Monthly Archives: November 2010

Endangered species & humans III

(Part I and Part II.)

What I said in the previous two blogs, in two sentences:
Thought #1 – humans have, and display, dominion over nature.
Thought #2 – humans’ sin deforms nature.

More particularly, that we people participate in helping endangered species, this very action displays these theological realities. That is, theoretical science and practical ecology ecology display – though not reveal – fundamental theological reality.

Now there’s a third idea, to conclude this mini-series.

Thought #3 – humans display God’s love of redemption and restoration.

God likens his work of saving sinners to the work of rescuing lost animals.

For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.
As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them …
And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country….
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep…
I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.
From Ezekiel 34

Jesus spoke of the lost sheep, for the sake of whose safety the shepherd leaves 99 others.

Jesus called himself the good shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep.

God is very familiar with the idea of lost and nearly dead animals.

Of course, people are more important than sheep. And these passages speak metaphorically of God’s people as sheep, as endangered animals.

Yet I think there’s some echo of likeness between God’s major concern for saving the people of his creation and concern for saving the animals of his creation. After all, all creation benefits by freedom when God’s children are revealed.

Helping endangered animals is a peculiarly human activity on earth. And it shows humans as we are: created (God’s image): defaced (in turn defacing the rest of the creation); and aware of rescue and redemption (re-created by external intervention).

Romans 15:26-27

A (lumbering) translation of Romans 15:26-27

For Macedonia and Achaia were glad to have fellowship with the poor of the Jerusalem saints.
For they were glad and also they are obliged.
For if the nations fellowship in their spiritual matters, they also have obligation to serve them in fleshly matters.

Two quick thoughts, both of which reveal a depth of truth rather than superficial truth.

One: fellowship. Fellowship is spiritual: the nations share/fellowship in the blessings of the Jews. That is, we too can know Christ! But fellowship is also very down to earth, namely money. Spiritual provision and fleshly provision are deeply intertwined.

(By the way, how’s your giving going?)

Two: acts of love. The Christians of Macedonia and Acaia were glad and pleased to give. At the same time they were obligated, and in debt, such that giving was required. Both are true.

(Which motivation do you need to hear today, compassion or command?)

PS I love the way God’s word emphasises things for slow people like me. Two times ‘were glad’, two times ‘fellowship’, two times ‘obliged’.

A non-observer reads the Bible

When an non-observant Jewish man reads the Hebrew Bible, what does he observe?

One thing is the influence the Bible has on us by having shaped the culture:

First, I’m much more aware of how foundational the Bible is for our culture. Many phrases and stories that serve as models for stories today come from the Bible—themes that are the lifeblood of books and movies today. All of a sudden, I see these things, like I’m seeing the world through new glasses.

And there’s plenty more.

David Plotz also blogged his way through the readings. I haven’t read his blog posts, but here they are.

In his own reflections on reading, Plotz says he’s ‘no closer to God’ – sadly, I think – but calls himself ‘a full-on Bible thumper. Everyone should read it—all of it!’ While I’d hope for even more, I love what he says: ‘While reading the Bible, I often felt as if I had finally lifted a veil from my eyes.’

The day Jesus died

A short history of time, by Leofranc Holford-Strevens, helped me with the question of knowing what day of the week Jesus died.

This one raises its head when looking at John’s gospel. One idea is that John presents Jesus’ death as at the same time lambs for Passover were being killed. (See John 19:14, and understanding ‘preparation of the Passover’ as when the Passover meal is prepared – Thursday, by modern name, for that year.)

But in the synoptics, Jesus and his disciples are clearly presented a sharing the Passover meal, on the night before the events of John 19.

What’s going on, then? Condradiction and confusion? I think not.

I think it’s most likely that ‘preparation of the Passover’ refers to the Friday. Preparation is a very common term for the pre-Sabbath day (Friday, as we name it, though the start and end would be 6pm rather than 12 midnight).

But if that were not the case, one suggestion is that the synoptics and John were referring to different calendars. Different ways of calculating Passover mean different days for killing the lamb. For an explanation of this, see Leon Morris’ The Gospel According to John. (This link is to the revised edition. In my copy of the unrevised the pages to read are 782-788.)

