I Consider Your Heavens…

OK, I must confess to having done an awful thing;

Last Sunday morning I watched “Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl” on the CITV Channel…and I’m eighteen-years-old! Tragic…Thankfully it was only me in the room at the time of the crime so I might be safe yet…

All joking aside, the thing that struck me most wasn’t really a criticism of the programme itself but of what was shown during the break commercials (Though I did feel a bit nostalgic- remembering back to the good ol’ days of playing Pokémon Yellow on my Game Boy as well as collecting and trading Pokémon Cards. Watching the programme, I also wondered if the creators of Pokémon could ever be taken up for animal abuse- animals made to fight one another while kept in tight ball containers…).

About 90% of the advertisements were aimed at kids (Obviously), but about nearly all of them were showcasing in style the latest toys and gadgets. The first thought that entered my head was, “These advertisers are brainwashing children”. There-and-then I could just imagine children across the country thinking up of their Christmas Lists to “Santa”, putting all the various toys that they saw in order of importance. Do advertisers think that children are gullible and easy targets: after-all, who could say no to a child…?

Consumerism has swept the Western World where people’s lives revolve around having the newest and best of everything- the newest car, the newest house, the newest clothes etc.

I’m not an economic expert and I rarely dabble in news of the economy, but during this week especially it’s been quite hard to avoid. Market shares are plummeting, people are worried about their pensions and savings, banks are near the point of collapse and everyone is starting to experience the “credit crunch” with oil, gas and electricity prices rising. This seems to be a world-wide situation and not just localised to one area, and the Western business world especially is in a state of hysteria at the moment.

I think it’s safe to say that money and belongings are obsessions to most people. I’m not denying that we’re in difficult financial circumstances and I do understand that money is tight at the moment for most people, but for the majority, the current economic situation is disastrous.

In the Bible, Simon Peter and the Apostle John go to the temple to pray when they come across a man who, since birth, was lame and couldn’t walk. This man begged for money outside the temple and when he noticed Peter and John he asked them for some. Peter, instead of throwing in a couple of coins and walking off as most people do in Society when they see a beggar, said to the man:

“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

Acts 3 v 6

Jesus, in prayer, spoke of his Disciples, saying:

“They are not of the world, even as I am not of it…As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”

John 17 v 16, 18

Again, Jesus makes some other bold statements, reminding his Disciples of what their priorities in life should be:

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for you to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul? Or what can you give in exchange for your soul?”

Matthew 16 v 24-26

I think this ties in well to when Jesus spoke about the analogy of serving two masters and the difference between “serving” or living for money and living according to Christ:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

“No-one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Matthew 6 v 19-21, 24

If the current economic crisis continues into Christmas time, what will parents say to their children when “Santa” can’t bring them their most wanted toys?

To be honest, I despise the concept of “Santa”. To me, I think it’s dangerous for kids to be told to make a list of “wants” and send it to a man who (Supposedly) will give them everything on their list(s) that they want. Does that not just scream “Me, Me, Me!”? Does it not tell kids that if you want something in life all you have to do is ask someone else for it and they’ll just hand it over to you? Does it discourage hard work and, instead, paints a rosy picture of life that is far different to that of reality? Or does it even invoke jealousy, whether then in the child’s life or later on, “Why did Santa give him one of those cars and not me?”

I may be sounding like a bit of a Scrooge and a killjoy but why lie to children in that sense? Why can’t Society just look children in the face and say, “No, life isn’t as nice as that”? Why does Society feel the need to create a picturesque backdrop of life for children in which they are allowed to conjure up their wildest fantasies and dreams? Are we not just deluding ourselves and our children? Are we not prepared to face up to the realities of Real Life? Are we more happy to be in a Fantasy world full of streams, waterfalls, green fields and magical beings than face the harsh idea of reality; of doom, gloom and hardship- of wars, famines and conflicts?

Christmas time is the same thing every year: advertisements flood television screens offering presents, food and laughter. Or take Halloween. How many people, Christians especially, know that Halloween is a Pagan festival?

“The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead became dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.”

