According to Christian tradition, what are you supposed to do when someone is praying? It's almost always bow your head and close your eyes. What does Jesus do here? He looks toward heaven, which generally means up.
MISCONCEPTION CORRECTION: Why am I so wishy-washy on which direction Jesus was looking? The term “heaven” is often interchangeable with the word “sky” or “space.” The sky is generally overhead (given the assumption that you are in the upright position) so people infer that heaven is up. It's even mentioned in the Bible that way. Lots of people will then argue that we've been to space but heaven isn't there. Well, kind and skeptical person, I shall skirt the issue by telling you a story: Yuri Gagarin is often quoted upon his first flight into space as saying, “I don't see any God up here.” Unfortunately, it was actually Khrushchev who said something along those lines as part of his anti-religious propaganda. Everyone pinned it on Yuri because it made the statement hold more weight. A friend of Yuri's quoted him as saying “An astronaut cannot be suspended in space and not have God in his mind and his heart.” Just like a lot of people need to do a fact check on their Yuri Gagarin quotes, maybe you should also reevaluate your ideas of heaven. How many of your presumptions about heaven are found in the Bible and how many are based on secular traditions?
Anyways...(you've probably forgotten what I was talking about so go ahead and read that first paragraph again)...my point is that Jesus does the exact opposite of what Christians are traditionally taught during prayer. His eyes were open and up (I've heard this is customary in Jewish prayers). My rebellious side loves blowing up religious traditions that aren't particularly Biblical. The point of prayer is communicating with God. If it helps you to have a one-on-one conversation with the big guy if you pray while you're doing a handstand in a hoop skirt, go for it! He won't mind!
But I will. Don't do that goofy stuff in front of me. I prefer heads down and eyes closed.
A handstand in a hoop skirt isn't lady-like. That'll cost you:
MISCONCEPTION CORRECTION: Why am I so wishy-washy on which direction Jesus was looking? The term “heaven” is often interchangeable with the word “sky” or “space.” The sky is generally overhead (given the assumption that you are in the upright position) so people infer that heaven is up. It's even mentioned in the Bible that way. Lots of people will then argue that we've been to space but heaven isn't there. Well, kind and skeptical person, I shall skirt the issue by telling you a story: Yuri Gagarin is often quoted upon his first flight into space as saying, “I don't see any God up here.” Unfortunately, it was actually Khrushchev who said something along those lines as part of his anti-religious propaganda. Everyone pinned it on Yuri because it made the statement hold more weight. A friend of Yuri's quoted him as saying “An astronaut cannot be suspended in space and not have God in his mind and his heart.” Just like a lot of people need to do a fact check on their Yuri Gagarin quotes, maybe you should also reevaluate your ideas of heaven. How many of your presumptions about heaven are found in the Bible and how many are based on secular traditions?
Anyways...(you've probably forgotten what I was talking about so go ahead and read that first paragraph again)...my point is that Jesus does the exact opposite of what Christians are traditionally taught during prayer. His eyes were open and up (I've heard this is customary in Jewish prayers). My rebellious side loves blowing up religious traditions that aren't particularly Biblical. The point of prayer is communicating with God. If it helps you to have a one-on-one conversation with the big guy if you pray while you're doing a handstand in a hoop skirt, go for it! He won't mind!
But I will. Don't do that goofy stuff in front of me. I prefer heads down and eyes closed.
A handstand in a hoop skirt isn't lady-like. That'll cost you:
I read an interesting follow up quote to Yuri's supposed comments from an unknown person in Moscow.
ReplyDelete"If you couldn't see [God] on earth, how could you see him in space?"