God Was Not in the Wind

On July 11th Tama County experienced what officials are calling a "wind event." However, for many who experienced damage, including the loss of houses, the nuance of distinction between a tornado and a "wind event" may be lost.

It seems that July 11th was Tama County's taste of the extreme weather that has taken place all over the country this year and in recent years, from droughts to floods, from tornadoes to hurricanes, and from blizzards to heat waves.

I have had more than one person tell me over the last few years, "I think Someone is trying to get our attention," that "Someone" being God.  So, assuming God is trying to get our attention, what is God trying to tell us?  I have a few suggestions.

1. The weather reminds us that we need to learn to take better care of the planet God has given us.  There is little doubt now that our climate is changing as a result of the burning of fossil fuels.  Every ounce of gas, coal, or oil we save can make a difference.
2. The weather reminds us of the awe and humility in which our ancestors stood before God and nature.  The weather reminds us that, no matter how big we build it, the weather can knock it down.  The weather reminds us that we are not in charge.  (Consider the story of the Tower of Babel from Genesis 11:1-9.)
3. The weather reminds of what is truly important.  In the aftermath of these weather events we see neighbors helping each other, and communities and families brought together.  The weather can destroy our houses, but it cannot destroy our homes, because a home is not a building and a building is not a home.

While all of these things are true and are lesson we should take to heart, that still leaves us with the nagging question, "Is God really up in heaven pulling the strings, contorting the weather, trying to teach us a lesson."  To answer that question I turn to 1 Kings 19:11-13a 

"The LORD said [to Elijah], 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.' Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his faceand went out and stood at the mouth of the cave." (TNIV)  

God was not in the wind but in the gentle whisper. God can and sometimes does use the weather, and other natural events, to speak to us, but he prefers to speak to us in the gentle whisper of the Word and the Holy Spirit and the wise advice of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The 4 D's of Death

I preached a sermon this past Sunday, that would have been April 10, 2011, on John chapter eleven, the raising of Lazarus.  I that sermon I said that in the Resurrection, his on Easter Sunday and ours at the end of time, Jesus does not delay death he defeats death.  That got me to thinking about some other D's about death.  I came up with four: death defied, death denied, death delayed, and death defeated.


Death Defied  We have all seen or heard of what are called "death defying stunts."  Think about Evel Knievel, Harry Houdini, or David Blane.  Think about sky diving or bungee jumping.  Extreme sports, as they are called, are gaining in popularity.  I must confess that I also engage in what is considered an extreme sport in the form of mountain biking, but I must also confess that I am a coward and what I do is really pretty tame!  These things are exiting to watch and to do, especially for the young, and perhaps not to smart, males among us.  Danger is fun, but we all know it comes with a price.


Death Denied  We don not like to think about death and we do not like to talk about death.  We don't like to use the word "death," we use euphemisms like, "passed away," "or bought the farm," "or kicked the bucket."  We we do confront death, like when we go to a funeral, we want the body to be all made up nice in a nice casket surrounded by flowers.  Few of us, except for those of us who work on the dark side, pastors, emergency and medical personnel, and funeral directors, have ever seen a dead body before it has been prepared unless it is someone we were very close to.  We like to keep death and the dead at a safe distance.


Death Delayed As I said in the sermon I preached, medical science can do many things to delay death.  Of course now many are beginning to ask if delaying death always a good thing, especially in the case of the seriously ill and injured when delaying death will only mean more pain and suffering.  I am thankful for the Hospice movement and all those who work in for helping to show us a different way, for showing us how death can be accepted and embraced.  The Christian should not be morbid and certainly should not be in any particular hurry to die, but the Christian should not be afraid of death.  The Apostle Paul says that to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)


Death Defeated Jesus defeated death by dying on the cross and rising again.  Jesus will also defeat death for all of us who believe in him and who have accepted him as our Lord and Savior.  Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life, everyone who believes in me, even though they die, will live. (John 11:25)  We will all experience physical death, whether we live to a ripe old age or whether our deaths are tragic and untimely, we are all going to die.  The good news is that our dying is only the first step in Christ defeating our death.  Like Christ, in order to defeat death, we have to die.  The second step in Christ defeating our death is heaven.  When our spirit is separated from our body, our spirit goes to heaven.  But heaven, as wonderful as it is, is not even the end of the story.  The final step in Christ defeating our death is the resurrection of our bodies.  One day Jesus is coming back to establish his new and perfect kingdom on earth once and for all.  On that day our spirits will be rejoined to out resurrected, perfected, glorified, and immortal bodies, bodies that will be in the likeness of our current bodies but will also be very different (see 1 Corinthians 15:35-58).  In our new bodies we will live with Jesus and with one another in his perfect kingdom forever.  Death will be completely defeated once and for all.

In a world that tries to defy death, deny death, and delay death.  We can joyfully proclaim the good news of Easter, that Jesus Christ has defeated death!  Christ is risen!  Christ risen indeed!  Alleluia!      

Paganism and the New Testament

The rejection of the idea that God somehow directly punishes people through natural phenomenon comes clearly into focus in the New Testament.

