If God Does Not Exist

16 03 2012

I live in Spain, where one in every three people between 18 and 29 years old don’t believe in the existence of God. Many other countries share a similar statistic. You might be an atheist yourself or, if not, surely know someone who is. Possibly we all would agree that some questions serve as arguments against the existence of God for many, if not most, atheists. Some of these questions are: if God exists, why is there so much suffering in the world? If God exists, why doesn’t he speak to humanity more clearly or tangibly? If God exists, why hasn’t anyone been able to prove his existence? And so on.

These are undoubtedly questions that need to be addressed, but that is not my intention in this article. Actually what I want to do is ask more questions, but from another perspective. Let me invite you to briefly look at the other side of the coin and consider four questions in relation to the existence of God.

First, if God does not exist, how can we have any sense of justice in the world? I believe we all agree that trafficking human beings is wrong and providing food for those who are hungry, for instance, is right. But on which basis do we classify something as right or wrong? Who established these moral standards that we all know exist apart from our own opinions? As C. S. Lewis expressed: “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?”[1]

Secondly, if God does not exist then how was everything created from nothing? Why is there something rather than nothing? We might have different opinions on the origins of the universe and its age, but we all agree it’s not eternal and therefore there was a moment it came into existence. But how could it have come into existence if there was absolutely nothing before? Matter and energy do not originate from nothing; everything in the universe has a cause outside of itself. Have you ever taken your imagination back to that moment and honestly pondered on the Cause behind every cause?  Francis Collins, renowned scientist and leader of the Human Genome Project, has written: “And the very fact that the universe had a beginning implies that someone was able to begin it. And it seems to me that that had to be outside of nature.”[2]

Thirdly, if God does not exist, how come human beings exist? The chances of a universe such as ours to be created randomly are virtually non-existent. Dr Collins writes: “When you look from the perspective of a scientist at the universe, it looks as if it knew we were coming. There are 15 constants: the gravitational constant, (…) nuclear force, etc. that have precise values. If any one of those constants was off by even one part in a million, or in some cases, by one part in a billion, the universe could not have actually come to the point where we see it. (…) There would have been no galaxy, stars, planets or people.”[3] Stephen Hawking interestingly expresses: “it would be very difficult to explain why the universe would have begun in just this way except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us.” [4]

And in fourth place, if God does not exist, how come millions upon millions of people have attested to a personal relationship with him throughout human history? People all over the world, from all sorts of social, intellectual and cultural background believe and live by their faith in a real and personal God. They affirm to be reached by his love, touched by his grace, convicted by his holiness and directed by his words. Their lives have been visibly changed and their relationship to others clearly improved after what they describe to be an encounter with Jesus. Have you considered the possibility that these millions and millions of people might be speaking the truth? Have you ever taken some time to sincerely listen to one of these people’s experiences?

As stated before, I have no pretension to convince anyone of God’s existence through the four questions above. My intention is to invite you to a frank and honest reflection as you try to look at your view about God from another perspective. May I invite you to sincerely reflect on your perception of the most important subject any of us could ever consider? May I invite you to search for more? May I invite you to be honestly open?

Hélder Favarin

[1] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.  Let me open a parenthesis and suggest two books that present the Christian case respectfully, logically and solidly: “The Reason for God” by Timothy Keller and “Mere Christianity”, by C.S. Lewis.

[2] Ref. – Interview of Francis Collians at http://www.salon.com/books/int/2006/08/07/collins/index2.html …Ref. in “The Reason for God,” T. Keller, Dutton, 2008

[3] Ibid.

[4] Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time, p. 127


Comments : 13 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Tough Questions

Social Justice

27 01 2012

I was taking a walk at a park when I saw Claudio from the distance. I walked toward him to begin a conversation. He was clearly a ragamuffin and seemed to have some level of mental disorder. I greeted him and asked his name. I remember asking: “Do you have any food to eat?” “I knock at people’s door and eat what they give me” Claudio calmly replied. His eyes seemed distant and his answers were concise. We spoke briefly and I offered help.  He refused any assistance and soon decided to walk away.

A few days later my heart sank once again. My brother told me he had given a pair of shoes he no longer wore to the man who watches over the cars parked on the streets near a university campus. The man’s reaction was one of overwhelmed joy and gratitude (perhaps the same as the one most of us would have if somebody gave us us  us a Ferrari).

