Grant Posted on his blog and at the Pub on a question of scriptural interpretation when faced with scientific questions. John responded, and Grant continued his discussion. I think there is more going on here than meets the eye:

In his anthology of essays entitled “The Weight of Glory”, CS Lewis writes “Is Theology Poetry?” During the ’40s and ’50s, scientists wrote off scripture as “mere poetry” rather than permitting it to say something true about the world.

This exemplifies several schools of thought that are now active in this discussion – even here on this site.

School 1: [Modern Scientific Naturalism] Theology (and, by extension, Scripture) is “mere poetry”, and therefore, while it is made up of pretty-sounding words, does not have anything (or much of anything) true to say about the world. (Traditional Science Anti Theology as Non-Science)

School 2: [Modern Fundamentalism] Theology (and, by extension, Scripture) is a better scientific framework in which to work than Scientific Naturalism. Theology is not poetry, because poetry doesn’t talk about Truth. Therefore, not only is Scripture a scientific document, but we are to fit anything we find into its literal understanding. Anything we find that doesn’t line up is “bad data” or “misinterpreted.” The Bible isn’t poetry, it is fact. (Scripture as Science Anti Traditional Science)

School 3: [Modern Conservatism] Theology (and, by extension, Scripture) is a mixture of poetic metaphor and “cold hard facts.” Poetry can, in fact, describe truth, but to find that truth, we take our poetry largely at face value. This means we examine poetry for the truth framework behind it, and use that to describe how Science and Theology can mesh. (Scientific Harmonizing of Traditional Science and Theology’s Scientific Aspects)

School 4: [Modern Peacekeeping] Theology is poetry, and that poetry speaks of truth that Science cannot understand. Scripture is Theology. Nevertheless, Science speaks of truth Poetry could never describe. Scripture was written before Science; therefore, it doesn’t play by Science’s rules. They talk about two different things, therefore, they both can coexist, but one cannot accuse the other of anything problematic. (Peaceful coexistence of Theology and Science as long as no one encroaches on the other’s territory)

School 5: [Postmodern Sacramental] Theology is poetry, and Poetry is inherently true. The truth will probably not be found on its surface. The sub-surface nature of truth means that there can be a number of valid interpretations, because all we have to work with is the surface and the truth of the poetry is a mystery that is beyond us. At the same time, Scripture is an ancient set of documents produced by the people of God through God for the people of God, written in an ancient mindset to ultimately describe truth, but not in written form. Truth is a person, the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we do not access truth through documentary analysis but through getting to know the person Jesus Christ. Science, too, is poetry, describing things that aren’t quite measurable, since the act of measurement changes the thing being measured. Nevertheless, we describe the truth within the confines of our philosophical perspective, which includes Science and Scripture. Therefore, our Theology describes the Truth- the Person of Jesus Christ – through the ancient Scriptures, the history of God with his People, and through our current cultural-philosophical understanding. While Scripture is still Canon (i.e., the measuring stick) it is a component part with Science, language, culture, experience and history in a Theology that ultimately describes Jesus Christ. As any person is, he can only be quantified when he is dead, thus missing key components of who he is. Therefore, much remains a mystery (Latin, Sacramentum). (Theology describes Truth Poetically as a living person using whatever means are at its disposal: Scriptural, Scientific or otherwise.)

School 6: [Postmodern Agnosticism] Poetry describes what is real. So does Science. But we can’t see enough to describe it well. It’s hard to know anything. So can we even know anything at all? Both Science and Theology are bunk. The Bible is an old book. Go with what feels right. That’s all you can trust. Either party on or destroy yourself. (Theology, Scripture, and Science are pointless because we can’t know anything.)

These six schools of thought are all active in the discussion. Part of the reason we talk past each other is because we don’t realize that. I suspect Grant’s question is either #3, #4 or #5 addressing #2 or #3. John clearly answers with #3 with a touch of #4. It’s not clear from Grant’s question whether he’s coming from #3 or not. Somehow John assumes a little #1 in Grant’s response.

I offer #5 as a genuine alternative because it removes the frame that created the problematic question in the first place. First, it doesn’t equate Theology and Scripture. Second, it doesn’t put them in opposition to Science. Third, it acknowledges that our outlook shapes our theology. Fourth, it permits truth to exist poetically without analysis.

Thoughts?

Each year, Beloit College issues a list of topics and issues that describe the mindset of the incoming Freshman class. This gives us a good indicator of how our current 18-year-olds might think.