In John chapter 9 Jesus and his disciples came upon a man who was born blind.  The disciples asked Jesus whether it was his own sin or the sin of his parents that caused the man to be born blind.  This revealed the assumption among Jews at the time and which is also common among pagan, and often, sad to say, among Christians, that sickness is a punishment for sin and bad things only happen to bad people.  Jesus responded that neither the man's own sin nor that of his parents cause his blindness, and proceeded to restore his sight.

When it comes to sin the New Testament is clear that we are all sinners.  James 2:10-11 says that we break one of God's laws we are guilty of breaking them all.
Jesus in Luke chapter 13 is very clear that the victims of various tragedies are no worse than anyone else.

1 At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did." (Luke 13:1-5 NRSV)

The Bible is also very clear that God does not bring these things on people.

 13 No one, when tempted, should say, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. 14 But one is tempted by one's own desire, being lured and enticed by it; (James 1:13-14 NRSV)

Throughout the New Testament there runs the idea that while God does not cause the difficulties in our lives he allows them and will use them to help us grow.  God will not allow us more than we can handle and will provide the way through.  Of course sometimes we wonder why God has some much faith in us and we can always choose ignore the lesson God is teaching and the help God is offering.

2 My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; 4 and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 NRSV)

13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 NRSV) 

The Old Testament: From Paganism to Monotheism

One way to understand the Old Testament and God's work among the Hebrew people is as a movement from paganism to monotheism.
In the Old Testament we see the story of God choosing one people, the descendants of Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob, to be the special people of God.  We Christian understand that God's ultimate plan in all of this was to prepare a people from which the Messiah, Jesus, would come to save the whole world.


The Old Testament reflects both God's words to the people and the people's own understanding, or misunderstanding, of who God is and what God wants.  So, if the Old Testament is the story of God taking pagans and making monotheists out of them, it would stand to reason that we would see times when the people got it and times when they did not get it, and we would see the people's view of God mature over time.


In the previous post I alluded to the story of the Flood and to the plagues of the Exodus.  These could be classic examples of paganism (a god manipulating nature to punish or destroy people who have displeased him.)  However, a closer look will revel something else going on.  The Flood, for instance, is a story about salvation as much as it is a story of destruction.  God offers salvation in the form of the ark as a symbol of the way we are saved by Christ.  In the Exodus story, God is using the plagues as signs of his power to convince Pharaoh to let the Hebrew people go.  God is trying to get through to Pharaoh, but Pharaoh continues to refuse to listen as the consequences get more and more severe.  If anything, the Exodus plagues are an example of God's continual and drastic attempts to get our attention and our continual refusal to listen.


The fact that God is moving the people away from paganism and toward monotheism is nowhere better expressed in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20.  In the first three commandments God commands that the people will have no other gods, (Ex. 20:3) they are not to make an imagine of this one God or any other gods, they are not to worship idols of any kind, (Ex. 20:4-5) and they are not to take the name of this God in vain,which means, among other things, that they are not to call on God to do their bidding as if they could control God.  (Ex. 20:7)


For me, the greatest example of the rejection of a pagan view of God as a God that manipulates nature is given in 1 Kings 19 when the prophet Elijah was hiding in a cave from Queen Jezebel...


"11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave." (1 Kings 19:11-13a NIV)


The Lord was not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire.  God was in the gentle whisper.  A few years ago I saw a copy of War Cry the magazine of the Salvation Army.  In this issue they were describing the work of the Salvation Army in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  They said, "Katrina was an act of NATURE, what we did was an act of GOD."


For the Christian, while it is possible for God to control nature and use if for his purposes, we must remember that God and nature are separate.  In fact, because of original sin, nature itself is broken and out of control. 

Paganism Defined

I am going to be starting some discussions about who God is and how we relate to God. The first part of the discussion will be a definition and discussion of a historically popular, and wrong from the Christian perspective (and from the Jewish and Muslim perspectives as well,) way of knowing and relating to God, paganism.

Paganism, or Animism, is and view that sees a god or gods as directly involved in controlling and manipulating the forces of nature and who will actively do so for their own amusement, or the betterment or determent of humanity. These gods are often petty, cruel, and sadistic towards humanity. They are often at war with each other and use humans as pawns in these battles or humans simply get caught in the middle.

The religious practice of paganism is based on the notion that a god or gods can or must be manipulated or appeased in order for humans to experience a favorable natural outcome or avoid natural disaster. If one can bribe a god with the proper sacrifices, flatter a god with the proper praise and worship, or manipulate a god with the proper prayers, then on can expect the fertility of one's livestock, fields, and wife. If, however, one offends a god, and these gods are often notoriously easy to offend, one will experience natural disaster. If a natural disaster occurs, than someone must have offended a god. In that case, one would have to try to appease that god, or curry the favor of another, stronger, god to intercede, or fight, on their behalf.

As you can see, the pagan relationship with deity is far different from the relationship with Deity we claim as Christians. Although our God is the God of nature and will use nature to make a point, (think about the Flood and the plagues on Egypt during the Exodus) our God has been reveled to us as a God who prefers to work through people, as individuals and communities, and through history, rather than through nature. Thus the claims of some "Christian" leaders who make statements, like those that were made in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, that natural disasters are God's punishment, are operating from a pagan world view rather than a Christian one.

In the next post we will discuss how God is moving the people of the Old Testament from pagan world view to a new understanding of God.