Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Opinion
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
Support independent, faith-based journalism. Donate
Search Search this site

Cynicism pales in the face of wonder

OpinionDavid Jordan  |  June 11, 2018

Perspective is valuable. This is especially true when our lives seem inundated by rolling tides of information. So much of what we hear is emotional, more of it manipulative, and too much of it angry. Consequently, rhetoric gets hotter, feelings get colder, and caring for one another and what happens to the rest of us leans precariously in the direction of complacency bordering on cynicism.

Perhaps we can benefit from expanded vision.

I recently led a workshop in St. Catherine’s, Ontario, just across the U.S. border. The area is part of a larger region that includes Niagara Falls. One afternoon, five of us shared a car and went to the falls. If you have not visited, it is hard to describe—the magnitude of water, the immense size, the roaring sound, the sun shining through the rising mist creating constant rainbows over thundering waters.  The two enormous falls—one on the American side and one on the Canadian—cascade over 180 feet of space, pouring a combined 3,160 tons of water per second all day, every day.

Experiencing Niagara Falls was awe-inspiring. Yet there’s so much more than the falls themselves.  A Canadian friend drove us downriver, explaining the Niagara escarpment, the cliff and geographic phenomenon created by the sharp drop of the earth of 300 feet in one cataclysmic event thousands of years ago.

The Bigger Picture

Offering beautiful vistas, wine growing, sporting, leisure and an entire micro-climate, this part of Ontario is surrounded by a giant water system of which these amazing falls are only a small part. Lake Ontario to the north where the Niagara River flows, and Lake Erie to the south, where Niagara’s water comes from, combine to moderate temperatures—thus creating milder summers and winters and better soil for excellent crops. All kinds of vegetables and fruits, including plenty of peaches and apples, are harvested, along with grapes that produce some of the best wine in the world.

Much of the water that flows from Lake Erie over the falls into Lake Ontario, up the St. Lawrence River and eventually into the Atlantic actually begins hundreds of miles south in the even larger, more complex systems of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and beyond.  The total expanse covers 2,400 miles.

Considering how mind-boggling and awe-inspiring this all is, it is not surprising how prone we are to thinking too small and imagining too little. Cynicism pales in the face of wonder.

The Even Bigger Picture

Eben Alexander discusses this idea of “too-small thinking” in his book, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife. His account of a near-death experience has helped change the way many think about our connections to a much larger and sacred mystery. Unlike other recent theorists on this subject, Alexander describes in intimate detail and scientific specificity the absolute impossibility of what his near-death experience gave him. As the result of a massive e-coli viral infection, he was clinically brain dead—with a non-functioning neocortex, the part of the brain responsible for consciousness. There was no ability to think, dream, imagine or remember. Yet, despite the limitations of human language, he describes in detail the indescribable and unimaginable. He doesn’t dwell on the unspeakably profound ramifications beyond our here and now. Rather, he rose from his coma with a simple, two-part message: do not be afraid and love.

The richness of life is bigger than we know or can even imagine—the vitality of life, the vastness for our potential to do good and experience beauty, how we are interconnected across races, religions and regions, and how deep and wide and precious God’s love for us is. This is the consistent message of scripture and especially the life and teaching of Jesus.

We are called to better vision, to see with eyes of wonder the many ways our lives are touched and blessed by others, along with how many opportunities we have to touch and bless the lives of those around us. Let us be wiser. Let us be grateful. Let us love God and one another with all we have and all we are. In doing so, we do God’s will, on earth, as it is in heaven.

Living with faith today, then, requires this expansive vision Jesus advocates. Faith evolves over time slowly and sometimes strangely. Faith in and through those who have come before us also has journeyed a circuitous route that includes confusion, digression, hatred and vast misunderstandings that still continue.

But most of all, living with faith offers this good and broader perspective of who we are, whose we are, and what we can and should do in our community and our world. During these strange, confusing days, let us join together to live with expanded vision and daring imagination. Doing so just might dissipate the confusion of our information overload, lessen the anger, loosen the tension – and come a little closer to fulfilling God’s hope for us all.

 


OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
David Jordan
More by
David Jordan
  • Email Signup

    Get Baptist News Global logoBNG headlines in your inbox

  • Embracing the power of story

    Like the rising river in the Arkansas Delta, the persistence of poverty still looms just over the levee, threatening to wash young people down paths of violence, drugs, food insecurity, unemployment, and early death.

    We share a new series in BNG’s Storytelling Projects “Arkansas Delta” as part of our "resilient rural America" theme.

    This series will address the precise focus on literacy and leadership development to build children’s imaginations, the story of Swim Camp where children and teenagers not only learn to swim but learn to pursue leadership, and video interviews of those connected to Together for Hope Arkansas.

