Theology Matters 2

Reflection Questions

1. The video talks about some of the differences between the view of the world espoused by classical Newtonian physics (e.g., mechanistic, perfect, timeless, unchanging, etc.) and the worldview necessitated by thermodynamics (e.g., changing, decaying, dying, etc.) How do you think these different understandings of physics have affected the the incidence of faith or belief? Does one view seem to "fit" better with the idea of God (or with the idea of no god) than the other?

A new generation of mathematicians and philosophers were convinced if only they could solve the problems and paradoxes that had defeated Cantor, maths could be made perfect again. The most prominent among them, Hilbert, declared: "the definitive clarification of the nature of the infinite has become necessary for the honor of human understanding itself." They were so concerned to find some kind of certainty. They had come to believe that the only kind of understanding that was really worth anything was the logical and the provable.

2. What do you think of Hilbert's declaration?

3. What's so bad about believing that the only kind of understanding worth anything is the logical and the provable?

Cantor had dislodged the pebble which would, one day, start a landslide. For him, it had all been held together the—paradoxes resolved—in God. But what holds our ideas together when God is dead? Without God, the pebble is dislodged and the avalanche is unleashed; And World War I had killed God.

4. Is it necessary for our ideas to hold together?

5. The claim that "World War I...killed God" is certainly not new. I'd like to know what you think of that claim. What do you think it means? Is it valid or not?

Theology Matters 1

What you’re about to read is a pilot program. It’s an attempt to address a fundamental danger facing the Church in America. Below is an excerpt from the proposal letter I sent to our elders—in case you’d like to understand a little better why we’re doing these lessons. The first three clips of the documentary Dangerous Knowledge follow. Later this week, I will post some thought questions to guide your reflection before next Sunday. As always, if you have any suggestions for improving the class, please don’t hesitate to share.

One of the greatest needs in churches today is for Christians to receive thorough grounding in a Christian worldview. This is a bit of a new challenge for American churches. For most of our history, we have existed in a society that tacitly (if not overtly) accepted and reinforced basic presuppositions about the world and life that can properly be considered “Christian” (e.g., that the Bible is an authoritative text and ought to be treated so; that there is, in fact, such a being as “God” etc.) Such cultural presuppositions enabled earlier generations to focus sermons, Bible classes, and personal work largely (if not exclusively) on things like the proper mode of baptism, organization of the church, etc. However, such questions are ONLY relevant if the person one is speaking to has already accepted a “Christian worldview”.

It seems that the shared worldview of earlier generations is, if not gone already, eroding very quickly. No longer is it enough to answer the question “What does the Bible say?” for there are many people who simply do not accept that the Bible is a unique book. It is not enough to ask someone what they think God would have them do, for there is no common consent that such a being even exists.

This is an issue that I am deeply concerned about. It is not the sort of challenge that can be effectively dealt with in one or two sessions...nor even in a sermon series. The reason for this is because worldviews are constructed over a long period of time and are the result of a great variety of factors/inputs. Very often, the groundwork for the dissolution of faith is laid without people being aware of its presence. Consequently, I propose that the church would benefit from an ongoing class dealing with larger issues than the exegesis of a particular text. I envision this as a class that would cut across and integrate a variety of disciplines (e.g., theology, physics, logic, biology, history, hermeneutics, etc.)

Reflection Questions

If all that Cantor had seen was mathematics, then his story would be of limited interest; But from the beginning, Cantor realized his work had far wider significance…Cantor’s god was the Creator God…the god who set the planets spinning in their orbits. Whose mysteries were the eternal and perfect laws of motion.

Had Cantor been teaching in a theology department, his work would have been classified as “natural theology.”

1. What does this term mean? What do you think is the proper relationship (if any) between natural theology and special revelation?
2. Are there limitations to “Cantor’s god”?

What was inspiring for Cantor, frightened his critics. They saw mathematics as the pursuit of clarity and certainty. Everything Cantor was doing…seemed to them to be eating away at certainty. He soon faced a deep and implacable hostility.

