I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about Christianity and its various denominations, and what it really means to be a Christian. So many denominations have split and split again, all over fine points of theology. I think that's sad. Churches are splitting over little piddling bits of theology, when we should be focusing on the things that unify us. So I've spent several middle of the night feedings lately pondering what it REALLY means to be a Christian.
I told my cousin Jim about my conclusions. His response, "Yeah, that's what happens when you start thinking theology at 3:00 in the morning, you throw out half the Apostle's Creed." Still he listened. Jim's fantastic, and he needs new lungs, so go help with whatever you can (www.jimhenrymedicaltrust.org).
So when it all boils down to it I think all that's really required to be a Christian is to believe in the first half of the Apostle's Creed. Not even the whole thing! Not that there aren't plenty of important theological issues that aren't covered here, it's just that they're not core to what it really means to be a Christian. You can come down on either side of many theological discussions and I don't think it has any impact on the core beliefs of Christianity. So what does it really mean to be a Christian?
1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
Yes, this is core to Christianity. I have to believe in God, and that he made everything. Doesn't really matter HOW He made things. Whether He did it in 7 days or 7 millennia and whether He created everything as is or used some sort of directed evolutionary process doesn't matter. What matters is that He did it. That's not to say you can't believe strongly in your opinion of His methodology, but all that's core belief is that He did it and it was good.
2. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.
This doesn't take any belief at all. Jesus was a historical figure, this is verifiable fact. If you're gonna believe in God the Father, then he has to be father of something, so it makes sense that Jesus is that son. There are a lot of prophecies that point toward Jesus, and that He was God's son, so it follows that if God is, then you're going to believe Jesus is His son.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
Does it really matter how Jesus was conceived? Really what does it matter whether the body that bore his human form had ever known a man? Not saying it wasn't miraculous and all, but God made the whole world, I don't really find one virgin birth that significant. Not that I don't believe in the virgin birth, I do, I just don't think that it really matters in the big scheme of things so it's not worth arguing over.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
Again, historical fact. The most miraculous thing here is that Jesus kept a good attitude through it all!
He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.
Doesn't matter where He was those three days. For that matter, the rising again is just a symbol of God accepting Jesus's sacrifice for our sins. What matters is that He accepted it, not how he showed that acceptance, so again even the rising from the dead is not a required belief for Christians.
3. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Ok, so it makes sense that Jesus is in heaven with the Father. I'm not sure it's required believing, but I think you could make a pretty good case that Jesus just hanging out in the world wouldn't be in keeping with God the Father accepting his sacrifice, so I'll give you this one.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
Really? It'll happen whether I believe in it or not. His judgement stands whether I believe in its validity or not. Yes, I believe He's coming, but I think it would be really self-important of me to think that my belief in His judgement has any impact whatsoever.
4. I believe in the Holy Spirit,
This goes along with God's omnipotence and omniscience. Yep, gotta believe that God is with us all the time.
the holy catholic Church,
The church exists whether I believe in it or not, and whether you call it "catholic" or just a group of Christians doesn't matter. However you can be a Christian and live as a hermit somewhere, so you don't have to actually participate in the church in any way shape or form.
the communion of saints,
I don't even know what this means. Is it that we commune with other Christians (see hermitage) That we take communion? (don't see how that's required either) I figure if I can't understand it then I can't very well claim that its belief is core to what it means to be a Christian.
5. the forgiveness of sins,
Well, this one's kind of gray to me. The whole point of Jesus's sacrifice is that it allows our sins to be forgiven. But outside of my own self-importance it doesn't really matter whether I believe that my sins are forgiven or not. What matters is does God see fit to forgive them. And I should live my life the same way whether I believe my sins are forgiven or not, because if I believe they're all forgiven what's to stop me from just going out and sinning all willy-nilly. That being said, if I didn't believe that my sins were forgiven, then I might be likely to point to one sin that I committed, throw up my hands, and give up. I don't think that's what God wants us to do, so I think it's important that He gave us hope, a reason to live on and do better. So I say forgiveness of sins is a core Christian belief if only because it allows us to start anew every day.
the resurrection of the body,
Um, this happens after I'm dead. Really I have nothing to do with it whether I have a body or not after I die. Not core.
and life everlasting.
It's nice to think that we have a reward coming for all of our believing, but really God's well within his rights to do whatever he wants with his creation at any time he wants to. Do I believe that I have a soul that will live forever? Yes. Do I believe that you HAVE to believe you have a soul that will live forever in order to be a Christian? Nope.
