Just How Stupid ARE you?

I have watched an inexplicable phenomenon since the 80s that I can only attribute to rage induced insanity.  (I guess that would mean 'not guilty by reason of temporary insanity.")

In every presidential election, there is a sizable group of people who say, "I absolutely will not, under any circumstances, vote for THAT person, even if they are the only choice."

If you are ever tempted to say this, first say to yourself, "I would rather have the WORST POSSIBLE candidate, than not have the one I wanted."  Now, doesn't that sound just a LITTLE bit insane?

Assuming that you do indeed believe that one political party is (at least marginally) better for the country than the other, do the math!  'Less than the best' is still far better than 'worst.'

Remember.  If you do not vote for 'our' guy, that is at least one half of a vote for 'their' guy.

For the next four years, do you really want to be 'not guilty by reason of temporary insanity.'

Walking Through Life With Your Eyes Closed

Legalism disturbs me.  In theological or secular terms, legalism is not the search for truth.  Legalism is a declaration of ABSOLUTE truth where there may not be any such thing.

I have no issue with respect for the truth.  I believe that there ARE incontestable truths.

I consider myself to be a Conservative Fundamentalist.  However, a Fundamentalist is NOT a Literalist.    A Literalist is, by definition, a Legalist.  A Fundamentalist is someone who believes that there are incontestable fundamental principles.  A Legalist is someone who believes that there is only one valid and acceptable interpretation of each individual detail.

It's not what you know that will hurt you...  It's what you know that just ain't so!

My book Following The Cloud will not be promoted by the Hiram Bookstore because contained in that book is the suggestion that the Earth might be more than 6018 years old!  I include everything from the Reformation to Quantum Physics and THAT'S the issue!?!  I was astonished to find that the owner of a bookstore with tens of thousands of books on every subject could object to such a thought. I was further amazed to find that he had no willingness to even consider any alternate possibilities.  In fact, there seemed to be a fear of considering any alternate interpretations to those that he already had.  The overt excuse he gave was that he might offend some Southern Baptist pastors that frequently come into his store.  But he revealed his real uncertainty when he said that believing that the Earth was older than 6018 years old "was a slippery slope".  What?  If you find out that a number somewhere is not what you thought it was, you can no longer believe in Jesus Christ?  That is a very weak faith.

I know for a fact that Southern Baptist pastors are NOT required to believe that the Earth is 6018 years old.  I took an Old Testament theology course in a Southern Baptist seminary class with 30 Southern Baptist pastors.  I listened to a Southern Baptist Theology professor explain the original Hebrew in Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.  The Bible begins by saying, "In the beginning, GOD created the Heavens and the Earth."  Genesis 1:2, which is traditionally translated, "and the Earth was without form, and void...", can be read, in the original Hebrew, "and the Earth became without form and void."  The interpretation of that one word introduces numerous possibilities.  There is no actual suggestion of the specific elapsed time between the original creation and the beginning of the current cycle of creation.  From the beginning of Genesis to the end of The Revelation, the Bible presents GOD as the sole Author, Creator, and Sustainer of everything that was, is, or ever will be.  Whether the Earth is 6 thousand or 6 billion years old does not change that.

In every aspect of my life, I am required to analyze - to find out how things work.  As an engineer, what I choose to believe had better agree with what is.  If it does not, I might endanger the machine that I am designing and the lives of the people using it.  There are practical, physical, moral, and legal implications surrounding my understanding of the world and the rules that God has created to govern it.  Likewise, as a Christian and a theologian, I am encouraged to understand the underlying principles that God has established to govern His Creation.  I do not need to be afraid that I will discover a scientific principle that will invalidate the sovereignty of God.  My faith is not a blind faith.  I am not required to close my eyes to what is around me.  At the same time, I am not required to believe every scientific theory.  (This requires the ability to distinguish between theory and fact - not something everyone is qualified to do.)

