My Pontification

I just finished the book “Holy Sex!” by Gregory K. Popcak, PH.D and in light of the “Contraception: Why Not?” series of posts, I thought i would share an excerpt from the book that I enjoyed.  It caused me to think back to the post “Contraception: Why Not? (Part 19)” where Professor Janet E. Smith asks where we get our immortal soul from if there is no immortal soul in either the sperm or the egg?  Of course the answer is from God, He creates the immortal soul in every being.  I just really enjoyed how the following excerpt was expanding on that point:

“God loves loving.  Love is what God does best, but a lover isn’t much good without a beloved.  This is why God seems to be endlessly fascinated with creating new things.  It gives him more to love.

G. K. Chesterton once observed that God delights in creation because he loves it so much and loves creating more to love.  In his book Orthodoxy, Chesterton writes,

                It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening “Do it again” to the moon.  It may not be automatic necessity that makes the daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never gotten tired of making them.  It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.  The repetition in Nature may not be mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.  Heaven may encore the bird who laid an egg.  If the human being conceives and brings forth a human child instead of bringing forth a fish, or a bat, or a griffin, the reason may not be that we are fixed in an animal fate without life or purpose.  It may be that our little tragedy has touched the gods, that they admire it from their starry galleries, and that at the end of every human drama man is called again and again before the curtain.

Perhaps this is one of the things Jesus meant when he told us that unless we became like little children we could not enter the kingdom of heaven (Luke 18:15-17).  Children never get tired of creating and of repeating a good thing.  Neither does God.  It is only we sinful, jaded adults who see a field of flowers and think “parking garage” or see a baby and think “second mortgage.”  By contrast, if a small child – or God – sees the same field of flowers or the same baby, they both think, “Yeah! Do it again!”

Who do you think is living more authentically?

Even though God is completely sufficient on his own, God loves creating, and God especially loves to create people.  As the Church tells us, the human being is “the only creature on earth whom God willed for its own sake” (Gaudium et Spes). Why?  Because we are the only creatures he gets to spend an eternity loving.  We are the only earthly beings built to last, so to speak.  One can only guess that for God it is a joy beyond words to create creatures whom he can love eternally.  This same God, who generously longs to share all of his joy with us, gives husbands and wives a taste of the particular joy that is creating and loving the creation by inviting us to bring his children into the world.”

 -Holy Sex! By Gregory K. Popcak, PH.D. pages 149 & 150

Although we cannot create a new and unique person on our own, I do find it truly amazing that God brings us along in the creation processes.  What an opportunity to experience God’s creative power through the mystery of life.  To live this experience has got to be a gift designed to reconnect us to our creator.

Another catchy title eh?  As I stated in “Contraception Preamble“, I would provide my comments to this series of posts either as actual comments to each post or in a separate post.  Well, sense you are reading this it would be safe to say I chose the latter of the two options.  Enjoy!

My thoughts on “Contraception: Why Not? (part 1)” were really just two questions I asked myself.  The first was in reference to Professor Smiths wanting to talk about the “difference between the modern and Christian views of sexuality”.  I asked myself if there really was a difference today?  I am not sure there is and maybe that’s the problem.  The era of my parents and especially my grand parents were an era that saw a difference in divorce rates between the churched and un-churched in society.  As I was growing up the difference was definitely eroding very quickly and today there is no real difference in the divorce rate between the churched and un-churched.  Although I have no idea if this translates over to the rates of extra marital affairs and in general sex outside of marriage I am going to guess that it does (if anyone knows the rates I would love to know).  Either way, for me I do not think there is much of a difference today in how Christians view sexuality and modern society views sexuality.

My second question was in Professor Smiths claim that contraception has altered our view of sexuality.  The more I thought about it I had to agree that it has.  The real question is not has it altered our view but in what way, a positive way or a negative way?

The only thoughts that I had on “Contraception: Why Not? (part 2)” was in relation to Professor Smiths discussion of declining population numbers and the impact on Government services.  It reminded me that in parts of Europe Governments are actually “bribing” (my term) their population to have babies.  There are cash incentives offered if you will have children.  This is offered regardless of if you use the Government health services or private health services.  With all the apparent desire by Americans to have more Government services in their life such as socialized health care I can’t help but think we (America) should be encouraging more births, not less.  Maybe Americans should not be ridiculing or deriding people for having more than two children.  After all, society will need all these children to support Americans ever increasing appetite for Government services.

For “Contraception: Why Not? (part 3)” I found myself contemplating God’s first command to man kind – “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”.  I wonder if that command is still in affect?  Some people will say no, others will say yes and still others may say that we have fulfilled the command once we have had “x” number of kids.  Something I keep coming back to is how God created the male and female body to function sexually.  This is especially true in how the female body physically functions in a sexual way.  There are very specific functions that the female body does to aid in getting pregnant.  It does not matter if the woman is using contraception or not, the body does and reacts the same way because that is how it was created.  On top of that, God created a beginning (puberty) and an end (menopause) for women.  So could it be that God had and still has a plan for our fertility separate from the plan that modern society has for our fertility?  If so then the next logical question is what is God’s expectation for our use and responsibility of our fertility?

