I am not
sure who it was that first said, “Common sense is not all that common.” Many
have said the same thing in a variety of ways and Mac McAnally has a song that
expresses this. “Take It Easy,” from the 1994 album Knots, pokes fun at the TV talk show hosts who earnestly dispense
common sense. It is simply one more reminder to listen to advice with
discernment.
sure who it was that first said, “Common sense is not all that common.” Many
have said the same thing in a variety of ways and Mac McAnally has a song that
expresses this. “Take It Easy,” from the 1994 album Knots, pokes fun at the TV talk show hosts who earnestly dispense
common sense. It is simply one more reminder to listen to advice with
discernment.
Take It
Easy
(Words and
Music by Mac McAnally)A little
boy walks in a diner,Where his
Momma cleans up at nightAs she
walked out from the kitchen,She could
see something wasn’t rightHe said
Momma I got a problem,And I
really need to talk to you.I love this
girl but were fighting all the timeAnd I wanna
know what to doMomma saidTake it
easy, when it gets too hardMake it
hard, if it don’t seem hard enoughDon’t you
worry child, unless it makes you feel betterThat’s all
I know about loveNow the man
the next booth over,A
psychoanalyst by tradeHe took and
wrote down on a napkin,What the
cleaning lady said.Now he’s up
on all the talk shows,He’s got
the books and video tapesHe says for
much more money,Than a
cleaning lady makesHe says,Take it
easy, when it gets too hardMake it
hard, if it don’t seem hard enoughDon’t you
worry child, unless it makes you feel betterThat’s all
I know about loveSome people
go to a great expense,To see who
they want to beI believe a
little common sense,Is gonna
trickle down eventuallyIf youTake it
easy, when it gets too hardMake it
hard, if it don’t seem hard enoughDon’t you
worry child, unless it makes you feel betterThat’s all
I know about loveTake it
easy, when it gets too hardMake it
hard, if it don’t seem hard enoughDon’t you
worry child, unless it makes you feel betterThat’s all
I know about loveTake it
easyMake it
hardDon’t you
worry child, unless it makes you feel betterThat’s all
I know about loveTake itMake itDon’t youThat’s all
I know aboutThat’s all
I knowThat’s all I know about love
I have been listening to the songs on Jars of Clay’s album Inland since 2014, shortly after it came
out. Some of my favourite songs on the album (I have previously written about
some of these) include “After the Fight,” “Reckless Forgiver,” “Loneliness and Alcohol,” and “Fall Asleep.” (The amazing video for Fall Asleep can be seen here.)
But one song on the album really did not catch my attention until recently: the title track, “Inland.” Now
I wonder why I did not spend more time reading the lyrics of this song. They
are truly brilliant lyrics that speak of the spiritual journey in which we are
all engaged. It speaks of faith, abandoning safety, heading further in, holy
ground, and the earth of which we are made. Within the song there is an
underlying voice that keeps inviting, calling, and comforting: “come on home to
me” and “I’ll always be here by your side.” The song is a marvellous invitation into the journey of faith. Listen to the song here.
out. Some of my favourite songs on the album (I have previously written about
some of these) include “After the Fight,” “Reckless Forgiver,” “Loneliness and Alcohol,” and “Fall Asleep.” (The amazing video for Fall Asleep can be seen here.)
But one song on the album really did not catch my attention until recently: the title track, “Inland.” Now
I wonder why I did not spend more time reading the lyrics of this song. They
are truly brilliant lyrics that speak of the spiritual journey in which we are
all engaged. It speaks of faith, abandoning safety, heading further in, holy
ground, and the earth of which we are made. Within the song there is an
underlying voice that keeps inviting, calling, and comforting: “come on home to
me” and “I’ll always be here by your side.” The song is a marvellous invitation into the journey of faith. Listen to the song here.