I look at this list, really a very short list, and I hear Christians quibbling over immersion vs. sprinkling, predestination vs. free will, wine at communion vs. te-totaling. It makes me very, very sad. Here we are claiming to love each other, and love all the people, but we can't put down our harsh words and focus on what really matters. So instead of one Christian church we have all these denominations, and the ones that are the most similar are the ones that spend the most time throwing stones!
I'm not saying I don't have beliefs about anything other than the basics. I certainly have no problem with the idea that God created the world in seven literal days (after all, if He's going to create adult people why not create an adult earth, complete with rocks that include a fossil record). And I can make a case for infant baptism (Acts 16:33) but I feel better about "dedicating" myself to raising my child to know the Lord, and she can be baptized when she's ready (and I pray that she will some day be ready). I really don't give one flying whoop whether you baptize by dunking or sprinkling, but moisture makes my hair frizz up so I completely understand someone wanting to use as little water as possible!
My point is, none of these issues are worth the time we spend arguing over them! The church's focus should be on outreach, not on internal squabbling and beating itself up from the inside.
Showing posts with label humanism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label humanism. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Chick-fil-A, don't'cha just love it?
I've been paying attention to all this Chick-fil-A controversy. I have a long history with Chick-fil-A, so naturally I sit up and listen whenever I hear them mentioned in the news, or in conversation. I've found that they are neither the paragon of virtue nor the bastion of evil that everyone seems to make them out to be, but like every company out there they have their good points and their bad points. Which outweigh the others I don't know.
I started working at Chick-fil-A at the front counter when I was 16, and continued working there off and on as school allowed for a little over five years. When I first started working there the operator of the store I worked at had two stores, but within a year of my starting he left the store I worked at and went on as operator to other stores. His assistant manager became our new operator. It's worth mentioning that the corporate office at Chick-fil-A likes to keep tabs on what's going on at their stores. All stores are owned by Chick-fil-A, not somebody at the store, and Chick-fil-A has pretty stringent rules about who can become an operator (the equivalent of owner/manager at most franchises) of any store. There may be a very small handful of independently owned stores still out there, but Chick-fil-A stopped granting such franchises years ago, and the few that remain were grandfathered in.
Our new operator held the store together through some really rough years. Shortly after I started, the main anchor store in the shopping center closed. And over the next few years anchor stores came and went, but were gone more than they were there. We also had the unique benefit of being near where several corporate executives lived, so they would often stop by the store to "check up on us" quite frequently. It was at this point that I came to recognize the misogynistic attitude of the corporate office at Chick-fil-A. It's worth noting that a new operator was a divorced woman. When I started working at this Chick-fil-A store it was the closest one to my house, but by the time I left I actually passed three Chick-fil-A's to get to this one. As more stores opened up in the area they naturally cut into the business of the pre-existing store.
One store was within 3 miles of ours. It is debatable whether so many stores in the immediate area would have been approved had the operator at our store held any regard or received any respect from the corporate office. During this time the store was both remodeled and major construction was undertaken to install a new playground. Instead of corporate recognizing that difficult situation, we were expected to grow revenues as if we were still located in a busy shopping center with little competition in the area. Despite hard times remain profitable, even though we didn't achieve the revenue growth dictated by corporate.
Instead of recognizing the achievement of holding the store together in adverse circumstances, win a new super Wal-Mart opened in our shopping center the store was taken away from our operator and given to a new operator. This demonstrates the utter lack of respect that the Chick-fil-A corporate office had for our operator.
Yes Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays, but it is far from the Christian work environment that you might think. For one being closed on Sundays does nothing for orthodox Jews or Seventh Day Adventists. Sure, I worked with plenty of youth pastors who enjoyed the freedom to work two jobs and the assurance that came from knowing that their schedules would never conflict. But I also worked with those who were mentally unstable, had superiors who cursed like sailors, and others who displayed misogynistic behavior including leaving white flour hand prints in inappropriate places on the navy pants of female employees. I had my butt pinched once (he got slapped) and was hit on repeatedly. But with very few exceptions the customers were worse than my co-workers.