I now admit my prejudice. I easily dismissed the idea of different calendars. ‘How dumb is that?’, I thought, on the basis of my experience of easy access to common and worldwide dating, even given the existence of different year numbering systems (1 Jan 2011 falls in Jewish year 5771, for example).

A short history of time opened my eyes to my own failure of sympathy. My experience of calendrical stability is not universal. There certainly were differences and disputes about calendars. Holford-Strevens speaks of the readingess of some Jewish communities acting to “regulate the calendar for themselves, rather than following the Rabbis of Jerusalem” (p.82).

So it seems the ‘different calendar’ idea is not crazy like I thought it must be.

Endangered species & humans II

(See part I.)

In part I, I nominated something good revealed about humans as we go about helping species at risk of extinction.

Now, something awful: our slavery to destruction.

The cause of much extiction is human. In the short-term, becasue we mess things up. We kill and eat all the dodos, for example. This in turn – possibly, it’s controversial – adversely affects a tree whose seeds were part of the dodo diet. But in the long-term view it’s even worse.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
(Romans 8:20f, esv)

Futility? Bondage to decay? Genesis 3, when the man rejects God:

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you

Perhaps I can coin a phrase: Anthropogenic global decaying.

Overall, we have good reason to look at successful conservation with mixed emotions: every temporary and small human success is mocked by the lasting and huge human problem.

Wilberforce wrote a book

I know of William Wilberforce as the devoted Christian and dedicated social reformer. He was instrumental in the end of Britain’s slave-trading. But I did not know that he wrote a book – just one.

What do you think it might have been (don’t peek to the quotation!)?

Ok, now peek:

Wilberforce led a life full of good works. Here’s the interesting thing: Wilberforce wrote one book in his lifetime, and it was not on social reform. It was on the doctrine of justification by faith apart from works. He did it because he realized that the way to produce a life of good works and social reform is not to focus first on good works and social reform, but on the source of those good works—which is the gospel. The fact that we are accepted by God apart from works then drives us to do good works because of our gratitude and joy. May all of us be little Wilberforces.

The gospel of Jesus not only restores relationship with God, it then also makes for real love for neighbour.

Whole article, an interview about productivity (!), here.

Endangered species & humans I

I’ve enjoyed a couple of episodes of Last Chance To See. These are documentaries about endangered animals and the efforts to give them space to live. As described by ABC TV Australia:

Stephen Fry goes wild as he teams up with naturalist Mark Carwardine in search of some of the most endangered animals on the planet.

Last Chance to See originally started as a radio program and book from Carwardine and author Douglas Adams back in 1990. Twenty years on, and after the death of Douglas Adams, Stephen Fry and Carwardine retrace the vision of the original journey. (From here.)

It made me think about the nature of humanity. The theological nature, that is.

Thought #1 – humans have, and display, dominion over nature.

We don’t expect cats and rats to make an effort to protect New Zealand’s kakapo. But the immense effort and resources people put into this effort express one small part of Genesis 1:28

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (esv)

Across all the cultures we meet in the series – in NZ, Mexico, Madagascar, Uganda, Indonesia, Brazil – this human reality is a constant.

Though not the only constant, of course …

Words about the Word

Here’s a string of references in brief, all noting that God works through his word.

(Originally from a talk at last weekend’s church camp. So not trying to be complete, but illustrative and persuasive.)

  • God said, ‘Let there be light’ (Gen 1)
  • The heavens were made by the breath of his mouth (Ps 33)
  • ‘Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens (Ps 119)
  • The word of the Lord goes out and achieves the purpose for which it was sent (Isa 55)
  • The Word became flesh (Jn 1)
  • the word of God is living and active (Heb 4)
  • Christians are to let the word of Christ dwell among us (Col 3)
  • The risen Christ upholds all things by the word of his power (Heb 1)
  • Sardis looked a weak church, but commended: ‘you have little power, but you have kept my word’ (Rev 3)
  • The judgement comes with the rider on the white horse, faithful and true, the ‘name by which he is called is the word of God’ (Rev 19)

If we are to be God’s people, we must be people of the word. Faith comes throught hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ’ (Rom 10).