My Last, First Valentines Day

I know i have been slacking in the last couple years as far as writing goes but it is once again Valentines day. this year is bittersweet but fortunately the sweet outweighs the bitter. the sweet part is that as of December 15th 2011 i am sporting a sizable rock on my left ring finger. yes that's right, im engaged. i was surprised to look over my blog and realize that i had not made a single comment about my new found love and i haven't posted since before we started dating. i guess the reason for that is that i've been too busy dating him to comment on dating him. i met Alex a year and a half ago on match.com but we didnt officially start dating until last May. the bitter part of this Valentines is that he is in Colorado and i am in Arizona. long distance relationships are a lot of work. i think it has been really good for us but i am ready to be done. engagement is not as fun when you are a thousand miles apart lol but still i am enjoying wedding planning and i have only thought about writing out my name as Mrs. Alex Hebert with hearts on a spiral bound notebook a couple of times (i have not actually done it). though i have always loved Valentines day this one is special. it will be forever ever marked as my last, first Valentines day. the first of many Valentines to come with the man i love. i can't decide if i am going to continue this blog or close it out. i think ill continue it till my wedding day and then close this chapter of my life as i move on to bigger and better things. thats all for now and Happy Valentines Day :-)

Body, Soul, and Spirit

There is debate today in Christian academia on whether humans were made as one part, two part, or three part beings. The bipartite and tripartite theories have the most valid explanations behind them. The bipartite theory says that God created humans with a material element and an immaterial element. The material element is obviously the body and then the terms “spirit” and “soul” are used interchangeably for the immaterial element. Proponents of the tripartite theory argue that the word soul is derived from the word psyche which encompasses personality. This theory divides the spirit and the soul into separate categories since they believe the spiritual and the psychological are separate components.

The doctrine of the trinity can help shed some light on this issue. The vast majority of Protestants in the world today would agree that God is three members in one. While each member of the trinity is distinct, the member’s cannot be separated or broken up into portions of the whole. Each member is fully God and fully apart of the other members. Dr. Bill Bjork gave an illustration in his Systematic Theology 1 class at Arizona Christian University to help explain the phenomenon of God’s omnipresence. He said that it is as if a person spread butter on a piece of toast. If God were the butter each attribute of his character would be in every square inch. It’s not like His love is on one side of the bread and his wrath is on the other. All His attributes are all on all the bread at the same time. This is a difficult concept to comprehend but it is the same with the trinity. The members of the trinity are all on all the bread and unable to be taken apart, yet they are distinct in their roles and characteristics.

Genesis 1:26 says: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” There are so many layers to this concept of being made in God’s image. How much do humans resemble God? Is it that they have an eternal spirit, that they can reason, that they can rule over the earth, or is God’s image pervasive in every part of the creature called human? The tripartite theory holds that the latter is the case.

Body
No one in his or her right mind would argue against the fact that humans were created with a body. The body has a very important role. It is the house, the vessel, the function. It is what connects humans to everything and to each other. As seen in the attached diagram the body category contains the 5 senses, organs and cells, the brain, and the nerves. They are what make a person alive and give the ability to put thought into action. Another way of looking at it is that the body is what allows expression of the inner being. A brilliant painter may come up with a masterpiece in his head but if he is unable to paint it, then what good is it? With their bodies humans can express emotions (facial expression, tears), thoughts (speaking, writing), values (doing things for others), and worship (lifting hands, singing, kneeling and so on…).


Soul
As previously mentioned the word soul was derived from the Latin word psyche which is also where the word psychology comes from. The diagram shows that the Soul is functionally a person’s personality and it includes the conscious mind, the subconscious mind, and the will or a person’s choices. This is the part of humans that makes them who they are: their likes, dislikes, interests, hobbies, worldview, strengths, weaknesses and so on. It is what gives a person his or her emotions, beliefs, attitudes, feelings, memories, and ability to reason. This is the part of the person that fuels the body to act. Without the soul people could not maintain relationships with each other, could not reason or cope with life, and would basically be like robots. The soul is a vital part of who and what a person is.

Spirit
The spirit is the part of a person that connects him or her to God. It is the conscious and moral compass that helps people determine right from wrong. The diagram shows that in this category are meaning, purpose, and love. The spirit is the part of people that causes them to long for something more than this life. The German word for this sense is “Sehnsucht.” It means that people are not satisfied and there is a deep yearning for purpose and meaning; something bigger than themselves. That something is God. The spirit enables people to love each other, themselves, and God. When a person feels love for someone or something at his or her very core, that person is tapping into the spirit and experiencing something amazing.


