Hearing God's Train

I was sitting on the couch in our living room tonight while our oldest daughter was playing nearby. All of a sudden, Hadi, who will be 2 in September, said, "Train, woo, woo." It took me a second to figure out why she was making train sounds randomly. But my wife immediately knew why.

"Do you hear a train, Hadi?"
"Ya" (accompanied by a vigorous head nod)

You see, we live in a small town that has railroad tracks running through the middle of the city. Trains probably pass through our town several times every hour, blasting their horns as they run down the tracks. And, even though we live at the edge of town, you can still hear the trains' signals if you pay attention.

If you pay attention...

You see, having lived in Marlin for nearly 4 years now, I have become numb to the horns of the trains. It happens so consistently that I just block it out and rarely notice it unless it comes from a train blocking my car at an intersection. But Hadi hears them almost every time.

As my wife explained, they will frequently be playing or doing chores around the house and Hadi will suddenly stop and say "train" accompanied by her beautiful train sounds. "Woo, woo." She is paying attention.

In thinking about my daughter, I realized that this is often how I treat God's activity in the world as well. Just like the constant barrage of trains through our city, God is constantly at work in our world and in our town. He is always reaching out and moving hearts towards him.

And yet, after years in ministry and years of trying to serve Him, too often I feel I've become deaf to his activity around me. It's very easy for me to only hear silence from Him when the truth of the matter is that He is still there whispering, and maybe even shouting. I allow the daily strains of life and the busyness of the everyday to drown out His voice and blind my eyes.

But my daughter was a blessed reminder that the sound of God's train is still there. He is still moving. He is still speaking. He is still transforming. The real question is whether I will still my heart and mind for long enough to pay attention so I can join in.

"Woo, woo."

Atheist Paradox

It's been a while since I've been on, but I'm currently waiting on a group member to send me some powerpoint slides for a group project (Intro to Computing...last Gen Ed of my SBU career). So, as I try to avoid falling asleep, maybe I can type something that at least makes a little sense.

Earlier this week I watched the documentary "The God Who Wasn't There." Essentially, it is a film that tries to show how the Bible is contradictory and that Jesus is just a myth. Personally, I thought "Religulous" was better, but anyways...

While thinking about the topic of atheism, something struck me. I don't know if the following statements are a good argument, or if they've been discussed before, but it is just what has been going through my head.

Typically, atheists negate and attempt to refute religion on the basis of rationality and science. Basically, it makes no sense to believe in God because such faith is irrational and does not line up with "the facts." However, this seems ironic to me because, without any higher power or purpose, what basis do we have for rationality or truth?

Nietzsche understood this problem well. In his work, "On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense," Nietzsche argues that truth is merely the invention of humans. He argues this from a linguistic perspective (words have no direct correlation to reality, and therefore are nothing more than constructed metaphors). In the end, he concludes that there is nothing amazing about a person who hides and object behind a bush, leaves, and then becomes excited when he "discovers" that object. Nietzsche argues the same for truth. There is nothing amazing about the quest for truth because we are simply discovering something that we invented in the first place.

Such is a world devoid of God. If there is no higher being or purpose, then things quickly lapse into nihilism and we must recognize that there is no such thing as truth or even reason. Such things are merely the inventions of humans.

An atheist uses facts and reason to deny God. However, by denying God, one also denies the possibility of truth/reason. Therefore, if there is no truth to be pursued rationally, then how can one deny God on the basis of these things?Thus exists the paradox for the atheist.

Again, these are just ideas that I am toying with, but if they work, then perhaps it is something to be considered when discussing the existence of God.