Wikipedia

I remember sitting last year, around Christmas time, in one my church’s Bible Class meetings for the youth on Sunday morning. The person who normally took it was talking about Christmas; mainly explaining the birth of Jesus. On explaining Jesus’ birth she said (Something to this effect), “Jesus was born on the 25th December”. When she said that, I nearly protested and had in my right mind to say, “Uh, no, Jesus wasn’t born on the 25th December”, but I held my tongue because I probably would have gotten scolded at for suggesting such a thing in a room full of innocent 12 and 13-year-olds who are only told about “God”, “Jesus” and the “Bible” in their simplest forms.

I’m not trying to be patronizing or smug, it’s just that I sometimes can’t help but get the feeling that Christians “sugar-coat” the Gospel of Jesus Christ at times and make it out to be something fantastical and unreal.

The fact of the matter is is that we don’t know when Jesus was born. Jesus could have been born in the middle of Summer for all we know, but yet tradition has held that it was Winter time. Sadly, Tradition has destroyed Truth. You only have to look at Christmas cards, particularly the “Religious” ones, to realise how warped people’s ideas of the “Nativity Story” (Birth of Jesus) are.

For example, Tradition has generally held that there were three wise men, corresponding to the three gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Yet, the Book of Matthew gives no mention of how many “Wise Men” there were, it only states:

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi (Wise Men) from the east came to Jerusalem.”

Matthew 2 v 1

Why does the Church not formally celebrate the Birth of Christ in Spring, Summer or Autumn? Because it’s out of sync with Tradition. It’s out of sync with what people are familiar and comfortable with. Maybe some Christians do celebrate the Birth of Christ in their own personal way during Spring, Summer and Autumn, but formally it’s always pushed to Winter and December time.

What does that suggest? Does it suggest that Christians don’t view the Birth of Jesus as of much importance? After-all, it was only another birth and, sure, millions of births take place worldwide. But, according to the account in Matthew, Jesus’ mother Mary was a Virgin. How many babies are born from someone who is a Virgin…?

Jesus himself, when on trial by Pilate, gives his reason as to why he was born:

“Jesus answered, ‘You (Pilate) say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.’”

John 18 v 37

Maybe it’s just the amount of interest I personally have in Theological and Philosophical issues and theories, but I sometimes wish that the Church would be more open to discussing the “big questions” of the Universe e.g. the “problem of evil”, ID (Intelligent Design), Evolution, Morals/Ethics to name a few. Even in the Senior Bible Class that I have been attending for nearly two months, the answers still mostly consist of, “God”, “Jesus” and “Bible”.

Today in my church’s morning service my Minister did his sermon on the Book of Genesis, Chapter 1; quite a rarity in my church I’ll admit. At first, I was very excited- my minister started talking about the Book’s controversial status in Society, the sudden sweep of Atheism, great Scientists in by-gone days who were Christians etc. It all started off good, but then I felt that it went into the same old tried-and-tested routine of: God did/said this, This and That happened etc.

Why do Ministers and other Christians mainly avoid asking or discussing the big questions? I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sermon where Evolution and the Big Bang were talked about. Do Christians not like to get complicated, deep or controversial? Do Ministers and other Preachers feel the need to not rock the Congregations’ boat?

A couple of days ago I was in the car going to school with my mum. I was telling her about an incident that happened a week previously in the school (I don’t think I should go into too much detail here) in which there were disagreements between an Atheist and some Christians related to the placement and advertisement of Scripture Union posters put around the school and whether or not they should be allowed up. On saying this to my mum she replied, “He (The Atheist) just doesn’t see that there is a God”.

Now, I’m all for people having their own opinions, but for some strange reason I didn’t like it that my mum had said that. She said it in such a way as to suggest that it was fact and indisputable- that it was blatantly obvious to anyone that there existed a God.

Now, I personally do believe in a Creator but I think that my view of “God” is quite different to that of other Christians’. I don’t formally do so, but if I had to choose a philosophical viewpoint to best describe what my beliefs of “God” are, I’d probably say that they are very close to that of a Deist‘s point of view- an impersonal Being who created the world (Whether that be through the processes of Evolution and the Big Bang) and who does not operate or “tinkers” with its mechanics (Natural Laws) or inhabitants.

