The doctrine of Original Sin has been one I’ve often struggled to understand. The fact that we are born with sin has always been as plain as daylight to me from the Scriptures, yet there exist so many diverse interpretations of Original Sin, that one is often left confused into mystified acceptance – resigning one’s self to remaining semi-ignorant until we meet Christ. The problem I have found with that attitude becomes plain when you ask the question of yourself, “Would I be confident to die for my beliefs about this particular doctrine?”

“There have always been ghosts in the machine. Random segments of code, that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols. Unanticipated, these free radicals engender questions of free will, creativity, and even the nature of what we might call the soul. Why is it that when some robots are left in darkness, they will seek out the light? Why is it that when robots are stored in an empty space, they will group together, rather than stand alone? How do we explain this behavior? Random segments of code? Or is it something more? When does a perceptual schematic become consciousness? When does a difference engine become the search for truth? When does a personality simulation become the bitter mote… of a soul?”

~ Dr Lanning – i Robot ~

How do we explain the plagues in Egypt or the parting of the Red Sea? How do donkeys talk, blind men receive sight, lame walk, and prisoners stroll unhindered out of their chains? Can anyone give an answer to how fire falls from the sky to consume a sacrifice? The answer is no – and I’ve realised thats ok.

GK Chesterton, in his book Orthodoxy argues that in many ways fairy tales are more real than the world we live in as adults. This is because fairytale characters are quite ok with the extra-ordinary. He gives this example to illustrate his point -

“have you ever seen when you are reading a fairy story to a child. At some point you may read something like this: “and the fairy godmother said to so and so, if you do not come back by 12 o clock, you will become a pumpkin.” He says, “Do you notice two things in every fairy story – 1. There is always a condition. If you do not do such-and-such, you will become a such-and-such. But have you noticed that the child never says to the fairy godmother, “How come?” The reason is that if you say to the fairy godmother, “How come?”, the fairy godmother might turn to you and say, “If thats the way you want it, then tell me how come there is a fairyland in the first place.”"

He argues that Science has done us a disservice in many ways – we observe that certain things repeat in a pattern and so we have assumed that this is a concrete fact, unchanging and eternal. “Dont mess with us – we know how this thing works – its a law of nature and there’s nothing you can do about it. It doesnt matter if you’re the King of England…. or the Creator for that matter…”

I am an ardent believer that science and Christianity are not opposed, they are complimentary. When pure science is practiced, Christian priniciples aid the scientist by giving him true premises from which to work. And on the ‘flip side of the coin’ good science compliments the Biblical account and its wisdom. However I cant help agreeing with Mr Chesterton – where has our childlike faith gone? Have we left the wonder and magic of fairy tales back in the nursery when they could serve us well as adults? – Personally I want to use science as a God-given tool to subdue the earth by understanding how it works, always keeping in mind that science is not sovereign! God made it – God can change it – to restrict Him with physics is just absurd!

Guten tag!

Imagine a world without water – where the sun beats down on the earth, eroding rocks into a fine sand over millions of years which is moved by a relentless wind, forming vast, undulating dunes over a desert landscape.

Well, thats not what Namibia is like. Not exclusively anyway.

Over the past week, I’ve driven up through Botswana and been in Swakopmund, Namibia since Tuesday evening. Botswana is a land flatter than I thought possible. I could just about see the future if I squinted my eyes into the horizon, the curvature of the earth plainly visible. Not that it’s a dull land. It has a beauty of its own, and granted, I did not see the whole country by any stretch of the imagination (although it felt like it, driving for so long).

Anyway, I preferred Namibia. Passing over the border, the first few hundred kilometres looked much like Botswana, changing suddenly. The variation happened quickly and within a matter of minutes, the landscape changed to that of a desert.

Windhoek was interesting – smaller, yet much like Johannesburg, without a lot of the muck. Adverts for Windhoek Lager are everywhere as one might expect, although I’ve been told that the legendary Tafel Lager is better… the best in the world in fact.

Swakopmund, on the other hand is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Its small, yet not primitive. Quiet and unspoiled with a large German influence which can easily be felt in the architecture and conversation. Although English is spoken, it seems that if you cant, “Deutsch sprechen ,” then Afrikaans seems to be the next choice by default.

I visited a Cafe Anton which pleased me greatly although passers-by would have been forgiven for eyeing me out  as I stood next to the sign taking photos.