You and I live in a world marked by profound social injustice.

According to a study commissioned by the United Nations food agency, about one third of all food produced for human consumption in the world today is wasted or lost. At the same time, according to the World Health Organization, hunger is the single most serious threat to the world’s public health. Around 25000 people die of hunger or hunger-related causes every day, including 6 million children every year.

How does this make you feel? I guess one of the most common reactions in people who genuinely consider or face social injustice is a sense of revolt and revulsion. We want to rightly shout: “This is not fair!” Don’t you agree?

But why is it not fair? Who are we to say this condition is unjust? Though it may seem cruel to even ask these questions, I do it for the sole purpose of reminding us that an absolute outside pattern is necessary for any situation to be considered just or unjust.

As C. S. Lewis expressed: “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?”[1]

The reality of God, therefore, is what offers humanity a criterion to live by and enables us to determine what is and what is not just. This includes social issues. If the global social injustice breaks our heart, it is because first and foremost it breaks God’s heart. When we cry: “it’s not right!” We are but echoing the cry of God.

There are literally hundreds of references in the bible to God’s concern for social justice. Among them are: “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”[2] “For I, the LORD, love justice”[3]. “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.”[4]

God not only speaks against social injustice, he also chose to immerse himself in this reality through the incarnation of Jesus, the God-Son. And moreover, through the death and resurrection of Jesus he inaugurated an injustice-free kingdom which will be fully established after Christ’s second coming. When this happens, the bible affirms, there “…will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain.”[5]

Undoubtedly we must do whatever we can, wherever we can and whenever we can do to eliminate any form of social injustice in the world. But we are not alone on this mission. There’s a God through whom we know what social justice should look like, who has spoken so clearly regarding it and who is establishing a fully just kingdom for those who belong to him.

Hélder Favarin

[1] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

[2] Isaiah 1:17

[3] Isaiah 61:8

[4] Zechariah 7:9

[5] Rev. 21:4


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : Making a Difference

Grateful to be Alive

6 01 2012

Dostoyevsky, the renowned 19th century Russian novelist, thought he would die thirty-two years before he actually did. He had been sentenced to death due to his association with a socialist group. On December of 1849 he was brought out to St. Petersburg’s Semyonovsky Platz to be killed. However, to his absolute amazement, he was granted a last-minute amnesty. Dostoevsky later described his reaction that day: ‘I walked up and down my cell in the Alekseevsky Ravelin and sang the whole time, sang at the top of my voice, so happy was I at being given back my life.’[1]

Most of us will never face such a dramatic incident. However, I believe all of us have experienced moments in life that cause us to be overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude for existence, haven’t we?

I live those moments when I witness the sunset in Granada; Bill Clinton has actually described it as the most beautiful in the world (I promise I don’t work for the city’s tourist office!). From home I can watch the sun as it hides itself behind the mountains; the blueness of the sky gradually giving room to tones of red, up to the point where the sun completely departs until the next morning. I’ve found myself absorbed by such a view (not that I frequently stare at the sunset for thirty minutes doing nothing – a few seconds are usually enough). A deep breath and a smile are not the only effects. A sense of gratitude for simply being alive accompanies such moments as well.

Os Guiness has portrayed it well: “Have you ever felt that gratitude for existence? A wonder to be alive when wiggling your toes in the sand, hearing the breeze in the trees, or seeing a dewdrop on a rose? Has it ever struck you that no natural things create or sustain themselves? All of the them, including you and me and the entire universe, owe their existence to something else. But to what or whom?”[2] Os Guiness’ question is profoundly significant.

The Bible instructs humanity to recognize that before anything there has always been someone. Before a what, there has always been a who. As the author of all creation, the Bible insists, God is the only legitimate object of our gratitude for existence.

It’s true that God does not need our appreciation. It certainly does not inflate his ego or help us to win extra points in our relationship with the divine. Unique moments that cause us to be grateful for existence are a gift from their architect. I wonder, however, if only the recognition of who has created those moments can make them truly complete for us. I think so.

Hélder Favarin

[1] Os Guiness, Long Journey Home, 49

[2] Ibid, 50.