3. What does Cantor teach us about the consequences of pursuing truth? Is it “worth it” to investigate?
4. What is “faith” and is it essential for human life? Why or why not?

Of God and Men

Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for these people anymore. When they fast, I will pay no attention. When they present their burnt offerings and grain offerings to Me, I will not accept them. Instead, I will devour them with war, famine, and disease.”

Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, their prophets are telling them, ‘All is well—no war or famine will come. The Lord will surely send you peace.’”

Then the Lord said, “These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I will punish these lying prophets, for they have spoken in my name even though I never sent them. They say that no war or famine will come, but they themselves will die by war and famine! As for the people to whom they prophesy—their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and war. There will be no one left to bury them. Husbands, wives, sons, and daughters—all will be gone. For I will pour out their own wickedness on them. Now, Jeremiah, say this to them:

“Night and day my eyes overflow with tears.
I cannot stop weeping,
for my virgin daughter—my precious people—
has been struck down
and lies mortally wounded.
If I go out into the fields,
I see the bodies of people slaughtered by the enemy.
If I walk the city streets,
I see people who have died of starvation.
The prophets and priests continue with their work,
but they don’t know what they’re doing.” -- Jer. 14:11-18

As with so much else in the ministry of Jeremiah, this oracle presents a number of stark challenges to the vision of God and ministry prevalent in the minds of many Christians. To be frank, I do not know how to square all of this with the example of Jesus...but I know that it MUST be squared. We cannot act as if the God Jeremiah served is somehow different from the One we serve. That would be Marcionism. We cannot claim that God Himself somehow changed His fundamental character between Testaments (i.e., that God "became a Christian" and consequently changed all the rules of His interactions with Creation.)

With so many questions, then, what word(s) for our upcoming week can we gain from this passage? It seems to me there are at least three or four points worthy of our quiet moment ponderings:

1. God CAN change. This stands in sharp contrast to the vision most of us carry of a God who is eternally "immutable" (just a big word meaning that He never changes). The doctrine of God's immutability comes out of Greek philosophy and early on was wedded to Christian doctrine. Additionally, there are passages of Scripture which, when taken by themselves, seem to explicitly teach the doctrine of immutability. Unfortunately, too much of the rest of Scripture informs us that God can...and frequently does...change. When God became flesh in Jesus...was that not a change? When God died in Jesus...was that not a change, too? And if God cannot change, then why do we ever pray and ask Him to do (or refrain from doing) anything at all?

2. God loves us unconditionally...but there are purposes in the universe of more weight than satisfying our human cravings. Just because we are the most-loved part of Creation, that does not mean that humanity is center or the purpose of Creation. All that is exists with the purpose of glorifying and serving God...not the other way around. Jeremiah's message, again, suggests that we may so rebel against God that we forfeit our right to be called His people.

3. People have always found prophets who tell them they've nothing to repent of, and that God is quite pleased with their lives just as they are. Worse yet, we have a dangerous tendency to seek out the voices that preach "all is well--no war or famine will come. The LORD will surely send you peace." This is an inherent danger of having ministers who are financially beholden to the congregations they minister to. It is the rare church that can hear...that is willing to hear...a less-than-adulatory message from its preacher. Yet, if we learn anything from Jeremiah it is that greater disaster might very well have been averted had the people been willing to listen to the hard truths he spoke.

No doubt, many could find fault with the three points I have outlined. And I will be the first to admit that there are problems with each of these points. As I said at the beginning, I make no claim to have all the answers on these topics. Indeed, the older I get, the more convinced I am that the most profound truths of God and our relationship to Him simply CANNOT be put into words...they can only be lived...experienced. I ask, then, that you consider my three points not as doctrinal propositions to be either refuted in debate, or committed to rote like a catechism. Rather, take them as lenses with which to understand your experience of life and your walk with God. Try them on. See if they make the picture clearer and your steps surer. Don't staple them to your head, as it may be they are not the lenses you need right now...but don't throw them away either. If Jeremiah and Judah needed these lenses in their lives, it's a fair bet that you will--someday--need them in your own.