Explaining the Inexplicable

A smartly dressed business woman, in her mid-thirties, walks between the smudged glass doors which automatically open in front of her.  The smell of burnt coffee mixes, not so pleasantly, with the pungent aroma of cleaning solvents.  The hospital’s emergency waiting room is crammed full with the usual blent of snifflers, projectile vomiters, dislocated fingers, and severed limbs.

Briskly, the woman scurries through the waiting room.  Without uttering a word, she makes her way toward the “Tower Elevators,” which will permit her access to the floor to which she is headed.  Pushing the button rather impatiently, she stands at the door, eagerly waiting for the doors to part and beckon her enter.

Eventually the bell chimes.  The doors part.  The empty elevator beckons her welcome.

Stepping inside, the woman inadvertently bumps the button which inspires the doors to remain open.  Sighing, because she does not want to wait, the woman searches the control panel for the button which will cause the doors to close immediately.  Unable to readily locate the button, she pushes “3″- the number of the floor to which she is headed.

After what seems to be an eternity the doors close.  The elevator slowly, and with what seems to be a great deal of labor, begins its ascent to the third floor.

The elevator slows.

The doors part.

Immediately in front of the newly opened doors is a sign, indicating that the path which the woman must travel to reach her destination is to the left.

Slowly. Reluctantly. The woman makes her way down the silent corridor.  The hum of the florescent lights seems unbearably loud.  The walls are barren.  The paint is flaking.

A mere three hundred feet from the elevator, the woman reaches her destination.  She looks at the door.  Gingerly, she reaches for and turns the door knob.  Walking into the waiting room, the woman approaches the receptionist and explains her reason for coming.  As if unsure of who she was, the woman stutters, as she tells the receptionist, “My name is Jeanette.  I have an appointment.  I’m here to see Dr. Watters, the oncologist.”

She subsequently assumes her place, in an uncomfortable chair, waiting to be called upon to go back and see the doctor.

As she sits, her mind is filled with questions.  Questions that she wants to ask.  Questions she is wondering if she should ask.  Questions that she wonders if there is an answer to.

The door creaks.  A nurse peers out from behind the door, beckoning for Jeanette to follow him to an exam room.

Jeanette follows the nurse.  Upon having her height and weight checked, she finds a seat atop the exam table.

She waits.

And she waits.

Finally, Dr. Watters enters the room.

Jeanette, looking with saddened eyes, at Dr. Watters, curtly says, “Just give me the cold, hard facts, doctor.”

For the next hour, Jeanette and Dr. Watters talk about her condition, the treatment options that are available, and the cold, harsh reality of the situation.  It is an encounter marked by many questions which receive a thorough and ready answer.

Whether we are at the doctor, sitting in a classroom, defining our responsibilities at work, etc.- we want the “cold, hard facts.”  We want the truth.  We want a simple, straightforward explanation.  If we have questions we expect answers.

When it comes to the Christian faith, we are no different.  Whether we are at a Bible study, searching the Scriptures for advice, or listening to the pastor preach- we want answers.  We want to know with utmost clarity and certainty things such as: who God is, what God is like, and what God’s will for our lives is.

Some of the things that we wonder about; some of the questions that we ask are able to be answered clearly and with utmost clarity.  We can say, for example, that we, as human beings, have been created, according to Scripture, to love the Lord our God with every fiber of our being and that we are to love others as we love ourselves.

Yet, there are some things that defy being adequately explained.  For example, someone recently asked me to “explain God” to them.  Where does one begin? and, where does one end such an explanation?

I was talking about this challenge that was posed to me, with some others.  They suggested that I explain God as being love, since Scripture clearly states that “God is love.”  Other suggested that I explain God as omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere).  Still others suggested that I explain God according to His “three-in-Oneness.”

As these suggestions were being made, it occurred to me that I should possibly explain God the way Exodus 34.6-7 does- as being slow to anger and abounding in love, forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin; yet not leaving the guilty unpunished.  In other words, maybe I should explain the paradoxical aspects of God’s nature and character.

The more that I ponder this enterprise, however, the more convinced I become that no matter what I will say, it will be inadequate.  While it is true that God is love; while God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; while God is Triune; and while God’s nature and character is bound up in many paradoxes- even if I were to explain each of these things I would still fail to adequately, clearly, and fully explain God.

