Awe
This last summer I went to Colorado. When I was there I took a train to the top of Pikes Peak (14,110 feet above sea level), I was and still am a bit scared of the road that goes to the top and treacherous mountain roads in general. The view from the mountain was incredible but the air was so thin I didn’t get a lot of time to enjoy it because I spent most of the time trying not to pass out and fall over. That night I had a dream (you could say nightmare if you want) of being on top of the mountain with an intense wind and getting a sense that I shouldn’t have been there.
Beginning a few weeks ago I’ve been having this recurring dream of driving past the mountain which is looming off to my right sort of forbiddingly.
I’ve been thinking about this and I remembered a section from C.S. Lewis’ book “The Problem of Pain” about the sense of awe. He describes it as the feeling you would get if you were told that there was a great and powerful force (I believe he calls it a spirit) in the next room.
I think this may be what happened to me on Pikes Peak. Standing on top of that mountain, the highest point around for as far as the eye could see, literally above/among the clouds, and being completely and helplessly subject to whatever environment it wanted to throw at me was really the first time I can remember feeling a deep sense of awe. It’s strange, I’m not so much afraid of the mountain as I am cautious and solemn about it. I know what a huge thing it is and it’s offensive to my everyday, comfortable view of myself to have experienced the power and control that this thing (this inanimate thing, mind you) held over me.
It’s very sobering.
Maybe you can get a sense of it here.
Lyric(s) of the Day
Year In Review/Merry Christmas
Well, it’s officially Christmas break now. It’s been a great Senior year so far, let’s look at what we’ve done.
-Started well with good classes and great teachers.
-Got this here blog.
-Had a very exciting Boys’ Soccer season with two wonderful defeats over Snider, one of them being in sectionals.
-Went to the “Mute Mash” in Grand Rapids with good friends.
-Went on a wonderful trip to Gettysburg, Washington D.C., Colonial Williamsburg, and Jamestown. Got more fresh beats and memorable quotes than can be listed. Grew close to casual friends and even closer to close friends.
-Had some great bonfires/cookouts/Guitar Hero parties with friends.
-Listened to more Ravi Zacharias sermons than I ever have before.
-Got the Boys’ Basketball season started well with a so-far undefeated record and started some great new traditions.
-Had a few really good chapels (with a few not so good ones) including a fun Senior Chapel featuring Mr. Dave McConiga and his wild antics.
-Had two great snow days with several 2 hour delays.
-Got through exams and can rest easy for a while.
-Used the word great way too many times in this entry.
Thanks to everyone who has been a part of this year. I hope you enjoy this nostalgic post.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
“Born that men no more may die, born to raise the Sons of Earth, born to give them second birth…”
And to Mr. Webster…”happiness and cheer…”
Coming soon…
Be looking out for spoken versions of some of my ramblings popping up soon, provided I can figure out how to embed an mp3 player into my blog.
For all my younger friends at Blackhawk…
I strongly encourage you to take Mr. Webster’s Introduction to Old Testament/New Testament class. Just studying for exams I was taken way back at the incredible love and devotion that Yahweh has for his people.
I can’t help but think of the Mute Math song “You Are Mine.”
“Everyone has their obsession Consuming thoughts, consuming time They hold high their prized possession It defines the meaning of their life You are mine, you are mine… There are objects of affection That can mesmerize the soul There is always one addiction That just cannot be controlled You are mine, you are mine…”Christians and Science
I’d like to talk about this topic for a few minutes without getting bogged down too much in it.
Over the last few days in my Physics class I’ve had some mind-boggling conversations with my teacher about light and energy and viewing the past; lots of wild theoretical stuff. Then I began to think about science in general which has been leading me to this thought time and time again.
Christians need not fear science. Christianity and science are not (or should not be) polar enemies.
Why would this be so? Are we afraid that perhaps scientists will suddenly find something that will unhinge our entire faith? What kind of faith is that that is so afraid of the creation disproving the creator?
Perhaps we fear that science will be able to account for the human body as a collection of molecules, biological processes, and chemical balances in the brain. Why should we be afraid of that? After all, this is a physical world that operates under physical law (which is not to say the supernatural has no place). It doesn’t jeopardize God or his wonderful creativity for emotions (and perhaps morality*) to be physical processes. On the contrary, it shows much greater creativity to make these things operate under physical laws than by simply bending said laws.
The point is that we need not and should not fear science, but carefully examine what it presents to us. Being an observance of natural processes, science cannot ultimately and decisively prove God’s (a supernatural being’s) existence, or disprove it for that matter, but it can undoubtedly bring glory to him.
*If a mentally handicapped person with a physical deformity in his brain can be truly and innocently devoid of a concept of right or wrong (as I believe is evident), does that not suggest that morality is perhaps built into humanity by physical means?
Psalm 139:14-”I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.“