    At the center of Arkansas Delta’s fight against poverty and division: an 85-year-old swimming pool

    Imagination is the greatest threat to Delta poverty, Together for Hope Arkansas says

    We created Storytelling Projects because we believe stories, rooted in the Jesus Story, have the power not only to inform but to transform people and communities. They can be sources of spiritual insight, imagination, creativity and hope for all who seek justice and mercy.
  • Featured

    • The national conversation about sexual abuse by Baptist clergy is important. But it doesn’t go far enough

      Opinion

    • Al Mohler says he was wrong about C.J. Mahaney

      News

    • Church with deported member premieres podcast about injustice in U.S. immigration system

      News

    • Survivor says SBC leaders’ response to abuse revelations little help to victims

      News

    Get BNG headlines in your inbox

    Read Next:

    Can Christians come together to reduce the need for abortion?

    OpinionSusan M. Shaw

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • SBC president calls for investigation of churches accused of harboring sexual predators

      NewsBob Allen

    • Ordained. Baptist. Female. And, now, entering retirement

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • Southern Baptist president says database of abusers possible

      CuratedAssociated Press

    • The survivors of clergy sexual abuse who finally pushed the Vatican to recognize the problem

      CuratedThe Conversation

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Al Mohler says he was wrong about C.J. Mahaney

      NewsBob Allen

    • Some pastors optimistic about Millennials, church growth. Stats don’t bear them out.

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The national conversation about sexual abuse by Baptist clergy is important. But it doesn’t go far enough

      OpinionPeggy Haymes

    • Vatican defrocks former US cardinal McCarrick over sex abuse

      CuratedAssociated Press

    • CBF continues ‘daily bread’ ministry to Central American migrants

      Paid Promoted Content

    • Religion Notes: New CBF leader headed for Texas; GWU elects new president

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Church with deported member premieres podcast about injustice in U.S. immigration system

      NewsBob Allen

    • Can Christians come together to reduce the need for abortion?

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw

    • Leading Southern Baptist apologizes for supporting leader, church at center of sex abuse scandal

      CuratedHouston Chronicle

    • Southern Baptist minister list included sex offenders

      CuratedReligion News Service

    • Jerry Johnson resigns as NRB president

      CuratedBaptist Press

    • Pray for immigrants? We need them to pray for us, minister-activist says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • 3 faulty assumptions that keep Baptist churches from hiring female pastors

      OpinionDoyle Sager

    • Transitions for the week of 2-15-18

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Southern Baptist Convention report on sex abuse shines a light on evangelical culture

      CuratedNBC News

    • Tornado damaged Alabama church returns $25,000 casino donation

      CuratedThe Associated Press

    • Survivor says SBC leaders’ response to abuse revelations little help to victims

      NewsBob Allen

    • At the center of Arkansas Delta’s fight against poverty and division: an 85-year-old swimming pool

      StorytellingBlake Tommey

    • Paul didn’t pen 1 Corinthians 13 for weddings and Valentine’s Day celebrations

      OpinionNora Lozano

    • ‘Brewery church’ is the latest in craft of luring folks to church

      CuratedReligion News Service

    • SBC president calls for investigation of churches accused of harboring sexual predators

      NewsBob Allen

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Al Mohler says he was wrong about C.J. Mahaney

      NewsBob Allen

    • Some pastors optimistic about Millennials, church growth. Stats don’t bear them out.

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Religion Notes: New CBF leader headed for Texas; GWU elects new president

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Church with deported member premieres podcast about injustice in U.S. immigration system

      NewsBob Allen

    • Pray for immigrants? We need them to pray for us, minister-activist says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Transitions for the week of 2-15-18

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Survivor says SBC leaders’ response to abuse revelations little help to victims

      NewsBob Allen

    • CBF missions initiative helps students ‘see the bigger picture of what God is doing’

      News

      Paid Promoted ContentAshleigh Bugg

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Newspaper story on sexual abuse in SBC was a long time coming for activist Christa Brown

      NewsBob Allen

    • Religion Notes: Many young adults believe while most aren’t so sure

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Key gospel imperative lost in the hubub of a 24-hour news cycle

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Southern Baptist lawmakers leading the way in seeking Johnson Amendment repeal

      NewsBob Allen

    • CBF leader denounces plan to loosen restrictions on payday loans

      NewsBob Allen

    • Transitions for the week of 2-8-19

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • ‘We’re all missionaries.’ CBF’s Foushees seek to embody mission of mutual support in Tokyo

      News

      Paid Promoted ContentBlake Tommey

    • Western Recorder, second-oldest Southern Baptist newspaper, surrenders control to Kentucky Baptist Convention

      NewsBob Allen

    • Religion Notes: Melissa Rogers returns to WF Divinity; BWA protests arrest of Baptist leader

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Virginia senate passes bill to allow Bible classes in public schools

      NewsBob Allen

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Pastor-chaplain confronts the bad theology facing women in ministry and grieving parents

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • CBF executive coordinator-elect meets the press

      NewsBob Allen

    • Religion Notes: Georgia Baptist Mission Board layoffs follow declines in giving

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ordained. Baptist. Female. And, now, entering retirement

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • The national conversation about sexual abuse by Baptist clergy is important. But it doesn’t go far enough

      OpinionPeggy Haymes

    • Can Christians come together to reduce the need for abortion?

