Traveling in a foreign country is not always the easiest thing to do. This week I had to prepare for a trip to the UK. This would be my fourth trip to the UK in just over seven months. The first trip I had to drive. As most know the English have a peculiarity in driving, they drive on the wrong side of the road. To complicate that, they sit on the wrong side of the car to drive. That is disorienting to me. While my wife seems to be an expert driver from the right-hand seat, it is without having the wheel and gas pedal that she can profess this great skill. As I said, on the first trip I had to drive. This didn’t seem so scary back then be cause the excitement of just being in the UK buried this realization.

My second and third trips were different. Instead of having to drive, I got to be a passenger while another drove. That really simplified the journey. To make it even better, the other person had a GPS. We simply had to plug in the destination and this miracle of modern technology would take us relatively straight to our destination. I got to sit in the passenger seat and pretty much enjoy the scenery.

This fourth trip was to be different. Instead of riding with someone else, I would need to get myself around on this trip. Something I had learned from my two previous trips was how really scared I should have been on that first trip behind the wheel. Driving on the right hand side of the road, from the right hand side of the vehicle were nothing - to really test us, the Brits throw in roundabouts and zebra-poles.

As I prepared for this fourth trip, the prospect of driving was disconcerting. So much so that even Susan could sense that I wasn’t looking forward to this trip. I finally reached the decision to not drive but rely on public transportation. I had ridden the train once and had taken public transportation in our nations capital - I thought I would be ok.

Learning to travel on the public transportation has been interesting. At times it has even been frustrating. Missing buses because I hesitate to jump on a bus or even just figuring out where to catch a bus at Heathrow. The journey has not been so easy.

Outside of Westminster Abbey on my third try to get in!

So, what have I learned?

Study the maps - just like scripture they point us someplace we need to go.

Trust your instincts  get on the bus instead of standing there - just like obeying God, we need a sense of urgency.

The east is only about 10 meters from the west. Pay attention to whether the tube you step onto is heading east or west or the distance to where you need to be increases - our sin was removed as far as the east is front the west but if are not careful and consider where we are going, we will draw nearer to sin.

A travel pass is good on the tube or bus - in good times and in hard times we have a travel pass to get us through, not just to!

And finally, knowing the why of a journey makes the how insignificant. I had one desire since my first trip to London and that was to visit Westminster Abbey. One time before I had gotten to see the Abbey, but it was at night after it had closed. This time I had some time to get to Westminster, but it would mean buses and tube. It also happened to be raining.  I had to ask myself whether the why of the trip was more important than the how. Westminster was moving. It was beautiful and it caused me to reflect on the history and the community of my faith. Yes, the why was more important than the how. Life is so much like that. The apostle Paul said “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” Paul had lost it all, possessions, freedom, and eventually his life. Yet he never lost the ‘why’. They could take everything from Paul except that which defined why he lived. In fact, Paul tried to give that to all he encountered because the more he gave it, the more that it meant to him.

Filed under: Blogging, England, God, Travel | Post a comment

There is a paradox that some like to use to challenge Christians with that asks a variation of two different questions.  The first question is usually expressed “can an all powerful God create a rock so heavy he cannot lift it”?  The second question is usually along the lines of “can God make a squared circle”?  Both of these questions commit logical fallacies in a poor attempt at creating confusion.

I tend to side with C.S. Lewis (in “The Problem of Pain”, Macmillan, 1944) that asking the question “can God create a rock so heavy he cannot lift it” is nonsensical.  Further, Aquinas asserts

since power is said in reference to possible things, this phrase, “God can d o all things,” is rightly understood to mean that God can do all things that are possible; and for this reason He is said to be omnipotent. — Aquinas, Summa Theologica

I would even go so far as to state that it demonstrates a lack of understanding of the basic principles of the created universe. IF God is the creator being, then it would logically follow that the universe would in some way reflect His being. What this would indicate is that the universe follows the character of God, not God bending to the will of the universe.

I actually think the question of the omnipotence paradox is relevant only in a philosophical sense, not in a physical sense. Based on my experience, I have concluded that there are no naturally occurring heavy objects in the world as we know it. I base this statement upon my having watched astronauts in space studies. They lift what would appear to be phenomenally heavy objects with apparent ease. Thus, I an resigned to the fact that “weight” is not an absolute. If weight is not an absolute, then it seems odd to ask for an absolute statement of God’s abilities based on an non-absolute criteria.

