The Link

I haven’t been in the habit of linking to items in the news so much, but this particular story strikes me as important. It is no secret, as I have stated on this blog, that I see no contradiction between the first chapters of Genesis and evolution. They are completely compatible. Furthermore, I believe evolution to be as much a fact of life as gravity. It is the way it is and us arguing about the way it is will not change a single quark. Instead, I think our task  should be to discover how it is through good science, good philosophy, good debate, and the senses and powers of the mind that God gave us. We should be using good science to help us understand the bible better. And we should be using the bible to help us understand good science better. They are compatible and complementary, and you get more out of one when you consider the other.

The cool thing about this new fossil discovery is that it is felt to be at a branching point in the evolutionary tree. That branch is along primate evolution where one trunk divides into two branches. One branch goes down the direction of lemurs and such and the other branch goes to monkeys and humans. There are characteristics that differ among these groups which make them separate and this fossil sits right at the crux of where those two branches diverge. It really is very exciting. I’ll let you read the article to find out the details if you like.

Missing Link Article

The real problem with this debate, evolution vs creation, is very interesting. to me. I see both sides making the same mistake really. Both sides hold fundamentally to their way of considering the world, and it is odd that both sides hold to reason as the utmost value. Creationists hold to the bible as literal (historical vs metaphorical). Why? Because it removes doubt. It allows you to believe in something solid. It relys on reason. And that starts with Genesis. If it is literally  (historically instead of metaphorically) true then we have some foundation on which to base our interpretation of the remainder of the bible. It is logical. Evolutionists do the same thing except that they throw faith completely out. Why? Because is not logical. God and the spiritual cannot be proven to exist through objective data so they are not real. In the end it is the same mistake on opposite ends of the line. And there is a whole lot of truth in the middle that gets missed.

The Matrix Revolutions – Truth Part 1

I have heard people say that they were disappointed by the 3rd movie. Well I did not experience that. I found my interest increasing through the entire series and did not feel unresolved at the end. I loved the whole thing and plan to watch all 3 several times. It really needs to be taken as a whole. The individual pieces do not mean as much when considered separately although they each have plenty in them to stimulate discussion.

So I want to discuss the fight scene near the end of the piece between Neo and Agent Smith. The entire scene is really rather surreal. The rain. The dark. The intensity of it all. At one point near the end of the confrontation, it appears that Agent Smith has gotten the upper hand. The exchange goes like this: 

Agent Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you’re fighting for something? For more that your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Yes? No? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. The temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can’t win. It’s pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?
Neo: Because I choose to.

Or if you prefer to watch it, this:

Well there is so much in this I could probably write a book. But I want to deal most specifically with the idea of truth that Agent Smith suggests to maybe be that thing for which Neo is fighting. I think that truth is the very foundation on which Neo is fighting. Of course, if you know the story, on the surface he is fighting for love. But that love is founded in truth.

Neo existst in two worlds. The false “vagaries of perception” which is the Matrix is one. This is where the majority of humanity is living, content with just jumping through the hoops, not even realizing that what they see and believe to be truth is a lie. But Neo has been enlightened. The scales have been removed from his eyes. He mainly exists in the hard core reality, only entering the second world of The Matrix when necessary to serve the purposes for which he and his comrades are fighting.

Neo knows the truth because he was willing to challenge the mainstream. He was willing, way back at the beginning of the story, to question the Koolaid that everyone else was drinking. He was willing to do the work. He was willing to confront the lie. He was willing to take the risk. His pursuit of truth was not met with favor by most. His pursuit ticked a lot of people off and his enemies increased. But his trek for truth also led him, contrary to the words of Agent Smith, to that greatest of human emotions and experiences. Love. And when you’ve gotten to love, my friend, I believe you’ve gotten to God.

I will follow this up with a part 2 post on what was the nature of the truth which Neo sought. Sometimes it was empiric. But sometimes it was in his gut. Sometimes, truth was something he had to choose to believe in without a lot of empiric support.

 

“The Matrix Reloaded” and Inclusion

OK. I finished The Matrix Trilogy. Amazing stuff. To all those who are not movie watchers, if you ever decide to jump through a movie hoop, these three are worth the viewing. I am not a huge movie and TV watcher myself as I don’t have enough time (and would rather train anyway). But I think there is more in these three movies than in just about any other series that has philosphical material : Batman, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars.

