The Erosion of Freedom

 Genesis 3:3-6 (NRSV)

“…God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate…”

The phrase “I have the right to” is just another way to eat the fruit in the garden with Eve. That is to say, it’s all about me, the ego-driven me that needs to have its own way. The irony is, individual rights and freedoms are being stripped away, one by one, unseen, unrealized, by the masses precisely because they are so focused on ‘I have the right to’ they can see nothing else. 

Jesus says “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness

(that is, seek what will gain God’s approval). What is it that gains God’s approval? 

Micah 6:8 (NRSV)

“He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?”

Matthew 22:37-40 (NET)

“Jesus said to him, “ʻLove the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.ʼ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ʻLove your neighbor as yourself.ʼ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Pro Life or Pro Birth

 Psalms 139:13-14 (NRSV)

“For it was you who formed my inward parts;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

that I know very well.”

Many in the pro-birth camp like to pull out these verses as Biblical justification. But if we follow these verses home and see where they live, and compare them with the following lines from Paul, we see a slightly different picture. 

Ephesians 2:10 (NRSV)

“For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”

Colossians 3:10 (NRSV)

“…[clothe] yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.”

And there’s more.

Galatians 5:6 (NRSV)

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.“. 

The point is firmly established here as well.

Genesis 1:27 (NRSV)

“So God created humankind in his image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.”

And again Paul says:

1 Corinthians 13:12 (NRSV)

“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

Formed my inward parts. Fearfully and wonderfully made in the image and likeness of God. Renewed in knowledge. Created in Christ for good works of faith working through love. Fully known even now by our Creator. Life affirming. Beginning to end. 

Be Not Afraid

     Both sets of my grandparents-my mom’s parents and my dad’s parents-immigrated from Europe in, I believe, the early 1900’s (I could be off a bit on the dates). That was back in the days when, if the customs officials couldn’t pronounce a last name they changed it to Smith or Jones. The complex where Ginny and I lived before we moved to Florida became home to immigrants from all over the world-Iraq, Bosnia, Nepal, Russia, India. 

I noticed a interesting phenomenon common to those immigrant families and my immigrant family. The first generation-the elders, my grandparents-retained most if not all their European customs including the language (so they were English-as-second language). The second generation-my parents-retained the the language-as a second language-and some of the customs but were well on the way to ‘Americanization’. By the third generation-me-we we’re completely Americanized (much to my later regret I never learned my grandparents’ languages). Although I didn’t realize it at the time it was a wonderfully rich way to grow up.

I saw the same progression in the immigrant families who lived in my neighborhood. They got jobs, opened small ethnic shops (with lots of really good stuff), bought houses. And when they bought those houses they moved all three generations in. Our school district had an English-as-second-language program that was a model for the entire state. Now, I haven’t been back for several years but when I left things were moving along nicely in a positive direction. 

I say all that to say this-I’m not afraid of becoming a racial (or ethnic-probably already am) minority in my country. Immigrants bring in a richness and diversity that benefits all those willing to embrace it. At our core we are all basically the same. We are all quite literally God’s children and it should be apparent to anyone with a modicum of Biblical knowledge-anyone paying attention-that God loves diversity. So to those who say we are no longer a ‘Christian nation’, I wholeheartedly agree. Where we disagree is why.

Political Stunts and Serious Problems

       Let me try to explain my position on DeSantis’ latest political stunt. First, the situation as I understand it. The immigrants themselves-who came from Venezuela-were in Texas, not Florida. DeSantis paid $615,000 to a transportation company to fly two planes to Texas to pick them up and fly them from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. This $615,000 came from a $12,000,000 fund approved by the Florida state legislature to “relocate unauthorized aliens”. It is well known in Florida that DeSantis owns the legislature and gets pretty much whatever he wants. 

This raises a few important questions. First, where does that money come from (more on that later). Second, why was Florida money used to transport people from Texas? According to a Northwest Florida Daily News article that showed up in my email today (09/18/2022) one plane stopped briefly in Crestview to refuel; that was the only Florida connection. Are Abbott and DeSantis colluding in some way? Third, is any of this even legal?

