God’s plan for marriage N.T. Wright

“I believe, the ­biblical picture of man and woman together in marriage is not something about which we can say, “Oh well, they had some funny ideas back then. We know better now.” The biblical view of marriage is part of the larger whole of new creation, and it symbolizes and points to that divine plan. Every time I, as a priest, celebrate the marriage of a couple, I remind myself, and I frequently remind the couple, that what we are doing is setting up a signpost. We live in a world of many storms and many winds; those signposts can easily get battered and broken. But they are pointing somewhere – and the reality to which they are pointing is the fulfillment of God’s good purposes for creation.

Marriage is a sign of all things in heaven and on earth coming together in Christ. That’s why it is a tough calling. But that is why, also, it is central and non-negotiable. That, for me, is what it’s all about. “ NT Wright, Plough, Sept. 2015.  http://www.plough.com/en/topics/life/marriage/what-is-marriage-for

What I've always been

I’ve always been a CREATIONIST and I’ve always been PRO-LIFE. There were many years I didn’t know the HOW, but I’ve always understood the WHAT and WHO even as a very young child observing life around me (probably 3-4 years old).  There were 25 years between my baptism in 1950 and my recommitment/confirmation when I let go of God’s hand, but I never let go of those two beliefs.

I’ve always known CREATION has a purpose and LIFE has meaning, even when I was taught otherwise in school or church.  Whether CREATION took 6 days or 6 billion trillion years, makes no difference in my belief; both are equally marvelous.  Whether she is a is a zygote making a journey down a fallopian tube or a frail woman 105 years old in the nursing home bed who hasn’t spoken since she was 87 making a journey home to Jesus, I’ve always believed she is God’s creation and loved by God.

I’ve always known there was a rich and glorious life beyond what I could see, experience or understand, no matter if it was the vastness I saw in the night sky, or the pictures in the family encyclopedia with transparent drawings showing a baby’s development month by month in the womb.  I’ve always been a wise old woman, even when I was a child.

I’ve always cared about and loved God’s physical world--and wondered about the events and choices that moved lives and nations.  As a 5 year old I wondered why my grandmother was blind and my uncle was killed in the war.  And I still don’t know, but I know God does.  And until the past two decades or so, I thought caring was enough, because caring made me a “good” person.  Caring made me better than people who didn’t care as much as I do. Caring elevated me above the hoi polloi, the commoners, the great unwashed who didn‘t believe as I do.

In brief moments of extreme self-love, I even imagined I was more merciful and caring than God because I knew better how life should be ordered and what made sense and what didn’t!  At this age I know caring does nothing, so I will speak out when I am able to promote God‘s CREATION and LIFE. You can argue about candidates or fossil fuel with me, both were put here by God, but you won’t budge me on CREATION and LIFE.

Consequently, I won’t change what I believe about Man and Woman who were made in God’s image. Perhaps you are enamored by a current social or political movement and you care deeply and sincerely about this blip in time, but I care about history and the future.  Next year, next decade, maybe you’ll move on to yet another political cause-- legalizing polygamy or incest perhaps renamed to remove the stigma--but I’ll still be where I started, loving and respecting God’s CREATION and LIFE.

I believe God enjoys and delights in the sanctity of a life He created yesterday or 100 years ago. What I believe is not just who I am, but it is rooted outside myself in who God has revealed himself to be in his created Word spoken in the beginning, his written Word, in his Word Jesus Christ who came to us through the womb of a woman, in his Church on earth, and in all other forms of religions which don’t yet have his full revelation, but do grasp that Creation and Life are precious and holy.

This blog was originally published here on May 11, 2012

But it was all an accident

Researchers at Indiana University have combined scaling laws with a model of biodiversity to produce a new estimate of the number of microbial species on Earth: somewhere between 100 billion and 1 trillion. (The Scientist, May 4). And at the other end, Hubble reveals an estimated 100 billion galaxies in the universe or so, but this number is likely to increase to about 200 billion as telescope technology in space improves. Minor league stuff--the human body may have 37.2 trillion cells--depends on who is counting--and each cell has a sex--male or female. But hey, it's all an accident, it all evolved. No thought or design.

