Theology of Nuance; Struggling with God and Man and Overcoming

video- Walking In Your Footsteps by The Police

I am a Christian. I am a blogger. I am someone who grapples with life’s larger questions on a moment to moment basis. In cruising around the Internet and monitoring the ongoing debate between Christians of differing theological interpretations and Christians and scientists and/or Christians and atheists there is one persistent question that just keeps popping up. How old is the earth? some Christian literalists seem to believe that if they don’t do the math just a certain way and give in to the notion that the earth is only about 4-6 thousand years old that they are somehow being heretical… disrespecting God and rejecting his Holy Word, the Bible.

Well, I tell you right now that I am a Christian who believes the Bible and I find the notion that the earth is less than ten thousand years old… well… not very believable. To be fair, I don’t necessarily believe that the earth as we know it is hundreds of millions of years old either.

As for the Christian “literalists“, the literalism seems to be one of convenience… after all the Bible also says to love your enemies and those whom may not agree with you. I know very few Christians who pay much attention to that passage- let alone do intellectual gymnastics to realize and/or internalize it in their everyday lives. “Conservative” and liberal Christians do not even speak civilly to one another for the most part let alone to unbelievers and the lost. I digress.

I don’t think that the account of origins as it is given in Genesis is meant to be an encyclopedia like telling of exactly what, when and how things began. Neither is it a totally figurative allegory. The plain fact of the matter is that it only tells us about God as Creator and the original purposes and intentions for mankind. It also tells about the entry of evil into the world and sets the stage for the battle of evermore between the Spirit of Truth and the Father of Lies.
You can take those items to the bank. As far as the exact chronology or timeline… who knows?
Anyone that claims they do know is mightily conceited. The bible does NOT give us that information.

Science gives us a spotty, incomplete and often biased opinion on these matters as well. The academic system works a lot like the media, organized religion or any other institution… anomalous evidence and/or dissenting opinion is squelched as much as possible in the interests of the corporate survival of the institution. Objectivity and truth often take a back seat to the god of money and agenda.

Let me just say this by way of offering my own thoughts on how old the earth might be. I have been to a place where on a raggedy, rocky knoll in Utah, near the Dinosaur National Monument there is a giant fossilized squid. My rational mind tells me that this as well as the rest of the fossil record and all the fossil fuels under the ground did not form in 6,000 years or less. In fact, I find such an idea absurd. I could be wrong of course. Yet, I find this idea almost as absurd as the idea that all the harmony, complexity, order, life and intelligence in the cosmos just happened by sheer mathematical chance and accident… but not quite. If one then insists that life and such came from God- this of course leads to the question of where God came from if there be such a thing. Once again, no man can really answer questions like that. I suppose theorizing on it is a worthy enough enterprise.

But, a lot of people… indigenous people Like Native Americans and/or Christians un-indoctrinated or unaffected by the western mindset and the desire to categorize, master and explain everything surrender questions and desires concerning exactly when, where and why. Instead they worry themselves with another question… perhaps the only one that really matters after all…HOW or WHAT is the right way to live… or what is one’s proper relationship to all things? I stand with those who grapple mostly with that question. Now, as a Christian let me say this… those answers can be found in Christ and I believe nowhere else. That is the only reason I am still a Christian. Believe me I know what a monumental task it is to try and convince someone of this if they do not first accept the Bible as a reliable source of information. The truth is no person can ever talk somebody into something they do not want to be true. Real understanding of these matters comes by spiritual means… in fact they are considered as a gift.
Again… if one does not allow for spiritual reality, then there is no sense trying to speak spiritual language to one who does not or will not hear it.

Well… I started writing this with but one question to pose and then got into the stream of consciousness. Anyway…. how old do you think the earth is? Maybe the better question is… does it really matter to how you will live your life?

There are many views and opinions concerning the environment representing a wide range of world views. With this essay I intend to present a biblical view of the environment including its origin, present state, and future destiny.

Origin

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). The Bible tells us that God existed before the universe and that He created it. For more details on the creation account read chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis. Scientific Creationism also reveals intelligent design in the creation, thus testifying of an intelligent Creator.1

The purpose of creation is to worship and bring glory to God. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Ps. 19:1). See also Ps. 148 and Is. 40:25,26. It also testifies of God’s qualities. “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20).

Man is made in God’s image. “And God said, Let us make man in our image” (Gen. 1:26). (Note: The plural pronoun testifies of the Trinity.) While every created thing has value in itself, man alone is created in the image of God. This contradicts the Eastern monism philosophy which says all is one.2 William B. Badke, author of Project Earth,3 says that the earliest responsibility of man and the only mandate given him concerning interaction with the earth is found in Gen. 2:15 which says, “The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden as its gardener, to tend and care for it” (The Living Bible). The Hebrew word for tend can also mean “to serve” and the word for care may be translated “to keep safe, preserve, protect.” This mandate has never been rescinded.

God gave Adam and Eve dominion in the earth (Gen. 1:28). This means that the human race is to be in charge of the stewardship of the earth and to nurture it, not dominate and exploit it for selfish motives.

“Historian Lynn White was correct in placing some blame for environmental decay on Christianity. But it is a misunderstanding of the Bible, not God’s word itself, that is at fault here,”4 says Tom Sider, professor of theology and culture, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and president of Evangelicals for Social Action. British author Catherine von Ruhland says, “Christianity is often criticised as being the reason for much of the damage that has occurred on the planet. But we should make clear to the critics that it is not our faith, but a combination of scientific theory and industrial progress among unbelievers and our own wrong understanding of God’s Word that has brought about destruction.”5

Present State

The event that kicked off our present state, both physically and spiritually, is the fall of man. Along with the mandate of stewardship of the Garden, God told Adam and Eve that they had free access to anything in the Garden except the fruit of one tree which would bring physical and spiritual death (Gen. 2:16,17). This was simply a test of man’s love and obedience to his Creator. God wanted a relationship based on choice and without the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil man would not have had any choice to please or displease God. Needless to say man ate the forbidden fruit and here we are today.

