A Dark Night

"Evil is conquered as evil because God turns it back upon itself. He makes the supreme crime, the murder of the only righteous person, the very operation that abolishes sin. The maneuver is utterly unprecedented. No more complete victory could be imagined. God responds in the indirect way that is perfectly suited to the ambiguity of evil. He entraps the deceiver in his own wiles. Evil, like a judoist, takes advantage of the power of good, which it perverts; the Lord, like a supreme champion, replies by using the very grip of the opponent." ~ Henri Blocher

While my wife and I were watching The Dark Knight Rises, a dark night was occurring a few time zones away. People who were attending another showing of the very movie we were presently watching were attacked by a man, for no apparent reason. According to news, a man burst into the crowded theater wearing a gas mask and carrying an arsenal. He shot what is believed to be tear gas into the crowd, and then he opened fire with a shotgun, a rifle, and two handguns. At least 12 people are dead, and dozens are critically injured.

As with other tragedies that have rocked our recent history, the big question is, "Where was God last night?" Well, He was on His throne as King of the universe, where He has always been since before there was time. He never left it during the showing of The Dark Knight Rises in Denver, on 9/11, at the Oklahoma City bombing, at Virginia Tech, during WWI, during WWII, or when two of my closest friends died a few months before 9/11. He was not somewhere else in the world and somehow missed it. He was not surprised by it. He has always been and will always be in control of all things. We cannot say "He was not in control" of that event or "did not ordain it" and yet also hold to promises like Ro. 8:28. He cannot work all things together for good unless He controls those bad things that He works together, along with the good things, to accomplish good for His people. Why did He ordain the Denver shootings? I have no idea. I could give a few possible reasons like bringing together a nation or opportunities for the gospel, but anything that I could come up with would surely not be close to a complete account of God's plans and would cheapen the lives lost in that tragedy. The last thing we want to do in these situations is give simplistic answers that cheapen the deaths of valuable human beings or sacrifice God's sovereignty because we do not understand. We must leave it up to Him and acknowledge that sometimes when the darkness surrounds us we cannot understand why. Yet, we cannot doubt in the dark what we have known to be true about God in the light, and when we "can't trace God's hand trust His heart." He is sovereign over all things, and He promises to work all things together for the good of those who are His. If you deny the first you cannot trust in the second. If you deny the first you cannot have the hope of the second.

God's ultimate proof of His control and His ultimate use of evil to accomplish good come together at the cross, which is why I began with Blocher's quote. He is, of course, saying nothing new. Peter said it in his sermon at Pentecost: "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men." (Emphasis added.) God planned the ultimate crime and used the actions of evil men for the ultimate gift of salvation, for His glory and our good. Indeed, "no more complete victory could be imagined," and it shows that even in times of great tragedy like this, we can trust God's heart.

In all this, we cannot forget that we must grieve with those who grieve. The gospel is not a salve that will make the pain go away. The truth of the gospel is foundational in all things, especially death, but many people who have not experienced such grief try to use it as a magic wand to make those who are grieving instantly "feel better." They apply it with the hopes of making the grief go away. Yet, they do not understand that the gospel is not meant to keep us from mourning. It is meant to help us mourn as those who have its hope, to mourn not as the lost but with hope (1 Th. 4:13). Those who grieve must be allowed to grieve and struggle with God during these hard times. We cannot give "pat answers," we cannot sacrifice God's sovereignty, and we cannot trivialize the deaths of fellow human beings. We must grieve with those who grieve but not "as others do who have no hope" (1 Th. 4:13). We must pray the churches in the Denver area who will be called upon for urgent ministry. We must pray for our nation and communities. And, we must point to the cross as the ultimate proof of God's sovereignty over evil, His good use of it, and His heart for His people. What better answer can we give?

They do not give better answers, per se, but for similar answers from better men, I recommend reading one of Piper's articles that he wrote shortly after 9/11: Why I Do Not Say, "God Did Not Cause the Calamity, but He Can Use It for Good", and I also recommend listening to Steve Brown's broadcast that he aired on 9/12/2001: Tragedy, Sovereignty, and Hope.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Redefining the Chemistry of Life? Followup

In January 2011, I wrote a blog post on a (media-hyped) discovery of a strain of bacteria that appeared to be using arsenic instead of phosphorus in its biochemistry. In the post, I argued that this organism does not at all "redefine the chemistry of life" or find "arsenic tasty," as the study and media commentary suggested. I concluded that (at best) this organism is a facultative arsenophile, which means it seems that it can use arsenic in its biochemistry when necessary but prefers phosphorus and needs it to thrive.

