Towering Pride
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| groundlessly proud baby |
The construction of the tower of Babel is a story of epic proportions. One would figure that after the flood, man would have settled down a bit (after all the score was like God +infinity Humankind -infinity). But no, every inclination of man's heart has to be all evil even from childhood. As soon as man figures out a bit of technology, he becomes groundlessly proud. Apparently, the people who settled Babylonia developed a new method of constructing buildings. They discovered that brick laying with mortar was much more effective than laying plain old stones on top of each other (eureka). With this huge discovery, they thought to themselves, 'we're not far off from figuring this whole universe thing out. Look out Higgs boson, we're gonna find you soon.' We see that they weren't just interested in building more godless societies. But additionally, they wanted to make a tower that would reach to the heavens (outer space or God's heaven?) so that they could have something else to be proud of. The thought of being made in God's image now distant from their memories, they desperately needed some sort of validation. With this, the tower of Babel was constructed.
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| (particle accelerator not included, yet...) |
People are tragically funny.
Because of sin, we always seem to forget who we are and who God is. It's almost humorous. I mean, when the Babylonians got to heaven, what did think they were going to do, challenge God to a duel? But this kind of pride also has tragic consequences. I'll explain this in a round-about way. First, God seems worried that the collective efforts of the people will somehow produce something grander, further grounding their pride. But actually, I think it's more along the lines that God is concerned that man will commit large-scale acts of evil. A quick look at history will reveal the unspeakable carnage that results when a group of people with power lay hold to a godless philosophy.
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| small and large scale evil doers |
With this in mind, God graciously confuses the language of man so that without the aid of concerted cooperation, he will cease the building project. Hence, the place from which they were sent was named 'Babel', which is Hebrew for confused.
This story reminds me of our modern times, especially in the science and technology sector. Mankind has made significant strides in terms of scientific discovery. This phenomenon has led some to capriciously embrace atheism. For a few, science has become the pride of man, almost his religion in a sense. But to me, this attitude of eschewing God altogether is somewhat foolish.
The foundation for many of our recent scientific discoveries has come from Christian thinkers who lived during the Medieval ages. These thinkers explored the realms of science and philosophy vigorously because they reasoned that since a God of order created the universe, then solid facts about it can be known. In fact, the scientific method was developed by a Christian thinker and theologian (see
Roger Bacon).
Anyway, my railing against man's myopic pride should eventually point back to my own self-examination. The bottom line is that I struggle with pride every day simply because I'm a descendant of Adam.
My pride usually doesn't show itself in the form of domineering over others or accepting science as my savior. It's more along the lines of an attitude that says, 'God, I don't need you. I can do this on my own. I want to make a name for myself, to know that I alone accomplished something.' Usually this attitude comes from the fact that I don't always trust in God's love and care over my life. I'm wounded because of some disappointing things that have happened in my life. I'm wounded because of my own short-comings as well. My hunch is that many atheists' arguments against God are not based on factual evidence for his non-existence. Rather, they are largely emotional arguments such as, 'How could a good God let people suffer' and so forth.
People know that God exists but they want to get him out of the picture because they don't trust him with their lives. Science especially gives man the tools to fashion a world of his own making. But I believe that as much as we think we may be able to achieve with science, God will intervene somehow to humble us, for our good. Even on a personal level, he intervenes in my life to keep me from becoming totally hardened to the truth of his existence and sovereignty. God saves me from further wounding myself in prideful rebellion against Him. He reminds me that my self-worth is found in him.
Genealogy, anyone?
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| genealogy, the study of genies |
Most people I know who read the Bible don't like genealogies. I like them though, because they put me to sleep after a long day. Joking, but really, some are quite fascinating. Take this one for instance. It reveals that a mighty warrior named Nimrod (name kind of used pejoratively today isn't it?) established the city of Nineveh in Assyria. These are the peoples who would eventually bring about the demise of Northern Israel. Also, we see the Canaanites coming from Ham's lineage. Interestingly, the author seems to center on Shem. One of his descendants would be Eber, from which the word 'Hebrew' comes from. Accordingly, the descendants of Shem would known as the Semites. The author begins to focus in on Shem's line so that he can show Abram's lineage. This was important because he wanted to show from whence came Abram, the forefather of the Jewish nation.