However, Chick-fil-A's not a den of iniquity from top to bottom. It has it's redeeming qualities. For starters I worked my way from front counter through pretty much every position in the store, and ended up marketing manager. Chick-fil-A taught me about work ethic and team work, oh, and how to filet chicken. We weren't located in the highest end neighborhood, so this particular Chick-fil-A gave opportunity to some pretty underprivileged folks, and a pretty diverse demographic. I particularly admired one family that had escaped from some South American dictatorship, and all the women in the family worked at Chick-fil-A. It certainly opened my eyes to a variety of circumstances and what can me accomplished with hard work. Lots of folks have heard of Chick-fil-A's Winshape scholarships, but Chick-fil-A has a college scholarship program available to all employees who work a certain number of hours (I don't remember how many). No, it didn't pay for an entire semester, but every little bit helps.
And let's not forget the best thing about Chick-fil-A. I met my husband when we both worked there in high school, and we had our wedding catered by Chick-fil-A years later (by the same operator we both worked for).
Chick-fil-A's probably the only fast food place I could work at and still eat there. In fact, up until a few years ago I still ate at Chick-fil-A at least once a week. I eat there less now not because of any aversion, but simply because I eat out less than I used to.
So no matter what Dan Cathy says, his principles are not pervasive throughout Chick-fil-A, and what he does with his money is his own business. That being said, Chick-fil-A is a privately held company, and I don't know what percentage Dan owns I don't know, but I'm sure its significant. Some part of every dollar spent there is going to trickle up to him eventually.
Not to long ago I realized that in living in a capitalistic society one of the ways we vote is by what we buy. It's a big part of why I drive the car I drive, and buy the frozen pizza that I buy, and Dan Cathy has the right to vote the way he wants as well. It's up to you to decide whether a vote for scholarships and Sundays off outweighs a vote for Dan and misogyny. Or if you just care about the chicken.
I started working at Chick-fil-A at the front counter when I was 16, and continued working there off and on as school allowed for a little over five years. When I first started working there the operator of the store I worked at had two stores, but within a year of my starting he left the store I worked at and went on as operator to other stores. His assistant manager became our new operator. It's worth mentioning that the corporate office at Chick-fil-A likes to keep tabs on what's going on at their stores. All stores are owned by Chick-fil-A, not somebody at the store, and Chick-fil-A has pretty stringent rules about who can become an operator (the equivalent of owner/manager at most franchises) of any store. There may be a very small handful of independently owned stores still out there, but Chick-fil-A stopped granting such franchises years ago, and the few that remain were grandfathered in.
Our new operator held the store together through some really rough years. Shortly after I started, the main anchor store in the shopping center closed. And over the next few years anchor stores came and went, but were gone more than they were there. We also had the unique benefit of being near where several corporate executives lived, so they would often stop by the store to "check up on us" quite frequently. It was at this point that I came to recognize the misogynistic attitude of the corporate office at Chick-fil-A. It's worth noting that a new operator was a divorced woman. When I started working at this Chick-fil-A store it was the closest one to my house, but by the time I left I actually passed three Chick-fil-A's to get to this one. As more stores opened up in the area they naturally cut into the business of the pre-existing store.
One store was within 3 miles of ours. It is debatable whether so many stores in the immediate area would have been approved had the operator at our store held any regard or received any respect from the corporate office. During this time the store was both remodeled and major construction was undertaken to install a new playground. Instead of corporate recognizing that difficult situation, we were expected to grow revenues as if we were still located in a busy shopping center with little competition in the area. Despite hard times remain profitable, even though we didn't achieve the revenue growth dictated by corporate.
Instead of recognizing the achievement of holding the store together in adverse circumstances, win a new super Wal-Mart opened in our shopping center the store was taken away from our operator and given to a new operator. This demonstrates the utter lack of respect that the Chick-fil-A corporate office had for our operator.
Yes Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays, but it is far from the Christian work environment that you might think. For one being closed on Sundays does nothing for orthodox Jews or Seventh Day Adventists. Sure, I worked with plenty of youth pastors who enjoyed the freedom to work two jobs and the assurance that came from knowing that their schedules would never conflict. But I also worked with those who were mentally unstable, had superiors who cursed like sailors, and others who displayed misogynistic behavior including leaving white flour hand prints in inappropriate places on the navy pants of female employees. I had my butt pinched once (he got slapped) and was hit on repeatedly. But with very few exceptions the customers were worse than my co-workers.
However, Chick-fil-A's not a den of iniquity from top to bottom. It has it's redeeming qualities. For starters I worked my way from front counter through pretty much every position in the store, and ended up marketing manager. Chick-fil-A taught me about work ethic and team work, oh, and how to filet chicken. We weren't located in the highest end neighborhood, so this particular Chick-fil-A gave opportunity to some pretty underprivileged folks, and a pretty diverse demographic. I particularly admired one family that had escaped from some South American dictatorship, and all the women in the family worked at Chick-fil-A. It certainly opened my eyes to a variety of circumstances and what can me accomplished with hard work. Lots of folks have heard of Chick-fil-A's Winshape scholarships, but Chick-fil-A has a college scholarship program available to all employees who work a certain number of hours (I don't remember how many). No, it didn't pay for an entire semester, but every little bit helps.
