“I’ll be a Monkey’s Uncle!”

Cain in a fit of anger fueled by jealousy killed his brother and when God called him to account he responded, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9).

Cain the chimp could read.  He was sitting in his cage reading the story about his namesake, Cain and looking up he sees his keeper.  He then begins pondering the question, “Am I my keeper’s brother?”

Seeing the chimp reading a Bible the zoo keeper thought, “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.”

Given the right circumstances you might well be a monkey’s uncle and now I will tell you why.

The universe is in a state of winding down.  You can demonstrate this in any number of ways.  Spin a coin and it will eventually fall over.  Spin a top and it too will fall over.  Despite man’s best attempts he has never created a perpetual motion machine.  Take your thermometer and measure the sun’s heat and then come back later and measure it again—even if imperceptible, it is cooling.  

To continue this wild argument we must disembowel the favorite notion of the evolutionist.  It is this.  Man in every way is getting better and better.  So in the face of this great wind down the evolutionist postulates that the one exception is mankind who Darwin theorized shared a common ancestor with the chimpanzee. 

However, just suppose for a moment that such is not true, well you do not have to suppose unless you are an evolutionist.  That means that given enough time (time is the evolutionists second favorite notion) then man will eventually wind down to a lower state and then a lower state and then a lower state and so on.

Eventually where does man end up—a lower form like a monkey (of course they too wind down and so may not even exist millions and millions and millions and millions of years in the future).  So then logically one can be a monkey’s great, great, great (ad infinitum) …uncle, thus, one day “I’ll be a monkey’s uncle” or maybe a monkey’s aunt!

Of course the other common usage of the expression is to indicate disbelief.  I believe I’ll take meaning option two for in addition to the human race winding down so too is creation.  As a result, it will not survive for those millions of years necessary for all of this to take place. 

In the face of all of this “good news” there is genuine "good news" and it is this.  The Lord, Jesus Christ is coming back and He is going to put things right! All it takes is a little child-like faith.  Read about it in Revelation 21-22.

Christianity: Is it a Faith Driven by Fear?

Over the past several months, several times I’ve heard it said that people are manipulated into Christianity by being threatened with the fear of eternal damnation in the fires of Hell.  Recently I read writings by one Chaz Bufe, as he attempted to use such an argument to disparage and disprove the veracity of Christianity. 

This fear view, was offered as the first reason and perhaps the prime reason that he could not accept the legitimacy of the Christian faith.  The interesting thing is that he failed to do his homework.  But then he is not alone.

He begins his pamphlet, 20 Reasons to Abandon Christianity[1] by  postulating that Christianity was and is based upon fear and in fact states “...the motor driving Christianity has been—in addition to the fear of death—fear of the devil and fear of hell.”  With a very broad brush he employing largely anecdotal "evidence" and then goes on to generalize about the Christian faith.  What one will find most interesting is the assumptions that he brings to the discussion. 

“The Fear of Death”

An assumed, "Fear of death?"  Very simply if one’s truth paradigm does not give some sense of peace about and reconciliation with one’s ultimate demise, then it might be well to embrace one that does.  An example is found in one who was no friend to Christianity, Christopher Hitchens.  Though he claimed no faith, he by all accounts left this life in peace for it appears that he lived and died in keeping with the truth paradigm he had chosen.  As well reports would indicate the same about Carl Sagan's at his death.

Therefore, it is incumbent upon the individual to find peace in the belief system that they have chosen to embrace.   If such is not so then one should continue the search until they find a truth paradigm that will provide such peace when this earthly journey is nearing the end.

Shifting Truth Paradigms 

Is it possible then that a person on such a search is going to change?  It likely depends upon how much one has invested in his truth paradigm.  (Little investment, great potential for change.  Great investment, little potential for change.)  For example should one have expected in the final moments of his life that Christopher Hitchens would change.  Not likely since he had invested much of his life and thinking in the truth paradigm he had chosen to embrace.

Such a notion for change is characterized by two things.  First is that this need for change is obvious to all except those who are so bound by bias that the viewing other truth paradigms is lost to them.  Second though the focus is upon those who choose faith, one cannot deny the opposite to be true.  There are those like Stephen Hawking who it is reported has shifted his views away from God.

Distortion Based Argument

One can take any belief, faith and otherwise, cite a few of the excesses plus a distortion or two and then present it in its distorted form and then set about disparaging it.  Such a treatment of Christian faith is illegitimate and fails even rudimentary logic.  The sad part is that such a person will mock and ridicule a “straw man” Christian faith and then congratulate themselves for finally putting the Christian myth to bed. 

Bufe’s assumption like so many others is based in a false notion of Christianity.  His bias is found in the introductory words to his pamphlet which gives his purpose as listing, “…the most outstanding misery-producing and socially destructive qualities of Christianity in one place.”  He certainly is not alone in his thoughts.  If, however, what he lists is indeed accurate in its portrayal of Christianity, I would quite agree with him and abandon the Christian faith.

