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July 26, 2007
SORRY IF THIS IS TOO SERIOUS
“I have to admit, the terrorists were following their prophet . . . They were willing to do essentially what I did. I see the parallel. But the difference between those guys and me is, they were following a false prophet, and I’m not.” – Dan Lafferty, quoted in Under the Banner of Heaven
One of the biggest questions I have regards whether or not God actually speaks to us directly. There are probably two extreme camps of responses from those who don’t sympathize with my big question: one side thinks I’m bat crazy and ready to drink Jim Jones’ Kool Aid for even contemplating that a man in the sky can communicate with me, while the other, as Darth Vader might say, finds my lack of faith disturbing. And then there are many of my PCA brethren who make convincing arguments about covenants and hermeneutical approaches that the channel is closed.
But it’s still a compelling thought, and one that shouldn’t be dismissed. Any belief in God that is somewhat based on the mystical is one that probably lacks passion. I believe that a human being said He was the Son of God, and actually was the Son of God, and that He was crucified on a cross, and then He came back from the dead. That’s mystical. Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Chuck Klosterman think I’m a f***ing lunatic. C.S. Lewis called it the myth that became fact. My faith is informed by myth, because myth is a story, and my life is a story, and I live as a part of that narrative.
It would follow, then, that the mystic should still occur, perhaps daily. Chesterton tells me that it does but I am too jaded to see it. We live in the light of miracles: the sun rising, a chicken hatching from an egg, the earth somehow holding to its axis and keeping us from rolling off into some other galaxy like a loose tetherball. Piecing together something of a theology of sorts on the subject, I tend to believe that everything is a divine revelation.
The conflict I describe usually comes in the form of an assumed imperative. Christian says, “God told me to be a missionary in Africa” or “God told me to transfer from Ole Miss to Mississippi State” or “God told me to be a pharmacist” or “God told me to ask the head cheerleader to the Prom.” But how can we tell this is God, and not just our own inner stirrings? What if your desire to ask out the head cheerleader is entirely misguided or selfish? When I was in high school, I made an important decision by flipping a coin. I firmly believed that God would guide the coin. I ended up making the wrong decision. Go figure.
Which is why I was struck by a book that I quickly finished, which was sitting on my cousin’s coffee table while I was house-sitting for her:
Krakauer wrote Into Thin Air and Into The Wild; the latter is coming soon to a movie theater near you. Under The Banner of Heaven is ostensibly about the murderous rampage of Dan and Ron Lafferty – Fundamentalist Mormons who believe God told them, among other things, to kill their brother’s wife and child, which they did. But Krakauer is, like me after reading him, astonished at the rich, if violent and shady, history of Mormonism. In order for it succeed, it needed about a hundred variables to come together, and they did.
Dan and Ron Lafferty, the psycho who kidnapped Elizabeth Smart, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young before them, and over 13 million members of the Mormon Church believe that God gives them commands. They believe, without equivocation, that they were right, even when committing cold-blooded murder. Still, I have no doubt that many Mormons have had God tell them that they should dedicate their lives to charitable work, and have done so.
Do you see why this is such a big issue for me?
Krakauer is alarmed at some of the odd beliefs of Mormonism. Polygamy is certain a black mark, as are some of the child-molesting lotharios who practice it. I have always been fascinated by what appears to be a happy adherence to a strict moral code. I wrote about it here when reviewing my favorite documentary of 2006.
It’s a fascinating book, and I’m glad I read it. I have immense respect for Mormons, but I share Krakauer’s alarm at the habits of Fundamentalists. None of them (the Fundamentalists, anyway) refute what seems to be his underlying theme: that Dan and Ron Lafferty were somehow justified in their act. A belief that God marshals orders argues this.
To quote Bunyan:
Then said the Interpreter to Christian, “Hast thou considered all these things?”
“Yes, and they put me in hope and fear.”
Sorry I haven’t written in so long. I’m writing a novel. Chuckle away, kids – I’m on page 60.
THINGS I LIKED:
Bishop Allen’s new CD THE BROKEN STRING
The new HBO series THE FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS
Michael Cera’s webisode (sorry I didn’t put the link last time)
RATATOUILLE
THE COMEDIC VALUE OF NUNCHUCKS (Long story)
THINGS I’M OBSESSED WITH:
Neutral Milk Hotel’s IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA. Seriously, this might be the greatest album ever made.
Jogging. I think in December I may be able to run a 5k without embarrassing myself.
The Onion A.V. Club. Check out this awesome post about Sterling Hayden. And if you aren’t keeping up with MY YEAR OF FLOPS, you should.
| By Andytown | 01:08 AM
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Comments
I have always wondered how we pca people can in good conscience say "inspiration has ceased". What about every pastor who preaches orthodoxy, which is something we love to laud? If he is saying something that is true to reality, how can it be non-inspired? To press further, if someone is standing in front of me reading from scripture, and the Holy Spirit is witnessing by and with the Word, isn't what that person is saying 'inspired'?
I guess the live question is really about new content, not content that is simply repeated, but it seems to me that even when we contextualize the gospel for a culture or for our own hearts there is something new happening. It doesn't shed light for your quandary, but that's my "uh-oh-i-actually-work-for-the-pca" confession :).
Posted by: jenny at July 29, 2007 09:44 AM
in the aeroplane over the sea. one of my favorites. i haven't ever gotten tired of it. i have no idea what he means by most of the bizarre things he says. but i know they must be brilliant and important. and anyway, flight of the concords is fantastic. thanks btw for the fan.
Posted by: bethan at July 31, 2007 03:47 PM