Josh Cox: Miracles . . . A Runner’s Case for Theism (Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #6)
Posted April 3rd, 2008 at 12:45 PM by Josh Cox
Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Josh Cox
Welcome to the official blog of U.S. marathon runner Josh Cox. Every other Wednesday visit http://joshcox.thefinalsprint.com for Cox’s latest blog entry and for more information, also please visit: www.joshcox.com
“If people think God is interesting, the onus is on them to show that there is anything there to talk about. Otherwise they should just shut up about it.” -Richard Dawkins, Evolutionary Biologist, Oxford scholar, author of “The God Delusion”
“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.”
-CS Lewis, author, teacher, former atheist, and Oxford Scholar“It is, of course, true that your success would be open to a variety of interpretations-perhaps such a miracle says nothing about the existence of God but demonstrates that clairvoyance is an actual power of the human mind and that you possess it in spades.” -Sam Harris, atheist evangelist and author, explaining away the miraculous
“Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature, and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable.” --Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist
I wasn’t planning on writing this. Honest. I pondered the idea during my long run with Dan [Browne] last week, again during my 15 miler over the weekend and a final time as I responded to nearly half of the 17 emails asking what I believed and why I believed it – but not even those served as this blog’s impetus. Nope. The tipping point came when I stumbled across the poem I wrote for my dad’s funeral nearly two years ago. I didn’t read it all; I couldn’t read it all – didn’t want to. Tears, therapeutic as they may be, don’t lend themselves to productivity; and because I am busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest I figured I would spare my wife the Dick Vermeil impression.
Quick summary:
November 10, 2005 - Dad diagnosed with cancer.
July 23, 2006 - Dad dies.
Things I learn:
1) Tomorrow is a lie.
2) Live out my beliefs.
3) Live each day like it’s my last.
But something happens - something always happens. I forget.
Don’t forget Josh; don’t ever forget. Remember what you said; remember what you wrote. It’s why I have Hebrew and Greek racing stripes down my ribs – my daily reminder of promises I made to God, promises I made to my dad.
I was going to post a new video here. Then I saw the poem – the poem I wrote.
“Many people say ‘live each day like your last’
But we don’t really do it, life moves too fast.”–lines 396 and 397 of a 23 page poem called “Dad”
Reading the written word is the closest we’ll ever get to time travel. If the author is honest enough - brave enough - to be transparent it’s like being transported to the backside of a magical mirror. We get to peer unnoticed and undetected as we stare into the man’s soul.
So what if this served as my final blog here at The Final Sprint? What would I write? What would you write? What would the other bloggers write? It’s a proper thing to ponder. People die but the written word is immortal - just one of the many reasons I love composing compositions.
You have probably gathered from the above quotes that this blog addresses my theism. I am in the public eye, I have a big mouth, and as such, my theism is well known. If you’re a regular reader of my blogs, the first three anyway, you have gathered that my faith isn’t a subplot but rather a constant undercurrent running between the words, an underpinning beneath the lines.
Was I raised in Christian home?
Yes.
Was my education faith based?
Yes, all of it, 18 years worth.
Did I grow up in the church?
Yes – a great one, founded by Left Behind author, Tim LaHaye and now pastored by my brother in laws dad, Dr. David Jeremiah, a man who is the pastoral equivalent to a Moses Tanui.
Are these reasons why, as author Sam Harris suggests, I believe what I believe?
No, absolutely not.
Take away every great philosopher; apologist, and theologian - I can see Sam smiling already - remove every tie wearing, Bible thumping, purple haired pastor preaching behind the pulpit. Get rid of - dare I say it? The Word of God itself and leave me with my own personal experience with the Creator and you will find that I believe what I believe because I have experienced Him in real, tangible ways – not because I was born in the US, not because I watched flannel camels and Mother Mary’s be propped on flannel boards in Sunday school, and certainly not because I was brainwashed as a child. (Concerned Christians of America – save the emails, the disappearing pastors and Bibles was just a hypothetical – I love Jesus, that’s why I’m writing). As Lewis said, my heart cannot rejoice in something my mind rejects – and this holds true for my belief in a deity.
So I offer you, in the next series of blogs: A Runner’s Case for Theism. Not from a historic, archaeological, or skeptics point of view; if you want that click on over to Amazon and buy former Chicago Tribune legal editor, Lee Strobel’s “Case For Christ.” I’m not going to discuss moral law, atonement, or explain how the band “Sixpence None the Richer” got their name, for that you can read CS Lewis’s “Mere Christianity.” I won’t be exploring human history, or explaining why slavery was an accepted Biblical practice – for that you can read GK Chesterton’s “Everlasting Man” - the pivotal literary work in bringing, the previously mentioned, Jack Lewis back to the faith – (along with the council of his good friends and fellow scholars, JRR Tolkien and Hugo Dyson). Rather, I offer something uniquely my own - my own personal account of real, honest to goodness, miracles. And since this is a running site I’ll do my best to limit the miracles I mention to running – I have two really good ones, and some others that will segue to finally responding to Jodi’s comment on the Ad Finem blog.
