THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
August 26, 2007 Proper 16C
The Rev. M. Anthony Seel, Jr.
St. Andrew’s Anglican Church
Psalm 46
The God Delusion?
On Monday and op-ed piece appeared in USA Today by Tom Krattenmaker titled "Secularists, what happened to the open mind?" Krattenmaker is a member of USA Today’s Board of Contributers whose specialty is "religion in public life."
Krattenmaker asks a number of questions in his essay, including "Why when it comes to matters of religion, do secularists so frequently leave their critical thinking at the door?"
In his op-ed article, Krattenmaker quotes a religion scholar and writer who is also an atheist. Georgetown University Jacques Berlinerblau questions, "Can an atheist or agnostic discuss any aspect of religion for more than 30 seconds without referring to religious people as imbeciles, extremists, mental deficiences, fascists, enemies of the common good… conjure men (or) irrationalists?"
It’s a timely question and three purveyors of this trend are mentioned in the article: Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins - all atheists. Last year, Dawkins’ work, The God Delusion was published. There are currently 500,000 copies in print. This week it stands at #27 on the New York Times nonfiction Bestsellers List. It’s been on that list for 47 weeks. Curiously, Dawkins’ book is not on the USA Today combined list of 150 fiction and nonfiction works. It was on the list for 30 weeks and the highest it climbed was #27.
The reviewer in the New York Review of Books devalues Dawkins’ project due to his "smug tone" and "occasionally sloppy logic" and accuses Dawkins of "shirking the intellectual hard work." Yet, with even its many deficiencies, Dawkins’ work appears to be the most substantial effort from the Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens troika.
After all, Richard Dawkins is a preeminent evolutionary biologist, Sam Harris is a writer, and Christopher Hitchens is a journalist/writer. They’re all smart guys, all best-selling authors, but only Dawkins is a world class scientist.
This morning, I will juxtapose Psalm 46 with The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.
v.1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help it trouble.
Psalm 46 is best known for Martin Luther’s use of it in "A Mighty Fortress is our God." Luther’s famous hymn has been translated into "almost every known language," and it has been called the "Battle Hymn of the Reformation." In the four stanzas of the hymn, Luther interprets his own experience through the lens of the psalm.
The psalm was written about God’s delivering Israel from severe trials, but we can’t pinpoint the exact date it was written. It appears to describe a time when Jerusalem was under siege by enemy armies. In verse 1, the psalmist tells us that God is the refuge and strength of His people. Luther clung to this truth and trusted that Jesus his Savior and Lord was his refuge and strength during those times when he encountered difficult stretches.
At times during the Reformation, Luther understood that he was under siege, and he also trusted God to be his "very present help in trouble." Martin Luther knew God’s presence and help personally; it is what sustained him throughout the Reformation.
On Wednesday, our Bishop Bena published an essay titled "Reading the Signs of the Times." You’ll find it on my DCNY blog. In his essay, Bp. Bena calls what is currently happening in the Anglican Communion "a new Reformation." As Martin Luther would surely agree, Bp. Bena admits, "Reformations are messy." Even so, God can be our refuge and strength, our ever present help in trouble.
The psalmist continues,
v. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved, and though the mountains be toppled into the depths of the sea;
v. 3 Though its waters rage and foam, and though the mountains tremble at its tumult.
Therefore, we will not fear. No matter what. No matter what happens, God is still our refuge and strength and our ever present help in trouble. No matter what. Whether the earth be moved by an earthquake that cause mountains to topple into the ocean. Though the waters of the sea rage and foam from a tsunami. No matter what,
v. 4 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
The words of verse 4 are repeated at verses 8 and 12. No matter what, the psalmist’s refrain doesn’t change,
"The Lord of Hosts is with us."
Lord of Hosts is a phrase that is used 300 times in the Old Testament. It’s a title of power. Hosts refers to all the heavenly beings, like angels, who are always ready to act on God’s command. The hosts of heaven are called "God’s army" in Numbers 10:36 and 1 Samuel 10:36. They are called "heavenly warriors in Deuteronomy 33:2 and Judges 5:20. Lord of Hosts is a divine title that emphasizes God’s power and might. The psalmist declares that God the Almighty is with us. He is present with us and to us. Almighty God is our stronghold, our fortress as Martin Luther puts it.
