Posted on by Abe Austin

The Mote in the Other Eye- The Problem of Others

Who’s to Blame)

Everyone knows someone who is making the world worse. Everyone can identify popular ideals and propaganda that are harming society. Everyone knows who is to blame for things being the way that they are right now. Everyone knows how they’d like to change the world if they could. And people certainly make their opinions known. My news feeds and social media threads are constantly inundated with criticisms and accusations of “them.”

And I cannot claim to have never taken part in this pastime either. I could speak at great length about who I see as responsible for the greatest problems in the world today, and the deep resentment that I’ve harbored towards them.

But part of me has always felt guilty when my mind goes to that place. Part of me knows that at some point I crossed the line from “judging righteous judgment” to full-on condemning. Part of me knows that my desire to make everyone do what is right is not actually from God. It’s a sneaky misstep, because it’s oriented towards trying to establish ‘right,’ but its method of control is evil.

Focus Inward)

When I consider all of this, I am reminded of the words of Jesus: “How wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?” Matthew 7:4. When I hear this, I realize that I’m not just wrong for letting my heart be filled with condemnation for another, but also because it has distracted me from focusing on the problems of my own side.

Of course, Jesus also suggested that after one had cleaned his own eye then he would see clearly enough to clean another’s. Honestly, I can’t speak to that, because I genuinely don’t feel that I am there yet. I suspect there are few who are. My focus for now is still on the first half of Jesus’s words.

The Reason for Reluctance)

I also want to make clear nowhere in Jesus’s injunction to focus on our own eye does he suggest that the other side doesn’t have problems. Even with my flawed judgment, I probably have identified some truly valid issues over on the other side. The idea that “they” need to change isn’t wrong, then, what’s wrong is thinking that I’m going to be the one to make them do it. I don’t have to stop my natural recognition of evil in the world, or condone any of it, but Christ is pointing out that everything would go much smoother if I acknowledged my own failings and worked on changing me, while “they” worked on changing “them.”

But what if I do work on me, and “they” don’t work on “them.” There is a real anxiety in this that manifests each time I try to pull myself back from policing the entire world. Tomorrow I will speak more at length on this fear, and how it can be remedied.

Posted on by Abe Austin

We Are Not Made for Peace

Made to War)

Many have envisioned a utopia where there is no more war and strife. Many have proposed by what method we could achieve such universal peace, though every attempt has failed. It is a strange paradox. Whether we have peace or not is obviously in our own hands, and it is hard to think of a more common goal, so why does it continually evade us? Why can’t we just stop fighting?

Because we are not made for peace.

We are a people that are designed to do battle. It is simply in our nature to fight. It is in our nature to draw a line and make war with whatever is on the other side of it. Yes, there is a part of us that craves calm and rest, but that part will always be overrun by our stronger, warrior nature. Battle is inevitable, and all of us are called to it. The need for war isn’t lessened by previous victories or having a rich life. The previous fathers’ wars do not satiate the hot blood of the rising generation.

This principle was found to be true in the shocking Universe 25 experiment with rats. The rodents were given a perfect Rat Utopia, with all the food, space, and sociality that they needed to thrive. And in every case, the rats eventually turned to self-destruction and brought about their own extinction. We may not be rats, but we carry that same fire within us.

A Divine Purpose)

But just because we are made to battle, does not mean that we have to use it for evil. Indeed, our warrior heart was given to us for a good purpose, and it is only when we twist it or suppress it that it bursts out in violence and hate.

God gave us warrior hearts so that we would have the motivation to battle our own inner demons. God made us restless in times of peace, because there is no end to the onslaught of temptation. God made us itch for a fight so that we wouldn’t be complacent about our flaws.

All of our lives are meant to be a struggle, though in the afterlife it may very well be different. Perhaps the part of us that yearns for peace looks to the afterlife, while the part of us that yearns for a fight looks to this life.

But one has to choose to wage war with the inner man. One can, instead, run from that fight, surrender to his worst impulses, and then his warlike nature has nowhere to go but outward. Even worse, because he gave control of his spirit up to the author of evil, his noble warrior heart becomes corrupted to one of cruelty.

Resolved to the Better Fight)

Trying to numb our desire to fight is misguided. That is trying to change our fundamental nature, which we cannot do.

Peace in this life will not be found by removing our desire to fight, but by each of us turning that fight inwards. Conflict never dies, but it can be transplanted. The global conflict can be internalized by the populace. We will only know peace in our society as we each accept that we will never know peace individually.

It may be a sobering reality: a lifetime of never-ending battle within the heart, but ironically, you can make peace with that war. You can accept it as a necessary component of life, something that you just have to do, and then it becomes easier. There are no easy answers, but there are at least answers.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Evidence in the Lack of Evidence

At key points in life, you must choose between that which is most beneficial to you and that which you know to be right. You will have to decide if you follow your conscience, even when there is no reason to assume a positive outcome for yourself.

