“I am forgotten like one dead from the heart; I am like a perishing vessel.” (Ps 31: 12, LitV)
In Richard Dawkins’ book Unweaving the Rainbow he quotes Peter Atkins, who said that “We are the children of chaos, and the deep structure of change is decay. At root, there is only corruption, and the unstemmable tide of chaos. Gone is purpose; all that is left is direction. This is the bleakness we have to accept as we peer deeply and dispassionately into the heart of the Universe.”
Please realize that this is the argument which the self-proclaimed atheist Dawkins presents as the motivation for his belief that man should rather unweave his faith (here symbolised by the rainbow), so that the evolutionary theory’s premise of natural selection, for instance can, according to him, point out that all forms of life are merely selfish, geared towards self-determination – only the most fit will survive, and the rest will adapt to ensure their survival. In this battle there is only evolutionary “direction”, but is is devoid of any beauty, fulfillment, purpose and meaning. All that remains is driven survival. For this reason Atkins reaches the conclusion that with this mode of thinking all that is left for us is to dispassionately stare into the heart of the universe.
Dispassionately. This view of the world and of faith so clearly points out how the postmodern individual has lost his heart, and can thus no longer generate any passion. If your heart is dispassionate, it is impossible to find any passion, purpose and deeper meaning, even in the heart of the wondrous universe. A very good example of this is the character Lester Burnham (played by Kevin Spacey), in the cult film American Beauty. The narrator of the film tells his story from beyond the grave. The film starts with his words – “I’ll be dead in a year. In a way, I’m dead already.” Or, to quote the Rolling Stones – “Look at me – I’m shattered!”
It was not always thus. In his excellent book Waking the dead John Eldredge succinctly states that “The story of your life is the story of the long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it.” Slowly more and more is stolen from the life-giving inner core of your heart, until you absolutely know that nothing good can longer come from it. And then you become only aware of the simplicity and the evil which defines your life at its deepest level – to use the imagery of NP van Wyk Louw, in one of the poems from his anthology Tristia, it is like poisonous mushrooms breaking through the tar road, which symbolises the self. Isa 44:20 is indeed true – “a deceived heart has turned him aside”. And this often leaves us in utter despair – “I am forgotten like one dead from the heart; I am like a perishing vessel.” (Ps 31: 12, LitV).
- Sela: Do you have a disappointed heart?
- Read: 2 Kings 18-20
- Examine how this has been fulfilled: Try drawing the typological link from 2 Kings 18 with this
teaching.
- For a deeper understanding: Read John Eldredge’s Waking the Dead.