Sin is the breaking of God’s commandment and it is sin that is the major environmental threat. Physical death and the ground being cursed are just two results of the fall (Gen. 3:17-19). By choosing to disobey our Creator and live in sin the Bible says that the land and animals mourn (Hos. 4:1-3). Sin has such a violent effect on the environment that the Bible says the land will vomit out the sinning inhabitants (Lev. 18:25). Sin is what motivates the destruction of the environment for financial gain (1 Tim. 6:10).

But God promises to heal the land if we will turn from our wicked ways (2 Chr. 7:14). (Understand that there will not be complete restoration until God recreates the earth, 1 Pet. 3:13 and Rev. 21:1). By turning to God and being filled with His Spirit we can have the sensitivity to people and the environment that is necessary (Rom. 8). Indeed, sensitivity to others will affect our treatment of the environment. For example, if we know that there are people who live downstream from us and depend on a river we use, we should be careful to not dump pollution into the river so they can have water that they can use. By our sensitivity to the people who live downstream from us, we will change our treatment of the river we use to do what we can to provide safe and clean water for others who depend upon the same river. Matthew 25 shows that insensitivity to people is also insensitivity to God and will bring His judgement.

Tony Campolo also says that since nature worships God, (Ps. 148) ecological destruction interferes with and silences the worship of God.6 He calls this blasphemy.

Ron Sider says, “The first purpose of the nonhuman creation is to glorify God not to serve us.”4 The Bible says, “The earth is the Lord’s” (Ps. 24:1). We must realize our role in creation is to worship God and to be stewards of the earth. A steward is a caretaker, not an owner.

Unlike monism, which says all is one, a biblical view, while agreeing that in ecology all things are interconnected, says in the spiritual realm there are two orders — the regenerated and the fallen. The fall that Adam and Eve experienced has carried on over to every human since (Rom. 3:10, 23). But there is hope of regeneration. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22).

God is deeply concerned with His creation and this is shown in many passages of Scripture. In Gen. 9:9,10 God made a covenant with all of creation not to destroy it with a flood ever again and He set the rainbow in the cloud to be a token of that covenant. In Job 39:1,2 God shows that He is with the wild animals when they give birth. Matt. 6:25-30 shows that God feeds the birds and clothes the fields. It is by His power that creation holds together or consists as Col. 1:16, 17 points out. Because God is so intimately concerned with His creation He promises to restore it.

Future Destiny

“Everything that Christianity hopes for is wrapped up with the ultimate fate of the earth,” says Glenn Paauw, author of The Garden of God.7 The Bible teaches that salvation is for all of creation, not just humans (Is. 11, Ez. 47). This world will be burned up with fire (2 Pet. 3) and God will create a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:1, Is. 65:17). True physical peace will reign (Hos. 2:18) and God will live with His people on the Earth (Rev. 21:3). Until that day Christians continue to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

Some may say, “If the world will be destroyed by fire and recreated why should we be concerned about the environment?” Well let me sum up some reasons given thus far and introduce some new ones: 1) Destruction of the environment is blasphemy against God; 2) Stewardship is a responsibility; 3) Other people suffer because of the destruction of the environment; 4) Animals suffer; 5) Creation itself suffers (Rom. 8:19-21); 6) The danger is massive and urgent; 7) Common sense tells us to properly manage our resources to maintain a sustainable yield; and I would like to leave you with an idea from Tony Campolo which may be the most practical reason of all. He says the sooner or later we will all get involved in the environmental movement because sooner or later we will all get hurt because of what we’re doing to the environment.6

——————

1. For information on Scientific Creationism see Institute for Creation Research at http://www.icr.org.

2. For more information on monism see James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door: A Basic World View Catalog, 3d ed. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997.

3. Badke, William B. (1991). Project Earth: Preserving the World God Created. Portland, Multnomah Press.

4. Sider, Ron J. (1993, June 21). Redeeming the Environmentalists. Christianity Today.

5. von Ruhland, Catharine (1991). Going Green: A Christian Guide. Great Britain, Marshall Pickering.

6. Campolo, Tony (1992). How to Rescue the Earth Without Worshiping Nature. Nashville, Thomas Nelson, Inc.

7. Paauw, Glenn (1992). The Garden of God. Colorado Springs, International Bible Society.

Proverbs 16

1THE PLANS of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from the Lord comes the [wise] answer of the tongue.

2All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits (the thoughts and intents of the heart).^(A)

3Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.

4The Lord has made everything [to accommodate itself and contribute] to its own end and His own purpose–even the wicked [are fitted for their role] for the day of calamity and evil.

5Everyone proud and arrogant in heart is disgusting, hateful, and exceedingly offensive to the Lord; be assured [I pledge it] they will not go unpunished.^(B)

6By mercy and love, truth and fidelity [to God and man--not by sacrificial offerings], iniquity is purged out of the heart, and by the reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord men depart from and avoid evil.

7When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

8Better is a little with righteousness (uprightness in every area and relation and right standing with God) than great revenues with injustice.^(C)

9A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.^(D)

10Divinely directed decisions are on the lips of the king; his mouth should not transgress in judgment.

11A just balance and scales are the Lord’s; all the weights of the bag are His work [established on His eternal principles].

12It is an abomination [to God and men] for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established and made secure by righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation).

13Right and just lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right.

14The wrath of a king is as messengers of death, but a wise man will pacify it.

15In the light of the king’s countenance is life, and his favor is as a cloud bringing the spring rain.

16How much better it is to get skillful and godly Wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.^(E)

17The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; he who guards his way preserves his life.

18Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

19Better it is to be of a humble spirit with the meek and poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.

20He who deals wisely and heeds [God's] word and counsel shall find good, and whoever leans on, trusts in, and is confident in the Lord–happy, blessed, and fortunate is he.

21The wise in heart are called prudent, understanding, and knowing, and winsome speech increases learning [in both speaker and listener].

22Understanding is a wellspring of life to those who have it, but to give instruction to fools is folly.

23The mind of the wise instructs his mouth, and adds learning and persuasiveness to his lips.

24Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body.

25There is a way that seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death.