And let's not forget the best thing about Chick-fil-A. I met my husband when we both worked there in high school, and we had our wedding catered by Chick-fil-A years later (by the same operator we both worked for).
Chick-fil-A's probably the only fast food place I could work at and still eat there. In fact, up until a few years ago I still ate at Chick-fil-A at least once a week. I eat there less now not because of any aversion, but simply because I eat out less than I used to.
So no matter what Dan Cathy says, his principles are not pervasive throughout Chick-fil-A, and what he does with his money is his own business. That being said, Chick-fil-A is a privately held company, and I don't know what percentage Dan owns I don't know, but I'm sure its significant. Some part of every dollar spent there is going to trickle up to him eventually.
Not to long ago I realized that in living in a capitalistic society one of the ways we vote is by what we buy. It's a big part of why I drive the car I drive, and buy the frozen pizza that I buy, and Dan Cathy has the right to vote the way he wants as well. It's up to you to decide whether a vote for scholarships and Sundays off outweighs a vote for Dan and misogyny. Or if you just care about the chicken.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Following the First Profession (no, it's not what you think)
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Genesis 1:26 (NIV)
I recently watched a video in which many people in places of leadership in many Christian organizations spoke out against what they called a great evil. In this short three minute and eight second video "Radical Environmentalism" is credited as being the greatest spiritual battle we face today. I sat in shock surprise and revulsion as I watched presidents and pastors and directors from organizations I normally respect. These leaders, one from a denomination of which I am a member, spewed derogatory and judgemental names for people who's greatest crime is trying to take care of this earth that God has given us. These associations, whose publications I read regularly and whose radio shows I listen to, used names like:
"tree hugger"
cult
"radical environmental agenda"
"own morbid, pessimistic fears"
"exaggeration, myths and outright lies"
"so-called global warming science"
They accused environmentalists of promoting humanism, and then went on to contradict their own statement by saying that environmentalists are "consigning the poorest people around the world to grinding poverty, to disease, to premature death." Yet it is the humanist movement that works to raise the level of human condition. Not only are these so-called Christians sitting in condemnation of some stereotypical environmental group, but they're contradicting themselves while they do it.
But my visceral reaction to this video didn't start when I read the article this morning. This is something that I have spent the last several years studying and trying to understand. How can so many Christians seem to have a complete and utter lack of compassion, and more personally what does God want me to do with my life.
I have spent much time in my life wandering, looking for direction. While my sister seemed to know exactly what she wanted to do from early high school, straight through he PhD, I took the eight year plan flitting through four majors before finally eking out a BS. And even then I hadn't found my direction in life. It was more a matter of wanting something to show for all the years I'd spent in college. I often say I have the best liberal arts education you can receive from a technical school because that's just how convoluted my journey in life has been. So I continue searching, and what better way to find the will of God than by reading the word he has given us.
I'm holding it open right now, to the very beginning, day 6, the one where we're first mentioned. Man, and the charge God first gave to us. God said of man to "...let him rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” I've gone back to the very begging. I can't find anything that takes precedence over this charge, to take care of the earth that got has made and it's animals. Does God charge us to take care of the poor and diseased people on the earth? NO! Possibly because they did not exist yet. After all, this predates the fall of man. We didn't know that we were poor and naked yet, and I assume no one had caught the common cold.
God goes on to reinforce the idea that we should care for his creation only two verses later. "'Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'
Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.'" Genesis 1:28-29 (NIV) Here we're told to take care of not just the animals and the fish, but we're supposed to value the plants as well. While I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is a direct order to go around hugging trees, I also thinks this is a strong indication that we are charged to take care of ALL of God's creation.
I want you do notice here that we're still on the sixth day. This wasn't on the seventh day where God was resting. No, this is the job that God has laid on mankind. The first 9-5 task that God has ever given to people. I take this to heart. I accept the charge that God has laid on me and I still think that this is the most important job that we can do. To care for God's creation is to show our reverence for God.