Inland
There are no streets to walk on
No maps you can rely on
Faith and guts to guide you
Wander til you find you
Only raw desire
A match to give you fire
You have to trust your heart
You don’t believe in oceans
You, you were a sailor
Who burn your ship and walked on
Far away you walked on
You keep turning inland
Where no man is an island
It’s where you’re supposed to be
Woah oh oh-oh-oh
Woah oh oh-oh-oh
You keep heading inland
No man is an island
Come on home to me
Afraid of your convictions
They said the land will change you
Steady your confession
Your course make no corrections
When you are a stranger
Hold your tongue and wager
Love will set you free
Until it sets you free
Woah oh oh-oh-oh
Woah oh oh-oh-oh
You keep walking inland
No man is an island
Come on home to me
Just follow your desire
Leave it all
You’re leaving all
Just burn it in the fire
Everything you once knew
Everyone that knew you
Remove the shoes you came on
Feel the earth you’re made from
Pack up all your questions
Just keep heading inland
Come on home to me
Yeah come on home to me
Woah oh oh-oh-oh
Woah oh oh-oh-oh
You keep walking inland
No man is an island
Come on home to me
(I’ll always be here by your side
I’m always standing next to you
When the darkness hits the light
We can stand against the tides
I’m always standing next to you
I’m always standing next to you
I’ll always be here by your side)
Words and music by Charles Lowell, Daniel Haseltine, Matthew Odmark, Nathan Barlowe, and Stephen Mason
©A Side Music
I have previously written about how adult Osprey teach their young to fly and said that it is delicate business because
they really only get one chance to try and there can be no failures. Recently, I saw some video of a mother
river otter teaching her pup to swim. The pups are born without the ability to
swim or dive but their food supply is almost entirely underwater. This necessitates
that they learn to swim so that they can eat.
they really only get one chance to try and there can be no failures. Recently, I saw some video of a mother
river otter teaching her pup to swim. The pups are born without the ability to
swim or dive but their food supply is almost entirely underwater. This necessitates
that they learn to swim so that they can eat.
The video showed the extreme teaching methods
of the otter. The pup did not want to learn to swim. He had to learn to swim.
The mother dragged him down to the water’s edge and threw him in the water. The
pup spluttered his way to the surface as his thick fur kept him buoyant. Before
he was able to truly catch his breath, his mother dragged him down to the
bottom of the pool of water. He struggled to the surface and she plunged him
back down. This recurring process went on for several minutes and appeared
quite cruel to the on-lookers, but at the end of it the pup was grabbing full
strokes of water with his front legs and paws, and was truly swimming and becoming
proficient at diving to the bottom. A few more lessons would be needed but this
pup was well on the way to becoming a star student.
of the otter. The pup did not want to learn to swim. He had to learn to swim.
The mother dragged him down to the water’s edge and threw him in the water. The
pup spluttered his way to the surface as his thick fur kept him buoyant. Before
he was able to truly catch his breath, his mother dragged him down to the
bottom of the pool of water. He struggled to the surface and she plunged him
back down. This recurring process went on for several minutes and appeared
quite cruel to the on-lookers, but at the end of it the pup was grabbing full
strokes of water with his front legs and paws, and was truly swimming and becoming
proficient at diving to the bottom. A few more lessons would be needed but this
pup was well on the way to becoming a star student.
The spiritual lessons are likely obvious to
many, but allow me to make them explicit. We are very much like this pup. We
are born into this world through no fault or favour of our own. We arrive at
the whim of God and the decisions of our parents. We do not know how to swim or
any of the other things we need to do in this world. We do know how to breath
but could never feed ourselves or protect ourselves from the dangers of a cold
night or a busy street. Our parents and our Heavenly Parent drag us into
situations in which we must learn. The lessons are not gentle. In fact, the
lessons are never easy. That ancient
progenitor of hard-ship Job,[1]
could tell us stories of lessons learned from the hard training of God. Job had
wealth, status, family, and health. The Accuser
asked God to let him take it all away and God allowed it. Job learned a lesson
about the nature of life on earth and who God is in relation to God’s creation.
