The Lord's Prayer: Take a Closer Look: Jesus of Nazareth's Own Teaching on Talking with the Creator of the Universe

By Jim Webb

The Lords Prayer has been called a model prayer by many good theologians. But it is also true that it is among the least scrutinized of all teachings in the Bible, and therefore one of the least studied and understood. We need to remind ourselves that when Jesus gave this teaching to us it was for the express purpose of establishing a good communication with God out in the joys and scuffles of daily life. This book is offered to take the reader back to that purpose.

We need to put ourselves back in the shoes of those who heard this teaching on prayer for the first time. When we do, we find our identity, our destiny, and our purpose for living at the very foundation of what Jesus told us here, along with the corollaries too. We discover that this and this alone is the foundational teaching on communicating with God in the New Testament, and when all else is stripped away it is the one understanding we cannot do without; it becomes our anchor point. It not only focuses our understanding on the truth behind all things; it exposes a great deal of falsehood as a consequence. How could it not? When the road we walk is rock solid at its base, the quicksand is easy to spot and avoid.

This book takes each element of this prayer and discusses it in-depth, and each element reveals more than what first meets the eye. Of course, this prayer-teaching by Jesus of Nazareth is of necessity coupled with a great deal of related New Testament teaching throughout the book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490821207

Jim Webb

Jim Webb is a long time Bible teacher, outdoorsman, businessman, and college instructor. It is a primary passion for the scriptures that has guided him in life, as well as the delight in sharing wonderful discoveries from the Word of God with others. Jim and Ruth Webb make their home in the Treasure Valley near Boise, Idaho.

Book preview

The Lord’s Prayer:

Take a Closer Look

Jesus of Nazareth’s

Own Teaching on Talking with the

Creator of the Universe

Jim Webb

56146.png

Copyright © 2014 Jim Webb.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Unless noted in the text, all scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible.

Any scripture quotation marked NASB is from the New American Standard Bible.

Any scripture quotation marked NIV is from the New International Version of the Bible.

Cover design by David Webb, davidwebbphoto.com.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-2119-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-2118-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-2120-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014900114

WestBow Press rev. date: 05/12/2014

Contents

Introduction

1.   Talking with God

The Validity and Veracity of Prayer

2.   Clearing the Way

From Religion to Reality

3.   Identity, Destiny, and Purpose

The Road Home

4.   Our Father

Knowing God

5.   Who Is in Heaven

Putting Shoe Leather to Our Destiny

6.   Hallowed Be Your Name

Putting Shoe Leather to Our Purpose

7.   Your Kingdom Come. Your Will Be Done, on Earth as It Is in Heaven

The Move from Complexity to Simplicity

8.   Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread. And Forgive Us Our Debts, as We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors.

The Secret of Contentment

9.   Lead Us Not into Temptation but Deliver Us from Evil

A Summary of Errors

10.   Yours Is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory Forever, Amen

Living in Reality

Notes

Introduction

On Exploration, Rambling, and Rabbit Trails

Can someone find a child who does not love to explore if given the chance? And can an adult be found who still retains the passion? The mind of a child is inquisitive indeed, and, as such, children are not hurried. My wife and I have a very small wooded patch next to an old barn, and the grandkids are enthralled with even that—it’s a chance to go exploring. I rather think this is one very important reason why Jesus of Nazareth tells us we must be like them. I have occasionally heard the lament that we should all think young again, but thinking young means curiosity and taking time for the fascination of discovery. We need to regularly get a breath of fresh air in our minds.

The human intellect reminds me of the deep woods. One sees the whole in a sense: the colors, the seasons, the storms, the calm, the strong trees, the fragile flowers… and the mystery! But all that lurks in the interior needs exploration and one must have an explorer’s heart to search it out. I am a man who loves to engage with folks with such a heart. I love inquiry the same way I love to explore the far places in hills and forests. The explorer’s heart is a veracious heart. It is a heart that loves truth rather than a heart that embraces the shadows of indecision and blind acceptance.

Caution must be exercised in my analogy of the woods. No one can adequately search out the thickets at midnight; that requires the morning sun. There is no such thing as inner light. The light must come into the woods and into the mind from the outside, and that light must be more than man’s inventions: like the flashlight and philosophy.

