Last week my sermon was on how to allow “Christmas Faith” to help you break through self-accepted curses in your life based on John 11, the story about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The week of my sermon preparation was the kind of week that is typical around here during the holidays -- a week jammed with pastoral care on top of Christmas activities and preparations. I wanted to make sure my message was not misinterpreted, so this devotion is an addendum to the sermon I preached at the services December 8th and 9th.
One of my points was that Jesus argued against using the language of curses, because he knows that what human beings believe has incredible power over them. (Matthew 5:22.) As an aside, this is one of the reasons I speak out strongly in opposition to Christians or people of other religions who are in the practice of calling their enemies “of the devil.” It is like calling someone a derogatory name, it is not going to help the level of communication and allow the grace of God to enter, bringing forgiveness and restoration. I used the example of the story of Soren Kierkegaard. His entire family lived under a self-imposed curse which they believed came because of a sin of their father. They were told, and believed, that they would all die before the age of 34. When Kierkegaard turned 34, he realized that even though he respected and feared his father, maybe his father did not know what he was talking about when it came to God. There are people who believe so strongly they are under curses of poor health, poverty, failed relationships and faithlessness and because of that belief they never allow God to set them free from these self-fulfilling prophecies. Admitting that we have a lot to learn about God is the beginning of a closer encounter with the loving nature of Jesus Christ and is absolutely liberating.
Now for the addendum: I said in my sermon that Christian theology believes we live in a world that has been cursed since the fall of man and as a result, earthquakes, tsunamis, cancer and war are a result of that fall. This is what requires further explanation. Please remember that while our church is very diverse, my background is as a simple Bible-believing Christian. It is because of the Bible and the teaching of Jesus Christ that I believe in grace – unconditional healthy love, resulting in treating every human being with dignity and respect. I use that phrase of “the curse of our planet” in the way that C.S. Lewis, a former professor of Literature at Oxford, would have used it. Let me explain. What we (historic Christianity) mean by “the curse of our planet” is that this earth is not a perfect place and perfection will not be achieved until we get to heaven. As a result, we believe cancer and other diseases are here and earthquakes and wars take place because of the imperfect nature of our world. Both good people and not so good people suffer because of those things and it is not because God is aiming any of those disasters at a certain person or group of people. It is a belief that in fact God is “other than nature.” C.S. Lewis explains this in his first attempt at a theodicy (why do the righteous suffer) an essay entitled “The Problem of Pain.” Of course, this subject is the focus of many great thinkers from Voltaire to Alister McGrath.
I like the discussion by Eric J. Welensberg in “God and the Research of Reason.” He introduces a conversation by C.S. Lewis, who as you may know, is one of the most beloved Christian apologists of the twentieth century. C.S. Lewis was uniquely qualified to speak about the nature of life being less than perfect. He spent most of his life as an atheist because his mother died when he was young, he fought in World War I (where indescribable acts of inhumanity took place) and he married the love of his life on her death bed (she died of cancer). Welensberg has a dialogue between C.S. Lewis, David Hume and Bertrand Russell. The other two are among Christianities most vocal critics. This book puts these three intellectual giants in conversation with one another on various questions such as: the existence of God, the suffering of humanity, morality, reason, joy, miracles and faith. Alongside irreconcilable differences, surprising areas of agreement emerge. This is not written from a Christian perspective, but I am reading to understand the complexities of this issue we are tackling – God is loving and good and yet bad things do happen in this world to the good and the not so good alike. It is animportant conversation and I hope that we can continue to ponder and discuss these complexities in this “think tank” of diverse thinkers known as Washington Cathedral.
One of my points was that Jesus argued against using the language of curses, because he knows that what human beings believe has incredible power over them. (Matthew 5:22.) As an aside, this is one of the reasons I speak out strongly in opposition to Christians or people of other religions who are in the practice of calling their enemies “of the devil.” It is like calling someone a derogatory name, it is not going to help the level of communication and allow the grace of God to enter, bringing forgiveness and restoration. I used the example of the story of Soren Kierkegaard. His entire family lived under a self-imposed curse which they believed came because of a sin of their father. They were told, and believed, that they would all die before the age of 34. When Kierkegaard turned 34, he realized that even though he respected and feared his father, maybe his father did not know what he was talking about when it came to God. There are people who believe so strongly they are under curses of poor health, poverty, failed relationships and faithlessness and because of that belief they never allow God to set them free from these self-fulfilling prophecies. Admitting that we have a lot to learn about God is the beginning of a closer encounter with the loving nature of Jesus Christ and is absolutely liberating.
Now for the addendum: I said in my sermon that Christian theology believes we live in a world that has been cursed since the fall of man and as a result, earthquakes, tsunamis, cancer and war are a result of that fall. This is what requires further explanation. Please remember that while our church is very diverse, my background is as a simple Bible-believing Christian. It is because of the Bible and the teaching of Jesus Christ that I believe in grace – unconditional healthy love, resulting in treating every human being with dignity and respect. I use that phrase of “the curse of our planet” in the way that C.S. Lewis, a former professor of Literature at Oxford, would have used it. Let me explain. What we (historic Christianity) mean by “the curse of our planet” is that this earth is not a perfect place and perfection will not be achieved until we get to heaven. As a result, we believe cancer and other diseases are here and earthquakes and wars take place because of the imperfect nature of our world. Both good people and not so good people suffer because of those things and it is not because God is aiming any of those disasters at a certain person or group of people. It is a belief that in fact God is “other than nature.” C.S. Lewis explains this in his first attempt at a theodicy (why do the righteous suffer) an essay entitled “The Problem of Pain.” Of course, this subject is the focus of many great thinkers from Voltaire to Alister McGrath.
I like the discussion by Eric J. Welensberg in “God and the Research of Reason.” He introduces a conversation by C.S. Lewis, who as you may know, is one of the most beloved Christian apologists of the twentieth century. C.S. Lewis was uniquely qualified to speak about the nature of life being less than perfect. He spent most of his life as an atheist because his mother died when he was young, he fought in World War I (where indescribable acts of inhumanity took place) and he married the love of his life on her death bed (she died of cancer). Welensberg has a dialogue between C.S. Lewis, David Hume and Bertrand Russell. The other two are among Christianities most vocal critics. This book puts these three intellectual giants in conversation with one another on various questions such as: the existence of God, the suffering of humanity, morality, reason, joy, miracles and faith. Alongside irreconcilable differences, surprising areas of agreement emerge. This is not written from a Christian perspective, but I am reading to understand the complexities of this issue we are tackling – God is loving and good and yet bad things do happen in this world to the good and the not so good alike. It is animportant conversation and I hope that we can continue to ponder and discuss these complexities in this “think tank” of diverse thinkers known as Washington Cathedral.
Tim White
2 comments:
I like your ideas!
Every disaster--whether its cancer or an earthquake could be considered a "curse" in a sense, but it is not the final word. Can these "curses" be wiped out as we partner with God in science?
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