To all the nonbelievers out there - never fear; I’m not trying to convince you of anything. If someone comes to live their life for someone they can’t see, that, my friends, is a miracle and I can’t perform those. God can, I can’t.
I guess it goes without saying that these accounts already happened, they are in fact history and history can’t be proven by the standards of scientific empiricism. History relies on the testimony of man, when weighing its veracity the question is, and always has been, “How reliable is the testimony’s source?”
Professor Digory Kirke put it best while addressing Peter and Susan after Lucy found Narnia in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. “There are only three possibilities. Either your sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. You know she doesn’t tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad. For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth.”
The Trilemma hidden in fiction - so beautiful I could cry. With that said, let’s jump right in.
Take a look at the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and check out the miracles that Christ performed. Every last one was to solve a problem. He never did anything to simply flex His God powers. A shortage of wine at a wedding – no problem, the blind man – let me rub some mud on his eyes, the lame – “pick up your mat and walk,” the lepper – he’s whole again, a storm in the sea – “be still.” Time and time again Christ solves a problem and comes through with a miracle.
This day was no different. I encountered a problem and I experienced a miracle. My testimony is all the proof this story has, that and two people whose names I don’t know. The following is my account of what happened on a scorching hot July day in southern California.
It was early summer 2004. I was training, from my home at the time, in Murrieta, California – a town about 60 miles northeast of Downtown San Diego. This particular training cycle was sandwiched between my 7th place finish at the Olympic Marathon Trials and my US Team appearance at the World Half Marathon Championships in India.
As a marathon runner my training regimen calls for both morning and evening sessions. The breakdown is typically 10-15 miles in the AM and 6-10 in the PM. 60-90 minutes in the morning, 30-60 in the afternoon with core work, lifting, stretching, writing and resting supplementing the remainder of the day. It really isn’t too bad a gig – provided you have enough loose screws to actually enjoy running twenty miles a day.
Once every 10 days or so the schedule calls for a glycogen depletion run. In laymen’s terms: I run until my accessible energy stores are totally zapped. This means a 25-30 miler where the idea isn’t to run it as fast as you can but rather to maintain a good effort and cover the distance. My coach at the time, bearded Italian Dr.Rosa, would say, “Cox, no faster than 3:45.” That’s 3:45 per kilometer, which, for my non-metric US readers, means no faster than six-minute mile pace. Long run days are great because there’s no second run. One and done.
On this day I woke just before 10, drank my coffee, read the paper and prepped for the run. Typically I try to get my legs moving on this sort of effort no later than 8 but the previous night saw 15 guys at my house playing the Halo video game until the wee hours of the morning. Don’t ask; it’s a guy thing.
Just before noon I walked my coffee out of the comfort of my 69-degree house onto my porch to check the conditions. It had been warm lately but nothing atypical. When you live 20 miles inland in Southern California you never know when the warm winds from the Santa Ana Mountains will blow through. When they do, it feels like God left His hairdryer on. This day He left it on high.
I considered delaying the run until the late afternoon but not being one to let a perfectly good caffeine buzz go to waste, I figured I would brave the high noon elements. Most days I drive the course and stash bottles every three or four miles but out on my porch I have a thought - no, an epiphany. I can do this long run without any fluid support.
I realize most humans would never consider, much less attempt, running over 20 miles without fluids but as a professional athlete I am, at times, delusional and lose touch with my mortality. Now, through therapy, I can admit that I have a bit of a superhero complex. I mean, I can string together a series of sub 4:40 miles, I’ve run 50-mile races, I’ve run 25 miles with no fluids before - I can do it again… I can leap tall buildings; I can run through walls… You see how this superhero thing can prove problematic.
So I set out in my shorts, shoes and mp3 player and despite the heat, I’m in the zone. Any athlete will tell you that every so often the stars align and everything comes together, on those days you feel you can do anything, you feel like a superhero. On days like these I play the jockey, pulling on the reigns, keeping the horse in check. Slow, slow, easy boy. I passed the mile in 5:19 – way too fast. Easy, easy, be patient.
I hit 5 miles just under 27 minutes - 3 minutes too fast. So I do what any reasonable athlete would… I changed my music from the long run mellow mix to techno-Rocky and let her rip. I started hammering, faster, faster, faster.
On long run days I like to run out and back courses. This way I can’t cut it short. There’s only one way out and one way back. This particular course was pretty desolate. It traveled along Winchester Road and headed out towards a town called Hemet. I don’t know much about Hemet other than it smells like cows and serves as a cut through to Palm Springs.
I was hammering along the dirt shoulder and passed 10 miles under 53 minutes – right around five minute pace for the last 5. I reached 12.5 – the 25 mile turn around - but things were going so well I figured I’d run the full 15 and try and set a personal best for 30. I reached 15 in under 1:23 – 6 minute pace for the last five. I’m slowing, but still feeling good.
The next 5 passed without incident but the naked sun in the naked sky was relentless, the rays pounded my shoulders. I began feeling the effects of the heat. I reverted back to the slow mix and slowed the pace in an attempt to preserve the effort.