What do you think about the account of the tower of Babel?
Are you groundlessly proud?
What do you like/dislike about genealogies?
It is fascinating to imagine the earth speaking one language. Everwhere you go you can start a new life, open a buisness, or just communicate without the obstacle of the language barrier. Imagine the power mankind can have if we can get all the nations working together. I don't think that mankind is ready to be in control of such power, even today in our "civilized" world.
ReplyDeleteAs I study the Bible more I become more humble, and I have come to the conclusion that it is a skill that you must learn and master possibly through trial and error to be humble. The trial and error I am talking about is of course being proud and not asking God for help and then falling deep into a hole of sin and then crying out. Which is not humble or proud, it is pethetic. (BTW my spelling might be pethetic too, sorry)
I think the genealogies are just more proof that the Bible is authentic and to follow a story of everyone's genealogy. We all cam from Adam and we all came from Noah and his sons I like to know what my great great great ... great grandparents did and how they made mistakes but still managed to be righteous because I find that my problems are like theirs.
i'm proud, just thought I would let everyone know.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of questions that probably have obvious answers, but I just need some clarification-
why does God get angry at men for making the tower of Babel? Because of their pride? These days don’t modern architects make taller buildings where God doesn’t intervene?
and didn’t God know that it would be impossible for men to make a tower that could reach from earth to heaven? It seems like it was unnecessary to confuse their language. Doesn’t scattering people across the globe with different languages separate the unity of mankind and thus cause more trouble in the world?
Also would someone explain to me verse 5 “ 5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” What does is mean that nothing they plan will be impossible for them??
ReplyDeleteI think that God was acting like a parent acts when an infant is trying to climb down stairs for the first time. The infant(people of the world) successfully climbed down the first step, but God(the parent) intervines in fear of the child losing balance and falling to its doom or advancing down to the basement where the enviornment is not made for the child. I am not saying that advancment and achievemnts and scientific discoveries are bad, but I am saying that people have to be ready for advances. Just take the two World Wars as an excellent example. When WWI happened the world and specifically its leaders were not ready for the heavy machinery and advancements in weaponery that the Industrial Revolution brought and the power behind it. They used that power to destroy. Similarily in WWII and especially with the dropping of the two atomic bombs and many other fire bombs that destroyed cities and its occupants. One thing I learned from history class is that when one group of peoples have some sort of advantage they use it to force others under their control. Which stems from the fact that all humans are generally evil and feel a desire to sin. All in all I believe that God was protecting his creation because I trust in the Lord that He knows what is good for mankind better than mankind itself because time and time again mankind is unreliable and I am certain that God has intervened many times after the Tower of Babel in order to stop the destruction of nations and even the world itself. One easy example is during the Cold War, how close the USA and USSR were close to WWIII is astonishing. I believe that it is a miracle that WWIII did not happen.
ReplyDeleteI agree stan.
ReplyDeleteI used to think that as society becomes more educated, that collectively they will also become less religious. This seems like a plausible preposition if you just ponder a little bit and think of how much the human race has progressed in the sciences and math over time, you can see how science and math seemed to uncover the world. It seemed to me that as men got smarter and smarter, God seemed less real. Historically, it seemed as if men made religion to a)explain the unexplainable b)to have control over a society morally. Science and mathematics seemed to disprove the existance of God. It seemed as if religious folks/christians took advantage of the uneducated folks who were more gullible and were never exposed to scientific/mathematical studies. Atheists have even predicted that religion would be extinct by now. But it hasn't...
