The Sloppy Theology Of Henry Poole Is Here: Part 2

"On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye).
— Les hommes ont oublié cette vérité, dit le renard. Mais tu ne dois pas l’oublier. Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé. Tu es responsable de ta rose…
Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose..."
— C’est le temps que tu as perdu pour ta rose qui fait ta rose si importante.
"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important." ----Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince

Sorry for the week long wait, but last week I got a stomach bug that has been going around our church so that wasn't fun. Anyways, continuing from where I left off---I believe like Fosdick that miracles still happen, but we must be careful how we approach miracles---because sometimes our approaches to miracles lead to dangerous theology such as in these ways:

1- Sometimes how we approach miracles leads to spiritual materialism---turning our walk with God into one of sight and proofs rather than belief/faith in the unseen Risen Lord (John 20:28-30).

2- Sometimes our approaches lead to spiritual arrogance and pride---in that those who have experienced miracles sometimes feel spiritual more superior than those that haven't or feel that God specially chose them and not others such as: how Adolf Hitler believed God chose him to rule the world after he escaped death several times in WWI.

3- Some of our approaches downgrade theodicy (the problem of evil and suffering in the world)---which poses the question of why God would choose to heal some people and not others whom have just as much faith or more than those whom did get healed?

4-

Do you ever wonder just what God requires?
You think He's just an errand boy to satisfy your wandering desires.

--- Bob Dylan, When You Gonna Wake Up? This thought by Bob Dylan which echoes something Fosdick said is another problematic approach to miracles.



Tying miracles back to my quote from The Little Prince---a modern day view of miracles is finding God and beauty in all things. No one exemplified this more than Mister Rogers did:

No matter the weather, Mr. Rogers would still come in his house and say it’s a
beautiful day. Why do we think sunny, bright days are beautiful but if it’s raining it’s a dreary
day? I don’t think Mr. Rogers was talking about the weather when he said it’s a
beautiful day in the neighborhood. Mr. Rogers looked for the beauty in every
day things, every day life. Sitting down with a neighbor, drinking tea, taking time to play,
pretend, paint, and be creative. One day of breathing normally is a beautiful day for
someone with Asthma, Bronchitis or Emphysema. One more day to enjoy the
color of the sky is a beautiful day for someone loosing his or her eyesight.
One more day with your son or daughter before they report to boot camp is a beautify day!
Think like Mr. Rogers and enjoy the beauty of this life, this day! Yes we’ve got problems,
yes there is a war going on, sure we’ve got poverty and political unrest but there are still
miracles every day if you take the time to look. Find something today to make you say
“It truly is a beautiful day in this neighborhood”!

In conclusion, despite it's sloppy theology, Henry Poole Is Here was an interesting movie that in the end showed that love is the truest miracle of all.