A Hairy Situation

 

Yesterday in church, I was reminded of one of the traumas of my youth. 

A little girl, perhaps about 6 years old, was seated 2 or 3 rows ahead of us.  Her hair was absolutely beautifully styled.  I am making the assumption that her mother spent considerable time with her “do.”  A French braid began above her right ear and encircled the back of her head.  At the left ear it turned into a traditional braid which was several inches long.  The braid had then been placed across the top of her head.  Because her hair had been more blond when she was younger, the end of the braid was lighter than the other hair and looked like a golden tiara.  It was held in place with several golden butterflies, which I thought at first were clips, but later decided must be pins.

Part way through the sermon, the little girl said something to her dad, and he removed most of the butterflies.  Mama was not sitting with them, so there was no opportunity for her to veto this dismantling.  Eventually the long braid hung down behind her left ear, but the French braiding was still in place.  I actually was paying attention to the sermon, so I didn’t see the next step, but as they left the church after the conclusion of the service, the braid was completely undone.  The little girl’s long hair cascaded down her back in lovely waves.

I thought, “Oh, boy.  Mama is not going to be happy.  She expected her hard work to last more than a couple of hours.”

When I was a child, I had very long hair.  By late grade school and into 7^th grade, my mother was still doing my hair every morning.  She braided each side, pulled the two braids together into one braid at the back of my head and gathered up the remaining hair along with the braid into a bun at the back of my neck.  There was no way I could have done this myself.  She never made any attempt to help me figure out how I could do something on my own.  Also, she was adamantly opposed to me just letting my hair hang down my back.  One day, I was too vigorous in gym class and the bun fell out.  The rest of the day I had the braid in the middle of a cascade of long wavy hair.  I received many compliments from my fellow students who thought my hair was beautiful.  My mother did not share this opinion.  She was furious with me for walking around all day looking like “a mess.”

Combined with this, was my Dad’s increasing anger that I was getting older and not taking care of my own hair.  In his mind, I had no right to expect my mother to do it.  I have no idea why they couldn’t see that between them they were putting me in an impossible position.

I finally figured out myself that I was in an untenable situation and asked to have my hair cut.  I was afraid this would make them unhappy too, but they agreed.  Thereafter, my hair never went beyond shoulder length and has sometimes been even shorter.  When I arrived at middle-age, I decided that having my hair short was a non-surgical face lift.

I sure hope that little girl wasn’t in too much trouble for dismantling that carefully crafted hair style.

The Ignorance and Arrogance of "Junk DNA"

Spoiler alert:  If you plan to do the Sunday New York Times Crossword puzzle and haven’t done it yet, I’m about to reveal the answer to one of the clues.  It made me so disgusted that I stopped working on the puzzle.  I will go back to it when I finish writing this.

The clue is “about 98% of the human genome.”  The desired answer is “junk DNA.”  This is an outdated concept.  Decades ago, it was determined that only about 2% of the human genome actually codes for the formation of proteins.  It was assumed that was the only function for DNA, and that the rest was evolutionary detritus without purpose.  Some even saw this as support for evolutionary theory.  If some superior intellect had designed DNA, why would he have included worthless material?

The problem is that science was at that time ignorant of other significant functions of DNA.  Why anyone would assume that science has ever arrived at ultimate knowledge is beyond me.  The history of science argues otherwise.  For example, over the years there have been several models for atomic structure that were assumed to be correct.  The Plum Pudding model gave way to Dalton’s model, which gave way to Bohr’s model, which has been surpassed by the Quantum Mechanical model, which may well one day be discovered to be less than accurate.  No scientist should ever assume that they have discovered all there is to know.

Some very significant functions are now attributed to parts of the DNA molecule previously thought to have no purpose.  I am predicting that as more experimentation occurs, it will eventually be known that the situation is actually the reverse, and that at least 98% does have specific purposes.  We are presently floundering in ignorance.  If we ever know everything, there will be no reason to continue experimenting and scientific inquiry will be pointless.