"If the King James Version was good enough for Paul and Silas, it's good enough for me!"  (old joke - still relevant)  God has given us analytical tools to discern reality.  He has given us the tools to distinguish between theory and fact.  In the physical realm, those tools include thousands of specialized measuring instruments.   In the theological realm, God has given us the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to discern what is so.  The Old Law in the Old Testament was based on ten simple principles (not, "The Ten Commandments", but "The Ten Words).  God was not commanding us to do or not to do ten things - He was telling us how things were.  The Old Law developed into an intricate and convoluted set of laws and regulations because Jesus had not yet brought the Holy Spirit and made the Gifts of the Holy Spirit available to every believer.

Legalistically closing your eyes to what is around you is crippling.  You build fences that are unnecessarily limiting.  You will miss many of the wonders of the world around you.  Your efforts will be wasted on needless crusades over issues that may not even exist.  Figuratively, you will walk out into traffic without looking.

Southern Baptists are missing many of the analytical tools that they need to discern theory from fact because they have rejected the pentecostal manifestation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Their particular edition of the King James Version of the Bible in English does not supersede the interpretation of the original Hebrew or Greek that it was written in!  And the original document, even though it was inspired by God, still reflected the limitations of the original (non-technical) languages and the understanding of the original (non-technical) authors.  What is revealed to us in the Bible is NOT WRONG - but it was never intended to be a physics textbook or a complete, detailed, technical manual on the whole universe.  God has left us the tools and discretion to determine those things for ourselves.  Use them!

Carrying Burdens Lightly

Even though Jesus's burden was the sin and salvation of the whole world, He said "my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  We have a lot of heavy responsibilities in today's chaotic world, but we need to be able to carry them lightly.  (Much easier said than done.)

One aspect of carrying burdens lightly is the ability to find humor in the midst of difficulty.  In a painful, embarrassing, or stressful situation, I have always said, "you can laugh or you can cry," - meaning that you will do one or the other.  But I just realized that there is a third alternative...  You can bring an AK47 to work for show and tell and let everyone know how you really feel!

Half Full or Half Empty?

The optimist says “the glass is half full.”

The pessimist say “the glass is half empty.”

The engineer says “the glass was conservatively specified to have a service factor of two to one.”

Focus vs. Depth of Field

The ability to hear the subtle whisper of the Holy Spirit is a lot like following a trail made in a forest by deer or other animals. Up close, there is no evidence that anything has disturbed the homogenous layer of leaves or grass or the scattering of sticks and other debris on the forest floor. Even clues as obvious as tracks are extremely difficult to detect unless they are out in the open or in sand or mud. Typical trails can only be seen from a certain distance. A wider focus is necessary in order to detect the subtle patterns in the disturbance of the random chaotic distribution of fallen leaves that indicates purpose and direction. Anyone skilled in wood lore has literally learned to see the forest as well as the trees. They have especially trained themselves to appreciate the wealth of information that is conveyed by the trails in the woods. They know that most trails lead directly to a place of food, water, or shelter for the animals that created the trail. In the same manner, if we learn to detect it, God’s gentle whispering voice will reveal a path that will guide us, feed us, and shelter us – spiritually and physically. (excerpt from Following The Cloud, p. 6)

On my job, I am constantly admonished to “Focus” – pay close attention to the little details that cause larger issues. After analyzing a recent mistake that I had to correct, I realized that the problem is not “focus” at all, it’s “depth of field”. In the field of photography, depth of field refers to the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp. A lens can precisely focus at only one distance at a time, but the fuzziness is gradual on each side of the focused distance, so that within the depth of field, the lack of focus is imperceptible under normal viewing conditions.

Working in AutoCAD especially encourages zooming in very close on the details to get them absolutely perfect. I realized that I had been so focused on the details (the precision of the individual lines) that I couldn’t see the whole components that interfered with each other. “Wider focus” refers to depth of field. In everything that we do, we need to broaden our focus. We need to be able to see the forest as well as the trees. We need to be able to see the whole machine as well as the individual parts. To successfully follow the path in any woods, we need to have just the right depth of field.

Everything has a price

The wise man built his house on the rock.  The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

The foolish man built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.

The wise man continued to make his house payments on time, but the government and the economic times made it more and more difficult.  The burden was great, for great had been the cost of anchoring to the rock.

The foolish man let the bank foreclose and walked away.

And the moral of the story is...  uh...  Hold on, give me a minute...