I am constantly amazed at how the creativity which God has placed into the hearts of men shines through, even in places where the fall has brought devastating and paralyzing consequences.
Cerebral Palsy, while not a sin, is still a consequence of living in a fallen world, but watch the following video and see the sort of beauty that comes off the fingertips of a man who suffers from this disease.
I watched the film on Hawking on PBS the other day. I thought he and his life were a very good argument for God – how disability reveals astonishing determination and ability. I get the same message from the recent film by Ken Burns on the Roosevelts. FDR’s polio was formative to his ability to identify with the disenfranchised.
I think a fallen world is a concept to be rejected. Recently I have been considering that we live in the 6th day of creation. We are still being brought forth from the earth. Did you notice that the created things on the 6th day are never said to be ‘good’ on their own? There’s something to learn from this metaphor seen this way. It makes sense of Hebrew’s use of Psalm 95 and it joins us more fully with Jewish thinking about the so-called ‘fall’. The myth is not about a ‘fall’ but about God’s building of a temple, Eden, Jerusalem, Jesus, and the Church, and the building itself is a beautiful process. It can also make sense of statements like Why do you call me good?.
A little more than a thought…
A little more than a thought is right! Very intriguing observation! It bears thinking about.
Are you kidding me? Thanks for sharing this so much. There’s something vital about creativity. . . some almost mysterious power that is not stopped even by extreme physical handicaps. Reminds me of those pictures of mountain cliffs and high up in the middle of the face of the cliff grows a single tree out from a crevice. Love this guy.
Yeah, pretty amazing, right?