Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Chaos And The Bible

The topic of LivingRoom tonight was "Chaos and the Bible". The speaker said that water is in the image of chaos in the bible. Some of the verses he quoted include:
  • Leviathan (sea monster): Job 41:1
  • Yam (sea personified): Dan 7:2,3
  • Tanniyn (dragon): Ps 74:13
  • Tehom (chaotic ocean): Ps 33:7

Then he went on to discuss the two Greek words used by Aristotle, "Phronesis and Techne". They are two ways of dealing with life. Phronesis is the reality that the earth moves, so we need to move as well. Consequently movement brings growth. "You can only walk through a river once." On the other hand, "Techne" denotes rigid, structure and not changing or moving. He used the treadmill as an example that we need to keep moving in order to move forward, if we were to stay still on a treadmill, we would fall. That really makes sense doesn't it? We also discussed the following questions (perhaps you can let me know of your thoughts too...)

  1. Is the dynamic (chaotic?) nature of God part of what it means to be made in his image?
  2. Is so, what does that mean for: ethics, forgiveness, and how we approach one another?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find this sort of thing really interesting. Of course, I'm not convinced that God has a "dynamic" (let alone "chaotic" side) or even what that means. Did the speaker explain it?

I also don't see how Daniel 7:3 is a personification of the sea.

Kc said...

Sis I have a hard time perceiving God in any way other than unchanging.

Kitty Cheng said...

John, I also found the talk very interesting (and certainly 'radical'), and I am not sure if God has a "dynamic" or "chatoic" nature. The speaker was not saying that God was chatoic, but that he turns chaos into order.

Kitty Cheng said...

kc,I agree with you. God is unchanging, but our World is certainly chaotic.

Matthew Celestine said...

Dragons and the sea are symbols of evil in Scripture.

God is a God of order not chaos.

Any attempt to portray God as chaotic is heresy.

God Bless

Matthew

Kitty Cheng said...

It's so true Matthew, God is a God of order. The conclusion we came up with during that gathering was that God is dynamic (creative) but certainly not chaotic. Saying that God has a nature of chaos is surely wrong and heretic!

Radagast said...

But sometimes an order we can't comprehend may seem chaotic.

I'm reminded of the image of the ocean in Perelandra

Anonymous said...

Hmmm....I would be a bit nervous about a speaker who wants to tie the "dynamic nature of God" with a discussion of how it affects our ethics! Ouch.

I was going to "vote" for God's unchanging nature, but I don't get a vote. God said it himself! He doesn't change. :-)

Kitty Cheng said...

yeah that's so true Radagast.

Kitty Cheng said...

Greg, thanks for visiting my blog. Surely God never changes. I guess when the speaker talked about God being dynamic, it's more about how He deals with people, not about his unchanging nature.