In the most recent issue of Science (the journal in which the original study was published), two more papers have been published by teams who did independent research on the bacteria in question (GFAJ-1), and their findings refute the contention that GFAJ-1 is using arsenic at all. One shows that there is no evidence for arsenates being incorporated into the bacteria's nucleic acids. The other argues that GFAJ-1 is really an arsenic-resistant bacteria (a possibility I noted in my original post) that still needs phosphates to survive and thrive.

If you want my take on the research, the original post I wrote on the topic is still relevant. My original conclusion, which appears to still be valid, was as follows:

It is not an organism that has a "redefining" biochemistry, it is not an "arsenic-base" organism, it does not find "arsenic tasty"; at best it an extremophile that can possibly make use of arsenic when it is the only thing available in the environment but its preference would be phosphate.

Before I wrap this post up, I want to comment on one more thing that I quoted from Dr. Rana above. It has been suggested that this type of organism could represent an alternate way that life could emerge. Sorry, but this kind of organism does not provide a different possible pathway for life to originate. The reason why Dr. Rana says that, and I agree, is because this type of organism not only has the biochemistry of normal bacteria but has extra mechanisms that allow it to live under the harsh condition of excess arsenic. In short, it is an organism that is significantly more complex than normal bacteria that is based on phosphates alone. Arsenate is unstable, so unless you already have in place mechanisms that could stabilize the arsenates, there is no way life could form with arsenates. Origin of life in an arsenate system (vs. a phosphate system) is a significantly more complex pathway and even more improbable than the existing, phosphate-based origin of life scenarios. The same is true for all extremophiles. In fact, there have been papers written by other biologists arguing this point.

So, after time for further research and peer-review, life is still CHNOPS-based (see the original post for explanation on that) and no other alternate pathway for the origins of life is evidenced by this study. Life is still as delicate and complicated as science has consistently shown and requires an Intelligent Designer for its existence.

By His Grace,
Taylor

The Strength of Faith

"Where lies the secret strength of faith? It lies in the food it feeds on; for faith studies what the promise is—an emanation of divine grace, an overflowing of the great heart of God; and faith says, 'My God could not have given this promise, except from love and grace; therefore it is quite certain his Word will be fulfilled.' Then faith thinketh, 'Who gave this promise?' It considereth not so much its greatness, as, 'Who is the author of it?' She remembers that it is God who cannot lie—God omnipotent, God immutable; and therefore concludeth that the promise must be fulfilled; and forward she advances in this firm conviction. She remembereth, why the promise was given,—namely, for God’s glory, and she feels perfectly sure that God’s glory is safe, that he will never stain his own escutcheon, nor mar the lustre of his own crown; and therefore the promise must and will stand. Then faith also considereth the amazing work of Christ as being a clear proof of the Father’s intention to fulfil his word. 'He that spared not his own Son, but freely delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?' Moreover faith looks back upon the past, for her battles have strengthened her, and her victories have given her courage. She remembers that God never has failed her; nay, that he never did once fail any of his children. She recollecteth times of great peril, when deliverance came; hours of awful need, when as her day her strength was found, and she cries, 'No, I never will be led to think that he can change and leave his servant now. Hitherto the Lord hath helped me, and he will help me still.' Thus faith views each promise in its connection with the promise-giver, and, because she does so, can with assurance say, 'Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life!'" ~ Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, July 8.

I like this devotion from Spurgeon because it brings to light an important truth about faith. The value of faith is not found in its strength but in its object. Faith is useless if it is not placed in something faithful and deserving of that faith, and this kind of useful faith is nothing more than the proper response to the faithfulness of that to which it looks. You can have the strongest faith in the world in a mushroom but that mushroom cannot forgive your sins. You also can have unsteady, weak faith in Jesus, but if He alone is the object, He can and will forgive your sins. Today you often hear people say, "I have faith." "Faith in what?", I want to ask. You might also hear people say, "I am a person of faith." Again, I would ask, "Faith in what or who?" Nebulous faith is useless faith. Faith is only meaningful if it is placed in something or Someone who is deserving of that faith. Again, that alone is where the value of faith lies; it does not lie in the strength of the faith.

Allow me to share a classic illustration of this. Let's say you are next to a cliff and a bear is running at you. You look down the side of the cliff and there below you are three branches that you could grasp to escape the reach of the bear. All that matters in this situation is the strength (faithfulness) of the branch. Whether you leap off the cliff and grab the branch or climb down slowly and cautiously to it, all that matters is the strength of the branch. If you choose the wrong branch, a bold leap or a cautious climb will not make a difference, you will die either way. If you choose the right branch, a bold leap or a cautious climb will not make a difference, you will be held up. Such is the case with faith.

By His Grace,
Taylor