Comments : 7 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Bar Conversations and Cheap Advice

Hopeful Dissatisfaction

14 10 2011

The Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer has recently been elected the recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature. He was born in Stockholm in 1931 and published his first collection of poems at age 23. In 1990 he suffered a stroke and ever since he has been unable to speak. His prolific work has been translated to over 50 languages and was described by the Nobel committee as able to craft “condensed, translucent images” which “gives us fresh access to reality.” [1]

On the day that Tranströmer was announced as winner, the book I happened to be reading was Confessions, by Augustine. I mention this for a reason: if the Nobel Prize for Literature was already being given in the 5th century, I believe Augustine would possibly have received it for his writing.

More than a hundred titles are accredited to Augustine. The most well known, Confessions, was written between 397 and 398. It has been described as the first Western autobiography and has been widely acclaimed across the centuries by its innovative style and depth of content.

The Confessions’ most popular lines are probably “(…) you have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” [2] I wonder what you think about these words that Augustine utters to God.

In my view, he speaks of what I’d portray as a hopeful dissatisfaction. He refers to the human condition in which our beings seek what they naturally do not have: true rest. For this reason it’s a dissatisfaction. But Augustine also affirms that the existential rest we long for can be found in God. So it’s hopeful.

Augustine’s words echo a common biblical theme. In the Old Testament we read: “For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.” [3] In the New Testament, we find Jesus himself affirming this reality in numerous occasions. A couple of examples are: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” [4] And “if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” [5]

The Christian view, therefore, recognizes that we’re not entirely ourselves until we’re reconnected to our creator. We’re not totally rested, until we rest in him. We’ll never be fully satisfied, until we’re fully joined with him. There’s hope to the human dissatisfaction, the Bible insists.

C. S. Lewis, the renowned Oxford professor and author of the “Chronicles of Narnia”, resonated with the biblical idea and Augustine’s words when writing: “if I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” [6]

No success, wealth, relationship, intellectualism or even Nobel Prizes will eradicate our discontent, for “you have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” [7]

Hélder Favarin

[1] “The Nobel Prize in Literature 2011 – Press Release”. Nobelprize.org. 10 Oct 2011. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2011/press.html

[2]  Augustine, Confessions, Book I, Chapter 1

[3] Psalm 107:9

[4] Matthew 11:28

[5] John 7:37

[6]  C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

[7]  Augustine, Confessions, Book I, Chapter 1


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Spirituality for the Rest of Us

Joyful Contentment

16 09 2011

Levir Rodrigues dos Santos is one of the men I came to admire the most. He was my wife’s dad, my father-in-law. I met him when I was only ten years-old and he made sure I stayed away from his daughter (I’m joking!). Ana and I were engaged when the day suddenly became cloudy, very cloudy: Levir was diagnosed with Leukemia. He was 48-years old. In the next few months he underwent several sessions of chemotherapy. Despite it, a bone marrow transplant was still necessary. His treatment lasted for approximately 3 years. My wife and I got married during this period, at a season when he was well enough to walk her through the church aisle.

Our first year of marriage was marked by very frequent and long visits to the hospital. Levir had to be hospitalized several times due to the consequences of his body’s different rejections to the new bone marrow. On April of 2007, to our indescribable grief, he passed away.

As I reflect back on all that occurred, I’m frankly astonished at Levir’s attitude throughout his treatment. The truth is that he never complained, gave up or lost hope. And if you ask me what amazed me the most, I guess my answer would be: his joyful contentment. People who visited Levir, including those very close to him, would not understand how he could react in such a manner. His joyful contentment was impressive, contagious, optimistic and, as he would also describe it, supernatural. Though lacking health, lacking the perspective of a long life, lacking the assurance he’d grow old with his beloved wife or that he’d see his grandchildren, he was still joyfully content all through those years.

When I use the term joyful contentment I’m not referring to a passive acceptance of reality or a lack of ambition or desires. I understand it as the gladful and thankful embracement of a condition that cannot or does not need to be modified, therefore finding satisfaction in what the circumstance is.

Levir would openly express that this virtue wasn’t his own creation, but a divine gift. He was convinced that only a relationship with God could produce such a state of being. Jeremiah Burroughs, in 1651, interestingly defined the Christian perspective on contentment as “that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.”[1] According to the bible, this joyful contentment is not generated by something else, but by Someone else. It’s brought forth by the sincere trust in God’s control and love.

