Moral Decisions

 What is a moral decision? Are such decisions based on inherited factors or are they culturally determined?

One can define morality as “principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.”  A moral decision is one that is choosing what is right as defined by one’s ethical beliefs or faith.

 

C.S. Lewis would tell us that we all are born with a moral law – a knowledge of what is right and wrong. This is expressed across different cultures – so in some ways they are culturally determined, but the common moral law we share is evidence of God’s presence in our creation.

 

That said, I don’t think our moral decisions occur in a vacuum. Our intellectual abilities and how our brain functions have an impact on our decisions. The health and state of our bodies impact those decisions, as well.

 

So, short answer, God’s gift of moral law, our inherited brain function, our body’s health and function, and our culture all impact our moral decisions.

Wisdom

Hoover Dam

"Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; it is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 4:6

I'm reading Francis Collins' new book, The Road to Wisdom: on Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust. I started it today, and in the first seven pages, he starts talking about what wisdom means. 

But what does wisdom mean? It is not the same as knowledge, though it depends on it.  Wisdom includes the understanding and incorporation of a moral framework. But it goes even further. When its's working, wisdom can lead to sober judgement about how to discern truth, and what decision to make when the path is not clear. It includes experience, common sense, and insight.

Do you feel like that sometimes we as a society have devalued knowledge and wisdom? We disparage people who have gone to college. (Understand that I do not mean to downplay those who have not chosen that path - I think we shouldn't sell either way short). We make fun of "nerds." It feels like we have lost sight of the value of study, knowledge, and wisdom.

Not only that, but we have begun to distrust science and logical thought. We do our "research" on Facebook and ignore true research by professionals. One only has to look at the number of people who refused vaccinations in the pandemic to see this at work.

And yet, Collins lines out the value of knowledge and wisdom. It increases our ability to discern truth and to make decisions when the path is not clear. I really think in our society we need to increase our ability to discern the truth and to make good decisions.

I'm looking forward to reading this book.

 

Perspectives: Smithsonian Castle

I have always thought this was a beautiful building and wanted to go inside. When I did, I didn't find that much that was interesting (which is just me - I'm sure it's a favorite for some). It does speak to how we judge "books by their covers," though.

Logos: Job

Then Job answered: "Today also my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning.  Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his dwelling! I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would learn what he would answer me and understand what he would say to me.  Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No, but he would give heed to me.  There the upright could reason with him, and I should be acquitted forever by my judge.  (Job 23:1-7)

Does anything strike you about this passage from Job? I am interested in the courage Job shows to make his case before God. He is searching for God, and when Job finds God, he is going to ask God why all of this horribleness has happened to him. He doesn't feel greater than God, but he does believe that God will at least listen to him. He's groaning for answers for his pain and loss.

I have spoken to people who believe it is sinful to doubt God or to question God. They believe that whatever has happened is God's will and part of God's plan. I think Job has the way of things. I think God wants us to "lay our case before" God and ask for meaning or at least understanding. I think God wants us to bring our grief and pain to the relationship.

I know that later God comes to Job - God doesn't provide answers, and even reminds Job that he is not God. But God does come to Job and speak with him. God does speak with Job, and I think that would be important to Job. And to us.

 

Nudges vs Shows of Power

List some of the specific ways that the Bible tells us that God led Israel. Which are “nudges” and which are “shows of power”? When was the latter necessary?

A few examples of God leading Israel would include the exodus from Egypt, the Ten Commandments, the giving of the law through Moses, the raising up of judges and the prophets, the selection of Saul and then David as kings, and the rebuilding of the wall and temple, just to name a few.

 

I think God used shows of power – such as the exile and the parting of the Red Sea – when power was necessary.  For example, could the Israelites have escaped from Egypt without God’s powerful intervention? Could the Israelites ever have become monotheistic follows who recognized their disobedience without the exile?