Of course, I happen to believe in a creator and sustainer who is omniscient.  I believe that we have every reason to continue seeking additional knowledge, but that there is reason for great humility.  We will never know everything that God knows.  Seeking more knowledge is perfectly legitimate, as long as we never think we have acquired it all.  The more we learn, the more reason we have to stand in awe of the one who planned our world and holds it together by forces we do not yet fully comprehend.

Let's Forgive Darwin and Move On

It’s time to forgive Darwin and move on.  We need to stop clinging to the fantasy of unplanned natural selection resulting in increasing complexity.  Recent advances in science have made his ideas obsolete, but they are so entrenched that they are accepted.  The prevailing view is that anyone who questions his ideas is probably a conservative, religious nutcase and is espousing “pseudo-science.”

Excuse me, but Darwin had no knowledge of DNA and what it does.  He did not know about computers and the software that runs them, so he didn’t know that every cell in the body of a living organism contains DNA which operates like a computer to give direction to the cell.  The type of complex information which directs our bodily functions is an indicator of intelligent planning…not of benevolent random accidents.  DNA holds the code, RNA transmits it, and the ribosomes take those instructions and create proteins which after assembly fold themselves like “transformers” into little machines.  The notion that this is not planned is ridiculously unscientific.

So why do perfectly intelligent “scientists” cling to this fantasy?  It has nothing to do with their abilities as scientists.  It has to do with their status as human beings who wish to be independent and make their own choices.

If we admit that there is a superior intelligence who “created” us and all living things, we might have to concede that we are in some way responsible to him.  We might have to recognize that since he formed us, he might know what is best for us.  For those of us who believe in him, that is a comforting thought.  For those who deny his existence, that is a repulsive thought.  Human beings have an innate desire to determine their own future.  Some are honest enough to admit that this is foolhardy, but many will go to the grave gritting their teeth and declaring their right to choose their own path.

Timothy McVey was no scientist…he was the Oklahoma City bomber.  Before being executed his last words were from the poem Invictus, which includes, “It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate.  I am the captain of my soul.” 

So, if you want to depart this life clenching your fist in God’s face, you can make that choice.  It is your right, but don’t try to tell me that science disproves God.  It increasingly points to him as a Grand Designer. 

Any chance you are rejecting with your will and not your intellect?

Calibration

 He who calibrates the universe,

Gives order to my days,

Fine tuning each element,

In His omniscient ways.

 

He carefully combines,

The balance to maintain,

Each joy and sorrow,

The pleasure and the pain.

 

A plan I cannot see

Is clear to His mind.

He lovingly directs to

A path I’d never find.

 

In the puzzle of life,

As I struggle with decision.

I trust in Him who rules the world,

With insight and precision.

Invalid Baptism?

There is something terribly wrong with the notion that changing one word in a ceremony can invalidate it.  I get that the “ceremony” is a “sacrament” in the Catholic Church, but seriously, there is nothing magical in words.  The important element is the intent of the heart.

Personally, I do not believe in infant baptism, if one is relying on it for salvation.  The infant has no ability to understand what is happening.  The child is not old enough to really be a participant in the meaning of the event.  It can in truth be nothing more that the parents expressing their desire to bring the child up in a way that causes them to seek a relationship with God.  That being the case, the change of one word is pretty meaningless.

Yes, I have read that changing “I” to “we” is viewed as saying that the community is doing the baptizing rather than Christ doing it. However, as far as we know, Christ did not practice infant baptism when he lived here on earth.  He did put his stamp of approval on adult baptism, having been baptized himself by John.

Christ sees into our hearts.  He knows the intent of the parent in the case of infant baptism.  He knows if it is just for the sake of tradition, or if it is heartfelt.  He knows that a few drops of water and some spoken words do not assure the child’s salvation. When a parent commits to raising his/her child with a knowledge of God, he/she should realize there are no guarantees. A child who has been baptized as an infant and goes through First Communion can still make a choice as an adult to reject everything he has been taught about God and the Church.

Christ also knows whether an adult is genuinely making a public profession of faith through adult baptism.  He is privy to our thoughts and intents.  We cannot fool him with pasted on piety or the repetition of specific words.

The real issue is whether we, at some point in our lives, acknowledge that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and that Jesus Christ is that Savior.

I have read that for those who were baptized incorrectly, further sacraments…such as marriage…may also be invalidated.  Now that is ridiculous.

