Signs of "The Kingdom"

My wife said she was annoyed by my use of “I submit” and “I further submit” in the last post – made me sound pretentious or something. I hereby promise to never say “I submit” again (if “hereby” doesn’t sound too pretentious?). One of the recurring themes here is KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid, so I won’t make things sound too academic.

Continuing on from yesterday: Where would we be today if we hadn't chosen to reject religious superstition and restrictive doctrines and dogmas in favor of trusting God enough to learn about His creation through our observations of it? I'll tell you where: we'd still be in the Dark Ages – eating the freeze-dried crap pudding previously mentioned.

The truth is never created - it is only discovered. The Founding Fathers of America did not take the time, ink and parchment space to defend their statements in the Declaration of Independence – they said “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” Quite a statement. And if there has been anything that we as humans have learned since the Enlightenment, human curiosity, discovery and quest for truth should not be stifled when it leads to ideas contrary to those interpreted from the Bible or other "holy" book.

Jesus says in John 14:12: "The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father."

What were the works of Jesus, as depicted in the Gospels? Jesus says in Matt 11:4-5: "Go back to John (the Baptist) and tell him about what you have heard and seen - the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor." There are many instances in the Gospel where Jesus is said to have healed every form of sickness. These miracles are often referred to as signs of the Kingdom of Heaven, or Kingdom of God.

Jesus said in Matt 4:17 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Most of Jesus’ parables were about the kingdom of heaven. Many churches claim to be made up of “Kingdom people.” And what are kingdom-people supposed to be doing? Preach the Good News, heal the sick, and drive out demons.

Is this “Kingdom” in fact here?

Let's see, over the past 200+ years or so, with our advancements in science and medicine due to our trust in God to discover the truths of his creation, people who are legally blind can see with first optical lenses, then contacts, then Lasik surgery, and soon microchips implanted on the retina (and in my daughter's case, Retinopathy of Prematurity was prevented through laser eye surgery on the blood vessels in the retina - a blindness that only occurred once we figured out how to keep premature babies alive!).

People who are lame can now have knees replaced, ligaments restored, braces to correct a deformity of growth or development over time, artificial limbs that allow legless people to not only walk again, but run again. And what’s next? Advancements in organic and inorganic interfaces (what my uncle is working on at Cornell) make “cyborg” technology a real possibility.

Leprosy can be treated and is better understood, such that the social stigma attached to it in Biblical times is not necessary anymore (lepers no longer need to be quarantined and forced to live in leper colonies and actually enjoy a normal life). Lepers in Christ’s time were shunned – except by Christ himself, of course – they were considered “ceremonially unclean,” had to wear tattered clothes, and had to let their hair “hang loose” or be disheveled, and they had to cry out “Unclean!” when a healthy person approached (Leviticus 13:45-46). These poor people! So, not only were they forced to be outsiders, but they had to fashionably match the appearance of their skin and faces by wearing rags and having ratty hair. All commanded by God, of course! Thank God he gave us Reason and compassion to figure out the disease, and many other diseases considered monstrous or freakish in the past.

Next, the deaf hear with Cochlear implants (and some are looked down on by the deaf community because they choose to hear again and aren't a part of the group anymore - isn't that a great problem to have!). A sign-language was first created in the 17th or 18th century in Italy (funny how all the advancements occurred right around the Enlightenment?) so that the deaf could communicate beyond just an ad-hoc language in their own home. Maybe before that time people just prayed for them to miraculously hear again, and when it didn’t happen they just figured it wasn’t God’s will for these people to have a happy life.

The dead are raised to life in Emergency Rooms everywhere, even after being dead beneath the ice for some time (I seem to remember 45 minutes, but it may be longer). These people are clinically dead, and they are jump started again because of our discoveries of electricity (thank you Ben Franklin – a Deist!).

Every form of sickness (almost – there are antibiotic resistant bacteria and super-viruses that have evolved because we are too good at fighting disease) has some kind of cure, including mental illnesses - mental illness in Biblical times was commonly referred as people "possessed" by demons, thus the idea of "driving out demons" has been achieved as well, by understanding how brain chemistry works.

The list goes on and on - and none of it achieved supernaturally, or by prayer, or by miracle of laying on hands and asking for healing in Christ’s name - but by a devout trust in God in following the truth where it leads, even at the risk of being labeled heretical by the church. You could make the claim that Jesus said he is “the truth,” so a search for truth would be a search in “His name,” but that’s a convoluted stretch. But, it is clear that Jesus looked at the world around him and in summary said, “It need not be this way.” And he took revolutionary action for change.

Stoning adulterers according to Moses’ Law – it need not be this way!

Money changers in the temple to avoid the graven image of Caesar in the presence of God – it need not be this way!

Jews as the chosen people of God, favored above all others – it need not be this way!

Lepers as outcasts and unclean – it need not be this way!

Sinners as despised and shunned – it need not be this way!

Not working – even good works – on the Sabbath – it need not be this way!

The whole of Moses’ Law – it need not be this way!

The meek and poor without hope – it need not be this way!

Freedom only when Rome is overthrown – it need not be this way!

What is the drive of science and innovation, if not looking at the world around us and saying “it need not be this way!” Science and Reason are not at odds with God - they are from God, and thank God for them! The conflict between Science and Religion is a man-made conflict - Religion rejects science because, based on their interpretation of their "infallible" man-made but God-inspired holy scriptures, it conflicts with holy scripture, and likewise Science rejects and attacks religion because of being labeled heretical - who wouldn't lash out when attacked? It need not be this way.

Tomorrow: The Prime Mover in Darwin’s Original Origin of the Species.