Two mysteries solved, then unsolved (or dissolved?)

I have been thinking recently about two great mysteries. I thought I had both solved, but I'm probably wrong.

The first great mystery

What English plural noun shares no letters with its singular form(s)?

It's a noun, so it's not the pronoun "ye" (singular: "thou") or "you" (singular: "thee") or "your" (singular: "thine").

What I came up with was "pants" (singular: "leg," as in "one leg of these pants was hemmed, but the other wasn't" or "put on their pants one leg at a time").

But the Official Answer (from cartalk.com) was: "kine" which basically means "cattle." The singular would be "cow" or maybe "bull". I prefer the latter, but neither shares any letter with "kine".

I still think "pants" was a better answer.

The second great mystery...

I mentioned dualism the other day. Actually I didn't mention it, but I alluded to it. The topic was what Jeff Schwartz (in The Mind and the Brain) calls "don't-have-a-clue materialism", the view that says that "mind" is purely physical, but offers no explanation of how consciousness arises from electrochemical interactions. By whatever means it arises, arise it must via physical means -- so goes the argument -- because these guys hate the idea that two worlds (the physical and non-physical) could somehow interact. So this second mystery is, succinctly, "How can something non-material, the ‘thought’ world, affect something material? And vice versa?"

Materialists, who claim to be the one word of truth in science, trot out this pair of questions in order to ridicule those of us who believe that things like consciousness and decision-making and love and commitment are real if not physical. And I do believe that, by the way: Love and loyalty and promises are real; they are not just illusions conjured up by electrochemical reactions.

So what is my answer to this second mystery? Well, professional philosophers like the Churchlands (who seem to have lost their philosophical moorings IMO) probably have a sophisticated answer to this, but the answer is as simple and as mind-boggling as the greatest invention in history: the written word.

Think of it: an idea, something like "God created the heavens and the earth, and created humans to be co-regents of the earth," or "The same law will apply both to you and to the alien living among you," or "e^πi+1=0" (sorry, I just had to throw that one in). Anyway, an idea (which is surely not material; what is its mass?) can be encoded into something physical -- marks on stone or paper. That piece of stone or paper (or a magnetic core, or disk drive or CD-ROM) can carry this abstract idea into the future or across the oceans -- or for that matter transmitted via wire or radio or fiber, as email or fax or...

And this idea can set a subcontinent ablaze, like the Danish cartoon suggesting that followers of Muhammad are violent. Some months after being published, it was taken to some Islamic countries, where Muhammad's followers took offense, staged riots, set buildings on fire, and in so doing proved their accuser correct.

People may object that the idea is communicated to its recipient by purely physical means (something visible or audible, right?) and hence it's still physical affecting physical. But that's no answer unless they can answer the questions Hofstadter asks in his 1970s work, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. Though that book is some 30 years old, the answers are still elusive. Gee, I guess we could have said that about AI theorists....

Anyway, what is it about "All men are created equal" that remains the same when translated from text to speech, from English to French or Japanese, or whatever? Nothing material, surely!

And how about the concept of "truth"? -- that's not physical either. And as Lewis asked over six decades ago, if thought is just the irrelevant by-product of electrochemical interactions, why on earth is it trustworthy?

So, as an idea (and its truth or falsity) can come into the physical world by text or speech (in any language), and from the physical world into the mind of a living soul by reading or hearing. Since we do that every day, why is it so hard to imagine that consciousness (not to mention love, fidelity, faithfulness, loyalty, promises and so on) are real albeit not physical?

Perils of Unbelief

Today's readings, in both Old and New Testament, describe two cases where God said, but the hearer didn't listen. In each case, the hearer was from the tribe of Levi; in each case, the hearer arguably should have known better. From the Old Testament, in the book of Numbers, the Israelites ran out of water and complained to Moses and Aaron. Then...

⁶Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. ⁷The Lord said to Moses, ⁸"Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."

Numbers 20:6-8

They have their instructions. Not entirely clear exactly what they were supposed to say to the rock, but "Speak" sounds pretty clear. What did they do?

