God and History

My wife and I attended a concert last night by the Cantata Singers. They performed a relatively unknown piece by Handel - Belshazzar. This oratorio tells the story of the last king of Babylon, Belshazzar. Belshazzar's mother opens the story with an analysis of the nature of empire:

Vain, fluctuating state of human empire!
First, small and weak, it scarcely rears its head
scarce stretching out its helpless infant arms,
Implires protection of its neighbour states,
Who nurse it to their hurt. Anon, it strives
For pow'r and wealth, o'erleaps all bounds,
Robs, ravages and wastes the frighted world.
At length, grown old and swell'd to bulk enormous,
The monster in its prpoer bowels feeds
Pride, luxury, corruption,, perfidy,
Contention, fell diseases of a state,
That prey upon her vitals. Of her weakness
Some other rising pow'r advantage takes,
(Unequal match!) plies with repeated strokes
Her infirm aged trunk: she nods, she totters,
She falls, alas, never to rise again!
The victor state, upon her ruins rais'd,
Runs the same shadowy round of fancied greatnessm
Meets the same certain end.

Thou, God most high, and Thou alone,
Unchang'd for ever dost remain:
Through boundless space extends thy throne,
Through all eternity thy reign,.
As nothing in thy sight
The reptile man appears,
Howe'er imagin'd great;
Who can impair thy might?
In heav'n or earth, who dares
dispute thy pow'r? -- thy will is fate.

The story is from the book of Daniel -- Belshazzar decides to throw a party using the bowls and cups from the Jewish Temple, thus showing total callousness toward the things of God; a hand appears writing the words MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PERES; Daniel interprets the words to spell the doom of the king; Cyrus invades and kills Belshazzar and eventually returns the exiled Jews to their homeland.

The director, David Hoose, noted, "The consequences of a reckless mind, of using religion and its symbols for selfish purpose, and of greed, pride, and self-exaltation imperil us in they year 2006, no less than they threatened Babylon in 539 BC. ...."

I wonder. Are we really that close to disaster? Should George W. Bush be seeing writing on the wall?

Here's what makes me wonder.

My conservative friends would tell me that we are moving away from disaster because we are creating laws that are more in line with God's moral teaching in the Bible, thus checking the moral decline of the late 20th century. At some level, it's hard to argue that reigning in some of the excesses of our society wouldn't be a good thing.

On the other hand, my liberal pals would have me believe that we are further from God's will for our society than ever, because we are less caring for the needy and the stranger among us than we have ever been and because we have become arrogant and willful in our dealings with the rest of the world.

Both are strong arguments. Let's pray that God isn't reading the pen just yet!

Here I am

I am sitting in an airport, hooked up through their $6.95 wireless service, and decided that the time had come to get in on the fun. I have been tracking a few blogs for a few months -- notably Addison Road, Real Live Preacher, and Tall Skinny Kiwi. At their best, these folks are seriously good writers and I can only hope to be as honest, direct and thoughtful as they are.

My interests are broad. I am a software engineer who works for IBM. I am also a woodworker, a husband, a father, and a member of a remarkable little church called Charles River Church. If you select the recent illustrated talks item, you'll even find one that I did.

So, please feel welcomed into this little peephole into my mind and treat it with consideration. Thanks!