Make no mistake, this book is an exploration, but one that can be quite surprising. That is because what we are going to explore has the appearance of what it is not. I can remember looking at a rather small ridge of trees and pockets out in the hills, fashioning that I could spend maybe four or five hours seeing the whole of it. I would set out with a water bottle—only one—and a Snickers bar or two. To my surprise and delight I found that the appearance was only an inviting portal. The country opened up before me and the landscape became immense and, well, complex. Except it wasn’t complex in the sense that it was somehow unknowable or confusing; it was complex in the sense that it offered many wonderful paths to choose from and wander down—what some old timers used to call an opportunity to ramble. Being public land, not a single No Trespassing sign was to be found anywhere across thousands of acres; but what was to be found were wild horses, deer, antelope, partridge, deep canyons, rolling hills, an occasional spring, and peace of mind. When I returned to this region I would need more water and some real food, and maybe even a sleeping bag. In this kind of adventure one does not want to be in a hurry.

There is another kind of landscape that calls for the same sort of unhurried roaming: the landscape of truth. And the thing that lights up the countryside for each of us is God’s declaration to the whole human race; a declaration we call the Bible. What is all too unknown to the modern graduate is its profound shaping of our civilization. We will see in parts of this book how the words of the Man from Nazareth have affected us all, and how what has been called The Lord’s Prayer has illuminated the path to a sound mind for those who have gone before us. If The Lord’s Prayer is a lantern, then it is a lantern we need to take off the mantle and use. There is oil in that lamp; and if you and I will but strike a match to it, it will light up the whole region out in front of us no matter how confusing the current landscape may look in a shadowy darkness.

With that in mind, let me saunter over to the theological seminary for a moment. This is a place where religion is studied, but it is not a place for everyone. Many think the Bible belongs there more than it belongs in their own homes. As with public land, we do not see a single No Trespassing sign posted on the property, but sometimes we think that respect should mean that we will not trespass upon certain intellectual territory—not unless we are something we call trained. The place seems rather exclusive. This institution is devoted to the study of God, which is what theology means; but I have found after a lot of theology that it is much better to actually know God, which one must do far beyond the walls and halls of the theological seminary. I used to read a lot about horses and dogs, which has its proper and valued place; but I have since found that it is much better to ride a horse in a pack train or behind cattle, and hunt and roam with a dog of my own out in the open air. I have learned much more about horses and dogs in this fashion than I ever learned from all the reading and studying, though I still value and understand the virtue in all the reading and studying.

I have always been impressed with Jesus of Nazareth. I have been impressed with the way He entered the world; I have been deeply impressed with everything He had to say; I have been deeply impressed with whom He said these things to, and it didn’t focus on the religious elite or a theological school in any sense—everyone was included. Jesus was all about each and every man, woman, and child knowing God, which all too many do not understand is adventure beyond belief. And to do this He was more than willing to challenge and confront, as well as teach and hang out with folks out in the countryside under an open sky. As you can see, Jesus tore down any and all No Trespassing signs real or imagined or even respected; He set our feet to the path of an exploration as grand as that of Lewis and Clark and The Corps of Discovery.

Now, getting to know God requires His word, which isn’t human emotion in the least; it isn’t sentiment in the least; it isn’t wishful thinking in the least; it isn’t legalism in the least. It is certainly not human philosophy, which brings me back to the theological seminary: We need this place; it is fundamental. You and I need God’s word—the Bible—translated, sometimes honestly explained, and we need to be able to study things that will clarify many aspects of the first century Roman world and its language, not to mention the ancient world of the Old Testament. That is a vital and knowledge centered function. What we do not need is religion as a substitute, and if the life of the real Jesus tells us anything, it tells us this: we need a genuine and personal communication with the real God who is really there. We also know that genuine communication with God needs what might be called a boundary—a surprisingly vast boundary like that of the River of No Return country—that we call truth itself, and it certainly helps, to say the least, if that boundary is staked out by Jesus Himself. There is a certain wholesome wildness in us all, but that wildness unchecked can be our undoing.

But what does that communication look like? Well, we do have the life of Jesus as an example, but we also need His instruction. He gave us that instruction on a sunny hillside out in the open air. He imparted this to people high and low, both to rulers and peasants, by the measure of the world. We have called this instruction The Lord’s Prayer, a title which can be good or in error depending how we filter this designation. If we see it as a result of Jesus talking to His Father and passing it on to us, opening doors to a magnificent and genuine communication, then the title is wonderful indeed; but if we see it as a religious exercise set apart for clerics to handle in formal gatherings, then the tag is among the worst of all religious inaccuracies and cloaks.