Now back to the money, and where it came from. I hear gentle rumblings from social service agencies (one of which I work for) who rely on government grants-federal money, administered by the state of Florida-(in our case Department of Children and Families)-who were promised money that has since been withdrawn. Now, I can’t verify this but I can say we were assured we would be receiving money and then told we would not receive it. This turnaround caused major disruptions for those of us who spend our days trying to house Florida citizens, some of whom now find themselves homeless. Again. 

Which leads me to my final point. We have serious problems in Florida. Homelessness is on the rise. Rental prices are skyrocketing. The entire state is experiencing an affordable housing crisis. My community is experiencing unsustainable growth focused on six-figure housing with more being planned every day. However, related infrastructure needs-schools, medical care facilities (already overworked and understaffed), storm water runoff, roads, traffic control-are not keeping up. 

We are experiencing critical shortages of teachers, school bus drivers, prison guards, health care facilities and workers, especially mental health care. Suicides are up. Mental health facilities are down. Homeowner insurance costs are increasing as insurance companies flee the state. 

These are serious problems that require serious solutions. We do not need a governor wasting taxpayer dollars on political stunts. We do not need a congressman who will “keep fighting” or a senator who’s platform focuses on eliminating Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. We need serious politicians dedicated to serious solutions benefiting all Floridians.

Bible Stories 2.0; Job

       Back in the day, when life was hard but not complicated, there was this guy Job, a stand-up dude, honorable in all his ways. The LORD God liked Job a lot, and it showed. 

       Once when the LORD God was holding one of his monthly board meetings, Satan the Accuser showed up late. The LORD God said to Satan, “Hey Satan, where you been, man?” What you been up to?”. “Satan said, “I been hangin’ out on your earth, checkin’ out your people”.

The LORD God said “Uh huh. You checked out Job? Ain’t nobody like him, all righteous and stuff. Job’s my man!”

To which Satan replied “Yeah, right. That guy’s only in it for what he can get. You quit given’ him all that free stuff, he’ll dump you in a New York minute”. 

So the LORD God said “Go ahead, take his stuff. We’ll see”. So Satan took Job’s stuff; family, livestock, all of it. Which accomplished nothing; our boy Job didn’t flinch nor falter. All Job said was, “Hey man, God gave it; God took it back! God be blessed!”.

Next month, at The LORD God’s board meeting, when Satan came in acting some kinda way, The LORD God said, “What’s goin’ on with you? Where you been?” 

Satan said “Job…” but The LORD God cut him off right there and said “Now see, I told you”. To which Satan replied “No, no man. You still guarding him. You let me touch him. I’m tellin’ you, you let me touch him…” but The LORD God cut Satan off again and said “Go ‘head, touch him, but don’t you kill him. You hear?”

So Satan did indeed touch Job. He touched Job so hard Job’s wife hardly knew him; she lit him up-“Where’s your God at now, fool?”. When Job’s friends came, they lit him up worse.  

But don’t you know Job stood fast, and when the dust had cleared, when the Accuser had no accusations left to make and Job’s friends were exposed for the charlatans they were, Job was fully restored. The LORD God’s faith in His children was vindicated, the Accuser’s lie was exposed-we are indeed capable of loving The LORD God for who He is apart from what He gives.  Understanding The LORD God-well now, that’s another story. For now, love is more than enough. 

Humanity’s Downward Spiral

  If we are in fact created in the image and likeness of God, if this is our vocation, as the Bible seems to clearly teach-that is, if we are here to contain or bear God’s image within and allow the resulting transformation to work its way out in our observable behavior, we now have a solid foundation-a true moral compass-from which to evaluate what comes next. More than that, we now have an explanation for what comes next. 

“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth.” (Genesis 6:11-12; NRSV)

After the garden episode, Cain murdered Able, Lamech 

“[kills] a man for wounding me,

a young man for striking me.” (Genesis 5:23b; NRSV)

“When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.” Genesis 6:1-2; NRSV)

Murder and violence have become the norm. (“Took as wives any they chose” may indicate the wives taken had no say in the matter). These things are the direct result of “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”(Genesis 3:5; NRSV). 

