daily life as life goes on . . .

An interesting quote to start the day talking about where education is headed

“. . . an educational age where we increasingly value active learning, student initiative, diverse voices, opensource research, open-ended questions, collaborative problem-solving, working well with others . . .” (Troftgruben, Troy.  “Collaborative Wikis as Final Exams”, Wabash Journal of Teaching, May 2021, p.60)

I’m always on the other side where librarians live.  Do we know what an open source library would look like?  How many paper books would there be?  Can all digital research be found for free?  When is a digital copy a “copy” and not “pirated”?  How do you enforce that?

That started my thinking this morning.  Unfortunately I think I know a number of the answers – and I don’t particularly like them.   Especially for the cash strapped post secondary student!!

What if Jesus were still dead?

What would/could we still believe – with vigor and enthusiasm?

I once led a church in what we called a year of the impossible.  We positioned ourselves to ask whether what we were doing could be done without Jesus.  A great year and a grating year.

First off, we brush our teeth.  I can do that without moving into a meditative state where Jesus guides my toothbrush.  That may be possible, but not necessary.  Seems to me Jesus gave us good teachers to help us understand many things.  We might even call that wisdom. 

So a church runs on the wisdom of God.  We seek to discern through rules and regulations a sense of God’s direction.

And if Jesus had never died, all people should be able to peer into and understand that wisdom (sometimes called general revelation).  God never gave up on us – from the beginning of time, to the exile of the Israelites, to the wars of religion, to . . .

BUT . . . if Jesus were still one of the dead prophets that populate our earth century by century, would his moral teachings remain prominent?  Probably.  Would there be a group of people that gathered to listen for his teachings?  Probably.  Does this look like us today?

What is the difference that happens because Jesus is not dead?

Sorry, I’m not going to answer that right now. 

I’m getting ready to go into the Lenten (forty days) season before Easter (that day we talk about the “I’m no longer dead” time in the Christian calendar).  I want to think anew about that question of “what if Jesus were still dead?”.  Does my life change? 

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13 – English Standard Version of the Christian Bible)

I’ve just finished reading some opinion pieces regarding the latest convoy protests in Canada.  One particularly insightful article by Andrew Coyne (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-our-shared-reality-and-the-knowledge-that-undergirds-it-is-being/) points out that knowledge can come vertically (from the elites) or come horizontally (from peers). 

In this case the idea of vertical knowledge is all about the socialization that happens with observation over time, scientific conclusions and recognized precedents.  But there is no mention of God.  Those who oppose this knowledge are considered to be uneducated and likely to spread misinformation.

For Christians (and most religious groups) this is a problem.  Coyne seems to imply that Christians (a significant part of the convoy) were uneducated and prone to conspiracy theories.  While this may be discerned in some of the protesters, a significant portion are smart and accomplished in  understanding knowledge and wisdom.  But they start, not with the broken and fragmented chips of their peers information, but with a metanarrative that is vertical in nature.  Not the elites, but the creator.  Not the searchers, but the revealer. 

And the question arises – who is the truly knowledgeable one?

In my early years (which I can now say are my teen years), I was the friend of a great enthusiast and passionate evangelist.  He hasn’t really changed – Ron Pearce continues to reach out around the world.  He has a great passion for Bible distribution and indigenous evangelism. 

I ran across a podcast he was a part of talking about the Marks of Revival (on his website at https://ronpearce.org/podcasts?dir=39).  He just reiterated what I have heard him say for a half century.  To me that is wisdom that lasts.

A revival includes people that are re-enthused and getting back into the Bible.  There is a practice of aggressive evangelism, strong discipleship and a stream of new believers.  The unsaved are getting hungry to know God.  AND there is generally a catalyst event that pushes people in their desire for a deep knowledge of God.

I wonder if the last two years – from COVID to unequal wealth to a pending “world war” – we are ready to think more about God?