In reloaded, a conversation took place between Commander Lock and Morpheus about how best to deal with the impending attack. Lock of course believes in the traditional “let’s organize our military and blast them.” Morpheus on the other hand, while not discounting Lock’s point of view, places more significance on “The Prophecy” that Neo is “The One” who is destined to save Zion during this very crisis as not only their way of life but their very exsitence is threatened. During this exchange, the following lines are said:

Commander Lock: Damn it, Morpheus, not everyone believes what you do.
Morpheus: My beliefs do not require them to.

That is an amazing response from Morpheus and reminds me of the current state of affairs in our culture. Christians think that everyone who does not “convert” is living in sin and doomed for hell. Followers of Islam think that the West is full of infidels who must be exterminated. Democrats and Republicans both stick to ideologies til death rather than genuinely cooperate. Atheists think that anyone who believes in anything other than that which is empiric and rational are idiots. And on and on and on and on and on it goes. Of course I realize that not everyone in these groups holds to such stereotypes. But there sure is a lot of it going around.

Instead, shouldn’t we all be able to sit at the same table, respecting each other’s experience, respecting each other’s beliefs, instead of telling each other where we are wrong? Instead of telling each other that we hold all the truth and you don’t hold any of it. Instead of telling each other we are going to hell or heaven based on which hoops we have or have not jumped through or that there is nothing beyond this life. Etc, etc, etc….

We all hold bits of the truth. Lock tried to tell Morpheus that his was not truth, and Morpheus countered with a response of grace that actually affirmed what Lock thought was true. He was not threatened. Man, how much better this world would be if that is how we all sought to interact, grace and affirmation with an honest hunger to know and understand each other’s truths.

 

 

Drinking The Koolaid

Galileo: “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended to forgo their use.”

Galileo was condemened by the church and sentenced to confinement within his residence for putting forth and holding to the idea that the earth was not at the center of the solar system. It was essentially a universal idea believed to be rock solid from the bible itself that the sun was the center. Not the earth. Galileo challenged said belief and would not back down. He trusted his observation instead of drinking the koolaid. He paid a high price. But he was right. And he knew it.

I don’t know that I all out chugged the koolaid. But I certainly took hesitant sips for a lot of years. There was something always nagging inside me that what I was being told just didn’t add up in some ways. It didn’t all fit together. And it didn’t make sense that God would either intentionally deceive mankind with certain elements of creation or, as Galileo puts it, expect us to forgo part of who we are as humans. It just didn’t sit well within me. So I kept sipping until I found the courage to spit it out.

I am thinking of things like this: God must have created dinosaur fossils and an apparent very old age into the earth. Or this: the laws of physics were altered by and “The Flood.” And even this:  the current state of mankind (good/evil or upright/fallen) is the result of an interaction over an apple between two people and a talking snake.  In the end, I think it all comes down to how literally the bible is to be taken.

I eventually realized something. NO ONE, no matter who they are or what they say, takes the entire bible literally. NO ONE. A simple example would be cutting off your arm if it causes you to sin. Who does that? NO ONE, at least no one who is not locked up in a rubber room for their own protection. There are plenty of people walking around saying that they do. But they don’t.

So why the big battle over the first few chapters of Genesis. To hold literally to that is to build one’s entire faith on a very flimsy house of cards, subject to the slightest whisper. And what kind of faith is that? A weak kind.

It makes much more sense to me to understand that we do not yet understand all there is to know about how to interpret nature. And we do not yet understand all there is to understand about how to interpret scripture. And we will never understand all there is to understand about either of those. And in that is God’s genius, really. Nature is always changing and the bible is a very dynamic book. They complement each other. They don’t threaten each other. When we discover something new about the one, we should use it to help us better understand how to look at the other. That is a much better way to live than to force feed koolaid.

My First Time – Wow!

No. Not that. Get your mind out of the gutter. What I mean is, The Matrix. I just finished watching it for the first time. That makes me some sort of nerd I know. Of what sort, I’m not sure. But some sort. Anyway, it seems that there is too much to say about it. Where does a person even start? It is an amazing movie with all sorts of philosophy, religion, commentary on humanity. I’m floored. It will take awhile to process it. I may have to watch it a few more times.

I’ll just put up my most memorable line for commentary from everyone. I just don’t know what to say. Maybe the most amazing movie I have ever seen.