(side note: I want to make it clear that just because you cannot explain something does not mean that you can rightly conclude that it has occured or is in existance due to some supernatural power like the spirit. This is coming from discussion about the conference)
Recently I read an article that provided data which suggested that the more educated one was, the more likely he/she was religious.
With each additional year of education:
– The likelihood of attending religious services increased 15%.
– The likelihood of reading the Bible at least occasionally increased by 9%.
– The likelihood of switching to a mainline Protestant denomination - Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian USA or United Methodist - increased by 13%.
I found this article very interesting as it's kind of contradictory to my previous thoughts. Moreover, from my own educational background and studies (which isn't very impressive to say the least) I haven't really discovered anything that really disproves God. MAybe I'm just not "smart" enough and haven't discovered the evidence yet, but to be honest, there seems to be more evidence that suggests a higher power.
There's alot more to be said but I'd like to hear from others. Sometimes I feel like atheists overrate science/math/logic, but at the same time I feel like alot of christians downplay those aspects in life.
What do you think?
How has your university studies helped you understand the world and God? (I'm not only talking about math and science but also art, music, social sciences, etc.)
Do you feel like you overate/underate certian aspects such as science,math/logics, art, culture, tradition,etc. in life?
My example of how the major that I am currently studying has helped me to develop my understanding of God is learning how the world and nature have been set up in a organized pattern. In my math logics class we explored a little bit with the fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio and their correlation with nature. It seems as though nature follows some mathematical pattern, pretty crazy. Follow this link for a detailed explaination and examples: http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_17.htm
ReplyDelete@unknown, it does seem as though the details in the genealogies prove the historicity of the Bible. Also, the takeaway message for me was the one about pride and relying on God in humility. It's definitely a lifelong commitment to sanctification.
ReplyDelete@stan, I like your analogies and assessments of man's corruptedness from the viewpoint of world history. I too think that God has saved us from completely destroying each other.
@danny. The statement about 'nothing being impossible for man' is an interesting one. I took it to be more of a sarcastic one in a sense. Of course man is limited, but in his delusions of grandeur he often elevates himself in his own eyes. God had to intervene before this pride got in the way and as Stan showed produced wars and potentialities for wars that could destroy us.
@danny, your comment about intellectual knowledge and faith is a very excellent one. Those stats are somewhat surprising in this day and age. But also if you look back to the Renaissance times, you will see that most theologians were very deep thinkers. I believe that most people who examine the truth of the Bible come to the conclusion that it is trustworthy. So man scholars have contributed to researching the Bible and integrating biblical belief into science, philosophy ect. The Bible has many implications for just about everything in our universe.
ReplyDeleteI think that we can see God's imprint on every aspect of society including culture, art, science, philosophy and so forth. The more scientific information we find, the more we understand that the universe is wonderfully made. As you pointed out from the link you posted, mathematics is such an orderly system that explains patterns in a compelling way. Why would this ordered system arise if there were no purpose or Creator of the universe?
Furthermore, I've never heard a good argument for the non-existence of God. I've listened to a number of debates between theologians and atheists on this matter. What atheist's arguments boil down to is that how can God exist if there is so much suffering. But this is more of an emotional argument rather a logical/rational one.
I feel that my education has led me to appreciate how much I don't know and thus how much I need God. As much as I can know about science or the factual world, there is still the aspect of the immaterial mind. Science cannot fully explain it and the mental emotional problems we often encounter through relationships and the like. Science cannot fully explain things in the sociological realm including what is the purpose of man beyond just mere survival (also what is the meaning of death or is there anything beyond it). If you are a pure materialist, then these questions don't matter. But if you have a hunch that there is more to life than what we can see and feel, then philosophy and the Bible have many answers. We often forget that science is a branch of philosophy and it was developed to explain what was once understood as a very limited part of our reality. Today, people tend to hold the notion that physical reality is all that exists, but even among extremely intelligent people, this type of thinking was not always the case.
I've found that the longer I live, the more evidence there is for the existence of God. I have a lot of materials on the scientific argument for God. Let me know if you're interested.