Evolving Grace...

I found myself frequently thinking about the processes of human evolution today. My knowledge on the topic of evolution is limited to a college Biology class and many discussions with friends who are biology majors, but I've learned enough to know the basics of evolutionary theory.

I was thinking in particular about how our evolutionary history affects most, if not all, aspects of human behavior. For example, a couple of weeks ago I heard a feature on the BBC on stress. The gist of the program was that the feeling of stress has its origins as a basic competitive advantage; people that had a higher sense of stress were more capable of surviving in the wild than those who did not, were able to reproduce more, etc (the basic notion of survival of the fittest). In other words, the idea of stress they discussed was born directly out of the need for self preservation. If you had a healthy sense of stress, and as a result were more aware of animals that might try to eat you when walking through a wilderness, you would have had a better chance of surviving. If such an animal appeared and your stress levels increased to the point that you were forced to run away and escape or be eaten, your chances of survival would again be greater, and survival is basically the name of the game.

So this is one example of how evolution has affected our emotions and behavior. There are countless other examples of how the process of evolution has shaped us. What I was thinking about today was the basic evolutionary notion to compete. Everyone (and everything) in the world must compete in some sense for resources that enable survival. The question I was thinking the most about today was whether this desire to compete is our most basic instinct. If it is, doesn't the concept of competition stand in direct opposition to the heart of the gospel?

Christ called his followers to be self-effacing not self promoting, give away all they had and follow him, consider others better than themselves, etc. These behaviors would put most people at a competitive disadvantage. If the world order was shaped by evolutionary forces, did Christ come to undo the scientific processes by which the world was created?

I think there are a couple of ways (among others) this question could be taken. One way is to reject the concept of evolution completely as unfounded scientific theory that should not be taken seriously. Another way is to reject one of the premises that lead to the question, like maybe that Christ didn't actually teach his followers to behave in the way I've outlined, or that those behaviors are not actually a disadvantage. The third way, and the way I'd answer, would be that yes, Christ did come to undo many of the natural processes of evolution. In fact, I would say that many of the evolutionary impulses that shape our behavior are also the basis of our sinful nature.

John Calvin's notion of depravity was that humans are basically selfish, which caused our sin. We'd rather love ourselves than something or someone outside of us. Isn't that the basis of survival, as evolution would explain it?

To be continued...

Tipping Points

I recently read Malcolm Gladwell's book, "The Tipping Point." It was a very informational read and I enjoyed it. To summarize, the book examines the ways in which social epidemics are started. Gladwell's writing style is very entertaining, as most of his points are made through illustrative stories to the point that each chapter almost feels like a separate narrative.

Gladwell defines a Tipping Point as the moment at which a social movement, fashion, or product becomes a phenomenon. There are many ways that movements "tip", but most often there is not one single cause of a Tipping Point. Usually many different, smaller causes combine to transform a movement into a phenomenon.

In many ways, I feel as if I'm ready for a tipping point in my own life, and am hopefully on the verge of one. The Tipping Point I hope for is the one that causes me to embrace the life Monica and I have chosen in Seattle. We're on the verge of realizing many of our goals related to moving here: I think we're about to become a part of some great communities, we're ready to settle into a (two?) church(es?), we're meeting people who perhaps might help us attain gainful employment, we're settling into this geographic region by spending time both inside and out of the city, and we're learning more about married life.

My hope is that this Tipping Point is the culmination of what we've been working towards during and after college. In college we realized many of the things that were important to us about our future lives, and felt that by moving we were setting ourselves up to best fulfill those values. I think that our tipping point is coming, but which way things will tip I am not entirely certain of.

Jobs

I don't have a job right now. That is frightening and hard for me on many levels, because I often feel like I need to be doing something productive to feel useful. I also feel like every time I send out a resume or have an interview that I never hear back about, that someone has reviewed my qualifications--and more so me as an individual--and has rejected me or deemed me not qualified. In some circumstances I'm fine with their decisions, especially when I feel like I may not have been qualified for the position anyway. But sometimes, when I don't hear back from people whom I believe I have something to offer, it just hurts a little.

I know that people are busy at work and that there are many imperfections in the ways we communicate that sometimes may prevent someone entirely from reviewing my resume and qualifications. I also know that I shouldn't take it personally when I do not receive any kind of formal reply from a company. It just gets old after a while. One can only take so much.

I think that work will come soon, at least I'm trying to make it that way. I've tried to stay busy while not working, but lately I've found myself with a lot of downtime that I either can't or won't use for anything productive. That bothers me on many levels, because there's plenty of things I could be doing that are productive. I've also come to value the times when I feel like I'm doing something normal, or something that I should be doing. For example, going to bed. That may sound strange, but when I go to bed I feel like "ok, this is something that I need to do and I'm doing it." It feels like a small victory.

Also, despite not working, I still really look forward to the weekends. On the weekend I feel normal again, because I know that even if I had a job, I probably wouldn't be working, and that a lot of people who do have jobs aren't working while I'm not, as they would be during the week. It's just nice.

I guess all this is to say that I often realize in my self that I am obsessed with what I cannot or do not have. When I'm not working, I strongly desire to work. When I was in school and swamped with work at the end of a semester, all I could think about was when I wouldn't have any obligations and the freedom that comes with that. I guess the lesson I've learned during this time is that like so many areas of life, I need balance in my working life. Even now I don't desire to be swamped with work, and I'm sure that the next time I'm overwhelmed with work I won't desire complete freedom from my responsibilities, because both situations aren't balanced. I think everyone has a different balancing point, but I admire people who know their's, and I hope to be one.

