Nerdy, Wordy, and Sometimes Absurdy

Nerdy, Wordy, and Sometimes Absurdy

JS: Les, I know I should speak for myself, but it would be too lonely. I have a growing conviction that both of us are bona fide nerds.

LK: Well, you know the old saying: Nerds of a feather flock together. It's only natural that two bona-fide, fine-feathered nerds would find solace in their mutual nerdiness. So rather than bemoan the inevitable, I thought we should celebrate it in a poem:

There once were two women quite nerdy

Whose nerdiness often waxed wordy;

Their words they distilled

Into an e-column filled

With thoughts, from profound to absurdy.

What do you think?

JS: Me thinks that my comrade in writing

Has a wit and a way with words, biting;

And now to the list

Of talents, add this

She's a poet as well--how exciting!

LK: Well, thanks! (I think...) So now that we've publicly fessed up to our nerdiness, what's the next step? To co-found Nerdoholics Anonymous? (Okay all you nerds out there--repeat after me: "My name is , and I'm a nerdoholic...")

JS: Intellectualism can become addictive, can't it? This is one reason I follow Jesus Christ. He was more than an intellectual giant--He was magnanimous, great in all aspects of His being. His true followers are likewise symmetrical people--thoughtful, relational, willing to serve, whole in body and spirit.

LK: So you're saying that the Christian life is not just about intellectual development, it's about character development--the balanced maturation of the whole person, in willing submission to Jesus, as He matured symmetrically in submission to His Father: "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Luke 2:52). So, with specific application to the mind, which is the "citadel of the body," we are to "bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," just as He subjected His God-given reason to God-inspired revelation (2 Corinthians 10:5).

JS: A thousand "yes"es. And it strikes me this morning that if Jesus--Who was the Word--lived by the Word, how much more should we? But hasn't our mutual journey into the Middle Earth of theology brought forth many slippery, subversive Gollums? And isn't one of them rationalism--which subjects revelation to reason? In fact, rationalism is the great danger of nerdy types, because we can tend to live in our heads and thus become head-over-heels infatuated with our own thought processes.

LK: That's my natural default, for sure. So I found it helpful when I read what theologian Leroy Moore had to say about the complementary relationship between faith and reason: "Faith is based on evidence (Heb. 11:1). Thus reason must examine the evidence before faith can act. But faith must demand that reason's conclusions honor the authority of the Word--all that the Bible has to say on a subject. We are not saved by reason, but by faith in Christ and His Word (Eph. 2:8) ... To know the Word, upon which true faith must rest, we must diligently exercise reason. But unless tethered to faith, reason attempts to remove what it sees as external tension by adjusting truth to our perverted comprehension."1 So reason informs faith, which keeps it from being "blind," but faith holds reason in check, to keep it from presumptuously bending truth to suit us. Pretty cool, huh?

JS: Yes, as my daughter would say, "cool beans." I like to think of faith and reason as a team of horses leading a person's spiritual life. If either horse stops pulling, the cart goes off course. There are two main detours possible:

Faith without reason leads people into experientialism. One manifestation of experientialism is what I call the "the Lord told me" syndrome. Not to eschew the experience of hearing the voice of God, but some seem to be on a cell phone to heaven 24/7, with God personally dictating to them on everything from doctrinal beliefs to what color socks to wear.

Reason without faith leads to rationalism, which Leroy Moore called "the height of arrogance."2 Here is how another author describes it: "A certain pride is mingled with the consideration of Bible truth, so that men feel impatient and defeated if they cannot explain every portion of Scripture to their satisfaction."3 What rationalists often do is subtly shame those who honor the mysteries of the Word. Often they will accuse them of wimping out or dumbing down. But the real problem is with the rationalist's assumption that human reason is sufficient to encompass divine reason.

LK: I appreciate that explanation, Jen. And your latter observation is well taken. While it's true that God wants us to max out all our rational resources when it comes to comprehending Him, He also wants us to retain a healthy sense of our innate limitations. So He finds ways to confront us with His ineffability, that we'll be seized by the conviction that inspired Job to confess, "I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know ... I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You; therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:3, 5). Perhaps the postmodern fascination with the mysterious is, at least in part, an expression of our longing to recapture the sense of sacred awe that modernism stole away. You think?

