Soli Deo Gloria?
The day began peacefully enough. Basking in the solitary tranquility of a few days' respite from the rigors of the road, I looked up from the computer, through the rising curls of steam from freshly brewed coffee, at a pale blue sky. The trees swaying only slightly with the breeze yielded a delightful sound made more sweet by Bach's “Air on the G String,” flowing softly from the computer. I recalled Bach's devotion to the Almighty, made manifest in his music and expressed fervently by the fact that he regularly inscribed his compositions with the letters “J. J.” (“Jesu, Juva,” or Jesus, help) at the beginning of a piece, and concluded it with the inscription “S.D.G” (“Soli Deo Gloria,” or to God alone the glory). Surely, I smiled, the Author of Bach's phenomenal gifts is a good God. Then I looked at the day's headlines.
From Japan we see the awesome destructive power of nature unleashing wholesale destruction on a scale not seen in that country since the Second World War. The video of a massive wall of water simply sweeping away neighborhoods, the cries of anguish from residents on higher ground as everything they own is utterly destroyed before their eyes is heart-wrenching. On one level, the folly and arrogance of “climate change legislation” is laid bare for all to see. Who are we, after all, to believe that we can change the weather, or the course of nature itself, by driving around in little golf carts that need to be recharged every 40 miles? It's the audacity of a fly on a windshield who believes he can slow the vehicle down by batting his tiny wings against the wind. But on another level, one tries desperately to make sense of a destructive force that completely levels everything in its path with a finality that has little regard for our notions of right and wrong, justice or evil.
From Claire Berlinski, we learn of the monstrous and truly evil slaughter of a family in Itamar, on the West Bank. The pictures of children cut to pieces in their own beds are enough to make the blood run cold. In Gaza they celebrate this horrific and inhuman slaughter by distributing candy to children. While President Obama gets down to the funky sounds of a Mo-Town tribute, the ever psychotic Moammar Gadhafi cheerfully mows down his own citizens in a hail of bullets in Libya and announces to the world that he is merely defending his people. Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that children as young as 14 are being armed and used to attack protestors in Iran. If, as the Bible tells us, not a sparrow falls but that the Creator notices, and so consumed with our well being is He that the very hairs on our heads are numbered,...then something seems amiss. As Michael Novak pointed out:
In real life, what we see seems sometimes ugly. We do not understand how mad the world then appears. We protest against evils that cause us revulsion. Yet, no matter what we do, welcome them or hate them, the facts remain the same.
Most of us, at one time or another, have experienced circumstances that try our faith. How, I wondered this morning, can I sublimely soak in the joy of my immediate surroundings when destruction and desolation are all around and evil men have their way with seeming impunity? How, for that matter, can a benevolent and merciful God countenance these things? The publishers now have a book written by my brother in law, a pastor and superbly educated gentleman, on how things look from the perspective of the book of Revelations. Because I know Rob, I eagerly await the result of his careful research and insights. In the meantime, my own sense is that things are simply not going to get any easier. Again, reading Michael Novak, it would seem that we have a world of our own making:
God wills a world in which free agents act freely. He doesn’t only “permit” things to happen. He empowers free agents to act, even with less attention than they ought, or against His laws, or simply without common sense. Free agents acting freely, despite the frequently resulting irrationality, is what He now wills and has always willed. He does not command irrational (or evil) action. But He certainly brought into being, consciously and (I think) beautifully, a world in which free acts can occur, and evils and misfortunes are frequently transformed by courage, generosity of spirit, and charity into occasions of great human beauty.
But how, you ask, does that explain the earthquakes, the tsunamis, the tornado which took the life a lady protecting her child just last week in my beloved Rayne, LA, the hurricanes, blizzards, etc? “At this point, the unbeliever submits to randomness, while the believer submits to the inscrutable will of the Creator,” says Novak. But in the end, “Both must submit.” So I suspect that Bach had it right. We use the gifts He has given us, developing them to the very best of our abilities, asking His help along the way, and always giving Him the glory. S.D.G. indeed.
