Can We Really Change the World?

There is a lot of conversation today about changing the world. There are books, articles and even videos about the subject, but can it really be done? Where is the proof that this whole "changing the world" thing is even real? I mean, come on, changing the whole world... can't be done? Right? Wrong!

Eric Metaxas has an excellent article on this very subject entitled, Cultural Elites: The Next Unreached People Group. Click HERE to read the article in its entirety. Be sure to start at the beginning as there are five pages. Metaxas not only believes emphatically that this process of changing the world can be done, but he has proof in the person of Willliam Wilberforce. Apparently, he did some world changing back in his day.

Metaxas, in his excellent article, provides us a blueprint for how it is done, and apparently, this process, well, it turns out that we all have it already. It is found in that book we all should be reading day and night. You know the one, that book God gave all of us called the Bible. That is where Wilberforce and his group the Clapham Circle went for their inspiration. Okay, you want me just answer the question. So, you're thinking, do I have to read all of Metaxas's article to find out how to change the world? Well, I would recommend it, but for those of you lacking the time to read an author who presents history in a well-written novel-like narrative, I will give you a little help. I hope this tantalizes your curiosity a bit, and I hope this will lead you to read the entire article. Contained in the passage below is a reference to the answer you seek.

"As we have said, the first aspect of their success has to do with their theological view that one must prove one’s faith though one’s works, that the two cannot be separated. Wilberforce and his friends lived at a time when there was no false division between faith and works, or between evangelism and social outreach. These were simply two sides of the coin that was the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The great 17th century evangelist George Whitfield spent as much time establishing orphanages as preaching – and he preached 18,000 sermons. Caring for widows and orphans, feeding the hungry, and helping the poor were all explicitly and exclusively Christian ideas, so atheists, agnostics, and nominal Christians were neither involved in them, nor in abolition. The idea of a social conscience simply didn’t exist in that culture, except among serious Christians, who were scorned by the wider culture as “Methodists”, because many had been converted through the “Methodist” movement of Charles and John Wesley." 

Well, does that wet your appetite for more? I hope it does. Can we really change the world? Read Metaxas's article about William Wilberforce and you will have your answer. Blessings!

Weather Prediction... not exactly science

Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics, defined, is the art of understanding. This summer I am taking a class on Hermeneutics and studying the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer.

Gadamer penned one of the more famous works on hermeneutics, Truth and Method (1975). It is a classic by all the familiar standards, but because of its claims, it is challenged often. Gadamer is challenged because he challenges the standard thoughts throughout his classic. He begins by challenging the overall notion of hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is, to Gadamer, not a method of understanding as it is to most others, but instead, an attempt to clarify the conditions and environment in which understanding takes place.

The art of understanding is one of those things swept aside by the speed of current culture, but it is the one thing that results in more issues and miscommunications than we care to admit. To Gadamer, understanding is not reproductive as most of the world believes; instead, it is a productive process. Gadamer understands that understanding always involves both our own interpretation and our own perception of the meaning of an object.Gadamer acknowledges that these two elements lead to personal prejudices which Gadamer does not deny, but deems as important. His issue is this: how do we understand the true prejudices by which we truly understand from the false prejudices by which we misunderstand. Notice that Gadamer does not label prejudices negatively or as something to overcome, but accepts them as a natural part of the process of understanding. 

Another important condition to Gadamer in which understanding takes place is temporal distance. Gadamer writes,

"Time is no longer primarily a gulf to be bridged, because it separates, but it is actually the supportive ground of process in which the present is rooted. Hence temporal distance is not something that must be overcome. This was, rather, the naive assumption of historicism, namely that we must set ourselves within the spirit of the age, and think with its ideas and its thoughts, not with our own, and thus advance towards historical objectivity. In fact the important thing is to recognise the distance in time as a positive and productive possibility of understanding. It is not a yawning abyss, but is filled with the continuity of custom and tradition, in the light of which all that is handed down presents itself to us." (Gadamer 1975: 264f.)

For Gadamer, past and present are firmly connected; one does not dominate the other. We tend to dwell in our past. It is the way we are educated and taught... to reach back in our past for information learned in order to make sense and understanding of our present. We like our past because we are comfortable with it, and because we understand it in the same way we first understood it.  We tend to believe that once we understand something that something is something we will understand forever. This is understanding understanding as an event and not as a process. A process is active and moving while an event is static and objective. Reducing understanding to merely an objective event is to miss the art of understanding altogether.

This is just the beginning of this great book, a mere scratch on the surface but for me, the important aspect of his thoughts are his ideas of process. Understanding, to Gadamer, exists inside this ongoing action of process which translated from his native German defaults to the word "play." Understanding is not a static subjective event but an active process; Gadamer writes, "Understanding is not to be thought of so much as an action of one's subjectivity, but as the placing of oneself within a process of tradition, in which past and present are constantly fused." (Gadamer 1975: 258)

There is so much more for me to understand here. How do we understand? Do we really understand anything anymore? I am sure my understanding of true understanding will change as I understand more of Gadamer's work. As people, existing in a world occupied by other people, sometime I get the sense that we just as soon not understand each other. I hope that is not the case. Blessings!