After all, one of the things that we have forgotten, it seems, in our modern quests to know, categorize, quantify, and explain everything is that there are still many things that are a mystery to us.  One such example is God; for, God, while all of the things that I have mentioned (and many more) is something that I failed to mention- INEFFABLE.  In short, God defies explanation.  He cannot be explained in words.  To do so would be to limit God, to confine Him, which would make Him less than God.

Tags: Character of God, God, Nature of God
Posted in Theology | Comments

Book Review: “The Search for God and Guinness”

Author Stephen Mansfield has ventured to provide his readers with a ‘biography of the beer that changed the world’. Given the option to read and review a book with such an intriguing title, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

The title while intriguing, however, was misleading. Whereas the title and dust jacket promise a biography of Arthur Guinness, the brewing company which bears his name, and an exploration of the Christian faith in action- Mansfield falls woefully short of actually pulling it off.

Mansfield was successful with regards to providing his readers with a history of the Guinness family and the company that bears his name. The historical narrative, while disjointed at times, is relatively easy-to-read and capably summarizes a rather lengthy history rather succinctly.

Yet, while Guinness may have been found, Mansfield leaves his readers still searching for God. Apart from references to benevolent work, Guinness’ involvement in the formation of the Sunday School movement in Ireland, and the long line of preachers that are to be found in the Guinness genealogy- a convincing argument regarding a vibrant faith and its impact on one’s life is largely absent from the pages of the book.

If you are looking for an introductory text regarding the Guinness family and its brewing legacy this may be a great place to start, but if you are looking for a book that will move you to greater depths in your faith or will inspire you to serve God- this book isn’t it.

If you’d like to order a copy and give it a go, feel free to click here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Tags: Arthur Guinness, Book Review Bloggers, God, Guinness, Ireland, Stephen Mansfield, Sunday School Movement, Thomas Nelson
Posted in Book Reviews | Comments

The Folly of Forgetting

Recently, I wrote about the biblical admonition to ‘remember.’

Today, I want to look about the ‘folly of forgetting’ and the consequences of failing to remember.

We are people who are prone to forget.

We forget birthdays.

We forget anniversaries.

We forget appointments.

We forget faces.

We forget names.

There are now entire sectors of industry which are oriented to helping us remember. You can purchase books on “How to Increase Your Memory.” You can find tons of helpful links on Google, which assert that they can help you improve your ability to remember. Curriculum and pre-packaged kits can be purchased at shopping mall kiosks, which assure a boost to your brain’s ability to remember.

Or, if you want to save yourself the hassle and the time, you can purchase a day planner, load it up with your appointments and other vital information, attach plenty of post-its, and carry around a tangible reminder of everything that is necessary and vital for you to remember.

Another solution is to rely on technology to help increase your capacity to remember. On my iPhone, I have an iCalendar, where I can store my appointments, as well as any number of other important dates. I also have a Notepad, on which I can record quick notes to help me jog my memory. I also have a program known as “Evernote,” which allows all of my technological devices to be synced together in such a way that whatever notations I make on one device are shared with all of my other devices. I have another program, known as “reQall,” which is further supposed to help me remember and recall whatever vital information I might need, at a moment’s notice.

Yet, with all of these “memory enhancing” technologies, we can still forget. We can still forget some of the most important things in life.

We can still forget to spend time with our families.

We can still forget to rest and relax, allowing our bodies the necessary time to recuperate.

We can still forget to be quiet and still before God.

We can still forget to be patient, loving, kind, self-controlled, etc.

We can still forget to love the Lord our God with every fiber of our being and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

In short, even with all of the various forms of aids and assistance, we can still be really forgetful people. Our schedules can still be entirely too full. Our days can still be obnoxiously long. Our lives can still be cluttered and chaotic. We can still, amid the hustle and bustle of everything, forget those things which are most important. And, if we do forget, we do so at our peril.

Our relationships with others can only be forgotten for so long, before they begin to come apart at the seams.

Our relationship with God can only survive on auto-pilot, but for a very short time.

Our bodies can only be improperly cared for, but for a short while, before they begin to rebel and suffer the effects of being neglected.

What is more, the mistakes that we have made are bound to be repeated, if we fail to remember.

Tags: Folly, Forgetting, God, spirituality
Posted in General | Comments