The problem here is Cain’s good was not Able’s good; Lamech’s good was not the young man’s good’. Whenever “…all the people [do] what [is] right in their own eyes.” (Judges 21:25; NRSV)  anarchy and violence result. Is there any difference in today’s’I have the right to…’ attitude? 

These things do not demonstrate God’s likeness, nor do they please God. At least, I don’t think they please God, who responds by limiting the length of humankind’s days to 120 years. When that doesn’t slow down the ‘wickedness of man’ God determines to blot out the human beings He created, which is exactly what God does. Eventually God changed His mind about us and promises never to flood us out again. Good thing for us “…Noah found favor in the sight of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:8; NRSV).

The entire story can be found in Genesis 6-9. My intention here is to make a direct connection between today’s individualism and yesterday’s; to show this is not what we were created for and did not then and does not now please God. But there is another component to the story-God’s ḥeseḏ; God’s steadfast love. Love that reveals itself in God’s restorative plan; love that fully reveals itself in Christ Jesus on the cross. But we’re not quite there. Not yet. 

The Curse That Wasn’t

  There were two trees in the garden; the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. The presence of the tree of life indicates that, while humanity may have been created for immortality, humanity was not created immortal. As a result of the garden incident, what was once meant to be achieved by pleasant means now only becomes available by not so pleasant means. In another great Biblical irony, immortality is achieved through death. As the line in Jesus Christ Superstar says: “To conquer death you only have to die”. Jesus Himself is our pattern, the one who goes before us to show us the way.

“…looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

(Hebrews 12:2; RSV).

        So Paul was correct in saying death entered through one man’s disobedience, but death enters indirectly, sneaking in unseen through the back door. Or out the front gate, depending on your point of view. (Paul, of course, was also correct in saying life was restored by Christ Jesus). Access to the tree of life was denied. The garden couple were allowed to live out their natural life, then they died. So what exactly was the curse?

First the serpent-destined to go on his belly. And then there’s the prophetic curse-enmity. The bruising of heels. The crushing of heads. The final victory of the woman’s offspring. Is this what Paul meant when he wrote to Timothy “she will be saved through childbearing”? 

Which brings us to the woman. Pain in child bearing (witnessed this). A sometimes less then harmonious relationship with her husband (experienced this). Pain in child bearing. Do you see? Adam did, naming his wife Eve, the mother of the living. Life continues. Ultimately, the woman-and the rest of humanity as well-is saved through Christ Jesus; the person and place where justice meets mercy, where grace meets consequence (in a final demonstration of grace and consequence, God covers His rebellious couple with skins before asking them to leave His garden). As the Psalmist wrote:

“Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;

righteousness and peace will kiss each other.

Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,

and righteousness will look down from the sky…

Righteousness will go before him,

and make his footsteps a way…”

(Ps.85:10-11,13; RSV)

Finally the ground. Thorns and thistles, leading to another adversarial relationship-the man will eat by the sweat of his brow, finally returning to the dust he once was. (note the absence of the word sin; the absence of the term ‘original sin’. Just sayin).

Speaking of consequences, our garden couple, by eating the wrong fruit, will initiate a downward spiral of violence requiring a drastic response. But for now life goes on. As the poet says :

“Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

God is not dead nor doth He sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth goodwill to me . “

You Sly Devil

 

“The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die”…Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?"

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1(RSV)

Subtle, crafty, cunning, clever-all variously used to describe “that ancient serpent”, the tempter of Eve. He knew right where to aim-“But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5; ESV; italics mine). Careful readers will note the irony here-Adam and Eve already were like God, having been created in God’s image and likeness. 

Of course, the serpent does not mention that. He isn’t interested in God or God’s image and likeness. The serpent is only interested in remaking humanity into his image and likeness. He accomplishes this by 1. Sowing seeds of doubt as to God’s (honorable) intent, which 2. Serves to convince Eve she does not need God telling her what to do (another, perhaps more theological, way to put it is Eve is free to choose a self-centered life as opposed to a God-centered life). 