Is there an area of your life where you need God’s protection and strength? If you belong to God, the psalmist says, God is present with you and His protection and power are available to you.
You may be wondering where Richard Dawkins fits into this conversation. Let’s bring him in at
this point. In chapter 3 of The God Delusion, Dawkins offers what he calls "the God
hypothesis." According to Dawkins, the God hypothesis is this:
there exists a superhuman, supernatural intelligence who deliberately
designed and created the universe and everything in it, including us. [p. 31]
Dawkins also contributes an alternative hypothesis:
any creative intelligence, of sufficient complexity to design anything,
comes into existence only as the end product of an extended process
of gradual evolution. [ibid.]
You see what he’s saying - if there is a God, He is not the first cause of all things or the prime mover. God must be the product of an evolutionary process from simple energy and matter to the more complex.
In his next chapter, Dawkins next examines "Arguments for God’s Existence," and proceeds to ridicule the classical proofs for God. As Dawkins’ fellow professor at Oxford University, Alistair McGrath comments,
While his book is written with rhetorical passion and power, the stridency
of its assertions merely masks tired, weak and recycled arguments.
[The Dawkins Delusion, p. 12]
For example, Dawkins describes faith as "blind trust, in the absence of evidence, even in the
teeth of evidence" (p. 198). He calls faith a "process of not thinking" (p. 308). About the God revealed in the Old Testament, Dawkins writes:
The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character
in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-
freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynist, homophobic,
racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal,
sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. [p. 31]
That’s the God you believe in, right?
As McGrath says in his short book, The Dawkins Delusion,
The God Delusion, more by its failings than its achievements,
reinforces the need for high-quality religious education in the
public arena, countering the crude caricatures, prejudicial
stereotypes and blatant misrepresentations now being
aggressively peddled by atheist fundamentalists. [p. 31]
In an email to Richard Dawkins and another atheist scientist, Michael Ruse, who is described by McGrath as "a distinguished atheist philosopher has this to say:
What we need is not knee-jerk atheism but serious grappling with the
issues - neither of you are willing to study Christianity seriously and to
engage with the ideas - it is just plain silly and grotesquely immoral to
claim that Christianity is simply a force for evil, as Richard [Dawkins]
claims - more than this, we are in a fight, and we need to make allies
in the fight, not simply alienate everyone of good will. [quoted in
McGrath, pp. 49-50]
A serious engagement with Christianity is likely to come to the conclusion of the late Stephen Jay Gould. Gould died in 2002 of cancer. Prior to his death he was a professor at Harvard and America’s leading evolutionary biologist. Gould wrote in this work, Rock of Ages,
Either half of my colleagues are enormously stupid, or else the
science of Darwinism is fully compatible with conventional
religious beliefs - and equally compatible with atheism.
[ibid, p. 34]
Martin Rees, president of the Royal Society, the most prestigious organization of scientists in Great Britain says in his book, Cosmic Habitat, that some "ultimate questions lie beyond science" (ibid.). As you can imagine, the statements by Gould and Rees do not receive applause from Richard Dawkins.
As Oxford immunologist and Nobel Prize recipient Peter Medawar states,
That there is indeed a limit upon science is made very likely by the
existence of questions that science can’t answer and that no
conceivable advance of science would empower it to an answer
… I have in mind such questions as:
How did everything begin.
What are we all here for?
What is the point of living? [ibid., p. 39]
As you are no doubt aware, these are the very questions that the Christian faith addresses. In the words of Harvard astronomer Owen Gingerich, … "the universe has been created with intention and purpose… this belief does not interfere with the scientific enterprise" (ibid., p. 42).
Let’s continue with Psalm 46, beginning at verse 5.
v. 5 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
The city of God is Jerusalem. The river whose streams provide water for Jerusalem is mystifying because no such river exists near Jerusalem. The best explanation is that the river mentioned is a metaphor for God’s presence and blessing for Jerusalem. Verse 6 picks up this theme.
v. 6 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be overthrown; God shall help her at the break of day.
Because God I spresent with His people and willing to assist them, the city is secure - "she shall not be overthrown."
v. 7 The nations make much ado, and the kingdoms are shaken, God has spoken, and the earth shall melt away.