Originally this was just going to be a comment on Dana’s husband’s blog but four paragraphs later I realized it was actually a follow-up to my January 10th post called The Relatioinship Factor.  So here you go, I turned it into a post instead of a comment.

Although we may reach someone from time to time by giving them a pamphlet or sending out fliers to siminars, the truth is we will reach very few folks – not that they are still not important, but we will have very little impact and it allows us to withdraw or disengage from the process.  The truth is we MUST reach out through relationships.  Don’t get me wrong, you can’t just act good and have people “fall at Christ’s feet”.  Without the realtionship you will have less impact and less interest in hearing what you have to say.  With a relationship, people will know you more and be more open to discuss what you believve than they might be otherwise.  That does not mean that you never talk about Christ unless you first form a realtionship; it means that we should be in the relationship building business and open to sharing what we believe with or without the relationship.  But, far too often churches and people fall for the discomforting notion that witnessing is pounding on doors, or handing out pamphlets or mailing lists.

That was never the example that Christ set.  I would also like to point out that a relationship is not necessarily being someone’s “BFF”.  Do you have a relationship with your co-workers?  You may not go out and hang out after work, but you do have a “relationship” with that person.  Maybe the important question is what type of relatiohsip do we have with that person.

God brought the israelites up out of Egypt and anointed them a kingdon of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:5).  He wanted them to be “God” to those around them.  Christ raised up 12 people to go out after him and to be christ to those around them, to do what he did here on earth.  Our mandate is no different than it was for the disciples or the Israelites and all of us have been called up out of “our” own Egypt of pain and suffering to minister to those around us living in “their” Egypt.

There has been study’s on the subject of new church converts and the retention rate.  What has been discovered is that the single most important factor in new church converts remaining in the church at the end of one year is directly tied to the number of friends (relationships) they have in the church.  Now I’m not talking about interesting statistics, I am talking about “bet your money” type odds.  Human beings crave human intereaction; we were created with a social fiber woven through our DNA – God created us as social beings, beings in need of a relationship; a relationship with each other and a realtionship with our Creator.

God IS in the relationship business and we have been called to join him in the family business.

The purpose of prayer is not for God to give us His presents, the purpose of prayer is for God to give us His presence.  -Bob Schwahn, Campus Crusade * Journey Church

Previously I made a post called “Grace On Display Through Creation” which caused one commenter to question “our” role in receiving grace.  For some time now I just was not entirely sure how to respond or even if I needed to respond.  I’m still not sure about the latter, but while reading from the same book today (yes I am a very slow reader) I had a thought and have decided to throw it into cyber space.

Grace must exist before repentance or it cannot cover even the deepest desire for forgiveness.  Without grace first salvation would be by works through personal effort instead of by grace through faith alone.  Paul says it best in Ephesians 2:8 when he says “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (NASB).  Notice it is a “gift of God”.  If you do something for it first, it cannot be a gift but instead becomes a reward or even worse, a payment for services rendered. 

Finally, without grace there can be no true repentance for it is through the undeserved gift of grace that we want to repent and receive forgiveness.  It is through His grace that we can truly serve Christ and only through His grace that we can show grace towards others.

I am currently reading the book “Searching for the God of Grace” by Stuart Tyner (ISBN: 0-8163-2152-3). I think grace is one of those spiritual topics many of us struggle with. All too often we want to use the word “but” after the word “grace”, usually in word or in action. Sometimes we do not even realize that our actions or even our thoughts are still focused on works but upon careful review, there it is – salvation by works more than grace. Anyhow, Stuart Tyner has a great way of looking at the creation story as it relates to grace. So I thought I would simply share it with you, you can find this on page 63 of his book:

     With profound significance, the biblical story of the human race begins without one human being anywhere in sight. Deliberately, the story informs us, God waits to create Adam and Eve until the entire physical world is ready to be given as a thoughtful, bountiful gift.
     It didn’t have to be that way.
     It could have started out with a lot of hard work on our part. God could have decided that what we needed most was to have nothing given to us, nothing free, nothing except what we worked and sweated for, what we earned and deserved. “Here are your supplies,” God might have said to Adam and Eve at the beginning of Creation week. “Here is a stockpile of raw materials: carbon, hydrogen, a puff of oxygen, a pile of dirt, a shovel, a hammer, and a bucket of nails. What you put together is what you get to live with. An urban jungle or an Edenic garden – it’s up to you. That’s the way your world is going to work. Might as well get used to it from day one.”
     God might have said that to Adam and Eve. But He didn’t.
     Instead, He did all the work. “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). ” ‘The hand of the Lord has done this; the Holy One of Israel has created it’ ” (Isaiah 41:20). “Without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3). “All things were created by him” (Colossians 1:16).
     If you accept the Bible’s assertion that “all these things … were written for our admonition” (1 Corinthians 10:11, NKJV) and that the Bible’s stories are able to make us “wise for salvation” (2 Timothy 3:15), then seizing the salvific significance of the Creation story becomes crucial: God saves us the same way He creates us – without our help! “Creation is already redemption.”