⁹So Moses took the staff from the Lord's presence, just as he commanded him. ¹⁰He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" ¹¹Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

Numbers 20:9-11

Given the instructions, why did Moses hit the rock instead? Hearing problem perhaps? Well, they had hit a rock before, back in Exodus 17, and it worked. H'm. God wasn't too happy with them, though, because they did what they thought would work; they didn't believe and obey what he said:

¹²But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."

Numbers 20:12

Pretty harsh. This gives me the impression that God considers faith and obedience a lot more important than expedience.

Our New Testament hearer is Zechariah. He was a priest, and his division was on duty at the temple. He was chosen by lot to offer incense, and while he was inside, an angel appeared!

¹²When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. ¹³But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.

Luke 1:12-13

The angel gives him some more info about what the son will be like, and during this time I guess Zechariah became less afraid and more incredulous, because

¹⁸Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."

¹⁹The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."

Luke 1:18-20

That didn't work so well for Zechariah, either. Why didn't he believe the angel?

Here's what I think. I think old Zechariah and his wife had prayed for many years for a child, and the lack of children was a matter of shame to them, a sign of being out of favor with the Lord. I suppose that maybe, just maybe, old Zechariah was tired of being disappointed and decided that he didn't want to be disappointed again. I can relate to that.

Both Moses and Zechariah felt, I think, that their lives were out of control. Both men had asked God and been refused. Like me, they were not always happy with what God had given them. Like me, they were each given an opportunity to surrender part of their lives to the Lord one more time. And like me, they sometimes blew it.

Both men faced some consequences, but they also received blessings after their failure to believe.

May gratitude overcome disappointment in our lives. May we focus on God's blessings and not obsess about the disappointments. And when the Lord comes to us with another opportunity to trust him, to take a step of faith, to risk disappointment yet again... may we have courage to be open to what he has for us.

For we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved

(from somewhere in the Bible)

Wanted: Failures

Toward the end of Mark's gospel, we see that just about everyone close to Jesus failed in some way or another. Judas betrayed him. Peter denied knowing him. The other ten fled.

The Romans crucified Jesus, and Joseph of Arimathea put the body into a tomb before the Sabbath started.

¹When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. ²Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"

Mark 16.1-3

This is a bit of a quibble, and I can't really blame them, as they were surely distraught about the death of their teacher and friend, but they went off to the tomb without a clue how they were going to get in. This was a huge stone, not a sliding door. F.F. Bruce even wrote a book about it.

You may recall that the stone had already been moved. An angel was there; he told them that Jesus had risen, and he gave them some instructions:

⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' " ⁸Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Mark 16:7-8

So, they don't follow the instructions either.

Why does Mark tell us this, and what does it, or should it, mean to us? Here's what I think. It's not just that some people fail, but everyone fails at one time or another. Everyone who wants to be close to Jesus and to be useful to him has to goof up. That's a strange-sounding sort of requirement but it reminds me of two things:

• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom...
  (Jesus said that.) The kingdom is only for those who know that they're truly bankrupt.
  It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners...
  Jesus said that, too.
• I don't remember which management book I read this in -- Drucker's Effective Executive maybe? -- but there are some places that won't take a senior executive who hasn't had a significant failure. Maybe it was Senge's Fifth Discipline?

In other words, there are some places where you can't be used unless you've failed, or you know your failure. The Kingdom of Heaven is one such place. Which is good news for those of us who aren't perfect.

Don't insult Him!

Note: I added an update to Friday's post and a correction to Tuesday's.

Some of the Israelites rebel against Moses, and God is angry with them.

²⁰The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²¹"Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once."

Numbers 16:20-21

What happens afterward is not pretty, but what I noticed was their response:

²²But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?"

Numbers 16:22

I think this has got to be part of their training -- God training Moses and Aaron I mean. They have many years of leadership ahead of them, and something they really need is patience. I suspect that God was giving voice to some of the exasperation that Moses -- and maybe Aaron too at this point -- felt toward these exasperating people. And by doing that, I suppose he awakened their compassion, another leadership essential.