26The appetite of the laborer works for him, for [the need of] his mouth urges him on.

27A worthless man devises and digs up mischief, and in his lips there is as a scorching fire.

28A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.^(F)

29The exceedingly grasping, covetous, and violent man entices his neighbor, leading him in a way that is not good.

30He who shuts his eyes to devise perverse things and who compresses his lips [as if in concealment] brings evil to pass.

31The hoary head is a crown of beauty and glory if it is found in the way of righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation).^(G)

32He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, he who rules his [own] spirit than he who takes a city.

33The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly of the Lord [even the events that seem accidental are really ordered by Him].

Cross references:

1. Proverbs 16:2 : I Sam 16:7; Heb 4:12
2. Proverbs 16:5 : Prov 8:13; 11:20-21
3. Proverbs 16:8 : Ps 37:16; Prov 15:16
4. Proverbs 16:9 : Ps 37:23; Prov 20:24; Jer 10:23
5. Proverbs 16:16 : Prov 8:10, 19
6. Proverbs 16:28 : Prov 17:9
7. Proverbs 16:31 : Prov 20:29

Thank You for This Earth

Desiderata
– written by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

________________________________________________________

And now its cynical spoof:

The Deteriorata:

From the CD: National Lampoon Radio Dinner Album
A Parody of the poem Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and waste,
And remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
Avoid quiet and passive persons unless you are in need of sleep.
Rotate your tires.

Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself,
And heed well their advice, even though they be turkeys.
Know what to kiss and when.
Consider that two wrongs never make a right,
But that three lefts do.

Wherever possible put people on “HOLD”.
Be comforted that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment,
And despite the changing fortunes of time,
There is always a big future in computer maintenance.
Remember the Pueblo.

Strive at all times to bend, fold, spindle and mutilate.
Know yourself. If you need help, call the FBI.
Exercise caution in your daily affairs,
Especially with those persons closest to you;
That lemon on your left for instance.

Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls,
Would scarcely get your feet wet.
Fall not in love therefore; it will stick to your face.

Carefully surrender the things of youth: birds, clean air, tuna, Taiwan,
And let not the sands of time get in your lunch.
For a good time, call 606-4311.

Take heart amid the deepening gloom that your dog
Is finally getting enough cheese;
And reflect that whatever fortunes may be your lot,
It could only be worse in Sioux City.

You are a fluke of the Universe.
You have no right to be here, and whether you can hear it or not,
The Universe is laughing behind your back.

Therefore make peace with your God whatever you conceive him to be,
Hairy Thunderer or Cosmic Muffin.

With all its hopes, dreams, promises, and urban renewal,
The world continues to deteriorate.
Give up.
_________________________________________________________

Well…. the Deteriorata was pretty humorous… good for a hyuk hyuk. But, I reckon I’ll take the original Desiderada to heart. If I’ve got the freewill choice to choose my path trough this world I’d say the best bet is the path of light and hope. If I turn out to be mistaken and there is no heavenly reward at the end of the rainbow then I don’t reckon that it will matter much anyhow. I will have lost nothing. On the other hand… the power of light and goodness and God and a life beyond time and space… well now that is probably worth holding out for even if at times it seems hard or even foolish. To die chasing light and rainbows- only “fools” are brave enough to do that.

Read this article and think…no skimming! LOL:

Excerpt:

This article explores how the concepts of ecology are presented and utilized in the evangelical Protestant response to the ecological crisis. It finds that there are seven basic themes in the literature: (1) etymological discussions; (2) the concepts of interdependence and balance; (3) cycles and energy flow; (4) food chain/food web/ecological pyramid; (5) carrying capacity; (6) the idea that humans are the disrupters of “nature’s” balance; and (7) the contrary idea that humans are a part of the ecosystem. In light of these themes, I make several observations. One is that the summarized findings of ecology becomes the latest version of natural theology: God’s will is for each ecosystem to be a climax ecosystem which never declines. If this is the case, then western agriculture, industry, and the use of much technology will have to be severely curtailed–a situation unacceptable to most evangelical Protestants.

Many scholars have argued that western culture, infused with a Christian understanding of the world, provided a nurturing environment for the development of science. The belief in a purposeful God, the argument goes, who gave order and coherence to the universe allowed scientists to assume that they could discover such order, such “laws.” God made a world which was consistent and real, and therefore predictable. The discipline of ecology has also benefited from Christian assumptions embedded in western culture. By the time ecology began to develop as a scientific discipline, however, these assumptions had become “secularized,” or stripped of their God-talk. In other words, early ecologists did not have to believe in a Christian God to assume that the world was orderly, consistent, real, and predictable. These beliefs had become cultural norms taken for granted by everyone in the West; they could be understood by an ecologist as simply similarities between Christianity and science, rather than shared beliefs which have their “genesis” in Christian doctrine.

Not surprisingly, it is these assumptions that evangelical Protestants emphasize when informing their audience about the concept of ecology.¹ Furthermore, probably in part because of these shared assumptions, the languages of ecology and theology are mixed together without any serious discussion about what the potential differences could be–not so much a synthesis as a bricolage. This article is an attempt to describe and analyze the concept of ecology contained in the evangelical Protestant response to the ecological crisis, and to raise questions about its use.
____________________________________________________________________________

I have a book entitled “Project Earth: Preserving the World God Created” ,

For more on these vital topics also visit these posts:

The Misuse of “Radah” (dominion)

A Biblical View of the Environment

A Christian View of the Environment

The Meaning of Genesis

Why Are We Here?

Quantum Freewill, the Breath and Spirit of God…

Doing Lunch With The Almighty

Poverty, Pollution and Environmental Racism

Eleven Inherent rules of Corporate Behavior

Is God Green?

Thank You For This Earth

Indigenous Mind

I think that Mr. Eldridge (John Eldrige author of Wild At Heart and others) made use of this type of example.

It is the Creator, by His Holy Spirit, unexpectedly reaching into my soul and plucking the “Holy Chord” and as it resonates through my heart, mind and soul I will feel the urge to fall on my knees and just cry, but, not a sad cry.

