The Gap Theory

As we have started reading the Chronological Bible, one of the first questions that arises in the creation account is: "Why is the earth formless, void and dark? I thought God created the heavens and the earth to be good." One plausible answer seems to be what is called the "gap theory". This is the belief that between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, there could be a HUGE time gap. God originally created the heavens and the earth out of nothing at some point in the past, (this would include a time when angels were also created), but became "formless, chaotic, dark and void" because of Lucifer's rebellion. See Isaiah 14:12-14, Ezekiel 28:12-19, Luke 10:17-18 and Revelation 12:3-4.

A cosmic war broke out where Lucifer became Satan and was thrown out of Heaven. This could also explain how Satan was in the Garden of Eden to tempt Eve.

So proponents of the gap theory suggest that in verse 2, God actually "re-created" the earth because of what had taken place sometime before. And that God could have "re-created" in six, 24-hour periods, resting on the seventh. Here is a video of Greg Boyd (author of God At War) explaining this theory.

Whether this theory is accurate or not, the most important thing to know is that God is the One who is Creator and His intentions are always good.

The New "Drug" of Facebook

We can't live without it. It makes us feel good. Just have to use it - several times a day...We are addicted. I'm talking about Facebook. Here are excerpts from an article I just read entitled "Facebook is Making Us Miserable". Feel free to comment:

When Facebook was founded in 2004, it began with a seemingly innocuous mission: to connect friends. Some seven years and 800 million users later, the social network has taken over most aspects of our personal and professional lives, and is fast becoming the dominant communication platform of the future. But this new world of ubiquitous connections has a dark side.

Behind all the liking, commenting, sharing, and posting, there are strong hints of jealousy, anxiety, and, in one case, depression. Said one person about a Facebook friend, "Although he's my best friend, I kind-of despise his updates." Said another "Now, Facebook IS my work day." Here are disturbing and distressing ways in which Facebook is fundamentally altering our daily sense of well-being in both our personal and work lives.

1. It's creating a den of comparison. We want to look good and present ourselves to others as though we have it all together.

2. It's fragmenting our time. How often and where do you access Facebook?

3. There's a decline of close relationships. Gone are the days where Facebook merely complemented our real-life relationships. Has it become a substitute for the "real thing"?

So, what should we do to avoid these three traps? Recognizing that "quitting" Facebook altogether is unrealistic, we can still take measures to alter our usage patterns and strengthen our real-world relationships. Some useful tactics include blocking out designated time for Facebook, rather than visiting intermittently throughout the day; selectively trimming Facebook friends lists to avoid undesirable ex-partners and gossipy coworkers; and investing more time in building off-line relationships. The particularly courageous choose to delete Facebook from their smartphones and iPads, and log off the platform entirely for long stretches of time.

Is Facebook making you miserable? What other tips can you share?

Walking in The Word

Wow - what a year this will be. I am excited and a bit nervous to be reading and preaching through the entire bible in a year. We are off to a good start and moving quickly through Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood - I can't wait to see what good thing God will do and/or reveal to us...to me personally.

Just barely three days into our readings and I have already marked up, underlined and written in my bible. Questions like:

1. If God didn't create the sun, stars and moon until the fourth day, what was the "light" that separated the darkness on day one?

2. Why was the earth dark, empty, formless and covered with water to begin with?

3. Were Adam and Eve supposed to be vegetarians?

4. What happened to Enoch? How did he just disappear? Where did he go?

5. What's up with Genesis 6 and the "sons of God" having sex with women who gave birth to giants??!!

Trust me, there are many more but we can discuss them at the Way Cafe. Bring your questions too!

Saint Francis prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen

Tuning In to God

When we set out to hear God's voice, we do not listen as though it will come from somewhere above us or in the room around us. It comes to us from within, from the heart, the dwelling place of God. Now, most of us haven't been trained in this, and it's going to take a little practice "tuning in" to all that's going on in there. And there's a lot going on in there, by the way. Many things are trying to play upon the beautiful instrument of the heart. Advertisers are constantly trying to pull on your heartstrings. The devil is a master at manipulating the heart. So are many people-though they would never admit that is what they are doing. How will you know what is compelling you? "Who can map out the various forces at play in one soul?" asked Augustine, a man who was the first to write out the story of listening to his heart. "Man is a great depth, O Lord . . . but the hairs of his head are easier by far to count than . . . the movements of his heart."

Take time this season to "tune out" the noise and "tune in" to God.

From www.RansomedHeart.com

A Prayer of Abandonment

Are you able to pray this prayer?

Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you;
I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures—
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul:
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need
to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands
without reserve and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father. Amen. - Charles de Foucauld

For a great reading on allowing God to reorder your world, check this out: http://www.transformingcenter.org/2011/12/advent-4-mary-and-the-prayer-of-indifference/

Advent Credo - What is True

It is not true that creation and the human family are doomed to destruction and loss—
This is true: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, That whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

It is not true that we must accept inhumanity and discrimination, hunger and poverty, death and destruction—
This is true: I have come that they may have life, and that abundantly.

It is not true that violence and hatred should have the last word, and that war and destruction rule forever—
This is true: For unto us a child is born, and unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting, the Prince of Peace.

It is not true that we are simply victims of the powers of evil who seek to rule the world—
This is true: To me is given authority in heaven and on earth, And lo, I am with you, even unto the end of the world.

It is not true that we have to wait for those who are specially gifted, who are the prophets of the church, before we can be peacemakers.
This is true: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, And your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young shall see visions, and your old shall have dreams.

It is not true that our hopes for liberation of humankind, of justice, of human dignity, of peace
are not meant for this earth and for this history—
This is true: The hour comes, and it is now, that true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

So let us enter Advent in hope, even hope against hope. Let us see visions of love and peace and justice. Let us affirm with humility, with joy, with faith, with courage: Jesus Christ—the Life of the world.


This poem is often attributed to Daniel Berrigan, S.J., Testimony: The Word Made Fresh, (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2004), p. 211