After over fifty years of being in an evangelical church, I have to confess that I have just been made aware that, just perhaps, there is no rapture predicted in the Bible. Our spiritual formation class at Trinity Cathedral on Sunday mornings is studying Barbara Rossing's book The Rapture Exposed. Her thesis is in reaction to the incredibly popular books of the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Basically, she traces the beginning of the rapture idea to a nineteenth century British evangelist named John Darby who popularized the notion after one of his parishioners had a vision of Jesus appearing not once but twice. The words commonly associated with the end times--rapture, tribulation, and apocalypse--are not found in the Bible.
Rossing very carefully presents a logical argument centering of several key points: Why would God destroy the world He pronounced "good" upon creating it? Would He violate His promise after the flood in Noah's day never to destroy the world again? Would He not also want the animals saved since He was so careful to preserve them for the Ark? The list goes on. The argument is indeed a compelling one, especially to one who has heard just one side her whole life.
Rossing's premise also is that God's message in the book of Revelation is designed to draw people back to God; it is a message of hope, not revenge upon the ones He has created. It is a vision perhaps of what might happen but not necessarily a prophecy of what will happen. Rossing believes in the second coming, but not in the idea of the rapture.
While I am only one half way through our reading, I have to say I prefer her argument over past ones. I have always had trouble seeing God as Anyone other than benevolent and loving, concerned with our own best interests and gently leading us to Him. I remember that my mother was ahead on this argument back in the 1970's. She and I used to argue about the idea that Jesus was the one and only way to God. She believed God would not condemn 90% of the world's population to hell especially if they had never heard that Jesus was the Messiah.
I do not have any answers to the question of whether the rapture is metaphorical only as a warning to humankind or is a literal prophecy of the end times. I find the study fascinating, however. Opposing viewpoints can indeed enlighten our perspectives and keep us seeking Truth.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Tushies, baseball, and apple pie vs. Tony, John, and Stephen
This week is National tv "cut off" time. I was listening to NRP yesterday morning when I heard a child reporting on her activities with her sister--in light of having no television to watch this week, evidently a sacrifice demanded by her parents as an experiment. The week seemed to be a success so far for her.
I would have to say the same for our week--almost. Our daughter Kimberly and her twenty-two month old son, Cole, have been visiting from Seattle. Several months ago, Kimberly and her partner, Sheri, also decided to give up their tv, but this time it was not just for a week; they gave away their television set. Garlan and I decided to watch no television also for the week in which they visited. I had to admit that it was very hard for us to make such a decision since we are of the old school who remember when television was a big treat in the 1950's when they were not readily found in the majority of American households. Indeed, I used to stand in an alley in Greenville, Mississippi, at age nine or so, peering into the window of a friend's house trying to see The Mickey Mouse Club--the old one, of course, with Annette Funicello and other favorites.
Our just passed weeklong visit was spent instead watching Cole "lift up his tushie" many times for a diaper change (quite a show since he throws up his legs at the proper time and holds each one with a gigantic grin on his face accompanied by a big laugh). We also had lots of time for the zoo, long walks on the neighborhood paths, the children's discovery museum, the Clinton Presidential Library, many trips to the playground, and an Arkansas Travelers' baseball game. We even had lunch with Cole's second grade cousin Caitlyn at Cathedral School with a traditional American meal of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and apple pie. I wonder how many of these activities we would have enjoyed had we put Cole in front of the television to watch cartoons for the week.
It was not an easy decision to make though since I am fully addicted to three television shows now that I am retired: The Sopranos running the old seasons on A & E, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert. In fact, I could not live without them even for a week; I had to excuse myself (luckily during Cole's bathtime and subsequent bedtime) to watch. As I think about Kimberly and Cole's next visit to Little Rock, I am going to try to go "cold turkey" along with them. Perhaps if I start trying to taper off occasionally now, I can do it. After all, I will have a year to prepare for it.
I would have to say the same for our week--almost. Our daughter Kimberly and her twenty-two month old son, Cole, have been visiting from Seattle. Several months ago, Kimberly and her partner, Sheri, also decided to give up their tv, but this time it was not just for a week; they gave away their television set. Garlan and I decided to watch no television also for the week in which they visited. I had to admit that it was very hard for us to make such a decision since we are of the old school who remember when television was a big treat in the 1950's when they were not readily found in the majority of American households. Indeed, I used to stand in an alley in Greenville, Mississippi, at age nine or so, peering into the window of a friend's house trying to see The Mickey Mouse Club--the old one, of course, with Annette Funicello and other favorites.
