thoughts on God [unfinished]

A couple of weeks ago, I finished reading the book god is not great by Christopher Hitchens. Out of its reading, I have concluded this: It is near impossible to discuss faith with a person who holds strictly to science and reason. I imagine such a conversation going something like this:

"Well, the Bible says..."
"I don't believe in the Bible."
"Then Jesus said..."
"Jesus never existed."
"Okay. Then faith tells me..."
"Faith? Bah!"

Pointless. Absolutely pointless. The most contested area between the atheist and the theist revolves around the reality of the metaphysical, and the existence of God. Atheists, if they hold to a strict naturalist worldview, will never consider whether or not anything exists outside of the quantifiable physical world in which we live and move. In my estimation (and experience), this view is extremely limiting and potentially dangerous. Case in point:

Several years ago I was part of a team leading a group of teenagers through the streets of the Downtown East Side of Vancouver. In an unplanned moment, due to a need to fill some time, we decided to do a "prayer walk" along East Hastings, starting from Main and walking West towards Pigeon Park. I ended up with a group of about 10 teens, and we decided to simply walk East to West on the North Side of Hastings, praying silently as we went. It wasn't long before we were stopped by a woman in the most unusual way. All I remember of the words in her half-minute montage, and only because they were directed at me, were "You son of Satan!"

Let me clarify. As a group, we were not loudly stating our prayers--we were not obvious in our actions as we walked. And before that day, and since that day I have walked along East Hastings a number of times and never been stopped, approached, or yelled at. This has become a moment in my mind that clarifies, solidifies and proves to me the existence of a world outside of the physical, quantifiable realm. It may not be enough for the greatest of skeptics, and I will accept that. Hitchens may suggest that this woman simply had a mental issue, which is medically speaking very likely. But then, my question is, Why at that moment? Why did this woman decide in that moment to spew her words towards us, as we walked and prayed? And more importantly, Why those words? Of the wide variety of expletives available in the English language, why did she choose to get the devil involved? The worldview I adhere to suggests that we are living in both a physical and spiritual world, where a battle continues to rage between God and Satan--a world that we can encounter from time to time.

You may ask, Why do I not experience this more often? To which, I can only restate what I have written about before: the distractions of the culture we live in greatly diminishes my ability to recognize God in the everyday. And perhaps, that is the struggle of atheism. In a world where reason and science rule, in which humanity is the apex of evolution, it is a wonder that one would look beyond himself and the physical world in which he exists. If one does not expect to know anything outside of himself and the physical world, how can he experience anything else? Without the experience of God, modern society would simply turn into the narcissistic, ego-centric, self-gratifying, greedy, and sexually confused kind of world we are all a part of. The distinctiveness of the Christian faith should point foremost to a Creator God through whom all things live, move and have their being.

Of course, this unfinished thought did not touch at all on many of Hitchen's tiresome, sarcastic and anti-religious tirades concerning the historicity of religious wars and the unfounded proofs concerning the Bible (valid points which I hope to get to eventually). But without at least a hint of the existence of God, there would be no point in bringing that up. Perhaps in a future post...

Oh, lympics.

The west coast winter we are experiencing this year is a far cry from last year's weather. While we were snowed in by Christmas day 2008, barely a flake has settled on the ground this season--which is a real shame considering the amount of money the cities around here have put into upgrading their winter equipment. All for naught, it seems; at least, so far. Bad news for the hundreds of thousands expected to arrive in a mere 30 days. When it comes to the Winter Olympics, snow is kind of a necessity.

Not a day goes by around here that the words olympics, vancouver, twenty-ten, or flame do not cross my eyes or flow past my ears. Today was all about warning the commuters to plan a different work schedule during the Olympics so that their regular lives do not interfere with the excitement. Already the fences are up, roads are closing, tents are erected, and the street signs warn of parking and stopping limits between February and March. Oh, and on the cover of our local Metro last week was a picture of some guy hanging an Olympic banner on downtown light posts. The photo generated so much excitement amongst us 7am commuters, it was palatable.

There are other words that cross my eyes and flow past my ears, too. Protest, deficit, anti-corporation, human rights, displacement, F$!# 2010.