Defining Moments

Life is full of defining moments. Those moments that define us, if you keep count, tend to come in groups. They come in groups for one simple reason - defining moments of life are such monumental parts of our life that they themselves trigger other moments by their shear magnitude.

A dear friend dies, a tragic car accident occurs, a promotion is received, marriage, children... these are all defining moments of life that most likely prompted some other defining moment of life for one reason... defining moments are triggers that lead to other defining moments.They are changes that occur in our lives, shifting us from one path onto another.

Defining moments in life are rarely our actions alone. They usually require actions outside of self. These actions can be decisions by others, acts of God, circumstances, recognition, and the list could go on, but the important point is this: they are all decisions involving you about you usually made outside of you. Ultimately, it is my belief that they are all acts of God for I believe He is in complete control. There are those who would disagree and present the issue of evil in the world as an example of why God can not be in control, but then I present the issue of defining moments as a counter example of why God is in control.

A good person trying to do good will not always make every decision that results in good. Does that mean he or she does not have "good" motives in their attempt to do good? How about situations where to do good requires a painful decision? To save the whole body, a limb must be amputated. The amputations will result in much pain, years of discomfort and a change in lifestyle, but in order to save a life - the ultimate good goal - a limb must die. God is very much the same way. He sees the ultimate good and has to allow actions that we deem bad to happen, and sometimes, they must happen to us. How haughty of us to judge God by what is taking place in our life when there is a whole world out there hanging in the balance. Do we really think we are that important that the events of our life merit attention over the billions of other people or the starts in the sky or the energy in the universe? These are our perceptions, and they are rooted in who we are. This issue of perceptions is one that I would like to address in more detail.

We humans perceive everything through our own selfish senses, and today, we perceive more through our eyes than any other sense. This has occurred as a direct result of the shift of culture towards social media. Everything is directed at the eyes today, and the eyes are the most selfish sense of all the senses. What? Think about which sense requires no other contribution. We can hear and feel, and we can smell and taste, but we see in isolation as there is no other sense that can enhance our sight. You can see and hear, but sound does not travel as fast as light. Even thought it is a fraction of a second faster, light is still faster. We have become overly dependent on our eyes, but our eyes our not to be totally trusted. The picture above is an optical illusion. I can ask a question about that picture and you can answer correctly if your perception of that picture is the same as mine. But, if I see a face and your see a person walking we will have two totally different answers and both be right.What will matter most regarding right and wrong is who is asking the question.

Too many of us rush to judgment because of one perception, and never give our other senses time to confirm our one perception. As defining moments happen to us, we will immediately label them and file them.  The older we get the more of these moments we will experience; we must allow time and our other senses an opportunity to make sense of the issue in front of us. Failure to do that will result in an altered perception of your life and a lack of understanding regarding what God is doing in your life. Defining moments do happen in groups. They are life changing triggers leading to a change in life. They are also opportunities afforded us to change. We need not miss any of those opportunities. They will be painful and challenging, but since when is anything worth anything not? Blessings!

One of my favorites cartoons... The Far Side

Watching...

I am learning that observing is better than talking in most instances. I was kind of forced into this new mindset by my circumstances, but I am gaining new insight every day from just observing. Here are some of my observations and the insights gained from them.

On a clear night, the sky, with all of its stars, is one of the most beautiful sights the human eye can see, and it is totally free to anyone interested.

When the wind blows yellow construction tape, its movements are symmetrical. Amazing what you can notice when you take the time.

Trees are one of the most beautiful parts of creation. And, their beauty stands in all situations; whether rain, wind or snow, trees are always beautiful.

The cell phone is the main reason most people do not talk or look at other people. I was writing one morning while enjoying a cup of coffee at a certain establishment and decided to conduct an informal social experiment. I paid close attention to the next five people that walked in the door. All five had cell phones on their person, with three actively engaged in a conversation walking in the door. Two of those three did not stop their conversation when ordering at the counter.

Loyalty is becoming extinct, and so is true friendship. In my conversations with some of my friends and in my observations, friendships these days serve some sort of purpose, and when that purpose is gone so is the friendship. Most common excuse given to not staying in touch... I am really busy. Second most common excuse... I have a lot going on at work and at home right now.

People who are walking a dog will say hi to you before someone who is just walking alone. I do not know if the dog gives the person walking it added security, but they will say hi sooner than someone who is walking alone.

A fire will attract every boy within a mile of the fire. I was trying to burn a stump out this weekend in my yard, and before I knew it, every boy on our street was bringing me wood for that fire.

A bad mood is contagious. If someone in the family is in a bad mood, chances are at least one other person in that family will get that bad mood at some point during the day.

If you want it to rain, plan a labor-intensive project that demands that it not rain. If there is no rain in the forecast, there will be as soon as you start the project.

Grass will grow everywhere except on your lawn. I see grass growing in the cracks of the sidewalk, on the street and in our garden but in certain spots on my lawn... no grass.

Men are less likely to admit being wrong than women. Men will go to the grave first before admitting they are wrong about anything.

People will do things in a group that they would never do alone. It is called the mob mentality, and it has no boundaries.

Well, that is all for now. Watching the world that I live in has been most enjoyable. Stay tuned for more observations! 












 

Old But Still Great: The Sound of Silence