This prayer has been called by many good theologians a model prayer. Some will find the description helpful for some very good reasons; I am one who does not. And I do not find it helpful because it seems to leave too much mystery as to its intent, which means it leaves too much mystery as to the intent of Jesus of Nazareth in the first place. This prayer is not a mere model; this prayer is not a recital; this prayer is not a prescribed liturgy. This prayer is a summary of a living, active, and ongoing conversation with God out in the tussles and strivings of daily life. And it is even more: it is a summary of what the Bible calls walking with God through the whole of life itself.

Now some might think that this lack of understanding the heart and soul of The Lord’s Prayer is where the theological school has failed us, but it is no such thing; this is where we all—the vast majority, at least—have failed to really listen to the obvious. Those who first heard it did not make that mistake; sometimes it takes a lot of training and tradition to dull the senses.

In the following pages we want to set out to explore some seemingly mystifying realms. We are not alone though; we have a guide. He is out on the countryside and freer than the birds He has created, and He signals us to come with Him and bravely tackle the wilderness. We shall discover that we do not seek a tame God, nor do we seek one that is subject to human whims. We shall discover that His word to us is indeed sharper than any sword of man; it is sharp enough to cut through the very boundaries of the cosmos and all intents of the heart. It is sharp enough to open our hearts to the one thing we all really want: to finally satisfy a deep longing that is the common bond of man. And we shall discover that what we have titled The Lord’s Prayer really is His word to us; that it has the appearance—to the modern mind, at least—of a rather tidy thing, but is really a portal to a vast country. Shall I say it? Such is the reward of the brave explorer.

Rabbits are among the most settled creatures on the earth. Their trails take them in circles because they are where rabbits belong; they have no reason to leave. Rabbit trails make good sense for rabbits. Men, on the other hand, are the most unsettled creatures in the universe, and rabbit trails make no sense at all for them. They need a trail that is going someplace because the place they now live is wanting at best; they really belong somewhere else, and that trail needs to lead right through the stars of heaven. That is why fantasy is so appealing and sometimes so dangerous, and why we need a reliable guide named Jesus to blaze that trail.

Men, you see, are quite adept at building these circular, rationalistic paths because many among the race are not very fond of truth—it disturbs them. They have decided their distorted appetites and imaginings need justification, so with great eagerness they embrace the rabbit trail because it turns in upon itself; it becomes the whole universe of the man or woman who clinches it. Boasting that they are broad minded (because the rabbit trails cross each other and form a sort of network), they are among the narrowest of all humanity throughout all of history. But you will find it quite difficult to tell them that: they cannot see beyond their small universe of rabbit trails.

If you are like me and a million others, that narrow kind of existence is unacceptable at the very least and very foolish in reality. We know there is more to the story of the world and life—a spot-on account—and we are not looking to have a path that keeps us hemmed in. We are looking for the way through the cosmos itself. I invite the reader to lace up the thinking man’s or woman’s boots, put on the inquisitive adventurer’s backpack with a Bible and a good water bottle, and come along as we hit a most remarkable trail through a frontier called the kingdom of God… so identified by Jesus of Nazareth. We will stop at many watering spots, we will climb a cliff or two, we will navigate through some swamps, and, best of all, we will fill our minds and souls with the remarkable truth that Jesus brought into the world and invited us to explore… we will find ourselves on the trail of a new dawn, walking with God.

If you are anything like me you may earn your living in the dust of the world. I have spent much of my working life with a tool belt while dealing with light and power in the physical world, or in the college classroom teaching others to do the same. But I have also—as many others—spent a lifetime dealing with light and power in the world of the mind and heart: that world that really matters in the end, and the one that matters most right now. It is, after all, the common man and the common woman that make all the difference in this old earth; it is they who are its light and its salt. It was a carpenter from Nazareth who told us so.

Let’s see if we can’t believe Him.