Pay careful attention to Eve’s thought process here-“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise…” 

(Genesis 3:6; RSV). Do you see? I like the way this looks. I think this will taste great. This will make me really smart. In other words, it’s all about me. John, looking back on the garden event, puts it this way: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.” (1 John 2:16; RSV). Friends, this is where it all began. Whenever you hear the words “I have the right to…” you are hearing the echoes of Eve’s response to the ancient accusation-“did God really say….”.

So here we have it. Short and sweet. ‘I say vs. God said’. In yet another irony, the first couple, already made in the image and likeness of God, in their effort to be like God exchange God’s image and likeness for the serpent’s image and likeness. The serpent who, true to his name (Satan, the accuser) accuses God of the very activity in which he (the Satan) himself is engaged. But we need a God. Paul, looking around at the present state of affairs in the first century Roman Empire, correctly diagnosed that society (and ours) and in so doing lays it at the feet of our garden couple: 

 

“..men who by their wickedness suppress the truth…for although they knew God they did not honor him as God…they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.” (Romans 1:18-25; RSV).

Please carefully think this through because it is going on all around us; we are all guilty to some extent or other. The solution (there is only one) lies in Paul’s analysis: Acknowledge the truth. Honor God. Give thanks to God. Glorify God in our bodies, here and now. Demonstrate God’s image and likeness.

“O come, let us worship and bow down,

let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would hearken to his voice!”

(Psalms 95:6-7;RSV)

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the lands!

Serve the LORD with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the LORD is God!

It is he that made us, and we are his;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him, bless his name!

For the LORD is good;

his steadfast love endures for ever,

and his faithfulness to all generations.

(Psalm 100; RSV).

None of us can influence everyone. All of us can influence someone. 

Ubuntu and the Big Bang

 rē'šîṯ ĕlōhîm bārā

First God creates. Variously translated “In the beginning God created” or “In the beginning when God created” or “When God began to create”. Subtle differences; perhaps intended to teach us there is more than one way understand the Biblical narrative (now would probably be a good time to mention the Bible is a book of truth, but not necessarily a book of fact, or history, or even historical fact). 

The point here is everything that exists was created by God.-

Genesis 1:3

God spoke: "Light!"

And light appeared.

Genesis 1:6

God spoke: "Sky! In the middle of the waters;

separate water from water!"

Genesis 1:9

God spoke: "Separate!

Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;

Land, appear!"

And there it was.

Genesis 1:11

God spoke: "Earth, green up! Grow all varieties

of seed-bearing plants,

Every sort of fruit-bearing tree."

And there it was.

Genesis 1:14

God spoke: "Lights! Come out!

Shine in Heaven's sky!

Separate Day from Night.

Mark seasons and days and years…”

Genesis 1:20

God spoke: "Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!

Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!"

Genesis 1:24

God spoke: "Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:

cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds."

And there it was…”

Genesis 1:26

God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them

reflecting our nature

So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,

the birds in the air, the cattle,

And, yes, Earth itself,

and every animal that moves on the face of Earth."

-The Message

Are you sensing a pattern here? God speaks; things appear. When and how are not mentioned, but consider this-if we understand science and mathematics as the operating principles God put in place to run God’s universe, and engineering as the application of those principles, the creation/science conflict begins to fade away. 

Genesis 2:4

This is the story of how it all started,

of Heaven and Earth when they were created.-The Message 

 

We’ll, yes, and no. Genesis 2:5-25 tells another story of creation. Two stories, because there is more than one way to tell any story. And if there is more than one way to tell a story there is more than one way to understand a story as well. The important points, which we don’t hear much about today, are, first, since God created every existing thing God owns every existing thing-which means we do not, although we act like we do-however, we are responsible for the proper care of God’s good creation. 

Second, God is reflected in God’s creation (cf. Psalm 19; 50; Isa 6:3; 40:21-26). Everything was created by God; everything belongs to God; everything reflects God. Richard Rohr says it this way: 

“This is what it means in Genesis 1:26–27 where it says everything is created in the image of God. God planted this whirling, alluring attraction of life toward life in everything created.…Nothing is meaningless; nothing is able to be dismissed…if I had to name the Big Bang in my language, I’d call it the Great Radiance…the inner radiance of God…radiating into forms.”