About two evenings ago I pondered this question: does a belief in God or in a Creator make you a Christian?

The answer I came up with was: no, a belief in God or a Creator doesn’t make you a Christian.

That, to some Christians, may seem absurd, maybe even heretical.

Well, look at it this way: lots of Religions and Belief systems confess to holding a belief in “God”. Muslims believe in God. Jews believe in God. Hindus believe in God. Sikhs believe in God. All of these Religions believe in God yet none of them follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Someone could be a Deist (Someone who believes in an impersonal God) and not be a Christian. So, does holding a belief in a God/Creator make you a Christian? In my opinion, it doesn’t.

To be honest, I think quite a bit on Existence and Life in general: how it came into being, how it functions, what will happen when I die etc.

Call me weird or eccentric for saying that, but I think everyone (Whether they believe in God or not) reflects now-and-then on the meaning of life. “The meaning of life” is a very cliché saying, I know, but who doesn’t look at the world around them and at their own existence and think to themselves, “Is there a meaning to all of this?”.

As Humans, most of us like there to be a point in something, a meaning. Scientists usually just don’t do experiments because they’re bored and need something to pass the time- curiosity leads them to ask questions and seek answers to those questions. Likewise, I believe that it is natural for us as Humans to look at our lives and to try and extract some truth or meaning from them that will help us come to terms with our existence and reality.

For some people, Life is just one of those things that we just happen to be a part of- that we’re just forms of Matter wandering about and that we create the meaning to our own existence. For others, it’s a belief in a supernatural God or gods who made us and who have a plan for us and our lives; and still for others, there is no meaning or purpose to Life and there is no such thing as reality.

Do I believe that the Big Bang Theory and Evolution disprove “God” or the possibility of there being a Creator? No, I don’t. The only thing the “Big Bang” Theory and the Theory of Evolution disprove (In my opinion) is the account of creation according to the Book of Genesis and how most people interpret it e.g. six, 24-hour days in which the world was made.

I still have a strong conviction that neither of these theories disprove the likelihood of there being a Creator. OK, so I can’t point to the sky and say, “There’s God” or “There’s our Creator”, but neither do I feel that I can say, “Yes, the Big Bang and Evolution Theories both disprove the likelihood of there being a Creator”.

I suppose it’s a bit like the “Alien” phenomenon (The creatures, not the movie!). OK, so I’ve never seen Aliens (At least, not in the sense that Popular Culture represents them) but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist, right?

According to Scientists, the Universe is approximately 156 billion light-years wide. In other words: it’s enormous. I sometimes think that people greatly underestimate how big our Universe actually is and don’t fully appreciate its enormity. We may think that our world is big (And it is to us small creatures!), but when you take into consideration 156 billion light-years, it’s mind-boggling. Maybe even more mind-boggling is when you realise that the length of a light year is 9,460,730,472,580.8 km (Approximately 9 trillion km) or 5,878,625,373,180.448 (Approximately 6 trillion miles)! *I hope I got those figures right, apologies if they’re wrong!

So, saying this, how can I come to the conclusion that there isn’t a Creator when we have barely even explored our own galaxy; let alone other dimensions, galaxies and regions of Space? As Albert Einstein once said:

“We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.”

I’m fascinated by Space and am always struck in awe when I see a picture of a galaxy or a cluster of stars. This may sound super cheesy, but I love standing outside at night looking up at the stars twinkling and shining in the sky. If you haven’t done so in a while (Or at all) I would wholly recommend grabbing a coat some night and spending a bit of time outside when the sky is filled with stars. It’s an exhilarating experience- the night air, the sense of grandeur and wonder…Believe me when I say this: you wont be disappointed.

You know, this reminds me of a verse in the Book of Psalms; a verse, I think, sums up perfectly my feelings towards Creation…

” I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place…”

Psalm 8 v 3