Interdependence
The three parts of a person are completely interdependent. This idea of interdependence can best be illustrated with letters. The capital letter “I” represents independence because it has no connection and can stand alone. The capital letter “A” represents codependence because if one side were taken away the other would no longer be supported and as a result would fall. The capital letter “H” represents interdependence because the two sides are connected but if one fell, the other could remain standing on its own. Likewise, each part of the person is distinct and can “stand alone” so to speak, but they are so interconnected that they constantly affect each other. Spiritual health affects psychological health which in turn affects physical health and visa versa. Imagine a circle with lines running through it. Each line represents an aspect of the person and all the lines are running through the center. The lines cross in the center, each line touching all the others. The lines are distinct but not separate; unique yet compatible.


Integration
Thinking of humans in relation to the tripartite theory is important for treatment of all kinds of ailments; physical, spiritual, and psychological. Most would agree that trying to treat a broken bone with therapy would be completely unhelpful. The bone needs to be set by a doctor who understands the make up of the body. Therapy may help the person with the broken bone to use mind over matter and dispel the pain slightly but the bone will not heal properly unless it is treated physically. Similarly, a person with a mental illness may benefit slightly from spiritual intervention (and visa versa), but if the root of the problem goes untreated the person will continue to struggle. Many Christians today who believe in the bipartite theory try to use spiritual treatments for clearly psychological problems or psychological treatments for spiritual problems. This can be extremely damaging and frustrating for everyone involved.

Conclusion
Humans were made in the image of God who is a tripartite being. Because of this, it stands to reasons that humans are also tripartite beings. Treating a tripartite being as a bipartite being can have serious consequences not only in the psychological field but also in the church. Failing to recognize the difference between soul and spirit could mean the difference between helping a person and treating a person’s self esteem when he or she has a broken leg. It just doesn’t make sense.

Reference
"Spirit Mind Body Health - A Christian Perspective on God's Design for Man | Faith and Health Connection." Faith and Health Connection | Faith and Health Connection. Web. 08 Dec. 2011. .

Giving Thanks

it is Thanksgiving and so i am reflecting on what i am thankful for. the thing that sticks out in my mind the most is, i am thankful that i am not the same person i was 2 years ago. as i go through my last year of undergrad college, i look back at my first year on a scared, anxious, heartbroken girl. by her second year she was lost, lonely, and beaten down to the point of giving up. she may not look much different on the outside but she has gone through a transformation on the inside. my quest to find and understand myself is not over but the world is beginning to make sense again. i am thankful to God that He protected me even in my darkest moments; that he stayed the blade at my throat when i believed all hope was lost (this is a metaphor!!) i was right. there is no hope, no point, no purpose, no life.... without Christ. but with Him all things are possible. i still struggle with this idea sometimes which is why i so identify with Solomon in Ecclesiastes. "Meaningless, meaningless everything is meaningless" but thank God that, that is not all there is.

Reflecting the Divine

this is a paper i wrote for theology class, but i got the idea from my psych of religion professor Mr. Hinson

The doctrine of the trinity is a fascinating and complex subject. It is an infinite paradox that has long been puzzled over by finite humans. It can be argued that without this challenging aspect of God’s character, humans would not exist to ponder it. The three in one God holds the mystery of humanity plainly in His very nature and explains the nature of humanity in the process. Humanity’s greatest efforts to reflect this nature are limited by its finiteness but it is amazing what God reveals to his creation about himself through that very creation.

Relationships are a pivotal aspect of the human life. From birth to death, humans need as well as crave interaction with other beings especially humans. Studies show that orphaned babies receiving ample physical care (as well as a sterile environment) in an orphanage, but receiving no physical contact besides bare necessity, are very likely to die before they reach 7 months of age. Much more likely than those in similar environments that are touched and held on a regular basis. (Benjamin, 1) These findings allude to the fact that the very existence of humanity depends on relationships.

The three in one God of the Bible is the very embodiment of relationship. He is three beings simultaneously coexisting and bending to a common will, definably separate but still one. In his book Major Bible Themes, Chafer says,

“In this divine relationship, three Persons are seen to be One; yet without bending or confounding the separateness of their infinite Beings. And in like manner, One Person is seen to be Three without a dividing of substance (Chafer, 20).”

In essence, the Trinity is relationship perfected. Genesis 1:26a (ESV) says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’” Of course humanity is only a mere reflection of this perfected relationship and the presence of sin further mars that reflection. However, the point that humans were created by a relational God and to reflect His divine, relational nature stands.

In the sermon Designed for a Relationship With God, the author explains that humans have the capacity to know God, the responsibility to seek God, the obligation to obey God, the opportunity to be reconciled to God, the call to be like God, and the hope of being with God (Unknown, 1). All of these point to the purpose of humanity; relationship. Jeremiah 9:23-24 says:

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight’, declares the Lord.”