Big Bang, Great Radiance-same event expressed two different ways. Not either/or but yes/and. These are critically important points to understand if we are to have any hope at all of moving forward, surrendering our tribalism and discovering just how connected we all are. Archbishop Desmond Tutu had a word for this connectedness, and a warning as well:

“And so we speak of Ubuntu. A person is a person through other persons. And there must have been some people who said, ‘Ah, what a primitive way of thinking.’ It’s the most fundamental law of our being. We flout that—we flout it at our peril.”

Excerpt From

The Book of Joy

Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu & Douglas Carlton Abrams

https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-book-of-joy/id1093343088

This material may be protected by copyright. 

 

Which is precisely what our first parents did. Which leads us to life in the garden, and the origin of the phrase “I have the right to…”

One Life

 As far as I can tell, the Bible only ever mentions one source of life. Here it is.

Genesis 2:7

“ …then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.”-NRSV 

(Note here we see the personal name for God. God is not merely creating. God is relating-imparting God’s very life.)

And here.

John 1:4

“…in him (the Word) was life, and the life was the light of all people.”

-NRSV

And again here.

John 14:6

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life…”

-NRSV

We all have one common source; our source is God’s life. (By the way, on this point I must disagree with our brothers and sisters who say life begins at conception. The life was already there, in the sperm and in the egg. What began was a new, unique expression of life.) Which is precisely what we are-unique expressions of the one life. God’s life. (Following this line, we can also make the point that every living thing is a unique expression of the one life). We are all connected in this way. Since this is true, we can ask, along with Francis Shaeffer, ‘how shall we then live?’

  The answer is our vocation-to bear God’s image and demonstrate God’s likeness. This is the common vocation for all humankind. How we do that-demonstrate God’s likeness-is our calling. Calling can be anything, from pastor to teacher to mother (or father) to factory worker. Calling can change over the years. Vocation never does. 

Vocation involves inner transformation.

2 Corinthians 3:18

“And we all, with unveiled face, reflecting (RSV mg) the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord...”-RSV

And lest you think this ‘image and likeness’ business was somehow erased (or cancelled) in the garden, consider God’s words to Noah after the flood.

Genesis 9:6

“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image”.-RSV 

Before you dismiss this as merely justification for capital punishment, consider how the two parts are related, and why (for additional context see Matthew 5:17; 21-24). 

 

Right about now you might be looking around and asking “if we’re made in the Imago Dei, what happened?” Good question; I’m glad you asked. We will address that in the garden, but before we do let’s go back to the beginning; to the first six days and the false conflict between creation and science. (Spoiler alert-if you absolutely cannot wait, you may want to read Romans 1:21;28). 

New Thoughts for a New Year

 IN THE BEGINNING 

First God creates. The first three words of the first chapter of the first book of The Holy Bible-first God creates. First. In the beginning before anything else. God. Elohim. The common name for God. Not the personal name given to Moses; the name by which all humanity everywhere may know God. Creates. The first recorded acts of God-creation. Everything that ever has, does, and will exist finds its source in and testifies to Creator God. Why, you may be thinking, does the Bible not begin with some attempt to prove God’s existence? It does. Creation itself bears witness  to its creator.

Psalm 19:1-4

“God's glory is on tour in the skies,

God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.

Madame Day holds classes every morning,

Professor Night lectures each evening.

Their words aren't heard,

their voices aren't recorded,

But their silence fills the earth:

unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

God makes a huge dome

for the sun—a superdome!”

-The Message

Paul says as much in his letter to the Romans.

Romans 1:19-20

“But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being…”

-The Message

 

And then there’s this. 

Genesis 1:26

God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them

reflecting our nature so they can be responsible…

God created human beings;

he created them godlike,

Reflecting God's nature.

He created them male and female.”

-The Message

And so right off the bat, before anything else, the Bible tells us where we came from and why we’re here-to bear (or contain) God’s image and demonstrate (or leak) God’s likeness. Hers’s a few questions to consider, before we move on-if God created everything, who does everything belong to? Who does it not belong to? What does “so they (us) can be responsible” mean?