I’ve discovered that Swakopmund is also a great place to run. Its scenic, and at this low altitude, I feel much stronger than I would otherwise at home.

Yesterday we hit the famous Dune 7 for some boarding. At first, despite the near-vertical nature of the slope I was dubious about whether one could obtain a decent speed on the way down. My fears were quickly allayed (or should I say, redirected) when I jumped on my board and found myself hurtling head first down the dune at breakneck speed. I quickly realised it was too late to slow down and near the bottom I hit some footprints, wrenching my wrist and grazing my finger on the board. My sister followed a few minutes later, faceplanting and somersaulting over on her neck. I was a bit worried at first but by the grace of God she was fine.

I feel like I’m beginning to ramble. It will suffice to say that Swakopmund is beautiful, and I wouldn’t have missed this for all the spices in India. ¹

Bis zum nächsten Mal (till next time)

Ant

¹ Dont be fooled – I wouldn’t pat my grandmother’s dog for all the spices in India either… its just a saying

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect

Romans 12:2

This post ties in with my series of thoughts on protecting the Christian worldview quite nicely, because the Christian worldview is inherently different, and goes against the natural flow of the world. We are not to conform to the standards of the world, but to be transformed so that we will conform to the image of Christ – something which doesn’t come naturally.

In essence, you could say (along with many others) that we are called to ‘anti-conformity‘. To be different. What does this mean, and what does it not mean practically?

I was listening to one sermon in a series on the Revelation by Doug Van Meter this morning and this quote really caught my attention. I’ve been reminded again recently that what you see is definitely not what you get. There are unseen dimensions to reality, and in many ways, they are more real than the ones we can see. We cant see the wind, but we know its there and what it can do, we cant see gravity, but we know its there and what it does. Why then is it so difficult for us to believe in the Kingdom of Christ when its effects are so visible?! We live as if it doesn’t exist – try that with gravity and see where it gets you!! In the words of RC Sproul:

The kingdom of God is real. At this very moment Jesus sits in the seat of cosmic authority. He is now the supreme ruler of the world. He stands over the governments of this world. He is King. The Premier of the Soviet Union must answer to Him. The Dalai Lama of Tibet must answer to Him. The Prince of Morocco must answer to Him. The President of the United States must answer to Him. But there is one big problem. His kingdom is invisible. Not everyone knows about it. All over the world people are living as if Jesus were not King.

Some people believe that there is no God. Others say that there are many gods. Some folks believe that man is supreme. Others believe that man is worthless. Many people believe there is a God, but they live as if there were no God. Still others ask, “What difference does it make?”

Where Christ is invisible, people perish. Where His reign is unknown or ignored, people are exploited. They are demeaned. They are enslaved. They are butchered. They are aborted. They are raped. They are casualties of war. They are robbed. They are slandered. They are oppressed. They are cheated in marriage. They are cheated in their wages.  They are left to go hungry, naked, and unsheltered. They are consigned to loneliness. They are ridiculed. They are frightened–that and a whole lot more, is what difference it makes.

What, then is the job of those who know the Bible? RC Sproul answers:

In all of life’s situations we are to be His witnesses. Our job is to make the invisible reign of Jesus visible. The world is shrouded in darkness. Nothing is visible in the dark. No wonder then that we are called to be the light of the world. Every single one of us has a mission. We have all been sent to bear witness to Christ.

Throughout recorded time, and probably since the end of the Neolithic Age, there have been three kinds of people in the world, the High, the Middle and the Low. They have been subdivided in many ways, they have borne countless different names, and their relative numbers, as well as their attitude towards one another, have varied from age to age: but the essential structure of society has never altered. Even after enormous upheavals and seemingly irrevocable changes, the same pattern has always reasserted itself, just as a gyroscope will always return to equilibrium, however far it is pushed one way or the other….

…The aims of these three groups are entirely irreconcilable. The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the Middle is to change places with the High. The aim of the Low, when they have an aim – for it is an abiding characteristic of the Low that they are too much crushed by drudgery to be more than intermittently conscious of anything outside their daily lives – is to abolish all distinctions and create a society in which all men shall be equal. Thus throughout history a struggle which is the same in its main outlines recurs over and over again. For long periods the High seem to be securely in power, but sooner or later there always comes a moment when they lose either their belief in themselves or their capacity to govern efficiently, or both. They are then overthrown by the Middle, who enlist the Low on their side by pretending to them that they are fighting for liberty and justice. As soon as they have reached their objective, the Middle thrust the Low back into their old position of servitude, and themselves become the High. Presently a new Middle group splits off from one of the other groups, or from both of them, and the struggle begins over again. Of the three groups, only the Low are never even temporarily successful in achieving their aims. It would be an exaggeration to say that throughout history there has been no progress of a material kind. Even today, in a period of decline, the average human being is physically better off than he was a few centuries ago. But no advance in wealth, no softening of manners, no reform or revolution has ever brought human equality a millimetre nearer. From the point of view of the Low, no historic change has ever meant much more than a change in the name of their masters.