Morpheus to Neo: “Neo, sooner or later you’re going to realize just as I did that there’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”

More Lyrics – Alter Bridge – “Watch Over You”

Time for some more lyrics. I really like Alter Bridge, as I have said before, because the play great rock but also because they do it with more creativity than just the “sex, drugs, and rock” mantra. I was listening to this song today and understood it in a different light. Listen and follow the lyrics, and then I’ll give my thoughts.

Leaves are on the ground

Fall has come
Blue skies turning grey
Like my love

I tried to carry you

And make you whole.

But it was never enough

I must g0

[Chorus:]
Who is gonna save you
When I’m gone?
And who’ll watch over you
When I’m gone?

You say you care for me
But hide it well
How can you love someone
And not yourself?

[Chorus]

And when I’m gone
Who will break your fall?
Who will you blame?

I can’t go on
And let you lose it all
It’s more than I can take
Who’ll ease your pain?
Ease your pain

[Chorus:]
Who is gonna save you when I’m gone?
Who’ll watch over you?
Who will give you strength when you’re not strong.
Who’ll watch over you when I’ve gone away?

Snow is on the ground
Winters come
You long to hear my voice
But I’m long gone

So today, as I was listening to this song, it thought of it being from God to me. At first glance, it can’t be that. On the surface it is about someone being so hurt by his love’s behavior or his friend’s behavior that he can hardly stand to stay around and see this person continue to destroy themselves, hence the footage from Dr. Drew Pinsky’s “Celebrity Rehab.”

But what if this is what I do to God? What if I ignore God? What if I don’t ever slow down enough to see God in the world? What if I am so selfish that I don’t ever stop to see God in other people? What if I need so much evidence for everything that I make it impossible for me to see God? What if I base what I think about God on a house of cards? What if I shut down my emotional side and that is one of ways God is evident in us and speaks to us? What if I am so angry that I don’t love? What if I am always the victim? What if I miss out on today because I am always thinking about tomorrow? What if I mistake scripture for God? What if I hate myself so much that I don’t know how to love another? What if I push everybody away?

I believe there is God. I believe this God created all that is around us. I believe this God talks to all of us in a million different ways, down a million different paths, if we will let him. And I don’t want to ever be in a place where I can’t recognize that. I saw of picture of Richard Dawkins today. He looked angry. He looked bitter. He looked lonely. He believes there is no God. I don’t ever want to be there.

Ideological Blankets

Two things first. Sorry for the length ahead of time. This gets wordy. Also, I know I said I was done with Crazy For God, but as it turns out, I am not. So if you loved that book as much as I did you are in for a treat. If you didn’t, then you might want to skip this one.

Yesterday, I got deeply involved in a discussion on my friend Jason’s blog over at Losing My Religion. The topic at hand is the issue of torture. Unless you are living under a blanket you are probably aware of the issue in the media right now and the ideological lines that seem to be drawn up between the left and the right. The left thinks that all things torture are always and unequivocally off limits. The right thinks we ought to torture more and do it more severely. And of course the Democratic line becomes the left side of the issue and the Republican line becomes the right. To me this is just stupid, and I refuse to take my cues about what I think from either side. I want to own what I think and believe for myself. And as I have come to learn, the most truth can be found somewhere in the middle, and it is that middle for which I search on the torture issue.

Part of the left side of the argument is that once we step a single foot down this path of torture we are on a slippery slope. It’s as if once we start, we won’t be able to control ourselves, and before you know it we’ll be plucking eyes out, cutting off fingers, pulling teeth, and giving awfully bad raspberries ( not making light of the issu- just lightening the load with a little humor ). That’s ridiculous. It doesn’t mean that at all. And then oddly enough, the left pulls out the Christian ethic club to beat the right over the head with claiming that Christ would not be for torture. They like to say that torture is never helpful and never results in valuable information.

Part of the argument on the right side is that these guys did horrible awful bad stuff and deserve any ill treatment they get and that this will be a deterent for other bad dudes contemplating like activity. It’s as if we have a right to take out our revenge on them and that this will somehow make it all better, all the while forgetting that these guys are often holding to a passionate religious level belief and will not hesitant for one second by the ill treatment of their comrades. In fact, they may be energized by it. And then the right seems to overlook the fact that Christ sure did talk about turning the other cheek and going the second mile. And they like to point out a single instance where information gained from torture brought about something valuable to the lives of many therefore justifying torture and supporting expansion of its use.

