Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Oh, the joys
of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with
sinners, or join in with mockers. But
they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the
riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their
leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. Psalm 1:1-3[1]
I’m inclined to believe what Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote[2] about how things evolve in the human motivation towards good and
evil:
At first, art imitates life. Then
life will imitate art. Then life will
find its very existence from the arts.
Of course, there’s a lot of debate about the arts and how such may
influence culture. Does a movie with Arnold
Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone shooting everything in sight cause young
minds to turn towards shooting up their schools? Does Johnson & Johnson’s 82 billion
dollar[3]
a year opioid sourcing (or any of the other, perhaps less successful or less
known drug cartels) cause young people to get hooked on the death of brain cells? Is it life imitating art, or the other way
around?
My short answer is that life comes
first. But, for this fallen world, the
seed of the egg is inherent of the chicken.
We inherited our sin nature, and just like apple seeds produce apple
trees, so whatever is done produces like kind.
In Genesis we learn of God’s creative ways. In the beginning there was nothing, and God
began to speak things into existence. He
created vegetation, animals, fish, reptiles, and birds, as well as the human
race. In each of these is the capacity
(seed) for reproduction.
Then
God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing
plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of
plants and trees from which they came.” And
that is what happened. Genesis 1:11
“From which they came.” Seed
comes from the plant; chicken first, egg follows! Frankly, art only happens because there is
cognitive intelligence to create. That
demands there be intelligent chicken to produce an egg. To be otherwise, an egg first, there would
have to be an eternal god of plants, or eggs, birds, fish, reptiles, and humans
(not to forget the eternal universe itself), each creating the first egg of
each. Elsewise the whole notion of an
eternal and sovereign God is nonsense.
So, why the confusion?
Creation first; egg follows, each producing its own kind.
One other thought here about the confusion: the confusion, or even invention of an
egg-first theory is our excuse for bad behavior.
Huh? What? Explanation, please. OK, I’ll try.
Since we are created beings with free will, when our behavior is
less than what Sovereign God approves, we always look for someone or some thing
to blame. Adam blamed Eve; Eve pointed
to the serpent, and Cain just didn’t want to talk about it.
In the case of violent films, drug pushers, and a whole host of
other influences in modern (and ancient) cultures (including my mother
dropped me on my head when I was a baby), these become handy excuses
for our unacceptable choices.
Sometimes the simplest explanation is just too painful…but so is
admitting our sins.
For
You Today
You chew on
that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!