CHAPTER 1

Talking with God

The Validity and Veracity of Prayer

We live by love and longing, death and the devastation that time imposes. How did they enter into the world? And why? The world of the physical sciences is not our world, and if our world has things that cannot be explained in their terms, then we have to look elsewhere for their explanation.¹

—David Berlinski

Prayer must never be answered: if it is, it ceases to be prayer and becomes correspondence.²

—Oscar Wilde

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.³

—Jesus of Nazareth

It was quite a few years ago when, as a boy, I was stunned by the sight of the stars. Now, one might ask, why? Anyone can go outside at night and, in the absence of cloud cover, look up and see these far away gems—sapphires, as some have called them—shining from their assigned positions in the universe. But on this particular night and in this particular place it was different. I was on a deer hunting trip in the coastal mountains of California with one of the four or five mentors I was fortunate to have as a youth. Earl and I were camped out in utter simplicity, lacking a camper or even a tent to sleep in. There was no moon that night, and the atmosphere was so crisp and clean as to be a point of wonder in itself.

It was when the campfire died and the lanterns were extinguished that I crawled into my sleeping bag, laid my head back, and saw a sight that kept me awake far deeper into the night than I had planned. Stretched out across the heavens was a display rarely seen even in the high mountains of the American West. Those familiar with the night sky will begin to get the picture when I say that so full of stars was the seemingly endless sea before me that I tried in vain to pick out the Big Dipper. Too many stars disoriented me and obscured its boundary, though the lower portion would by that time be behind the ridge. Looking to other places, the Milky Way looked like sand spread thick over a silent, dark, and vast plain. Along the ridge tops it seemed like a thousand points of light were taking up more space than the sky itself. You can get closer to the stars here, Earl said in response to my astonishment, I never see them like this in the Sierras. I could only add that I had never seen them like that anywhere.

I’ve never forgotten that night and have seen no others that quite compare with it since: not in the mountains of Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho where I now live, though I have spent many nights in the far places and gazed upon many a night sky. I have found a way, however, to capture at least something of the same view. On a moonless night I will lie on my back with a pair of eight- or ten-power binoculars and gaze into the heavens. If you have never tried this and can get away from the city lights on a clear enough and moonless night (preferably in the mountains), you will be awed. With the exception of those with backyard observatories and telescopes, most have no idea just how vast and awesome it really is up there.

I speak of this for a reason: It was in my twenties that I came to another point of wonder. I grew up in a Christian home and had always taken for granted that I could talk to God and that He would hear me, but once I entered young adulthood a time came when I could take this for granted no longer. In thinking about those stars, I thought about the Creator of all that and began to be amazed that the one who rolled out those vast heavens like a blanket would actually listen to me; and not only listen, but also desire that I should talk to Him. Add to that another astounding thing: I was trying to come to grips with the notion that He wanted to talk to me. Many, you see, would say that one is flat-out pompous to believe such a thing.

The temptation when we look at the sheer vastness of the universe is to see ourselves as small and insignificant in the scheme of things: How could we be so self-centered as to believe we have a legitimate claim on some special value in the face of it all? That is, at least, the way we are tempted to think. But notice, if you will, that this notion is based solely on a rationale that has only the physical in view. If the state of California has thousands of fruit orchards producing millions of bushels of produce, just how much value can be placed on one orange or one fig, particularly if the orange or fig is flawed with obvious imperfections? Some will use this kind of logic in considering man and his place in the cosmos.

But here is the problem: this is a one sided argument not at all suited to inquisitive and thoughtful people. What if we were talking about, say, diamonds instead of fruit? In that case you could have a whole country with mountains and valleys full of various kinds of rocks and minerals by the millions, and the size of this country wouldn’t diminish the value we place even on the smallest diamond one bit. This is true even though that diamond is still in the rough, and it is at least potentially true on a higher level if the jewel in question is a most unlikely shining blue planet teeming with miraculous life and sitting between two spiral arms of a galaxy that is 100,000 light years across. Why is it here? And it is also most certainly true on a higher level if that shining blue planet is inhabited by a lot of unique individuals that have a curious capacity: the capacity to love and to think in abstractions and to ask profound questions, like why we are here.

The kind of logic that measures man by or against the physical universe conflicts with what I will call our inner being: the sum total of what we are as human beings. It has been said that man is incurably religious, and this can be quickly verified by the briefest of overviews of human history. We have a sense that there is more to the story. I will even go so far as to call this a natural sense, and our intellects will not let us let it go. Those who want to let it go must battle with themselves their whole lives, and that to no avail. It is all too fundamental to the human mind to pass off as wishful thinking.

If the physical size of the universe is the only argument against the value and significance of man, then it turns out to be no argument at all, but simply the whims of someone who prefers a universe in which there is no God. To quote Tom Stoppard: "It’s an interesting view of atheism, as sort of a crutch for those who can’t stand the reality of God."⁴ Mr. Stoppard has struck a chord here: at once an obvious but quite secretive chord, and one that we will see clearly as we explore certain elements of The Lord’s Prayer.

