Tag Creation

Will Green Be Greener in Paradise?

Todd R 3 Comments

Psalm 98:7 declares: “Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!” In Romans 8:19 Paul adds that “the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.”

Pastor James Montgomery Boice connects these ideas and says, “The world will one day be renewed.”  Nature already shows God’s glory, but it also, like mankind, is not yet as it shall be.  Boice adds: “I think of the way C.S. Lewis developed this idea in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In the first section of that book, when Narnia was under the power of the wicked Witch of the North, the land was in a state of perpetual winter. Spring never came. But when Aslan rose from the dead, the ice began to melt, flowers bloomed, and the trees turned green.”[1] Creation shares the hope of mankind – regeneration in a future paradise at the coming of its Lord!

Even now, we get an occasional glimpse of nature that’s somehow better than what we’re used to, and perhaps it is a glimpse of the paradise beyond the renewal of all things.  We were recently in Wales, on Mount Snowdon and a nearby trail in Llanberis, and below are some pictures from that day.  Some of these show the many brilliant shades of green, which seemed more glorious than the greens near our home in the U.S. We don’t often see rocks interact with the greenery like this here.

So, will paradise be even greener than this?  Will it seem like a perpetual winter has finally lifted?  I’m eagerly waiting to find out someday. In the meantime, enjoy these:

[1] From “April 19.” James Montgomery Boice and Marion Clark. Come to the Waters: Daily Bible Devotions for Spiritual Refreshment.  (2017).

Give Everyone Some Longitude? – History for July 8

Todd R 1 Comment

On this date in 1714, the British Parliament passed the Longitude Act, offering prizes to anyone who could accurately measure longitude at sea.  Failure to measure longitude was causing massive economic damage from shipwrecks and piracy.  Galileo had established a method using Jupiter’s moons, generally accepted soon after his 1642 death, but it only worked on land.  Use of Galileo’s methods on land led to many maps being redrawn, “shrinking” France on maps and causing King Louis XIV to complain that he was losing more territory to astronomers than to his enemies.  At sea, the tossing of the waves, changes in the weather, and other factors made the problem more difficult, leading to the Longitude Act.  The problem was eventually solved by the chronometer, invented by self-educated carpenter John Harrison, who overcame resistance from multiple fronts, including religious leaders who, like Galileo, were convinced the solution was in the stars of the heavens, sometimes citing Bible verses like Psalm 19:1 – “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.”  The Board of Longitude paid out over £100,000 for research and in prizes before disbanding in 1828.[1]

Science and religion each have a role to play in improving the lot of mankind on earth, but a lot of unnecessary conflict has come from either claiming a monopoly on worldly progress.  While “the heavens declare the glory of God,” the stars are also “for signs and for seasons, and for days and years.”[2]  But that is not all they are for. They also declare that the world is not all there is, and that we are to love others as the Creator of the stars loves us.  Therefore, let’s all give each other some latitude, or even some longitude.

[1] Sobel, Dava.  Longitude (1995).
[2] Genesis 1:14

Love is the Dance of Eternity

Todd R Leave a comment

Tonight I’ll be at the Warner Theatre to see the progressive metal band Dream Theater! I like lots of music that might be called “rock”, from Creedence Clearwater Revival to Imagine Dragons and even twenty one pilots, but this is the only band in this genre I like.

Why am I posting this? Only one of my friends likes this band, and I’m going to the show with him! This post might get 0 “likes.” As much as I want to get “likes” on my social media posts, life is more than that. Everyone reading this is a Creation of a Benevolent Creator, and an individual work of craftsmanship. None of us are an accident. Therefore, like what you like, but also be encouraged to put more craft into your daily life, at work and home. Because you yourself are a craft, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23). Seek to be what you were made to be. Don’t just “play it safe.” Define success differently.

So, what does Dream Theater sound like?

I considered posting the most “accessible” song by them I could find, but that wouldn’t fit the point. Instead, here is their instrumental “Dance of Eternity” which changes time signatures 108 times in just over 6 minutes. Oddly, the original drummer (and co-writer) on this song was in a Beatles cover band for a while.

Nearly all of you will hate this song, but this band does what they do and inspire some to also pursue their idea of “excellence” in spite of the outcome for their Facebook “likes”.

If this song is too much, the video for “Pull Me Under,” their only song that got any radio play is linked here. Tonight I’m wearing the T-shirt from that tour in 1992. The show was at Pier 6 in Baltimore during a heavy thunderstorm. For those that haven’t been to Pier 6, it’s basically a stage in front of seating under a big tent, open on 3 sides. It was a great show.

What If Nature Shows Purpose, Rather Than Randomness?

Todd R 1 Comment

Headline I just saw in the Facebook news feed: “What if Math Is a Fundamental Part of Nature, Not Something Humans Came Up With?” Reading the article I found that patterns in nature are “staggering”, but no conclusion is made. (Article linked below)

Yeah – What If?

Says CS Lewis, in the book Miracles: “Men became scientific because they expected Law in Nature, and they expected Law in Nature because they believed in a Legislator”

Science Alert Article