November 28, 2003
Happy American Thanksgiving, Everyone!
I'm back in La Conner, WA again, celebrating my very first american turkey-day. We're actually consuming the bird on Friday so that the neighbours can join in the merriment. For those who are scratching their heads, American Thanksgiving is approximately six weeks after Canadians celebrate thanksgiving, the second sunday in October. I can tell you already, it is a MUCH bigger deal down here...
They even wear holiday-themed sweaters. It's so.... wrong.
I'm back in La Conner, WA again, celebrating my very first american turkey-day. We're actually consuming the bird on Friday so that the neighbours can join in the merriment. For those who are scratching their heads, American Thanksgiving is approximately six weeks after Canadians celebrate thanksgiving, the second sunday in October. I can tell you already, it is a MUCH bigger deal down here...
They even wear holiday-themed sweaters. It's so.... wrong.
Faith and Science
I'm a microbiology major at one of the most left-wing, hard core environmental science universities in Canada (why, you ask? God put me here before I knew him - and even SFU needs Jesus.) and I frequently come across all manner of ways that faith and science can't be reconciled. But, in a fit of pique the other day, I stumbled across one way that the two areas can be very similar:
As a scientist, when new evidence, behaviour or information is uncovered that does not match with what is expected, established or understood, we don't discard the new data automatically as untrue or invalid. Scientists would continue to question, to investigate, because this difficulty in reconciling the two sets of information may in itself hold new information that would expand on our understanding of the first. Further testing ensues!
As a person of faith, when a particular response of God or circumstance in His light does not seem to match with my own understanding of him or how he has spoken to me in the past, it may be tempting to want to discard the new response as invalid, or of my own doing, or even to throw out the old because it does not match the new... but the better path seems to me to be the scientific one - to observe, question, investigate the idea that this new response or new 'data' may in fact expand the original knowledge and experience of God, not invalidate it.
Okay, minus all the formal jargon, this is where I was really going with this: If what I knew of God was one particular thing, an emphasis on one part of his character, or a few things 'on His heart,' and I then went through an experience where God changed the way he spoke to me or my circumstances changed drastically (like, say, your health falling out from under you!), it does not necessarily mean that a) my old understanding was actually wrong (that I made a mistake to trust in God) or b) that the new information is untrue or unfaithful (that the desert I am going through now is somehow unfaithful and apart from how God communicates to his people). It means that in the massive soul-searching that ensues trying to reconcile the old and the new, a new understanding is reached about God and his character that expands on the initial experience.
Did that make any sense at all?
I'm a microbiology major at one of the most left-wing, hard core environmental science universities in Canada (why, you ask? God put me here before I knew him - and even SFU needs Jesus.) and I frequently come across all manner of ways that faith and science can't be reconciled. But, in a fit of pique the other day, I stumbled across one way that the two areas can be very similar:
As a scientist, when new evidence, behaviour or information is uncovered that does not match with what is expected, established or understood, we don't discard the new data automatically as untrue or invalid. Scientists would continue to question, to investigate, because this difficulty in reconciling the two sets of information may in itself hold new information that would expand on our understanding of the first. Further testing ensues!
As a person of faith, when a particular response of God or circumstance in His light does not seem to match with my own understanding of him or how he has spoken to me in the past, it may be tempting to want to discard the new response as invalid, or of my own doing, or even to throw out the old because it does not match the new... but the better path seems to me to be the scientific one - to observe, question, investigate the idea that this new response or new 'data' may in fact expand the original knowledge and experience of God, not invalidate it.
Okay, minus all the formal jargon, this is where I was really going with this: If what I knew of God was one particular thing, an emphasis on one part of his character, or a few things 'on His heart,' and I then went through an experience where God changed the way he spoke to me or my circumstances changed drastically (like, say, your health falling out from under you!), it does not necessarily mean that a) my old understanding was actually wrong (that I made a mistake to trust in God) or b) that the new information is untrue or unfaithful (that the desert I am going through now is somehow unfaithful and apart from how God communicates to his people). It means that in the massive soul-searching that ensues trying to reconcile the old and the new, a new understanding is reached about God and his character that expands on the initial experience.