Jerusalem is surrounded by hostile armies whose goal it is to destroy Jerusalem and all her inhabitants. Throughout the centuries and even in our own day, there are those who want to destroy the Jews. We too, as people of faith can feel that we are under attack today too.
Christopher Hitchens’ book, God is not Great, sits at #5 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list. Prior to Hitchens and Dawkins’ bestsellers there was Sam Harris and his two bestsellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. I believe that Alistair McGrath gets it right when he says that there is "a whiff of panic" among atheists today (p. 96). They are unsettled and in some cases unnerved by the current resurgence of interest in religion.
We see this in the general population in the U.S. and in particular segments of our society, like college students, for example. Listen to this! McGrath observes:
Far from dying out, belief in God has rebounded and seems set to
exercise still greater influence in both the public and private spheres.
The God Delusion expresses this deep anxiety, partly reflecting an
intense distaste for religion. Yet there is something deeper here,
often overlooked in the heat of debate. The anxiety is that the
coherence of atheism is itself at stake. Might the unexpected
resurgence of religion persuade many that atheism itself is
fatally flawed as a worldview? [ibid.]
There is a resurgence of faith, particularly Christian faith, because faith in the God that Christianity proclaims is the creator and sustainer of all things makes sense to our minds. It forms a cohesive and plausible view of life, even for many scientists. Finally, it makes sense of our experience, in other words, it works.
The psalmist continues at verse 9.
v. 9 Come now and look upon the works of the Lord, what awesome things he has done on earth.
Many of the works of the Lord were done in human history and can be investigated. On the basis of historical research can be verified to an extent that goes way beyond what is true for other ancient works. The psalmist invites scrutiny. If Christianity is true, then we have nothing to fear from good, objective investigation. If it is false, then we are to be pitied for believing any of it, as the Apostle Paul says. The good news is that the Christian faith has been investigated for 2000 years and it has not been demonstrated to be false. It has endured criticisms from within the Christian faith community and from others outside that community. It has endured. We have nothing to fear from Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, or anyone else.
"What awesome things [God] has done on earth."
One of the problems with The God Delusion as a number of reviewers and critics have pointed out is that Dawkins is really out of his depth when he comments on the Bible and biblical interpretation. As physician, ABC Television journalist and author Dr. Timothy Johnson says, "Dawkins has a very superficial understanding of religion and theology" (ibid., back cover). One would hope that Dawkins could come at religious questions with a less prejudiced mind.
One of his critiques of religion is religious violence, but wouldn’t all of us here also stand against violence done in the name of religion? In contrast to Dawkins, the psalmist portrays God as the bearer of peace:
v. 10 It is he who makes war to cease in all the world; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, and burns the shields with fire.
God breaks the bow, a symbol of power. God shatters the spear and burns the shields of the military; he eliminates the tools of warfare. The promise of God that only God can deliver is universal peace.
The psalmist ends with one admonition from God and then a repeat of the refrain.
v. 11 "Be still, then, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.
v. 12 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Be still, the psalm urges. Stay calm, even serene in spite of troubles or difficulties. God says, "Be still and know that I am God," that is, acknowledge and trust God - trust that God is in control. It is tempting to trust our own abilities, our own intellect, judgment, solutions, etc. God says, "know that I am God."
"Be still" - quiet your mind, cease your frenetic activity, rest in God’s love, care and strength.
Know God - His past acts, His promises, His presence.
1. God is our refuge and strength. His is present with us when we face into our problems. He is with us.
2. He will one day be exalted in all the nations of the world. God will one day be exalted in every corner of the earth.
After these declarations, the psalmist repeats one more time,
12 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
God is with us and he is our ever present strength and help.
"A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing."
God is our help, no matter what we are facing.
"Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing."
A verse that I have kept uppermost in my mind over the last year is something that Jesus said to the Apostles: "Apart from me, you can do nothing." Proceeding in our own strength is a losing proposition; it is a losing strategy. It is only in God’s strength that we are made strong.
"And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us; we will not rear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us."
This is God’s promise and our hope - it is more certain than anything else in this world. God’s promise and help are sure because God is sure. God’s promise and hope are sufficient for you, me and everyone who will receive and trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. God’s promise is sure, no matter what. No matter what happens to us in this life, we can say,
"The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold."
Let us pray.