This happens just as Eldridge describes it, unexpectedly; maybe a sunrise that seems to turn some surreal and unknown color that could not be duplicated on any artist’s palate no matter how many times that he tried , or sometimes when we sing a song in church that touches at the love of God and the harmony of the body all combine in a glorious crescendo.

This feeling is one of those things that I try to choke down and suffocate, if I am not alone. I sometimes think that I should just let go; that maybe I’m quenching the Holy Spirit.
DSM

I have decided to post some of the e-mails from the expansive archives of the ongoing conversation between D.S. Martin and other friends and myself. Here is the next installment of: Quantum Contemplations: The Root Connection

>From: “Scott Starr”
>>Subject: New Review, Connecting The Paradigms
>>Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2004 18:19:51 -0600

>>Ok, I don’t have the focus to write a thesis at the moment but here’s
>>something I offer you to think about in the vein of “new topic”.
>> I have been carrying this one in the sidepocket of my mind for a good
>>while. First, please forgive me for often referring to my ethnos when I
>>converse with you. All I can say is that it is in the warp and woof of
>>me. To surrender my place of who I am would be a terrifying loss of
>>identity. I think that is what is wrong with most of the world right
>>now…. Correct me if this is not a conservative view… If its not then
>>I really am lost. People don’t know who they are and where they came from
>>and just what it is they are suppose to be doing with themselves anymore.
>>They try to get it from tv and other media I suppose. People have lost
>>their context…their identity. The root connection for me is that when I
>>was lost too…I found the answer to who I was, where I came from and what
>>I am suppose to be doing not in a church pew (although that is where it
>>all starts), not in my family home in suburbia…but in my familiy’s
>>traditional culture and worldview….the one that stood for thousands of
>>years but has almost been erased from the face of God’s earth, and the
>>same one that men Like Newt Gingrich suggest be surrendered and
>>homogenized into pop culture once and for all now. I agree that America
>>must pull together as one nation if we wish to survive, however, this does
>>not mean surrenderring our individuality or diversity completely - but
>>creating a network of diverse, autonomous communities working towards a
>>common goal and common unity. If we remember this concept then we will
>>not always be dividing and sub dividing ourselves into seperated-
>>hyphenated false categories. Then, we can express our diversity and
>>cultural perspective without detracting from the goal of the whole. I
>>will always be a Native- American, A citizen of the United States and a
>>member of the human family and God’s Kingdom. Try to take away or harm
>>any of these parts of me and you will have a fight on your hands. I
>>imagine we all feel the same about this from our own perspective if we
>>have in fact devoted any thought to it. Getting in touch with this root
>>connection of who I am was a potent experience with real spiritual
>>occurances and huge realizations and paradigm shifts. All humanity points
>>toward this same set of truths regardless of the distractions and
>>tragedies of the dark side of human nature. I have something relevant to
>>say on my mind that many of my ancestors died trying to say
>>unsuccessfully.
>> At the moment I am not thinking of theology and metaphysics although I
>>do have a good deal to say about how Jesus reveals himself to my people
>>and the truth Jesus stands for. I am still thinking politics!!!
>> I know, as you do too…no question in my mind about that…that our
>>world is at a huge nexus right now…and in every phase of existence
>>too…especially spiritually. Politics!! Its well known that our
>>nation’s democracy was modeled after the Roman senate, Greek thought and
>>also after models of government exhibited by the Iroquois League of
>>Nations and other tribal governments. The model of government exhibited
>>in much of Native America was designed well enough to last eons. It was
>>more streamlined…more decentralized…more conservative…more
>>balanced…more in line with God’s Law- Natural Law…better suited to
>>humanity and the family structure as well as the food chain. It was also
>>more like what the founding fathers of the United States had in mind.
>>Forget about the fact that it was a long time ago (not really so long) and
>>dealt with fewer people (although in the tens of millions instead of the
>>hundreds of millions) and a different world stage. I’m just tallking about
>>the flow chart like exquisitely simple design of it. Never mind all that
>>other stuff right now. Think about the formula…the model. Its about
>>individual and community rights and responsibilities.
>> Thomas Paine I believe it was (Common Sense?), kind of touched on
>>where I am going with this on the States’ Rights tip. He was also talking
>>about a network of more autonomous communities like I am. Now before you
>>start thinking I’m talking about socialism or liberalism and dismiss it-
>>start thinking about how a system like this would have to be and could be
>>done. I am not such an idealist that I can honestly say that I think my
>>vision OR…the world as it is set up right now is salvagable. I beleive
>>that niether is salvagable without cataclysm to motivate some real
>>paradigm shifts. I also believe we are going to live to see that
>>cataclysm if we are not in fact watching it hatch right now. I am a BIG
>>picture thinker. I am so beyond all this crap we have been bantering
>>about. I am starting to worry less about how much damage Dubya can do
>>(most of his worse gaffes are either failing or are at least exposed) and
>>worry more about what comes about 5 years down the road. We can pull
>>America out of her decaying orbit if more people will get serious and
>>focus. To hell with all this right-left stuff…lets get back to the
>>center…the source. This is what I have been talking about the whole
>>time in a way. Can you see that model in your head? Think about that for
>>a new topic. Our generation’s turn to hold the reigns is coming right up.
>>

I have decided to post some of the e-mails from the voluminous, dusty archives of the ongoing conversation between D.S. Martin and other friends and myself. Here is the next installment of: Quantum Contemplations: Dialog Fluctuating In Eternity

From: Scott Starr To: D.S. Martin Date: Fri, 26
May 2006 08:23:06 -0500

Well, I have gone fishing about every night this week. I have found some prime locations all right in or real close to the city. I had great luck yesterday in a dirty flood control pond off of Meridian and I-40- back behind the Waffle house. I am going camping this weekend out at an awesome lake I found near Geary an hour to the west. We need to get together and catch some….and finish figuring out the cosmos.

have decided to post some of the e-mails from the volumoinous, dusty archives of the ongoing conversation between D.S. Martin and myself. Here is the next installment.

