Shoshone Falls

A week ago, my youngest son and I went on a short road trip down to Twin Falls to go to a concert. It was great: Red Airplanes, Wavorly, The Wedding, and House of Heroes. I'm glad we went because I loved the music, but it was a long drive, I'll admit. As soon as we got there, I drove a couple of miles down the road to take a look at Shoshone Falls. They said a few weeks ago that it was the strongest water flow in ten years. It had tapered off some, but it was still impressive. It's even higher than Niagra Falls! Niagra Falls...slowly I turn...step by step...inch by inch...

Reasons for Hope

One of the saddest things I have ever heard in my life was during a funeral yesterday. A nineteen-year-old girl was trying to say goodbye to her father, a man who died very suddenly last week. Choking back tears, she said her dad always treated everyone he met with respect. I know from first-hand experience that this is true. John Hardison always dealt with people that way, even when it was especially difficult in his role as Deputy Chief of Prisons. He will definitely be missed.

Right after the funeral, I found myself answering questions from one of my online religion students. She shall remain anonymous, but given the circumstances yesterday, it seems that what I had to say to her then was very fitting, and I’m grateful to her for giving me the opportunity to consider again what I believe about death, among other things. I’ll repeat most of it here, for whatever it’s worth.

Not being disrespectful...With the sampler platter of religions you have tried, how do you know your current one is correct? How does your conviction of your religion being the "one" differ from the conviction of the Muslim or Sciencetology?

I really do appreciate your asking questions, and you are not being disrespectful in the least. I’ll do my best to answer them.

The short answer is that to this day, I still have never come across any other religious teacher or philosophical system that compares with not only the life and works of Jesus, but also with his death and resurrection. In my opinion, there are very good reasons to believe that the eyewitnesses who wrote Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John actually did record what they saw and heard from Jesus. A metaphor that I use constantly in my classes is: which way do the scales tip? In this case, I believe they tip in favor of the Gospel, and it is reasonable to believe that what Jesus said was true.

Now for the longer answer. The first time I ever picked up a Bible and attempted to read it on my own was when I spent a night in juvenile detention. I would try it again when I was in college, and by then I would be comparing what Jesus had to say with other voices I had listened to (among them, Buddha and the Maharishi). There seems to be no one who would even come close in terms of Jesus’ integrity and compassion. Is it a “leap of faith” to decide that? Sure, but as I see it, it is not a “blind leap” at all; because you first look to see which way the scales are indicating is the most reasonable. During my freshman year, one book that had a profound influence on me was Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. While majoring in comparative religion in the years that followed, I never encountered anyone or any system that effectively refuted the conclusion I had reached, although I should stress that I earnestly searched in order to challenge my own beliefs. I did that then and I still do it now.

There are many criteria that must be met, in my opinion, before a religion or philosophy ought to be personally adopted, but I will just mention two. It should not be entirely subjective, and it ought to offer an answer to the mystery of death. In my bio, I mentioned my seeking a sort of “psychedelic enlightenment,” and by that I mean I went the whole nine yards in my search: pot, hash, opium, mushrooms, LSD, the works. I “saw” lots of things, as you might well imagine. I sat on the back step of my friend’s house and I was totally convinced that I had become “one” with a plane flying overhead. But was I? Other relevant questions are: is truth simply whatever I (subjectively) decide it to be? And, is something true just because I say so?

To make a long story somewhat shorter, I think it is more reasonable to conclude that the “world” out there really is “real,” and because of that conclusion, I necessarily have to reject the notion that I had previously embraced within eastern religions that everything ultimately is illusory. The Jewish and Christian view offers a different perspective, one in which God created everything and declared it good.

As to the other criteria, I just attended a funeral for a friend about three hours ago. John, who was not too much older than me, died suddenly of a massive heart attack this week. It was a shock that I am still coming to terms with. Today at the memorial service I heard someone quoting Jesus, who said “I am the resurrection and the life.” It’s a reasonable question to ask, is he really those things? And, why should we believe him when he says so?

Once again, I come back to the eyewitnesses who saw his empty tomb, and I understand that to be a validation of the words he spoke. Jesus offering a solution to the problem of death is crucial. If I can get somewhat personal once more, I’ll add that my brother committed suicide about six months after I became a Christian. I decided it made sense to trust what Jesus had said about himself, even (and maybe especially) when it was most painful.

I already made the point that if I accept one “truth claim” (in this case, that what Jesus said was right), then the necessary implication is that I am at the same time rejecting those competing truth claims that deny it. I hope that makes sense. It simply means I can’t have it both ways. But you ask a great question about other groups that are likewise exclusive. If I had more time, I’d make the case that every religion similarly insists that their way is the one, most accurate and comprehensive way – the claim itself is certainly not unique to Christianity.

To be completely honest, I really do hope to maintain my faith in Jesus without any smugness or superiority or intolerance. For example, accepting Christianity reasonably has to mean rejecting atheism. But does it also mean that a Christian has to resort to violence or intimidation or the illegitimate use of power against atheists to try to force them to accept what he or she believes? Absolutely not. By the way, I really am convinced there is much to learn from other religions and philosophies – I’m finding out new things all the time, and it definitely keeps me humble knowing I have so much to learn.

Prayer Meeting at the Tool Company

Every Friday morning, I meet with some of the guys for a Bible study over breakfast. Last time my friend Cleve made a suggestion that since a local tool company is facing tough times in this economy, we ought to go over there and pray for them. He was right – prayer helps, and it makes sense to go there and do just that, especially since some of our good friends and fellow believers depend on it to make a living. So we did. A few of us got together in their conference room and spent some time praying that God would continue to bless their tool business.

I have to say it was a welcome reminder of what an elder is supposed to be all about. My favorite description of what an elder in the church is to be is simply a “shepherd.” Elders “tend” the “flock.” Yes, at times, they have to attend meetings, make decisions, and figure out how to spend money. But much higher on the list of priorities, in my opinion, is that elders are supposed to be shepherds. And it felt right to be there in that conference room praying with some of the very people who are most affected by the economic downturn.

Today is a good day to remember, too. It was 29 years ago today that I stood up in the back row of a worship service at a college retreat and interrupted the minister by asking to be baptized. It’s a good day for another reason: my own brother is being acknowledged as an elder in his congregation on this May 3rd as well. Not to mention, Dad would have been 77 on this day, too. My prayer is that we would always bear in mind the things that matter most.