The problem that I have with both arguments, the right and the left, is that the search for ideological purity where there is none available is a way to absolve ourselves of having to make hard choices. It’s a way of sticking our heads in the sand. It’s a way of not facing head on the issues that are before us. I grew up in a church that condemns all alcohol consumption across the board partly because once we start we may not be able to control ourselves. That ideology fails to consider the significant benefits of responsible alcohol use and is touted by a bunch of people who obviously can’t contro their food intake ( so maybe they should in fact be scared ). My boys used to go to a school where they teach young earth creationism with an unwillingness to consider the evidence that good science has produced, even calling it evil. That ideology results in a faith built on a house of cards with a frantic scramble to defend against every slight breath of wind for fear the house falling and really teaches people to be dishonest with themselves about what is right there in front of them. There are countless other examples that could be named. But the point is that mindless adherence to an ideology like a bunch of little robots often leads to weakness in faith and mind and body. I thinks it’s a bad policy and that we need to watch for it hawks.

I am reminded yet again of Frank Schaeffer’s book, Crazy For God, and chapter 57 where he is discussing the abortion debate. He describes how it has become political ideology that doesn’t even really make sense any more. How can the right passionately defend capital punishment and abortion at the same time? If human life is precious then human life is precious. On the other hand, how can the left passionately defend taking capital punishment off the board and supporting abortion for any reason? If human life is precious then human life is precious. Those ideologies cannot rationally coexist. On page 347:

“It seems to me that by demanding ideological purity on abortion (and other single issues as well [I would put the torture debate in here]), both parties have worked to eliminate the sorts of serious smart pragmatic people who make competent leaders. What we are left with are those willing to toe the party theological line, who are talented at kissing the asses of their party’s ideologues, raising money, and looking good on TV, but not much else.

But what if the absolute consistency on any issue from the left or the right, religious or secular, is an indication of mediocre intelligence and a lack of intellectual honesty? What if the world is a complex place? What if leadership requires flexibility? What if ideology is a bad substitute for common sense? What if ideological consistency, let alone ‘purity,’ is a sign of small-mindedness, maybe even stupidity?”

I think Frank Schaeffer is right, and I would add the following question: what if ideological consistency is a way of sticking our heads in the sand and avoiding the tough choices that we need to make? I think the torture debate is very well defined by these same questions and is falling into this same trap.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not in favor of torture at all. It is tragic. It is mostly unnecessary. It should rarely be something that is even considered. And things that produce inhumane conditions, humiliation, nakedness, physical harm, permanent disability, etc should forever remain off the table. But I am willing to consider that under some severely extreme circumstances where some sort of action is demanded, some sort of decision must be made, and the choices available seem to be between hell and more hell, such tactics such as sleep deprivation, pressured interrogation, and light/auditory stimuli, which are by definition considered torture, may have niches where they are useful.

I’m getting long so I will close with a final quote from Crazy For God. Page 353:

“I want to live in a society that is willing to struggle with these balancing acts. I want to be in a society that values human life, because I am human, and far from perfect, and I want to be valued.

What I don’t want to live in is a culture that makes sweeping and dismissive secular or religious ‘theological’ one-size-fits-all decisions that oversimplify complex issues. And ideas of the good life based on perfection are a trap, a trap that prophetic books like Brave New World  gave us fair warning about, and that films like Blade Runner explored. We have been warned.”

I don’t have any idea what Frank Schaeffer believes about torture. I suspect he is mostly if not completely against it. But I think these quotes are applicable in what they say about ideologies and how we get trapped into them in society, in church, in our families. They are mostly destructive. Thanks for reading.

Check Out My New Blog (and) Read This Quote

I’ve started a new triathlon blog. If you are interested please check it out. I’m trying to fill a void that seems to exist in the triathlon cyber world. Let me know what you think.

Also check out this quote. I’m reading Jim Palmer’s Wide Open Spaces. On page 23:

“For years I was taught that ‘faith’ is believing there is a God even if you can’t experience him. Maybe instead, faith is believing that what you are experiencing is God.”

Hopefully more on this book and my thoughts on it soon. It just occurred to me that I should sign on somewhere as a book reviewer. I like doing it.

Triathlon Training Update

I haven’t spoken much on my triathlon passion of late so I will provide a brief update here. Things are going well. I think I am actually a bit ahead of schedule to be honest.

The newest thing are a set of these. I did some consulting work recently and now can afford them without taking other monies. Triathlon is not an inexpensive passion although I have tried to reign in the costs as much as possible. But it keeps me healthy and relatively stress free and is a valuable investment in myself so I think it is worth it and is money well spent most of the time.