From: Scott Starr To: D.S. Martin Date: Fri, 26
May 2006 08:23:06 -0500

Well, I have gone fishing about every night this week. I have found some prime locations all right in or real close to the city. I had great luck yesterday in a dirty flood control pond off of Meridian and I-40- back behind the Waffle house. I am going camping this weekend out at an awesome lake I found near Geary an hour to the west. We need to get together and catch some….and finish figuring out the cosmos.

>From: “D. S. Martin”
> >To: “Scott Starr”
> >Subject: RE:
> >Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 11:32:53 -0500
> >
> >Yeah. I have missed the give-n-take.
> >
> >I’m sure that you haven’t had time to see the Elegant Universe…or maybe
> >you did, at that prime fishing hole behind the waffle house.
> >
> >But, the first hour of the series talks about Albert Einstein’s desire to
> >find the “Theory of Everything” or the Grand Unification Theory. One of
> >the scientists stated that Einstein wanted to, and believed that he truly
> >could, “know the mind of God” and that was the essence of his desire.
> >
> >The reason that this series is so important to me is the “String Theory”.
> >This may be a philosophy more than a theory.
> >But, if it can be proven, or more accurately “Not disproven”, then this
> >allows for the likelihood that reality is made up of more than the 3
> >dimensional, or 4 dimensional if you include ‘Time’ (I believe you must
> >include time), universe that we perceive.
> >
> >Under String Theory there is the possibility of up to 16 separate
> >dimensions.
> >
> >I cannot even begin to imagine what a “Fifth dimension” might look like.
> >It’s like describing a symphony to someone who has never heard sound.
> >
> >If I were living 2,000 years ago and were to describe a God who lived and
> >operated outside of our space/time dimension. I might very well use the
> >same terms that are used in the bible. The “Carnal” would be space/time
> >oriented and spiritual would be oriented in the higher dimensions of
> >’String Theory’.
> >
> >Remember, you asked me if I thought that satan was limited to space/time
> >like we are. My answer was devolved from Job 1 and Lk 22:31. There, it
> >appears that satan is limited by space/time, in his dealings with the
> >creation. However, I also perceive that he is not flesh and blood. Paul
> >even goes so far as to warn the Ephesians,
> >
> >
> >Eph.6:12, ‘For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against
> >the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this
> >present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
> >places.’
> >So, under the idea of ‘String Theory’ we have the current universe
> >operating in space/time, but we also have higher levels of reality or
> >dimensions, continuing all the way up to the highest (sixteenth) level.
> >
> >This allows for faith, science, God, satan, angels, cherubim, seraphim,
> >many other unnamed & un-described beings living in dimensions somewhere
> >above us and yet somewhere beneath God.
> >Satan is obviously in a higher dimension than we are and yet he is just as
> >obviously somewhere beneath the dimension of God.
> >
> >String Theory may not make any spiritual claims de facto, but the
> >implications of 16 distinct dimensions are obvious to anyone, who may be
> >trying to make sense of the place and realm of mankind, satan, and God
> >(Yahweh).
> >
> >Consider also how we are forced to describe these “Higher” levels of
> >reality.
> >If I were to exist in one of those “Higher” levels of reality and the
> >Creator were to show deep love and devotion to some of the little peons
> >down in in the simple space/time dimension, I may just get a little peeved.
> > I may want to extract a “pound of flesh.”
> >
> >There are so many things that make sense if “String Theory” is found to be
> >true.
> >
> >DSM
> >
> >p.s. I’m still hacking away at the Cosmos.
> >p.p.s. This idea of the ‘String Theory’ also, not unexpectedly, flies in
> >the face of one of my other beliefs however. Under this theory,
> >mathematics, through a series of formulae, is able to answer all questions
> >about the seen and unseen universe.
> >I don’t like that. Ugh!

> From: masterkhuul@hotmail.com
> To: ccwman21@hotmail.com
> Subject: RE:
> Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 19:28:02 -0500
>
> Do you remember the old lesson about how it is mathematically impossible
> for a bee to fly?
>
> i was also discussing stuff along these lines the other day…and I was
> discussing some thoughts I had about the idea of an infinite universe. It
> was, ‘ I have never understood the idea of infinite space…I mean it would
> seem like space would still be expanding since it would never have reached a
> limit…there must be an edge or an envelope out there somewhere that is
> still moving outward…therefore space is in some sense finite.
> When i was at Waco I did an internship at the PBS station at Baylor.
> There was a nationwide lecturship series that was going to tour and put the
> finest minds of theology together with the finest minds of science. I was
> assigned to go and video tape the opening week of the dialogue…the series
> was launching from Baylor. The last day was a Friday and most of the
> students that had been attending as part of their classes were no longer
> required to attend…so the attendance dropped from about 700 to about 175.
> At the end they were going to take questions. They had people write their
> questions on slips of paper and put them in baskets. They were going to
> select five questions. I myself put in like five questions of my own. It
> is still a point of pride for me that three out of the five questions they
> selected to have the panel answer came from me..the humble camera man. I
> still remeber the moderator saying on my third question,” And for our last
> item today, we have another really excellent question!…”
>
> I don’t recall all of my questions but I still remember two:
>
> 1. Science has recently made some discoveries regarding serotonin and
> how it can produce religious type…or even hallucinogenic effects when it
> is released within the brain ( from things like meditation, fasting, sleep
> deprivation, stress etc.) , some scientists have even contended that
> serotonin is responsible for the advent of all spiritual and religious
> thought and insight, has theology come up with an answer or answers to these
> contentions?
>
> 2. For many years the “Big Bang Theory” has been the prevailing theory
> about the beginning of
> the cosmos…even theology has kind of hithced their wagon to the “Big Bang
> Theory”, saying, “OK who or what do you think caused the Big Bang but God?”
> Under this theory the universe was thought to be 12 to 14 billion years old
> and still expanding outward uniformly. When the Hubble telescope was
> recently brought online science discovered that sections of the universe
> appear to be older…like 16 to 20 billion years old…and moving in other
> directions. What have these discoveries done to and what do they imply for
> both science and theology?
>
> On the second question I was fishing for the answer, ” It means that
> none of us really know what the heck is going on.”
> Of course none of them were about to make such an admission. To this
> day this “anomoaly”has not been resolved…or talked about much. Science
> will never admit that they have no idea and theology resigns even asking the
> questions to “an issue of faith”.
> The third question had something to do with time and relativity - the theory
> being if you could exceed lightspeed time would cease to exist…and since
> we cannot explain anything without the measuring rods of timespace..is
> science or theology prepared or working on anything that could explain
> reality sans what we know as the timespace continuum as a point of
> reference. The answer was that some theories were being worked
> out…concerning black holes,,,string theories etc…but ultimately though
> time is restricted to our physical dimension…it cannot be discarded…blah
> blah blah…
>
> more later..I am home from my camping expedition with a few pounds of fish
> filets and a sunburn.