It only stands to reason, however, that if you ever want to live in the hands of the supernatural, beyond the confines of mortal logic, that at some point you must make a choice just like this. Earthly outcomes follow choices based on earthly evidence. If you ever want a heavenly outcome, at some point you must leap with nothing earthly in view to catch you.

Thus, watch for these moments where there is no evidence that things will work out well, and in those moments take courage in the knowledge that the lack of evidence is the greatest evidence of all.
Posted on by Abe Austin

Reciprocity of Good

Every parent hopes that the world will be good to our children.

Certainly, we do what we can to shape the world in that direction, but there is only so much that we can do. 

Far more effective, then, is to shape our children to be good to world, and then trust that reciprocity will see good reflected back to them.
Posted on by Abe Austin

The Richness of Scriptural Symbolism- The Final Symbol

Infinitely One)

Here at the end of this series I must acknowledge that I haven’t even scratched the surface of symbols in the Bible. There are so many different symbols, found in the parables, in the actions of everyday people, in the dreams, in the prophecies, in the patterns, and in the static images. I’ve known all along that this study would never be complete, that I could not cover all of the relevant material, that at some point I would just have to call it good enough and bring it to an end. It would be impossible to ever make a full assessment of what all the symbols are and what they stand for.

Yet for all this infinite variety of symbolism, it is at the same time entirely singular as well. Every basic symbol points to something higher, and every higher symbol points to something higher still. Together they form a great upward rising column, narrowing and converging as they ascend, until they point to the one: God, Himself. All of the symbolism in the Bible is meant to funnel our attention to Him.

As another book of scripture states:

The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.
-Alma 30:44

Throughout this series I have been trying to identify the key qualities of good symbols in the scriptures. I have mentioned that they connect to something fundamental in the human experience, that they repeated play out in our collective lives, and that they can stand for multiple things at once, even polar opposites. All of these are good hallmarks, but the most important of them all is this quality that was identified just above: that they point us upwards, ultimately leading us back to the Creator. We know that we are recognizing a good symbol when it is bringing us to our Father.

One Last Symbol)

Now I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge one final great trick in all this symbolism. Remember what I said: that all of these infinite symbols point upward, ascending together as a column, combining in one that is God. Thus, God is the INFINITE…ONE. And once we start talking cosmic paradoxes like that, we should immediately realize that we are talking, once again, about a symbol.

God is Himself…a symbol.

He is the condensed, singular representation of the infinity that is also Him. He is the circle that is one, finite line, which circumscribes infinite angles. He is the recursive loop that is both self-terminating and also never-ending. He is the word that is used to define all other words and thus requires all other words to define itself.

It is God who shows us symbols, and those symbols are there to show us God, and that cyclical pattern is itself a symbol that God is showing us and that is also showing us God.

Symbols are much, much more than amusing, little mysteries. They are nuggets of eternity. They are part of a system that defies our capability to fully comprehend. We may extract from them what we can, and as we do, they in turn extract from us our spiritual transcendence.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Richness of Scriptural Symbolism- Static Images

Throughout this series we have looked at symbols in their most complex forms and gradually introduced simpler and simpler forms. We started with lived-out moments that reenact something bigger, then moved on to carefully constructed parables, and most recently we looked at brief dream sequences which stripped away context and story to provide concentrated symbolic scenes.

There is, of course, an even simpler form of symbols and it is probably the first form that comes to mind when we heard the word. It is symbols as single, static images. These are things like the Christian Cross, the Star of David, or the Scales of Justice.

An argument could certainly be made that the more fundamental a symbol is, the more applications and representations it will hold. This would mean that these single static images will often have the most interpretations of all.

In today’s post we will take a look at two examples of this type of symbol and consider the sorts of things that they might stand for. I should first note, though, that while both of these symbols are religious, neither is divinely established in any religious text. There is no scripture that says that these specific symbols should be part of the iconography of the Jewish or Christian people, so let us not assume that these symbols are necessarily under God’s authorship.

The Star of David)

The first symbol we will consider is the Star of David. This six-pointed star has long been a symbol of the Jewish faith and is even the central element in the flag of Israel. Perhaps the first representation that we see in it is the fact that it is a star, or a sun, thus something that provides light and guidance, or which can be a marker to guide us along our way.

We also notice that there is one large hexagon in the middle, surrounded by six small triangles that extend from its sides. This could be seen as God in the center, with all other creations gathered in observation of Him. It even brings to mind Joseph’s dream of standing in the midst of his brethren as they bowed to him.

