tuesday reflection for week 9

I like to dabble in the study of physics every once in a while. One of my friends loves chaos theory within the study of physics. I know I will not explain this theory perfectly, but my understanding of chaos theory is that all of the actions that occur in our world, even a butterfly flapping its wings, come together and create detrimental effects, such as a hurricane or tsunami. I see Max Webber's "irrationality of rationality" characterization of the McDonaldization Thesis in the same line of thought as chaos theory.

All of the rational things that fast-food, and other businesses or organizations now, companies do actually adds irrational effects in the long run. For example, the desire for every burger to taste the same at every location of a fast food chain causes health risks for the consumer. The company will give the cattle hormones and steroids to assure the taste and amount of beef in each serving. The slaughtering process of cattle becomes inhumane and unhealthy. The desire for a uniform burger seems mundane to us on the surface, but when you see the means for attaining uniformity, uniformity, at least for me, becomes undesirable.

Sadly enough, this chaos theory or McDonaldization Thesis has affected the church. For example, our conception of knowing God's will has been tainted. We think that if we do actions X, Y, and Z, then we will have the output of knowing God's will. If we pray enough, fast long enough, or live a certain aesthetic lifestyle, then God will show us what to do. To me, the rationality of wanting to know God's will is great, but desiring that rationality at the expense of taking responsibility for your decisions, if you even make a decision with "hearing the voice of God," is irrational. We often desire to know God's will so much that we forget our part in the action.

For a great book on a different approach to knowing God's will, check out Kyle Lake's Understanding God's Will: How to Hack the Equations without Formulas.