Tim Abbott

You've just murdered Beethoven (or history, as it turns out)

We're doing a lesson with Year 9 groups at the moment on the Christian view of abortion which seems to be working very well with students and staff. Anyway, one illustration we're NOT using is the one that goes something like this...

If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already, three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis; would you recommend that she have an abortion?
If you answer "Yes" you've just murdered Beethoven.

There are two reasons why I've come to conclude that this is a ridiculous contribution to any discussion about abortion.

The first is that the story doesn't match the historical facts. Maria, Ludwig's mother, had seven children in total of whom only three survived infancy; tragic, but not uncommon for the time. Ludwig was the second born and the oldest of the survivors including his two younger brothers. Although his father is known to have been harsh and prone to drunkenness, there is no record of syphilis or mental illness in the family, though Ludwig later suffered from Hepatitis and probably from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus as well as the onset of deafness from around the age of 30.

The other objection I have is theological. At one level, aborting Ludwig would indeed have denied us the music of Beethoven. But it didn't. God has not given us the option of living in every possible outcome from every possible decision ever made in history. What if Hitler hadn't come to power? What if my parents hadn't divorced? What if that person had left for work 2 minutes later and not been killed because of a careless driver? What if Judas hadn't betrayed Jesus? What if...? Are God's plans so easily derailed by our stupidity, ignorance or rebellion? I somehow doubt it - I believe God is bigger than that, more capable, wiser and all this in ways that we can't fully fathom. Stuff happens and as it does, God walks with us shaping our lives for the best and guiding history towards his intended destination.
Did God have plans for any of Ludwig's brothers or sisters beyond a death in infancy? It's a huge question with profound implications - I don't know. But I suspect that the tragedy of their short lives did not limit God's plans for the rest of the van Beethoven family, for history or for us. God is not just creative, he's re-creative, or redemptive.

There are bigger questions here too, about the limits or otherwise of God's plans and the age old debate about how much is down to him and how much is down to us.

But please don't give me any nonsense about Maria van Beethoven aborting any of her children - that's just shredding good history for the sake of a shoddy illustration.

There's stuff about Beethoven here and here (as well as lots of other places!)
Also, check out truthorfiction.com for this and other possibly unreliable stories.

Imagine - no religion

Connecticut Valley Atheists, fed up with so many Christian displays at Christmas, have responded with their own thought for Christmas. Their three sided billboard in the town park of Vernon has a picture of the Twin Towers with the message, "Imagine, no religion".

See the full story here.

Tricky, this one. 'People of faith', both Christian and Muslim, are sensing persecution. But I'm inclined towards the view that this is simply freedom of speech and tells us about the views of Connecticut Valley Atheists. It's foolish to try to pretend that any of our traditions, Christian, Muslim or atheist are innocent of wrongdoing and atrocity. I'm getting a little tired of the ongoing gainsaying about whether Christianity or atheism is responsible for the worst wrongs against humanity, as if winning this argument will somehow prove that our way is right. Really all that's happening is that we're trying to show we're the least bad!

Supposedly in the name of Christ people have done terrible things. They were wrong, even if sincerely wrong - no excuses. Perhaps we need to say sorry sooner, more often, a bit more readily, and more clearly. Real people of faith do. Those with political agendas in religious wrappers don't.

Over at Christians confess you'll find that it's quite possible for Christians to say sorry.

The Golden Compass

Jeffrey Overstreet posts a helpful overview “The Golden Compass” - Questions I’ve been asked, answers I’ve given covering the main issues surrounding the impending release of the film this Christmas. Among other things he asks...

Should Christians be afraid of The Golden Compass?
Should anybody?
Do Pullman’s stories pose a threat to children?
What does Pullman say about his own beliefs?
Christians always point back to Lewis and Tolkien as exemplary storytellers. Why hasn’t anyone come along to step into their shoes?
Okay, so we shouldn’t start boycotts and complain. But what should Christians do?

Will Christians be able to engage constructively with the real issues raised by Pullman's epic, or will it all turn into another shouting match, a bit like what happened over 'Harry Potter'. I'm not optimistic.

For further thoughtful discussion, Tom Gilson has a series of posts over at Thinking Christian.

And for an insight into Philip Pullman, the person, try this interview in Third Way magazine from Feb 2002.

Links for today

In between a day in the office, moving the GSUS Live trailer (a day late, thanks to technical problems) and going out to a Youth Leaders gathering we're organising, here are a couple of links that caught my eye today.

Thinking Christian is Debunking the resurrection fable, in which people attempt to discredit Christianity by suggesting it's all a story made up years after the actual events too place. This is a popular suggestion from young people in school. TC's response, succinctly put and biblically supported shows that certainty in the resurrection can be reliably dated to within a handful of years from the event itself.

And in an entirely different vein... the church that featured in Four Weddings and a Funeral has started charging an entry fee. Regular parishoners can buy an annual pass! Read more here.

Links for today

Some links that inspired me today:

This from Matt Stone, whose perception and perspective I often appreciate

St. Francis of Assisi once said,
“Preach the Gospel always, and when necessary, use words"

I thought, why stop there?
“Worship always, and when necessary, use music”
“Disciple always, and when necessary, do it sitting down”
“Serve always, and when necessary, do it in services”

And this helpful response from Thinking Christian to Richard Dawkin's assertion that religion leads logically to violence, whereas atheism doesn't.