It was not a pleasant lesson – okay, that’s an under-statement – it was an
extremely unpleasant lesson. Job did learn from the lesson. His answer to God is
summed up as, “I take back
everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” Not
exactly a, “Thank you for the lessons you taught me, Dad,” but grateful just the same. To put it another
way, Job realized that God is the potter and Job is the clay. “When a potter
makes jars out of clay, he has the right to use the same lump of clay to make
one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into.”[2] Yet,
God is patient and uses even cracked and fragile clay jars for his purposes.[3]
many, but allow me to make them explicit. We are very much like this pup. We
are born into this world through no fault or favour of our own. We arrive at
the whim of God and the decisions of our parents. We do not know how to swim or
any of the other things we need to do in this world. We do know how to breath
but could never feed ourselves or protect ourselves from the dangers of a cold
night or a busy street. Our parents and our Heavenly Parent drag us into
situations in which we must learn. The lessons are not gentle. In fact, the
lessons are never easy. That ancient
progenitor of hard-ship Job,[1]
could tell us stories of lessons learned from the hard training of God. Job had
wealth, status, family, and health. The Accuser
asked God to let him take it all away and God allowed it. Job learned a lesson
about the nature of life on earth and who God is in relation to God’s creation.
It was not a pleasant lesson – okay, that’s an under-statement – it was an
extremely unpleasant lesson. Job did learn from the lesson. His answer to God is
summed up as, “I take back
everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” Not
exactly a, “Thank you for the lessons you taught me, Dad,” but grateful just the same. To put it another
way, Job realized that God is the potter and Job is the clay. “When a potter
makes jars out of clay, he has the right to use the same lump of clay to make
one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into.”[2] Yet,
God is patient and uses even cracked and fragile clay jars for his purposes.[3]
So, what do I yet need
to learn? What hard lessons might God have for me? Because of his great love
for me, I can trust that they will be appropriate for this stage of my learning
curve. “He is the potter, I am the clay;” He is the mother otter, I am the pup.
to learn? What hard lessons might God have for me? Because of his great love
for me, I can trust that they will be appropriate for this stage of my learning
curve. “He is the potter, I am the clay;” He is the mother otter, I am the pup.
[1] Read about him in Job 1-42 in your Bible.
[2] Paraphrase of Romans 9:21, 22.
[3] See 2 Corinthians 4:7.
Good words from more than 60 years ago by
one of the great defenders of the faith.
one of the great defenders of the faith.
“But I can never agree
with you that the Incarnation, or any truth, has to satisfy emotionally to be
right (and I would not agree that for the natural man the Incarnation does not
satisfy emotionally). It does not satisfy emotionally for the person brought up
under many forms of false intellectual discipline such as 19th-century
mechanism, for instance. Leaving the Incarnation aside, the very notion of
God’s existence is not emotionally satisfactory anymore for great numbers of
people, which does not mean that God ceases to exist. M. Sartre finds God
emotionally unsatisfactory in the extreme, as do most of my friends of less
stature than he. The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach
it emotionally. A higher paradox confounds emotion as well as reason and there
are long periods in the lives of all of us, and of the saints, when the truth
as revealed by faith is hideous, emotionally disturbing, downright repulsive.
Witness the dark night of the soul in individual saints. Right now the whole
world seems to be going through a dark night of the soul.
with you that the Incarnation, or any truth, has to satisfy emotionally to be
right (and I would not agree that for the natural man the Incarnation does not
satisfy emotionally). It does not satisfy emotionally for the person brought up
under many forms of false intellectual discipline such as 19th-century
mechanism, for instance. Leaving the Incarnation aside, the very notion of
God’s existence is not emotionally satisfactory anymore for great numbers of
people, which does not mean that God ceases to exist. M. Sartre finds God
emotionally unsatisfactory in the extreme, as do most of my friends of less
stature than he. The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach
it emotionally. A higher paradox confounds emotion as well as reason and there
are long periods in the lives of all of us, and of the saints, when the truth
as revealed by faith is hideous, emotionally disturbing, downright repulsive.
Witness the dark night of the soul in individual saints. Right now the whole
world seems to be going through a dark night of the soul.
There is a question
whether faith can or is supposed to be emotionally satisfying. I must say that
the thought of everyone lolling about in an emotionally satisfying faith is
repugnant to me. I believe
that we are ultimately directed Godward but that this journey is often impeded
by emotion.”
whether faith can or is supposed to be emotionally satisfying. I must say that
the thought of everyone lolling about in an emotionally satisfying faith is
repugnant to me. I believe
that we are ultimately directed Godward but that this journey is often impeded
by emotion.”
–
Flannery O’Conner in a letter to Betty
Hester, September 6, 1955.[1]
Flannery O’Conner in a letter to Betty
Hester, September 6, 1955.[1]
[1] http://theamericanreader.com/6-september-1955-flannery-oconnor/
“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers
about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the
truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will,
nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the
truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will,
nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
I owe a lot to C.S. Lewis. I have read most
of his works and his imagination has influenced my imagination. Even as I have
written an original novel, I know that my stories have roots in the writings of
Lewis and other writers. At the same time, my work is indeed original because I
have told truth in a new way. May God give each of us the gift of being
ourselves as we seek to make a difference in this world.
of his works and his imagination has influenced my imagination. Even as I have
written an original novel, I know that my stories have roots in the writings of
Lewis and other writers. At the same time, my work is indeed original because I
have told truth in a new way. May God give each of us the gift of being
ourselves as we seek to make a difference in this world.
View The Great Beyond in these two forms:
The
combined information in two articles within a recent edition of Science News
Journal[1]
can lead to some intriguing speculation. One of the greatest assumptions of the
search for extraterrestrial life is that we will likely find life where there
is water. This is a valid hypothesis, for we know that life, as we know it on
earth, requires water as a starting point. Single-celled life on earth is thought to have
first developed in the sea in structures resembling soap bubbles,[2]
bacterial cells are approximately 70% water, and humans are known to be 50-60%
water.[3]
So, life forms with which we are familiar require large quantities of water.
combined information in two articles within a recent edition of Science News
Journal[1]
can lead to some intriguing speculation. One of the greatest assumptions of the
search for extraterrestrial life is that we will likely find life where there
is water. This is a valid hypothesis, for we know that life, as we know it on
earth, requires water as a starting point. Single-celled life on earth is thought to have
first developed in the sea in structures resembling soap bubbles,[2]
bacterial cells are approximately 70% water, and humans are known to be 50-60%
water.[3]
So, life forms with which we are familiar require large quantities of water.
But, what
might we find on other worlds? A recent article entitled, “Potential ingredient for alien life found on
Titan,”[4]
suggests that life might be possible in places where the predominant chemicals
are liquid methane and vinyl cyanide. One can readily guess from the names of
these chemicals that such life would be incompatible with life as we know it on
earth, but might be possible in other forms. Primitive cell structures based
upon water and proteins can form on earth and it is possible that such cell
structures might also form, given the right conditions, in oceans of methane with
vinyl cyanide. Poly-vinyl linkages of such compounds could form protein-like
structures that encase other molecules that, in turn, act like RNA and DNA
equivalents. Titan, a moon orbiting around Jupiter has such chemistry and could
harbour some form of primitive life.
might we find on other worlds? A recent article entitled, “Potential ingredient for alien life found on
Titan,”[4]
suggests that life might be possible in places where the predominant chemicals
are liquid methane and vinyl cyanide. One can readily guess from the names of
these chemicals that such life would be incompatible with life as we know it on
earth, but might be possible in other forms. Primitive cell structures based
upon water and proteins can form on earth and it is possible that such cell
structures might also form, given the right conditions, in oceans of methane with
vinyl cyanide. Poly-vinyl linkages of such compounds could form protein-like
structures that encase other molecules that, in turn, act like RNA and DNA
equivalents. Titan, a moon orbiting around Jupiter has such chemistry and could
harbour some form of primitive life.