Things started going wrong, real wrong. Anyone who has run beyond 20 miles in the heat will tell you, things can go from good, to bad, to worse, to you’re totally screwed in about the time it took you to read that sentence. Pardon the juxtapositional phrase but “things tend to snowball in the heat.”
I was still managing seven-minute miles but was slowing by the second; this was becoming a death march. My mouth was dry, my throat was dry, I tried to swallow – nothing. I couldn’t spit, I was no longer sweating, pasty white sweat covered my chest and arms - I was dehydrated.
I wasn’t a superhero – I was an idiot. Only a fool would try and run 30 miles in horrible heat with no water. Reality: I am susceptible to the same natural laws as everyone else. People need water. Runners need even more.
I kept running - using the term loosely now - and began licking my arm. And before you laugh or vomit, don’t knock it ‘til you try it. Once, in college, on a run in the Blue Ridge Mountains, I got myself thoroughly lost for 6 hours - 35 miles of running - and resorted to drinking the highly sought after delicacy of puddle de la mud. Best mud I ever tasted, granted the only mud I’ve tasted but good mud nonetheless; comparatively speaking The Salt & Sweat tasted like Surf & Turf. Truth is, you don’t know what disgusting things you’re capable of until you find yourself fighting to survive.
So there I was, the wheels were coming off, I couldn’t stop because I knew how hard it would be to start again, there wasn’t anything around, and to top it all off, in all my years of training I’d never failed to reach my destination. My running rule, and life rule for that matter, is “keep moving forward.”
So, I start to pray. Nothing pious mind you, I wasn’t quoting scripture, I was just talking, “Lord Jesus, I’m really stupid. I’m in a lot of trouble here. I still have a long way to go and if I don’t get some water I won’t make it home. So if you could hook me up I’d appreciate it…” I paused then added, “Maybe you can have someone pull over for some directions and give me water.”
I run around 50 times a month, which over the course of the year makes for roughly 600 times I lace up the shoes and pound the pavement. Out of those 600 runs a passerby will stop to ask me for directions 5 times, perhaps 6 if it’s a leap year. People assume runners know the area, and truth is if you are looking for a street and it’s the runner’s home turf, they’re essentially a walking, talking MapQuest. So I figured offering the direction idea was a pretty good suggestion to the Creator of the universe.
So I continued running and for the next minute continued offering up all sorts of ways He could deliver me some water. “Someone could get a flat, one of my friends could drive by, a fan could stop for an autograph, a girl could stop for my number.” They were all solid suggestions and things that had happened in the past so I figured I’d give God a hand, you know, in case He was short on ideas.
A minute later a blue midsized pulled over onto the dirt. My water had arrived.
The car stopped about 30 feet in front of me. I stopped the music and slowed to a stop. A lady exited the car and approached.
I don’t fully understand the physiology of what happened next but when I stopped I felt a cold rush to my head and felt like I was looking through a zooming camera lens – in and out, in and out. I lost my balance and fell forward. Fortunately I managed to get my hands out onto the dirt and saved myself from falling. Being an egomaniac too proud to admit he had fallen over, I played it off like I was doing a hamstring stretch. I stayed bent for a few seconds and waited until my equilibrium returned. The woman’s feet appeared in front of me and I rose out of my jack knife.
“Are you ok?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah, just stretching.”
I should have said no and begged her for a ride but we all know superheroes don’t need rides.
“Do you know how to get to Pechanga?”
(Pechanga is an Indian reservation people frequent to gamble, dance, drink, see concerts and have fun. Or so I’ve heard… )
“What you need to do is head back that way to 15 south, it’s the second exit, you’ll see the signs from there.”
“Thanks!”
She started walking away. Apparently God forgot to tell her she was supposed to offer me fluids.
“Um, miss? Do you have any water?”
“Lemme check.”
She walked to her car and returned with a bottle of Arrowhead.
“I took a sip,” she says, “is that OK?”
I smiled, nodded, and graciously accepted.
She drove away. I walked up to a small dirt road cross street and took a seat on a small patch of dried grass next to a wire fence. I figured I’d rest up, enjoy the water and rally for the last 7 miles.
I thanked God for the hook up and finished the bottle in about 2 seconds. I sat baking in the sun, trying to convince myself that once the water had a few minutes to absorb I’d feel much better.
A minute went by, then two. I was fooling myself; I needed more water. So I prayed out loud, “Lord, thanks for getting me the water but I’m going to need more, if you could have a car stop and give me a–.”
As the words left my mouth a car pulled off Winchester onto the dirt road beside me – no joke. Chills ran over my body. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Oh great, now I’m hallucinating. This is one heck of a cathartic response.
I wasn’t delusional; the car was real. I was so happy I could have cried, and probably would have if my body had any fluid left.
I approached; he rolled down his window, “Would you like some water?”
Holy Shnikeys. I stared in disbelief. Crazy. Incredible. A miracle.
“Yes, I would.”