Our just passed weeklong visit was spent instead watching Cole "lift up his tushie" many times for a diaper change (quite a show since he throws up his legs at the proper time and holds each one with a gigantic grin on his face accompanied by a big laugh). We also had lots of time for the zoo, long walks on the neighborhood paths, the children's discovery museum, the Clinton Presidential Library, many trips to the playground, and an Arkansas Travelers' baseball game. We even had lunch with Cole's second grade cousin Caitlyn at Cathedral School with a traditional American meal of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and apple pie. I wonder how many of these activities we would have enjoyed had we put Cole in front of the television to watch cartoons for the week.
It was not an easy decision to make though since I am fully addicted to three television shows now that I am retired: The Sopranos running the old seasons on A & E, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert. In fact, I could not live without them even for a week; I had to excuse myself (luckily during Cole's bathtime and subsequent bedtime) to watch. As I think about Kimberly and Cole's next visit to Little Rock, I am going to try to go "cold turkey" along with them. Perhaps if I start trying to taper off occasionally now, I can do it. After all, I will have a year to prepare for it.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
How Old Men Ride - A Father's Story
I have been in the world of horses for the past week since my husband and I took our eight year old granddaughter Caitlyn to Texas last week for spring break. An avid horse aficionado, Caitlyn had been asking us to take her to her cousins' ranch near Columbus for the past year. The afternoon finally came last Tuesday when she was able to mount a gentle horse named BJ and ride independently--after a few instructions from her cousin Clayton. We laughed later that night at Clayton's three year old son who, when prompted by all the adults in the house, showed us his version of how "old men ride." He held up his pretend horse reins high under his chin, pursed his lips deeply in concentration, and rode into the sunset.
As I read my selection for book club this week, I realized I was still in the world of "old men riding." The featured story is Andre Dubus' famous piece entitled "A Father's Story." In it the reader is introduced to the fifty-plus year old protagonist Luke Ripley who is a stable owner of thirty horses. He is also a devout Catholic who rides his horse into town each day for Mass. In this story of moral equivocation and relativism, Ripley covers up his daughter's hit and run crime by cleaning the beer bottles from her car, not calling the police to report the accident, and deliberately crashing her car into a tree to cover up the damage from the hit and run. At the end of the story, Luke argues with God, essentially telling Him that had Jesus been a daughter, perhaps God would not have sacrificed Him. The last line says, Luke then goes "with an apple or carrot out to the barn."
Perhaps, because I have been reared in a church for over fifty years myself that believes in strong moral absolutes of right and wrong, I find myself too judgemental over the actions of the father in the Dubus story. I don't think so though. Even Dubus admitted in a discussion of the story that he would not have acted in the same way as Luke. As painful as it might have been to make the correct choice, for his daughter likely a manslaughter charge because of driving while intoxicated, the situation demands the truth.
There is also a third father's view in the story, in addition to Luke's and God's. That is the untold story of the father of the hit and run accident who will never know the truth about his son's dealth. I believe justice always demands truth; it can never be equivocated, no matter how great the temptation to save another. We have to ride into the sunset with a clear conscience.
As I read my selection for book club this week, I realized I was still in the world of "old men riding." The featured story is Andre Dubus' famous piece entitled "A Father's Story." In it the reader is introduced to the fifty-plus year old protagonist Luke Ripley who is a stable owner of thirty horses. He is also a devout Catholic who rides his horse into town each day for Mass. In this story of moral equivocation and relativism, Ripley covers up his daughter's hit and run crime by cleaning the beer bottles from her car, not calling the police to report the accident, and deliberately crashing her car into a tree to cover up the damage from the hit and run. At the end of the story, Luke argues with God, essentially telling Him that had Jesus been a daughter, perhaps God would not have sacrificed Him. The last line says, Luke then goes "with an apple or carrot out to the barn."
Perhaps, because I have been reared in a church for over fifty years myself that believes in strong moral absolutes of right and wrong, I find myself too judgemental over the actions of the father in the Dubus story. I don't think so though. Even Dubus admitted in a discussion of the story that he would not have acted in the same way as Luke. As painful as it might have been to make the correct choice, for his daughter likely a manslaughter charge because of driving while intoxicated, the situation demands the truth.
There is also a third father's view in the story, in addition to Luke's and God's. That is the untold story of the father of the hit and run accident who will never know the truth about his son's dealth. I believe justice always demands truth; it can never be equivocated, no matter how great the temptation to save another. We have to ride into the sunset with a clear conscience.
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