I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful; my soul knows that right well. —Psalm 139.14
Some days ago, my husband showed me a post on a blog of one of the oft-time contributors to the Revista VEJA (one of Brazil’s major weekly news magazines). The post had been cited in the section called “Blogosfera” (Blogosphere) in the January 07, 2009 edition. Entitling his thoughts as “Trevas” (Shadows or Darkness)—the author bemoans that some “evangelical schools” are starting to teach creationism, a religious doctrine disguised as pseudo-science in their science classes. (The school system that my husband works for—Mackenzie Institute—is one of these. The materials designed and recently introduced by its educational system—Sistema Mackenzie de Ensino or SME—for use by its own and other Christian schools, have come to the notice of the media lately). The writer recognizes that these schools also present the concept of evolutionism but considers this to be contradictory and is alarmed. He continues quoting some “specialists” and offering ironical statements about Adam and Eve, apples, the Garden of Eden and other things.
I rarely find time or nerve to comment on the blogs of others. But, this time, with the birth of my first grandson, I am still intensely reflecting upon the marvelous skill and creativity of my God. While I meditate on the Psalm cited above, my heart is overflowing with admiration for the perfection with which a brand-new human being is born. These days, my soul knows that right well. And I wonder, since the Psalmists wrote about that which touched their innermost being, what might have been the occasion for the writing of this Psalm. What caused King David to think about the development of a human being in such an enthusiastic and passionate fashion, within the context of God’s attributes—all powerful, all knowing, everywhere present, participating in all aspects of one’s life? Do I dare to suggest that it might have been upon the birth of one of his children? Or of a grandchild even!?…
Going back to the fellow’s blog, I observed that there were very few good comments refuting his thoughts (out of a hundred and some). I regretted that those who were responding were taking very little care with spelling and grammar and, also, with how they expressed their reasoning/opinions. And so I resolved to share the beauty of living from within the other side, believing in God as creator—without being aggressive or offering criticism. Thus I made the comment and received the notice that it had been successfully sent.
I soon discovered, to my disappointment, that the author does not post all the comments (I know of other people who wrote who were also ignored). At first, I became indignant. After all, we understand, more or less, that not all readers’ letters can be published in the “paper magazine” due to a legitimate lack of space. But, in the blog, where space is not a problem, Mr. Bellotto (or the person that censures his letters before they get to him) is apparently giving preferential treatment to those that reflect his own thoughts or to those who make the opposite opinion appear unenlightened or ridiculous.
Eventually, I calmed down. I put myself in his place and in that of so many others that refuse to believe in the God that is the creator of all—both in this world and outside of it. After all, according to his worldview, in the way that he chooses to understand life—the God that the Bible presents does not exist. In fact, for “unbelievers”, it is very important to keep their distance from any evidence of this reality, since it is logical that any change in this concept would have to result in a radical modification in their way of seeing life.
Think with me. If God really exists, if He made everything, directs everything and knows everything, one would be extremely foolish to live life without seeking to know and please him. Therefore, it is important for them (almost essential, at times) to put down, humiliate, despise, scorn, disparage and even antagonize or penalize someone that dares to think differently. After all, within their heart, there is the voice of the conscience that God places in each human being. But it is a nuisance. It must be silenced. As must be all those who repeat what this conscience is telling them. The apostle Paul indicates that the preaching of God and of faith is foolishness to these. Isn’t that so sad? How greatly privileged are those of us who have been (or will be) touched by the Holy Spirit to believe and to enjoy the peace granted by this Creator and Savior God (see Romans 2.15; 1 Corinthians 1.18-25)
We must remember, however, that it is through “preaching” that our heavenly Father calls new persons to be part of his people, of his family. Thus we must dedicate ourselves to sharing his existence through our words and to demonstrating his power through our actions. And, therefore, we must continue writing our letters, asking God for wisdom so that each word may be well-chosen and placed—in such a way that it may be used by Him to reach the hearts of the readers and the hearers.
My “comment” was as follows:
I just became a grandmother for the first time, reading and hearing reports from my son as he accompanied the birth. I marveled again, both with the birth process and also with the result—a beautiful baby who will spend his life with the name of Lucas. On the one hand, he is extremely small and weak. On the other, he is an enormously complex being.
Throughout his life (if God grants him longevity), he will be encountering hundreds of medical specialists. Each one will be spending his/her life learning more and more about only one aspect of the human body, perhaps concentrating on a system (circulatory, digestive, reproductive), on one of the organs of which these systems are composed (heart, stomach, brain, eye…), or on even smaller components (cells, proteins, enzymes, DNA, genes, genome…). They will know what to expect in terms of growth, movement, interaction…
What intrigues me is that all of these will be striving—not to enhance but rather to maintain or restore the perfection with which he was born. Even when joining the intellectual capacity of all the specialized human beings in this world with billions in investments in research and treatments, we are not able even to RE-create the human eye. The feat of cloning human beings, acclaimed as perhaps the greatest accomplishment of the past century in this area, is actually a mere (and still imperfect) mimicking of that which already exists. And they were able to do this due to the discovery that DNA (previously invisible) already contains all the genetic instructions for the development and functioning of the body of my little grandson.
I cannot understand how intelligent persons, upon observing this incredible detail, programming and connectivity between all the parts (without even mentioning reasoning, communication, emotional and intuitive capacity), can in sound conscience come and say to me that it is I who lack logic and reason upon declaring that someone very intelligent and powerful must have designed my grandson.