Not only did God create humans to reflect His divine, relational nature, He created them to be in relationship with Himself. He delights in practicing steadfast love, justice, and righteousness with His creation. He desires and delights in relationship with His children. This is the very reason that humans were created. It was not because God needed anything, was incomplete, or wanted an army of robots to command, but because He is a relational being that desires relationships.

That passage in Genesis 1 goes on to say, “And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth (Genesis 1:26b).” In the first part of the verse, the word “man” is plural meaning humanity. If that were not enough verse 1:26b uses the plural pronoun “them.” God never intended to only create one human being. He intended to create many, and he did not intend for “them” to be alone.

In a Sermon entitled It Is Not Good To Be Alone, Steve Malone explains it very simply,
“– I am ABSOLUTELY convinced that at it’s core[,] being made in God’s image and likeness’ IS ABOUT relationships… is about connecting with AND enjoying that awesome divine community (Father, Son & Spirit)… AND - connecting with and enjoying each other…AND BECAUSE – this is true… God says the following in Genesis 2:18; ‘And the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him…(Malone, 7)’”

God may have created Adam first and allowed him to be alone in the beginning in order to illustrate to the first man, how pivotal “relationship” is to God’s character and therefore to the character of humanity. Eventually, God did make Eve and He gave her to Adam. God gave them to each other. Genesis 2:24 (ESV) says: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” This passage is repeated in Mark 10 when Jesus is speaking against divorce.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (ESV) says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

This passage reiterates the fact that it is not good for a person to be alone. It even gives practical reasons why. Not only do humans have a physical need for relationship, but they have emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs for it as well. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, (ESV) “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” Humans are to support each other emotionally though we may find ultimate support in our Creator. God created humans to be there for each other. In this and all other forms of relationship, they reflect His divine, relational nature.

Which leads to the next conclusion; that a loving sexual relationship that conceives a child (preferably within the confines of marriage), is the closest a human being can get to reflecting the nature of God and experiencing the paradox of multiplicity within oneness (Hinson). This idea is not to be confused or associated with the pagan practice of worshipping gods and goddesses through use of sexual activity. The idea is simply that when two become one flesh and conceive a third, they are “recreating” the image of God. As Adam was born out of the Trinity in the image of God, so humans are born out of relationship in the image of their parents and ultimately as a recreation of the image of God (Hinson).

God is so complex and so infinite that we will never fully grasp every aspect of Him, but He has revealed parts of Himself to us in nature and in ourselves as well as His Word. Praise be to God for His infinite wisdom and power. He is sovereign down to the most miniscule, microscopic, molecule. If God were not relational then humanity’s existence would not be as it is, if it were at all. Thank God for the Trinity in all its infinite complexity.




Works Cited

Benjamin, Ben E. "The Primacy of Human Touch." ENewsletter. Health News. Web. 4 Oct. 2011. .

Chafer, Lewis S. Major Bible Themes; Forty-nine Vital Doctrines of the Scriptures Simplified and Explained. Grand Rapids: Hunham, 1964. Print.

Hinson, John. "Psychology of Religion: The Trinity." Personal interview. 28 Sept. 2011.

Malone, Steve. "It Is Not Good To Be Alone Sermon, It Is Not Good To Be Alone Sermon by Steve Malone, Ecclesiastes 4:9-4:12 - SermonCentral.com." SermonCentral.com - Free Sermons, Illustrations, Videos, and PowerPoints for Preaching. Web. 04 Oct. 2011. .

Unknown. "Designed for a Relationship With God." Web. 4 Oct. 2011. .

Pictures

I think the reason I like pictures is because they represent life idealized. They are what we want our lives to be like or at least what I want my life to be like. With pictures you can save the good and throw out the bad. You can edit, adjust, crop, and fix. A person looking at a picture can only know what is in the picture and everything else is assumed. It’s like looking at a painting. The artist probably labored for hours. He or she may have spilled paint, made a mistake, changed something, or even gotten stuck a few times. He or she may have gotten paint everywhere or taken days to finish, and the painting may have an elaborate story behind it but the casual observer will never know. This is like with a picture. The viewer cannot tell that it was freezing cold or that something funny happened in the background or that the photographer slipped right at the moment the picture was taken. The only thing captured is one single moment in time that can never be physically recreated. The one thing that can be recreated is the emotion. A picture can capture an emotion (or several) and pass it on to other people for years to come. Maybe pictures don’t always capture real life (though sometimes they do), but they do capture real emotions. And maybe it’s better in that case to keep the good and throw away the bad. The bad have there place but for now that place is far away lol.

