Staring at the Sun

Hey all! I wrote this post as a reflection on a book I read for school called Conformed to His Image, by Kenneth Boa. It’s a great read, and it taught me a lot. I recommend it! These are a few of the things I learned…

     I’ve been told my whole life not to stare at the sun, but I still do. I don’t literally stare at the sun, of course. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to see. I do, however, perform the mental equivalent of staring at the sun when my puny, human brain tries to wrap itself around the concept of eternity. I hear the charge in Colossians 3 to “set your mind on things above”, and take it as a call to completely understand what my life will be like after death. In my current state, I can’t imagine anything without an end, so the thought of eternity can be blinding and paralyzing. The question remains, however. How do I “set my mind on things above”? Through the book Conformed to His Image, by Kenneth Boa, I learned that pursuing God is meaning enough for my life now, and throughout all of eternity.

  In 2003, the Hubble telescope photographed galaxies over 13 billion light years away. Some of these galaxies contained eight times as many stars as the Milky Way galaxy, defying current physical theories by their sheer size. God knows every one of the stars in those galaxies by name.  In 1968, Physicists discovered that the proton, one of the three particles that makes up the atom, is itself a composite particle. They observed an even smaller particle called a quark, which makes up both protons and neutrons.  In the scientific world, the quark was groundbreaking and revolutionary. God, however, knew about these incomprehensibly small particles since the beginning of time, when he spoke them into being. He transcends everything that we can see and that we know exists. Our God is one, but also three persons. From His character flow virtues like love, faithfulness, holiness and truth. Without Him, morality would have no foundation, and therefore, no substance. As Kenneth Boa reminds us, “Ultimate reality is not the cosmos, or a mysterious force, but an infinite and loving person” (pg 153). In short, God is wholly other. He is infinite. His understanding and knowledge literally have no end.

    Though we are not infinite, our souls are created to learn and seek after God. When He made humanity, He made us intellectual, emotional, and volitional, like Himself. We are meant to relate to Him on each of those levels. Only when we relate to Him are we truly whole on each of those levels. This is one of the most incredibly, ineffably beautiful things about God. This is one of those concepts that we will forever be learning about and trying to understand more fully. Boa defines this mystery well, “He [God] has designed to seek intimacy with the people on this puny planet, and has given them great dignity and destiny” (pg 29). Not only did God create us, He also knows us, and fulfills us. Ingrained in our nature is a longing for the truth. God- the God who created the smallest subatomic particle, and the largest supernova- offers that truth freely to whomever will seek Him. However, there is too much truth for us to learn in our short earthly lives. The learning must go on into eternity. As Tozer says, “There is simply not enough time to think, to become, to perform  what the constitution of our natures indicates we are capable of” (pg 62).

    The application of these facts to my everyday life encourages my soul, and quells my nagging doubts about living in a future without end. In my humanity, I am created to seek and worship God. As long as that is my focus, I will be satisfied not only in my earthly life, but in my entire life. “We will never be bored in heaven, because God’s greatness and knowledge are boundless; the surprises will never end, and the joy will ever increase”, says Boa (pg 161). When I learn about God, I am “setting my mind on things above”. I am investing in the thing that will continue to be the meaning and purpose for my life forever and ever.

    I am immensely encouraged by the idea that I don’t have to understand all of eternity right now- I have all of eternity to learn. I don’t need to stare at the sun; but I do need to live in the light of it. The glow of God’s everlasting plans should guide my every step. Right now, I can set myself on the never-ending path by using my limited capacity to seek God and pursue Him. Then, my life will be like that of the righteous person in Proverbs 4:18, which, “is like the shining sun that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day”.  I can’t look at the sun now. I need it to live, but my eyes cannot behold it. As I move from this ephemeral plane into the Perfect Day, I will be changed so that I can comprehend more and more. I’m not there now, but that’s ok. I’ve only just begun. As Boa once again quotes Tozer, “For now begins the glorious pursuit, the heart’s happy exploration of the infinite riches of the Godhead. That is where we begin, I say, but where we stop no man has yet discovered, for there is in the awful and mysterious depths of the Triune God neither limit nor end… To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love…justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart” (pgs 149-150).

Keep on glowing in the dark,

Elora

The Main Character

Alright! It's finally here! Enjoy!

 On Thursday, I studied all these books. Every one of them, in one way or another, spoke to the idea that humans have a mind, emotions, and a will.

    The metaphysical aspect of a person- the part that isn’t made up of cells and molecules and subatomic particles- can be split into three distinct, yet vitally interwoven parts. (Well, in theory it can be divided. I don’t know of an actually, feasible way to divide the human psyche.) The mind is the intellectual aspect. The part of a person that stores and sorts information. The emotions determine one’s personal internal posture to information and experiences. Finally, it is with the will, or volition, that one chooses a course of action, and carries it out. The will can override the mind and emotions when necessary. All three of these aspects are important, though some personalities tend to be driven by one in particular.