Catch Up

So I'm settling in to city life (and married life) quite well. I've enjoyed being able to walk to most places we need to go, use my bike as a viable form of transportation, and sit around in our apartment and watch people go by through the window. And with no work, I've had a lot of time to do these things.

Seattle really is a beautiful place, especially on days like today when the sun is shining brightly. The summer temperatures here is seem to often be close to perfect. Mid 70's during the day, then cooling off in the evenings to the point that you are comfortable wearing just about any clothes you'd like. When it's clear here, the city is surrounded to the east and west by mountains, and Mount Rainier looms over the city to the South. When combined with the 3 main bodies of water that surround the city, it's quite a sight to behold.

I'm looking forward to being plugged in to some good communities here. With our family we already have created one community that I appreciate very much. It will be good to make more friends though, because it will make this city feel like our personal home. I also hope to find work soon, because summer can't last forever. That will be good.

Spring thoughts

Notre Dame football is wrapping up spring practice this week with an intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday. The number one question going into spring practice this year was: Who is going to be the starting quarterback next year?

Notre Dame has more depth at quarterback now than they've had in years (maybe ever, but I don't know for sure) thanks to the recruiting efforts of Charlie Weis. As of now, it appears that James Clausen and Demetrius Jones have emerged from the pack as the favorites for the starting job come fall. This assumption is speculative in nature, based on the rosters for the upcoming spring game. Jones and Clausen were put on the same team for the game, a team which has a significant amount of projected offensive starters, and a low amount of defensive starters, thus creating the situation of first team offense against first team defense when they have the ball.

Which brings us to the number two question surrounding the team going into the spring (at least in the minds of most fans-or this fan): How effective will new defensive coordinator Corwin Brown be at implementing the new defense? By all accounts, the answer seems to be very effective. The switch to the the 3-4 front not only seems to fit the personnel currently on the team better, but it also projects to be a schematic advantage, due to the ability to bring many different rushes from the same formation.

All that being said, it's going to be a very interesting fall. I guess the third question would be: Is there someone on the team who can make a field goal in a game? But the answer to that won't come until the Irish take the field against Ga Tech.

Easter Thoughts

I had the privelege of spending easter in Florida with family. We went to a sunrise service on the beach, and it is a beautiful setting for a church service--if you can stay awake.

This particular sunrise service has a wide appeal, so literally thousands of people show up, and I can't help but feel like the service ends up being a little watered down because of the desire to appeal to "seekers". I think pastors feel pressure on holidays like Easter when they think that some people are only in church because it is Easter and as a result they have to take the opportunity to reach those people with the message of salvation. Many times this attempt is made in vain, leaving people scratching their heads as to what they did wrong, or how else they should try to reach out to those they deem not yet saved.

It also seems like pastors feel the pressure to constantly re-invent the salvation story in order to remain relevant. But this attempt to stay relevant is futile. The gospel story is by very nature relevant, because when portrayed accurately it speaks to the heart of the human condition. If people actually thought "what would jesus do?" before they acted, can you imagine how relevant the gospel would be? If believers actually sought to live lives inspired by the Grace God has freely given by seeking to love our neighbors as ourselves, by seeking to act as salt in the wounds of our world, by seeking peace--how relevant would that message be?

When I read the Easter story, I can't help but be amazed by the work Christ did on the cross. What is often left out of the Easter story is that even those who were directly responsible for the death of Christ were not excluded from the grace he offers. Can you imagine being put to death in order to save the people who were responsible for injustly killing you? What kind of ridiculous love is that? I think it frames nicely the message of the Easter story. We often identify the most with the followers of Jesus when we read the crucifixion story, because we are so good at persuading ourselves that we are actually better than we are, . We think of the Pharisees as those other people who are not followers of Christ. But that's a misreading of the message at the heart of the story. We're all much closer to being Pharisees than disciples.

Someone I know put it nicely once. He was talking about "The Passion of the Christ," and the charges of anti-semitism that were brought against Mel Gibson. He said that Mel Gibson was asked during an interview, "Who really killed Jesus?" to which he responded "We all did." This seems like a satisfactory answer, but it's only half true. My friens said "It's not only that we all did kill Jesus; it's that we all would."

We all would like to kill someone who comes to challenge the very nature of what it means to be human, who rejects the confines of this world to offer us something immeasurably better, who claims to know the true meaning of scripture when that meaning is contradictory to our interpretation, and who spends his time with those who warrant no esteem from the respected institutions of society. That man would not be taken seriously by those whom we have deemed the religious authority, and would challenge the very nature of their belief.

One final quote that I hope wraps up all this rambling. In the Chronicles of Narnia, Lucy asks "Is he (Asland) safe?" The response she receives is, "Well, he's not safe--but he is good."

He's not safe-- but he's good.

Two good, clean jokes

One day at recess, Ms. Smith cathces bobby making faces at some of the other children. She pulls him aside and says, "Bobby, when I was a child, I was told that if I made ugly faces, my face would be stuck that way." Bobby looks up at her and says, "Well, you can't say you weren't warned."

Jon is driving down Highway 208 talking on his phone one day, when he gets a call from his wife on the other line. When he answers the call, she says "Jon, I just saw on the news that there's some crazy person driving down Highway 208 the wrong way. Please be careful!" Jon replies, "Honey, the news report was wrong. There's not one person driving the wrong way, there's hundreds!"