[Fleeting Memories & Outdated Chariots]

            Today is November 11, 2015. Two years ago on this date, the second Hunger Games premiered in the UK. Even more importantly, on this date ninety-seven years ago World War I ended. Ninety-seven years ago, the scourge of human carnage known as WWI came to an end. According to some sources, the terrible crisis claimed more than sixty-five million lives. Today, World War I often is less known by the average American then WWII or Vietnam. Yet though many don’t remember or recall the facts or figures, the reality is that WWI still claimed more than sixty-five million lives. That is sixty-five million souls we can never recover.

           

            But the most astonishing part of it for me is the fact that ninety-seven years can seemingly erase the relevance of such a monumental event in human history. Time, truly is fleeting. So fleeting that ninety-seven years after the absolute charring of most of the globe, many people are largely unaware of even the most basic facts that truly dismantle the lives & livelihood of so many across the globe.

            The point of realizing all this is to assert a very sobering reality: The human experience is fleeting & finite. Even more humbling than that thought, is the fact that our individual experiences remain virtually non-existent to much of the world & history. Proof of this is the fact that we must study WWI to truly allow the lives of those involved to impact us today.

            Another example of this truth is found about three miles from my house. The Nixon Library commemorates the birthplace & life of Richard Nixon. I often ride my bike to it. Every time I do, I ride my bike within ten feet of his once private & exclusive helicopter. Every time, I am struck with an incredible sense of awe & wonder.

            What was once the most elegant chariot for the leader of the New World is now a piece of rubble charged with a $12 admittance. Short lived huh? Even more so for Nixon considering Watergate, but I wonder if the most powerful men & women realize in their moments in the sun that their influence has already, in many ways, been stripped from their clutches.

            Perhaps this is what Matthew 6:19 is getting at when it warns us not to store up in our hearts treasures of this earth, for they rust & destroy. Scriptures are endless in their warning of the fleeting pleasure of the world. After all, it wasn’t even a complete lifetime ago that Mr. Richard Nixon was leading the American crusade against communism & shaping the new world as he saw fit. Now, he is in many ways an outcast to most American minds that judge its leaders.

            So each time I ride by Nixon’s helicopter I wonder about what truly matters. Is it your elegant chariot or perhaps your home? I know for myself I want the answer to be no. The most important things for me are those unseen. I want to love, be generous, be courageous, & be compassionate. Simply put, I’d rather take time investing in my humanity then my worldly status or prestige because the reality is that at some point, we will all die.

            So the next time I ride my bike past fleeting memories, I will continue to marvel at the graveyard of of outdated chariots. That which is fit for a king sooner or later becomes recreation for the common man. Therefore, I choose to invest in that which does not rust or destroy & that which has inherent value: my humanity. It is as Genesis 3:19 so vividly reminds us of: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

-MGB

[The Power of Paradoxes]

*The Christian faith cannot be examined solely through an intellectual lens nor solely an emotional lens; rather, a synthesis of the two is essential for it is only through the marriage of intellect & soul that you truly find our humanity & our Maker.

            If you are a Christian then you proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior of your life. He is the ultimate authority. As a believer I truly believe that Christ reigns supreme past, present, & future. The origins for these radical assertions are found in the Old Testament. The ancient Scriptures are chalked full of prophecies proclaiming Christ’s Kingdom: “His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, & all the rulers will worship him” [Daniel 7:27].

           

            Jeremiah 23 also proclaims that Christ’s Kingdom will flourish & “execute judgment & justice.” Of course, the New Testament is the fulfilling of these prophecies & the documentation of Christ’s time spent on earth. But to believers & non-believers alike it is perplexing to look around the world today seeing all the evil & atrocities still occurring, while also reconciling the supposed truth of these prophecies. If Christ truly is King, where is His never ending Kingdom? Where is His throne & scepter? Where are His acts of judgment condemning the weak? Where are His acts of mercy to the afflicted? Why do the innocent suffer? In the midst of the refugee crisis, or the terror of ISIS, or the terrible poverty rate… Where is God?

