zelda classic. Not to long ago I started playing it more and more. My beautiful, wondermous girlfriend girl noticed the difference in me. I was distracted and unconnected to my Higher Power, to God. I came home and, rather than running joyously to my God, I ran "joyously" to my Game. But I was loosing both joy and sanity because I was not in contact to that vine, that source, that POWER! I've come to see that I need my God in every way on a daily bases. Otherwise, my problems become overwhelming and my life unmanageable. So stay plugged in so you can produce "much fruit!" God will then come by and remove some of those weights from your branches so your not overwhelmed and can do more. That may mean that a ministry you started and has become overwhelming splits in to, or is taken over my others. It may mean he wants to prune your life of activities that were beneficial at one time in your growth, but are now superfluous. It MIGHT mean he wants to prune you of needless distractions (like those video games, ahem... ahem...) but I do not think he is a kill joy. If I can't find God in it, I don't want it, yet to my amazement I can sometimes find God in something as earthbound as a video game! He does want us to relax and kick back, but he DOES NOT want us to make our relaxation king. And do you know why he wants you to remain in Him, in His love and to do so by obeying Him... His Holy Spirit? Because it will FILL US WITH JOY! yEAH bABY! There is no greater joy that we can experience than living constantly in Him. Gee... might be how those pesky video games become dull and pruned eh? Love ya all!

Too many thoughts on God

On my gods, as seen through AA The AA big book says, on age 415 in the essay called Acceptance was the Answer, "not taking a drink is by far the most important thing I do each day." I do not consider myself an alcoholic at this point, but there are things I'm addicted to, which I find addictive, unhealthy and destructive to my sanity (mental/emotional stability). These are things which separate me from my God and can be as simple as a fantasy book, a game, or a movie. These things do not always function in this way, only if I "drink" them, that is, take them into that deepest part of myself which is the residence of God. When I begin to treat anything as a god, by my excitement over it, my dependency on it to make me happy, by thinking of it excessively, or by thinking of it before I think of God, I loose my sanity, my mental and emotional stability. God is my sanity. He is the one that allows me to function on a day to day bases. Without him, I might very well become an alcoholic, or a fantasyaholic, or some other aholic. I would soon become lost in gods because, simply put, I'm powerless over my life. Later in the same essay, the author says "and acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation - some fact of my life - unacceptable to me and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at that moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by mistake. ... unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes." "When I stopped living in the problem and began living in the answer, the problem went away." On my God, as seen through John 14... kinda Ok, I'm going to take this opportunity to throw out one of my crazy little theories. Ahhh... pontificating. Please do not confuse the following with any sane thinking of any sane Christian group. I'm sure there are some not so sane one's who might pounce on this with glee, but for now, just consider it a random theory of a random mind. (Oh, and 'theory' as the term is intended, not as in, say, the theory of evolution, which often treated as 'fact' in spite of a total and complete lack of any intermediate stages of evolution in the fossil records. But I digress...) John 14:19, Jesus says 'I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." This sentiment is expressed in a variety of ways throughout scripture, and even the statement about "many rooms" prepared for us, and "anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done" earlier in the chapter speak, if only indirectly, of what I'm about to suggest. Or maybe my formentioned insane mine just thinks they do. At any rate, here is what I would like to suggest. What if when God tells us he is making a bride out of the church, it really does mean that in more than just a fanciful way? What if, in other words, God is making a partner, a being which mirrors his character even if it can never be as great as he himself? (This is feeling more and more stupid as I write. But right I will! If only to get it out of my head.) Think about the analogy of the church as his bride. Think about the millions of people he is calling through out time to be a part of this. Think of the infinite variations in us, and the minute fashioning of lives He endeavors at. It is conceivable, that by the time this world is done, there will be one representative of every type of personality, life, action, and faith possible. Perhaps each generation, time, and set of circumstances provides the possibility for a different life to evolve (wow, now it sounds like evolution). And when all these variations on people are added up, all these parts of the body are assembled, and we are all in our prepared places, could we in a since form a counterpart to God? God uses marriage as a representation of our relationship with Him, and of course, gives us intercourse. What does it say to us that God would give us an act of implanting something into each other which will form a child? Will the church some day have God's child? And of course, that just gets downright confusing. God's only child is Christ, who is himself in human form. .. and ... and... And I need to get to work. So long crazy theory. Love ya all.

The confusing actions of the divine and human.