The Full Measure of Sin

…sin… has not yet reached its full measure.  Genesis 15:16

When God made his covenant with Abraham and promised to give his descendants the land of Canaan, he explained why he was not doing it immediately in Genesis 15.  God told Abraham that he would become a great nation, that his descendants would be enslaved for many years, but would come out of that situation with great possessions and be given a large area of land currently inhabited by the Amorites.  That time was four generations in the future. 

This passage answers two questions for me.

Why did God wipe out the inhabitants of Canaan and give the land to the descendants of Abraham?  

Those who look on this as a terribly unfair act on God’s part ask that question.  God gives the answer in this passage in advance of the question.  Abraham was a righteous man who followed God’s leading.  Although his descendants were not perfect, there was always at least a remnant who followed God also.  Meanwhile the inhabitants of the land Abraham would inherit were becoming increasingly wicked.  They were doing things totally abhorrent to God.  Child sacrifice being one particularly egregious act.  God, who is both just and merciful, was withholding his wrath, giving these people a chance to change their behavior, since their sin had not yet reached its full measure.

We can certainly see that this is how God behaves in the story of Jonah.  God had pronounced judgment on the city of Nineveh, but when they repented, He changed course.  The people of Canaan were also being given adequate time to repent…. four generations of time according to these verses.  

When it comes time for judgment to fall, God saves those who trust in him.  A few chapters later in Genesis, God’s judgment falls on Sodom and Gomorrah, but Lot and some of his family are saved.  When Canaan is taken over by the descendants of Abraham, Rahab is saved.  God is always both just and merciful.

Why does God not act now when there is so much evil in the world?

I am regularly grieved by things I see happening.  I am abhorred by man’s cruelty to his fellow man.  I am especially distraught over the horrible things that happen to children.  I ask God why he is allowing these terrible things to continue.  I think that question is also answered here.  “Sin has not yet reached its full measure.”  As bad as things are, as much suffering as we see in our world, the full extent of sin has not yet been reached.  There is a point, known only to God himself, when he will say “ENOUGH!”  Additionally, I believe he alone knows when everyone who is willing to accept him will have done so, and he can act in both justice and mercy.

How many generations will we be given?  How close are we to the time God has had quite enough of our ability as a nation to flaunt our disrespect for him and his laws?  Is there still time to repent like Nineveh?  When will our sin as a society have reached its full measure?

The Little Green Shoe

I have sitting on my dresser a little green ceramic shoe shaped like a Dutch wooden shoe.  It is tiny and has a chip and a crack at the top edge.  It is painted delicately and has a symbol and “Germany” on the bottom.  I have no idea how old it is.  It belonged to my grandmother who was born in 1890.  I have had it since I was about 13 years old, and I remember exactly how I acquired it.

 

My mother’s parents died in 1957 and 1958.  Grandpa passed first, followed by Grandma a year later.  She said her heart was broken when she lost him, and she spent that last year in a steady decline. One of my uncles who did not live locally came for her funeral and stayed afterward.  He went through the family home and sorted, organized, and discarded.  After this huge effort on his part, the family gathered and, with no arguments, items were divided among the 4 siblings.

 

I sat at the kitchen table with my mother and her sisters-in-law.  Before us were spread out all the knickknacks from the house.  One by one the items on the table were chosen by the ladies.  I was overwhelmed with sadness as I watched.  I felt as if my grandparents’ home, which held so many happy memories for me, was disintegrating before my eyes.  Just as the little green shoe was held up for selection, one of my aunts noticed my facial expression.  She declared, “Ruthie wants that!”  The truth was that I had no desire for it or anything else on the table.  What good was any of it without my grandparents?  But, everyone agreed that I must want it and should have it.

 

So for nearly sixty-four years, the little ceramic shoe has been on my dresser as I moved from place to place.  I am glad that I have it, not because it is a handy place to keep safety pins or a stick of lip balm, but for the memory of my grandmother who read to me and sang to me and called me a pet name not used by anyone else.

 

Someday my knickknacks will be dispersed.  I hope no one thinks the little chipped and cracked ceramic shoe is worthless.