Something profound from Pharyngula

There’s something interesting on Pharyngula today.  Well, to be fair, there’s always something interesting over there aside from the religion bashing and name calling.

Dr. PZ Myers has reviewed a book entitled “Don’t Be Such a Scientist:  Talking Substance in an Age of Style.”

In his review, he writes:

There are lessons worth learning throughout the book; one of them is one I’ve known for a long time, that science is at odds with popular culture because it is largely an exercise in constant criticism, and people hate being criticized. We encourage a culture of negativity, because it works for us…which means, of course, that I can’t simply let the book slide by with a happy two thumbs up. I must be such a scientist. One of the things Randy seems to be oblivious to is the fact that character and personality are an essential part of the style element he is endorsing, and scientists can capitalize on their particular, peculiar, aggravating set of common characteristics. He tells his story of being the scientific dufus in the company of artists; the guy who takes things too literally, who has strange stories, who can obsess over odd stuff that no one else cares about, and who has enough character that his friends can talk about “being a Randy” and everyone knows exactly what they’re talking about. He writes as if this was a problem, and I can sympathize with some of his embarrassing moments…but it was a strength. He sounds like he was one of the interesting people in his group.

So I end up feeling a bit torn. He’s telling us “Don’t be such a scientist”, and it’s true that there are many occasions when the scientific attitude can generate unnecessary obstacles to accomplishing our goals. At the same time, though, I want to say “Do [emphasis his] be such a scientist”, because it’s part of our identity and it makes us stand out as unusual and, like Randy, interesting, even if it sometimes does make us a bit abrasive. But, you know, some of us revel in our abrasiveness; it’s fun.”

I find these thoughts very profound and insightful, though perhaps not for the reasons they were intended.

Read on and I’ll explain….

THE SMELL OF DEATH

What have we (Christians) done?

I was reading Romans 2 today and God really burdened me.

Questions:

Are Christians the “new” Jews?

Did you know 70% of America’s youth in church today will have dropped out of church for at least one year [if not longer] by the time they graduate college? In a recent survey by Lifeway Research,

“…70 percent of young adults ages 23-30 stopped attending church regularly for at least a year between the ages of 18-22″.

Many of those will return, but many will not. Why?

The ones that return have solid foundations, and the others do not. One group has a desire for spiritual things, the other does not.

Why?

Ultimately we are responsible for our own decisions, but did you know that as believers we are responsible for the decisions of others too? That’s a sobering thought and one that many will try to deny.

SCRIPTURE:

Let’s go to scripture and find out what God has to say about it. Many Christian believers believe that Christians (Jew & Gentile) are now God’s chosen people. That Israel rejected the Messiah, and YAHWEH turned His face from them. I’m not sure where I stand on this as I haven’t done an in depth study of it. Either way, I think the following scripture now applies to Christians as well as Jews because of the lifestyle so many Christians lead.

In Romans 2, Paul is speaking to a Jewish audience (but it might as well be us) and he says this: (Romans 2:23-24)
Rom 2:23 You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?
Rom 2:24 For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.

See, the Jews were real good at bending God’s commandments. They were real good at trying to move the line that God had drawn in the sand.
Are we any different though?  We stand around debating the application of scriptures and ignore the clear commandments of God. So unbelievers (GENTILES) that are watching us, what do they think? They blaspheme the name of God because of US.

WOAHHHHH…That’s heavy stuff.

What does blaspheme mean anyway? Well the translated word is “blasphemeo” and it means
“to slander, hence to speak lightly or profanely of sacred things”

EGADS! We’re causing unbelievers (GENTILES) to slander, speak lightly,profanely the NAME OF GOD.

But why?

THE PROBLEM:

Because we don’t live what we say we believe. How often have we heard, “Do as I say, not as I do.”?

Well, that attitude has helped lead us to where we are today. With a lot of people who have no idea what true Christianity is. Or who the true God is that we serve.

I know we all make mistakes as believers. But a lot of individual mistakes affects our local sphere of influence (our children, youth in our church, youth in our neighborhood, our friend’s friends.)

Perhaps worse, we don’t balance the mistakes with works of faith. We say we believe such and such, but we don’t reach out to people. We do not love our neighbors.  Our faith is dead if we don’t exercise it.

If a person only sees one side of Christianity, the falseness, the fakeness, they hypocrisy, do they really have a choice?
A choice (noun) is defined as: option: one of a number of things from which only ONE can be chosen.

Don’t say to me, “it’s their fault”. “They could dig into scripture and find God”. “They could come to church and hear about God”. We are COMMANDED to spread the GOOD NEWS. Has it ceased to be the GOOD NEWS?

THE SOLUTION:

GIVE THEM A CHOICE. Help them see the choices of the world contrasted with the living God.
I’ll leave you with this:
Matthew 5:14 (NASB)
“You are the light of the world. A City set on a hill cannot be hidden”

What have we done with our light. We have let it burn low and the lost are wondering around in the dark and cannot see it. We must get back to God’s word and His commandments to fuel it again.

Prayer:
Dear heavenly father. Remind us again of your commandments. Ignite in us the desire to live for you again.
Ignite in us the desire for lost people. Ignite in us the desire to do what you COMMAND us to do. Quench the spirit of debate, and argument. Help us to remember there will be time eternal to hear and understand all your Word after the harvest is done, and the day of rest is upon us.

AMEN