The other article in
the same edition of Science News reports on the discovery of the first
exo-moon. An exo-moon is a moon which orbits a planet which, in turn, orbits
around a star in a distant solar system. The existence of such exo-moons
expands our knowledge of potential environments where life might be possible.
There are very few exo-planets that have been found to be in what are known as
habitable zones. This exo-moon discovery suggests that there may be a great
many more potential habitable zones in which liquid water exists. Couple this
finding with the possibility of vinyl cyanide-based life forms, and the field in
which to search for other life forms expands significantly.
the same edition of Science News reports on the discovery of the first
exo-moon. An exo-moon is a moon which orbits a planet which, in turn, orbits
around a star in a distant solar system. The existence of such exo-moons
expands our knowledge of potential environments where life might be possible.
There are very few exo-planets that have been found to be in what are known as
habitable zones. This exo-moon discovery suggests that there may be a great
many more potential habitable zones in which liquid water exists. Couple this
finding with the possibility of vinyl cyanide-based life forms, and the field in
which to search for other life forms expands significantly.
Is life a once in a
universe happening? Is Earth the only place in this universe where replicating,
auto-sustaining, growing, and dying creatures exist? The search will go on as
we continue to speculate about what might be possible. Earth is one small
planet in a vast galaxy within a vast universe. The mind of the Creator is
unfathomable when it comes to questions regarding why he created so
much space. Are there other patterns of life out there? Did they spontaneously
evolve? Was there a Master plan? Let us continue to ask good questions.
universe happening? Is Earth the only place in this universe where replicating,
auto-sustaining, growing, and dying creatures exist? The search will go on as
we continue to speculate about what might be possible. Earth is one small
planet in a vast galaxy within a vast universe. The mind of the Creator is
unfathomable when it comes to questions regarding why he created so
much space. Are there other patterns of life out there? Did they spontaneously
evolve? Was there a Master plan? Let us continue to ask good questions.
[2]
Partitioning may have begun from cell-like spheroids formed by proteinoids,
which are observed by heating amino acids with phosphoric
acid as a catalyst. They bear much of the basic features provided by
cell membranes. Proteinoid-based protocells enclosing RNA molecules could have
been the first cellular life forms on Earth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_cells
Partitioning may have begun from cell-like spheroids formed by proteinoids,
which are observed by heating amino acids with phosphoric
acid as a catalyst. They bear much of the basic features provided by
cell membranes. Proteinoid-based protocells enclosing RNA molecules could have
been the first cellular life forms on Earth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_cells
Those who
read this blog regularly may want to check out my latest project, a book entitled The Great Beyond. While it is a novel, it wrestles with significant issues related to how we see life, death, and the spiritual world. Here is the summary from the back of the book.
read this blog regularly may want to check out my latest project, a book entitled The Great Beyond. While it is a novel, it wrestles with significant issues related to how we see life, death, and the spiritual world. Here is the summary from the back of the book.
Ray did not expect his life to take the turns it did. He had always been
a simple man who enjoyed modest pleasures and a few travel experiences. In
fact, he thought he might have travelled more. But life just sort of happened
and he never got around to the things he wanted to see. Now, on the biggest
journey of his life, going places he could only imagine in his dreams, he is
not sure he wants to be on this path. He is not sure how he got on this path or
where it will take him next. Perhaps the biggest question is, “Who is in
control?”
a simple man who enjoyed modest pleasures and a few travel experiences. In
fact, he thought he might have travelled more. But life just sort of happened
and he never got around to the things he wanted to see. Now, on the biggest
journey of his life, going places he could only imagine in his dreams, he is
not sure he wants to be on this path. He is not sure how he got on this path or
where it will take him next. Perhaps the biggest question is, “Who is in
control?”