The man got out of his car, popped the trunk and the only thing inside was a lone six-pack of AquaFina.
He handed me one; I drank it.
“Would you like another? I have six.”
“No, I think this will be fine.”
He smiled.
“Sir? Why did you stop?”
“Oh, my son has a soccer game on Diaz Road and I can’t find it.”
“I’m not sure but I think Diaz is on the other side of the freeway.”
“Thank you. Have a good run.”
“I will.”
I should have asked him for the whole six pack but I was dumbfounded. I sat, drank, stored the two bottles next to the fence, went on my way and made it home. Temperatures had topped a hundred. I stepped on the scale. I had lost 17 pounds – things nearly went very, very wrong.
That night the fellas were returning for another round of Halo. I told them I had an errand to run. I drove back down Winchester; my lights caught the green street sign next the fence with my bottles. Keller Road. I grabbed the bottles and tossed them in the front seat – don’t forget, don’t ever forget.
I don’t pretend to know why the Lord does what He does. Why He blesses those he blesses, why some days are miracle days and some days it’s a miracle to make it through but I’m glad He does what He does. Days like that give me hope, days like that have given me an unshakable, unwavering faith. This wasn’t the first time and it wasn’t the last. There will be more to follow, I’d love to hear your take – skeptics, believers, any and all - I welcome your comments.
In closing I would like to honor the late, great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in lyric. This coming Friday, April 4 marks the 40th anniversary of his assassination in front of room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. May Dr. King’s dream of equality continue to be realized here in the States, in Africa, and across this great globe.
“One man caught on a barbed wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed up on an empty beach
One man betrayed with a kiss.In the name of love
What more in the name of love.
In the name of love
What more in the name of love.Early morning, April four
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky.
FREE AT LAST, they took your life
They could not take your pride.”– “Pride” (In the Name of Love) by U2
[MLK was actually shot in the afternoon. “Free at last” is in reference to his speech.]
Written while listening to: U2’s Unforgettable Fire, Third Day’s Come Together, Matt Kearney’s Nothing Left To Lose, John Foreman’s Spring EP, a host of DMB albums and Johnny Cash’s American V: A Hundred Highways
To comment on this entry and to send feedback & questions to Josh, please click here.
Related Stories:
- Josh Cox: Miracles 50
Part II - The End of Faith
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #9) - Josh Cox: Miracles 50
Part I - A Boy Named Sue
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #8) - Josh Cox: Qualifying (Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #5)
- Josh Cox: Carpe Diem
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #2) - Josh Cox: Temet Nosce
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #1)
Tags: christianity, christians, Dr. Martin Luther King, elite athlete blog, elite athlete blog series, faith, god, hydration, jesus, josh cox, Jr., marathon, miracles, thefinalsprint.com elite athlete blog series, theism, track and field, training, training run, water
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The Final Sprint
[…] TheFinalSprint.com | Premier Running Destination for Marathons, Track and Field, Race News, Podcasts, Training Advice and More! created an interesting post today on Josh Cox: Miracles . . . A Runnerâs Case for Theism (Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #6)Here’s a short outline […]
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:02 am[…] TheFinalSprint.com | Premier Running Destination for Marathons, Track and Field, Race News, Podcasts, Training Advice and More! has something worth reading today (Josh Cox: Miracles . . . A Runnerâs Case for Theism (Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #6))Here’s a brief bit, but follow the link for the rest. Welcome to the official blog of U.S. marathon runner Josh Cox. Every other Wednesday visit http://joshcox.thefinalsprint.com for Cox’s latest blog entry and for more information, also please visit: www.joshcox.com “If people think God is interesting, the onus is on them to show that there is anything there to talk about. Otherwise they should just shut up about it.” -Richard Dawkins, Evolutionary Biologist, Oxford scholar, author of “The God Delusion” “Miracles are a retelling in small lett […]
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:30 amThat was easily one of the best things I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Really makes you think, reflect, appreciate, and want to move on
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:06 pmAwesome blog dude. I’ve had similar events happen in my life along with physical healings, etc… I get chill bumps too when I think that the creator of the universe took time for me!!
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:16 pmIn his debt,
Corey
Josh — thanks for being bold enough to share. It is awesome that God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe affirms His care and love for us — “only” one, small portion of the whole of creation.
April 3rd, 2008 at 5:14 pm[…] Josh Cox placed an observative post today on Josh Cox: Miracles . . . A Runnerâs Case for Theism (Elite Athlete …Here’s a quick excerptNow, through therapy, I can admit that I have a bit of a superhero complex. I mean, I can string together a series of sub 4:40 miles, I’ve run 50-mile races, I’ve run 25 miles with no fluids before - I can do it again… … […]
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:02 pmGreat entry Josh. You are a very easy read.
Amazing account. I can see at least one reason why God has chosen to reveal Himself to you in real, tangible ways… the very fact that you are bold enough to share those experiences in such a public forum. That takes guts. Keep it up.