From DSM,

Here it is, if your interested in the relative age of the universe.

A quick approximation for the age of the Universe can be approximated by the inverse of the Hubble constant. The calculated age turns out to be

Current best estimates of h₀ are

so the Universe is most likely somewhere between 12 and 16 billion years old, at least according to this method of estimation.
But recall that according to relativity, time is relative. We can guess the amount of time likely to have elapsed since the time when time was a meaningful quantity that could be measured. But we can’t say anything about any processes that might have occurred before the notion of time made sense. In some sense, quantum gravity could be an eternal stage of the Universe, and the Big Bang could be regarded as the end of eternity and the beginning of time itself.

I like the end of eternity analysis.

But, it seems to me, it would only be the end of eternity for those of us who, may happen to be stuck in this quaint little space/time universe.

However, for the rest of us who exist, only temporarily in this temporally composed training facility, i.e. the Universe, we see eternity as still existing outside the bounds of this tiny, but ever increasing sphere.

Which leads to the question, can space eventually exceed or overtake eternity?

How much eternity exists beyond the bounds of space?

Is there a limited eternity, (maybe only 25 miles of eternity, that would certainly affect the effect of the title of the movie classic “From Here to Eternity”, kind of like “From here to Shawnee” or to keep it in tropical paridise “From Peral Harbor to Waimea Bay)?

Or is eternity always just beyond the reaches of space/time, (and well, we might say eternal and infinite)?

Scientists, often naively limit reality to only what is thought to be knowable, or at least may be tested by empirical (carnal) tests.

DSM

From S. Starr:

Subject: 5th dimension?
Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2006 09:24:16 -0500

http://www.deanradin.com/NewWeb/deanradin.html

From my Father H.Starr, Jr.

I looked up some Bible reference for you to ponder, There are numerous verses that mention the heavens and this isn’t all just a few, Acts 2: 34, Ephesians 4: 10, Heb 4: 23, and several in 2 Peter begining at 2 Pet. 3: 10, and finally one that reads third heaven 2 Cor. 12: 2. Again it could mean sometining totally different but it does give reason to ponder.

Acts 2:34
For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
” ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand

Ephesians 4:10
10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)

Hebrews 4:12-14
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Jesus the Great High Priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,[e] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

2nd Peter 3: 10-17

10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.[a]

11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b]That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

14So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

17Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Peter 3:10 Some manuscripts be burned up
2. 2 Peter 3:12 Or as you wait eagerly for the day of God to come

cut and paste this link for more info:

http://www.nah.uiuc.edu/faculty/treaty/FTLcontents.html

On The Case of The American Indian In World History from: “For This Land” by Vine DeLoria Jr. The essay was written some time in the sixties the Book itself is a year or two old. A reviewer of this book wrote,
“This is a book that every American should read, especially Christians, educators and students of religion.”
Vine DeLoria is one of the great interpreters of religion in America. If one can remain a Christian after reading this book, s/he might be a pretty good one.” I agree with this assessment completely as a Christtian and an American Indian. Real truths, especially religious or political truths, are only arrived at when the mind and the beliefs it stores are challenged and contemplated.
This essay definitely brings some very relevant points that bring the breadth and depth of the case into a clearer and more accurate focus.

