Journal
God Function()
18 November 2007 › 8 comments
There has been a lot of hemming and hawing as of late, around whether or not purpose in life is synonymous with belief in God. I’m not going to rehash all that’s been said. Suffice it to say, the drama reads in this order…
- Andy Rutledge – Living Purposefully
- Jeremy Keith – Delusion
- Matthew Pennell – Deity Jokes
- Jason Beaird – Purposefully
- Eric Meyer – Finding Purpose
Let me prefix this by saying I consider all these guys friends, with the exception of Mr. Meyer, whom I have not had the privilege of meeting.
Andy lives here in Dallas, and he has been to my house. My wife and I visited Jeremy’s home when we vacationed in England. Jason and I have shared meals at conferences. Matthew is my editor at Digital Web Magazine and has helped me refine the writing in my articles to a respectable level.
I appreciate that Jeremy clarified his use of the term “god botherers” as a reference to Godbit. Being from the other side of the Atlantic, some of us yanks were a bit perplexed by the colloquialism at first.
Just to clarify: I’m using the term god botherer in its generally accepted sense here in the UK as a mild, almost affectionate term. Why, some of my best friends are god botherers.
Hearing that, I am reminded of the bothersome woman in Luke 18:1-8, who repeatedly visits a judge, crying out for justice. If that’s the way in which I pester God, then I’m okay with that. :)
My Definition
I am of the opinion that someone can have purpose in this lifetime apart from God. However, as is in accordance with the doctrine of Christianity, I believe that apart from God, said purpose ends in when this life ceases. With God, the purpose is ultimately shown to be one which continues on indefinitely. Here’s a simple diagram of how I understand the meaning of the word purpose:
Digging back into 8th grade math principles, let’s think of God’s existence (presupposing that God indeed exists) as a line, with no beginning nor ending points. Human life is a line segment, with a clear start and end point. One who adheres to Christ as Lord and Savior is a ray, with a start but no end, because this individual continues to exist with God in the life beyond.
For me, life is less about finding purpose, and more about being in a relationship with my creator. If one is truly seeking, God will find you. God is not lost. He rescues those who want to be found. To use a Matrix quote: “Then you’ll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.”
Anyway, for what it’s worth, those are my thoughts on the subject. This also reminds me that I had neglected to post my writings from the Exegesis of Exodus seminary class I took this summer. For connoisseurs of the Hebrew scriptures, I have added those papers to my theology page.
Discussion + Dissension
Comments closed after 2 weeks.
#1 Erik Sagen
Good stuff, Nathan. If anything, you’ve made it clear that you just believe in your faith so strongly that you can make the connection.
Even A.J. Jacobs, having followed the principles and teachings of the Bible pretty literally for his new book, said in an interview a lot of what he practiced/believed/learned has rubbed off in some way. He even dropped the term “preacher agnostic” which might make its way into some lexicon someday, I’d imagine.
Dig the diagrams, by the way. :)
#2 Geof Harries
Beautifully put. For me, having a relationship with God means that I no longer have to seek, but rather spend my life knowing and living in Him.
#3 Marshall
Very good points Nathan.
However, from what I see in scripture, it seems to me that it’s both. One, that you have a relationship with the creator who pursues you. And two, from the relationship you get your God given purpose. One great example of this is the life of the Apostle Paul.
And sorry Nathan, but I have to disagree with you on one point. When you mention this,
“One who adheres to Christ as Lord and Savior is a ray, with a start but no end…”
That isn’t entirely true. You see, even if you don’t believe in Christ and you aren’t born again you still have a start but no end. Except your end is eternal separation from God.
#4 Jason Beaird
Oh boy, I’m part of the drama party now. :) I honestly thought about IMing you before publishing that post to get an opinion from another believer on whether it was a worthwhile contribution or if I was just stirring up trouble. Instead I just hit the post button and put my personal opinion out there. The web design community is so diverse, but at the same time, so deeply interconnected. Getting into the subject of religion or politics is always going to cause emotionally charged tidal waves, but I think we all have to let people know where we stand now and then.
…and I like the diagrams as well.
I can see it being adapted as a Sunday School flannel board graphic in the near future. :) j/k
#5 Nathan Smith
@Erik: Thanks, glad you liked the diagram.
@Geoff: Agreed, my seeking is done, and now I am found.
@Marshall: Good point, about purpose vs. God given purpose. Also, well spoken about the eternal separation aspect. I guess my use of arrows was to imply a God based vector. It’s been said that every analogy breaks down at some point, and I think you’ve found mine. :)
@Jason: I didn’t mean to single you out as causing drama. Just wanted to give the complete history and context of the conversation. Flannel, woot.
#6 Robert Evans
Well stated Nathan. Personally, I found Matthew Pennell’s post to be rather offensive, but I highly doubt we’ll find someone who will speak out against it with such stature as Eric Meyer.
From his post:
But hey, we, who are worthy of ridicule, already knew this.
#7 Nathan Smith
@Robert: I agree with your sentiment. It brings to mind 1 Corinthians 1:18.
#8 Michael Montgomery
Thanks for the post, Nathan.
Well said; nothing to add.