These babies are known as aero wheels. Their main function is to decrease wind drag. Many different styles of aero wheels exsit from solid disks to deep rims to these tri spokes. Ideally, you would own several different sets and combinations. But with a low end price at $1500 per set, that is for the millionaires who are spanning the globe following their new hobby while their companies make money for them or for the pros who have these wheels given to them or are maybe even paid to ride them. Me, I am in the “working class” triathlete who really just tries to afford one set. So I went with the HED 3’s because they offer the greatest advantage under all conditions for a moderate level rider like myself. Without boring you with wind speed and wind angle data, let it be sufficient to say that these wheels can reduce wind drag by near 50% under certain conditions. This allows two things: the first is the opportunity to go faster with the same watt output, and the second is the opportunity to go the same speed with less watt output. Both of those things can be very advantageous to getting done with the bike leg and onto the run leg. I am so excited that I could hardly sleep last night as I was dreaming about my new wheels. They should be here in about a week, and I have a set of Michelen Pro 3 Race tires coming to put on them. Pretty cool stuff if you ask me.

So my training is coming along well. I have found a couple of guys to ride with on Friday’s when I do my long ride for the week. They are a bit stronger riders than me so it works me out hard to keep up with them. Kind of like chasing a rabbit. I went 60 miles in about 2hrs and 30min with them last week. I will try to keep up that distance for the next 6 weeks coming into my first race of the season on June 14th, the Kansas 70.3 (formerly known as the Half-Ironman distance: 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). My long run for the week is up to 11 miles, and I will continue to push that to 13 miles weekly. My long swim is already at 1.2 miles. I am riding faster, running faster, and swimming faster than I have in previous years so I feel good about things. I am also doing TaeKwonDon with my boys 2-3 nights a week (I just passed my test for my orange belt) and doing strength training workouts 3-4 days per week. Finally, I have completely cut out “full strength” Mountain Dew now for racing season (which will last until Thanksgiving) and will be consuming only the stripped down diet version until then save for my rest week following race days when I will allow a bit of an indulgence.

I am also trying to get plenty of rest. Rest time is when you actually improve from all the breakdown that occurs during training so I am nappping, sometimes on my office floor for 20min, and getting as much sleep at night as I can. I have also noticed a massage salon near my house and am considering taking John’s advice on incorporating massage into my routine. I am seeing more and more evidence to support it.

So that’s it. 8 weeks to the Kansas 70.3. Then in September the Redman 70.3 in Oklahoma. Then the Sunday before Thanksgiving my second Ironman Arizona in Tempe. If any of you would like to come watch, especially the Ironman as it is the biggest and most fun and in the most exotic location, come on along. It might be a great meeting place for the Canon to actually get some real time together. Just an idea.

I’ll get back to the more philosophical stuff in a couple days. I just finished a book called Saving Darwin and am currently working on Philosphy According To The Dark Knight, Wide Open Spaces, and The Goldilocks Enigma. There should be a lot of good stuff in there to blog about. Thanks for reading.

Karmen

Karmen is my wife, and today is her birthday. 37 years old. She won’t mind me telling you that. She’s pretty solid. And as I think about her today I am just blown away by her as a person. Not just physically. Of course she is smokin’ hot. But her other side is what I’ve been thinking about more today. Her kind spirit. Her cute little laugh. Her girlness that fills her house full of boys with softness (except when we do stupid boy stuff which draws out her wrath). People love her. Really love her. Our email inbox is filled with probably 30 messages from friends wishing her a great day. One my birthday I got 2. People love her. But I love her most.

I don’t know where I would be without her. Probably bashing through life with razor sharp edges and an ice cold heart would be a good start. Really. I am not a soft person. But because of her, I am reminded that softness is important. I am reminded that I can’t just break problems, I need to actually solve them. I am reminded that I wouldn’t have many friends if it weren’t for her smoothing me out, softening my edges, hiding my pointiness. Sometimes I wonder why she stays with me. I must be because she loves me back.

We will have been married 16 years in May, and wouldn’t trade her or any of those years for anything in this world. It hasn’t always been a cake walk. Sometimes it has been a hot coal walk. But it has been a great walk. She is not afraid of my questions about faith, not afraid of my questions about God, not afraid of my need to take everything apart, and in fact, she has been courageous enough to join me in much of my exploration.

I love her. I am humbled and honored that she chooses to stay with me on this crazy road. Sometimes I know I drive her crazy with the way I am, but she still stays.

Happy Birthday, Love.