Today's Scripture Reading (October 28, 2023): Esther 1
It seems to
be the main plot line of several action movies and maybe the plague of every
Christian. It is the idea of doing something which we can never take back. In
an action film, it is the start of the countdown on a bomb that cannot be
turned off. Of course, the reason for it in a movie is that the bomber wants
the bomb to go off regardless of who finds it and their expertise at
dismantling explosives, and the audience's knowledge that the bomb cannot be
dismantled heightens the tension. In Christianity, we are convinced that what
God told us when we were younger will still stand when we are older. After all,
God never changes, so why would his directives? God is the same yesterday,
today, and tomorrow.
For Christians,
the flip side of the problem is that it also says that what we heard as God's
instructions yesterday was accurate. I am not saying that God made a mistake,
but isn't it possible that we misheard his constructions? For instance, I am
convinced that the Crusades were a mistake; the Crusades were military battles
toward which God had not called his church. Either Pope Urban II misheard God
when he sent armed troops toward Jerusalem, or he never enquired of God in the
first place. Urban thought it was a good idea when he was asked for military assistance
in the Middle East. And the Crusades
that followed were equally a mistake, regardless of the outcome.
Many years
ago, I had the privilege of attending a lecture delivered by Denis Lamoureux, a
triple threat who holds doctorates in dentistry, theology, and biology. Dr.
Lamoureux started his career as a Young-Earth creationist. Today, he refers to
himself as an evolutionary creationist and disagrees with most of the positions
he took as a younger man. He is not afraid to admit that he was wrong then, which
probably means he could be wrong now. It is a humble belief of which we could
all benefit. Intransigence is a Christian sin that deforms our belief structure
and often keeps us believing wrong things. Intransigence might work as part of
a movie plot, but it keeps Christians from impacting the changing world around them.
We should never assume that we have always believed in the right things. It is
a trap Satan uses to keep us out of the cultural fight in our contemporary
world.
Philosopher
Giannis Delimitsos sums up this idea.
"When a philosopher happens to
read some of his older texts, and most of the time he shakes his head in
disapproval, he can be sure that he is on the right path. For this is an
infallible sign that his thought has evolved and that he possesses the capacity
to learn, to unlearn, to adapt. He is brave enough to acknowledge that he may
have been naive, and this, at the same time, is a useful reminder that he might
be wrong even with his current views. Thus, he protects himself against
arrogance and intransigence" (Giannis Delimitsos).
Unfortunately, intransigence is
also a biblical plot point, and never in a good or positive way. And it rears
its ugly head at the beginning of the story of Esther as King Xerxes issues a
command that cannot be repealed. Yes, it opens the door for Esther but stops
any reconciliation process between King Xerxes and his Queen, Vashti. Maybe
that is unimportant, but the truth is that because the order could not be
repealed, we will never know. I am convinced that there were moments when
Xerxes would regret the intransigent order he issued.
Tomorrow's
Scripture Reading: Esther 2
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