    Why are we like this? It seems to me, that God built the mind, will, and emotions into us when He made us in His image. You see, God is three in person- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit- and one in essence. Though we can only be said to be one person each, our personhood has a sense of threeness to it.

    Fiction seems to have picked up on this facet of human nature. Our genre, science fiction, has many good examples that personify it. If you read last week’s Top-5 list, you know which one I’m going to talk about.

   

 Yep. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy from Star Trek. The reason I think they make such a good character trio, is that each of them seems to take up the role of one of the three aspects of human nature mentioned above.

   

 Bones is the emotion. He is the heart of the crew. On any given mission, he can be counted on to bring ethics, humanity, and passion into the discussion. Though his insights may not always line up with all the facts, they must always be considered before going forward with a decision.

    

Spock, as I think should be evident to most people, is the mind. In many episodes of  Star Trek, he is compared to a computer. He can recall and analyze information, and with little to no emotional bias, offer up all the possible solutions to the problem.

   

 Captain Kirk is the will. He takes what both Spock and McCoy, (and occasionally other members of the crew like Scotty), have to say, weighs their varying ideas, and makes the best decision possible. Sometimes, he has to override both the emotions and the logic in order to simply do the right thing.

    Therefore,while many may consider Kirk or Spock, or Kirk and Spock, to be the main character of the original series of Star Trek, I contend that the real main character is Kirk, Spock, and McCoy working together.

    
So, next time your emotions go on a rampage, make sure your will and mind hunt them down and get them back in line before they are able to accidentally cause the Nazis to win World War II. And watch out for people name Edith Keeler. If that made no sense, go watch “City on the Edge of Forever” from the first season of Star Trek. It’s a classic.

Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora

The Sparrows and the Subatomic Particles

   

 I’ll be honest: My life is good. I’m not trying to boast or anything. I’m just saying that not very many terrible things have happened to me. (And I am glad of that).

    Here’s some proof. I’ve been in several small Bible study groups. In some of them, the time I dreaded most was prayer request time. After the rest of the group members had told their legitimately sad stories about break-ups, family troubles, or friends with cancer, I felt a little awkward bringing up the conviction I felt reading the book of Leviticus last week. In short. I felt my problems were too small for God to care about. Maybe I’m the only one who has ever felt this way. But I assume I’m not.

     In my research, I’ve come across two passages that I feel speak to my feelings of self-pity over having nothing worth pitying. (Oh, my illogical human emotions.)  The first one is in a passage where Jesus is addressing the sin of worry. He says: “ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ” (Matthew 6:26, NKJV). This tells us how foolish it is to worry when our God is so great. It also reveals to us another aspect of the character of God. He cares for the smallest things. Birds are nice and all, but in the grand scheme of the history of the universe, they don’t seem all that important. You would think that God would leave them to take care of themselves, but that’s not what the Bible says. The Bible says that He sees to it that they are taken care of. It’s a bit mind-boggling. But I’m not done with mind-bogglingness yet. I haven’t even got into particle physics!

    The second passage that applies to my non-issue issue is a verse I’ve come to claim as a sort of life verse. It is Colossians 1:17, “ And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” (NKJV). It is short and sweet and simple, and yet immensely and ineffably deep and meaningful. It starts me thinking on the makeup of all matter. God is the originator of the atoms that make up everything and the subatomic particles that make those up. He holds all things together, even the smallest, most basic and fundamental units of the universe. The ingredients of matter that we can’t even begin to see, over half of which we probably haven’t discovered yet.

    I’m guessing that none of our prayer requests are so small that physicists can only theorize over their existence. Even if they did, God would still take interest in them. Now, I’m not saying we should throw ourselves a pity-party for our small problems; I’m saying that God wants us to bring those problems to Him. We’re not supposed to go through lives relying on our own strength. We have to rely on Him. In everything.

 

    So, if you find yourself feeling that God doesn’t have time for something you are bringing before Him in prayer, remember that He has time for the sparrows.

    And the subatomic particles.

Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora

God's Not Dead Movie Review

   Hey all! The promised post is finally here. Today, I will give a review for the recently released Christian film, God’s Not Dead. This is my first time writing and publishing a movie review, so I hope you enjoy it. If you have any thoughts on the movie, or suggestions for future reviews, please leave a comment. And if you haven’t seen the movie yet, don’t worry. I’ll stay spoiler free!

 God’s Not Dead is a movie about….well, a lot of things, actually. Though the main storyline is about a Christian college student standing up to his aggressively atheist professor, there are quite a few subplots, some of which I found even more compelling. It takes most of the movie before we start to see these plots come together, and the way they all tied together in the end was a bit weak in my opinion. However, in these scattered anecdotes, there is some very strong, moving storytelling. I felt an emotional attachment to certain characters, cared about what happened to them, and was surprised by a plot twist at the end.

