Faith

Scripture teaches change is difficult but necessary

RABBI IRWIN WIENER

Columnist

There is no question that change is difficult, nearly impossible at times. Our past reminds us of a time when life was not yet revealed. As we get older, our dreams tend to fade into the reality that this is now our life. We come to grips with the realization that some of our earlier ambitions will forever go unfulfilled.

The same holds true for community. In Scripture, the people of Israel were escorted out of Egypt by God. They witnessed the 10 plagues that eventually freed them from captivity. While in the desert on their journey to freedom, to a new land, and a new beginning, they were protected by God with a “pillar of cloud” during the day and a “pillar of fire” at night. (Exodus 13:21-22)

That generation had witnessed God’s presence in the most intimate way imaginable, from the Exodus to Mount Sinai and beyond. Yet, the Israelites’ yearning for life as they once knew it in the slavery of Egypt overpower them. (Numbers 14:4)

When the opportunity for change confronts the Israelites, a change that will only enhance their lives and national standing, they romanticize their past, as unbearable as it was, and object to the change.

The Israelites complain bitterly to Moses saying: “What have you done to us by taking us out of Egypt?” At this point in the narrative one, has to feel sorry for God. No matter what God does not seem to matter. (Exodus 14:11)

Some of us can identify with the reluctance to make changes.

The unknown can be daunting. It is easier for most of us to travel the familiar route through life. Slavery may be lousy, but at least our next meal was guaranteed. Honestly, with all our 21st century sensibilities, are we any different? We know how hard it is to change, because we see it in ourselves. Bad habits and destructive behavior constantly repeat themselves.

Our chosen profession may be terribly stressful, even painful, but it pays the bills. We are caught between two inseparable tensions in life: constancy and change. The unknown of the future entices us while at the same time scares us.

In fact, sometimes it is painful.

Is it not ironic that, for example, moving is considered one of the most stressful things a person or family can do, especially in later life?

Scripture in its subtle way is teaching us this most difficult lesson, and it is experienced by our own generation today.

We see change-taking place right before us. Our understanding of our lives has changed dramatically. Some of our friends have left us either through death or because of the need to move on. What was necessary yesterday does not seem necessary today.

The one constant, however, is that we are a vital link in the chain of continuity. For that reason alone, we need to cherish and maintain what we inherited.

Perhaps we should remember that change is necessary for continuation, not stagnation. If we stayed the same – well, there certainly would be no excitement or anticipation. Now, more than ever, we need to adjust our thinking to accommodate all the change we can absorb.

That is the lesson of growth and evolution Scripture endeavors to translate for us. And for sure, it is the path we should be involved with in these later years of our life. We connect because of comfort, and we expand those relationships because, as Scripture reminds us through various exchanges, there is no future without change.

Having a nation ruled by God where love is the authority

BY REV. MARVIN ARNPRIESTER

Guest Writer

In the United Methodist Hymnal is a prayer titled “For Our Country” by Toyohiko Kagawa.

I believe it appropriate for this July 4th weekend.

“Oh God, keep our whole country under your protection. Wipe out sin from this land; lift it up from the dept of sorrow, O Lord, our shining light. Save us from deep grief and misfortune, Lord of all nations. Bless us with your wisdom, so the poor may not be oppressed and the rich may not be oppressors. Make this a nation having no ruler except God, a nation having no authority but that of love. Amen”

I wonder what a difference it would make if I were to focus on having no authority but love in my life? In our church? In our community? In our state? In this nation?

Rev. Marvin Arnpriester is senior pastor of Sun Lakes United Methodist Church

Science, religion closer than many may think

BY PHILIP MELLA

Guest Writer

With the advances in physics in the past century, beginning with Albert Einstein’s special and general theories of relativity, and progressing to the rarefied world of string theory, there appears to be an incremental melding of science and religion.

Let’s begin by examining some paradoxical aspects of the two that may provide an opportunity to reconsider the historical antipathy between them.

Although there are many references to faith in Scripture, one of the most universally known is 2 Corinthians 4:18: “We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

The search for knowledge, and its limits – known in philosophy as epistemology – is a timeless pursuit whose roots take us to the Greek philosophers. It’s only a slight exaggeration to assert, as the mathematician, Alfred North Whitehead did, that “Western philosophy is just a series of footnotes to Plato.”

However, we shouldn’t focus on an historical timeline, but rather on certain ideas and how they dovetail with religion and faith.

To wit, when Galileo asserted that earth revolves around the sun, he was deemed a heretic, since it questioned the faith in that earth was stationary and at the center of our known universe.

As C.S. Lewis observed in Mere Christianity, despite the conundrum it presents, we instinctively believe in many unseen events and alleged facts, regardless of the absence of convincing evidence.

That takes us to the impenetrable world of particle physics. The broad consensus by physicists is that the universe is comprised of twelve fundamental particles which are governed by four collateral forces. The interaction of these particles and the laws that govern them are captured in the Standard Model.

A crucial component of the Standard Model, the elusive Higgs boson – the God Particle – was identified on July 4, 2012. That discovery solidified the consensus regarding the Standard Model, and may begin to answer such questions as what happened at the exact moment of the big bang – the start of our known universe.

The thoroughly abstruse nature of particle physics, not to mention the alleged existence of dark matter and dark energy, highlight the fact that they exist purely as theories, albeit with an exquisite mathematical symmetry.

It’s clear that hubris, and its close, unacknowledged ally, anthropocentrism – the notion that humans occupy the center of the universe – provide an outsized confidence and certitude with respect to physics, and require a meaningful measure of faith. However, when reasoned arguments of faith in a supreme being are posited, they are dismissed by many as an intellectual fraud.

All of this recalls Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, in which he argued that the categorical framework of the human mind provides a self-referential blueprint that, with only an unsubstantiated understanding, defines the limits of our knowledge.

The 20th century poet Wallace Stevens captures this notion: “The corporeal world exists as the common denominator in the incorporeal world of its inhabitants.”

In light of the recent advancements in physics, it’s wise for us to seriously consider that Christian beliefs, predicated as they are on faith, may be far more closely allied to them than we ever thought possible.

Chandler resident Philip Mella is a former elected official and published writer whose focus is politics, history, and science. Reach him at Quarklepton54@protonmail.com.

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