[Disclaimer: Greg lightly touched a nerve in asking a good question which reveals something of the underlying theology of our faithful practices that too-often lies unconscious and unaddressed (IMO this is the sort of theological question we should be thrashing out on the floor of the Assembly, way before sexuality). Passion follows, and comes from my own personal experience and a deep desire to understand what theology says to this experience, and what experience says to this theology. My wife and I are deeply grateful for the blessing of our son, who turned one year old about two weeks ago.]
The link between rain and earthly fertility is obviously ancient, as is the link between earthly fertility and human fertility. In the Old testament God is also given the power of procreation, specifically God "opens" or "closes" wombs, and it's again easy to assume that the exercise of this power must be related to whether the womb-bearer has been "good" or "bad" (otherwise god would be an unreliable and sadistic bastard, surely). That is, barrenness is often a sign of God's rebuke, and of course in contrast when it rains (metaphorically), God's apparently-favoured ones have heaps of sons (and many daughters too, thankfully). But again we encounter the same problem as Greg flags: "bad" people have kids too (and often many of them), while "good" folks lie barren. We have several couples in our friendship network who have struggled with barrenness for many years, some for over a decade. They're "good" people, caring people, often deeply Christian people who have prayed faithfully for God's blessing. And some of these fear that they're barren because of something "bad" they once did. What kind of cold-hearted god would refuse such faithful and heartfelt petitions from a committed couple with the capacity to bring up children in loving and secure families, whether or not they were once "bad"? Where is Grace? And in contrast, why are the teenage single mothers who smoke while nursing their kids so bloody fertile? To return closer to Greg's issue, if you prayed for rain in Bangladesh recently, you overdid it. Or if you were praying for rain in Australia and accidentally thought of Bangladesh, maybe you'd better be more careful next time. How in heaven's name can we seriously pray for rain, or even pregnancy, with the expectation that God will fulfil our personal wishes? Better surely to pray for those affected by each situation, and for those who can help such situations. Some situations can't be "fixed" by even the most earnest prayer (terminal cancer is one example that comes to mind), and that's not through any lack of faith in God's "healing power". Miracles do happen at times, but also at others they don't, and if it all depends on faith and the depth of prayer, god is a real bastard. I don't thing God is one, even if the parentage of Jesus is a bit vague. Tongue removed from cheek, passion returned to box. Regards, Rohan Rohan Pryor Manager, Information Technology Services Synod of Victoria and Tasmania Uniting Church in Australia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Ph: (03) 9251 5243 Fax: (03) 9654 4110 Website: http://vic.uca.org.au -----Original Message----- From: Greg Crawford [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2004 11:02 AM To: insights-l Subject: Praying for Rain I note in today's Daily Telegraph the Anglican Dean of Sydney, Phillip Jensen, is calling for next Sunday to be a national day of prayer for rain. He is quoted as saying, "Only God can make it rain". This is in the context of an article expressing great sympathy for those who are drought-affected. Of course, this raises the question about prayer for rain. Is this a valid prayer, or, as some have said, "when it rains, it rains"? In the Old Testament, drought is often a sign of God's rebuke. I can only assume, living in the place which has recently had the State's highest rainfall, that God is giving his sign of approval to my ministry. In the New Testament, Jesus says God sends rain on the good and bad alike. Now that's going to bugger up my theology above, so I'll just have to assume that these words were put on Jesus' lips by some faith community living in a drought-affected area. And after all, since there are more books in the Old Testament than the New Testament, there are more scriptures in support of my theory. Just a special request: Can all of you praying for rain please have it confined to the bright cycle of the Moon? That is, between first and last quarter. It's one thing to have "showers of blessing", but I would also feel "blessed" if I could have some clear, starry nights as well. So would those who want to do shearing during this time. I'll have to take my tongue out of my cheek, 'cause it makes my face look even stranger. Is it valid to pray for rain? If God can create a universe, can't God make it rain? You can't say that God doesn't interfere in nature. Crikey, virgin births, miracle cures, resurrections and the like! Regards Greg ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
