Deconstruction – Martin's Mercurial Musings

God’s Involvement with His Creation – A Woodworker’s Perspective

Wood Joints

Of late, I’ve been trying to come up with an analogy to express why God may not be as intimately involved with his creation as many would like to believe. The other day as I was working with a table saw cutting some dados on a piece of wood – it hit! To which, I sense that the interaction of God and his creation is similar to that of a woodworker. Consider, the woodworker has created a beautiful table. A lot of time, effort, expense and care has gone into crafting that table. Out of “nothing,” the woodworker planted a tree, Years later the woodworker harvested that tree and cut it into planks. Eventually the woodworker cut those planks into something more manageable. With great care and precision, the woodworker then dimensions the lumber, squares-up and cuts all the pieces into their final dimensions. Complex joints are exquisitely fashioned and perfectly formed. Everything is then carefully fitted and glued together. Some sanding removes minor imperfections. The surfaces are prepared for finishing and when the finish is applied, the luster of the wood grain reveals the true beauty of the table.

God … Prayer … Amputees – A Disconnect?

Mark 11:24 – Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

In his book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster states, “Prayer catapults us onto the frontier of the spiritual life. Of all the spiritual disciplines, prayer is the most central because it ushers us into perpetual communion with the Father.” Although I’d heard many people praising God for all kinds of answered prayers as to health, grades, direction in life, seeing a relative become a Christian, etc, prayer never seemed real to me. The more I heard about answered prayers, the more I wondered whether prayers were really being answered prayers rather was the ‘answer’ the culmination of contributing factors with the most logical outcome being the final result?

Christian Faith – Truth Statements – Deconstruction

I was recently corresponding with a good friend as to the deconstruction of my Christian faith. As is, this friend remains strong in his Christian faith. Using logic likely derived from a college philosophy class, he posited that when it comes to disagreements among Christians, one likely holds to one of the following positions:

1. No one knows which perspective on Christianity is correct.

2. Someone knows which perspective on Christianity is correct.

3. There is no way to know which perspective on Christianity is correct.

4. I don’t know which perspective on Christianity is correct.

5. I do know which perspective on Christianity is correct.