This is the fourth post in my 4-Ls series introduced on March 9 and continued with articles about Life (March 30) and Love (April 20). I plan to conclude this series with a post about Liberty on May 30. But now, let’s focus on Light, the third of the 4-Ls.
Light
is a pervasive symbol in world religions and has played a central role not
only in Christianity but also in the histories of Judaism, Islam, and some Hindu
and Buddhist traditions, including some new Japanese religions.*1
Light
and darkness are prevalent symbols in the Bible. The opening verses of the Gospel of John
state, “What came into being through the Word was life,
and the life was the light for all people. The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light” (vv. 3b~5, CEB,
bolding added).
“Word” is the translation of the Greek logos, which has a broad
and deep meaning, expressed as Tao in China and as dharma in
India. Thus, the light of the logos has enabled the Chinese to
speak of Heaven, the Asian Indians to speak of Brahman, and the Native
Americans to speak of the Great Spirit.
According
to John’s Gospel, “The Word became flesh and made his home among us” (1:14). Further, John reports Jesus saying, “I
am the light of the world. Whoever follows me won’t walk in darkness but will
have the light of life” (8:12).
These
words are best interpreted not in a narrow, exclusivistic sense but inclusively,
seeing Jesus as the “cosmic Christ.”*2
In his epic
poem Paradise Lost, John Milton in the 17th century referred
to Satan as “the Prince of Darkness,” the embodiment of evil. The
Gospel of John says that the devil (=Satan) is “a liar and the father
of lies” (John 8:44). By contrast, light
dispels the darkness of ignorance and illuminates truth.
The
English word enlightenment is often used to refer to a core emphasis
in Hinduism and especially Buddhism, but the core idea of the Sanskrit words moksha
and bodhi is more about being liberated and/or awakening rather than
being enlightened.
A major intellectual and philosophical movement that occurred
in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries has long been
called “the Enlightenment.” This new emphasis on using human reason and
empirical science was an important development in human history.
But there was a basic problem: it was right in what it
affirmed but wrong in what it denied. Yes, the light of reason is important for
understanding the truth about the physical world. But the physical sciences
can’t explain the truth about everything, especially the non-physical realm of
reality.
Thus, my emphasis on the light of truth has long been,
and still is, on faith and science rather than science without faith (or
faith without science). It has also been on revelation and reason,
rather than science without revelation (or revelation without science).*3
And I am convinced that “all truth is God’s truth.”
We are all called to receive and
to reflect the light of truth. According to John, Jesus invited people to “believe in the light so that you
might become people whose lives are determined by the light” (12:36).
If our lives are determined by the light of truth, we will be an influence for
good in the world.
This
influence is not spread just by “religious” activity. Consider, for example,
these notable people who reflected/reflect the light of truth in the world
around them:
◈ Abraham Lincoln was a man whose
remarkable life was determined by the light. Historian Jon Meacham’s nearly
700-page biography of Lincoln is titled And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln
and the American Struggle (2022), and as he wrote in the Prologue, Lincoln “shed
that light in the darkest of hours.”
◈ Ida B. Wells (1862~1931) was a
noted civil rights activist and investigative journalist. In 2021, The Light
of Truth: Ida B. Wells National Monument was unveiled in Chicago. The
sculpture takes its name from Ms. Wells’s oft-quoted words, "The way to
right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them."*4
◈ Ahmad Abu Monshar, a Palestinian
man, and the Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Palestine have produced Light, a documentary film that premieres
online on May 18. A CPT spokesperson invites us to join them in finding the
light to carry us all through the long struggle toward justice.
How
can each of us become better receivers and reflectors of light?
_____
*1 Mahikari (“true light”) is
the name of a new Japanese religion, founded in 1959. and now with over one
million members worldwide, including a Facebook friend Susan Nakao and her Japanese
husband Koji who live in Pomona, Kansas (about 75 miles from my home in
Liberty, Missouri), and head one of the Mahikari centers in the U.S.
*2 This is an important claim about
Jesus, and I invite you to read what I have written about this in past blogs
(on 10/15/15 and 1/30/18) as well as briefly in my book The
Limits of Liberalism (2010, 2020, pp. 232-3)
*3 I remain indebted to Swiss
theologian Emil Brunner for his book titled (in English translation) Revelation
and Reason: The Christian Doctrine of Faith and Knowledge (1946), one of
the most important books I read as a seminary student. Offenbarung und Vernunft, the
German edition, was originally published in 1941.
*4 My blog
post on March 25, 2021, is partly about Ida B. Wells and mentions that a 2014
anthology of her writings is titled The Light of Truth: Writings of an Anti-Lynching Crusader.
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Other than brief kind, affirming words from Thinking Friends Glenn Hinson in Kentucky and Bob Hanson in Wisconsin, the only other comments I have received this morning so far are from local Thinking Friend Sue Wright. She wrote,
ReplyDelete"When I was a young GA, I learned our motto verse, “Arise, shine, for thy light is come.” Isaiah 60:1. As the mother of a young boy, I woke him in the morning when he needed awakening with, “Arise, shine, for thy light is come.” The verse has passed the test of time. Still gives me a smile, starting the day. Not sure about son Tim. 😴"
Thanks for commenting early this morning, Sue. Since you grew up as a Southern Baptist, I'm sure you also remember hymns we used to sing about light, Gospel songs such as "Send the Light" (1890) and "The Light of the World is Jesus" (1875).