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:23 pmdear mr. josh cox, been trying to get my s— together. i’m hoping that 2:09 is in you. i’m praying for two strangers out there; a jenny crain, and ryan shay’s wife. and i’m praying 4 the runner i was, to be again. atb, george
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:45 pm[…] Read the rest of this great post here […]
April 4th, 2008 at 2:19 amJosh, I’m a big fan of yours and I got nothing but love for ya, but man - that was not a very smart thing to do. 17 pounds?? I didn’t even know that was physically possible w/out dying! You’re a hero to many of us out there but a superhero you are not man.
Glad it worked out ok for you though. God, your dad…someone was watching out for you that day.
April 4th, 2008 at 2:50 amLove the story man! Makes me wonder: what if we all knew that help was just a prayer away. How many times do I doubt Him and the power of prayer and therefore not even try to attempt a feat… too many! Very encouraging. Glad He helped you out brotha!
PS: See the Ben Stein movie Expelled, It’s awesome!
April 4th, 2008 at 4:20 amHello! I read your blogs and I love them. I am a young jazz pianist who has played with many legends but I love to run. I ran around the world this past summer as part of the blueplanetrun and raised money for third world countries that need water. I am currently on tour in Denmark and I totally understand what your saying about being a superhero and training. While on tour I have been doing 90 mpw plus and I have to remind myself that with out God none of this running or music would be possible. I am not a fast runner but I know with the faith of a mustard seed I will run a sub three hour marathon one day. Hopefully one day I will meet you and we can go for an easy 10 miler.
Peace,
April 4th, 2008 at 10:34 amJosh we need to hang out together!
April 4th, 2008 at 10:59 amMLK,U2 and stories about miracles is a great basis for a very long discussion.
Add Karma and reincarnation and we might need several days. Adam Jacobs knows how to reach me. Keep up the good work and I look forward to more of
your writings.
Josh, this was wonderful. It was hugely inspiring to hear about a Christian runner (Liberty, no less) who doesn’t simply spout words. The future of religion belongs to direct, personal experience. Dawkins, Harris, et al. have issued a useful challenge: “Make religion scientific, or get out of my hair.” Well, the lab of religion is the human body, the tools of experimentation are prayer and meditation, and the proof is direct, personal experience - subjective proof, but no less real for that. As an old putz who’s walked (and run) the path for 41 years, I add my testimony to yours. God has “showed up” every day of all that time. He is real. A wonderful aspect of your post is how you speak to Him in the simple language of your heart - no “thous” and “thine.” In my experience, God never answers when I pray formally, only when I really get it off my chest with Him, and talk to him with complete sincerity, as a friend. Joy to you, Josh!
April 4th, 2008 at 11:11 amJosh;
April 4th, 2008 at 4:08 pmHad a similar experience when I broke down with around 13 international students from Japan and India on my way from New Orleans to Mobile. I was the only Christian in the group and I told the gang we needed to pray for a ride…. long story short.. God provided and left a lot of signs along the way to show his reality.
Jim
This is my favorite part out of the whole thing,
“To all the nonbelievers out there - never fear; I’m not trying to convince you of anything. If someone comes to live their life for someone they can’t see, that, my friends, is a miracle and I can’t perform those. God can, I can’t.”
I think I might use that; don’t worry, I’ll give you the proper citation!
I remember when you first told me this story a while back, but it’s always cool to read about it. I know you have more powerful stories so I think your on to something with this series. Obviously by the comments posted here, you are eternally impacting those that read your heart.
Keep it up bro’.
late
Go Padres. Hoffy’s lost the magic! War Adrian Gonzalez getting hurt…
April 4th, 2008 at 7:58 pmAmen brother!! God is good all the time!! I love hearing about the miracles He does. Brings tears to my eyes and builds my faith. I’ve seen his hand in unmistakable ways also, and NOTHING can compare!! His Love and Power are awesome.
Keep running (and typing),
Jack
April 4th, 2008 at 10:50 pmThanks for all the responses. Carrie and I are at the Padres game and I’m on her iPhone - mine died - so I’ll reply to the rest of these later. But I had to respond to my best friend, Vincent. VC - first, thanks for the feedback. Second, I missed Tony before the game - my workout ran long. Third, bro I’d guess maybe 1% of the Final Sprint population listens to Jim Rome and actually know what “War Adrian Gonzales getting hurt” means! Hilarious. What’s a guy gotta do to get TC a spot start?
April 4th, 2008 at 10:54 pmTalk later,
–jc
“War your bro hitting a pinch hit game winning homer”
Josh…
Already left you a message but wanted to drop you one here. Another great blog, actually your best one yet. Keep it up!! God is Great and works miracles when least expected. I’m glad He was there for you on that hot day. Keep working your magic and keep running hard……I like the addage of; “I was still managing seven-minute miles but was slowing by the second; this was becoming a death march.” I guess Superheroes sometimes run slow too…lol.
Take Care….