Here it is:

BELOIT COLLEGE RELEASES THE BELOIT COLLEGE MINDSET LIST
FOR THE CLASS OF 2009

Beloit, Wis.—In the coming weeks, millions of students will be entering college for the first time. On average, these members of the Class of 2009 will be 18 years old, which means they were born in 1987. Starbucks, souped-up car stereos, telephone voicemail systems, and Bill Gates have always been a part of their lives.

Each August, as students start to arrive, Beloit College releases the Beloit College Mindset List, which offers a world view of today’s entering college students. It is the creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Director of Public Affairs Ron Nief.

McBride, who directs Beloit’s First Year Initiatives (FYI) program for entering students, notes that “This year’s entering students have grown up in a country where the main business has become business, and where terrorism, from obscure beginnings, has built up slowly but surely to become the threat it is today. Cable channels have become as mainstream as the ‘Big 3′ used to be, formality in dress has become more quaint than ever, and Aretha Franklin, Kermit the Frog and Jimmy Carter have become old-timers.”

“Each year,� according to Nief, “When Beloit releases the Mindset List, it is the birth year of the entering students that is the most disturbing fact for most readers. This year will come as no exception and, once again, the faculty will remain the same age as the students get younger.�

The list is distributed to faculty on campus during the New Students Days orientation. According to McBride, “It is an important reminder, as faculty start to show signs of ‘hardening of the references,’ that we think about the touchstones and benchmarks of a generation that has grown up with CNN, home computers, AIDS awareness, digital cameras and the Bush political dynasty. We should also keep in mind that these students missed out on the pleasures of being tossed in the back of a station wagon with a bunch of friends and told to keep the noise down, walking in the woods without fearing Lyme Disease, or setting out to try all of the 28 ice cream flavors at Howard Johnson’s.�

According to Nief, “This is not serious in-depth research. It is meant to be thought-provoking and fun, yet accurate. It is as relevant as possible, given the broad social and geographic diversity of our students, who are drawn from every state and 50 countries. It is always open to challenge, which has an additional benefit in that it reminds us of students’ varied backgrounds. It is still a good reflection of the attitudes and experiences of the young people that we must be aware of from the first day of their college experience.�

——————————————————————————–

BELOIT COLLEGE MINDSET LIST® FOR THE CLASS OF 2009

Most students entering college this fall were born in 1987.

1. Andy Warhol, Liberace, Jackie Gleason, and Lee Marvin have always been dead.
2. They don’t remember when “cut and paste” involved scissors.
3. Heart-lung transplants have always been possible.
4. Wayne Gretzky never played for Edmonton.
5. Boston has been working on “The Big Dig” all their lives.
6. With little need to practice, most of them do not know how to tie a tie.
7. Pay-Per-View television has always been an option.
8. They never had the fun of being thrown into the back of a station wagon with six others.
9. Iran and Iraq have never been at war with each other.
10. They are more familiar with Greg Gumbel than with Bryant Gumbel.
11. Philip Morris has always owned Kraft Foods.
12. Al-Qaida has always existed with Osama bin Laden at its head.
(more…)

One of the key ecclesiological passages in the New Testament is Matthew 16:13 – 27. This evening, I had the opportunity to reflect on this passage as it related to what it means to be the church together.

We began with the famous “And now I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will construct my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”

From that we moved to “you are the Messiah, the son of the living God.”

From this “rock” statement” (i.e., you are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God) we discussed the significance of each half of the statment.

“Messiah” sums up the entirety of the Old Testament in a single word. “Son” unites the deliverer God promised in the OT with “Only God can save.”

“Messiah” implies the Kingdom. Therefore, we realize that we, as the church:

1. Are not the Kingdom
2. Are witnesses to the Kingdom – in all its aspects so far revealed
3. Are (partial) participants in the Kingdom

Why “partial” participants? We will not be full participants in the Kingdom until the Resurrection.

The Kingdom implies that God is setting everything right and is coming to rule. He has come to set everything right and has come to rule. Jesus Christ is both King and Kingdom. We discover that we participate in the Kingdom as he acts in us and in our surroundings; we further participate as we allow him to shape our lives into his image. This process of shaping is spiritual formation. Spiritual formation happens in discipleship.

Therefore,

• We are not always right
• We aren’t better than other people
• We are not the Kingdom of God
• We are not fully in the Kingdom, and others are not fully out – yet.
• Part of the nature of what it is to be the church is to proclaim the significance of “Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
• To be a member of the body of believers, it is necessary to, in fact, be a disciple of Jesus Christ
• We must build in “room for error” into our church structures, rather than expecting perfection
• Setting direction for a congregation involves declaring that there is a cross and that we’re going to it.