However, contained in his statement is a rather glaring problem.  Has Mr. Bufe exhausted every book, article, and argument for and against the Christian faith to know what he says goes beyond his opinion? The likelihood of such is so miniscule as not to be considered.

Unanswerable Question

Assume for the sake of argument that the thesis is true, that Christianity is a religion of fear.   Those who conclude such to be so, begin their journey into such a position because of a certain skepticism.  Is such a skepticism reserved for a special few?  No of course not!  

Also consider that such a “fear” statement takes an exceedingly low view of people.  While some people are gullible most are not.  The reality is the most people have an internal alert system composed of doubt, cynicism, and skepticism, which offers protection.

The problem in the argument is a treatment of that skepticism is left out of the discussion.  It seems more likely that such skepticism as is common to man would steer a person away from being manipulated and victimized by fear or any other truth paradigm with which they are not comfortable.

If such was not so, one would fall prey to every slick talking magazine salesman that happened to stop by one’s home.  One’s skepticism mitigates against such being so.  

So it is when I see every porch everywhere I travel, covered by magazines, I shall give serious consideration to this notion of fear causing people to enter into the Christian experience.

Care Based Faith

The reality is that Christianity is a care based faith.  That is to say that a very basic plank of genuine Christian doctrine is the care of others.  The founder of the Christian faith spoke of “loving God and loving others,” of care for others, and that such can involve the “denying one’s self.” .  

At the end of His follower's life one would find it inconceivable that the doctrine of care would end at one's death.  No, such care extend beyond this life into the next.  As a matter of fact such a care based faith would view such a faith as described in the article referenced in opening words of this post as abhorrent and out of step with genuine Christian faith.

---

[1] Pamphlet available at http://www.seesharppress.com/20reasons.html#numberone

"IMO and The Truth" Part One

The court room was packed and overflowing.

The judge looked at the jury verdict form and then at the jury.  It was then that he announced that when the verdict was read there was to be no reaction from those present in the court room.  It had been a particularly heinous crime and there was no doubt that the defendant was guilty!

The form was returned to the jury foreman and in a matter of fact voice he read, "In the matter of the state versus the defendant, after careful consideration the jury returns a verdict of not guilty."  Try as they might, there was a collective gasp from those present, how could this be?

Indeed from opening statements through the presentation of testimonies and evidence to the closings statements and finally the judge’s instructions to the jury it seemed so very clear.  How could the jury return anything but a verdict of guilty?

Later when interviewed the jury foreman had a shocking response.  A response that was in no small way disturbing!

"To a person, we the jury believe that the defendant was guilty, as guilty as could be!"  Then he went on, "The parameters set forth in the jury instructions were drawn so tightly that when we look at the cases presented within those parameters we really had little choice but to return the verdict we did."

Now let us move from the example to the venue of the one's opinion. 

Parameters Do Not Change Reality

At one time or another most people think about what constitutes or makes up truth/reality in general and in particular what may be considered as one seeks to find that truth/reality.  It is here that there may be a very real danger. 

For example if a person draws the parameters of what is acceptable too restrictively, the discovery and/or defense of truth/reality is then in serious jeopardy.   The outcome at the very least is far less accurate than it otherwise would be. At the other end of the scale the truth/reality would be denied even though valid.

Take for example the existence of Jesus Christ.  To simplify the issue, either Jesus existed or He did not.  That is the very basic truth/reality of the question.  No amount of evidence or opinion can now change the reality of His existence or His non-existence.  Said another way, no amount of opinion, bias, assumption, nor anything else can change what was so, either way you view the question.

An attendant problem is that of accuracy.  As noted above restrictive parameters have an effect upon accuracy.

So then how is one to know for sure?  As with any other truth or reality, if one's rules of evidence are drawn too tightly, then genuine and valid evidence is disregarded and the truth of the matter is lost.  The question then becomes who is to be the arbitrator of what may be considered and what may be discarded from the inquiry?

Drawing the Parameters

It would appear that there are two somewhat different but related Influences that bear on the subject of how one discovers reality.  One might view the first influence in terms of a scale and the second in terms of an all or none position. 

First, is the question of just where one fits on the “believe – disbelieve” scale.  While a little cynicism protects one from certain kinds of dangers, the total doubter will have no basis for the existence of any kind of reliable truth.  Such a person rejects all truth claims and fits in a Post-Modern notion of existence.

Second, is more of an all or none position.  The position is encapsulated in the question, “Does God exist?”

For the one who tends toward disbelieving and as well reject the existence of God, there remains no authority outside of the self.  So it is that the individual has become the arbitrator of truth.  The validation of truth is nearly impossible as truth rests solely on, “In my opinion….”

Such a position can be very lonely.

Note:  More to follow in Part Two.