And the Yo-Yo Goes Down

Well, I haven't run since the last week of October. I held off at first because of my new job, which was quite physical and had long hours on my feet. I've probably regained most of the weight I've ever lost (haven't weighed myself for about a month, but last time it was 245). That job was a seasonal job, and I was laid off a week and a half ago. I start my new, permanent job tomorrow, which has better hours and is five days a week (the seasonal job was four days a week).

What I need is motivation and a reason to get back on the horse, or the Pig, or whatever. We'll see.

Dr Pepper Commercial - I Would Do Anything For Love

Fun for today. I love Dr. Pepper!

A Few Theological Thoughts on Natural Disasters

Any time a natural disaster strikes in the world (especially in the poorer parts of the world like Haiti), someone, somewhere will ask why God allowed it to happen, or why God caused it to happen. Why doesn't God stop the earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, and any other disaster?

Theologians differ on how to answer this question. It depends on a more foundational question: did God know it would happen? (This also give rise to the related question: could God have stopped it?) Orthodox Christianity says yes. Some Christians believe that God knew it would happen because he decreed for it to happen. That is, God predestined it to happen exactly as it did, and that's why he knew about it. Some Christians believe that God knew it would happen because he simply foreknew or foresaw it happening. That is, God sees the future without causing the future. He permitted it. A few Christians believe that God did not know it would happen (at least not until he could calculate future plate tectonics based on his perfect knowledge of the physical world and his infinite ability to figure things like that out). Once he knew it would happen, he could stop it but permitted it anyway.

I embrace the second option listed above, that God knew it would happen, but allowed it without causing it. Fortunately (but sometimes frustratingly), it's not our job to explain why God permits or prevents anything. He is totally sovereign over all of creation. A few thoughts in that direction, however, can't hurt:

• Whether you think the movement of the tectonic plates is a result of the fall and cursing of the ground or not, the fact remains that it is a natural, normal event on Earth. It happens all the time. It is the location and timing that make it tragic, not the fact of the occurrence.
• As long as people continue to choose to live and build cities along known fault lines, it's only a matter of time for things like this to happen. We can't really be surprised when the next San Francisco or Mexico City earthquake happens, and we shouldn't ask, "how can God let this happen?" We should ask, "how can man let this happen?" "They knew there's a fault line there!"
• I can't say for sure, but perhaps one reason God allows natural disasters to happen (and this probably goes for other kinds of suffering and evil) is because for God to prevent every disaster or suffering caused by nature would basically involve God constantly interrupting or overriding things like gravity, trajectory, momentum, and a hundred other factors which are usually predictable. The world would be entirely unpredictable. If I try to light a match, will it work? What if hitting my brakes would have caused suffering; will God cause my brakes not to work? How could I ever confidently do anything? The scientific method, which depends so much on the principle of uniformity (e.g., gravity works the same everywhere in the universe, photons behave the same etc.), would be rendered useless and scientific progress/knowledge would cease.
  
• A certain amount of pain in life is actually very good, and healthy. The fact that your hand hurts when you put it near fire is a good thing; physical pain is a warning that something is going wrong with the body. The lack of sensation of pain (e.g., Hansen's disease/leprosy) shows us this truth.
• Without some pain and tragedy in life, such virtues as bravery, self-sacrifice, and forebearance wouldn't mean much.
• Just because God is allowing evil and suffering to exist now doesn't mean that evil people are "getting away with it." Don't criticize God when history is not over; he has promised that when Jesus returns, every person will be judged on the basis of what they've done, and if they do not belong to Christ, there is no forgiveness of sins and eternal punishment awaits them.
  

There are probably a dozen other thoughts that could be added, but the reality for the people of Haiti, and for anyone else suffering, is this: all the reasons in the world can't undo the suffering, can't bring anyone back, can't heal the pains and can't reduce the severity of the experience. Arguments like those listed above may have some value, but to those who are actually suffering, it is cold comfort at best.

Theology must always lead to ministry. Ministry, the living out of one's theology and the application of that life onto the lives of others, is the most profound answer to the question of where God is when it hurts. As Philip Yancey concludes, the answer to the question "Where is God when it hurts?" is another question: where is the church when it hurts?