September 21 is the feast day of my namesake, Matthew the Evangelist.

Like most of the apostles, very little is known about him besides references to him in the New Testament. He is reported to have died for his faith in the area now known as Iran.

I saw this painting a few years ago. To me, it captures the shock and amazement of Jesus’ call very well.

Click on image for a larger view.

My stupid cold came back today and I’m not feeling so well tonight, again.

So I’m going to try to get a full night’s sleep again and see what that does.

I just wish colds didn’t slow my brain down…

I’ve been getting clobbered by spam comments over the last couple of weeks. So I’ve installed an anti-spam device called Bad Behavior. Let me know if it causes you any problems.

Thanks.

The Whys of Worship #2

The Offering has been a part of Christian worship for two millennia, yet many wonder how collecting money can be a spiritual act. If we perceive the offering to be solely the means by which we meet the budget, keep the lights on and pay the Pastor, then the offering comes out looking more like taxes than worship.

Yet, the offering means much more than that! It is an act that can have deep significance. In the offering we demonstrate that all that we have and all that we are comes from God. All of our finances and property, all our health and all our daily food and drink – all these come from God. In the offering we declare this to God: all we have is his, and we have given back to him some of that which is already his.

The money and other things we offer are the fruit of our labor. We work, we get paid. Yet even this is part of God’s daily sustenance for our lives. In the offering, then, we offer all of our daily work to God. As we offer him the first and best portion of this fruit of our labor, we thank him for the whole of his gifts with a part of what he has given.

Therefore we see that in the offering we show how much we think God is worth. We show God how much we value what he has given us. Everything we have is really his, which we use to do his work. He has given us more than we need, in fact.

In the end, this becomes the practical reason why we take the offering: we have abundance, others are in dire need. The offering gives those who are in need what they need to survive. This implies that all of our buildings, salaries and utility bills are to be used for that purpose as well: we connect those in need (whatever the need) with the abundance of the Kingdom.

Today is the 1952nd birthday of the Roman Emperor, Trajan.

Thought you might want to know.

Via WikiPedia

Sermon 18 September 2005
18 Pentecost Proper 20, Year A
Matthew 20:1 – 16

Co-preached with Tim Yova, Tim Sankey, Eric Sankey, Andy Rodgers, and Jesse Ellsworth

“Entitlement�

One day, a guy in his early 20s came to Jesus and asked him what he needed to do to enter God’s eternal kingdom. And Jesus answered him that he should keep the commandments.

The man thought about that for a second, and asked Jesus, “which ones?� Clearly, he wanted to see which ones Jesus had in mind. Jesus listed off a few commandments: do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not murder, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother. And then, almost as an afterthought, he added, “Love your neighbor as yourself.� The guy thought about that, and said, “I’ve kept all those since I was young.�

Jesus told him that he was missing one important thing: he needed to sell all he had, and give the proceeds to the poor, thus gaining treasure in heaven, and then he was to come and be Jesus’ disciple.

As soon as he heard that, the guy walked away. Jesus’ comments upset him, because he had many possessions. As he walked away, Jesus turned to his disciples and explained that it is hard for the wealthy to enter God’s kingdom.

His disciples were shocked. To them, wealth was a sign of God’s favor. It demonstrated God’s acknowledgement of their “right living� and displayed their rank and privilege over the poor – who were poor because they were not following God so fully as the rich.
(more…)

The meeting with the State Committee on Ordination went very badly.

Very, very badly.

And since I can’t say anything nice, I’m not going to say anything further.

This proves that photographic reporters have WAY too much access to the president.

It’s really funny though.

You can find the rest of the story here. Photo sources here and here. Via DYL and Jordon.

As I said, John has linked Zach Fleming’s sermon on I Timothy 4:12 – 13, which is all about intergenerational worship. It’s a great sermon on a great topic.

Download the sermon here.

Ok, so John just linked Zach’s sermon from last Sunday, and I think that’s so cool, I want to figure out how to set that up around here. It’s a podcast.

I’ve got a cold. I feel awful.

I started off with some congestion on Tuesday and now it’s a headfull.

Tomorrow is my day off.

Good night.

Via Slashdot:

Malacon writes “The New York Times is running a story about Debate Between Astronomers who both claim to have discovered the same object beyond Pluto, and almost the same size. Apparantly the US Astronomers had been tracking it for quite some time, but chose to not report it yet. They also claim the Spanish Astronomers stole data to make the find.”