Sunday, a small lizard sat in
the middle of the church parking lot. My
thought, “Oh, little cutie, you will get squashed by a big car if you sit
here!” A little nudge and it moved a few
inches. Then it stopped. I repeated my efforts. It repeated its pathetic progression. That is when I realized it was
overheated. It could not move farther.
I bumbled but finally caught the
critter. As I stood, a lady came up and
asked, “What did you drop?” I showed her
the lizard. Her hands shot out in resistance. Her face lined in horror. “I do not do bugs!” She exclaimed.
I was confused by her
miss-classification, so replied, “No, it’s a gecko.”
She backed away in terror, still
with raised hands and head shaking. She
turned to flee, insisting she did not do bugs.
I looked at the lizard and saw only
beauty. It had settled on my hand,
calmed by the reduction of heat. Its
spots glistened in the sunshine. Its
tail stripes draped across my palm. How
could anyone disapprove of such a wonderful animal?
Like the lady, too many
Christians fear the world. She calls non-mammals
“bugs,” monsters that fill nightmares. Some
people add mammals too. Phobias distort
reality and produce overwhelming panic. The
fear is real. The reason for fear is
not. Deep distress keeps them from examining
God’s creation.
Some religious beliefs instill cultural
phobias. Logic distorts reality. “Lizards are snakes with legs. Snakes are evil. Therefore, lizards are evil.” However, snakes are not evil. Evil is a thought or action that requires a
choice to reject goodness. God did not
give any animal such a choice, only humans.
Animals must act as God made them to act.
The voice of the serpent in the
biblical garden came from someone, but not the serpent. That voice required an entity that had
choice. The animal did not loose arms
and legs. It’s DNA
did not suddenly change to condemn all generations to follow. That would be cruel of God, evil. Instead, the one who spoke through the serpent
was cursed to look like the innocent creature it occupied. Follow that whisperer distorts a person
spiritually. We grow to think like him. Then, he uses their arms, legs, and mouths to
carry out his evil plans.
Religious phobias run deep in
Christianity. Anything that causes pain,
suffering, or death must be “natural evils.”
Theology then sets blame. “It
happened because of sin” or “Satan did it.”
Our culture rejects blaming God.
Blame is bad. Blame
condemns. God is too good to blame. Such a perfect God cannot be responsible for
creating bacteria that infect or cancer causing mutations. We shift the blame and remove responsibility
from God.
Christianity fears insulting
God. However, the Book of Job says such
theologies insult God. The Creator takes
responsibility for creating everything, even the big bad scary things. His “hedge” holds back problems. He removes the barriers to let problems arise.
God is in control, and Satan must ask
permission to cause trouble. Illness and
distress are not always punishment, but often a time of spiritual growth.
Being responsible is not the
same as blamed. God made the universe to
function with natural laws to govern its existence. Within those laws, randomness is
allowed. That means earthquakes, tsunamis,
and tornados happen on a “living” planet.
Evolution requires randomness in DNA
to produce variations and transform a species into something new. Randomness gives humans the gift of free
will. God can use or tweak any part of
creation, but generally, he lets randomness happen. God retains responsibility for the bacteria
that infects animals. Humans have the
responsibility to learn how to defend ourselves from infection. That is the natural way. Taking responsibility is God’s way. No blame is required.
As I pondered our cultural
aversion to things that frighten, I wanted to share my view of God’s good
creation. However, no children were around,
not one person who cared. I finally
found a spot with shade to let the small lizard go. Yet, it had found security. I, the monster in its eyes, was now a place
of safety, and it climbed my arm away from the grass.
I think, humans are like this
creature. If we experience suffering,
then we resist a repeat experience. We
cannot imagine how another change might possibly be good. Fear forces us to run from beauty. Panic distorts goodness into evil. People cling to theologies that teach us God
is not in control because that would mean He let us feel pain. They reject Paul’s joy found through suffering.
But, as God knows what is truly
good for us, I knew what was good for the lizard. No food would be found on my arm. The gecko would not be free living in a cage. I forced the frightened animal from its
clinging hold and the beautiful little lizard disappeared into the darkness, to
recover.
Whom do you blame for the
problems outside of your control?
[Lessons learned from Creation’s Parables: Genesis and Standard Science, Sung as One, by
Jo Helen Cox.]