American Indians are in the situation they are in to this day because of a total inability of the non-Indian Christian world to understand itself. Educational, economic, social and legal problems of Indian peoples stem almost directly from protestant theology and a misapplication of basic
biblical ideas in the arena of political thought. Until the non-Indian peoples understand themselves and the religion they profess to confess, the
situation will grow continually worse. The time may yet come within our lifetime of a genocidal war against American Indians being waged by these same churchgoing Christians who are now obliterating other parts of Southeast Asia. With such a prospect in the offing, is it any wonder that from a variety of sources from within the American Indian community have come voices attempting to raise a variety of issues? For many Indian people understand all too well the inability of the Christian peoples to realize their religion here on Earth as a viable social force. Too many times Indian peoples have seen the humanity of Christianity give way to more abstract forms of oppression by people firmly convinced they are following God’s will. And fanatically determined to carry out God’s will as they are able to understand it, they have perpetuated massacres and theft unparalleled in the history of mankind.
The most drastic error of Protestant theology as applied to the American Indian peoples has been the total inability of the Christians to understandtheir own idea of “covenant”.
Initially, a covenant was a pact between the peoples of two nations whereby the integrity of each nation was pledged to uphold the agreement. A covenant did not give people the right to intrudeon the other partner of the agreement. Indeed, it meant that the spiritual faith of the two peoples was pledged so that the agreement called for the best efforts of the two groups to fulfill the terms of the agreement.
With the development of Christian theology after the death of Jesus the whole idea of The New Covenant permeated explanations of the meaning of life and death of the founder of the religion. Declaring that everyone who accepted the teachings of Jesus, later Paul and still later Luther, the various Christian denominations found in the idea of a New Covenant a community transcending time and space and bound together by a faith in the uniqueness of history as exemplified in the Christian story.
Where the New covenant meant new community, a gathering of saints, a
communion of the saved, to that degree the individuals composing the heavenly city were required to act positively in response to the message they proclaimed to the world and by which they were encouraged to judge the secular world. Thus Christians were told that they had been freed to live in a state of near-grace. By transcending the law and dwelling permanently within covenantal relationship, Christians bound themselves to living a life of creative , a life in which they were not judged solely by their transgressions of law, but by the vision of life in it’s totality toward which they marched.
But, there was no corresponding understanding by Christians taken as a corporate group that they had a duty to incarnate the covenantal life in their relationships with peoples different than themselves. Law quickly replaced covenant and Christianity bogged down to the concept of a god who laboriously recorded each and every transgression of individuals for use in the afterlife when He would exact vengeance. It was this lower conception of divinity and hence society that Christians believed in when the “New World” was “Discovered”. And the early colonial governments reflected ascales-and-balances concept of both law and covenant in their dealings with each other and with their own settlers. Combined with the perversion of covenant was a misapplication of the conceptof Genesis to go forth and multiply and the placement of man as havingdominion over all other species of creation. According to the Genesis legend, when man was given the right to name the animals, he was given dominion over them since by creating their names he had in effect participated in their creation also. As Co-Creator, one might have argued, man had a corresponding responsibility to care for the non-human elements of creation. In tending the garden of Eden, man had a corresponding responsibility to the earth itself to maintain it’s fruitfulness. All of this, particularly the edict of man’s responsibility, was perverted by Christian theologians.
Early in the history of North American exploration, the fundamental responsibilities of Genesis became interpreted as man’s right, and basically
the White Man’s right, to use whatever he wanted and however he wanted to use it. Thus, slavery was justified as God’s rightful contribution to the
economic well being of the Americans, God’s chosen people. Wholesale destruction of forests, the game, the original peoples of the continent were justified as part of god’s plan to subdue and dominate an untamed wilderness. Nowhere was there any sense of stewardship between diverse elements of the new Christian settlers, either collectively or individually, and the continent as they found it.
Within THIS context one can trace the tragic story of the American Indian peoples. The United States and the individual colonies signed treaties with the various tribes at which the faith and good will of the United states and it’s component states was pledged. Missionaries representing the respective denominations attended these treaty signing sessions, each assuring the tribal leaders that if the government of the United States did not uphold the treaty, his church and his God would guarantee them. Indeed, missionaries promised that God himself wanted the tribes to sign the treaties because of his foreordained plan to create cities, suburbs and shopping centers on the North American Continent.
Within the treaty context, then, total faith and good will of the two parties, the Indian tribe and the United states, were pledged. Treaties were covenants of the new lands insofar as they affected the relationships of individuals of the two disparate treaty groups. But, as soon as the treaties were signed, and often before the signing was even official, large groups of settlers following God’s divine command to subjugate the Earth went forth into the reserved Indian lands. The tribes were thus pushed further and further backwards into the interior. At no point was there an acknowledgement by the allegedly religious people of the new nation that once having pledged the faith and validity of their religion, there was a corresponding responsibility to actually uphold the treaty.
The settlement of the continent, therefore, was one in which people, claiming to be divinely inspired members of a New Covenant, refused for a moment to keep their covenantal commitments to people whom they had given them.
Article by article, treaty by treaty, the spiritual faith given by the white Christians was violated in favor of God’s other commandment, also misinterpreted, to subjugate the earth. It is therefore ridiculous to view Indian tribes as a people who do not and probably cannot understand the requirements of either religion or civilization. Both religion and civilization require, for their fundamental integrity, the premise that one can be taken at his word for what that word spiritually represents. Instead history has shown a marvelous ability of the white Christian to quibble on the meanings of specific words contained in treaties and statutes, finding in tortured interpretations of those words the loophole required when one is breaking faith.
In a corresponding development, responsibility to the Earth and it’s creatures has been studiously avoided. Instead, exploitation for the sake of exploitation has been the rule. Property rights have taken precedent over any sense of affinity for living creatures and their rights. The buffalo were exterminated to provide grazing lands for cattle, and misuse of these grazing lands resulted in the creation of the Great Dust Bowl followed by farm programs in which land is kept unproductive in order to maintain a false economy for selected land owners while millions throughout the world starve.
The justification for taking American Indian lands has always been: they are not doing anything with them. Underlying this complaint has been the idea
that the earth itself can have no rest. it also must be exploited and used. There is no responsibility of man not to destroy the world. On the contrary, the more the world can be changed, the theology has run, the more concrete poured, the more freeways, apartment buildings, slums, football stadiums, in short, the more confused edifices created, the better God is pleased. God, then, created the Earth most ineptly. It was fortunate for God that man was available to recreate the world as it should be.
Now, the chickens have come home to roost. The entire Viet Nam fiasco revolves around the question of covenant. To what extent are we bound by our promise to protect the south Viet Nam republic? And the answer has been that we are bound to the point where it becomes our duty, our God given duty, to massacre old men, women and children and babies- for their own good - and for our good, to defend them. When 83% of the citizens of this country, this Christian Country, think that Lt. Calley did right in executing the people at My Lai, then one can see how far from the reality of
what they proclaim, the Christians have drifted in four centuries.
Instead of creating the world in a better way than the Deity- Christian peoples have only succeeded in creating a situation in which mankind may well extinguish itself within a generation unless pollution is controlled. And even that statement is not really correct. Unless the white Christians control pollution, all of mankind, Christian and non-Christian, may become extinct. This obvious fact, rather than the theological fancies of the past, tells us of the relative truth of the genesis legend. For if man was given the right to totally subjugate, then no harm would come to him. such, according to to our best scientific minds, is not and has not been the case. Outside of a massive repentance and a society turned completely around, there appears to be no solution to modern problems. Unless mankind takes it’s responsibilities to the world, and unless Christians take their
responsibilities to non-Christians, as serious and critical calls to action, we really have no future. we will have created our own judgment day far in advance of any divine plans for the event.
In the field of human rights there must be a radical change in the
attitudes. If it has been stated that Indian treaties will be upheld, then it is the responsibility to uphold them. No amount of quibbling over phraseology can change that basic response. If all men are created in God’s image, there should be no question, at least among those alleging to be Christians, to carrying out those programs and projects that will most nearly approximate that condition. The continual bickering over legal sophistries with respect to treaty rights, integration and race relations, welfare, the aged, orphans and burial rights, speaks of a society in which
law and not covenant dominates. That society and it’s members who so loudly proclaim to be members of the covenant, the New Covenant, should either put up or shut up.
Most of us really know what is right. We rarely do it. But, there is a corresponding responsibility on Christians today that faces no other group. For Christians have not only proclaimed that they are right, they have proclaimed that they ALONE are right and that everyone else is wrong. And then they have backed away from their responsibilities to uphold the right. When minority groups have tried to get them to respond in a manner of spiritual commitment to the principles which they proclaim and not the legalistic footnotes behind which they have always hidden, then the
Christians have fought back thinking all efforts to make them live up to their responsibilities are subversive to the great society that they, allegedly with God’s help, have created.
The case of the American Indian is clear and uncomplicated. American Indians suffer because the non-Indians have devised ways and means and rationalized arguments for not keeping their word. Non Indians have violated their covenants with Indian tribes. let them fulfill these treaties and covenants and then come talk to us about problems. for it is then we will be able to discern which problems are our problems and which problems created by non-Indians for us.- END
(
Thus these issues at hand are not part of some ancient or revisionist
history but part of the legacy of HERE and NOW. look at statistics on
social problems within the remnants of Indian communities…it’s sickening, the highest ratios of poverty, mental illness, addiction, disease, suicide…look it up yourself instead of getting your news of the world from cable TV or talk show hosts who tell you all that all this multiculturalist crap is just an angle at raiding your tax dollars. These are the problems that beset a people when they are dehumanized by a white washed version of history and constantly reminded that their ancestors were not really people at all, the continent being empty of real people until 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue and they are not really people now, who deserve to have their treaties and rights upheld and deserve nothing more than a status as cartoonish mascots. Note that the council on race relations that convened under the Clinton administration and did a national tour composed itself of Whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians. Where is the voice of the American Indian today? Nearly wiped out…nearly forgotten…
Do not insult our intelligence by telling us we are all on some theoretical equal playing field nowadays…after the hypocritical dominating culture has
decided how when, where and why the “game” is played. I dare say the
“playing field” would be very different if any philosophical or ideological input had been allowed by minority cultures…What year was it anyway when Blacks or Indians or women respectively were finally allowed to cast a vote?
Land ownership is the basis for all socio political power. Where the
lands of the American Indians have gone so too has gone most of their power, their voice and possible contribution to the betterment of the human race….
However, my father taught me this…The Indian Nations are not a defeated people, but rather, a people still under siege by a force that does not have our spiritual, cultural or ecological best interests at heart. The choice is yours…let it go and have yourself a drink…assimilate and participate in it…or fight it to the very bitter end…Is my choice too obvious? As too the religious aspects of the argument I would simply say that I wonder sometimes how God’s will could be such as to produce this situation…the answer is that it has more to do with man’s will than God’s. It is not the fault of faulty data or religious insight from God, but the twisting of it by prideful man…his freewill that has made things the way they are. It’s
not God’s fault…it’s man’s fault…and I choose to remind people of that and hope they will reassess what they believe and why. So what does modern day America owe the remnants of the American Indians? That is the question it all comes down to every time isn’t it? It is understood that either justice or the honoring of old promises and treaties is still too expensive or at least more than the culture at large is willing to give…How about some truth is history lessons then? Or perhaps a little bit of respect…a little dignity? How about changing the name of the professional football team in the Nation’s capital to something other than “Redskins”? That in itself would be a start. I also encourage the Indian nations such as they
are to move away from the mentality of smoke shops, tourist traps, bingo parlors and casinos. My message to them is that before people will much listen to these kind of rants about the loss and disrespect of our culture- we need to raise the next generation to be something more than drunks, convenience store clerks, bingo callers, cocktail waitresses, blackjack dealers and bickering tribal politicians. It has all the earmarks of a lost cause eh? So what…I’m still going down swinging all the way. I think this is what a man is for in this world…to fight the good fight no matter what the odds….besides I figure my time is better spent doing this than watching TV and filling my head with crap that a person would have to be crazy to give a rip about in the larger context of the meaning of life as a human being in God’s image on this Earth.)
S. Starr