This is reinforced in the second chapter of Genesis, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." Genesis 2:15. Here we have the first name given to the first profession. We are to be gardeners, not yet farmers, there's a difference. Farmers toil in the soil and eat what they grow. Gardeners tend the living plants. This makes it clear to me that it is my job not to re-shape the earth to fit whatever idea I have of it, but to tend it the way God has given it to me. I am to preserve it, not to strip-log it and build condominiums.
The Bible continues to honor those people who take car of Gods creation rather than resorting to violence. The people of the bible understood farming. Cain and Able learned it from their parents, and Jesus knew that it still applied to the people he was talking to when he told the parables of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-8) and the Tares Matthew (13:24-30).
The all important job of caring for God's creation, of being God's constant gardener if you will, resonated with the people of the Bible. They understood that we are so closely tied with nature, and that if we hurt it we are ultimately hurting ourselves. Why does this seem to be so lost on people today? Is it because we are so insulated from nature? Most of us in a post-industrial society spend all of our time indoors, or on pavement moving from one roof to another. We go days without actually touching a plant other than our house plants. We're more likely to kill an animal as we run over it with our vehicle than to take into account the source of all that nicely pre-packaged meat in the grocery store. Most new neighborhoods that are built start with clear cutting the trees and leveling the earth to the point where it becomes unrecognizable.
We are very disconnected from our environment, but I don't think this is the actual cause of our misunderstanding of God's greatest calling. I think our disassociation stems from something much more insidious, something more evil than the love of money (though one may cause the other and vice verse).
Lack of compassion.
I believe that lack of compassion in many of the most influential and out spoken Christians is the biggest stumbling blocks to people today. Compassion is what makes us realize that when we over exploit the earth we're destroying it for those who come after us. Compassion is what makes us aware of needless destruction. And those of us that have compassion notice these things and hurt. I hurt when I see a squirrel dead in the middle of the road. I hurt when I drive by a sign for new development, and stretching behind it a bare scar of red Georgia clay. I hurt when I hear one more self entitled prig's needlessly inflammatory remarks. They lump together a diverse group of people and play the blame game. What makes it worse? They accuse the others, whoever the others are at the moment, of fear mongering, yet that's exactly what I hear when I listen to them.
Is this one of the cases where it takes one to know one? I'm a Christian, a devout one, but one with diverse beliefs. I don't fit the stereotypical conservative, and I'm not really liberal. I find that what I abhor most of all is extremism in either direction. Extremism doesn't lead to understanding. It leads to opposing sides screaming at the top of their lungs loud enough to make anyone undecided deaf. It doesn't lead people to see wisdom, it blinds them to the true need. I won't say I'm all that in touch with nature, and I definitely don't want spiders in my house. But I also want children, I want them to see the gifts that God has given us, to value them; and to see that the first profession, the most worthy profession, is the one that God gave us on the sixth day.
I am not the best at this profession, but like any career path I get better at it as I gain practice and knowledge. Sometimes I think the extreme right is afraid of knowledge, they see it as humanism. But I would remind you that God gave you that brain, and he expects you to use it. Use it to think of ways to internalize compassion, and use it to find ways to care for the plants, animals, and world that God has given us.
I recently watched a video in which many people in places of leadership in many Christian organizations spoke out against what they called a great evil. In this short three minute and eight second video "Radical Environmentalism" is credited as being the greatest spiritual battle we face today. I sat in shock surprise and revulsion as I watched presidents and pastors and directors from organizations I normally respect. These leaders, one from a denomination of which I am a member, spewed derogatory and judgemental names for people who's greatest crime is trying to take care of this earth that God has given us. These associations, whose publications I read regularly and whose radio shows I listen to, used names like:
"tree hugger"
cult
"radical environmental agenda"
"own morbid, pessimistic fears"
"exaggeration, myths and outright lies"
"so-called global warming science"
They accused environmentalists of promoting humanism, and then went on to contradict their own statement by saying that environmentalists are "consigning the poorest people around the world to grinding poverty, to disease, to premature death." Yet it is the humanist movement that works to raise the level of human condition. Not only are these so-called Christians sitting in condemnation of some stereotypical environmental group, but they're contradicting themselves while they do it.
But my visceral reaction to this video didn't start when I read the article this morning. This is something that I have spent the last several years studying and trying to understand. How can so many Christians seem to have a complete and utter lack of compassion, and more personally what does God want me to do with my life.
I have spent much time in my life wandering, looking for direction. While my sister seemed to know exactly what she wanted to do from early high school, straight through he PhD, I took the eight year plan flitting through four majors before finally eking out a BS. And even then I hadn't found my direction in life. It was more a matter of wanting something to show for all the years I'd spent in college. I often say I have the best liberal arts education you can receive from a technical school because that's just how convoluted my journey in life has been. So I continue searching, and what better way to find the will of God than by reading the word he has given us.