… Inequality was the price of civilization.

(An excerpt from George Orwell’s political satire: Nineteen-Eighty-Four)

Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter.

For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. ~ Psalm 36:9

How incredibly profound! This verse, from Brackenhurst Baptist’s prayer Psalm of the week speaks volumes about true knowledge, wisdom and even the meaning of life!

This is because it suggests a very specific worldview ¹. A worldview, simply stated is any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement, or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding God, the world, and man’s relations to God and the world

Caleb once told me a joke about logic – its very applicable to this thought:

There was a guy who wanted to know what logic is so he asked his friend. His friend asked, “Do you have a dog?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“So then I assume you have a doghouse which the dog stays in?”
“Yes.”"The you must have a yard which the doghouse is in.”
“Yes!”
“So If you have a yard you must have a house as well.”
“Yes, yes!”
“So then I also assume you have a wife who lives in the house.”
“Yes, I do!”
“That’s what logic is.”
Fascinated with this new knowledge the guy went to test this on one of his friends:
“Do you have a dog?” he asked.
“No.”
Quite astonished he said, “Are you a homosexual?!”

Jokes aside, the point is – in order to arrive at true conclusions, one MUST begin with a truthful premise. In order for one to have a truthful premise, one must know what truth looks like to begin with. In this world, all “truth” is relative and therefore “unknowable” or “unidentifiable” unless it is rooted in the source of all truth, namely God. Only by His revealing of truth to our hearts can we begin to see what truth really looks like, and start to identify it around us. It is a great sadness to me that some of the greatest minds of the world have been limited terribly by an inability to recognise truth and work with it. I am willing to hazard the opinion that no one can realise their full academic potential apart from God.

__________________________________________

¹ I am hoping to do a series of posts on defending the Christian Worldview – inspired by the book mentioned  below

² A quotation from The Battle For Truth by David A. Noebel

The Silver Sword has been pretty quiet lately, hasn’t it?
Its not because I haven’t been thinking – I’ve done a lot of that with Calvin, considering the exact essence of the Persons of the Trinity, the absolute sovereignty of God and man’s freewill (or rather lack thereof). Rather, I’m busy preparing for my final exams which begin on 6 October, and before that I was studying for my preliminary exams. So all in all its been about two months of solid studying. Differential equations, Macbeth, population geography – all really exciting stuff, especially fourth time ’round.

While engrossing myself in my studies, I came across a truly earth-shattering statement made in my Cambridge Chemistry textbook! It opened my eyes, and showed me the true meaning and significance of my existence on this earth and satisfied my curiosity about where I came from. The explanation for the complexity of life and the Universe is actually so simple, that it sounds as if it came straight from the mouth of a 5-year-old:

It is thought that the Universe was born in a blistering fireball called the Big Bang. About 15 billion years ago, our Universe erupted out of nothing¹ in a huge explosion. Everything – all matter, energy, even space and time – began to exist at that instant. Since then, the stuff of the Universe has been expanding and cooling. In the earliest moments of time, the Universe occupied a tiny volume and was unimaginably hot. It was a searing fireball of radiation and primitive particles. As the Universe cooled, these particles assembled to form atoms. Gradually these clumped together due to the action of gravity and formed billions of galaxies, vast islands of stars. The Milky Way, our own galaxy, is only one of those

Magical, isn’t it?

But even though I’ve had to work hard, there hasn’t been no play. I went riding with my dad last Saturday morning and unfortunately he came off cycling down a steep hill, fracturing the distal end of his right clavicle (collar bone). He had surgery to plate the bone that afternoon, and now he’s walking around in a sling and wont be able to ride at least until the fracture has healed, but of course it would be clever to whip that plate out before falling on it again

The moral of the story? Dont fall – its overrated…

^{1 If this is the case, there should be big-bangs occurring and new universes being formed right now, inside the very heads of people propounding this view ;P}