John 13 God did what!? Ok, v3 = "Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God." And you would expect the next words to be something like, "So he flew up into the sky firing bolts of white hot light at all sinners and gave his followers special powers to rule the land and convert everyone with a mixture of love and holy wrath. Amen." NO! V4-5, it says "SO, he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waiste, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him." WHHHHAAAATT???!!! v12-17 "Do you understand what I was doing? You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and you are right, because it is true. And since I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other's feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master. Nor are messengers more important than the one who sends them. You know these things--no do them! That is the path of blessing." So, we can NEVER balk at any job, no matter how lowely or menial. Humility should be our middle name! Because GOD... did ya get that? GOD found it appropriate to do the most menial, lowly and disparaged job there was back then. And we sure as heck arn't better than our master, right? Disciples thought what?! If I were to say to you with tears in my eyes, "Someone is going to kick my teeth in. You'll know him by the big red hat he wares," you wouldn't upon seeing the guy in the big red hat say "Oh, hey, my buddy told me about you... your here to do charity work, right?" Not unless you have BRIAN DAMAGE. It appears that the disciples were given spiritual brain damage, perhaps so that God's will would not be interfeared with. In v21, Jesus, in "great anguish" tells the disciples one of them will betray him. He goes on to say, it's the guy I give a piece of bread to, then gives it to Judas and says "Hurry. Do it now." So, the disciples quickly navigate this tricky little sequince of events (whow, didn't just say "Judas will betray me" but put a bit of distance between the words and the man... tricky!), and gang tackle Judas, RIGHT!??! I mean the evidence is right there! Sure, a little tricky, BUT IT'S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF EM!!! Nope. They think "Gee... I guess good old Judas is going to give some money to the poor or pay for our food! What a swell guy... Wonder what that bread thing was all about..." Brain damage. This is acrually really encouraging to me, because it may signify that those times I'm a complete and total moron that there is some deeper spiritual reason for it. Ahhh... God is just making me brain damaged so that the greater good is done. That's all. I'm being stupid for God! (Like now perhaps?)

God is continued, and Pharisees arn't.

I first wanted to bring yesterdays thought to it’s inevitable conclusion. That to say that, if non-Christians can experience God’s love just by virtue of their love for each other, does that not suggest they are saved? Not exactly, but close. Here are two conjoined thoughts.

In Romans 2:11-16 we have a description of sinners who do not know the word of God, yet are judged just as the Jews/Christians because they break that law. However, Paul then goes on to say that “when Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, instinctively follow what the law says, they show that in their hearts they know right from wrong. They demonstrate that Go’s law is written within them, for their own consciences either accuse them or tell them they are doing what is right. The day will surely come when God, by Jesus Christ, will judge everyone’s secret life.” We know that the only thing man can do to gain salvation is to believe. No work can bestow salvation, only belief in what Christ has done, lest any man boast that he is good. We’re not. We are all as bad as the worst of sinners, a Ted Bundy or Hitler. It is only because of the free and untainted Gift of Christ that we are holy, and that because he enters in to us through his sacrifice. The point: I believe that when a non-Christian who does not know or understand the sacrifice of Christ believes in that moral law of love written on their heart, then it is quite possible that person will find themselves acceptable before God, if they believed and lived by that law.

C. S. Lewis touches on this in Mere Christianity, but I think more vividly in The Last Battle, which is the last book in the Narnia series. In it, a false God called Tash from a land south of Narnia is brought north along with an invading force. It is discovered that the doorway of a small building in Narnia transports people not to the inside of the building, but to some unknown destination. Not ones to miss taking advantage of something they don’t understand, the followers of Tash proclaim that within the building is Tash, and they declare that those who live in Narnia must either profess their allegiance to Tash or else enter the building and meet Tash himself. A young prince who has served Tash faithfully all his life decides he wishes to enter the building so that he might meet his god. Now this prince has in fact lived by an inner law of love, righteousness and fairness which he attributes to Tash because Tash is the God he was raised to believe in. Against the protest of his people, he enters and finds himself face to face with Aslan, the god which his people taught him was evil. One look at the great lion, who is an analogy for Christ Jesus, and the prince realizes he’s been serving the wrong god. He falls to his knees weeping, expecting to be put to death by the creature who looks down at him with the love he’s longed to serve his whole life. However, rather than killing him, Alsan declares the prince that he counts all his service to Tash as service to Himself because he served not in the spirit of Tash as his countryman did, who it is clear throughout the book serve out of selfish gain, but in His spirit. The great Judge therefore looks into the prince’s heart and judges him not on his knowledge or exterior performance, but on the internal state of his heart.

Based on these two thoughts, I myself have concluded that there will be many who in their life have not called Christ their Lord and Savior, but who, by virtue of their hearts intent, are acceptable to Christ. He accepts them because when one truly lives one’s life not for oneself, but for God (how ever you may perceive him, since it is not our understanding of God that saves us… Ha! Who could be saved then?), then one is, by that act of trusting in their higher power and in love, declaring Christ as King.

Having said all that, all of which I do believe, I will qualify it by saying that I am not that Judge. I am in fact human and quite prone to failure. As such I can only interpret these scriptures to the best of my limited abilities, which I have. God remains the Judge and he may one day say, “Geeze Matt, ya really got that one wrong!” But I believe firmly that if I have made such a mistake, that it too is forgivable.