Likewise, we see the same with the question concerning “squared circles”. I have yet to see anything in the world that is naturally “square” or a “circle”. If we take the “square” term, I will demonstrate what I am talking about. I have observed objects that demonstrated a physical characteristic of having four sides. The sides all even appeared to be of equal length. What I did not see on those objects was anything that inherently called the square. Instead, square is simply a shorthanded way for me to refer to something that has four equal sides. If the universe reflects God, could he have declared an object that has four equal sides to be a circle? Yes, because circle does not indicate something intrinsic in itself, it is instead a relational term.

So, back to my original statement — science tells us that for phenomena (effects) we observe in our world, there is a cause. This is a fundamental tenet of science today. If everything must have a cause, then the universe as we know it should confirm to that basic tenet. Science also tells us that a phenomena will exhibit characteristics inherited from the creator. Thus, if the universe must have a creator, it likewise must exhibit characteristics of the creator. An effect is not limiting of a cause, instead the cause is reflected in the effect. Thus, God is not subject to a limitation imposed by the creation. Instead, creation is a reflection of the creator God. When we look at something in creation, it must be something that is consistent with something about the creator. To believe that creation limits God is simply not something we have observed in any other area of our world through science and must be dismissed as nonsensical.

Filed under: apologetics, God, omnipotence, omnipotent, paradox | Post a comment

“My name is Billie Goodson, and I am an imperfect father.”  Sounds like maybe a confession that would be made at a Father’s Anonymous meeting or something.  I can see it in my mind, all of the other men there would say a “hello Billie.”  Many would agree with me, they would be saying, “So am I”.  Some might be denying it.  They might be convinced that they did the best they could, just things didn’t work out for them quite like they planned.  Some might even be angry at me, worse yet, some might be angry at my children because they have a Dad that could even admit such a thing.

I freely admit I am an imperfect father.  Sometimes it might be because of something I didn’t know.  Sometimes it might be because of something I didn’t do.  Sure, maybe sometimes those things I didn’t do weren’t within my control.  Maybe there were those times when things just had to be what they were, sorry, as the commercial says, “Life comes at you fast!”  Sometimes life may come at us fast, faster than we thought, faster than we were ready for.  Kind of like an Andre Agassi serve on a packed clay court, or, for some of you, like a Nolan Ryan fastball with two strikes in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the tying run on third.  However, I can’t escape that sometimes we share something with the helpless victim in both of these analogies, we stepped onto the court or into the batter’s box, confident we were ready, sadly to be informed otherwise.

We are told in our society that absent fathers are one of the contributing factors to many of the ills of society.  I sometimes wonder if absent is the lessor of two evils.  I look back on things I said, did, and/or experienced with my own children and sometimes I just don’t get who I was.  Why didn’t I do better or try harder?  Maybe I could have helped in places where I let them flounder too long on their own.  Maybe there was a greater lesson that could have been taught if I had acted differently.  Surely, they deserved better.

We are told today that many have a difficult time relating to God because we use an image of a father as an analogy for God.  Given how imperfect we dads can be, that is really kind of scary.  Is God that absent father?  That figure that maybe even abused Mom and/or the kids like some dads have done?  He surely may seem that way when we are reminded of the events of the death of Christ.  With images of fathers that many are forced to live with, is God the Father a being that loves and comforts?  Kind of hard to wrap our hands around that one.

So, I am an imperfect dad and the saddest of role models.  I don’t say this wanting pity or sympathy.  I say it wanting to be better.  I never realized the man my father was until after his death.  I hope my kids don’t have to go through that.  I hope that I can truly change, not to become perfect, but to become a more perfected dad.  One who loves and demonstrates it.  One who cares and lives it.  One who truly deserves the children I have been blessed with.

Maybe someday.  Just maybe.

Filed under: Blogging, General, children, dad, father | Post a comment

One of the arguments so often voiced against Christianity (and religion in general) is the argument of evil.  Variations of the theme of God being the creator of all things and/or all powerful are asserted so as to either demonstrate that God does not love mankind or actually created evil.  Both arguments are rather simplistic in approach and require a straw man be constructed that can then be destroyed with a simple conclusive statement.