 

A classic example of a nudge would be the calling of Samuel when he was a boy. Another example would be Moses bringing the 10 commandments to the people. Even though we see that experience in our minds as a large and momentous event, it is still God providing choice and freedom to God’s people.  When Moses turned aside to encounter God in a burning bush, it was still a nudge – Moses could have refused. He had that freedom, even though God continued to persuade him.

 

I think nudges don’t curtail freedom while acts of power might.

Perspectives: Entering Fairmont

 Entering the city of Fairmont, West Virginia

Gather us in

Last Sunday in worship we sang the song Gather us in. In the lyrics are the lines:

Give us a heart so meek and so lowly

Give us the courage to enter the song

As I was singing the song, questions came to my mind.

• What is the song? It reminds me of the song The Lord of the Dance.  I think the song and the dance are the same. The song is the work of the kingdom of God, maybe.
• Why do we need courage?  What are we afraid of? What area we always afraid of? Loss of control? Loss of comfort? Failure? I included line just before the line that caught my attention because I think it speaks to this question. A meek and lowly heart would give up control and comfort. It would give us the courage to enter the song.

May we do so.  Gather us in - gather us all in.

 

Is God Limited?

 Is God in any way limited? Were there any limitations upon God as creation occurred?

I don’t believe God is limited by anything external to God except that I think God has limits that God has created. When God created the universe, for example, God limited himself to use the physical processes to create and maintain the world. God grants freedom to creation and to creatures (such as us); that freedom, created by God, limits what God will do. I assume there are exceptions, when God chooses, for miracles.

______

In my Religion and Science class, we view a video lecture in two parts, and then we respond to four questions for each part of the video lecture. We are then asked to post the answers to two questions in each section for Discussion with the class.  I always answer all four questions on my own, and then select two of them to post.  I did post this one.  One of the responses and my response to the question are posted below.

Question: So, would you say that God is self-limiting, but is not limited by any external sources? Could God do evil? Could one say "Yes, but God always chooses not to."

My Answer: I think if we say God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, then we have to say that God limits God's-self.  I think, as I type this, without God's self limiting choices, we would be living in chaos.  For example (and this is going to be a bad example), if Tom's neighbor is killed, and Tom becomes the suspect, someone might give a character witness that Tom "could never have done that."  When in actuality, Tom could have made the decision to murder his neighbor, but Tom's character would never have allowed it. 

Perspectives: Traveling Bear

 

Book Review: The Gospel of Mark

Information about the book

Amy Jill Levine. The Gospel of Mark: A Beginner's Guide to the Good News.  Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2023. Cokesbury / Amazon.  Leader's Guide

Summary

From Amazon: Walk through the Bible’s earliest source for the life of Jesus with scholar Amy-Jill Levine as she examines John the Baptizer, the Little Apocalypse, the Transfiguration, and several of Jesus's most notable stories and parables. The Good News of the gospel message comes alive in this book as readers see Jesus as divine and human, powerful and weak, approachable yet mysterious. The book features an in-depth study of select passages and illuminates the Gospel in its historical context and as a source for the other gospels.

Impressions

I have read other Amy-Jill Levine books, and I always find them eye-opening. Her thoughts and writing open new pathways for me and provide new ways to see God's word in scripture.  She describes herself as "an unorthodox member of an Orthodox synagogue..." One of the gifts she brings to her scholarship is a Jewish background. Her writing often (rightly) challenges our anti-Jewish assumptions about the scripture.

In this look at Mark, I especially appreciated how Levine brings us along through her exploration of the scripture. She is expertly searching for Mark's purposes in the Gospel and how it impacts our reading and understanding of the Word (something we should always do). She often shared multiple options for interpretation, and why each one rings true for her or not.

I highly recommend this book and will be adding other Levine books to my TBR.

Posts about book

Posts about this book are tagged with Levine Mark.

What will we do?

Peter said to him, "Even though all become deserters, I will not." Jesus said to him, 'Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times."  But he said vehemently, "Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you." And all of them said the same.

