Baby Food for Thought
I like a great analogy.
Not all of them work but when they’re spot on, like this one about parenting and archery, they can really shake the roof.
The other day when feeding my baby I noticed something that lent itself as an analogy for Christian consumption of the Word.
You see, a distinct pattern has evolved when it comes to feeding my baby girl. We start out normal – she’s sitting in her high chair, I’m feeding her out of a bowl. I make airplane noises and do nose-dives with the spoon; she opens her mouth to accept my culinary cargo.
Then after about 10 spoonfuls, she gets tired of sitting down and decides to stand up, hold the back of the chair and turn away from me. She’s still interested in eating, made evident as I maneuver her spoon and make some dynamic passes at her eagerly awaiting mouth. It’s just that she wants to move around a bit, distracted by the dining room at large.
After about another 10 spoonfuls she’s tired of the lame Spitfire engine sounds and constant pleading I’m subjecting her to. She tries to dismount her chair (dangerous) so I lift her out and relocate her to my left knee (safe). From here we resume the cargo delivery process, except this time my pleading has taken on a musical quality, the kind of sing-song tone that daddies assume makes their baby become more interested in finishing a meal (?!).
And the grand point of all this?
No matter what happens, Christian leaders must always preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2).
Baby Christians will always be distracted by the world. The Devil continuously tries to lure God’s children away from truth with the pride of life. And at times it can get mighty frustrating for spiritual leaders trying to aid Christians in their daily sanctification and growth.
But rather than cater people’s every whim, rather than give in to their wants and tailor our message to fit their distracted natures, we should continue to feed them the pure, unadulterated Word.
They may test the sturdiness of their high chairs; they may be mesmerized by other objects in the room. But if our mission is to feed them, then feed them we must.
Can you imagine what’d happen to my baby if I gave up feeding every time she didn’t sit still and conform to my standards of eating a meal? Imagine how long she’d last if I exchanged baby food with lollypops just because they’re more colorful and tantalizing.
Yet all too often that’s what happens in some churches to the detriment of many spiritual lives.
We ought to take care that our flock is fed the Word, no matter what fickle diversions come their way.
Oh and I hope the analogy works :D
The God Delusion
Is Christianity at odds with science? Is it nothing more than a laughable idea, a crutch that weak people need to lean on in order to get through life? Is faith in God a blind faith, a kind of intellectual suicide?
What about Atheism? Is it the best and only alternative to Christianity? Does Darwinism and naturalism hold up as better and truer explanations for life and the universe? Can a person really be moral if evolution doesn’t allow for moral absolutes?
I’m a Reformed Christian. And while I believe in God, the Bible, a 6-day creation, and Jesus Christ, along with His divinity and resurrection from the dead, I also believe that the Christian faith has intellectually satisfying foundations and is not, as some like to postulate, blind trust in an unknowable deity.
This is not a popular position, of course. I’m aware that I and thousands of others like me are laughed at, derided for our faith, and scorned as the dumb of the earth. But that’s ok. In fact, that’s Biblical. The world thinks the gospel is foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18). If the Bible teaches I’m gonna be ridiculed for my faith, I believe and accept it.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t confront atheism. I do so willingly, as a soldier who’s been tasked with defending the front lines. In this regard I’m a lieutenant, skilled in the Word to some degree but still rough around the edges, still making my way up the ranks, if you will. I may not have all the answers and the war on Truth may sometimes be overwhelming. But I’m hanging in here, doing my bit, battling the oppression of atheism, post-modernism, and the ugly denial of a sovereign God.
Which is why I’m grateful for people like the esteemed John Lennox, a commander in the faith who blazes the way in confronting error and defending the truth.
Lennox is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and Fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science, as well as Pastoral Advisor at Green Templeton College. I recently watched his 2007 debate with evolutionary biologist and fellow Oxford professor Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion which was the subject of the debate.
Lennox is a brilliant mind, clear and eloquent, a man who argues his position with passion and scientific integrity. Dawkins is no pushover either; he’s keen, sharp, and argues with equal passion (it’s a shame he doesn’t come to the same conclusions as Lennox though).
Watching these men exchange ideas and grapple with deep and profound questions about God and the cosmos is an intensely gripping experience. Especially for someone who likes to know that what he believes in can be defended with the mind and not just the heart.
I believe that as a Christian I have a duty to not only tell others about my faith and be ready with answers to their questions (1 Peter 3:15), but I have a personal duty to know God (Psalm 46:10). The Lennox-Dawkins debate helps me on all these fronts. I hear the atheist/theist arguments and I walk away with answers as well as a deeper sense and appreciation of knowing the Lord God of the universe.
The hardened atheist will come to a different conclusion no doubt. But at least questions are raised. And that’s the whole point of the debate; not to convert one of the two arguing on stage but to help listeners like you and me confront our beliefs, Christian and pagan, and weigh them in the light of science, Scripture, and a few good words from a raging battlefront.
Me
Writer, designer, father of two, husband of one. Armchair theologian. Inconsistent blogger and photographer. Still, I try.Tweets