Manifesto for theological research

Fernando Gros sets out a kind of manifesto for theological research which warmed my heart somewhat, bringing a breath of humanity to a subject that can be in danger of becoming dry and divisive.

He suggests four areas where theological research needs to take care: Respect of Persons, Social Benefits of Religious and Theological commitments, Effective Dissemination of Knowledge, and Interrogating the difference between doctrine and practice.

It occurs to me that these four areas are in harmony with the way Jesus engaged with people to help them understand their relationship with God. Have a read of Fernando's post and contribute a comment.

Seeking

I've been away a bit, in the geographical sense, and also in the 'feeling a bit detached from things' sort of way too.

I've been reflecting on the reality of God and the place of seeking. Some might say that we only experience God because of an inner desire so to do - that the seeking produces in us the apparent reality of God. But this flies in the face of too much personal experience. I have friends who were not looking for God, but who were touched by him in a way that completely overturned their former atheism. And I know lots of Christians who long for a greater reality of God, but don't seem to get it. Aspiration seems to have little to do with revelation. But, more importantly, aspiration does not create for us a reality that hitherto had been non-existent.

A few days ago, thinking about all this, I wrote the following...

Our seeking God does not make him real, it reaches through like a hand reaching through a curtain to grasp that which is already real, though hidden. How do I know God is really there? I don't, until I reach out to grasp. And when I do, I discover that it's his voice (whether through hope or through despair) that's been urging me to dare to seek, to reach, to grasp hold of that which already has a hold of me.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Heb 11:6.

Ten things Christians and Atheists can and must agree on

Joel (researcher of all that's cool on the internet) drew my attention to an article by David Wong (pseudonym) over at Pointless Waste of Time, The God Fuse - Ten things Christians and Atheists can and must agree on.
Into the current, sometimes heated, debate, Wong, a Christian, speaks much balance and common sense with his usual blend of shrewd insight and comic genius.

Advisory: Whilst I can commend this article, PWOT is not a Christian site and if you choose to look around be prepared to encounter some other contributions or posts which may not be to your taste.

Missing judgement

Sunday evening I spent a very pleasant time with about 16 others from church for an informal time of worship and discussion. The setting was relaxed, creatively lit and very agreeably resourced with tea/coffee and cake (thanks Ruth & Co). I felt disarmingly at home.
We sang some songs together, watched a bit of video and discussed some questions together in groups. The worship touched my spirit, and the discussion stirred my mind in a way that no sermon ever could.

Anyway, the point of this is that one of the rather tangential questions that came up during discussion was about judgement, how we never hear it preached or spoken about. The question raised was; have we become soft when it comes to the gospel? Is our missional passion to embrace a spiritually tolerant and relativistic society meaning we hide the truth of God's judgement?
The passage cited was this: "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." Heb 10:26,27
My immediate observation is that this was written to people who were already followers of Jesus as a warning against treating the grace of God lightly and effectively shaming Christ (and belittling his death) in public. Paul writes to Timothy, "The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them." (1 Tim 5:24) but here again the warning is to the church and is part of a wider point Paul is making about the consequences of our actions, "In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden".

The ministry of both Jesus and Paul seemed to be light on messages about judgement (except for religious leaders who acted like bouncers at the gates of the Kingdom) and full on about the love and grace of God. It is this missional message that we are seeking to rediscover and make known to people whose lives are veiled by an easy going cutlure.

So what do we make of passages like, "For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17) or "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Heb 9:27). Again, these were written not to unbelievers but to the church. I do not believe these are examples of the message we bring - rather, they are a warning to us of the seriousness of (not) fulfilling the great commission.

Toughest God questions

Over at e~mergent kiwi Steve Taylor has started a thread titled, "my God questions tougher than your God question". It's a growing collection of the genuinely tough questions that people sometimes ask of Christianity. His post leads with these for starters;

Why do kids suffer?

Why did God invent cancer?

What about Buhddists, they seem ok to me?

Why do you priests fiddle with kids?

Does God have an ego problem?

Why do Christians fight each other?

Would God forgive Hitler?

What about all the killing in the Old Testament

In the same sense that a heroin addict only has an illusion of choice over taking some heroin that is in front of him, does a child born to Fundamentalist Muslims in Saudi Arabia ever really have a choice to follow Jesus?

If we really have free will, how come it's impossible for us to choose to not sin at all tomorrow?

If a devout Christian gets true amnesia and forgets who they are and stop being a Christian, then was he ever saved? And which begs the question of, if our soul is clearly not attached to memory, for memory is an aspect of the brain, what knowledge will we take to Heaven?

Does a Christian still go to heaven if he/she commits suicide?

If a Christian converts to another religion, are they still saved?

What happened to people before Jesus? Did they all go to hell? If not, where did they go?

Did God create life in the universe outside of earth (i.e. aliens)?

Who made God?

Why does God chose to condem some people to hell?

When Jesus died for your sins, so that your sins were removed, when you backslid away from God, did Jesus "undie" for you sins?

Check out some of the comments and other questions raised so far and contribute to the debate. No answers at this stage though - that will be attempted later.