I’m in the middle of reading this excellent book called The Frontiersmen by Allen W. Eckert. It’s a narrative of the American frontier and the men and women who conquered them. He wrote a whole series of these books but this one is specifically about the Midwest (that’s us! Woot woot!) But anyway, I’ve learned a lot about the Native Americans (mostly the Shawnees) and I was astounded by their knowledge of nature, their ability to produce all natural (and extremely effective) medicines and their efficiency in everything they did. What shocked me most, however, was the fact that the god they worshiped, whom they called Moneto, was strikingly similar to our God – the God of the Bible. For them, Moneto was the one supreme being that was all powerful, all knowing, and the one who created the universe. Of course there were many dissimilarities as well but it struck me as odd that these people, who were without Jewish heritage or influence from Christians, could come up with a god that was so similar to our God. Even a lot of the guiding rules of their religion were reminiscent of Christian morals. So how did this come about?
The answer is simple actually. God reveals himself through nature just like He does through Sacred Scriptures. As Peter Kreeft would put it, “God wrote two books: nature and the Bible. We should read them both.” When we watch the sun set on a summer evening it would be a pity to think that all those brilliant colors are simply the culmination of bazillions of ultraviolet rays coming from a burning ball of gas 93 million miles away, through our gaseous atmosphere, projected onto the backs of our eyes and interpreted by our brain. It would also be a pity to think that it’s simply a beautiful piece of artwork produced by God for us to look at. No, when we look at that sunset we aren’t simply reminded of God; we actually see God! Not God in his entirety of course (that would be pantheism) but something of the great mystery of God is revealed to us when we look at his marvelous creation; rather through his creation and into Him. When we are exposed to such beauty as a resplendent sunset, a picturesque mountain landscape, or the warmth of the beach on a sunny day, our hearts cannot help but be drawn into that beauty – and in that beauty a bit of knowledge of Something Beautiful is implanted in our minds. It should cause us to say “how beautiful you are, Lord God” rather than “what great an artist you are, Lord God.”
The answer is simple actually. God reveals himself through nature just like He does through Sacred Scriptures. As Peter Kreeft would put it, “God wrote two books: nature and the Bible. We should read them both.” When we watch the sun set on a summer evening it would be a pity to think that all those brilliant colors are simply the culmination of bazillions of ultraviolet rays coming from a burning ball of gas 93 million miles away, through our gaseous atmosphere, projected onto the backs of our eyes and interpreted by our brain. It would also be a pity to think that it’s simply a beautiful piece of artwork produced by God for us to look at. No, when we look at that sunset we aren’t simply reminded of God; we actually see God! Not God in his entirety of course (that would be pantheism) but something of the great mystery of God is revealed to us when we look at his marvelous creation; rather through his creation and into Him. When we are exposed to such beauty as a resplendent sunset, a picturesque mountain landscape, or the warmth of the beach on a sunny day, our hearts cannot help but be drawn into that beauty – and in that beauty a bit of knowledge of Something Beautiful is implanted in our minds. It should cause us to say “how beautiful you are, Lord God” rather than “what great an artist you are, Lord God.”
A sunset, beach, and mountain all in the same pic! Oooohh yeeah! 0_o
It’s like walking by a picket fence and seeing someone, through it, on the other side. We only see little slices of the person behind the fence but as we walk by we see more and more slices of that person and our mind puts them together to form an image. In the same way we can put together an image of God by reading his book of nature. Of course this image is incomplete and blurred just as our image of the person is through the fence.
However, if you know something about the Native Americans you’ll also know that they could be quite savage. They seemingly were always waging war against the neighboring tribes and when they went on these killing sprees they were merciless. Of course they aren’t the only ones who can be savage. History very clearly shows that all men are capable of extreme evil (just take a look at the 20th century). But if these Native Americans had such similar knowledge of God and similar moral standards why were they so barbaric? … It’s because they only had one book. When you read the book of nature you inevitably run into lots of animals which have a fully animalistic nature (duh!). Animals have a lot of seemingly pointless fights and they will ruthlessly kill each other in order to stay alive. Reading only the book of nature, the first book God wrote, will most certainly lead to insights of God but they will be blurred at best; like trying to seeing someone through an old window pane (before we had the technology to make them almost perfectly clear). Looking through this glass we can know that the person is there and see the person’s basic form but we won’t ever fully be able to get to know the person by looking at him through the wavy window pane. We have to go out and meet him face to face. As St. Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians, “We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face.”
To get a fuller understanding of God we must put these two books together and only then will we be able to know God really well. In the book of his Word we are embraced by His infinite love and mercy while in nature we take a glimpse at the beauty of His kindly countenance. So go outside and immerse yourself in God’s other book – and find Him in its beauty.
PS – If you found anything in this blog to be insightful or inspiring, thank God for that and not me. “He must increase; I must decrease.” Also, as Pier Giorgio once said to his friends, so I to you, “I beg you to pray for me a little, so that God may give me an iron will that does not bend and does not fail in His projects.” Verso l’alto!
Written by: Jesse Badinghaus
However, if you know something about the Native Americans you’ll also know that they could be quite savage. They seemingly were always waging war against the neighboring tribes and when they went on these killing sprees they were merciless. Of course they aren’t the only ones who can be savage. History very clearly shows that all men are capable of extreme evil (just take a look at the 20th century). But if these Native Americans had such similar knowledge of God and similar moral standards why were they so barbaric? … It’s because they only had one book. When you read the book of nature you inevitably run into lots of animals which have a fully animalistic nature (duh!). Animals have a lot of seemingly pointless fights and they will ruthlessly kill each other in order to stay alive. Reading only the book of nature, the first book God wrote, will most certainly lead to insights of God but they will be blurred at best; like trying to seeing someone through an old window pane (before we had the technology to make them almost perfectly clear). Looking through this glass we can know that the person is there and see the person’s basic form but we won’t ever fully be able to get to know the person by looking at him through the wavy window pane. We have to go out and meet him face to face. As St. Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians, “We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face.”
To get a fuller understanding of God we must put these two books together and only then will we be able to know God really well. In the book of his Word we are embraced by His infinite love and mercy while in nature we take a glimpse at the beauty of His kindly countenance. So go outside and immerse yourself in God’s other book – and find Him in its beauty.
PS – If you found anything in this blog to be insightful or inspiring, thank God for that and not me. “He must increase; I must decrease.” Also, as Pier Giorgio once said to his friends, so I to you, “I beg you to pray for me a little, so that God may give me an iron will that does not bend and does not fail in His projects.” Verso l’alto!
Written by: Jesse Badinghaus