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Mar '11
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
Sin entered the world through Adam. Evil, in all its manifestations, is the result of sin's entrance into the creation.
Which is why, "This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through..."
Oct '10
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
"God wills a world in which free agents act freely. He doesn’t only “permit” things to happen. He empowers free agents to act, even with less attention than they ought, or against His laws, or simply without common sense. Free agents acting freely, despite the frequently resulting irrationality, is what He now wills and has always willed. He does not command irrational (or evil) action. But He certainly brought into being, consciously and (I think) beautifully, a world in which free acts can occur, and evils and misfortunes are frequently transformed by courage, generosity of spirit, and charity into occasions of great human beauty."
Yes, He limits His omnipotence for the sake of our freedom, but He does not foresake His sovereignty, He may allow us the freedom to choose contrary to His laws, but He still judges rightously according to those laws. We can find rest in knowing that He will bring all of history to its proper conclusion and still find purpose and fulfillment in our lives when we seek to align ourselves with His purposes. "Sola fide, sola gratia, soli deo gloria".
Edited on Mar 14, 2011 at 1:07pmDec '10
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. -- It took awhile for me to to accept that simple statement. I can't fathom the reasons why it happened, I just know that it is.
Aug '10
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
Dave
I started the morning with Bach and java as well. Thank God indeed.
After lunch I lost myself momentarily in your litany of ills, but it occurs to me that there is no increase in savagery, but rather an increase in our participation in it's exposure. The media is relentless today and many of us are addicted to it's immediacy. What it gives us is a chimera of understanding as we mistakenly believe knowing something sooner and fuller somehow gives us more understanding of it, which may not be the case.
A morning and an evening paper, a little radio here and there, and 20 minutes of world/national followed by 10 minutes of local (and again at 10) were the fare of yesterday. Today is 24/7 multiplied by however many outlets you follow. Imagine the overload with twitter and facebook bringing vacuous filler as well ?
And we have virtual watercoolers humming quietly in our pockets, desks. So the horror of Itamar looks back at us from many vantage points. And for the left, the horror of Gov Walker threatens their very existence throughout the day.
I wonder what it does to us in the end ?
Nov '10
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
I fully recognize the validity of the question: how can we continue to believe in a merciful God in the face of all the pain and evil in the world? However, the Christian God is not one who observes from afar; he came and lived among us in circumstances as impoverished as any we can imagine, he suffered (was tortured) and died, taking our sins upon Himself. In some ways, our comfort and complacency are greater barriers to faith than all the grief and sorrow in the world. Compared with most people throughout history, we experience far less suffering, and those of us who are Christians are, for the most part, much less faithful.
Edited on Mar 14, 2011 at 1:45pmJan '11
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
Dave, I admire how you take the world seriously. The world isn't a comic video playing with cartoon characters. It's real people. Those waves are causing real damage. The murders in Itamar are realities.
I won't insult you by offering "an answer," as if I had an equation to make it easy. I'll only share how I grapple with the same issues.
God didn't make other Gods. We're mortal. For all our spirituality, we are still carbon-based bodies, dust from dust, as much susceptible to the forces of nature as novas and galaxies slamming into one another. The scientists tell us that the earth, and all the life that springs from it, started as cosmic dust that gravity gathered and compacted into solid form. That's us. We're dust that God breathed life into.
As a Christian, I trust Jesus' promise that God will preserve the spirit after the dust disperses, but not because I deserve it or nature demands it. It is merely at his favor.
In the end, I believe that God owes me nothing.
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
KC Mulville: ...
I won't insult you by offering "an answer," as if I had an equation to make it easy. I'll only share how I grapple with the same issues.