You can find the book on Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, and Amazon Europe. After you have read it, leave a comment here or on my Facebook Page.
Below are a few endorsements from friends who read a pre-print.
Keith Shields takes us on a riveting interstellar journey
through The Great Beyond. Bridging seamlessly from fantasy to space
travel to the interior of the human heart, Shields never loses sight of a
narrative arc rich with thought-provoking symbolism and memorable characters. A
brilliantly imagined world.”
Tara Miller, author
“This is not the type of book I usually read so I was
not sure what to expect, but it proved surprisingly thought-provoking. The
Great Beyond serves as an excellent resource for those with literary
backgrounds or those who think philosophically. Shields skillfully guides
readers through a creative and coherent journey of faith and imagination that
we can experience and enjoy.”
Dr. Bob Logan, Author of The Discipleship Difference (2016) and The Leadership Difference (2017).
The Great Beyond enflamed my imagination and
stirred within me a refreshing perspective on the afterlife. I appreciate how
Keith told a modern-day tale filled with vivid imagery. The pace kept me
engaged from start to finish. I believe this story will give readers hope and
inspire true faith.
Cam Taylor, Author of Detour,
2017.
“Truth is so obscure in
these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we
cannot know it.” – Blaise Pascal (French
Mathematician, Philosopher and Physicist, 1623-1662) “In De l’Art de
persuader (“On the Art of Persuasion”)
these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we
cannot know it.” – Blaise Pascal (French
Mathematician, Philosopher and Physicist, 1623-1662) “In De l’Art de
persuader (“On the Art of Persuasion”)
“What is truth?” Pontius Pilate CE 33; John 18:38.
I feel like I may have used one or both of these quotes before. However, it seems with every passing day that these words become more important.
A recent article in
Wired Magazine reviewed and critiqued
the various Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered devices known as home
assistants or homebots. Tucked into the innocuous article was “A NOTE ABOUT
PRIVACY.” It is perhaps the most relevant part of the article and reminds us of
something we have all been thinking for more than a decade.
Wired Magazine reviewed and critiqued
the various Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered devices known as home
assistants or homebots. Tucked into the innocuous article was “A NOTE ABOUT
PRIVACY.” It is perhaps the most relevant part of the article and reminds us of
something we have all been thinking for more than a decade.
A NOTE ABOUT PRIVACY
If your paramount concern in life is privacy, turn back now. Google Home
and Amazon Echo are constantly listening, and they send some of what you say
back to the mothership. But you know what? This is just another scootch down
the slippery slope you stepped on when you signed up for Facebook, bought your
first book on Amazon, and typed “symptoms of shingles” into a search box. Tech
companies have always asked us to give up a little privacy, a little data, in
exchange for their wondrous services. Maybe homebots are the breaking point. But
the things Alexa can do—so convenient! One bit of advice: Before the gang shows
up to plan the casino heist, hit the device’s mute button. — David Pierce, Wired.com
and Amazon Echo are constantly listening, and they send some of what you say
back to the mothership. But you know what? This is just another scootch down
the slippery slope you stepped on when you signed up for Facebook, bought your
first book on Amazon, and typed “symptoms of shingles” into a search box. Tech
companies have always asked us to give up a little privacy, a little data, in
exchange for their wondrous services. Maybe homebots are the breaking point. But
the things Alexa can do—so convenient! One bit of advice: Before the gang shows
up to plan the casino heist, hit the device’s mute button. — David Pierce, Wired.com
In a world of bank
machines, cell-phones, smart-phones, internet browsers, and homebots, we have
chosen to get services for a reduced cost or “free.” What we have traded for
these free services is information about our choices. This is an invaluable
commodity for those who would sell us products or services. The movie Minority Report (2002, Directed by Steven Spielberg) envisioned a world in which shopping malls would be filled with personal
advertising to appeal to our particular tastes and purchasing history. The
movie came out in 2002 and seemed implausible at the time. In 2017, we are tiny
steps away from this view of advertising. Such advertising may seem invasive, but the things your smart-phone can do – so convenient!