  The characters of this movie are pretty black and white. In general, you can tell which people are the good guys, and which are the bad guys. This is not necessarily detrimental to the story, though, and most of them are written and acted genuinely.

 

   Theme is most definitely the core aspect of the story. There is heavy-handed Christian and apologetic content- which fits into the stories which were being told. The movie does not try to conceal its message. At all. The title is the thematic statement: God’s Not Dead. I didn’t notice too much deep, underlying symbolism, but meaning was not at all lacking. One minor element I thought may have detracted from the message was the occasional relativisation of truth-claims in the dialogue. For example, one of the characters made the statement, “to me, God’s not dead”. That seemed to push the idea of God’s existence into a relativistic domain. However, this only happened a few times, and I’m certain it wasn’t intentional. The writer(s?) wove in a few literary references, which I would not have personally brought up because of their own themes, but they seemed to fit the worldview of the characters who mentioned them. ( Of course, I try not to think about The Grapes of Wrath at all, much less mention it in my stories.) The production quality is the highest I’ve seen in a Christian movie probably since the film Soul Surfer came out. Music was used well, and the few special effects that were needed were believable.

  

   Overall, I don’t think God’s Not Dead is a groundbreaking movie. I do think it is a good movie. I came into the theatre expecting to be disappointed, and came out pleasantly surprised. I had a good time watching it. I’d recommend the film to anyone who wants to enjoy a well-made, Christian worldview film, and support similar endeavors in the future. That, I think, is the most exciting part of God’s Not Dead. It’s a sign that more and better things are ahead for Christian cinema (like maybe a sci-fi movie? Maybe? Perhaps I should learn how to write screenplays…).

Keep on glowing in the dark,

Elora

Here is a bonus, super-fast review!

My least favorite part of the movie: No one mentioned subatomic particles! They got so close, so many times, but they never did mention them. Alright, in seriousness, my least favorite part was the excess of break-up scenes.

My favorite part of the movie: There was a twist at the end that I actually wasn’t expecting. Some people I went to the movies with said they saw it coming, but I did not. It can be really fun to be caught off guard in stories. Also, the reporter girl’s subplot was touching, and it was cool to see cameo appearances from the show Duck Dynasty.

Welcome Aboard!

Hi everyone. I’m Elora. This is my geeky Christian blog. You may be wondering what I’m doing starting a geeky Christian blog. I’m definitely not the first one to explore the concept. Perhaps this post will help you understand what I am doing and why I am doing it.
 
     I’m a geek. I’ve been a geek...basically since I was born. I’m also a storyteller. I love to immerse myself in reading, writing and analyzing stories. Most importantly, I’m a Christian. I’ve been rescued from sin and death by the God of the universe. Therefore, I strive to walk according to his truth in everything I do.            
 
   As a Christian, and a geek, and a writer, I see something in stories- especially in sci-fi - that I think points back to God. That may strike you as a bit odd. How in the cosmos could there be an intersection between science fiction and Christianity?

    You see, sci-fi is a genre about hope, about life, about the soul, about ideas,and about truth. I think that’s what draws me to it. However, in the evolution and humanism sci-fi loves to profess, none of these things matter. Why is a dystopian society bad if people are just animals? Why even care about genetic engineering and cloning if man is just a random assortment of molecules? Why boldly explore the galaxy if all of it is destined for utter heat death and then nothingness?

    Science fiction presents its fans with deep questions which its own philosophy writes off as meaningless. I believe the problem lies in how story works. The heart of story is to tell the truth. Even when a storyteller’s worldview is skewed, the core idea of story is still based in God, and the ultimate narrative He is telling through his son.
   
    That’s something I like to refer to as the Apologetics of Story. It excites me. It’s one of the main reasons I’m here- to talk about things that interest me in the light of the Thing that is most meaningful to me, and hopefully to encourage others who feel the same way. I will mostly be talking about science fiction, story, and general geekery on this blog. But I will occasionally delve into apologetics, logic, and subatomic particles, whenever I feel they are relevant.

    I aim to put up my main posts for this blog on Wednesdays. ‘What will they be about?’ You may ask. Well, they may be about a myriad of things. A review of a nerd movie that just came out? Certainly. An article on how literary elements point to the story of Christ? Definitely. A ramble on a point of truth I saw in a Star Trek episode? Oh, yes. Anything I think will be thought-provoking and interesting.

   When possible, I will try to post geeky little tidbits on Saturdays. Ramblings about my favorite characters, speculations I have made about shows, and other stuff you may find generally entertaining.Eventually, I want to start using Tuesdays for top-five and top-ten lists, because what nerd doesn’t love a good list?

   All of these things are incredibly exciting to me. If they are also exciting to you, I hope you come along for the ride. If you’re interested in geeking out, having fun, and thinking through things with me, I hope you stick around.

   If you care to join me in my quest to find the fingerprints of God in every area of life, from scripture, to spaceships, to subatomic particles, welcome aboard!

  Keep on glowing in the dark,
 Elora