God didn't make other Gods. We're mortal. For all our spirituality, we are still carbon-based bodies, dust from dust, as much susceptible to the forces of nature as novas and galaxies slamming into one another. The scientists tell us that the earth, and all the life that springs from it, started as cosmic dust that gravity gathered and compacted into solid form. That's us. We're dust that God breathed life into.
As a Christian, I trust Jesus' promise that God will preserve the spirit after the dust disperses, but not because I deserve it or nature demands it. It is merely at his favor.
In the end, I believe that God owes me nothing. · Mar 14 at 2:12pm
I should tell you, KC, that as I was writing this, I was anxious to see how you would respond, ..and you didn't disappoint. Clear analysis, informed by eternal perspectives. Thank you sir.
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
I began this Lenten season last Wednesday by receiving the ashes and being reminded that:
I'm thankful to be able to hope in meaning beyond the ash heap, though. I love Psalm 8 because it frames our human existence as just a tiny speck in the universe, but at the same time we are beings treasured by the God of the universe:
Nov '10
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
Well Dave, since you brought up God, how about the prophecies of Jesus? Pick any of the synoptic gospels. I just picked Matthew for example.
And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the world?" And Jesus answered and said unto them, "Take heed that no man deceive you; for many shall come in My name, saying, ‘I am Christ,’ and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Is God telling us something?
Edited on Mar 14, 2011 at 3:13pmRe: Soli Deo Gloria?
Diane Ellis, Ed.: I began this Lenten season last Wednesday by receiving the ashes and being reminded that:
I'm thankful to be able to hope in meaning beyond the ash heap, though. I love Psalm 8 because it frames our human existence as just a tiny speck in the universe, but at the same time we are beings treasured by the God of the universe:
Mar 14 at 3:08pm
Thank you Diane. Poignant indeed. I don't know whether to get a lump in my throat or take up a collection,...but thanks.
Feb '11
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
Not to tear away anybody's security blanket, but: It often has seemed to me that the Deity has quite a bit to answer for. Yes, free agents can and do misbehave; and without imperfections, existence would be pure stasis. But the sheer quantity of horror, when honestly contemplated, staggers the mind---or ought to: millions of human beings exterminated like ants; children dead at 5 with wasting cancers, or dead of starvation; young men and women choosing suicide because they can't fit in; raving monsters chopping people up with knives; seeing one's kin slip into senility or madness--- really, I could handle some horror; but does it have to be so much? And worst of all: the recognition that none of it means anything. In the end it just passes away, until the next horror episode. And we're left to puzzle and muddle and hope that maybe we're wrong, that maybe mom's monstrous, crippling arthritis was a good thing, somehow.
Faith seems a quaint thing, in the face of this, a defense mechanism against the reality, which otherwise might be too horrible to bear. And yet without God, history would clearly be even worse.
Nov '10
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
John, is misery strictly additive?
Dec '10
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
And my favorite Ecclesiastes 9:11
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Jan '11
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
Dave Carter
Thank you sir.
High praise indeed. It's hard too humble a dopey mick from Philly, but you have.
Let me say this, and I'm not just blowing sunshine. We have this other thread going on modern philosophy, and what a drag it's turned out to be (modern philosophy I mean, not the thread). I can't help but wonder if the reason modern philosophy is such a drag is that the tools of modern philosophy only "work" after you take the time to do ... well, what you did this morning, i.e., to reflect. On reality, on your self, on your place in it.
Unless you start with that real, human, honest reflection on your life, the "tools" of philosophy have nothing to work with. It's like a sculptor without stone; all the skills, but no material. The unexamined life isn't worth living, true, but what's worse, it makes philosophy suck.
And I'll let you in on a little secret about professional philosophers ... the reflection takes years to learn. The skills only take a couple weeks. You're light years ahead of most philosophers.
Re: Soli Deo Gloria?
KC Mulville
Dave Carter
Thank you sir.
...You're light years ahead of most philosophers. · Mar 14 at 4:44pm
Would that you had told my professors that many years ago.