On to the bible study for today.

Thought 1:

John 11:25 says “I am the resurrection.” Martha had a limited perspective on what the resurrection was. She saw it, as many of us do, as a limited category, an event that happens way out there which does not effect us here today. But God is very often broader and less limited then we give him credit. He usually IS what he is tells us about. He IS love, He IS the word, He IS wisdom, He IS our provision, and He IS the resurrection. The resurrection is not just a pie in the sky, by and by, it is NOW! It is EVERY DAY! It is the very LIFE of a Christian! He is what makes us ALIVE!

Thought 2:

The last section of John 11 deals with the Pharisees plotting the death of Jesus. I often feel that the Gospels are just as much books about Pharisee-ism and the blindness of religion without humility, as it is about Christ. Here we see the absolute and total blindness of the Pharisees, who have reports of THE DEAD RISING and rather than falling on their knees in submission to this obvious appearance of a living God, they react selfishly, and seek to guard THEIR religion. This tells me just how careful I need to be of pride and a lack of humility, because it can blind me SO DEEPLY as to not even see God when he is right their in front of me Resurrecting the dead.

Thought 3:

And in verse 51 we see that God will use even the blind and prideful to his purpose. Here he uses the High Priest as a prophet to prophecy His own plan of salvation! The very ones who represent the deepest form of rebellion against God are used to proclaim His Salvation!!! Praise God for He is one all powerful, all encompassing Just Judge!

Now, I gotta get some stuff done. Love ya all.

Deep thoughts on a sheep fold

Wow, it has been forever since I have written in this thing... 8 months or more? I'm surprised that I was blogging my "Most recent problem." Pretty dang negative thinkin if you ask me... well, if you ask me NOW that I've been working the 12 steps and know better than to stay in the problem instead of the solution. Hey, another great wit from Terry Goodkind, who's characters always say "Think of the solution, not the problem." Anyhow, I'm going to try to start posting Bible study and other misc insights here. Wish me... or pray me luck! Here comes my first... _____________________________________ Yesterday, in John 9, the main thing that stood out to me was in verse 7 where Jesus was healing a blind man and told him to go to the pool of Siloam, which the scripture says means "sent." That really struck me because in order to be healed, he in a sense had to be "sent" and be obedient to that calling. It makes me think of how we need to obey God's call on us in order for our problems and difficulties to be healed. Today I'm in John 10 which starts with Jesus describing his relationship with his sheep. I love this: 1. The shepard enters through the gate - he's honest and straightforward, not trying to hide anything by sneaking in. What you see is what you get. 2. The sheep hear his voice - those of us who are chosen hear him and know he is the only one who can help us 3. and come to him - not only do they recognize him, but they humble themselves, give up their own will, and come to him 4. He calls them by name - Yes! He knows us intimately! 5. and leads them out - He doesn't leave us where we are, but guides us out of the safe pins we place ourselves in, or are placed in, out into fresh fields and calm waters which may be scary and new, but which always teach us growth. 6. he walks ahead of them - He is our guide! There is no where we can go that he has not been there first, and in fact is right in front of us! Later he expands the analogy and says that he is the gate! This is really cool and makes more since to me now than ever because of the kind of dualism I've been learning through the 12 step program, fiction novels, and philosophy. Because of who God/Jesus/Holy Spirit is, he IS rigorous honesty, love, trustworthiness, etc. The Gate is a method of honest approach, done in the right time and in the right order. Picture a high walled pin with a single gate. Imagine that those walls are the boundaries of acceptable and healthy behavior. The gate is the one method available by which to get "out" or to "get what you want" without crossing those boundaries of healthy behavior. Jesus is saying HE IS THAT GATE because HE IS LOVE, HEALTHY BEHAVIOR, ETC. So, not only is he the one who COMES TO US honesty, he is, by virtue of who he is, that one path which is healthy and loving by which we may progress ahead. I want to hit on this just a little more. When you have any white, creamy liquid produced by a cows utters, you know you have milk. All milk is milk. There is not some milk which is not milk, if it is milk. You do not say "this cup is milk, but that cup is something else" unless of course it is not a white, creamy liquid produced by a cows utters. In the same way, there is a very real and spiritual since in which "All love is God because God is love." The love we feel for each other, that people feel for one another, is in fact (if it is real love and not selfishness disguised as love = jumping the fence :D) a sharing in God! Yes, hindus, atheists, muslims, whatever... if they experience genuine love for one another, they are in fact experiencing God, whether they know it or accept it or not. If it IS real love, it is also God's love. I think this is one of the main reasons the 12 steps work no mater how you define your higher power. If you HP is a good HP defined by healthy, loving actions, then you are experiencing God, even if only in part.