Science in the Bible

Dr. Hugh Ross, an astrophysicist, says there are 25 different creation accounts in the Bible. Job, for instance, has more scientific detail than the Genesis account. Job is likely the oldest book of the Bible and it predates the book of Genesis by 500-600 years. He also says there are 200 accurate scientific theories in the Bible some not developed until the 20th century. The chances of that are ten to the 300th power. I'm listening while riding my exercycIe. I love science.

                    

https://youtu.be/dsbj7EN1Uzs?list=PLp2gleJsbl1RlxpvUACxB59uxiMrZnFrw

http://www.reasons.org/

http://www.reasons.org/articles/lost-civilization-beneath-the-persian-gulf-confirms-genesis-history-of-humanity

Unfortunately, there's probably no area that causes more dissension among sincere Christians than creation and the Bible. Just scanning the list of articles by old earth and new earth advocates I see there are many who don't like Ross. But nowhere in the Bible do I see that Jesus told us to put our faith in the Bible, but in him. And it looks like all along that range of beliefs they believe in Jesus.

Where in Bible is marriage being for a man and a woman.

Marriage between a man and a woman was instituted by God with Adam and Eve. Genesis 2:24 states: "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh."

In Matthew 19:4-5, Jesus reaffirms this: "He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one’?"

I doubt that this will satisfy the culture worshipers. We may have to look at biology or chromosomes.

http://www.catholic.com/video/same-sex-marriage

God spoke

Reading first chapter of Genesis: "And God said" seven times about light and dark, waters, vegetation, heavenly bodies, creatures of the seas and skies and then livestock, and when he finished He saw that it was good. The eighth time he spoke He created male and female made in his image blessing them to increase and rule over the rest of creation and then he said it was all "very good," and rested.

God created male and female for a reason

". . . and God saw that it was good" is a familiar phrase in the first Chapter of Genesis--light, water, vegetation, stars, swarms of living creatures in the water and the heavens, beasts and cattle and creeping things. All are pronounced “good” working up to his best creation. And finally "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it. . ." Then in the second chapter of Genesis we get more detail on what is good--instead of recording, "it was good" after God created Adam, he said, “It is NOT GOOD for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”

There are virtually no differences between an Asian man and an African man--some skin cells and maybe hair texture. Nothing of importance. But between an Asian man and an Asian woman there are thousands of differences in brains, blood cells, skeletal systems, endocrine system and hormones, cardiovascular system, sexual organs, muscles and cells. Every cell has a sex. The blood of women has more water. Even our fingers are shaped differently. Women's hearts beat more rapidly. We respond differently to stress, as seen in MRIs. Women are better suited for life from their beginning--more than 140 male babies are conceived for every 100 females; by the time birth occurs, the ratio is 105 to 100, with the rest of the males dying in spontaneous abortions. That's because God wanted the human race to continue, and a new life needs both a mother and father--each new life getting something from each parent. You can redefine marriage if you wish, but not the plan.

Creation and Life

I’ve always cared about and loved God’s physical world--and wondered about the events and choices that moved lives and nations. As a 5 year old I wondered why my grandmother was blind and my uncle was killed in the war. And I still don’t know, but I know God does. And until the past two decades or so, I thought caring was enough, because caring made me a “good” person. Caring made me better than people who didn’t care as much as I do. Caring elevated me above the hoi polloi, the commoners, the great unwashed who don’t believe as I do.