Something else I noticed from this passage -- one might think that these guys (Korah and his followers I mean) were only insulting Moses and Aaron, but the Lord is apparently pretty upset with them, because "...these men have treated the Lord with contempt." (Numbers 16:30, emphasis added). when God puts someone in a leadership role, he seems to take it pretty seriously. That's something to remember when I'm tempted to criticize a pastor or other church leader.

What would you have done?

When Jesus was arrested by the priests and their thugs, Peter followed at a distance.

⁶⁶While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. ⁶⁷When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him."You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus," she said. ⁶⁸But he denied it. "I don't know or understand what you're talking about," he said, and went out into the entryway.

Mark 14.66-68

Do you ever wonder what you would have done in that circumstance? I suppose some of us think we wouldn't have denied knowing Jesus, but I don't think most of us can imagine the pressure and sense of danger, or what was going through Peter at this point.

In a way, one could say Peter didn't know the man being beaten and abused by the priests and soldiers; he knew a powerful rabbi, who he thought would bring back the kingdom of God and Israel's glory.

But that's quibbling. He said he didn't know what the girl was talking about.

Was that awful? Yes, it was very bad.

Would I have done any different? I might not have even made it to the priest's courtyard.

But the important thing is this: No matter how bad Peter's failure was, as we know from other Scriptures, he was restored to fellowship and became an important leader in the church.

And that's the good news I take from this passage -- multiple failures don't disqualify one from serving the Lord. So it is with my failures -- or yours; because of God's great love for us, shown on the cross, we can have fellowship with him; more than that, he can and will use us to achieve his ends on the earth.

Just an hour

Today's New Testament reading is from Mark 14, from the Last Supper to the arrest in Gethsemane. You may recall that Jesus takes Peter, James and John aside with him and prays, in great distress.

³⁷Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? ³⁸Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Mark 14.37-38

Jesus makes it sound easy, doesn't he? "Couldn't you stay awake for an hour?"

Sure, but they've had the Passover meal, including what I assume to be a nontrivial amount of wine. Big meal with wine, late at night... I think it would be hard to stay awake. I find it hard enough to stay focused praying for an hour without something written in front of me; these guys were watching, maybe not even praying.

So, sitting still, staying awake, praying or meditating -- it's not just sleep-deprived 21st-century man that finds this difficult. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Philip Yancey says so, too:

When I hear of people who spend an hour a day meditating, I wonder how they do it. I strain to spend fifteen minutes, and anything longer tends to degenerate into distraction and lapses of concentration.

Philip Yancey
Prayer — Does it Make any Difference?
(Zondervan, 2006), p.158

How do we address this weakness of the flesh? I guess it's with training, and the Apostle Paul will have something to say about that later.

(added Yancey's quote 3/11)

Kill me now, please

Starfleet Admiral James T. Kirk confronts a Klingon warrior at gunpoint in the film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. "Help us or die," he orders.

The Klingon straightens his shoulders. "I do not deserve to live," he says.

Kirk then orders him sent to the brig, and the Klingon protests. "Wait! You said you would kill me." Today's Old Testament reading, from the book of Numbers, shows Moses so vexed by the people's constant wailing that he asks God to kill him.

He asked the Lord, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? .... I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now — if I have found favor in your eyes — and do not let me face my own ruin."

Numbers 11.11-12,14-15

Now that's vexation. Kill me now, he says.

What a trial that must have been for Moses! Ordered by God to do the impossible, he tried to decline, but God would have none of that. So now he's got however many hundreds of thousands of people in the desert, and they're all complaining because they have no onions and garlic and leeks. A mission from God; that's worth getting vexed over.

This makes me wonder: What vexes me? The fear of catastrophic failure trying to fulfill a mission from God? I think of these guys who jumped out skyscraper windows because of the stock market, and I guess they felt that way -- failing in their mission, facing their ruin.

But would any failure be worth enough vexation to die over?

posted 3/9