Ray
April 5th, 2008 at 2:16 amHey Josh,
April 7th, 2008 at 12:23 pmI Just read ur theism blog. I know what you mean about experiencing improbable things. I’m wondering if you have any advice on how to find the drive you have to run 600x a year. The fact that I’m alive is a improbable. I grew up in a crazyhouse, learned absolutely nothing from my family, left when i was 16, was bent on destruction for a great many years, but somehow, through it all I did learn a lot (and am still learning), survived, and at the ripe old age of 30something, am beginning to have audacious dreams and & make something of myself. I’m telling u this because I believe that everyone is capable of so much more than they realize, my potential is nowhere near realized, and I’d like to catapult to the next level. You seem to have found something that relatively few people have, and If you could impart any words of wisdom, or describe how you developed the discipline to live your life as you do, I’d really appreciate it. Another reason I’d like ur advice is that now I’d like to get and stay in shape to keep myself strong as I spend more years on this cosmic dustball. By the way I really like running as well, & hiking, biking, inline skating. I exercised addictively in my mid 20’s, though it’s been a while since i’ve been consistant. I’d like to learn how to be….anyway, my name’s Josh as well. u know it means “God is my rescue”? You know what else? I think that there is something to your superhero complex, and maybe it has less to do with physical capability & more to do with what your spirit is capable of. Hope to hear from you soon.
Josh
The following post addresses my Christian brothers and sisters. Everyone else, don’t feel the need to read. If you do, I offer a word of warning: portions of the following won’t make any sense.
Allow me tell you a story.
—–
There was an athlete living in Jesus’ day who was asked to write about his training for the sports section of the paper. Every other week the athlete was paid to compose and deliver his papyrus to the publisher. The athlete didn’t really like writing about training, he thought it seemed narcissistic and boring.
So the athlete began composing entries about dreams, goals, and the life lessons he had learned. He even alluded to the immense impact the death of his father had on his life. He did this for three entries. For the next two he deviated to more traditional sports writing. All the while what the athlete really wanted to write about was his friend Jesus. You see, for this guy it was more than an intellectual or academic pursuit, this guy didn’t just know about Jesus, he actually knew the Nazarene personally. The two had met face to face; Jesus even performed some miracles for him. So one week, despite his reservations that the sports page readers will think he’s a raving loon, despite his fears that his sponsors will abandon him because he is so outspoken in his faith, despite the athlete being in the midst of negotiating a shoe contract, he resolves to write about one of the miracles his friend Jesus did for him. He stays up all night, from 10 to 6, he writes and writes and writes. His wife wakes, sees him writing on his scrolls and he lets her know that he’s going to write about his friend – no matter what the consequences. He falls asleep, wakes in the afternoon, edits some more and sends the papyrus off to the paper’s publisher.
To his delight, many people seem to really enjoy the entry; a national paper even syndicates the post.
A few days later on Sunday, the Holy Day, the athlete receives a letter from a man who says he knows Jesus too. The man criticizes and rebukes the athlete for his entry. He tells him that miracles don’t prove anything about the existence of Jesus. He tells the athlete to “abandon false emerging church theology and return to proclaiming historic Christianity [he] knows to be true.”
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I’m reading two books, Seth Godin’s marketing book, Meatball Sundae and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Idiot. Yeah, yeah, I know… the latter is fitting.
In Seth’s book he said that the best sites on the Net are those with user-based content: YouTube, GodTube, popular forums, blogs, etc. etc. Seth said that 1% of people actually contribute to the content; the other 99% simply lurk. Keep that stat handy; I’ll return in a moment.
To those of you who thanked me for my boldness, I thank you – your encouragement means the world. To those who have been encouraged, from jazz pianists to runner’s to U2 fans, that’s what I’m here for - glad I could help. To the man who has judged and thrown stones, thank you for your concern, I’m sorry you were offended but now I proceed to shake the dust from my feet. I was simply sharing one of the real, tangible ways God has touched my life.
I only bring up the critic in a public forum because of Seth’s 1% rule - every comment or email represents a much larger number and since this was sent from conservative America, and because I attended Liberty U – a beacon of the far right, I’ll assume his voice represents the concerns of many.
It’s funny, when I wrote the paragraph about the purple haired preachers, and disappearing Bibles I asked my wife Carrie if she thought it would solicit responses from the uber-conservative Christian zealots –“probably” she said. She was right. That’s why I offered the “Concerned Christians of America” caveat. (Note: I wasn’t referring to Beverly LaHaye’s ministry, “Concerned Women for America” [2 people thought this]. For the record, I think Bev’s group is super. I was using a blanket term to describe people who think it’s their job to nitpick other believer’s theology. Next time, just so there is no confusion, I’ll refer to them as the “Theology Police.”)
Understand a few things. This isn’t a Bible study. This isn’t a Christian site. This wasn’t written for the church.
I don’t believe in preaching experience, I believe in preaching the Word of God - but like I just mentioned, this isn’t church, this isn’t Bible study.
I’m well versed in Christianese but we as a people need to understand that using our secret language doesn’t get us very far in the real world. Most people are under the impression that “giving a testimony” is something you do in court, not around a campfire on the last night at camp while singing Michael W’s “Friends are Friends Forever.”