In brief moments of extreme self-love, I even imagined I was more merciful and caring than God because I knew better how life should be ordered and what made sense and what didn’t! At this age I know caring does nothing, so I will speak out when I am able to promote God‘s Creation and Life. You can argue about candidates or fossil fuel with me, both were put here by God, but you won’t budge me on Creation and Life. (May 11, 2012)

For many of us, it's no mystery

"How life began is one of nature’s enduring mysteries. Fossil and biological clues have led scientists to estimate that cells originated on this planet about four billion years ago, but exactly what catalysed their emergence has remained elusive." Nature magazine, Debate bubbles. . .

Genesis 1: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, . . ."

John 1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made . . "

Job 38: "2 Who is this who obscures My counsel
with ignorant words?
3 Get ready to answer Me like a man;
when I question you, you will inform Me.
4 Where were you when I established the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 What supports its foundations?
Or who laid its cornerstone
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"


Colossians 1: "15 He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.
16 For everything was created by Him,
in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He is before all things,
and by Him all things hold together.
18 He is also the head of the body, the church;
He is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead,
so that He might come to have
first place in everything."

There are 350 billion galaxies, of which our earth is an infinitesimal speck of sand on a huge beach, and still these guys don't get it. Now that kind of ignorance is a mystery to me.

I know just the guy for this position

"The Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology (EEOB) in the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University invites applications for a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor Rank in Evolutionary or Ecological Genomics. We seek outstanding individuals who address fundamental questions in evolution and/or ecology either through the generation of large-scale sequence or gene expression data or by using either computational/statistical approaches for the analysis of genomic data."

Paul's letter to the church at Colossae explains creation and beginnings.

Colossians 1:15-23
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

The Green MBA

Somedays I'm just overwhelmed by the green hype. As a Christian I take stewardship and conservation very seriously. We are commanded by the Creator God to do that. The record is clear in Genesis--God created everything, including the first couple, a man and woman, and gave them two commandments: 1) Be fruitful and increase in number and 2) rule over his creation--plants and animals, oceans and air, beasts, birds and seeds. And then he declared it all good.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

You can look through any academic program at Ohio State (or any college or university near you) and see the endless moralizing, preaching and nagging about the environment, but there's no foundation--nothing about God's creation, the fall, justice, mercy or why other than self interest we should be caring for planet Earth. At the top level (very thin) it's humanism (man is in charge); dig deeper and the middle level, really thick, is Marxism (the state is in charge and a one world government would work best); but at the sludge level which is bottomless, it's pantheism (we are all one divine being, one consciousness, animals have the same worth as people).

Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business came in 24th on the list of the “Beyond Grey Pinstripes Global 100” of the Aspen Institute Center for Business Education. “The CBE equips business leaders for the 21st century with a new management paradigm—the vision and knowledge to integrate corporate profitability and social value. . . CBE is a part of the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program (BSP), an organization dedicated to developing leaders for a sustainable global society [which] creates opportunities for executives and educators to explore new pathways to sustainability and values-based leadership.” Van Jones, the White House Green Jobs czar who escaped to John Podesta’s think tank when his Communist and radical ties were exposed, was one of the invited speakers at the 2008 Ideas Festival of the Institute.

Hello Agriculture, Political Science and Social Work students--I guess you’ll have to become the bankers and financiers, the investors and CEOs. It has captured all your buzz words -- global sustainability, greening the business world, building a just economy, climate change, climate justice, economic justice, emerging green economy, environmentally responsible. Now all we need is someone to make money and invest again in America.

The founder and “mother” of the CBE, Judith Samuelson, wants the White House to go much further in its plan to control executive compensation. She seems completely unaware of the extent that government interference in business has brought us where we are in this Wall Street Journal article.

On the sixth day, God created animals

and said to the dog

'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.'

The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?'

So God agreed.

Then God created the monkey and said:

'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.'

The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?'

And God agreed.

Then God created the cow and said:

'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.'

The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'

And God agreed again.

Then finally, God created man and said:

'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.'

But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten
the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'

'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service.

[My husband's high school friend, Mickey, sent this--I assume it's going around the Internet. I modified the days to fit the Genesis story.]