I think the best way to start off a new blog is by explaining its name. It helps to inform the reader of the underlying philosophy not just of each blog posts, but of why post in the first place. And yes, the title of this blog is a pun.
I have frequently been accused of being a guy in love with corny jokes. And when I come up with a particularly good one, I like to share it. So it is true that the first part of the three-fold motivation for naming this blog is somewhat selfish and prideful. But that fits very nicely with the direction of the blog anyway.
The other two parts come from the double meaning of the pun.
Anyone who has ever entered a particularly messy room, complete
with overflowing trash can, unkempt bedclothes, mangled heaps of laundry, and
empty soda cans hidden in creative nooks like inconvenient Easter eggs, or
has tried to work with a business that just doesn't return phone calls except
to give you the extension for the other guy you’re supposed to talk to, refuses
to write intelligent e-mails, and gets your order wrong anyway, knows what it feels
like to stare into the face of disorder.
When things are out of place or not working properly, or
people appear to lack the ability or motivation to execute their assigned tasks
sufficiently, people can feel the urge to throw up their hands in desperation
and shout, “Who the hell is in charge around here, anyway?!”
The same can be true of the world around us.
Faced with the many problems in society such as hunger,
disease, improper education, or hatred, cruelty, or violence, people can feel
the urge to throw up their hands in
desperation and cry out, “Who the hell is in charge around here, anyway?!”
The answer to this question has taken a number of different forms: some men see this disorder as evidence that an all good, all powerful God cannot exist; some men view this disorder like labor pains--and the world is pregnant with something greater than our imagination can grasp.
But both answers demand something of men.
In the first place, if an atheist does not want to slip into nihilism, he must decide that there is some obtainable good in this world. And since there is nobody who can achieve that good for him, he must stand up like a man and achieve it himself. And when that obtainable good is some good for all of mankind, he must make himself a part of that effort to achieve that obtainable good. He must place himself in charge of the human race. He must run the show. It is his vision that guides society, and it is his efforts that accomplish its goals. He must run the human race.
The second part of the motivation for the name of this blog comes from this: I can identify with this sentiment. The question of suffering is a difficult one to answer. I can understand the motivation of people who have no room in their philosophy for a divine, all-powerful, all-good being when it drives them to accomplish good things. I am impressed with intellectually honest atheists that somehow remain beyond the event horizon of the gaping black hole that is nihilism.
But in the second place, when a man grants that God is all-good, and all-powerful, yet He permits suffering for some unclear reason, he believes that some greater good is coming--that age of perfect justice, peace, and harmony where the lion shall lie down with the lamb, etc. Some men think God will work out this good on His own accord, and all we have to do is keep ourselves clean and wait for the rapture.
But I think that the God who made the world, created man, placed him in the garden and said to him: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth," (Gen.1:28, RSV) expects man to exercise that dominion in cooperation with His divine plan for our happiness.
And so, while I say that believing men should stand up like men and work towards this age of perfect justice, I do not say that this is "running the human race." Rather, it is a cooperation with God in the exercise of those gifts and duties given to men by God.
And so finally we come to the third motivation.
What does it mean to "cooperate with God in the exercise of those gifts and duties given to men by God"? Since to answer this question in any kind of specific manner would take a series of blog posts, I shall reserve specifics for later. But fundamentally, if we are using those gifts and fulfilling those duties that are ours by gift, then we are being human. And if we are using all of our gifts, and fulfilling all of our duties, we are being fully human. And that is our goal.
Achieving that goal takes effort. Making that effort takes dedication, regular re-commitment, training, endurance, patience, and quiet perseverance. It takes fighting off laziness and mediocrity. Sometimes it means working through some disgusting muck. It takes the desire for perfection that will not be satisfied by anything less. It is a life-long task that changes the very fabric of our life. In fact, it is very much like the experience of a committed runner.
Achieving the goal of a 5-minute mile, or a 15-minute 5K takes effort. Making that effort takes dedication, regular re-commitment, training, endurance, patience, and quiet perseverance. It takes fighting off laziness and mediocrity. Sometimes it takes working through some disgusting muck. It takes the desire for perfection that will not be satisfied by anything less. It is a life-long task that changes the very fabric of your life.
There is little more explanation needed to indicate the third part of the motivation of this blog. It is in fact the primary motivation: the common mission of "running the human race."
In the cyber-pages of this blog, I hope to bring to you some of my thoughts and encouragements that have helped me to continue running this race, as well as questions that I and others have struggled with on this race.
Feel free to leave comments below, continue the discussion on my Facebook page, or shoot me an e-mail. Or, as probably is the best of all, call me or talk to me next time you see me. I look forward to a near future of irregular but helpful blogging!
God bless.