            It is these questions that often serve as roadblocks to believers & non-believers alike. I truly believe that our comfort & reassurance to these complex questions are found in the paradoxes of Scripture. In fact, at its absolute core, Scriptures is a collection of paradoxes, but it is essential to realize that a paradoxical answer to the questions prior are perhaps the only plausible answers. Before I address the infallibility of the Scriptures, allow me to present three “real world” paradoxes that encompass profound truths to build a case for Scriptural supremacy. Only after convincing you of a paradoxical power in non-spiritual matters can I grab your attention to entertain spiritual paradoxes:

1. The paradoxes of a woman’s power. A caring, loving, & gentle woman possesses the most powerful influence over a man. This of course is paradoxical because for a man to exercise power over another man force, violence, & cunning is often the only solution. Yet, women possess a very profound & paradoxical power over a man; it is in her incredibly soft voice that a man’s stubbornness reaches an impasse. A woman’s soothing voice & sound reasoning often persuades a man more effectively than the sword.

2. Another paradox is best summed up in an old Chinese proverb: “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.” The gateway to infinite knowledge & wisdom is acknowledging your “foolishness.” This proves to be truly a paradoxical process.

3. The last paradox lies within tragedy, yet is entirely relevant to our discussion. Unfortunately, there is a very tragic paradoxical relationship between wealth & happiness. Countless Hollywood musicians, artists, actors, etc. all lament of the evils of wealth & fame. Being an avid fan of rap I’ve grown up listening to this sad reality. Perhaps the most chilling phrase which has remained in my conscious is from J. Cole’s “Chaining Day” in which he acknowledges his trust in wealth is foolish: “Don’t take this chain [wealth] from me/because I chose this slavery/my guilt as heavy as this piece [jewelry] I wear.” This acknowledgment that wealth can never satisfy is not a new phenomenon. This is an age-old reality lamented by humanity throughout time. Perhaps our happiness, & future generations’ happiness, could be better informed based on the study of the past & the warnings of those with wealth. But here I am progressing down the rabbit hole of another paradox [the study of history] so I digress.

            Now that we can all agree that some of the most profound realities in this world exist in the form of paradoxes & in the most unlikely ways, I will now present three incredibly monumental [& relevant] paradoxes of the Christian faith. It is important to note that although the following three are spiritual at its core, there are pragmatic, moral truths in here that transcend to good citizenship, regardless of your religious convictions:

1. The most effective leader is the selfless servant. Jesus Christ the full embodiment of this. As the Son of God, the one with absolute dominion over the earth, Jesus humbled Himself to the most humiliating execution of His day [crucifixion]. It was such an awful death that it was reserved only for the most despicable of criminals, & it was so gruesome that the Roman government condemned executions within its city walls because of the nature of the death. It was pure torcher. The Son of Man who was present at creation decided in those moments to subject Himself to our death sentence. He committed the ultimate act of servant-hood & humility. This is the charge given to us. Therefore another paradox emerges for Christians: In order to effectively lead others, you must first learn what it means to follow Christ.

2. That which is perceived as earthly weakness is actually heavenly power. Again, I will use the example of Christ: While He was whipped & lashed & put on a cross; Christ could have called down twelve legions of angels to rescue Him & destroy His enemies [Matthew 26:53]. In other words, His act of mercy & meekness is perceived as weak or even stupid by human standards, but within the confines of Christianity, understanding Christ’s sacrifice for us, it is the most powerful & profound action ever recorded in human history. This coincides with Matthew 5:5. It also helps explain why love always triumphs. Though you can take advantage of love, beat up love, attack love, even physically kill a loving person; love always triumphs- it always wins. Is it coincidence that every Hollywood movie plays out this way? No, the incredible power of Christian virtue [love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.] is engrained in the very DNA of humanity- that is why we see it in Hollywood films & children’s bedtime stories alike. It is a paradoxical truth we were born understanding. Some of us simply need to regain this knowledge.

