by Roberto Antonio Valenzuela

The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another. (Exodus 33:11)

He answered, "I will make all my beauty pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce my name, 'LORD'; I who show favors to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will.  But my face you cannot see, for no man sees me and still lives. (Exodus 33:19-20)

A mere eight verses hold apart the terms of this contradiction.

Why is there such a glaring contradiction here in such a short space?  There are two possibilities.  First, they were both written by the same person, in which case the contradiction was intended by the author.  Or, second, they were written by two different people, in which case the contradiction was intended by the redactor who brought these two statements together unchanged.  Then why is it here?

Between these two verses lies the thrust of the entire Bible.  God exceeds creation to such a degree that to presume to represent that God in an image is one of the greatest forms of blasphemy conceived in the Old Testament.  For this God so infinitely exceeds the creature that it cannot have living sight of the divine. 

Here is an oft-unrecognized warning to the interpreter and to the theologian: beware of presuming to have fully grasped God.  Beware of the presumption to have fully grasped this text which strains to express God and cracks under the weight.  Beware of the kinds of definitive declarations about the biblical text that presume to master meaning through word study or logical analysis.  Beware of the kinds of apologetic arguments that would turn God into an easily-contained subject attached to a predicate.

But the theologian is not ultimately banished.  After all, Moses, who could not see God's face, spoke to God face to face.  Somehow, this unutterably infinite thing makes itself known.  We can relate to it, we can worship it, we can write about it.  But that relation, that worship, and that writing are always only a little less than wholly inadequate.

This is the tension in which the Bible speaks to us.  We find on every page the struggle to express the inexpressible, and to grapple with this God who cannot be touched.  Words everywhere are burst by their mysterious content, their shells left pointing lamely towards God. 

What does this leave the interpreter with?  Humility, hopefully, and an ability to admit when the meaning of a passage exceeds his understanding.  A willingness to sit in the contradictions recognized by the ancients as fruitful rather than dismiss them as the inconsistencies of a childish age.  And finally, perhaps, a yearning after the beauty of that mystery passing by. 