I think an honest observation recognizes that discontentment is preached and celebrated as a lifestyle by many today. Isn’t it true? A toxic system of discontentment is built and fed by most of the media, the market and other means. The messages go more or less like: “the mobile you bought 3 months ago is not good enough today, buy another one.” “Your body is not attractive enough; modify it.” “The person you married and committed to love years ago is not sexy anymore; have sex with somebody else.” “Twelve hours of work a day is not enough to achieve the goals, work more.” And so on.

It’s not surprising that according to research by psychologist Tim Kasser, “individuals who say that goals for money, image, and popularity are relatively important to them also report less satisfaction in life, fewer experiences of pleasant emotions, and more depression and anxiety.”[2] Discontentment creates a vicious cycle, doesn’t it?

For this reason I believe the biblical message of joyful contentment is so relevant and necessary today. One of its writers, the apostle Paul, describes his own experience: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”[3] Paul was in prison when he wrote these words.

I will always be grateful to Levir for the extraordinary example he was for me and so many others. And honestly, his example gives me hope. It gives me hope that the one who gave him and Paul joyful contentment in the midst of enormous difficulties is able to do the same for me. And for you.

Hélder Favarin

[1] Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 3.

[3] Philippians 4:12-13


Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories : Spirituality for the Rest of Us

Who Am I?

22 07 2011

A story is told that one night Arthur Schopenhauer, a nineteenth century influential philosopher, sat alone in a park in Germany. Thinking he was a tramp, a security guard approached him and asked roughly, “Who are you?” Schopenhauer then replied, “I wish to God I knew”.

What a difficult question to answer, don’t you think? But whether we
intentionally reflect on this question or not, the pursuit of its answer is intrinsic to human nature. I think there are at least three common ways most of us naturally try to answer the question “who am I?”

Firstly, many of us define ourselves by how much we have. In a society that gives more value to those who have more, we find ourselves constantly pressured to relentlessly acquire more and better things.  We easily intertwine our identity with our possessions. As Tracy Chapman would sing:

Consume more than you need
This is the dream
Make you pauper
Or make you queen
I won’t die lonely
I’ll have it all prearranged
A grave that’s deep and wide enough
For me and all my mountains o’ things[1]

Secondly, for some of us our accomplishments (or lack of them) become the  anchor of our identity. I am the post I have at work. I am the degrees I have obtained. I am my level of intellectualism or I am the number of goals achieved.

Nowadays we are also increasingly describing ourselves by the number and the profile of the people we are connected to. The number of friends on Facebook or followers on Twitter can determine how valued or important we feel we are. The level of popularity or acceptance we perceive to have in a particular circle of people easily becomes the foundation of our self-esteem.

Nevertheless, Christians believe that our answer to the question “who am I?” ought to originate from another source: the unconditional love of God for us, which is ultimately demonstrated in Jesus. Brennan Manning wisely advises, “define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.”[2] He also asserts, “If I must seek an identity outside of myself, then the accumulation of wealth, power, and honors allures me. Or I may find my center of gravity in interpersonal relationships. [...] when I draw life and meaning from any source other than my belovedness, I am spiritually dead. When God gets relegated to second place behind any bauble or trinket, I have swapped the pearl of great price for painted fragments of glass.”[3]

From which well are we drinking in our journey to define who we are? Possessions, accomplishments or connections undoubtedly have their places in our lives. Yet, I believe, they cannot become substitutes for the only true axis of the identity we were created to have.

“Who am I?” asked Thomas Merton, and he answered, “I am one loved by Christ.”[4] What would our response be?

Hélder Favarin

[1] Tracy Chapman, Mountains O’Things

[2] Brennan Manning, Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging

[3] Ibid.

[4][4] James Finley, Merton’s palace of nowhere, p. 96


Comments : 4 Comments »

Categories : Bar Conversations and Cheap Advice

Followers

13 07 2011

As one of the largest and fastest growing social networks, Twitter has now over 200 million users. The network allows users to communicate messages with a maximum of 140 characters, called ‘tweets’. Only last year, 25 billion tweets were sent in Twitter land.[1] As we know, many celebrities are using the network widely and some companies have even hired people to exclusively manage their Twitter account.

In order to receive real time ‘tweets’ from someone, it’s necessary to become a follower of that person. Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, for example, have more than 10 million followers on Twitter. There are even applications that exist to help you increase the number of followers and therefore reach a broader audience.

Twitter’s use of the term follower is obviously very shallow and vague. By choosing to simply be aware of what some people have to say, I become their follower.

A much deeper and radical notion of what it means to follow someone is at the heart of Jesus’ teaching. He once said to Peter and James, two brothers who worked as fishermen: “Come, follow me.”[2] These young men left their work, own aspirations and security in order to embrace the unknown beside Jesus.

Some people are happy to follow Jesus in the Twitter way: brief interactions and quick messages with the option of clicking the ‘unfollow’ bottom anytime they wish. But according to Jesus’ own words, this is not what he has in mind. He expressed: “whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”[3]

To be a follower of Jesus means to surrender entirely to Him. It means to plan, work, study, decide, choose, relate, etc. in light of Jesus’ teachings. It requires exclusivity, as Jesus himself said we cannot serve two masters.[4]

Jesus’ declaration to Peter and James (and then to many others) was unconventional. Such words would not typically come from a Rabbi, a Jewish teacher, like Jesus. Young men would seek a Rabbi to become his follower and not the other way round. Jesus’ seeking out disciples himself may therefore represent a serious breach of custom.[5] What he invites us into is not a system, an ideology or even a religion; it’s a relationship.

Many consider that the level of commitment that Jesus asks of his followers is simply too extreme and unrealistic for today’s society. Following someone on Twitter is as far as many of us are willing to go. But have you considered going further? Honestly, I’ve been astonished by the beauty, mystery, freedom and love found in the journey of becoming his follower.


Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories : Bar Conversations and Cheap Advice

And Suddenly It Rains

24 06 2011

There is a huge open field near to where I live. The vegetation is low and the soil is dry, typical of southern Spain. I like to reflect and pray as I walk by this field. Recently, after breakfast, I looked out the window and noticed that there were clouds in the sky, but the sun was still shining. I decided to leave for a walk. When I was about a mile from home I felt a drop of water falling on me. I did not pay much attention to it and continued at the same pace. Soon there was another small drop of water, and then another, then another! I changed direction and quickened the pace. After a few seconds, the rain was falling heavily and I was running back home. As you can imagine, I got completely soaked.

Life is full of surprises, isn’t it? Boris Pasternak, a Russian poet and winner of a Nobel Prize in literature, affirmed that ‘surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.’[1]

Though we all love good surprises, our journeys are marked with surprises we would rather not have received. They break into our lives as uninvited guests. One second you are dry and the next you’re wet. One second you have a job and the next you are unemployed. One second you are healthy and the next you are ill. One second you are beside the person you love, the next they’re no longer around. This is life and we’ve all experienced it.

I am constantly impressed with the Bible’s transparency and openness on this subject. Any honest reader would come to the conclusion that it does not offer any guarantee that those who decide to follow God would not suffer, as a result of unexpected changes. Almost half of its largest book, the Psalms, can be described as laments – their authors were experiencing unforeseen negative surprises which placed them into situations they would rather escape from.

At the same time, a profound message of hope and solidarity emerges from the pages of the Bible. It reveals a God who desires and promises to be with us through all the unexpected changes of our existence.  David, author of numerous psalms, confessed: ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me [...].’[2]

Thomas Chalmers, a Scottish mathematician and religious leader born in 1780, echoed the same confidence: ‘When I walk by the wayside, He is along with me. When I enter into company amid all my forgetfulness of Him, He never forgets me. In the silent watches of the night, when my eyelids are closed and my spirit has sunk into unconsciousness, the observant eye of Him who never slumbers is upon me. I cannot fly from his presence.’[3]

It might rain when I least expect. But I certainly will not be alone. And that, I am sure, makes all the difference.

Hélder Favarin

[1] Reavey, George, The Poetry of Boris Pasternak, p. 5

[2] Psalm 23:4

[3] ‘The Scots magazine and Edinburgh literary miscellany’, Vol. 79, p. 126


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : The Heart of Faith

And then, what?

15 06 2011

“Eat your vegetables”, parents will often advise their children at the table. In the last few days, however, the common advice in Europe has been very different: “Be careful with raw vegetables.” An outbreak of the bacteria E. coli in Germany has killed several people and left hundreds fighting the infection across the continent. The source of the deadly E. coli is still unknown, but is thought to be present in some raw vegetables.

To be seen by the naked eye, an E. coli bacteria needs to be magnified around 10.000 times. Yet, a group of them is capable of killing a human being within a few days. It’s sad to think that some people in Germany were enjoying a meal not knowing it’d actually take their lives away. Who in the world would imagine such a thing?

Let’s admit it: life is fragile. As sang by the pop star Sting:

On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are how fragile we are [1]

James, author of a book in the Bible, tells his readers: “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” [2]

Please let me invite you to consider a short but profound question: “and then, what?” Life is fragile and we might lose it when we least expect. And then, what?

I’m certainly not suggesting we should be obsessed with death; however, I think it’d be unwise not to seriously reflect on something that I know will take place. Don’t you consider it curious that we often worry about and ‘pre-occupy’ ourselves with possibilities (most of which never occur as we foresaw them) and we simply ignore certain situations that will surely become real at some point? In my opinion, the fragility of life and therefore the reality of death is an example.

Jesus mentioned the existence of an eternal life several times. To give an example: “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” [3] Although we don’t like to hear it, Jesus actually made several references to only two places people will spend their eternity.

And then, what? Your answer, and I respect it, could be: “there’s nothing”. But have you considered a different possibility? Have you sincerely considered that Jesus might be telling the truth? Wouldn’t now, while we haven’t yet fully tasted life’s fragility, be a good moment to seriously ponder our view?

As a Christian I take Jesus’ words to be true. Despite the fact that my life is more fragile than I want to admit, I believe that because of him I can hope for an  infinitely better and eternal life.

C. S. Lewis beautifully expressed this assurance at the end of his final novel in “The Chronicles of Narnia” series. Making reference to the main characters of the book and their time in Narnia, his metaphor paints a picture of the Christian hope:

“But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read; which goes on forever; in which every chapter is better than the one before.” [4]

Hélder Favarin

[1] ‘Fragile’, by Sting.

[2] James 4:14

[3] John 14:2-3

[4] C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle, p. 228


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Making a Difference

Youtube and all of life’s voices

2 05 2011

When was the last time you watched a video on internet? My guess would be not long ago. Online videos have ignited a new worldwide communication revolution. Through giant platforms, such as YouTube or Facebook, anyone can freely show anything to millions and millions of people. It’s impressive to consider that 35 hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute and the website now has over 2 billion views a day.[1] As an example, we can think of Asmaa Mahfouz, a young Egyptian activist who posted a homemade video on Facebook and YouTube. The video became viral across Egypt and has been described as a key factor to spark the protests that led to Egypt’s national revolt.

I recently heard Chris Anderson, curator of the renowned TED Conferences, speaking about this revolution (well, I actually watched his talk through an online video). He confidently asserted that “It’s not too much to say that what Gutenberg did for writing, online video can now do for face-to-face communication [...] One person speaking can be seen by millions, shedding bright light on potent ideas, creating intense desire for learning and to respond.”[2]

I wonder whether our constant quest for more evolved means of communication reflects a facet of our Imago Dei (to be made in the image of God). Based on the biblical narrative I believe that a divine communication revolution has taken place in the world since its origin. From the very beginning of creation, God takes the initiative to speak to humanity.  According to the first chapter of the Bible, God created Adam and Eve, blessed them and immediately after spoke to them.[3]

Throughout history God continued to communicate with humanity in various ways, until he spoke most plainly and powerfully through Jesus, the God-Son. Jesus was even described in the opening of John’s Gospel as the Word (in the original Greek, as the logos). From my reading of the Bible, and by experience, I’ve come to realize that God’s words create, heal, connect, teach, call, inspire, change, liberate and give hope. Mysteriously, God seems to speak with enough loudness to be heard and enough gentleness to be avoided. In doing so, he shows his infinite love and at the same time respects the freedom that he gave to each of us.

C.S. Lewis, the renowned Oxford and Cambridge professor and author of The Chronicles of Narnia, did not resist the attraction of God’s voice. He describes his personal experience from atheist to Christian in Surprised by Joy: “You must picture me alone in that room [...] night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me [...] I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed.”

Online videos are undoubtedly giving us an unprecedented access to the message of millions of people from all over the world. In the midst of the increasing number of voices we hear and the revolution this is causing, I believe the most important questions have not changed: can we hear the incomparable voice of the one speaking from the beginning of our existence? Can we, or perhaps, are we willing to listen to the voice of God?


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : On Anything and Everything, Spirituality for the Rest of Us

« Previous Entries


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 635 other followers