Month: October 2021

The University of Basel was founded in 1460 with approval from the Pope. It originally offered studies in four areas – arts, medicine, law, and theology. The emergence of universities, like most education in the Western world, came from the church. There was a growing thirst for knowledge. Knowledge of God and his creation. Areas of study in today’s humanities can be traced back to the early studies in theology. They were rooted in the study of God. Today, enrollment in the humanities like philosophy, history, language, arts, and culture – are on the decline. One large Christian university recently shut down its philosophy department. These subjects are considered to be rather useless when it comes to finding a job. Pragmatism in education is what seems to matter. Studying a topic for the purpose of understanding is not highly valued. This has consequences in the ‘real’ world. Last week, I read about a kidney from a genetically altered pig that was transplanted into a patient who was brain dead. The researchers found that the transplanted organ functioned normally. The use of pig parts could help with a shortage of human organs such as hearts, lungs, and livers. Researchers cautioned that there remain more questions and a long series of medical regulations before this happens. Don’t get me wrong. I think that’s an incredible discovery and I’m a big believer in scientific research that can help the improve quality of life for millions of people. This discovery and thousands of others happen every day. Just think, we are on the verge of self-driving cars and holiday packages in outer space. There seems to be no limit to the possibilities of what we can do. But, should we do it? Is life all about pragmatism now? If it works, do it? What about the moral and ethical implications of some of the discoveries we are making? How are we as Christians to view and understand these developments? How do we, as a society, hold these discussions before decisions are implemented?   We are sadly lacking in people who can help us understand the moral and ethical implications of our new world. It’s just not practical to get a degree in that stuff. Better to go into business and make money. Even Christians seem to be uninterested in the theological implications. It’s not just in the scientific world either. Current cultural discussions on race, immigration, religious freedom, sexuality and, sexual identity are hampered by people who have no depth of understanding about the history or moral issues being discussed. Instead, conversations are driven by fear and stereotypes that lead to division and resentment. The book of Proverbs makes a consistent and passionate plea for wisdom. Get wisdom, get understanding (4:4), Do not forsake wisdom, she will protect you (4:6), The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding (4:7). Knowledge we have. Information is not lacking. What do we do with this knowledge and all that information? That requires wisdom. My plea is that we should spend more time studying topics like theology, philosophy, and history. We need proper categories for our discussions and decisions. Young people should not be discouraged from getting a degree in these areas. A new generation of deep and godly thinkers is required to help us continue to engage with a world that is so fractured.

There are troubling days when we search for answers and God seems to be silent. We pray and we call on him, but the heavens are still. Sometimes we get the impression from preachers and other Christians that there is a simple formula for getting answers to prayer. We have come to believe that we shouldn’t have to struggle for solutions or wait for our miracle. But life doesn’t always operate that way, and that can be unsettling. Peter Greig writes on this in his book God On Mute: Although seasons in our lives when God is silent may be important to our spiritual growth, they can also be deeply disturbing. As a result, we often attempt to solve the problem of God’s silence with simplistic explanations of complex situations, lopsided applications of Scripture and platitude of premature comfort. We are afraid to simply wait in the mess of problems unresolved until God Himself unmistakably intervenes, as He did on Easter Sunday. We are unwilling to admit, ‘I don’t have a clue what God is doing or why this is happening.’ We may even suspect that it would be un-Christlike to cry out publicly, ‘My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me?’ Why can’t we wait with the mess and pain of Holy Saturday unresolved? Why can’t we wait? Because that’s hard work and makes us very uncomfortable. It can be confusing. I don’t like it either. The reality is there will be times in our Christian walk when we have some Holy Saturdays. It is important to remember that God has not disappeared nor is he uninterested. He just isn’t working according to our schedule. If that’s where you are, may he give you grace to endure. Don’t give up. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)

Every morning two men, both psychiatrists, rode the same elevator in their office building at the same time. One of them would get off on the 5th floor and the other on the 9th. Everyone morning as the first psychiatrist was about to get off the elevator, he would turn and spit at the second psychiatrist. This man would then pull out a handkerchief and wipe off his face. This was in the days when there was an elevator operator still running the lift device. The young operator watched this episode every day until he could stand it no longer. Finally, one day he asked the second man, “Why does he do that? Why does he spit at you every morning?” “I don’t know,” said the second man, “that’s his problem, not mine!” A key part of growing in maturity is recognizing that what happens to us is not as important as how we react. We have the opportunity to decide how we want to react to the things around us that we can not control. It really has to do with our attitude. The single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. As we continue to live with the presence of Covid and various restrictions it is easy to grow tired, fearful and frustrated with all of it. It seems like there is very little we can do, and we do not like having any control. Yet, we are still responsible for our actions and reactions towards others. Paul reminds us that it is a daily effort in our Christian walk. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24) This is not easy to put into practice. The choice is ours each morning when we get up.