…It’s worth noting that the best video game graphics or visual effects technology cannot compare to the human brain. Depth perception is rendered flawlessly, visual information processed in great detail and at great speed. No computer can process such enormous quantities of information at such a rate; no video card can continuously render a changing 3D environment with such smooth precision. And on top of all that, our brains compile sight and sound together with other senses to make a comprehensive environment layered with incomparable texture and intricacy – one wonders that our nervous system doesn’t break down under this immense task. And we take it all for granted. We generate “second lives” online and retreat to video games and movies (not that such things are bad, but they are often pursued at the expense of our involvement in the real world), as if our own world lacked visual splendour or an interesting plot. But what could be more worth pursuing than one’s own story and adventure!
In these last few posts I’ve been saying that things we observe in the world deserve our awe simply because they are there. What’s equally amazing is that we are able to see and hear these things and to make sense of our world, and not just in a rudimentary way, but with mental processing that far eclipses any computer. This ability to understand the world is truly incredible, and it is no more to be taken for granted than the world itself and the things we see in it. This world exists! We exist! And we can understand the world! These are truly remarkable facts.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Another Miracle: Our Ability to Understand the World
Monday, October 26, 2009
Be Alive to Reality: A Richly Layered Composition
…And it is not just the toaster in itself or the blade of grass by itself that deserves our awe simply because it so majestically exists, but all the more the toaster in its kitchen environment, the blade of grass in the context of its little clump of grass. Yes, wonder at each thing itself. But wonder all the more at the motion of the tablecloth against the stillness of the wall, the light and heat and color of the sunlight as it carves a path into the otherwise grey and cool room. Stand in amazement not only at each part of your environment in itself, but at your environment as a whole, and at the dynamic contrast or interaction between any two or more things you see. Consider each sound in light of each sight, and vice versa. Imagine the whole of your world as it would be without one particular smell, and then be amazed not only at the smell, but at what your whole world is like because that smell is there. Wonder at the motion and movement of all these things in time – at clouds rolling and twisting and reforming as they move, at silence not only as silence but as a new thing that follows sound, and then at sound all the more because it is where before it was not. Each note of music is a miracle because of how it so perfectly follows all that precedes it. Take it all in, delight in it – the big picture formed by the five senses as it changes throughout time. Reality is so rich, so layered, so wonderful!* There is no bottom, no end to which even the simplest of things can be probed – even a scrap of paper holds infinite divine wisdom! There is always more to find in any given thing, always deeper treasures to discover. “Rejoice evermore!” in the words of Saint Paul (see this post). So take nothing for granted, but delve deep into the miracle and the mystery of even the simplest of things.
“He dwells (all of Him dwells) within the seed of the smallest flower and is not cramped: Deep Heaven is inside Him who is inside the seed and does not distend Him. Blessed be He!” – C. S. Lewis, Perelandra
Friday, October 23, 2009
Be Alive to Reality: Even Ordinary Things Are Extraordinary
…This summer I visited Victoria Falls, the largest waterfall in the world. It was incredible. Not only was it majestic, truly great, in sheer size and power (being surrounded by the falls in a 3D environment is much more amazing than the pictures), but there are so many little details to notice about the falls – the way the water cascades down, the little streams and rivulets of water that fall hundreds of feet side by side with the larger sections of thundering water, the way the water from a narrow section of falls sprays in all directions when it hits a rock or the water below, the little droplets of water that are blown up to the tops of the cliffs on the other side, the large waterfalls at the top and bottom of the 300-foot drop that look tiny compared to the real falls, the sunlight hitting a particular tree on a cliff and lighting it up, the vertical path traced by any particular jet of water, etc. I stood there and just observed, taking it in.
It’s not as difficult to see the wonder and majesty in something like Victoria Falls. We’re wired to gasp at a thing that great and that beautiful. But we’re no less capable of standing in awe of everything in nature, and not only nature, but even the more mundane and dull inventions of man. Even a toaster demands our awe! It’s funny, but true. The ordinary is not “just” what it is – in fact, it’s not ordinary. To call something ordinary is to assume a standard of expectation, but why should one make such an assumption? Nothing is ordinary. Rather, everything is extraordinary simply because it exists. Even if a thing had no other property than existence, it would still be a glorious wonder. But of course all things are so much more than that – they are particular in many ways, and therefore beautiful. Each rock an untold treasure, each leaf a priceless piece of art, each atom of our world a gem of heaven, even each integer – a divine masterpiece.