I really don't know what to think of the Olympics. Yes, they are a giant, enormous waste of money; for Vancouver, for its taxpayers and even for ticketholders who, like me (if I watch), could get a better glimpse of the games from the comfort of a living room couch without the debt-inducing cost of a ticket--and with cheaper drinks and snacks to boot. Unfortunately, I simply cannot get excited about sports in general, so I am definitely not one to get all antsy-in-my-pantsy about the event. But I can't say I'm anti-Olympics.

Anti-Olympics. The problem with the pervasive anti-olympic attitude around here is that it seems to be no more than a revolt against, and does not seem to be a positive force for change. Yes, the money could be better spent on social issues, on the homeless, in the education system, to reduce debt or avoid the HST. But it's not. And it won't be. One group recently announced a "Prorogue the Olympics" campaign. With one month left to go, it, too, seems like a wasted effort. No amount of protest or graffiti will stop 300,000 people from invading the city. And tackling a torch-bearer will not prevent the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. Awareness of a cause may be promoted, but there is little that foreigners could or care to do--too many of them are here just for a good time. Protests didn't work in Beijing, they won't work here.

I am not against protests, don't get me wrong. Protests raise awareness for necessary changes--and there are a lot of necessary changes in Vancouver alone that have been overlooked and shoved to the side for the sake of the games. Olympics or not, these changes would likely not have been addressed anyway (sorry for my pessimism). At this point in the game(s), perhaps it's time to consider positive alternatives.

And there are positive alternatives. Buying Sex is Not a Sport "is a grassroots campaign to raise awareness and effect change around sex trafficking and the 2010 Olympic games." More than Gold encourages Christians to serve the masses as they live in and travel around Vancouver. Home for the Games invites homeowners to rent out rooms, with half the profit earned going towards the fight against homelessness in Vancouver. And I'm sure there are more positive initiatives taking place during the Olympics. Seek them out, and get involved.

The Olympics is at its root, and as far as I can tell, still about athletes competing against each other to win a prize. For those athletes who win, there is an incredible sense of accomplishment and joy as their national anthem is blared across the stadium. And for those who lose, the opportunity to participate is reward enough. Sure there is a ton of money involved in the back rooms of the elite, and corporations have spent and will receive millions of dollars over the course of the two week event. But aside from a massive, complete, counter-cultural initiative to address the capitalist mindset that thrives off the people (read: you and me), little can be done about such extravagances (again, sorry for my pessimism). This is an opportunity for us to leave a positive impression on the masses. Scream and yell, hold your signs if you must. I will choose to effect a positive experience on our visitors.

so this is the new year.

2009 has come to an end--the year of waiting. Aside from the slow growth of Susan's baby bump, not much is new, not much is different. We began 2009 in the same jobs we ended 2009. We began the year at the same church we ended the year. And we're still living in the same basement suite. I am one year older, one anniversary wiser in marriage, I've had seven or eight more haircuts, two or three pairs of jeans replaced along with two shoes, countless numbers of fill-ups in the Civic, and thousands of kilometres added to the odometer. Not only was it a year of waiting, it really was a year of inactivity in the grand scheme of things. Sure, we were kept busy at work, at volunteering, with places to go and people to see. In that sense, this past year has flown by. Another year has past already. But in hindsight, the year of waiting was just that. A year of waiting.

Waiting for what?

Sus and I talked a bit last night about the upcoming year, 2010, and what it will bring. Change. Twenty-ten will be a year of change. There are some expected changes to come, such as the addition of ten fingers, ten toes and--heck--a whole new body to feed, clothe, sustain and love in our home. With this addition comes the expected change to our lifestyle: a one-income family we will be. But we are also anticipating change there, too. With a job that is slowly driving me to insanity and a requisite internship coming up, we are expecting (hoping, praying) there to be a significant career change--or at least, direction. We talk about this often, Sus and I. At times out of excitement and anticipation, at other times out of frustration and worry.

It's a tough thing to trust when plans don't go as planned. I realize that is an odd sentence, but it's true--sometimes plans just don't go as expected, and what remains in the settled dust is trust. And that's where the excitement and anticipation comes in. We trust in someone bigger than ourselves, and we have to trust in God's unpredictability. It is the most frustrating and most reassuring place to be. And we, in our family of two-going-on-three, have experienced both frustration and assurance over this period of waiting, usually at different times. It's one of the awesome experiences of marriage, to support and be supported when needed. And with the expected changes to come this year, mutual support will be in high demand.

Welcome, 2010!