Let’s start from the beginning: That the universe is a created thing is a fact and in no sense should any of us have to be on the defensive about this. Science itself now assures us that it had a distinct beginning, and fundamental to this creation event is the stunning evidence that time and space itself came into being along with matter. In the circles of astronomy and astrophysics a relatively new term has been employed of late: the anthropic principle. This term is derived from anthropos, the Greek word for man or human being, and was coined by astrophysicist and cosmologist Brandon Carter in 1973. The idea (or should I say reality) behind this is a history of scientific research into the workings of the universe.

We have progressed from the notion of a random universe, to a not so random universe, and finally to the reality that the laws of physics are so finely tuned, so profoundly calibrated, as to conclude that the whole cosmos was designed for life. In his book, God: The Evidence, onetime atheist Patrick Glynn of George Washington University points out that . . . the anthropic principle came down to the observation that all the myriad laws of physics were fine-tuned from the very beginning of the universe for the creation of man—that the universe we inhabit appeared to be expressly designed for the emergence of human beings.⁵ This, of course, implies a creator (actually it shouts of a creator), and for this reason certain scientists find this quite objectionable in spite of the data and certainly try to find alternatives, often (surprisingly) out of what can only be described as a sort of desperation.

That most unpretentious philosopher, educator, author, and man of science, David Berlinski, comments on the motives behind this apparent anxiety. In referring to a term coined by prominent astronomer Fred Hoyle, that the universe looks like a put-up job, Berlinski observes: "Nonetheless, the answer that common sense might suggest is deficient in one respect: It is emotionally unacceptable because a universe that looks like a put-up job puts off a great many physicists. They have thus made every effort to find an alternative. Did you imagine that science was a disinterested pursuit of truth? Well, you were wrong."⁶

All I have read on the subject, however, makes me seriously doubt that these particular scientists who are looking for an alternative are in much of a majority, if at all. Now when I say this I am not saying this is necessarily true of those scientists in dominance and occupying privileged positions in the structure of things. I am speaking of all scientists everywhere whether in print or not, whether they have tenure or not, and whether they are allowed to get within ten miles of that most narrow National Academy of Sciences or not. Many are the scientists who now acknowledge God from their own respective scientific disciplines.

It is precisely that science that I love. And I love it because it is honest. What is not honest is the presentation of philosophy as science, and even the language disguises the thing. We are engaged in quite a national debate these days: naturalistic philosophy versus creationism. It is a debate all too many Christians are caught up in and, as a result, they are not engaged in what is the real issue: the issue of solid extrapolation of solid science.

We live in quite an academic time, when good scientific extrapolation is called religion and insane hypothesis is called good science. I think the debate is wrong because the focus is wrong. It should be naturalistic philosophy versus science itself. Science class should be a science class, not presentation of mere assumption as something that is not to be challenged even when the challenge has solid and empirical evidence to back it up. Naturalistic philosophy does, however, have a place: the philosophy department. I think we all should be demanding that the stuff of real science is what is to be taught in the classroom, and I also believe that the vast majority of taxpayers and citizens, no matter what they believe, would agree. And if real science—the stuff of actual data and observation—is what the student learns, then we can all be quite comfortable to let the chips fall where they may, and they will fall on the obvious.

Let me talk of the materialist for a bit: the term is a description of those who believe that the material universe is all there is. These folks claim to be about science in this regard, but I would challenge that, and, as you have already gotten the hint, many indeed have. There are many works by some brilliant scientists themselves showing that materialism is in fact not very scientific at all. It is not my intention to overly engage in this subject, but it is important for the reader to simply know that these physicists and microbiologists and geneticists and mathematicians and many more (you name the science) have written papers and books aplenty on this subject. They are readily available and more are showing up all the time.

Now we all know about questions and doubt. How are we to sort things out? How do we know that this thing is true or that thing isn’t? I didn’t write this book with just Christians in mind; I wrote it with people in mind, and people have doubts. I sometimes wonder that many think this business of doubting is necessarily a bad thing. I say doubt is not necessarily a bad thing at all; I say it can be a very good and positive thing. Faith for me is not an intellectual leap across a chasm with no bridge. I have always needed a reason—an adequate reason—to believe anything. If you are one of these inquisitive types then I would love to have a cup of coffee with you: this sort of thing makes for positively awesome conversations.