native american

The question, “How Do I Know What God’s Plan For My Life Is?”, is often batted around in places of worship and Christian literature. Both contibutors to this blog as well as several other people I know or am related to have often struggled with this question. Another question often heard is How do I REALLY know if God is prompting me to a certain course of action? These are indeed legitimate questions. As atheists and critics of people of faith and religion are quick to point out- God does not seem to talk to us through burning bushes or blinding flashes of light these days. Most people raise their eyebrows and wax suspicious when someone claims that God has directly told them anything.

Without going into a lengthy treatise abouty how God interfaces with man and how one develops discernment I will say that the sermon I heard this morning gave some very practical advice on how a person can detrmine what God’s plan for them might be. First let me say that I am a firm believer in freewill. I do not believe that God is like some cosmic movie director with a folding chair , a shooting script and a bullhorn who gets upset when we break character or diverge from the predetermined storyline. I do believe that God simply wants us to be who WE want to be as long as he hold Him at the center of all that we do.

With these qualifications spoken- here is the lesson outline from this morning’s sermon about how one can ascertain God’s plan. I understood that this outline was developed by an Instructor at Oklahoma Christian University for incoming college students struggling with this question. Its is in my estimation very practical:

1. What do I want to do?

2. What am I willing to do?

3. What needs to be done (in a Biblical perspective)

4. What do I have the capacity to do?

5. What do I have the opportunity to do?

6. What do my most spiritual friends and/or mentors think I should do?

7. Where is the convergence on these points?

Next, determine the course and GO FOR IT.

I personally think that this is very solid advice.

In my own life I find myself pointed directly toward working to reconcile Native American Indians, their worldview and life philosophy with the Father of all life, the true and ideologically undefiled teachings of the Bible and to Christ… the One , the only One that can bridge the gap between God and man and to convey to them that they DO have a seat at the table and a role to play in God’s Kingdom and in culture at large.

Blessings upon thee.

Think eternally. Act spiritually.