I'm holding it open right now, to the very beginning, day 6, the one where we're first mentioned. Man, and the charge God first gave to us. God said of man to "...let him rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” I've gone back to the very begging. I can't find anything that takes precedence over this charge, to take care of the earth that got has made and it's animals. Does God charge us to take care of the poor and diseased people on the earth? NO! Possibly because they did not exist yet. After all, this predates the fall of man. We didn't know that we were poor and naked yet, and I assume no one had caught the common cold.
God goes on to reinforce the idea that we should care for his creation only two verses later. "'Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'
Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.'" Genesis 1:28-29 (NIV) Here we're told to take care of not just the animals and the fish, but we're supposed to value the plants as well. While I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is a direct order to go around hugging trees, I also thinks this is a strong indication that we are charged to take care of ALL of God's creation.
I want you do notice here that we're still on the sixth day. This wasn't on the seventh day where God was resting. No, this is the job that God has laid on mankind. The first 9-5 task that God has ever given to people. I take this to heart. I accept the charge that God has laid on me and I still think that this is the most important job that we can do. To care for God's creation is to show our reverence for God.
This is reinforced in the second chapter of Genesis, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." Genesis 2:15. Here we have the first name given to the first profession. We are to be gardeners, not yet farmers, there's a difference. Farmers toil in the soil and eat what they grow. Gardeners tend the living plants. This makes it clear to me that it is my job not to re-shape the earth to fit whatever idea I have of it, but to tend it the way God has given it to me. I am to preserve it, not to strip-log it and build condominiums.
The Bible continues to honor those people who take car of Gods creation rather than resorting to violence. The people of the bible understood farming. Cain and Able learned it from their parents, and Jesus knew that it still applied to the people he was talking to when he told the parables of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-8) and the Tares Matthew (13:24-30).
The all important job of caring for God's creation, of being God's constant gardener if you will, resonated with the people of the Bible. They understood that we are so closely tied with nature, and that if we hurt it we are ultimately hurting ourselves. Why does this seem to be so lost on people today? Is it because we are so insulated from nature? Most of us in a post-industrial society spend all of our time indoors, or on pavement moving from one roof to another. We go days without actually touching a plant other than our house plants. We're more likely to kill an animal as we run over it with our vehicle than to take into account the source of all that nicely pre-packaged meat in the grocery store. Most new neighborhoods that are built start with clear cutting the trees and leveling the earth to the point where it becomes unrecognizable.
We are very disconnected from our environment, but I don't think this is the actual cause of our misunderstanding of God's greatest calling. I think our disassociation stems from something much more insidious, something more evil than the love of money (though one may cause the other and vice verse).
Lack of compassion.
I believe that lack of compassion in many of the most influential and out spoken Christians is the biggest stumbling blocks to people today. Compassion is what makes us realize that when we over exploit the earth we're destroying it for those who come after us. Compassion is what makes us aware of needless destruction. And those of us that have compassion notice these things and hurt. I hurt when I see a squirrel dead in the middle of the road. I hurt when I drive by a sign for new development, and stretching behind it a bare scar of red Georgia clay. I hurt when I hear one more self entitled prig's needlessly inflammatory remarks. They lump together a diverse group of people and play the blame game. What makes it worse? They accuse the others, whoever the others are at the moment, of fear mongering, yet that's exactly what I hear when I listen to them.
Is this one of the cases where it takes one to know one? I'm a Christian, a devout one, but one with diverse beliefs. I don't fit the stereotypical conservative, and I'm not really liberal. I find that what I abhor most of all is extremism in either direction. Extremism doesn't lead to understanding. It leads to opposing sides screaming at the top of their lungs loud enough to make anyone undecided deaf. It doesn't lead people to see wisdom, it blinds them to the true need. I won't say I'm all that in touch with nature, and I definitely don't want spiders in my house. But I also want children, I want them to see the gifts that God has given us, to value them; and to see that the first profession, the most worthy profession, is the one that God gave us on the sixth day.
I am not the best at this profession, but like any career path I get better at it as I gain practice and knowledge. Sometimes I think the extreme right is afraid of knowledge, they see it as humanism. But I would remind you that God gave you that brain, and he expects you to use it. Use it to think of ways to internalize compassion, and use it to find ways to care for the plants, animals, and world that God has given us.
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