machines, cell-phones, smart-phones, internet browsers, and homebots, we have
chosen to get services for a reduced cost or “free.” What we have traded for
these free services is information about our choices. This is an invaluable
commodity for those who would sell us products or services. The movie Minority Report (2002, Directed by Steven Spielberg) envisioned a world in which shopping malls would be filled with personal
advertising to appeal to our particular tastes and purchasing history. The
movie came out in 2002 and seemed implausible at the time. In 2017, we are tiny
steps away from this view of advertising. Such advertising may seem invasive, but the things your smart-phone can do – so convenient!
God created a world in which one creature consumes another to survive. We may wish it was otherwise; we may think it would have been a better world if
God had made it so that we humans could synthesize energy from the sun, but that is
not the world God created. Besides which, even grass which does
photosynthesize its energy relies upon nutrients in soil. Many such nutrients
are provided by the decay of dead creatures. Whether or not one sees life as
created by God, we must admit that our planet can be a harsh and competitive
place. For Christians, such observations must be part of how we understand
ultimate questions about the manner in which God created life and death in the
Garden of Eden. Our theology has not yet fully wrestled with some of the
implications of the lion and lamb created prior to humans.
God had made it so that we humans could synthesize energy from the sun, but that is
not the world God created. Besides which, even grass which does
photosynthesize its energy relies upon nutrients in soil. Many such nutrients
are provided by the decay of dead creatures. Whether or not one sees life as
created by God, we must admit that our planet can be a harsh and competitive
place. For Christians, such observations must be part of how we understand
ultimate questions about the manner in which God created life and death in the
Garden of Eden. Our theology has not yet fully wrestled with some of the
implications of the lion and lamb created prior to humans.
Recently it has been discovered that some species of Praying Mantis can kill and eat hummingbirds. They have been
known to lie in wait at hummingbird feeders and grasp the unsuspecting bird out
of the air. It is an ugly picture of life and death in God’s creation and yet
it is perfectly natural and the way God intended the lifecycle of his creation.
God also created parasitic wasps that lay their eggs in the living bodies of caterpillars. The lifecycle of these baby wasps is the stuff of movies
like Alien in which the immature offspring
of one creature bursts out of the living body of another. Our world can be a
cruel place.
known to lie in wait at hummingbird feeders and grasp the unsuspecting bird out
of the air. It is an ugly picture of life and death in God’s creation and yet
it is perfectly natural and the way God intended the lifecycle of his creation.
God also created parasitic wasps that lay their eggs in the living bodies of caterpillars. The lifecycle of these baby wasps is the stuff of movies
like Alien in which the immature offspring
of one creature bursts out of the living body of another. Our world can be a
cruel place.
Such is the
struggle of life and death in the good world God created. Did God create all of
this before the Fall of Humans? How much of life and death is a result of the
Fall?
struggle of life and death in the good world God created. Did God create all of
this before the Fall of Humans? How much of life and death is a result of the
Fall?
In case you are
still worried about hummingbirds, there is a built-in system for the control of
the mantis population. Parasitic worms, that live mostly in water, are known to
place their larvae in the gut of the mantis and other arthropods. These parasites affect the brain of the mantis in such a way that, at the right
time, the mantis drowns itself in water, thus returning the parasitic worm to
another familiar environment.
still worried about hummingbirds, there is a built-in system for the control of
the mantis population. Parasitic worms, that live mostly in water, are known to
place their larvae in the gut of the mantis and other arthropods. These parasites affect the brain of the mantis in such a way that, at the right
time, the mantis drowns itself in water, thus returning the parasitic worm to
another familiar environment.