Now if that is to “wordy” for you and you need something else more simple, then how about the 5 point plan of salvation? You can find this on page 64 of the same book:

1. God does all the work (Genesis 1:1, 31).
2. God gives His work as a gift (Genesis 1:27 – 30).
3. The recipients of the gift disobey and then run away and try to hide from God 
    (Genesis 3:1 – 8).
4. God pursues the ones who are running away (Genesis 3:9 – 13).
5. God promises to take care of the problem caused by separation (Genesis 3:15).

There you have it, the long and the short of it – personally I like the long version.

            If you were granted an afternoon with the heavenly being of your choice, who would it be?  Would you choose Jesus?  Or perhaps you would say God but picture Jesus in your mind.  Take out a piece of paper and fold it in half.  On one half write Jesus and on the other half write God.  Now under the heading Jesus, write down words to describe Jesus.  Describe his personality and character, as you would perceive them to be.  Now do the same for God.

            Is this not the most compassionate and beautiful thing you have ever read?  As far as I can tell, there is no biblical record of God doing this for any one else.  Not King David; a man after God’s own heart, or even Abraham who almost plunged a knife into the soft living flesh of his only son.  Could the reason for this be that no one ever asked?  Is this not the ultimate wish one could make of their God?  The ultimate desire, to see God’s face in all his Glory!  Was not God’s answer the ultimate blessing?  When you reveal your desires to God what do YOU ask for?  Perhaps a new car or a better job, maybe even to use you for his glory.  But when was the last time you desired to see God’s face?  It is my hope that each of you will desire to see all of God’s glory, to see God’s face.  May you take your hearts desire to our loving and mighty God, reveal them to him.  Let God reveal his graciousness and compassion so you may more fully receive the loving blessing’s he has for you.

Most all of my posts to date have been political or news in nature. However, I have spent the greater part of today contemplating more spiritual issues, so that is what I shall post on. At one point I had sent an email to a friend thanking them for their friendship and expressing the value that I found in our friendship. One of the aspects that I felt added to the depth and value to our friendship was our ability, and even desire, to occasionally discuss spiritual issues. I would say spiritual discussions are not something I typically have with people and the more I think about it, the more I believe that spiritual discussions or acknowledgment opens us up for pain and sorrow. We may become the target of disdain, bigotry or even ostracism, none of which we do well with. Just like a rejection from a lover or potential lover can cause us to become withdrawn and protective, so it is with religion and spirituality – primarily in regards with one’s own relationship with God.

My tendency to guard or “hide” my beliefs and degree in which I have may have come back to haunt me. I never gave it a lot of thought, but I stumbled across a couple of texts in the book of Luke which has caused me some discomfort and food for thought.

“And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. (Luk 12:8-9 ESV)

Could it be that my failure to acknowledge my faith in Jesus Christ has resulted in Christ denying me before the angels of God? Then again, how much faith do I actually posses if I am not compelled to speak of it? If one truly holds a strong faith in something, do they not usually speak of it in a fairly open and determined manner? Perhaps we have a society whose faith lacks a connection with reality, causing us to live a guarded and quiet existence, not sure of our faith at all.

Then again, maybe this is all me and just my problem exploited by an overactive mind.

I’m afraid I rarely examine my blessings, at least outside of the obvious.  I guess it’s just human nature.  However events this Christmas caused me to take just a fraction more notice.  What got me started on this path of “blessing” examination were a few events that came about on Christmas Eve.  First was the news of a couple of families that basically became split up on Christmas Eve for one reason or another.  The thought of children and wives/mothers suddenly and unexpectedly finding themselves alone and without a husband and a father drilled down into my soul.  It’s not right and yet it happens, it happens probably a lot but since we are wrapped up in our own brief moment of bliss we fail to notice unless it’s us or someone close to us.  The second opportunity for examining my blessings was a family that my work decided to take Christmas to.  The employee’s provided the family with presents and one family provided groceries for the Christmas dinner.  It got me to thinking about what is probably a very thin line of separation between my family and the family that was helped. 

You see I have just turned 35 and find myself and my family living at my folk’s house while we get back up and on our feet.  I have not thought too often about how this is more of a blessing then a frustration but truth be told God has provided.  May of this year found me wearing a graduation gown with no job, no more financial aid money, and a family.  Oh and did I mention we had to find a new place to live by June?  Well it was pretty daunting.  June arrived and we were living in a camper at the in-laws and still no job.  Finally I found a job in another city and so we moved again, this time to my parents.

The city we moved to has the highest cost of living – food and housing so we still find ourselves living with my parents.  But, without family we would be living on the street.  I have a job and whether we like it or not, we have a place to live.  We have food to eat, my family is together and like most American’s, we spent too much money on presents and candy.  In truth I have many things to be thankful for and yet I have just barely scratched the surface of “blessing contemplation”.