Just Jesus And Me

As a Protestant Christian I have grown up understanding sin and how it affects my life. I learned in high school that I am supposed to confess my sins to other people, not just God. I never really understood why I should tell other people about my sins, after all my sin is between Jesus and me. Only on certain occasions when I hurt other people did I feel the need to express my sorrow to those particular people. I have always been very private and so afraid to make mistakes that it was hard for me to ever admit my faults to others that those faults did not directly affect. And why should I? Would that change anything except that now someone had the power to judge me and hold my failures over my head. My junior year of high school I had a very bad experience with confessing sin. I did so begrudgingly because I was told it was the right thing to do. After this damaging experience of admitting to an ongoing sin, I determined that from then on I would handle things on my own. Just Jesus and me. We could overcome this without me ever getting hurt or embarrassed again. It is not other people’s job to judge and condemn me, or to tell me that I need to fix myself. If I just lean on Jesus more and give my life to him, no one ever needs to know what I’m really like.

A popular phrase while I was growing up was “Keep it Real.” My generation is so opposed to posers and fakers, anyone who tries to be what they aren’t. The funny thing is that is what we all end up doing. Especially in Christian circles where we should be able to be the most brutally honest about how messed up we are and how depraved we can be, we put on a smile and say “things are good” because everyone knows that a good Christian struggles with things like loving people, and giving to the poor, not sexual addiction, self loathing and depression, suicidal thoughts, same sex attraction, illegal substance abuse, and the ability to cope with emotions on a daily basis. Why should we be honest about those things? Is it so we can shame each other into getting our act together? Of course not! The purpose of confessing sins is not so that we can point fingers at each other and say “just stop it!” According to Romans 7 we CAN’T just stop it.

“So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”

I don’t believe that allowing ourselves to be beaten into submission by either our own hand or the hand of a fellow believer is the way to go about solving this sin problem. That is not what accountability is about. That being said, I also do not believe it is about comparing ourselves to see who is the best at being good and putting on a happy smile every Sunday. Just because we are saved by grace does not mean that we should act like we don’t struggle with sin anymore. In fact, it is because we are saved by grace that we can be honest with one another since we do not stand condemned. Hebrews 10 says,

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

This is why we CAN be honest and “real” with each other. But that still begs the question why SHOULD we? Verses 24 and 25 go on to say,

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

The point of accountability is to encourage one another. To remind each other that we are under grace and that we do not have to beat ourselves up over our sin after we have repented. I was talking to my older brother a few weeks ago and he said something that really struck me even though I’ve known this before. He said that God paid for all our sin; past, present, and future. When I was justified, all the sin I have ever committed or ever will commit was covered and paid for. It is not a surprise to God when I sin. It is not the same as a straight A student bringing home an all F report card to shocked and disappointed parents. It saddens God when I fail but it does not surprise Him. He knew every time I would fail and every time in the future I will fail. God does not expect perfection from me.

Christians should not expect perfection from each other either. The point of accountability is so that we can learn humility, and so we can help each other. It is ridiculous how close so many of our struggles are to each other. This is so that we can walk through life together picking each other up when we fall and encouraging each other when we fail. Or first thought should always be, “You’re not a lost cause yet. You’re not a lost cause yet.” Christ is still at work in Christians that take a swan dive off the deep end. That verse talks about spurring one another on. It reminds me of a good jockey and his horse. When he is racing with the horse, the horse and rider become one. They move together and the jockey encourages, pushes and challenges the horse. When he encourages the horse he is also encouraging himself and reminding himself to keep going. The church is supposed to become one body with the many members encouraging, pushing and challenging each other but not beating each other into submission. As we run the race together we should not be afraid to bear our souls to one another and help each other even as we limp along the way.

Christ is our ultimate source of life but I think that Christians need to get away from this “Just Jesus and me” mentality, because it isn’t Biblical. We were made for relationships, and we were made to do life and Christianity together. We also need to remember that the point of accountability is to encourage and love each other. Any thoughts?

A Happy Ending at Tiffany's

well its that time of year again. Valentines day. (yes im 2 days late) and i am compelled to continue in my tradition of commenting on this sacred day of loveyness. lol a friend commented to me the other day that the initials of Single's Awareness Day spell SAD... it made me chuckle. jess and i had chips and dip and watched Breakfast at Tiffany's V-day evening. it is one of my favorite romances and im just now reflecting on why that is. i guess it is because even though she cant really take care of herself, and she has all these issues, he still loves her anyway. i love that movie because they are raw characters that are both hoplessly flawed but they make each other better and love each other in spite of the flaws. the movie is a sad one, but i feel like it is closer to real life than a lot of modern romances and the ending is happy. she finally gets a grip on reality, and he steps up to be a man. i think that if two people can overcome their issues with each other, then maybe they will turn out all right. when they can see each other at their worst, and still give grace, empathy and love... it can turn into something pretty great.