Mark 14: 29-31

I like Peter.  I want to know more about Peter. He is so passionate about what he believes in, and so impulsive. When I read the passage above from Mark, I feel for Peter. He is so certain he will not betray Jesus, and we know how wrong he is. And we know how desperate sorry he is later, and how grateful he must have been to Jesus after the fire on the shoreline.

I also thought about us. We are pretty quick to judge. If we only saw Peter and his betrayal, we would condemn him - how could he betray the one he followed?

And how quick we are to say, when we look at the lives of other people, "If I were in that situation, I would behave differently." I think none of us really know how we will react when faced with fear and danger. We can't predict our responses, even when we are vehement that we will react a certain way. Maybe we will do what we are certain we would do - maybe we will not. Maybe we will betray that which is most important to us.

Maybe when injustices happen, we will remain silent. Maybe when the racial joke is shared, we will say nothing, rather than call the person out for their bigotry. Maybe when our child behaves in an unpredictable and inappropriate way, we won't have the perfect response. Maybe we should stop judging others.

 

Perspectives: Red Rock Canyon

 This is Red Rock Canyon, just outside of Las Vegas.  It would probably be a great place to hike - we've only done very minimal walking in the area. There is a great drive through tour where I pushed my family to stop at every scenic view point. Lovely, and so different from where we live. 

Notice that some of the rocks ARE red; others aren't. It makes for great scenery.

Abomination

In the book The Gospel of Mark, Amy-Jill Levine talks about Mark 13, the Little Apocalypse. 

Verse 14 says, "“But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains;"

What is the "desolating sacrilege?"  No one really knows, but it does invite us to speculate on what would be a desolating sacrilege to us.  Levine talks about attending the Oberammergau Passion Play with friends who were involved in translating the into German the Jewish Annotated New Testament.  While on intermission, they went to a nearby Protestant church where they saw "a stained-glass window depicting the 'mockery of Jesus' with stereotypical demonic images of Jews."  She and - and even more so - her German friends were horrified. There are efforts at work to remove the window or place a notice of apology with it.

She asks the important question: "When we see an abomination, what do we do with it?"

In December, 2021, the statue of John C. Calhoun was removed from downtown Charleston, South Carolina.  He had been a statesmen and the vice president of the United States, but he was a staunch defender of slavery. Ironically, they can't find a place to display the statue, even four years later.  All plans of sending it somewhere else have been refused by the recipients.

A neighbor of ours flies both a United States flag and a Confederate battle flag. What do we do about it? I understand that he has the right to fly whatever flag he chooses in his own yard, but I can hope that he would come to see what an abomination it is. It saddens me; it infuriates me. His house is at the top of our entry way hill, so it is what greets visits when they enter the subdivision; it is what our neighbors of color see when they drive home.

When we see an abomination, what do we do with it?

 

Resurrection

What is “resurrection”? Is it the same thing as eternal life? Does anything in Dr. Ward’s presentation make it easier for you to believe in the possibility of a life beyond death?

The video in our class material states that death is the way to life. This is resurrection – life that follows death. It can be the glorious resurrection of Jesus, but there are other ways we experience resurrection. When my mother-in-law died from the effects of Alzheimer’s, we met with our pastor as he was planning the funeral. He asked us questions about her, and the conversation brought her back to life in the room with us. I don’t mean that she came back to physical life, but the memories of her – her photography, her lists, her lively existence with us – was returned to us as we talked to our pastor. It felt like a resurrection. Death bringing life.  It isn’t always the same thing as eternal life, although it can be, as it will be (we hope in our faith) for us.

 

As I think about the universe Dr. Ward explains – matter created and held together in the mind of God – I can see how eternal life with God could work (or at least a little bit). We won’t be the people we are now (Jesus tells us that), but we will be the children of God that God created, existing in the consciousness of God, like the universe. Of course, that is also the case now, as we exist in this world.