The answer? The church is in Haiti, has been for a long time. You won't read about it much in the papers or on the major news media, but dozens of ministries like International Disaster Emergency Services are making a difference in the name of Jesus.

As it turns out, the question of why God allows things is important, but perhaps not as important as the question of what the Church of Jesus Christ does in response to all the evil and suffering.

Benny Hinn: Let the Bodies Hit the Floor

Not my cup of tea musically, but this makes me laugh every time. I can't stand Benny Hinn for a variety of reasons, and this video shows the seriousness with which his claims ought to be taken.

Comet Encounters the Sun

The sun eats a comet - cool. Thanks, Jared Altic for the link on your blog.

The Prayer Cross: What Would Jesus Think?

I love how the prayer "almost miraculously" becomes visible. Really?!

The real irony is in how the symbol for the horrific, humiliation-filled execution of Christ is now, in stunning crystal and sterling silver, a "one-of-a-kind spiritual accessory."

It's also "the perfect way to keep the Lord's Prayer close to your heart." Literally, perhaps, but not in the way the Lord's Prayer ought to be close to your heart: by memorizing it (or as Ps. 119:11 says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.").

As my nephew Eric would say, "Ay-ay-AY!"

The Conservative Bible Project: All Kinds of Wrong

MSN.com recently had a link to the Conservative Bible Project, an attempt to "render God's word into modern English while removing liberal distortions." To accomplish this task, the CBP allows for anyone to remove those "liberal distortions" by copying the King James Version text and editing it to make it more conservative. It is then submitted for review (by other "translators") and then is posted on the site. One of the advantages of this, they believe, is "an unbiased and truthful Bible is of immeasurable value to society." The CBP believes that their efforts are leading to an unbiased and truthful Bible.

I am still in process in my thinking on this subject, but liberals shouldn't be the only ones upset by this. A few thoughts (and I reserve the right to add more later):

• this process is a mockery of biblical interpretation and Bible translation. The CBP encourages users to click on a link when copying the KJV text that will show them the Strong's concordance number and the lexical form of the Greek word being translated. What's wrong with this? It's backwards: starting with the English and then finding the Greek is simply the wrong way to translate. Further, ignoring the grammar of the Greek and simply translating the dictionary form for each word separately is completely irresponsible. Like any language, Koine Greek is nuanced and meaning can be and often is affected by things like the verb tense, word order, and the case, number, and gender of words (and participles). Putting translation in the hands of anyone with Internet access is naive and dangerous.
• One example of the above is the proposed translation of Matthew 1:18: "The birth of Jesus Christ happened this way: His mother, Mary, was engaged to Jospeh, but before they were married, she became pregnant with the child of the Divine Guide." My problem with this is the title "Divine Guide." This is not a translation of pneumatos hagiou ("Holy Spirit" in the genitive case); it is an interpretation and downright ignoring of the Greek. If this kind of result is accepted, what else is acceptable? Yes, the Holy Spirit is a guide, and yes, he is divine. But he is much more than that!
• This will not produce an unbiased Bible. It exchanges a Bible with a perceived liberal bias with a Bible having an actual conservative bias. One of the proposed methods is to "identify conservative terms that are omitted from existing translations, and propose where they could improve the translation." How is this NOT inserting bias into the text? The stated goal is a conservative Bible, not an accurate rendering of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
• This is a sickening, forced mixing of Scripture and a political agenda. What I hear is "forget accurate translation (and, for that matter, accurate biblical theology), we just want our Bible our way," which is just as bad as what they're accusing liberals of. I also hear "I don't care what those scholars who spend their entire careers translating and interpreting the text say, this is what ____ means."
  
• It is also a conflation of liberal theology and liberal politics. The two are not identical.
• It assumes that recent moves by Bible translators (such as the use of "brothers and sisters" when the word adelphoi occurs) is solely motivated by an anti-conservative, feminist bias. This is simply not the case. There are some places where adelphoi probably refers to more than just men; therefore, it's not some shady liberal plot to undermine biblical authority.

The Bible is God's Word for our lives, not something to translate according to your political views.