JS: I think. But why not take the logic and mystery in the same spoonful, blended as only God can do through His Word? Subjecting God to finite reason makes us think we have a handle on Him. Once we get that handle, though, we become bored with this "reasonable" god of our own making, and forsake him for something more mystical. We're like spoiled children who insist upon managing our own happiness, but never really find it. Face it, we're brats. Nerdy brats, at that. Oh. . . I feel a poem coming on. . . .

The hand of his loving Creator

Made man to be a contemplator

But pride grew so fat

He reasoned--the brat--

His way out of faith. See ya later!

LK: This nerdy brat will take that as her cue to resist the urge to commit further crimes of poetry, and sign off. See you later, you nerdy 'gator.

__________________________________________________

1. A. Leroy Moore, Adventism in Conflict (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1995), p. 40.

2. Personal email.

3. Ellen White, Steps to Christ (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1908) p. 108.

Selected Comments:

"There once were two writers, female
Who wrote a joint column e-mail
They sent out abroad
Their thoughts about God
and thoughts quite ponderous without fail." -Karen Liveshay

"I appreciated your column, with its wit & depth. Sadly, I have learned that a dear friend of mine, a former pastor, has rationalized his way right out of the Adventist message, & now worships with a Sunday church. So your words hit a practical application in my heart. I am grateful that you 2 have the gift of words & the spiritual insight & the energy to put them together & publish them. I can only hope that I will humbly keep searching for God, in all His mystery & rational revelations as found in His word." -Linda Carney

"Very good points- the poetry brought me a smile. Interestingly, I have discovered that you Nerds have a rather large, extended family..... Geeks, Dorks, Ninnies, etc. I happen to be a Goober." -Paula Woodruff

"There once was a reader in 'Hachie*
Who got his emails in a batchie
But limericks slipped in
And with a spin and a grin
He said "My mailbox I must latchie!

"There once were two women from Syn**
Who wrote with a poisonous pen
The rhymes that they wrote
The poets' soul smote
And it died (with a spin and a grin!)" -Steve Johnson


