 |
||
 |
||
Jim's PERSPECTIVESeptember 16, 2013The word is “ambiguous.” Here are some of the definitions of this very descriptive word: 1) open to or having several possible meanings or interpretations; 2) obscure, lacking clarity or definiteness; 3) of uncertain character or nature, difficult to comprehend; 4) having two or more possible structural representations. We’ll get back to these definitions in a minute. First, let’s talk about our friend, Augustine. He was not the first major theologian—men like Irenaeus, Origen, Justin Martyr and others preceded him—but he was the one who set a standard, or model, for how one is to do theology. Augustine believed that history is sacred, that God is guiding it, and that the task of theology is to try to work out a systematic doctrine that corresponds to events and moments in history. And part of understanding history is to see it as divided into periods in which God reveals things about himself. Furthermore, while humankind exercises its own will, God is sovereign throughout history, with a purpose, plan, and end; and God is governing, intervening, and causing things to happen. Finally, Augustine believed that history is a story of a particular people living out a history whose development and outcome is determined by God. I believe that, too, and I am totally aware that there are many, if not more, so-called “modern” people who do not share this belief. But I am not at all surprised because Augustine’s model helps me understand why others do not embrace such a viewpoint. He said that there are basically two positions—or orientations—for people living in this world: First, an orientation toward “self” and, second, an orientation toward God. The first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis tell the stories of the Creation and Fall as the turning from an orientation to God to an orientation to the self as a result of the entrance of sin into the world. The New Testament is the story of God moving in history through the person and ministry of Jesus and his disciples to reclaim and re-establish in individuals an orientation back toward God. The reason I say that I believe that I understand why others do not embrace such a belief is because the orientation toward self tends to preclude God. It is no wonder to me why many persons do not tell this story. Another effect of the orientation toward self is the inability to see it. The re-orientation back to God is what produces the faith that it takes to comprehend this kind of reality. Now we can get back to the “ambiguous” word. For me, one of the real problems, if not the main problem for all people in general and Christians in particular, is the fact that we all are a curious mixture of two natures—an orientation to the self and an orientation toward God. I’m not comfortable labeling the two natures as “evil” and “good,” although I do believe that we all share aspects of both of those realities as well. I have always thought that all life is a matter of degree, in that there are “degrees” of good and bad, as well as orientation toward God and orientation to self. For some, orientation toward self could be measured in large degrees, and as a result, bad things often happen. And that is not to say that such persons do not have an orientation toward God. It’s just that the orientation to God is in comparatively smaller degrees. For others, the orientation to God may be larger in degree, but that does not mean that those persons are not capable of some pretty ungodly stuff. That explains, for me, why one often encounters mean-spirited Christians. While some would label such persons as “unredeemed” or “unsaved,” I would just say that those persons are not yielded to God in certain aspects of their lives. We live in an age wherein a polarization is taking place right before our eyes. We think of ourselves as one way, and others in a completely different way: “We’re democrats, they’re republicans; we’re conservative, they’re liberal; we’re Christians, they’re Muslims; we’re Americans, they’re not; we’re the good guys, they’re the bad guys.” We seem to be incapable of truly understanding that we ourselves are ambiguous individuals. Not only do I believe that precluding God in one’s thinking processes is because of one’s orientation to self, I also think that one’s own opinions is actually the result of the orientation to self—hence the result of sin. I think that it is that orientation to self that causes one to regard others as different from oneself, and prevents one from seeing that one is pretty much the same as anyone else. There are differences to be sure, but, in the end, those differences are merely variations on a single theme. All of the debates in which we are now engaged —“agreeing to disagree,” gay marriage, west versus east, even the ways and means to secure one’s own “rights” are the result of our ambiguous natures. The call to preach repentance means, for me, the call for people to change their minds, or, rather, to change their orientation: to turn from one’s orientation to self to an orientation to God. That is actually the meaning of “repentance.” In my opinion, everyone needs to do it. I need to do it. You need to do it. - Jim Radford |
||
|
©2013 Jim Radford. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
|
