I am not a great theologian, nor have I been exceedingly educated in religion. I know just a few verses from the Bible by heart, but most of my thoughts come only through experience as I grew up and continue to do so.
With that said, I was disappointed with Dr. Plantinga’s message tonight during LOFT. I will say that he had a great verse. Psalm139. The message focused on how God watches us. I am not saying that that is a bad thing, but the way it was presented made God sound like our stalker. There were ties to the movie “Enemy of the State”. Will Smith played a character that was being watched by a government official who went as far as bugging Smith’s character's clothes. I feel that this is a very poor choice for a comparison to our Lord and Savior. Yes, I know that our every move is watched. Psalm 139:1-5 “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. 5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. “I do believe that knowing this is important to know, but it is also important to understand that this is out of love for us. It is not to make us uncomfortable, or so are my personal beliefs. I also believe that the first five verses are there to lead up to verses 9-14. “9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea. 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” The Psalmist starts by pointing out that God knows everything about him. Then he builds by saying that this is so that God’s hand will be there to guide him. Then the Psalmist gives praise to the Father for being “Fearfully and wonderfully made”.
This is an important Psalm, but I think that it is not meant to make our Heavenly Father look like a judgmental stalker. It is to show how important we are to Him and to show how much He loves us. Though we do not always understand, He does. I also believe that we should not want to do right because we fear that God is watching us, but instead because the Holy Spirit moves in us to do right. I hope the difference makes sense and that I am presenting my thoughts clearly.
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Well Sarah, I would first like to complement you, I thought you presented your thoughts very clearly. When Dr. Plantinga started talking and said that we would be reading from Psalm 139, I was excited. I thought he would talk about the deep love that God has for us. Then, when I heard the comparison he used, I was very shocked. I saw that movie and if that is how he compares our Lord and Savior, then I agree with you that that is wrong. God is not a “stalker” and this Psalm is not meant to make Him look like one. I don’t want to repeat everything you said, but the bottom line is that I agree with what you are saying. He could have presented this a lot better. I was a bit disappointed.
It's comforting to know that you, like me, know only a few verses from the Bible by heart. You don't have to know the specific verses, just the main ideas, to be a Christian. Anyway, I totally agree with you that God knows us so well because he loves us and is there to guide us. Good point.
Yes, i agree with your thoughts. The psalmist was expressing his thought, given to him by God, about how much he was loved and watched over. There are so many metaphors out there that I have been dissappointed with, but I do appreciate the psalm.
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