Of course, one can also see the shapes of two equilateral triangles, one upright and one inverted, offset and overlapping. With this view in mind, we can see one triangle as God descending downward and the other as mankind extending upward, the overlap being where the two come into union with one another. To the Jew, that place of union could be seen as the Law or the temple, while to the Christian it would be Christ.

The Christian Cross)

The Christian Cross must be one of the simplest symbols ever made: two lines crossing at right angles. Of course, it immediately invokes memories of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. When considering that application, it becomes simultaneously a symbol of man’s greatest cruelty and God’s greatest mercy, an interesting paradox.

The vertical line of the cross can also be seen to stand for God, while the horizontal line stands for the earth, or the horizon. The point of juncture in the middle then has a similar meaning to the overlapping triangles in the Star of David: the place where heaven meets earth, meaning the church or Jesus.

With our modern system of world coordination, the crossing lines can also be seen as a longitude and a latitude, suggesting the ability to pinpoint where we stand spiritually, or suggesting a guided destination for where we need to go.

Summary)

We could go on quite a bit lot longer in our analysis of each symbol. Hopefully this has been enough to establish that their simplicity does not make their applications few. Rather, it is the inverse. Because they are such a basic representation of something so fundamental, their applications are virtually infinite. They are literal signs, pointing the way to much, much more

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Richness of Scriptural Symbolism- Symbols Within Symbols

Yesterday we looked at the story of Joseph interpreting the Pharaoh’s dream, in which seven sickly and evil cattle consumed seven that were fat and good. We discussed how this was a symbol for the many times that evil has sucked the life out of that which was once virtuous and worthy, until its beauty and sweetness can no longer be remembered.

I also mentioned that there was another, larger symbol at play, but that before I could examine it, we needed to consider another story that strongly echoed that of Joseph and the Pharaoh. Today we will look at that story, and as we do, take note of how familiar it feels.

The Man of Many Parts)

This example comes from Daniel 2, which once again begins with a ruler, this time Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. And, once again, this ruler had a strange dream, and none of his wise men could help him understand it, but again there was a foreign youth named Daniel who had the power to both describe and interpret his dream.

In the king’s dream, he saw a statue with a golden head, a silver torso, brass thighs, iron legs, and feet made of iron mingled in clay. Then, a great stone came and smashed the statue into pieces.

This was the symbol, and Daniel gave the king the interpretation of it: each segment of the statue represented a great kingdom that would rule supreme over the earth. Babylon was the first one of gold, but it would be superseded by another, then another, then another. With the benefit of hindsight, we can now identify all the four kingdoms as Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. But all of these mighty kingdoms would eventually be broken apart by the stone, which was the kingdom of heaven.

So, there we have the immediate interpretation of it, but is there any more general reading possible? I think so. I see a broad symbol here of how mankind’s creation and power will be upended by the touch of God. Yes, it has happened in God’s kingdom expanding while all the nations that Daniel foresaw have toppled, but it also happened much earlier when God confounded the language of the people building the Tower of Babel, turning their great enterprise into chaos. It also happened when Egypt, the greatest kingdom of its time, was brought to its knees by the plagues of Moses. It happened when all the civilization in Noah’s age was drowned in the flood. I have a suspicion that it is also a foreshadowing of something yet to come, a time when our highly vaunted technology and science will be greatly frustrated by the touch of God in some way.

The Bigger Picture)

But all of this is just the inner symbol. As I have already illustrated, this story of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar is practically a remake of Joseph and the Pharaoh. In both cases a ruler had a vision that he could not understand, but the youthful foreigner who knew God was able to make it clear. That seems to be a pattern of meaning, a representation of the righteous youth being a refresher for the old and mighty. It speaks to change and transition.

And notice, too, how Joseph foresaw a time of good being supplanted by one of evil, while Daniel saw the inverse: kingdoms of fallen man being supplanted by one of the divine. Also consider the timing of each one in the larger Israelite narrative. One vision came shortly before a time of slavery, the other just after coming into a new time of imprisonment. One came just before the birth of nation, the other just after its death.

Both of these young seers foresaw a pattern of evil and good overtaking one another. Together they saw the two halves of a cycle, a repeating dance that defined their people, and also the broader world. Good prevails, then wanes, then evil surges, then good prevails. It is the story of us all, and it is symbolized in the story of these stories.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Richness of Scriptural Symbolism- The Pharaoh’s Dream

Thus far we have looked at symbols that were lived experiences (Jacob and Esau, Barabbas) or that were parables (the Prodigal Son, the poor man and his sheep). Today we now consider a symbol that was an image in a dream.

Seven Fat and Sickly Cattle)

This example comes from Genesis 41, in which we learn that the Pharaoh of Egypt received a strange dream that greatly troubled him. He sought an interpretation from all of his wise men, but none of them could explain it. Finally, his butler told him about Joseph, a foreign youth that he had met in jail, who possessed great interpretive powers from God. Joseph was summoned, and the Pharaoh recounted his dream to him.

