Punctuated Equilibrium

So I'm in line at the auto parts store today and the guy behind me decides its time to have a serious conversation with the cashier and me. Here is what I captured from his monologue:

I'll call him Bill

Bill: "Have you guys ever heard of punctuated equilibrium?"
Cashier: "Pun cu ated Equi lib rium......hmmm....sounds familiar."
Me: (unwilling to engage)
Bill: "You may remember it from high school biology. It's why we can talk to each other. Before the meteor wiped out the dinosaurs we couldn't talk to each other. But when everything was wiped out there was then space for evolution to take place. There is no space today and that is why we don't see things evolving."
Cashier: "Oh"
Me: (still unwilling to engage)
Bill: "I think we need some punctuated equilibrium with politics today. We should wipe out all the Republicans and give the Democrats some room to evolve and make things better. Did you know that in 1956 once you earned 3.5 million dollars you were taxed 90% on everything over that? They considered anything you made above that amount wasn't a result of your own effort but from using others. Did you know that Dick Cheney was only taxed 12% on the 30 million dollars he earned last year? What do you think about that!?"
Cashier: "wow"
Me: (still unwilling to engage)
Bill: "So you see, what we need is some punctuated equilibrium. We sure as hell don't need some Sarah Palin!"

This was out of nowhere. I don't know if that is exactly what punctuated equilibrium is. Nor do I know how much Dick Cheney was taxed last year. Heck, I don't even know what I was taxed last year. I generally steer clear from politics. All I know is this, that guy seemed crazy. Like the same kind of crazy Christians are labeled for believing in God.

Now I understand that at times it is very much counter intuitive to believe in and order your life around a God you cannot see. I can sympathize with people who get frustrated when I explain that God requires faith even when we can't see Him. I can understand why people may think my explanations for why God works or doesn't work certain ways are just cop outs.

But why is it not as crazy to believe that the reason evolution doesn't take place today is because there isn't the "space" for it? Isn't that a cop out answer? Why can someone be considered rational for believing that the reason we can talk today is because a meteor created punctuated equilibrium thousands of years ago? Has anyone actually witnessed something like that taking place?

All I am saying is this.....If I am crazy to believe that God created and sustains the universe, then those who believe that there once was nothing and then a bang created a perfect universe are just as crazy. Frankly, I would argue they are more crazy.

Peace

Satan drives a Kia

Okay if you were tricked into believing rapping hamsters equated to quality automotive products you may have some issues.

But I don't think Kia is all-together bad or the vehicle of choice for the devil....but it helps in my illustration in a second.

As far as God is concerned, He is a Dodge man...I mean Dodge God. Why? Well, they have the caravan and the ram...both biblical words. Plus they have the Nitro and Viper...both classic American Gladiator names.

Okay, back to Satan driving a Kia...

One thing I have noticed in the 130,000 miles I have driven is that every car has the same two things in common on their front. They have lights and an emblem. Every Toyota has the T with a circle around it. Every Mercedes has the Mercedes emblem. It's as if they are saying, "Watch out, it's more than just a car coming it's a (fill in the blank)."

Well one day I was driving and I saw a car behind me that looked snazzy. It was fancy. You know the kind of car your grandpa drives...a Jaguar. But it wasn't like any Jaguar I had seen before. And it was missing the jumping jaguar emblem. There was absolutely no name or decal on the front. So I slowed down and let the car pass to see what was going on. And as it passed I saw what it was. It was a KIA!!! No way! It looked like a Jaguar.

Kia is smart. Kia is deceptive. They know who they are and they know what consumers want. Consumers want Jaguars, not Kias. They want the name with the reputation, not the name with the Rio. So how do you get past that if you are the Kia bigshots? Well you design your car like a Jaguar and you remove the front emblem. Maybe people will fall so in love with the design they will not care who makes it. But at the end of the day you are driving home in a Kia. This is deception.

Satan is a jerk, but he is smart...kinda. He is deceptive. He wants to sell us the life that looks full, but at the end of the day is empty and broken.

He wants girls to believe that in order to get a guy to love them they need to look or act a certain way.

He wants guys to believe that they matter or don't matter because of what they do.

If we buy into the idea that what we do makes us valuable then Satan is stoked. He is throwing a party if we begin to believe that joy comes when others think we are special. Satan is trying to get us to forget that God LOVED us first.

With God, it's what we ALREADY have (love and acceptance in Him that lasts). With Satan, it's the lie that we don't have it, but we can get it by doing or being certain things. The lie isn't in how you obtain it. The lie from Satan is that you don't have it. But you do!

You are loved, accepted, stoked on, celebrated, and rejoiced over by God.

Grace and Peace