Rapid Reading

I'm in progress through a rapid reading course to improve my reading speed and comprehension. Today we discussed the minds amazing ability to decode and unscramble words that one might think get tangled up during Advanced Grouping and Pacing while reading rapidly. I found the contents of one of the slides particularly interesting:

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteres are at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.

I started laughing when I realized that my brain could actually read and comprehend the selection without any problems.

Could there be a spiritual application lurking in this little incident!

For more information on this 'Cambridge research' see http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/cambridge.asp

How should Christians respond during suffering?

Supposing for the moment that “perpetual happiness” in a fallen world is unattainable, can we be assured of any positive aspect of suffering to which the believer can cling to? Although most Christians would answer “Yes” to this question there remain different perspectives on the identity of the positive element that is present during suffering.

Answer 1: Suffering is a form of testing by God.
The New Testament book of James indicates that believers will go through times of testing that serve a good purpose of purification. Yet I do not think that the Bible teaches that all suffering is a result of testing. There is real evil in the world that inflicts pain on both the just and the unjust, and there is no good purpose behind it. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). There are forces at work in the world that are opposed to God’s good purposes, and God is opposed to these works. God will ultimately triumph over evil by destroying death, the last enemy of God (1 Cor 15:26).

Answer 2: God enables all believers to experience joy in the midst of suffering.
Yes, there are situations where many believers are able to express their confidence in God with joy even in the midst of horrible circumstances. Yet I have met many individuals, myself included, who have not experienced joy at the loss of their loved ones. I would caution against raising that as an expectation, for I believe that the scriptures themselves allow for periods of mourning that do not include any expression of joy.

Answer 3: We can express our confidence in God during suffering.
For me, the positive element to which we can cling during suffering is hope rooted in our faith in God. The laments contained in scripture serve as models for how we can express ourselves during periods of grief and sorrow. These inspired prayers, which form the largest genre of songs within the Psalter, over and over validate that various dark emotions experienced during true sorrow and grief can be expressed openly and honestly to God. The psalmists routinely use language that we often would dare not utter to God. Yet God accepted it as heart-felt worship. All lament psalms, except for one, contain some positive expression of confidence toward God. Psalm 88, void of any positive note of confidence in God, reminds us that there is room in worship even for the tortured soul who cannot muster even a single phrase of gratitude.

Does God command Christians to be happy?

John Piper states in the opening paragraph in the preface to his book Desiring God:

This is a serious book about being happy in God. It’s about happiness because that is what our Creator commands: “Delight yourself in the LORD!” (Psalm 37:4). And it is serious because, as Jeremy Taylor said, “God threatens terrible things if we will not be happy.”

According to Piper, the spiritual life should be one characterized by happiness and joy even in the midst of suffering and pain. He uses Jesus as an example, citing Hebrews 12:2: “…who endured the cross for the joy set before him.” Unfortunately this interpretation of scripture leads to a dangerous form of theology that tends to minimize true human sorrow and sidestep biblical instruction for dealing with pain and suffering.

I have encountered this theology in my former Christian context. Individuals with good intentions try to ‘encourage’ a believer struggling in the pain of his suffering to live beyond his circumstances and experience the ‘peace that passes all understanding.’ Unfortunately I have witnessed that this kind of exhortation has little positive impact upon the one who is suffering, and usually introduces an element of frustration and guilt that pushes the distraught soul farther into depression.

In my opinion, a proper biblical theology of happiness must also engage the theme of human pain and sorrow as it occurs throughout the scriptures. The Bible seems to indicate that human sorrow, although not in God’s ideal world (Rev. 21:4), is a normal part of our fallen condition. God chooses to enter into human suffering and identify with mankind by experiencing the pain and sorrow of the fallen world. The narrative account of the passion of Jesus in the gospels reveals that our Lord experienced emotions resembling depression and traumatic grief, a far cry from the euphoric happiness implicit in Piper’s interpretation of the ‘joy set before him.’