Doubt is the thing which makes us test and try every idea and every belief that will affect our lives. Cult leaders are very afraid of this most valid human quality, and, I have discovered, so is the National Academy of Sciences. That is why cult leaders tell their followers not to doubt for fear of God’s wrath, and why the Academy has its own subtle form of wrath. Let me assure the reader that the god the cultist is referring to, and the materialism the Academy replaces God with, is nothing like the God of the Bible in one most special regard: The God of the Bible is a God who literally encourages us to try and prove Him. We are challenged to put Him to the test by the Bible itself. If you are following anyone who forbids you to read serious challenges to their teachings, then I would encourage you to stop drinking the Kool-Aid. Many Christians are equally afraid of doubt, but they don’t need to be; they just don’t know it.

Doubt keeps us honest and it is actually a fruit of freedom: freedom of the mind and soul. Doubt can turn bad, of course (or be bad from the outset), but when that happens we can usually (if not always) find a certain motive lurking there which produces a dishonesty that distorts our ability to reason and blinds us to truth. In other words, we let preference and prejudice or cultural drift get in the way of sound reasoning and the pursuit of truth itself.

As Christians, as people simply looking into Christianity, or as people simply searching for truth without gripping deadly preconceptions, we are free to doubt. But consider this: the materialist is not free to doubt at all… he doesn’t dare! After all, there are certain consequences to certain beliefs if they are actually true. The materialist wants a universe that is safe. Safe from what? Safe from God! A creator God and moral governor might be many things, but one thing He is necessarily not: He is not necessarily safe.

One wonders, after all, why the skeptic isn’t skeptical of his own skepticism.

Now we can be uncertain of our footing at times precisely because our universe is so huge: full of chasms and hills and unseen horizons. This is also why our life is an adventure. We know the road home because we’re on it, or we are getting some substantial evidence that we should join those who are on it, and every rock and rut tells us the way. The materialist, however, is quite sure of his position precisely because his universe is so small—a tiny thing—for the simple reason that there is nothing beyond it. He has forbidden himself of his own sight and insight. He will reject eyeglasses to correct nearsightedness because he is convinced there is nothing to see beyond his own small cell. Be sure that one must train oneself to this, and there is motive behind it (which we will look at in a later chapter). It is no more normal to think the universe self-contained or self-generated than it is to believe in the magic hat.

Now the universe of the materialist is not only small, it is cold… very cold; as cold as the dark side of any ice planet. There is nothing warm about it, yet we human beings need warmth. Now here is an amazing thing: we are made for sweaters and firesides, and the materialist’s only explanation is the cold universe. He is blind to the fact that the warmth we perceptively seek is the sunny hillside beyond the galaxies where we won’t need sweaters and firesides to keep us warm. We are made for the warmth of the family hearth which is more than mere temperature: it is the warmth of love and friendship and purpose—which means eternal purpose. The materialist’s only vision is of a rock—or a bunch of rocks—somewhere in the distant past somehow beginning to engage in thought… on their own! If the reader thinks I am being absurd here, I respond that I am only being honest; I am putting into simple words what the materialist really claims to believe.

Now for those who will debate this, let me put things in more technical terms: Matter exists in three forms: solids, liquids, and gases (a fourth is ionized gasses). Let me now quote: The matter of the cosmos has become alive and aware. These are the words of Carl Sagan in the PBS Cosmos series.⁷ He made his belief unmistakably clear that matter—the substance of the physical universe—took intelligence to itself, developed thinking on its own, and firmly said so in a number of ways. Now this is quite a leap of faith, to be sure (and make no mistake that it is faith), and Dr. Sagan is certainly not alone in this most odd ideology. Some will dress this sort of thing in scientific clothes, and others still will insist that the moon is made of a most wonderful Swiss cheese.

Many of those same folks want to somehow sidestep the final conclusion to all this, but it is one of their own, existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, who cuts through any pretense that one might harbor and boldly states just how cold the materialist’s universe really is: Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself, he insisted, and later goes on to say, Man is a useless passion.⁸ Now there is a reason to bounce out of bed in the morning full of life and joy… don’t you think?

Few have come face to face with the real faith that is being exercised here. But it is that great nineteenth century Scottish writer, George MacDonald, who often exposed it at a time when few, especially among the educated, would choose to believe such a thing. He gave expression to what