If you want a Bible study go pick up Oswald Chamber’s, My Utmost For His Highest. Biddy, his stenographer wife, recorded his class lectures, they are excellent reads – I recommend the journal. I’ve been reading it for years.
This blog is my attempt to share stories to encourage the believers and have those who don’t share our beliefs begin thinking God thoughts. This is, as I like to put it, is the “top of the funnel.” I will elaborate on the funnel thing if anyone is interested.
I love the Lord. I love His Word. I wasn’t negating its importance in any way whatsoever. Without the Word of God we’d be lost. It is the foundation and bedrock to everything I write and everything I do. What I said was simply in an effort to make the point: “I don’t believe what I believe simply because I sat in Sunday school.” In fact, I think Sunday school is important, flannel camels and all. I was making the point that I have more than an intellectual, academic understanding of Christ. I didn’t say I didn’t like Bible preaching pastors, in fact I love them; we need more, that’s why I’m enrolling in seminary. I simply stated a hypothetical to make a point.
This isn’t my first time tangling with the religious. While on ABC’s Bachelorette I received thousands of emails. The encouraging emails outnumbered the negative probably 50-1. One such negative letter was from a concerned Christian mother who was, at one time, a huge fan and supporter of mine, but she informed me, “You are contributing to the moral demise of this country by participating on that sort of show. I will no longer support you.”
Are you serious? Never mind that they omitted every word I said about Christ, never mind that my buddy Jason and I made a stand for purity, never mind that when asked by Fabrice, the French guy on the show – my nemesis, why I believe what I believe I shared the entire content of my next blog in front of the cameras and quoted half of Isaiah 40 – I can’t help that network TV doesn’t air stories about Jesus.
Why are Christians crazy? Why would the church ridicule and rebuke a brother proclaiming his beliefs in a secular blog? Would the church rebuke a brother for going on a Reality TV show? Strain the gnat; swallow the camel. My fear is that we all get painted with the same brush – that my friends who don’t share my beliefs think that I’m just like the soapbox standing, stone tossing, religious zealots.
And we wonder why the world can’t stand Christians.
For the record, I’m not like them nor are my training partners.
So now, in a spirit of love (cue the Third Day music), I tell the Theology Police what I told the Reality TV cynic, “I’m not here for you.”
And to the dismay of many Christians I’ll tell you I’m not here for the lost either.
Reaching the lost is my passion - and in a round about way I’m here for them but with that said, I tell you that I’m here for one Man. The King of Glory. The Alpha and Omega, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. the author and finisher of my faith – Jesus Christ. I want the world to know my friend the way I know Him. I want believers to be encouraged and equipped; I want the blind to see and the lost to be found. I don’t just want to talk about Jesus’ love I want to show Jesus’ love. I don’t want to debate truth, I want to live truth. I don’t want to simply ask the Lord for his protection from the enemy, I want to advance His kingdom into the enemy’s territory. I want to get my Savior and friend the ransom and reward He deserves for bleeding the ground red and carrying the cross of my sins on His back. He’s already done all that He can do. He paid the price, He set things right, I love Him, I’m indebted to Him, and I will serve Him for the remainder of my days.
Most of you don’t know me – and most probably never will. But I want you all to know that I don’t write for self-promotion. I haven’t spent the past 2.5 years writing to garner a book deal, to get published, or get on TV. I don’t stay up all night composing blogs because I think it will make me famous, popular or cool – I write to honor Him, I write to magnify and glorify the name of Jesus Christ – not Josh Cox. This isn’t about me, never has been and never will be - John 3:30. I want to be faithful, I want to hear “well done,” I’m not doing it for a paycheck on earth or for a crown in Heaven. I don’t wish to gain anything from my writing but rather offer the greatest gift I’ve ever received – a relationship with the risen Savior. The Lord knows that if at the end of this deal I get nothing, if at the end there aren’t any rewards or crowns, or a Heavenly paradise – that I will praise Him and serve Him because He is worthy to be served and worthy to be praised. Despite what the perpetually polite, prosperity preacher would have you believe I don’t operate on a vending machine “put-enough-quarters-in-and-God-will-give-you-what-you-want” theology. I’m gonna do what I do because it’s the only way I know to really show Jesus I love Him – talk is cheap, talk is easy. Rewards or no rewards; heaven or no heaven, 2:09 or 3:09, I will praise Him because I love Him.
I know that, at times, my writing can be brash. I don’t claim to be perfect, and perhaps my methods to reach the world are flawed - but what’s worse? To have a flawed method or to have no method at all?
“Truth is something to be lived, not debated.”
Humbly, your brother in Christ,
Josh Cox
PS – Out of respect to the site, I do not wish to debate theology in this forum. I’ve been working like crazy to finish Ryan’s London Marathon Workout video and have spent far too much time on the preceding message - but with that said, if anyone has any questions, wants me to elaborate, or needs clarification on anything I have posted please do not hesitate to ask here in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:06 pmThank you for sharing from your heart and being so open and vulnerable.We need the message you are bringing and I applaud your efforts. God bless you.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:46 pmPowerful stuff Josh……
I’m a long-time blog reader and appreciate that your writings are accessible, inspiring, and witty.
