Thoughts on Ecclesiastes 12:1-8

Give some thought while you are young,

To the swiftness of your days.

All too soon that time will come,

The slow and painful phase.

 

Your vision will diminish,

Your teeth are not your own,

You walk with steps uncertain,

Your joints will creak and moan.

 

You awaken all too early,

Or don’t sleep well at night.

The sounds of birds grow faint.

You’re now afraid of height.

 

You tremble when you walk,

But no longer with desire.

The advancing of your years

Has quenched that youthful fire.

 

And then there is the moment,

When something truly breaks,

A back, a hip, a heart, a mind,

And your whole being quakes.

 

The time has come to turn to dust,

You know that you will die.

Will “everything is meaningless”

Be the last thing that you cry?

 

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth!  (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

 

The Land Will Vomit You Out

If you defile the land, it will vomit you out.. Leviticus 18:28 

I know that we no longer live under Old Testament law, but this strikes me as a very relevant warning.  The preceding verses in this chapter have detailed various ways in which a land can be defiled.  They deal primarily with sexual sin of many types…all of which are freely practiced in our society today.  Some of them are even applauded today and viewed as “normal” expressions of sexuality, rather than perversions.  Child sacrifice is also mentioned in the midst of all of the sexual sins. 

I wonder what it means for a land to vomit out a people.  In the case of this passage, it meant that the idolatrous people living in Canaan were destroyed by and for the Israelites who came in to inhabit the land after their exodus from Egypt.  This passage was God’s warning that the same could happen to them if they took up the evil practices of the previous inhabitants.  Of course, they did, and the nation was eventually destroyed, and its people dispersed.  It was centuries before the nation of Israel was restored, and it exists now in constant peril from some of its neighbors.

But, I am wondering today whether we in the United States are at risk of being “vomited out.”  Or, perhaps, the whole world is in danger of being “vomited out.”  Whether global warming is man-made or a normal variation such as has happened during the world’s history is not something I wish to argue.  But, is it a natural consequence of the way in which humanity has defiled the earth with their rejection of God’s standards?

People talk about Mother Nature being angry.  We all know she is a myth.  God is not a myth, and he certainly must be angry as he sees mankind flaunt its disregard for the principles he knows are for our own and the earth’s good.

He, of course, knows we are broken.  He knows we are powerless to bring about our own salvation, so He sent his son to pay the price for our sin.  We each need to come to a personal understanding and acceptance of this immeasurable gift.  As we enter into this relationship with him, we begin to learn how he wants us to live.  We do not need a set of laws such as we find in Leviticus.  The Spirit of God convicts each of us.  We respond out of love and gratitude for the sacrifice he made on this day (Good Friday) centuries ago.

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.