Nerdy, Wordy, and Sometimes Absurdy JS: Les, I know I should speak for myself, but it would be too lonely. I have a growing conviction that both of us are bona fide nerds. LK: Well, you know the old saying: Nerds of a feather flock together. It's only natural that two bona-fide, fine-feathered nerds would find solace in their mutual nerdiness. So rather than bemoan the inevitable, I thought we should celebrate it in a poem: There once were two women quite nerdy Whose nerdiness often waxed wordy; Their words they distilled Into an e-column filled With thoughts, from profound to absurdy. What do you think? JS: Me thinks that my comrade in writing Has a wit and a way with words, biting; And now to the list Of talents, add this She's a poet as well--how exciting! LK: Well, thanks! (I think...) So now that we've publicly fessed up to our nerdiness, what's the next step? To co-found Nerdoholics Anonymous? (Okay all you nerds out there--repeat after me: "My name is , and I'm a nerdoholic...") JS: Intellectualism can become addictive, can't it? This is one reason I follow Jesus Christ. He was more than an intellectual giant--He was magnanimous, great in all aspects of His being. His true followers are likewise symmetrical people--thoughtful, relational, willing to serve, whole in body and spirit. LK: So you're saying that the Christian life is not just about intellectual development, it's about character development--the balanced maturation of the whole person, in willing submission to Jesus, as He matured symmetrically in submission to His Father: "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Luke 2:52). So, with specific application to the mind, which is the "citadel of the body," we are to "bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," just as He subjected His God-given reason to God-inspired revelation (2 Corinthians 10:5). JS: A thousand "yes"es. And it strikes me this morning that if Jesus--Who was the Word--lived by the Word, how much more should we? But hasn't our mutual journey into the Middle Earth of theology brought forth many slippery, subversive Gollums? And isn't one of them rationalism--which subjects revelation to reason? In fact, rationalism is the great danger of nerdy types, because we can tend to live in our heads and thus become head-over-heels infatuated with our own thought processes. LK: That's my natural default, for sure. So I found it helpful when I read what theologian Leroy Moore had to say about the complementary relationship between faith and reason: "Faith is based on evidence (Heb. 11:1). Thus reason must examine the evidence before faith can act. But faith must demand that reason's conclusions honor the authority of the Word--all that the Bible has to say on a subject. We are not saved by reason, but by faith in Christ and His Word (Eph. 2:8) ... To know the Word, upon which true faith must rest, we must diligently exercise reason. But unless tethered to faith, reason attempts to remove what it sees as external tension by adjusting truth to our perverted comprehension."1 So reason informs faith, which keeps it from being "blind," but faith holds reason in check, to keep it from presumptuously bending truth to suit us. Pretty cool, huh? JS: Yes, as my daughter would say, "cool beans." I like to think of faith and reason as a team of horses leading a person's spiritual life. If either horse stops pulling, the cart goes off course. There are two main detours possible: Faith without reason leads people into experientialism. One manifestation of experientialism is what I call the "the Lord told me" syndrome. Not to eschew the experience of hearing the voice of God, but some seem to be on a cell phone to heaven 24/7, with God personally dictating to them on everything from doctrinal beliefs to what color socks to wear. Reason without faith leads to rationalism, which Leroy Moore called "the height of arrogance."2 Here is how another author describes it: "A certain pride is mingled with the consideration of Bible truth, so that men feel impatient and defeated if they cannot explain every portion of Scripture to their satisfaction."3 What rationalists often do is subtly shame those who honor the mysteries of the Word. Often they will accuse them of wimping out or dumbing down. But the real problem is with the rationalist's assumption that human reason is sufficient to encompass divine reason. LK: I appreciate that explanation, Jen. And your latter observation is well taken. While it's true that God wants us to max out all our rational resources when it comes to comprehending Him, He also wants us to retain a healthy sense of our innate limitations. So He finds ways to confront us with His ineffability, that we'll be seized by the conviction that inspired Job to confess, "I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know ... I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You; therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:3, 5). Perhaps the postmodern fascination with the mysterious is, at least in part, an expression of our longing to recapture the sense of sacred awe that modernism stole away. You think? JS: I think. But why not take the logic and mystery in the same spoonful, blended as only God can do through His Word? Subjecting God to finite reason makes us think we have a handle on Him. Once we get that handle, though, we become bored with this "reasonable" god of our own making, and forsake him for something more mystical. We're like spoiled children who insist upon managing our own happiness, but never really find it. Face it, we're brats. Nerdy brats, at that. Oh. . . I feel a poem coming on. . . . The hand of his loving Creator Made man to be a contemplator But pride grew so fat He reasoned--the brat-- His way out of faith. See ya later! LK: This nerdy brat will take that as her cue to resist the urge to commit further crimes of poetry, and sign off. See you later, you nerdy 'gator. __________________________________________________ 1. A. Leroy Moore, Adventism in Conflict (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1995), p. 40. 2. Personal email. 3. Ellen White, Steps to Christ (Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1908) p. 108. Selected Comments: "There once were two writers, female Who wrote a joint column e-mail They sent out abroad Their thoughts about God and thoughts quite ponderous without fail." -Karen Liveshay "I appreciated your column, with its wit & depth. Sadly, I have learned that a dear friend of mine, a former pastor, has rationalized his way right out of the Adventist message, & now worships with a Sunday church. So your words hit a practical application in my heart. I am grateful that you 2 have the gift of words & the spiritual insight & the energy to put them together & publish them. I can only hope that I will humbly keep searching for God, in all His mystery & rational revelations as found in His word." -Linda Carney "Very good points- the poetry brought me a smile. Interestingly, I have discovered that you Nerds have a rather large, extended family..... Geeks, Dorks, Ninnies, etc. I happen to be a Goober." -Paula Woodruff "There once was a reader in 'Hachie* Who got his emails in a batchie But limericks slipped in And with a spin and a grin He said "My mailbox I must latchie! "There once were two women from Syn** Who wrote with a poisonous pen The rhymes that they wrote The poets' soul smote And it died (with a spin and a grin!)" -Steve Johnson