3. To find stability & peace we must stop trying to control events in our lives & let go & give it to Christ. It is only once we acquiesce to a God more powerful than us that we are able to receive His aid & blessing. This difficult practice is always the wiser decision. One of my favorite rappers [Andy Mineo] sums it up perfectly: “You [God] wanna put treasures inside my hands but you cease/because they’re clamped, holding onto sins I won’t release.”

            In closing, I hope that this begins a conversation. The profundity of the Christian faith & its complexities runs much deeper than two pages. But I pray that this begins to show us the fallibility of human reason & thought. In the midst of terrible atrocity & pain I can’t help but hear Christ whisper to us to draw near to him.

            Paradoxes are so perplexing because they often go against “logic” or “the way things work,” but when you live on a globe that travels around a flaming ball of fire at roughly 66,600 miles per hour… nothing is “logical.” This is a peculiar world- it’s time that we cease to allow the peculiarities of God to limit our faith & trust in Him. 

-MGB

[The Proof of God]

Proof (noun): evidence or argument establishing or helping to establish a fact or the truth of a statement.

*This article is not an exhaustive examination of the matters considered; rather it is designed to begin an honest, humble discussion pursuing truth.

            I frequently have conversations with people about the existence of God. In the midst of those conversations I frequently hear the argument, “Well there just isn’t any proof- you can’t definitively prove the existence of God.” While this statement is true in one sense, it is completely false in another. It is correct in the sense that I cannot rub my magic bottle & have the God of Israel come puffing out like a genie. So in that sense, yes you are correct I do not have physical, tangible proof. But it’s also peculiar to point out that the contrary, scientific argument is the Big Bang theory.

            It is interesting to note that the concept of a big bang is just as much elusive as definitively proving the existence of the God of Israel. For example, while humans share more than 98% similarity in DNA with chimpanzees, humans also share about 50% similarity in DNA makeup with a banana. Furthermore, the probability of a big bang occurring is about the same chance that these letters randomly combusted & fell onto this paper in order to form this cohesive, intelligent thought (excuse the self-flattery). Clearly, the loopholes & ambiguities persist for the belief in a cosmic explosion creating such intelligence & complexities. This distinction is important because this is the foundational platform from which modern science begins. But this is a whole different article to write to fully explore these depths. So I digress.

            On the other hand, while I can’t prove the existence of God directly, there is irrefutable, undeniable proof in another sense. I can indirectly prove His existence. I will offer three examples:

1). There is an overwhelming consensus amongst mankind that the things of this world never fully satisfy. Countless examples are found through the tragic, endless pursuits of men after money, drugs, & satisfaction. So many people such as Kurt Cobain, Whitney Houston, & Heath Ledger are examples. This is because we were built & designed for a very specific purpose: To commune with God.

2). Gravity. While an astronaut may explore space, the moon, or Mars free from the gravitational laws of earth, it does not mean that gravity ceases to exist. In fact, on the moon or Mars gravity does exist, just simply in a different capacity. Human beings are fallible beings. I mean it in this sense: We are limited to time & space. I cannot be in New York City & California at once. I cannot endure the sunshine of California while simultaneously enduring the rain of New York. Yet, in spite of these limitations, both continue to exist & operate within the laws of the universe simultaneously without our conscious thoughts/efforts. This is proof that someone somewhere is orchestrating the complexities of the earth without us. It is to this end that the astronaut standing on Mars may irrefutably know that though gravity may be relative in the present moment, there are still irrefutable laws of existence that endure without us. Therefore, the relativity of gravity depends upon location, but the metanarrative of gravity's holistic properties endures. This is another complex proof of God.

3). Morality. Humanity, though we don’t always do what is right, we all inexplicably know that good and evil exist simultaneously. Each day we are tasked with the choices of what is good and what is wrong. Sometimes we choose honesty over lies, kindness instead of spite, & generosity over greed. But we do not always choose what is good. This is because we are broken- defective when apart from our Maker. Undeniably though, we can all assert that there is a sense of morality- of right and wrong. It is all engrained in us that virtue exists. This is the third proof.

Ultimately though, the proof of God can be summed up as simply as C.S. Lewis put it, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

-MGB