Posts Tagged: Abraham

“Believers as Naturalists”

On January 7, 2022 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“There are believers in the supernatural and then there are those who believe in science and natural law.” That is the attitude of lots of people these days.

What if I told you that there are believers who are also naturalists? That is what I’m going to tell you in this post.

I was listening to Genesis 18 yesterday. For the sake of context, here is part of the chapter relevant to the matter at hand:

“Gen. 18:1   And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

Gen. 18:9   They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.” (English Standard Version)

This is a story of two old, childless folks who lived about four thousand years ago. They knew the facts of life. And the fact was that they were never going to have a baby. Sarah laughed the laugh of a naturalist who had just been confronted with a supernatural prediction.

Let’s not be too hard on Sarah. Abraham had laughed too when confronted with this baby announcement (Genesis 17:17).

As C.S. Lewis pointed out, the ancients knew where babies came from. They were much more aware of the world (and of what we call “natural law”) than we frequently give them credit for being.

And let’s face it: Miracles are not God’s usual way of operating. If they were, they wouldn’t be so miraculous. If miracles were super common, we wouldn’t be impressed. Indeed, we would take them for granted.

I take great comfort from the fact that Abraham and Sarah were naturalists who came to believe in their own personal miracle. They were told to name the child “Isaac”. Why? Because the name Isaac means “laughter”. Every time the spoke their son’s name, they were reminded of their naturalistic and natural amusement at God’s miraculous prediction.

But God had the last laugh. God always does.

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“DISCONNECTING THE PANIC BUTTON”

On March 4, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Fear not!”  (Gen. 15:1.  See also Gen. 21:17; 26:24; 35:17; 43:23; 46:3; 50:19; Exod. 20:20; Deut. 1:21; 20:3; 31:6,8; Jos. 8:1; 10:25; Jdg. 4:18; 6:10,23; Ruth 3:11; 1 Sam. 4:20; 12:20; 22:23; 23:17; 2 Sam. 9:7; 13:28; 1 Ki. 17:13; 2 Ki. 6:16; 17:34; 25:24; 1 Chr. 28:20; 2 Chr. 20:17; Ps. 55:19; 64:4; Isa. 7:4; 35:4; 41:13f; 43:1,5; 44:2; 54:4; Jer. 40:9; 46:27; Lam. 3:57; Dan. 10:12,19; Joel 2:21; Zech. 8:13; Mal. 3:5; Matt. 1:20; 10:28; 28:5; Lk. 1:13,30; 2:10; 5:10; 8:50; 12:7,32; 18:4; Jn. 12:15; Acts 27:24; 1 Pet. 2:18; Rev. 1:17.)

I have a panic button, and I push it often.

For example, I will say to my wife, “Oh, dear!  I’ve forgotten/lost/forgotten to do __________!”

And then, after I’ve gotten myself and my wife all riled up, I remember that I have not forgotten/lost/forgotten to do __________ after all.

My wife has gotten into the habit of not paying attention to my panic button.  If I ever have a real emergency, I may be in real trouble.

So, why exactly do I hit the panic button so often?  I can answer that with great confidence: I have no idea.

However, I might have a few suspicions.

First of all, I suspect that I hit the panic button because I have attention deficit disorder, and it often really does contribute to my losing and/or forgetting things.  So, I figure that the safest thing is just to assume I have lost or forgotten something.  However, there is an old bit of wisdom that I regularly ignore that goes like this: “Never bet against yourself.  You’ll lose for sure!”  Perhaps I should pay more attention to that old saying.

Second, I think that, if I hit the panic button, maybe someone will come to my aid.  Here, I probably need to remember a child’s story with a very grown-up message: The Boy Who Cried Wolf.  He cried “Wolf!” as a joke one too many times.  When a wolf really did attack, no one believed him.  (In one version of this old fable from Aesop, the wolf eats the shepherd boy, but I spare you any more gory details.)  My wife has made a radical, simple, and practical suggestion: “Why don’t you check first before you get me all stirred up?!”

A third suspicion is that part of my problem is the matter of time management.  If I am trying to pack too much living into life, I have a tendency to either really forget things, or at least think that I have.  If I managed my time more wisely, perhaps I would be less prone to hit the red button.

But whatever the reason (or excuse??) for hitting the panic button, I’ve come to one conclusion: It is never ever helpful to hit the panic button.  It just makes me and everyone around me feel more panicky, and less able to deal with any real problems.

In one of my favorite movies, “Apollo 13,” Flight Direction Gene Kranz, says, “Let’s work the problem, people.  Let’s not make things worse by guessing.”

So, how do I disconnect the wires of the panic button?  I don’t know, but I’m going to figure it out.  Perhaps taking a few deep breaths might help.  Breathing is a good idea at any time, and breathing deeply is the best kind of breathing.  Holding my breath or panting is usually a prelude to hitting the panic button.

Perhaps praying the Serenity Prayer might help.  Then, there is the “5-Day Spiritual Adventure” prayer that I learned many years ago: “Calm my spirit, LORD!”  Combining slow breathing with one or both of these prayers could be an excellent mixed drink to calm my jangly nerves.

Dear readers, if you are prone to hit the panic button, and if you have anything that you’ve tried that works for you, don’t hesitate to e mail me with your suggestions.   You may be helping me not only to write better blogs in the future, but you may also help to lengthen my wife’s life.

 

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