So again, take nothing for granted, not even a toaster (it is a miracle that the universe should produce such a thing more than it is that man should invent it), not even existence, for why should there be a reality at all?!* If we can learn to be alive to reality, to take no thing’s existence for granted but rather see the beauty and the miracle of being in all things, to look at trees and cars and people with awe and wonder simply because they are, then perhaps we will see the need for a firm foundation to existence. This world is amazing, and the more we realize that, the more we will see the need for an explanation of its miraculous existence. It is this issue that I explore in my posts on “The Foundation of Existence.”
Monday, October 19, 2009
Be Alive to Reality: Everything That Exists Is a Miracle
Everything that exists is a miracle – it is a miracle because it exists. And what’s sad is that we go about our day to day lives as if there was nothing out of the ordinary. We take not only our relationships and joys and daily bread for granted, but our very world. We take this reality for granted, as if it is simply…what one would expect. But reality itself is extraordinary! What could be more unexpected than existence? What could be more surprising than this world, than the fact that we find ourselves in this world and not another? What could be more stunning than the five fingers on your hand, simply because they are there. Do you ever think, “my God, I exist!,” “Good God! This blade of grass, with such perfect form and texture and color – it is just what it is and not something else! What a miracle!” Hardly anyone does. It’s as if we were walking around the world blindfolded, because to take the existence of anything for granted is to blind yourself to the glorious miracle of its being – the fact that it is there just as it is, when it might not have been.
And what would happen if we took the blindfold off? What would happen if we opened our eyes to this remarkable reality? Perhaps we could learn to gasp not only at a gorgeous sunset, but at the light spot the sun makes behind a cloud on a rainy day. Perhaps we could learn to wonder not only at that but at each raindrop as it falls, so perfectly formed – a tiny bead of water falling from the heavens. Even the rust on a car door, with such exquisitely detailed texture, even the crumbs on your empty plate, so stunningly unique in form, so amazingly particular in the way they are arrayed against their background. Take nothing for granted, but instead, be alive to reality! Train yourself to see all things as miracles…
Friday, October 16, 2009
Resurrection to Eternal Life
…I sometimes find myself wishing that I could find a portal to another world where I would find exciting adventures, perhaps a wardrobe or a picture or a book, as in Lewis’ Narnia. But the fact is that our deepest longings can only be satisfied in the life to come, to which death is the portal, as we have seen. There is life beyond death, and it is not merely the life of renewed consciousness in a bodiless spiritual realm, or of return to a physical body in another realm (reincarnation), or of return to the same physical body (resuscitation). Heaven is the everlasting life of love and joy in the presence of God, life in a resurrected, perfected, glorified, and imperishable physical body (1 Corinthians 15), life so glorious that no mind can conceive it (1 Corinthians 2:9), life where every tear is wiped away and every wound healed (Revelation 21:4, 22:2), life that has no end and is lies ever before us, life that grows and branches out into reality in ever-increasing wonder and joy, life where the things that bring us greatest happiness in this mortal world are shown to be foretastes and reflections of the far greater things of God. Surely hope for this life gives us reason to await death with anticipation, even excitement. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15,
“What you sow does not come to life unless it dies…What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power…Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’”
Most people today operate as if the natural movement of things is from life to death. We live for several decades, and then we die – so we might as well make the most of our lives. This life-to-death direction may be biologically natural, and natural within the context of the universe as it is now (see my posts on “Integrating Scientific and Biblical Eschatologies”). But there is a deeper nature of reality, in which death to life is the fundamental direction. Not life ending in death, but death first, and then – only then – life to the fullest. Death gives birth to life: a flower from dry rock, water in the desert, fire from ashes. This is the secret that Christianity has found, the treasure of resurrection.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
There Is Always Hope, Even in Death
…“When there is no answer for death, hopelessness inevitably invades life.” But the answer we have seen in Christianity is an answer that can be held high in life as a torch of hope, a hope of unbreakable strength, a hope that burns through death itself. For if death is imminent and certain there is hope in death itself. And if there are far worse things than death at hand, the pain may be great, but it will never be the pain of despair. So never give up. Never despair, no matter what. There is always hope. ALWAYS.
It must be remembered that this hope, which is offered to all, is grounded in the cross, the center of Christianity. This is where death was destroyed. The flame of hope which is given to us to hold as we face death is the cross, a light in dark places when all other lights go out (see “Hope and Strength from the Cross”). The cross and the resurrection is Christianity’s bright and glorious answer to the problem of death.
*See also p. 54: “Bertrand Russell affirmed that his life was built on the foundation of unyielding despair. Perhaps that is why he issued a joint statement with Albert Einstein, just two days before Einstein’s death, confessing that ‘those of us who know the most are the gloomiest about the future.’” For more thoughts on the absurd hopelessness of atheism, see my post “Whispers of Eternity: The Absurdity of Atheism.”