Did that make any sense at all?
Hey, Rod!
I liked some of what Rodney, the Oz Cyclist had to say on his blog:
Like so often before, I'm left waiting for this guy to have that aha! experience. That moment when he realises that the people who need to hear this stuff and experience the performance won't walk through the doors of his church. The people who will walk through the door are those invited as friends of members of the church - and hey - shouldn't they be introduced [to] Jesus by their friends anyway? Nov. 27/03
We are multi-faceted creatures and most of the time we can slip between each facet without changing who we are. Why is this important? We need to be aware that while we must create 'church' that fits our community as a natural expression of our lives, we musn't be afraid to incorporate some concepts that are 'other worldly'. We don't want to create 'false segments' in our lives but we must understand that we naturally vacillate between roles without compromising the integrity of who we are. Nov. 26/03
I liked some of what Rodney, the Oz Cyclist had to say on his blog:
Like so often before, I'm left waiting for this guy to have that aha! experience. That moment when he realises that the people who need to hear this stuff and experience the performance won't walk through the doors of his church. The people who will walk through the door are those invited as friends of members of the church - and hey - shouldn't they be introduced [to] Jesus by their friends anyway? Nov. 27/03
We are multi-faceted creatures and most of the time we can slip between each facet without changing who we are. Why is this important? We need to be aware that while we must create 'church' that fits our community as a natural expression of our lives, we musn't be afraid to incorporate some concepts that are 'other worldly'. We don't want to create 'false segments' in our lives but we must understand that we naturally vacillate between roles without compromising the integrity of who we are. Nov. 26/03
November 26, 2003
Passion
I've been thinking a lot about passion lately. Not the sexual kind but the "steely determination" kind. I don't understand how in the world lukewarm and Christian (or for Mike, 'Christ-follower') can exist in the same sentence. Every time I read about the irresistable aroma of Jesus, how his very being demanded that people leave where they were, follow him, and believe, I see nothing but passion there, nothing but full immersion in his life. There's a lot of lip service done to "extreme faith" in youth groups these days, but there's something in that - there is no room in the Gospel for waffling, half-way, inbetween sort of spirituality, it is essentially an all-or-none kind of proposition. One guy couldn't even go back to get his affairs in order and say goodbye to his mother - Jesus compelled him to come, right then.
I have several people who I am very close to who believe that being a good person and respecting others and occasionally going to church amounts to being a Christian. That confuses me more every time I encounter it: I see no room for that kind of belief in the gospels. Paul rails against it in his epistles. Peter envisioned it in revelation:
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Rev. 3:15,16
That said, I know that there is room for questioning, inquiring faith... for people who genuinely don't know and want to find out the mysteries of God. In the bible I see examples of people who struggle in their faith, who wrestle, work it out with fear and trembling, who doubt. There is even room for genuine unbelievers... but it is the in-between, I'm-Okay-You're-Okay philosophy that I don't understand. How do you get through this life that way?
I struggle to know how to interact with these people whom I am close to when the subject of spirituality comes up. Inevitably, the friction point is always the exclusivity of Jesus, the fact that he is the only way to God and that we need to see him as our Lord (the one who controls our lives) and Saviour (the one who saved us from death). It's not like I'm preaching hard-nosed doctrine, but this exclusiveness is foolishness to them, it makes no sense and seems closed-minded, I know. On most things, I'm a pretty middle-of-the-road, accommodating, flexible kind of person. But on faith, I don't see how that works at all; I must be a very black-and-white kind of person.
I don't know. Maybe I'm just in an on-the-edge kind of place in life. Any comments?
I've been thinking a lot about passion lately. Not the sexual kind but the "steely determination" kind. I don't understand how in the world lukewarm and Christian (or for Mike, 'Christ-follower') can exist in the same sentence. Every time I read about the irresistable aroma of Jesus, how his very being demanded that people leave where they were, follow him, and believe, I see nothing but passion there, nothing but full immersion in his life. There's a lot of lip service done to "extreme faith" in youth groups these days, but there's something in that - there is no room in the Gospel for waffling, half-way, inbetween sort of spirituality, it is essentially an all-or-none kind of proposition. One guy couldn't even go back to get his affairs in order and say goodbye to his mother - Jesus compelled him to come, right then.