There is a place for happiness in the life of the believer just as there is a place for true human despair and sorrow. For one tormented by the tragedies of a fallen world the heavenly ideal of happiness as a governing emotion is unrealistic. For a segment of Christians, particularly those of us from more affluent Western Christian contexts, happiness may be more characteristic than sorrow. But the realities of many believers are ruled by sorrow, not happiness. It would be wise for us to accommodate this broad spectrum of valid human responses to pain and suffering within our theology and, more importantly, within our ministerial practice. All of us though can take comfort that a day will come when all oppression and evil will be defeated, and those who delight in the Lord will experience true everlasting happiness.

How should Christians remember 9/11?

I attended a memorial service two days ago that took place on the five-year anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11. I was intrigued by the opening statement made by the program host which stated the purpose of the memorial: to uplift the name of God and honor him as the sovereign Lord who is in control of the world. Psalms were read, songs were sung and testimonies were given which emphasized God’s sovereignty in the world. The contrast with other memorials I had witnessed over the past few days was evident. Some chose to focus on the devastation and disaster while others desired to remember those who died on that day. The question came to my mind: why did the organizers of this Christian memorial service choose to seemingly overlook the remembrance of the fallen and instead emphasize God’s sovereignty?

A possible answer, shared by a fellow seminary student, is that many people gain a great deal of comfort from the reassurance that God is in control when tragedy strikes. This may be true, especially for immediate consolation after a calamity. The tendency is to ask “Why did God allow this to happen?” amidst the shock of disaster. Over time, however, these kind of theological questions submerge under the overwhelming tide of grief and loss that comes when the protective bubble of shock bursts and the realities of a new world emerge in the lives of the victims. The surviving victims of 9/11 are living in a reality that has seen most of the world resume to normal while they are left to themselves to reconstruct their devastated existence and rebuild their lives into a “new normal”.

Perhaps Christians ought to acknowledge the long-term suffering of the victims of 9/11 by remembering their dead loved ones and resolving to acknowledge their continued grief and sorrow. Doing so builds a bridge into their “new world” and provides opportunity to impact their lives with the hope of the Gospel, a hope whereby the King of the universe desires to enter into relationship with them and promises to judge the evil that destroyed their lives.

Remembering 9/11

I was up early this morning making preparations to show our guests a good time in San Francisco.

My Dad and his wife are in town from Indiana, and I promised to show him my place of employment in the heart of the financial district. My early rise from bed was triggered by the voice of someone leaving a message on our answering machine. Slightly irritated yet feeling refreshed from a hot shower and a clean shave, my journey from the bathroom to the kitchen revealed that I was the first one up this morning. No worries, for I had work to do. The ideas of what to do in the city that had been forming in my mind over the past week needed some final logistical planning. We would simulate my daily commute by taking BART from Concord to Montgomery Street station, walk five minutes to my building, ride the elevator to the 16th floor and greet my boss and fellow workers. We then would walk to my favorite eating place in Chinatown, Hunan Homes, followed by a ride on the cable cars to Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square. A fun ride to Pac Bell Park on the trolley would be followed by a tour of the ballpark. The 40 minute ride on BART back to Concord would complete our day. As I took my seat in front of the computer I hit the ‘play’ button on the answering machine to listen to the message that had awoken me 20 minutes earlier:

Matt, this is Greg. Due to the events that have happened this morning I highly advise you to not travel to the city today. We have evacuated the building and are awaiting instructions on what to do next. I have sent everyone home, and instructed the team to plan on working from their homes the next few days. I hope you and your family keep safe. I’ll try to reach you again soon.

As I reflect on the events that my family and I saw unfold on the TV screen that day, the sheer evil and horror of the situation is as incomprehensible to me today as it was five years ago. The devastating damage done to the lives of thousands upon thousands of people is irreparable, and the overwhelming loss felt by so many can never be replaced. My prayer goes out to the families and communities that have been impacted by this event. I pray that sensitive souls will uphold the memory of their loved ones. I pray that those who listen to their cries of grief will respond with compassion and not judgment. I pray that our government will have success in fighting the continued war against this evil. I pray that Christians will engage the spiritual dimension of this war on evil with prayer and diligence.