Listening to God in the Story of Noah
Today Pastor Henry asked us to reflect on the story of Noah's Ark. He suggested we listen to the story "with fresh ears". What does the story say about God? About humanity? About God's desire for our relationship with Him? Ultimately, God created us to be in relationship with Him. He wants us close to Him, and to be close to Him we need to listen to (hear) what He tells us.
Question of the week: If God would wash out one thing that is corrupting my life right now that is preventing me from walking in faith with him, what would it be?
I have a tendency to believe Satan's lies and to let his lies make me afraid of the future. I would want God to erase all my memories that are filled with Satan's lies.
Thanks to Cathy R. for writing this today!
Question of the week: If God would wash out one thing that is corrupting my life right now that is preventing me from walking in faith with him, what would it be?
I have a tendency to believe Satan's lies and to let his lies make me afraid of the future. I would want God to erase all my memories that are filled with Satan's lies.
Thanks to Cathy R. for writing this today!
Labels: Old Testament
posted by Jewels @ 4:49 PM
1 Comments:
I liked Henry's treatment of using the flood story as an allegory for how we relate to God, and He to us. However, I continue to struggle with the more fantastic stories of the OT.
I was hoping Henry would keep going with the "Popular Mechanics" thread. My big question: Where do you go at the end of the Popular Mechanics analysis? I find that I can't just suspend my disbelief.
The more far-fetched the OT story, the bigger the challenge it is to my faith. I need help reconciling my skepticism of these OT Bible stories with my awareness of and relationship with the risen Jesus. Is it legitimate to believe that certain aspects of the O.T. are legend and also know in my heart that Jesus is real? And where do you draw the line between legend and truth?
These are compelling spiritual issues that truth-seeking people face and we at MCC need to be equipped to discuss this head-on with ourselves and with smart spiritually-seeking people.
For example:
If a global flood that destroyed every living creature save those on the ark happened just as the OT depicts it, wouldn't there be strong physical evidence of it all over the world? A flood that could cover Mt. Everest would have required rain of 726 feet per day. Where did all the water come from and where did it go?
How could the ark be big enough for 2 of each of all of animal life and 7 of some others? What did the carnivores eat?
How did kangaroos and wallabies and duckbill platypuses and koalas get from Australia to the Middle East and back? What sort of ride did penguins hop back to Antarctica?
If God killed every living thing on earth except what was inside the ark, how did fish and whales and squid and sea cucumbers and the creepy-crawlies that thrive in the pressure-filled blackness 5 miles down survive this judgement? Did Noah have a pressurized aquarium on board, too?
The cuteness of the Flood story as depicted by Christians is also troubling for me: smiling animals poking their heads out of windows of the ark. The other side is never depicted: EVERYTHING DIED. Babies gasping for breath and drowning, mothers wailing, people killing each other for a tree branch to float on, and bloated corpses of children and adults and animals everywhere. It would have appeared more like a horror movie.
I confess that I believe the flood story is a legend based upon a localized event that contains spiritual truth about God and us, and how we relate. Just as Henry led us on Sunday, and Amy the week before, we need to search for the spiritual truths that are present in the OT stories. But I'd also like some guidance on navigating legend vs. fact and how far we can take it before it either casts the rest of the Bible into doubt or we give up and say, "I'm going to stop using my brain."
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