In the dream, seven fat cattle emerged from the river and fed in the meadow. After them came seven more that were sickly and unpleasant, and they ate all of the fat cattle. But even though they ate such a fat meal, the seven remained just as scrawny and sickly as before.

This was the symbol, and Joseph gave the Pharaoh the interpretation of it: the seven fat cattle were seven good years with a bounteous crop and the seven sickly cattle were seven years of famine that would follow. The seven years of famine would so thoroughly eradicate the abundance of the good years, that it would be as if the abundance had never even occurred.

So, there we have the specific interpretation of it, but are there any other possible interpretations? I think so. I see in this a general concept of evil overtaking good and leaving none of it behind. This pattern can be seen in many specific instances in our lives. We see this in the addict who does shameful actions in secret and tries to cover them with an overabundance of external good deeds. The good on the surface is hollow, and does him no benefit, because he does them all with a guilty heart, so he remains as guilty and shameful as he always was. We see any time a wealthy man leaves an inheritance to a foolish and wasteful son, who then squanders all the riches until none of it is left, and he remains as foolish and wasteful as he always was.

I believe that this symbol has many universal applications, in addition to the specific one that Joseph gave to Pharaoh.

As it turns out, there is another symbol at play here, but before I can explain it, we need to consider another story that follows this exact same pattern. The similarities between that story and this one are uncanny, which speaks to the fact that they are cut from the same symbolic cloth. We will dive into that other story, and the shared theme between it and this one, tomorrow.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Richness of Scriptural Symbolism- Barabbas

Earlier in this study I noted that every good symbol has constant reenactments following it. Every symbol that connects with the human core is seen again and again and again.

Today I want to illustrate that symbols are not only deep, though, they can also be broad. Some of them not only have multiple meanings over time, but also multiple meanings in the very first moment. I will illustrate that today with the example of Barabbas.

The Story of Barabbas)

Barabbas was a prisoner in Israel at the time of Jesus. He had quite the list of offenses. From John 18:40 we hear that he was a robber, and from Mark 15:7 we learn that he was also a seditionist and a murderer. It is most likely that he was condemned to death, waiting for his execution to be carried out when fate intervened to set him free.

His turn of fortune came as a result of Pilate seeking to spare Jesus, who he could sense was innocent any crime. It was the Passover, when it was customary for one prisoner to be released, so Pilate tried to save Jesus by stacking his freedom against that of deplorable Barabbas. If the Israelites really wanted to condemn Jesus, they would have to instead free a person who might literally kill them! Shockingly, that is exactly the choice that they made, and Pilate had to release the murderer. Jesus, of course, did go on to be killed that very same day.

Two Symbols of Barabbas)

The freeing of Barabbas is a powerful symbol, one with two immediate meanings. First of all, the release of Barabbas is symbolic of the mission of Jesus Christ and its effect upon all mankind. We are each of us Barabbas, sinners worthy of death, set free because Jesus was condemned instead. As the prophet Isaiah foretold, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

Here we have a bright and hopeful symbol in the release of Barabbas, but there is also a dark foreshadowing in it as well. For just as much as it stands for the liberation of all us sinners, it also stood for the impending decimation of the Israelite people.

Within just forty years of Israel choosing Barabbas over Jesus, the entire nation would be devastated, with an estimated hundreds of thousands of Jews being slaughtered, maybe more, and the survivors scattered to the winds. But wasn’t this what they had chosen? They had had the choice between the literal Prince of Peace and a man of violence, and they had selected the latter! Hear their words as recorded in Luke 23:18, “And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas.” Release unto us the killer…and that was just what they received.

Split Symbolism)

Barabbas’s release isn’t just a symbol with two different interpretations, it is a symbol with polar opposite interpretations! One of restored life, and one of consignment to death. It may seem remarkable that it can have both of these connotations, but it turns out that this is actually fairly regular in the scriptures. The cross is simultaneously a symbol of man’s greatest cruelty and God’s greatest love. Also, the serpent is used as a symbol of the Devil in the Garden of Eden, and of Christ when Moses raised the healing bronze serpent on the stick. The rainbow both stands as a reminder of God’s flooding the world, and His promise that He won’t do so again.

I believe that part of the reason for polar opposite symbols is because many of the deepest spiritual notions are also two-sided in profound ways. Is justice a principle of punishment for the wicked, or of exoneration for the innocent? Does God’s glory purify us or condemn us? Is the work of man creation or destruction? The answer to all of these is both. Good symbols recognize that there is a good side and a bad side to our reality, and they manage to represent both at the same time.