The question that we as Christians must consider is how to defeat the argument and still maintain dialog with the arguer?  We can’t simply dismiss the argument because the arguer thinks they have lain a valid claim against Christianity to be considered.  We also must overcome the argument in a way that provides grace toward the person asserting the argument.  Only by rationally deconstructing the syllogism can we hope to achieve both of our goals.

Personally, I think the argument from evil (how can there be a good God with so much evil in the world) is the least effective for me.  As some have pointed out, without the evil, we could miss some of the beauty.  However, I would make a change in that evil lacks an ontological status, it is not an independent being.  Evil actually is the absence of good.  When God created the world, he called it good.  It was not until a perversion of that creation was caused that evil appeared.  Even when you look at Satan, he was not evil in the beginning.

So, back to the “problem of evil” statement.  As a Christian, I see evil in the world and believe that it is a result of choices being made.  Evil exists only because of a departure from the original intent of the creator.  For the atheist, they seem to be left with evil exists because it simply does.  As much as they may want to call upon a social contract for good moral behavior, their argument is defeated by the widespread existence of evil in the world, even independent of man’s actions.  Without an objective moral law giver, there can be no objective moral law.  Lacking an objective moral law, there is nothing by which to judge evil or good.

Why is it important to have an objective moral law?  If we allow moral law to be subjective, then it plays at the whim of power.  Those who hold the greatest power are ultimately those who will set the moral law.  The objective nature of that has broken time and again when viewed historically.  Who would we nominate to be the law giver?  Would it be the members of the Nazi party in Germany that carried out the “final solution” in the death camps?  Would it be the Khmer Rouge?  Perhaps we could leave it to Genghis Khan, or perhaps Josef Stalin?  Ravi Z. has a saying that I think fits perfectly in this discussion.  In some cultures, they like to invite their neighbors for supper.  In others, they like to eat their neighbors for supper.  Based on feelings, would we have a preference for which culture we want to be our neighbor?

So, when the claim is made that a loving God couldn’t allow so much crap to happen, we must also consider whether we could call God loving if he simply didn’t allow anything to happen.  If he so controlled our very existence to prevent us from any action contrary to his will, would we consider that a loving God or a tyrant?  Too often we want others to be judged by their actions while we are wanting to be judged by our intent.  That seems slightly at odds with our own ideas of good.

The problem of evil is a strange one.  To pose the question makes assumptions that don’t fit when the basis for the assumptions is investigated.  Perhaps, the problem of evil is a bigger challenge to the atheist than the Christian.

Filed under: Blogging, General, apologetics, evil, good, problem of evil, sin | Post a comment

Today we celebrate Good Friday.  The calling of this day Good Friday seems like such an oxymoron unless properly considered.  It would be easy to adopt the feelings of the disciples on this day.  Such confusion and abandonment they felt!  When the officials came to arrest Jesus, surely they felt the time had come!  Peter drew his sword and took what he maybe thought would be the first swing in the battle that would see as the battle to begin to fulfill the prophecies.

Instead of enjoining the battle, Christ stepped in and stopped it!  He was taken prisoner, led away.  What darkness had to fill the hearts of his disciples.  The guy they had followed around for three years and they thought would usher in a new day was now captive.  Dazed, confused, abandoned, even betrayed, the disciples can hardly be blamed for their reaction.  Good Friday surely didn’t look that good to them.  Not only was their rabbi gone, their deaths were at hand if they were caught too.

Today is the day we reflect on Christ’s journey to the cross.  Beaten, bloodied, harassed, and taunted, the crowd mocked him.  His disciples probably hung on the fringes.  Who knows, maybe they looked on and felt some vindication… this guy had set them up!  We believed him and now look at him, he is no different than the others they thought perhaps.

We have such a wondrous advantage of looking back.  Of knowing the story that the disciples told us of what was really happening.  We now know that Good Friday was good.  So it is easy for us to think that we know that Sunday is coming, that Christ will demonstrate victory over death itself.  But if so, why do we so often live like the disciples did on this day 2000 years ago?  Why do we sit in fear and wonder who Christ really was?  Why do we feel we have to protect him with our petty arguments with each other?  Hasn’t Christ proven himself up to the challenge?  We live out way too many of the disciple’s Good Fridays.  We live them each day that we doubt and live in fear.  Sure, Sunday is coming, why don’t we act like it?

Filed under: Discipleship, Good Friday | Post a comment