I have several people who I am very close to who believe that being a good person and respecting others and occasionally going to church amounts to being a Christian. That confuses me more every time I encounter it: I see no room for that kind of belief in the gospels. Paul rails against it in his epistles. Peter envisioned it in revelation:
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Rev. 3:15,16
That said, I know that there is room for questioning, inquiring faith... for people who genuinely don't know and want to find out the mysteries of God. In the bible I see examples of people who struggle in their faith, who wrestle, work it out with fear and trembling, who doubt. There is even room for genuine unbelievers... but it is the in-between, I'm-Okay-You're-Okay philosophy that I don't understand. How do you get through this life that way?
I struggle to know how to interact with these people whom I am close to when the subject of spirituality comes up. Inevitably, the friction point is always the exclusivity of Jesus, the fact that he is the only way to God and that we need to see him as our Lord (the one who controls our lives) and Saviour (the one who saved us from death). It's not like I'm preaching hard-nosed doctrine, but this exclusiveness is foolishness to them, it makes no sense and seems closed-minded, I know. On most things, I'm a pretty middle-of-the-road, accommodating, flexible kind of person. But on faith, I don't see how that works at all; I must be a very black-and-white kind of person.
I don't know. Maybe I'm just in an on-the-edge kind of place in life. Any comments?
November 25, 2003
More Merton
More Thomas Merton:
The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt.Thomas Merton (1915 - 1968)
More Thomas Merton:
The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt.Thomas Merton (1915 - 1968)
This is me
I absolutely had to steal this from Jonnybaker's blog. It is so me:
MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. -Thomas Merton
I absolutely had to steal this from Jonnybaker's blog. It is so me:
MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. -Thomas Merton
Wheeee!!!
It snowed a bunch up on Burnaby Mountain. The glass roof of the Convocation Mall at SFU is now covered with snow, which gives a strange, dim feeling to everything below it. Granted, this is the webcam so if you read this in a few hours the snow will be gone, but the early bird gets the worm, so to speak!
It snowed a bunch up on Burnaby Mountain. The glass roof of the Convocation Mall at SFU is now covered with snow, which gives a strange, dim feeling to everything below it. Granted, this is the webcam so if you read this in a few hours the snow will be gone, but the early bird gets the worm, so to speak!
November 24, 2003
New Look!
Thanks Jamie, for some tips on how to add a little flair to the old blog. Orange was getting a wee bit too 70's for me.
If you don't like the colour scheme, not my fault! I used the ColorMatch thingie to 'co-ordinate.'
Thanks Jamie, for some tips on how to add a little flair to the old blog. Orange was getting a wee bit too 70's for me.
If you don't like the colour scheme, not my fault! I used the ColorMatch thingie to 'co-ordinate.'
Oldie but a goodie
Had to put this back up, it's worthy of a second posting.
Go to google, type in weapons of mass destruction and hit "I'm feeling lucky". You should get this: 404 Error.
Had to put this back up, it's worthy of a second posting.
Go to google, type in weapons of mass destruction and hit "I'm feeling lucky". You should get this: 404 Error.
I am OFFICIALLY bored
The official webcam of developmental biology's favourite specimen, xenopus laevis.
Feel like channelling your childhood? Check out the Speak 'n Spell online! ( I think the author of this flash app must have even more time on his hands than I do.)
Keep in mind that this has less dirty languange than your average feature-length action film, but all the same, not for our younger viewers. The end of the world according to hamncheese.
The official webcam of developmental biology's favourite specimen, xenopus laevis.
Feel like channelling your childhood? Check out the Speak 'n Spell online! ( I think the author of this flash app must have even more time on his hands than I do.)
Keep in mind that this has less dirty languange than your average feature-length action film, but all the same, not for our younger viewers. The end of the world according to hamncheese.
Oooohhhh, Aaaaahhhhh....
