Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Do we need signs, wonders and rituals? Exodus 13 - 15

Post Foundationalism. Empiricism. Speculative Realism. Ex-nihilo Creationism. These are all philosophical viewpoints I'm pretending to understand in order to write this post. Why? Because Moses had no idea about any of them: He simply ascribed the Israelite escape from Egypt as the work of God. (Oh, a quick summary: God prescribes the traditions that are now the Passover; The Israelites are given directions by a 'God-GPS" a.k.a pillar of fire/smoke; Pharaoh has another mood swing and chases them down; The Israelites panic......again; God parts the Red Sea letting the Israelites across and, well, drowning the Egyptians; The Israelites regain their faith and sing a happy song involving reverence and roasting). It makes me realise how unfortunate it is that we are always waiting for signs and wonders in order to believe. A recent article I read makes a good point: Where we are 100% certain we have no need for faith.

Some other quickies:


  • I'm getting a tattoo. Well maybe, but more importantly I'm wondering why the modern church is so ritual-averse. God makes it clear that he wants his people to remember who saved them by making a means that's "a sign on your hands or a symbol on your forehead" (Chapter 13) i.e. so that you can't blooming-well miss it! And we get scared of custom....
  • Rabi Ken Spiro makes a case for miracles being natural acts with incredibly good (God) timing. Check out the pillar of smoke and the parting of the red sea (after an evening of incredible wind - not from Moses' oratory this time).
  • I forgot that the authorship of Exodus is ascribed to Moses, and he's explaining everything in a theological way. So when I read "God made the [Egyptian] chariot wheels get stuck in the mud", I thought that maybe I have been making too big-a-deal about God making Pharaoh stubborn. That's just Moses' mental filter.
  • Say this with a New York Jewish accent: "Hey Moses! What, the cemeteries in Egypt ain't big enough for us so you thought you'd bring us out here to die? Shmendrik!". Now read Chapter 14: 10-12.

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2 comments:

  1. stoneware70July 29, 2009 at 4:58 PM

    Doesn't it say in Chapter 13 that the rituals were like having a mark on your hand or forehead? - Through my filter, it seems like God is saying that instead of getting a mark, set yourself apart from the surrounding nations by observing these fasts?

    I think we should be careful of ritual as much as we should be careful of freedom. Both can become distracting if God isn't the focus of either one? My view is that ritual can sustain us in times of dryness, but can become empty religion if its nothing but habit.

    Why do we (I'm including myself) always want to have a rational explanation for the miraculous, why can't we just look at something miraculous and say, 'Wow, thankyou God!'? Instead we do our best to find a scientific reason for God's intervention...

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  2. UnknownJuly 30, 2009 at 3:20 PM

    I heard someone say once that miracles are normal events/processes, just incredibly sped-up. Water into wine happens over a few years with a vineyard and a few good barrels. All physical healing is a natural, bodily function; and where not so, will become so in heaven. Calming the storm happens at God's command anyway. I'm just not so sure about walking on the water - methinks God was showing off a little with that one.

    Iro rituals, mankind will always take something that is good and beneficial and try to "bottle" it - hence the institutionalisation and ritualisation of many of the expressions of our faith. Distill (there's the wine again) any of our rituals and you ought to get back to the heart of something that is meaningful and inherently good. For me, occasionally going into a ritualistic expression of a Sunday service (ie Anglican/Methodist etc) is incredibly moving and stirring. But not every week please!

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