I applaud that you’re unapologetic in your beliefs but are not too heavy-handed/sanctimonious with the prosetylizing to alienate some readers.
I think anyone, anywhere wants to keep the faith and hope for miracles….it’s universal I think.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:58 amJosh,
I think of Ephesians 2:10 when I read your blog. I think you are fulfulling God’s purpose in your life and doing a good work. I run for fun also. Keep on keepin’ on.
Andrew
April 10th, 2008 at 4:18 pmJosh,
April 11th, 2008 at 8:52 pmThis blog entry was so thoughtfully and beautifully written—the message is just so powerful and it holds special meaning to myself as a Christian runner. I love your humorous (but meaningful) style of writing and I’m glad that God is using you as one of his messengers.
Please continue doing what you do, I’ll be praying for you!
Josh,
Life is really funny sometimes. You posted your blog on the 3rd of April and while at the Monument Ave 10k on the 4th of April I passed by what looked like some motivational posters on the wall in a crowded hallway. Something told me to go back and study one particular poster I saw… so as I excused myself through the crowd I realized on the poster was a scripture from 2 Timothy 2:15 which basically talks about the nitpicking that goes on amongst Christians. The main thing to remember is to do your best for God which I believe you are! I feel that I was meant to share this with you and everyone else out there. God works in mysterious ways! Rock on Superman :)
April 12th, 2008 at 7:37 pmBravo again my friend. I was very excited when I saw your article linked from Runners World.
I think Jesus is saying to you “Let’s Roll”.
Blessings,
April 15th, 2008 at 5:38 pmCorey
Too much good stuff here and since I feel as if I took up my quota of space on the most recent post I will keep this one short … absolutely AMAZING stuff but 17 pounds in one day … SHEESH! Let’s not be doin’ that again!
April 26th, 2008 at 2:32 amSorry I’ve taken so long to get back here. Things, once again, have been busy.
Thanks Jodi. 17 pounds… indeed, way too much lost.
Your comment reminded me to post Runner’s World Editor Amby Burfoot’s physiological explanation of what happened when I stopped and almost fainted. Per his permission – here are the excerpts of our email exchange:
Amby to me:
We scientists want to know your start weight, so we can compute the percent of body weight you lost while running. You gave us the 17 lbs but we need your likely start weight.
I lost about 9 percent of my weight in the 1968 Boston Marathon and Salazar even more than that in the LA Olympic Marathon. But I think you just topped both of us by a lot.
When you stopped and almost fainted, that was a form of “postural hypotension.” Your body had gotten so used to the running, which naturally drives your blood back upstairs to the heart and head, that it momentarily
forgot to return to normal blood pressure mechanisms when you stopped running.
So you momentarily had low blood pressure and low blood flow to the brain, and almost fainted. But then
your body noticed that you had stopped running, so it re-fired your normal blood pressure mechanisms. And
you didn’t totally keel over.
This–postural hypotension–is why a lot of runners collapse in the finish line chutes. They don’t actually collapse
from muscle fatigue or heart attacks or anything like that, it’s low blood pressure.
Keep writing the great blogs.
Amby Burfoot, Editor at Large
Runner’s World Magazine
www.runnersworld.com
Reply:
Before long runs I always weigh myself. I was 154 at the start, 137 at the finish. What I didn’t mention, because the blog was already so long- sadly, in this fast food, Internet blog society we live in, people have been trained to read paragraphs not chapters - but I made it off the main drag to a park by my house (Shady Maple Park) and drank like a fish for 20 minutes before doing my walk/stop/jog the rest of the way home. I forced myself to get on the scale before killing a pitcher of drink mix. I shudder to imagine what I weighed before I made it to the park. 30 miles in triple digit heat will do the trick.
–jc
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I’ll post a follow up to the emails I’ve received addressing my Bible reading blog readers out there.
Many thanks for being a part of the blog!
April 29th, 2008 at 3:58 pm[…] That race changed my prayer life. It’s why I expected God to bring me water, it’s why I didn’t hesitate to lay hands on my dad’s cancer ridden stomach and ask for healing, it’s why I ask Him now to do the biggest miracle of all, to use me to impact and change lives in our world. My prayer is that He use me - in victory, in defeat, on a medal stand, as support, in lights, or in the shadows -– just use me. No limits. No boxes. No cages or zoos for Aslan. He threw the stars in the sky and makes the sun shine, I’m not going to try to tame Him or confine Him to a building or denomination. He is bigger than that. […]
May 18th, 2008 at 11:43 am[…] Josh Cox: Miracles . . . A Runner’s Case for Theism (Elite Athlete … It really isn’t too bad a gig – provided you have enough loose screws to actually enjoy running twenty miles a day. Once every 10 days or so the schedule calls for a glycogen depletion run. In laymen’s terms: I run until my accessible … […]
June 6th, 2008 at 12:01 am