Lisa Fite: What made you decide to start making videos on YouTube?
thereprieve: My orginal plan was to use my channel to document my growth as a musician. In a matter of only a few short weeks, I learned to play the bass well enough to sit in when the previous bass player for my church's band left. I filled that role for over a year and enjoyed every minute of it. But then, the lead guitarist left leaving a void in the church. We were too small of a church and too financially strapped to pay anyone to come in and take over. And we didn't get any other volunteers in the first few weeks... so I volunteered to take some lessons and would do my best to lead the band. I thought for sure this process would take months, maybe years. The pastor asked if I could be ready in 4 weeks. Skeptically I said I'd do my best to learn some of the easier songs to play a full set on a Sunday morning. I took all of four lessons. The guitar teacher gave me some tips and tricks to help me along in my plight and was fired from the place he was giving lessons (rumor had it that it was drug related). But I'll be forever grateful because in four weeks he basically taught me how to teach myself. I originally set up the channel so that I could upload videos of me leading the worship services at my church and have the ablity to share those videos on facebook with my family. They were all interested and, understandably, skeptical that I would be able to lead in such a short amount of time. In a sense, I kinda did it to show off. And, right around that same time frame, I caught wind of the video exchanges between VenomFangX and TheAmazingAtheist. I was amazed at TAA's confidence and attitude towards Christians. Honestly, I had never met anyone like that in real life act that way about their atheism. And, I had also never seen some of the defenses for Christianity that VFX was giving. And I took note of the thousands of people watching each video and the hundreds of comments left on those videos. People on both sides were angry and hateful. Some things were said that would make a sailor blush with shame. And just as true, some things were said that surely made the Christian God facepalm Himself. In the midst of all of this I was trying to come up with a name for my channel. I decided that if I ever got into the debate that there had to be a better way than through all the hate. I thought to myself that I should make a channel and offer a "reprieve" from this kind of vitriol. Then it hit me... "TheReprieve". Shortly thereafter I made a comment to a guy on, interestingly enough, TheAtheistAntidote's channel. That guy turned out to be ThoughtfulAtheist and he offered up a video exchange/conversation on morality. We went three rounds in civil, respectful, friendly tones and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. To this day I still consider him a good friend though we've only ever talked online. To sum it up, it's all TJ, Shawn, Brock, and ThoughtfulAtheist's fault that I'm here.
Lisa Fite: What issues or debates do you find yourself most drawn too?
thereprieve: At first it was definitely the atheist/theist debate. But more recently it's the liberal/conservative debate. Again, it's not so much that I want to debate it's more that I see a good opportunity for conversation. And, let's be honest, the liberal community has the upperhand when it comes to articulating their positions. And more recently, has had more charismatic leadership. Yet I think that the basic conservative message in the dichotomy should be the simpler more easy to explain of the two. Unfortunately we let ourselves get caught up in playing defense. Take the healthcare debate, for example. Most conservatives agreed that something needed to be done to make healthcare available to everyone, only we didn't agree with or accept most proposals of the Obamacare package. We let the argument be turned from "Let's work together to find a positive solution" into the famous "Conservatives want you to die quickly" rhetoric. Once again, I feel a "reprieve" is needed from the flamewars, the rhetoric, and the vitriol associated with each position and we need to have more conversations. Hatred changes the world but a conversation can change the world for the better.
Lisa Fite: What do you feel you contribute to those issues or debates?
thereprieve: There are scores of youtubers who want to make a video, state their position, and then call you an "idiot" when you disagree. Now this is not an all-inclusive statement as there are scores more that have different agendas. But the hatemongers seem to be the squeeky wheel that gets the grease. Everyone listens to them. They have their cheerleaders and their haters their fanboys and their pwners but few seem to be willing to concede that the best option might not be the one they are espousing. All too often constructive criticism is taken as a personal attack. Again, this is where I think that I differ from many other channels. I enjoy the conversation. I can take constructive criticism and thank the person who gave it without my first reaction being to call them an "idiot". Does this mean that I am above reproach? Of course not. My 2 most recent videos would seem to stand in stark contrast to these statements. But my passionate disagreement with those 2 different youtubers in no way should reflect on my personal respect for them, their channels, or their positions. In fact, it often takes a passionate disagreement at the beginning to bring about a meaningful conversation in the end. In sum, I feel I contribute to the debate by just talking instead of fighting all the time.
Lisa Fite: What kind of videos do you see yourself making in the future?
thereprieve: I am not altogether sure where this is going to go. I expiramented with a quasi-news channel that sought to bring conservative humor to top news headlines, but after 3 episodes, I flat ran out of humor. I had also tossed around the idea of playing on the tv show 'Sarah Palin's Alaska' by doing 'TheReprieve's Ohio'. I was going to visit different interesting, historical, and adventurous places throughout Ohio and give em a Christian Conservative perspective. I actually filmed an episode, but never got around to editing it and/or posting it. Plus, it seemed like a time commitment that I just can't make presently. So, I think for the near future, it'll just be me responding to people, arguments, and/or anything else that tickles my fancy. I probably will dwell a little more on conservative politics than on religion, but that in and of itself is not a promise ;-)
Lisa Fite: If you could change one thing about the debate what would it be?
thereprieve: It would obviously be the sheer hatred that some seem to have for the others. I saw a comment on a video one time that said "I don't have to listen to you, you're an atheist, therefore you're less than human". I couldn't believe what I had just read. I sent that user a pm, to which I never got a response, but I tried to remind that person of who he represented (Jesus Christ... being that he was a Christian). Apparently my plea fell on deaf ears. The opposite is also true. I've been called some pretty disgusting things in my time on youtube and it has really done nothing to help that person's argument or position. I've only blocked a handful of people and I tend to reserve that honor for those who are more interested in slanderous vitriol or hatred than in conversation.
Lisa Fite: Why should people subscribe to you on YouTube?
thereprieve: YOU SHOULDN'T! LOL! No, actually if an appreciation for a competing viewpoint is what you desire, then that's why you should subscribe to me. I will lay out the facts as I understand them, explain to you what, beyond that, makes me so passionate about the subject, and then I'll listen to you and what you have to say. I find that, more often than not, we seek the same ends, it's only the means that we disagree on. I can already cite examples where listening to the opposing viewpoint has changed my mind. Gay-marriage and capitol punishment being 2 of them. I believe that we should all engage in some healthy self-examination from time to time. Justifying a viewpoint to others is as simple as finding the right words. Justifying a viewpoint to yourself is MUCH harder.
Lisa Fite: Is there anything you would like to address that I haven't covered here that would give people insight into you or your channel?
thereprieve: Nothing comes to mind. Other than maybe the fact that I've had disagreements with people over the years. Often those disagreements led me to say things that I shouldn't have said, especially in comment sections. If you're reading this and you are one of them, I am always ALWAYS up for burying the hatchet and starting over. Forgiveness and healing are good for the soul. If you forgive me, we can start fresh and get back to the conversation.