Godless Age
What is it that is troubling you?
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. - John 14:27
I was listening to an interview last night while driving home from my Education for Ministry class. The program is called On Being and it is hosted by Krista Tippett, a journalist and author who delves into a variety of topics involving the human condition, mostly form a spiritual perspective.
Last night's program was an interview with Dr. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist who has given TED talks on the brain and its desire to engage in physical love.
What struck me about the interview was what seemed like a contradiction to me. Fisher, who describes herself as an atheist, talked about looking at pictures from the Hubble telescope and being in awe of the vastness of the universe.
I would have thought the opposite. For me, the amazement that comes from seeing all that exists in the world draws me to wonder about the creative forces behind them. And that leads me to God.
Now I understand why people who have had little if any religious education may find the stories of a vengeful, jealous, all knowing and all powerful God to be silly. While man's early attempts to understand the relationship we have with our creator were described in such basic and juvenile terms, that doesn't automatically discount them as false or invalid.
And as Dr. Fisher points out, all of creation has some basic things in common, like a yearning to live and reproduce. I would think this built-in mechanism for extending life to subsequent generations, allowing a part of us to live on forever would be a sign that something deeper exists, something real and powerful, if not seen.
Fisher talked about her childhood, growing up in Connecticut, where her father offered to take her to church on his way to playing tennis, but told her it was up to her to get a ride home.
When I heard this, I was a bit angry. How hard it must be to come to believe when growing up in an environment devoid of faith.
I am afraid much of this generation has grown up this way, and wonder if we have done them an injustice by leaving them to their own devices, having them seek and find their own way, without guidance or preparation.
When we leave God out of the equation, even a God we don't understand, a God whose very existence we question, we open ourselves up to serious doubt. Jesus understood the anguish of living without knowing God, and so he extended the hand of healing, and brought people back to their faith.
Those who try to convince us that there is nothing to our faith are struggling to believe in something they don't understand, and they will not be content until they convince others they are right.
They need validation, and they get it by making believers doubt along with them.
The fact that they may have a huge following, with millions of viewers to TED talks doesn't make them right. It makes them popular.
Maybe it is time for a few TED talks about faith and belief in what we all have in common as part of our creation. LOVE.
God is love. And all who live, live in the love of God, who doesn't require that we believe in Him to love us unconditionally.
And that's not just a silly story.
More to come...