ReplyDelete(For those of you who didn't have a Baptist upbringing, Girls Auxiliary (GA) was a missionary organization for girls in Southern Baptist Convention churches, an "auxiliary" of the Women's Missionary Union, which was usually a strong, meritorious organization in most SB churches.)
A great article, Leroy. No doubt John the Gospeler looked back to Genesis chapter 1. I think John the Revelator looked back to the seventh day in Genesis 2:1-3. Why do I think that? Because the refrain, "There was evening and there was morning," at the end of days 1-6, is notably absent for day 7. The morning that ended the sixth day carried over to Day 7. And there is no ending for the seventh day. Eschatological hope! In the New Jerusalem which John the Revelator--was this the same John as John the Gospeler? I don't know.--But John the Revelator saw the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven. And the gates to the New Jerusalem are open by day, and there is no night there. The Priestly Poet was well aware of Darkness. If OT critical scholarship is correct, he was exilic or post exilic. He was not just pie in the sky. He hung on to hope, contrasted to the Psalmist of Psalm 137, who succumbed to hate. The entire poetry of Genesis 1:1-2:4a deals with the struggle between Darkness and Light. Light will win.
ReplyDeleteLeroy, I interpret "ruach elohim" in 1:2 as "mighty wind." " Divine spirit" is certainly a possible translation. But a windstorm on the watery chaos, in my opinion, is more in keeping with the context of light vs. darkness and order vs. chaos. It's meaningful either way. We can never know exactly what was the intent of the Priestly Poet.
DeleteThanks for your additional comment, Charles. Since I am a big advocate of both/and interpretations, I think it is quite likely that that is what we have here. On one level, yes, it is about a "mighty wind" literally blowing over the "watery chaos"--and most certainly that is a legitimate translation of "ruach elohim." But on another level, a theological rather than a "scientific" one, the "ruach elohim" can be "Divine spirit," also much later called the "Holy Spirit." While not denying or downplaying the former, I like to place the emphasis on the Creation being by God, the Creator, the Word ("logos" = the Cosmic Christ), and the Spirit ("ruach elohim").
DeleteIt occurs to me that Light points us to ways that are open and openminded, honest, impartial, truth-seeking — while darkness points to ways that depend on shame, hiddenness, disguise, and treachery. It’s interesting that so many religions point to a God of light representing the former, while so many human governments point to a god or system of this world that represents the latter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Fred. I agree that "many religions point to a God of light" and that "many human governments point to a god or system of this world" that represent darkness.
DeleteHowever, in reality, the religions of light and the governments of darkness are often intermingled. The best and closest example is seen in the 45th President of the U.S., who clearly lied thousands of times before, during, and after he was President but who was, and is, widely supported by conservative evangelical Christians who claim to worship the God of light. This entanglement of light and darkness in practice is also seen in the "false white Gospel" of Christian nationalism about which I plan to write in my next blog post.
I just now read (again) words of President Biden cited by Jim Wallis in his new book "The False White Gospel" (which I am planning to introduce further in my next blog post):
ReplyDelete“MAGA Republicans have made their choice. They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies.”
I once had an experience with Genesis 1:2. It confused me, and so I put it on my list of set-aside verses. Sometimes later I find a way to appreciate those kinds of verses, and one day that happened with Genesis 1:2. We were camping on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Westport-Union Landing State Beach in California, and as we watched the sun setting, the normally calm experience was transformed into dancing clouds and swirling light and shadow. As I watched, I suddenly thought of the spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters, and I was at peace with Genesis 1:2. This was the end of the formless void and darkness that covered the face of the deep. It was like watching a science show on how stars and planets form in our galaxy. There must be a disturbance in a gas cloud before stars can form and begin to shine. In that moment the mystery of creation reached out and touched the mystery of cosmology. We like camping on the beach!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Craig, for sharing these comments about your own experience in gaining insight and finding deep meaning in the words of Genesis. What you wrote is in harmony with what Charles, an Old Testament scholar, wrote above. But I wonder if you see any value in my both/and comments posted above in response to Charles.
DeleteThough very delayed I just had to add my thoughts to a truly enjoyable blog. Light is everywhere in the positive words of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. What darkness hides and distorts, light reveals as truth. Light destroys darkness and brings revelation (enlightenment) to the blind. I much appreciate what you have said here.
ReplyDeleteOn a personal note your comments about my response on the last blog were correct. I spoke in generalities and not facts. My only defense is those generalities were based upon an ongoing frustration with the Biden administration's stand on individual policies. I have been working to put together clearer statements on those perceptions. As a last comment, there is no way I can vote for Trump. I won't go into the language I feel descriptive of him, but I do feel too much of that language has been used by representatives of both parties, one of the reasons our nation is so divided. So I have to admit (ARG!) I will be voting for Biden.