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Christianity’s Answer to The Problem of Death
…What this means is that death has lost its sting not only in the exchange that took place on the cross, but because of that exchange, death is changed and transformed throughout God’s creation, and in particular, in each person’s life. Death is an evil, but it has been so thoroughly knitted into God’s design for eternal life for his people that we ought not fear it, but rather embrace it, rejoicing in victory. This is Christianity’s answer to death: look forward to it. Eagerly anticipate the moment when you will pass through that dark veil. Christ has removed death’s sting and eucatastrophically overturned it from something evil, something to be feared, even dreaded, to a defeated thing, an instrument of victory, even a blessed thing, blessed because it is the path to God for the redeemed, the climax of our transformation into Christ’s image (2 Corinthians 3:18), the threshold from which we will enter into the presence of the Trinity. The mystery and the miracle of Christianity is that death, which humans dread, is now the key to victory over sin and suffering and the door to eternal life. It is the path to God himself – the road to ultimate reality. So have no fear of death, but look forward to it. If we follow Christ we die spiritually to ourselves in life. Rejoice in the chance to take up your cross and follow him to the end, to resurrection and victory. And when loved ones who followed Christ die, rejoice that they have followed Christ to the end and are like him more fully in death than they ever were in life. A professor of mine said something like this: fleeing from the difficulties of life is like running away from the coming night and towards the setting sun. What we need to do instead is to run into the night and towards the dawn. The knowledge and hope of the coming dawn will be a light in the darkest places. It is the same with death itself. When it comes, confront it with the fact of victory and resurrection and rejoice in death as the door to this victory. Death is the path, and we must face it, submit to it, and thereby pass through death, pass on to what lies beyond. The road continues. Death is not the end. So do not fear death. Do not fear it! There is no reason to fear it – its sting is gone. Death is not the termination of your life, but the climax, the goal, the great event through which we are resurrected to a higher and better life. It is not the wall at the end of the journey, but the peak at the end of the climb, and as the final destination of our journey in life, our understanding of death ought to define the way we live. This is the answer that Christianity gives to the terrible fact of death, “philosophy’s greatest problem.”
Read More...Tuesday, October 6, 2009
“Blessed Spiritual Death to Self”
What does this mean for us? What does this victory over death mean in a world where death still reigns at the end of every human life, where death still has an iron grip of fear in the hearts of so many? Christianity’s answer is this: we participate in Christ’s death and resurrection. We join him in his death and therefore share in his new life and victory over death. In Jesus’ words, “whoever loses his life will find it,” “whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” In C. S. Lewis’ words, “Our enemy…becomes our servant: bodily Death, the monster, becomes blessed spiritual Death to self” (Miracles ch. 14). Again, this is an answer to death that ought to make us burst with joy. For a more complete description, see “The Paradox of “Whoever Loses His Life Will Find It”,” “Saint Paul and C. S. Lewis: Death to Self and Life in Christ,” and “Death and Resurrection” Parts II, III, and IV.
Read More...Thursday, October 1, 2009
Victory over Death in the Cross
…Christianity has an answer to this “problem of death.” Jesus Christ “has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). Death has been defeated, miraculously overturned, “swallowed up” in victory and life – it is reason for great celebration! A great evil has been transformed into God’s instrument for the greatest good. This was accomplished on the cross, in which Christ triumphed over his enemies, and revealed in the resurrection. C. S. Lewis puts it this way:
“On the one hand Death is the triumph of Satan, the punishment of the Fall, and the last enemy. Christ shed tears at the grave of Lazarus and sweated blood in Gethsemane: the Life of Lives that was in Him detested this penal obscenity not less than we do, but more. On the other hand, only he who loses his life will save it. We are baptized into the death of Christ, and it is the remedy for the Fall. Death…is Satan’s great weapon and also God’s great weapon: it is holy and unholy; our supreme disgrace and our only hope; the thing Christ came to conquer and the means by which he conquered.” – C. S. Lewis, Miracles, ch. 14
Through Christ’s death, then, death was destroyed. Christ paid the price for the sins of mankind on the cross, thereby fully and finally eliminating sin, which is the sting of death (1 Corinthians 15:56). In other words, Christ defeated the last enemy, the great weapon of the evil one, by turning it against itself. Death destroyed by death: it is a truly beautiful paradox. For a more complete description, see my posts on “The Victory of God,” especially “Death Destroyed by Death.”
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” – 1 Corinthians 15:26
“I am the resurrection and the life.” – Jesus, John 11:25
“‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 15:54-55
“[Christ] partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death.” – Hebrews 2:14
“It was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” – Acts 2:24