Okay, I just had to find something to compete with mike's beautiful west coast pictures on his blog. Below is a webcam of western washington, looking at the olympic mountains, part of my parents' "backyard."
http://www.drdale.com/cam/index.htm
Okay, I just had to find something to compete with mike's beautiful west coast pictures on his blog. Below is a webcam of western washington, looking at the olympic mountains, part of my parents' "backyard."
http://www.drdale.com/cam/index.htm
November 23, 2003
WARNING! EXTREME VULNERABILITY FOLLOWS!
Throw off that which so easily entangles
A pretty rotten day for pain has brought me to thinking about the line between giving up and going on.
It's pretty hard for me to ignore Hebrews 12 and it's rah-rah stadium-style encouragement of Christians to draw strength from those who have gone before us and to finish the race. But shouldn't it be pretty hard for ALL of us to ignore? I struggle to maintain perspective throughout this physical struggle of mine, to remember that people everywhere are at various stages of their own monumental struggle: the lead-up, the peak, the desert and the finish. I guess the writer of Hebrews, and ultimately our father knew that too, because there it is in front of us, more poignant than a Hallmark card: Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
So what enables the weary traveller to kneel down, lace up their sneaks one more time and race like never before for a prize never seen, a goal never understood, a destination never beheld? I've heard more than a few stories lately about people's own journeys, being battered by people, churches and religion, and it makes me wonder the same thing. What enables those wounded many to say with their soul what they can't with their lips: I will not leave Your presence, though this church, these people, are not my home.
One of my favourite lines to one of my favourite songs goes like this: In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade/and he carries a reminder of every bloke who laid him down/or cut him till he cried out, in his anger and his shame/I am leaving, I am leaving. But the fighter still remains... What Paul Simon wrote is such a strong visual for me and raises emotion for me similar to the first few verses of Hebrews 12.
I can only conclude that there is some kind of draw on us, an inborn idea that somehow the goal is real, the prize is worth this life. How else could we mortal humans practically translate a mere word, endure, into a physical action that would result in a race finished, a struggle over come, a battle won? Again I return mentally to the concept that all scripture is without Spirit is mere words on paper, meaningless until God-breathed. All Hebrews 12 is without Jesus' feet walking daily before me, His Spirit speaking daily to me, is exactly that, just a Hallmark card.
It is only the Spirit in me that raises an arm long after I've gone down for the count.
I am leaving I am leaving but the fighter still remains
Throw off that which so easily entangles
A pretty rotten day for pain has brought me to thinking about the line between giving up and going on.
It's pretty hard for me to ignore Hebrews 12 and it's rah-rah stadium-style encouragement of Christians to draw strength from those who have gone before us and to finish the race. But shouldn't it be pretty hard for ALL of us to ignore? I struggle to maintain perspective throughout this physical struggle of mine, to remember that people everywhere are at various stages of their own monumental struggle: the lead-up, the peak, the desert and the finish. I guess the writer of Hebrews, and ultimately our father knew that too, because there it is in front of us, more poignant than a Hallmark card: Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
So what enables the weary traveller to kneel down, lace up their sneaks one more time and race like never before for a prize never seen, a goal never understood, a destination never beheld? I've heard more than a few stories lately about people's own journeys, being battered by people, churches and religion, and it makes me wonder the same thing. What enables those wounded many to say with their soul what they can't with their lips: I will not leave Your presence, though this church, these people, are not my home.
One of my favourite lines to one of my favourite songs goes like this: In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade/and he carries a reminder of every bloke who laid him down/or cut him till he cried out, in his anger and his shame/I am leaving, I am leaving. But the fighter still remains... What Paul Simon wrote is such a strong visual for me and raises emotion for me similar to the first few verses of Hebrews 12.
I can only conclude that there is some kind of draw on us, an inborn idea that somehow the goal is real, the prize is worth this life. How else could we mortal humans practically translate a mere word, endure, into a physical action that would result in a race finished, a struggle over come, a battle won? Again I return mentally to the concept that all scripture is without Spirit is mere words on paper, meaningless until God-breathed. All Hebrews 12 is without Jesus' feet walking daily before me, His Spirit speaking daily to me, is exactly that, just a Hallmark card.
It is only the Spirit in me that raises an arm long after I've gone down for the count.
I am leaving I am leaving but the fighter still remains