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw

    • 3 faulty assumptions that keep Baptist churches from hiring female pastors

      OpinionDoyle Sager

    • Paul didn’t pen 1 Corinthians 13 for weddings and Valentine’s Day celebrations

      OpinionNora Lozano

    • Pablo no escribió 1 Corintios 13 para bodas y celebraciones del Día de San Valentín

      OpinionNora O. Lozano

    • Black lives matter to me. Tragically, they mattered little in my segregated upbringing

      OpinionMolly T. Marshall

    • Our culture needs Jesus followers with the wisdom to navigate between righteous anger and gospel tenderness

      OpinionBill Leonard

    • My seminary has closed. But churches are closing too, and it’s time to face some hard questions

      OpinionElizabeth Mangham Lott

    • Evangelicals have lost moral credibility. But there are signs of self-confrontation that could lead to reconciliation, even revival

      OpinionPaul Robeson Ford

    • Why ministers shouldn’t walk away from social media

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Gov. Northam is not an outlier: American Christianity’s tolerance for white supremacy

      OpinionWendell Griffen

    • Flight or invisibility: revisiting a classic theological question

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • Letter to the Editor – Queen Did Not Discover Jesus

      Exclude from home page

      OpinionBNG staff

    • Being ‘barely Christian’ as a way of being authentically Christian

      OpinionMolly T. Marshall

    • Letters to the Editor for 02.01.19

      OpinionBNG staff

    • Our disaster-relief success hasn’t moved the needle in addressing poverty. We need to ask why

      OpinionCraig Nash

    • Discovering the human Jesus opens new possibilities for becoming more like Jesus

      OpinionChuck Queen

    • A church for all who wander: the ministry of ‘bringing back’

      OpinionBill Wilson

    • In a culture of shouting, people of faith must address America’s listening deficit

      OpinionJonathan Davis

    • Why CBF exists: to serve congregations and help them thrive

      OpinionPaul Baxley

    • Legislating ‘In God We Trust’: using the state to do the Church’s work

      OpinionBill Leonard

    • Hidden pencils, urgent warnings and instructions Mary Oliver left the Church

      OpinionCarol Davis Younger

    • What churches could learn from Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher

      OpinionJeff Hampton

    • 10 bogus ideas my white culture taught me growing up

      OpinionChris Caldwell

    • Southern Baptist president says database of abusers possible

      CuratedAssociated Press

    • The survivors of clergy sexual abuse who finally pushed the Vatican to recognize the problem

      CuratedThe Conversation

    • Vatican defrocks former US cardinal McCarrick over sex abuse

      CuratedAssociated Press

    • Leading Southern Baptist apologizes for supporting leader, church at center of sex abuse scandal

      CuratedHouston Chronicle

    • Southern Baptist minister list included sex offenders

      CuratedReligion News Service

    • Jerry Johnson resigns as NRB president

      CuratedBaptist Press

    • Southern Baptist Convention report on sex abuse shines a light on evangelical culture

      CuratedNBC News

    • Tornado damaged Alabama church returns $25,000 casino donation

      CuratedThe Associated Press

    • ‘Brewery church’ is the latest in craft of luring folks to church

      CuratedReligion News Service

    • 1619: 400 years ago, a ship arrived in Virginia, bearing human cargo

      CuratedUSA Today

    • To Baptist clergy sex abuse survivors: 10 tips from the trenches

      CuratedReligion News Service/David Clohessy and Christa Brown

    • The religious-liberty claim the justices didn’t want to hear

      CuratedThe Atlantic

    • Southern Baptist leaders vow to improve addressing sex abuse after papers’ report

      CuratedReligion News Service

    • Abuse of Faith

      CuratedHouston Chronicle

    • Convicted for taking water to thirsty people

      CuratedThe Christian Century

    • President Trump’s gaffe touts ‘abolition of civil rights’ at National Prayer Breakfast

      CuratedUSA Today

    • Nadia Bolz-Weber’s gospel of shame-free sexuality

      CuratedChristianity Today

    • As Southern Baptists mull executive vacancies, will diversity play a role?

      CuratedReligion News Service

    • Died: Yechiel Eckstein, rabbi who rallied evangelical support for Israel

      CuratedChristianity Today

    • Lawsuit against ex-judge, Southern Baptist churches drawing to a close

      CuratedHouston Chronicle

    • Who worries about hell the most

      CuratedARDA

    • Bible reading in public schools has been a divisive issue – and this old culture war is starting again

      CuratedThe Conversation

    • American missionary could face genocide charges, but Brazil’s indigenous communities have a bigger problem

      CuratedReligion Dispatches

    • The life and death of John Chau, the man who tried to convert his killers

      CuratedThe Guardian

    • Hashtag stirs debate over role of Christian schools in US

      CuratedAssociated Press

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2019 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS