The Da Vinci Delusion documentary is designed to answer questions introduced by the “Da Vinci Code” book. This 48 minute documentary focuses on the fundamental flaws found in Dan Brown's book with respect to the following: - Jesus as a historical figure - Are the canonical gospels accurate historical documents - What about the “Gnostic Gospels” - What about historical claims made by The Da Vinci Code?
Now, discover the truth! Unlock the secrets behind the DaVinci Code that others want left in the dark. Come face-to-face with the cultural implications of Dan Brown's best selling novel and decide for yourself. Who is Jesus? Is the Christian Bible reliable as an accurate historical account? The DaVinci Delusion is a thoughtful, hard-hitting documentary that is guaranteed to help you answer all the questions that you've been left wondering about.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Gospel Armor Podcast
I've been looking around for some good christian podcasts and came across this one, Gospel Armor Podcast. I have yet to listen to the teachings but since the topics covered included a study on Revelations, I thought I'd subscribe to this site. I have always enjoyed any study on the book of Revelations.
There are several christian podcasts available through sites like Oneplace.com, and Christian Podcasts and Digital Podcasts. Of course you'll have sieve through what is available out there and subscribe to those that you think will be of benefit to you.
Now that I have an iPod, my time can be further maximized as I work in front of my quilting machine or as I lie and relax on my sofa. :-)
What a wonderful invention a portable mp3 player is!
There are several christian podcasts available through sites like Oneplace.com, and Christian Podcasts and Digital Podcasts. Of course you'll have sieve through what is available out there and subscribe to those that you think will be of benefit to you.
Now that I have an iPod, my time can be further maximized as I work in front of my quilting machine or as I lie and relax on my sofa. :-)
What a wonderful invention a portable mp3 player is!
Friday, June 09, 2006
God's Wings
Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 63:7
I have been watching my two geese and their 3-week old goslings. I never knew that geese were monogamous and that both the male and female were involved in the care of their offsprings.
When the eggs were hatched the goslings stayed under the protective wings of their mother, and it wasn't till the next day that the goslings were allowed to take their first steps into the world. The parents honked every time in encouragement when they got left behind among the tall weeds.
I watched how protective the parents were when I or any member of my family was any where near them. They hissed and flapped their wings. The father goose is the most aggressive. Every time I turned my back on them, he would come after me with his neck lowered as if ready to bite me.
It reminds me of the verses in the bible that talk about finding refuge under the shadow of God's wings. God is pictured as a hen, drawing and giving shelter to any who would go to Him. ( Psalm 17:8; Psalm 61:4; Psalm 63:7; Matthew 23:37)
It is always a comfort to think that God is always there, a shelter in times of distress, and we are promised His love and protection.
Our world can be topsy turvy, beyond our human ability to deal with, but God is near, calling and drawing us under the shadow of His protective wings.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
The God who is there
What is involved in the question and importance of God's existence?
Man's very constitution, the way he is made, reveal that God exists. Whether we call him God is beside the point at this stage; the evidence shows that man has not been around from all eternity; he is made and the things around him are made. Something made has a Maker. An effect has a cause. A creature has a Creator. God's existence is much more obvious than my existence, but I write this as a "believer." This does not invalidate or weaken my statement. For "to believe" is not a lower form of knowledge than to "scientifically prove" something. Proving God's existence by scientific methods is nonsense, for scientific methods are limited and applicable only to material and physical objects, whereas God is pure Spirit and infinite in his being. "To believe" is the proper way when dealing with God. Augustine formulated the right approach: "I believe in order to understand." It is "Fides quaerens Intellectum," faith seeking understanding, not the other way round. "For he that cometh to God MUST BELIEVE THAT HE IS." This is the sine qua non in our quest. For this very reason, the Scripture, with utter consistency, never attempts to give a formal and reasoned proof of God's existence, which might be disappointing for the immature Christian, but elicits much joy in the Spirit-filled disciple.
When the bare intellect supersedes the faith principle, then proofs of God's existence become essential and of utmost importance. Thomas Aquinas devotes a good portion of his Summa to prove God, giving some five evidences, which are "fine" for the Christian, and really unnecessary for he already believes, not only in God but believes God. But the unbeliever remains unconvinced in the face of all the evidence, not because the proofs are weak or illogical (for they aren't), but because he does not want to believe. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. He finds no place for God in his life; he disregards the testimony, not only of Christian philosophers but, more seriously than that, the testimony of God himself, his works of creation which the creature simply cannot escape.
The existence of God, therefore, is not an intellectual issue, but a moral one. Man desires to "annihilate" God, and in his iniquity, he oftentimes carries his desire to its logical conclusion: there is no God. (This is analogous to what I heard happened in Libyan schools some decades ago: geography students were given atlases containing a map of Europe, but England was not indicated on the map. Why? Because Libya didn't want England to exist, not because England didn't exist.)
In the same way, Hume, Sartre, Camus and others have published long diatribes to convince others that God does not exist. But before they adopted such a stance, they entertained some notions of God and the corruptions of their heart led them to an atheistic philosophy. But no-one is born "a pure atheist."
Having your eyes open, you may choose to shut them tight, and then deny that anything exists, but the material world would still be around you. The problem, then, is not in the evidence afforded (which certainly renders man inexcusable before God), but in the one receiving and considering the evidence. God is, and He is not silent (Romans 1:19-20; Psalm 19:1-3; Acts 17:28), but because of man's alienation, running away from God, only Scripture and God's Spirit can reveal Him sufficiently and effectively for man's salvation (1 Corinthians 2:9-10; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Isaiah 59:21).
There is a vast difference between knowing about God and knowing Him. The first spells one's condemnation, the second one's salvation.
In Aquinas’ footsteps Will it be beneficial for you to have a summary of the various evidences of the fact of God? If so, read on...
Someone did it
The cosmological argument states that the universe, this present order of things, is an effect. Thus there must be an adequate cause for it. The only sufficient cause is God (cf. Hebrews 2:4; Psalms 19:1; Genesis 1:1).
This must be so, for everything exists either from eternity, or everything gave existence to itself (which is nonsense) or else God gave everything its existence.
But if everything existed from eternity, then everything is necessary, and so everything must be immutable and indestructible. But experience shows us that the world is passing away (2nd law of thermodynamics) and so it could not be from eternity.
The only reasonable alternative is that God made everything that presently is.
A watch must have a watchmaker
Another argument is from the design we see in the universe. Chance, working at random, cannot produce design.
This is amplified beautifully in W.Paley's treatise "Natural Theology," of the 18th century. No critic has answered his argument decisively, though there have been many attempts, among them Richard Dawkins' "The Blind watchmaker."
In the universe we perceive a purpose and design, so this argues in favour of an existence of One who has a will and a mind to plan things.
I ought, I should, I must
Considering man as he is built up, with conscience and a sense of duty (cf. the "du sollst" argument of Kant), he is undeniably a moral being.
Where did he get his morality? If this is a relic of his primitive state, how come he is still "burdened" with it? How much easier to conclude that a Supreme moral Being fashioned him, to be somewhat like him?
Everyone knows about God!
There is also a universal belief in a Supreme being, even though this belief is warped and defaced.
Jesus is God
We cannot deny the historical fact of a Person who claimed, in the most explicit way, that he is God himself, and that he came from God. Jesus of Nazareth is a historical figure just as Julius Caesar, and his life is an irrefutable testimony to the fact that God is.
Source: Truth For Today
Man's very constitution, the way he is made, reveal that God exists. Whether we call him God is beside the point at this stage; the evidence shows that man has not been around from all eternity; he is made and the things around him are made. Something made has a Maker. An effect has a cause. A creature has a Creator. God's existence is much more obvious than my existence, but I write this as a "believer." This does not invalidate or weaken my statement. For "to believe" is not a lower form of knowledge than to "scientifically prove" something. Proving God's existence by scientific methods is nonsense, for scientific methods are limited and applicable only to material and physical objects, whereas God is pure Spirit and infinite in his being. "To believe" is the proper way when dealing with God. Augustine formulated the right approach: "I believe in order to understand." It is "Fides quaerens Intellectum," faith seeking understanding, not the other way round. "For he that cometh to God MUST BELIEVE THAT HE IS." This is the sine qua non in our quest. For this very reason, the Scripture, with utter consistency, never attempts to give a formal and reasoned proof of God's existence, which might be disappointing for the immature Christian, but elicits much joy in the Spirit-filled disciple.
When the bare intellect supersedes the faith principle, then proofs of God's existence become essential and of utmost importance. Thomas Aquinas devotes a good portion of his Summa to prove God, giving some five evidences, which are "fine" for the Christian, and really unnecessary for he already believes, not only in God but believes God. But the unbeliever remains unconvinced in the face of all the evidence, not because the proofs are weak or illogical (for they aren't), but because he does not want to believe. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. He finds no place for God in his life; he disregards the testimony, not only of Christian philosophers but, more seriously than that, the testimony of God himself, his works of creation which the creature simply cannot escape.
The existence of God, therefore, is not an intellectual issue, but a moral one. Man desires to "annihilate" God, and in his iniquity, he oftentimes carries his desire to its logical conclusion: there is no God. (This is analogous to what I heard happened in Libyan schools some decades ago: geography students were given atlases containing a map of Europe, but England was not indicated on the map. Why? Because Libya didn't want England to exist, not because England didn't exist.)
In the same way, Hume, Sartre, Camus and others have published long diatribes to convince others that God does not exist. But before they adopted such a stance, they entertained some notions of God and the corruptions of their heart led them to an atheistic philosophy. But no-one is born "a pure atheist."
Having your eyes open, you may choose to shut them tight, and then deny that anything exists, but the material world would still be around you. The problem, then, is not in the evidence afforded (which certainly renders man inexcusable before God), but in the one receiving and considering the evidence. God is, and He is not silent (Romans 1:19-20; Psalm 19:1-3; Acts 17:28), but because of man's alienation, running away from God, only Scripture and God's Spirit can reveal Him sufficiently and effectively for man's salvation (1 Corinthians 2:9-10; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Isaiah 59:21).
There is a vast difference between knowing about God and knowing Him. The first spells one's condemnation, the second one's salvation.
In Aquinas’ footsteps Will it be beneficial for you to have a summary of the various evidences of the fact of God? If so, read on...
Someone did it
The cosmological argument states that the universe, this present order of things, is an effect. Thus there must be an adequate cause for it. The only sufficient cause is God (cf. Hebrews 2:4; Psalms 19:1; Genesis 1:1).
This must be so, for everything exists either from eternity, or everything gave existence to itself (which is nonsense) or else God gave everything its existence.
But if everything existed from eternity, then everything is necessary, and so everything must be immutable and indestructible. But experience shows us that the world is passing away (2nd law of thermodynamics) and so it could not be from eternity.
The only reasonable alternative is that God made everything that presently is.
A watch must have a watchmaker
Another argument is from the design we see in the universe. Chance, working at random, cannot produce design.
This is amplified beautifully in W.Paley's treatise "Natural Theology," of the 18th century. No critic has answered his argument decisively, though there have been many attempts, among them Richard Dawkins' "The Blind watchmaker."
In the universe we perceive a purpose and design, so this argues in favour of an existence of One who has a will and a mind to plan things.
I ought, I should, I must
Considering man as he is built up, with conscience and a sense of duty (cf. the "du sollst" argument of Kant), he is undeniably a moral being.
Where did he get his morality? If this is a relic of his primitive state, how come he is still "burdened" with it? How much easier to conclude that a Supreme moral Being fashioned him, to be somewhat like him?
Everyone knows about God!
There is also a universal belief in a Supreme being, even though this belief is warped and defaced.
Jesus is God
We cannot deny the historical fact of a Person who claimed, in the most explicit way, that he is God himself, and that he came from God. Jesus of Nazareth is a historical figure just as Julius Caesar, and his life is an irrefutable testimony to the fact that God is.
Source: Truth For Today
Saturday, May 27, 2006
The Essentials of Christianity
Essential Christianity. We hear a lot of discussion about essentials and non-essentials, but what are the essentials of Christianity?
When we talk about the essentials of Christianity we're referring to the basic elements that make up and characterize our faith, and which, of course, separate it from other beliefs. Let's survey these doctrines.
First, we believe in the authority of Scripture, which is another way of saying that the Bible is God's inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word. It's the ultimate source for knowledge about God, as well as the definitive guide for our daily lives.
Next we affirm the existence of a triune God or one God in three distinct persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This God is self-existent, eternal, unchanging, omnipotent, omnipresent, holy, righteous, and loving. God created the universe from nothing and He rules over His creation sovereignly including both human and angelic beings.
We also hold that man is a physical and spiritual being who is created in God's image. But because of his sin or transgression, man has lost his fellowship with God. The extent of sin is so great that its effects continue to this very day in the form of cruelty, suffering, and death.
By God's grace, Jesus Christ - Who is fully God and fully man - was sent to save us from our bondage to sin. We believe that Christ was born of a virgin, died for our sins, physically rose from the dead, and will one day return to judge the world and deliver His people. Faith in Christ is the only means by which mankind can escape eternal damnation and judgment.
Finally, we recognize the church as God's ordained institution headed by Christ. The church is composed of all believers, and is organized for worship, for fellowship, for the administration of the sacraments, for spiritual growth and support, and for evangelizing the world.
Much more can and will be said, but we hope this summary has encouraged you to explore the links on the right and continue studying the essentials.
Source: Christian Research Institute
When we talk about the essentials of Christianity we're referring to the basic elements that make up and characterize our faith, and which, of course, separate it from other beliefs. Let's survey these doctrines.
First, we believe in the authority of Scripture, which is another way of saying that the Bible is God's inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word. It's the ultimate source for knowledge about God, as well as the definitive guide for our daily lives.
Next we affirm the existence of a triune God or one God in three distinct persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This God is self-existent, eternal, unchanging, omnipotent, omnipresent, holy, righteous, and loving. God created the universe from nothing and He rules over His creation sovereignly including both human and angelic beings.
We also hold that man is a physical and spiritual being who is created in God's image. But because of his sin or transgression, man has lost his fellowship with God. The extent of sin is so great that its effects continue to this very day in the form of cruelty, suffering, and death.
By God's grace, Jesus Christ - Who is fully God and fully man - was sent to save us from our bondage to sin. We believe that Christ was born of a virgin, died for our sins, physically rose from the dead, and will one day return to judge the world and deliver His people. Faith in Christ is the only means by which mankind can escape eternal damnation and judgment.
Finally, we recognize the church as God's ordained institution headed by Christ. The church is composed of all believers, and is organized for worship, for fellowship, for the administration of the sacraments, for spiritual growth and support, and for evangelizing the world.
Much more can and will be said, but we hope this summary has encouraged you to explore the links on the right and continue studying the essentials.
Source: Christian Research Institute
Monday, March 20, 2006
Universal belief in God
Humans at all times and in every place believe in the existence of God.
Prehistoric structures (Stonehenge in England, Hagar Qim and the Hypogeum in Malta, etc.) all testify to the fact that man is a "religious animal," distinct and radically different from the beasts and all living creatures upon the face of the earth. The earliest civilisations (Sumerians, Egyptians, Incas, etc.) all without exception has a strong sense of religion; these people all attempted to Re-ligio, to be bound to their Maker and Superior.
Their earliest records and structures all point to the fact that religion is not an opium for the people, as Marx mistakenly believed. It is rather his desperate and unsuccessful attempt to make amends with God.
Admittedly, he is the Unknown God, as Paul took the hint from one of the numerous Athenian altars, who is worshipped in ignorance, in superstition and idolatrously. But man, inevitably, lives and moves and exists in Him. He is the offspring of God and therefore man is incurably religious.
This pervasive idea of God has been explained away by some modern anthopologists. In our Scientific era, when we know what causes lightning and rain and earthquakes and tornadoes, we no longer have room for God. These events that used to terrify our forefathers are easily explained now. So the idea of God is outdated and needless. Not so! For the most learned men are still religious. They are still influenced by their belief, however warped and inconsistent, in a Supreme Being. Logic and reason are both within man's constitution, but these have never defaced the notion that there is a God. Man still desires to worship and bow down, even though it be (quite illogically) before stocks and stones. People may arrogantly live as if there is no God; they learn to do this quite will and boast themselves of being atheist. But even Voltaire, who tired himself of mocking the Scriptures and the church, when caught in a storm and in danger of death, is known to have spontaneously pray to God to deliver him. To say glibly, "There is no God," is the oppose all mankind, to deny the course of human history, and to contradict your own nature.
Customs, traditions, politics, commercial methods, art, and everything else in a state of flux; everything changes, but man, as a religious being, does not change. His religion may change, but he is still religious, and his conscience unceasingly testifies of his moral nature. Now since man is a moral and intellectual being, it is certain that a Higher than he has made him, who is also moral and intelligent. Man's moral nature (at all times and among all nations), his religious instincts, and his conscience all argue forcibly in favour of God's existence. His sense of moral duty may be weak of strong, defiled or pure, but is never totally absent. The only adequate explanation for all this is that God, the Supreme moral Being, who made us, also implanted this moral sense within every human being. No other explanation is satisfactory.
Humanity has an idea of a supreme being. This idea was frequently challenged (by atheistic idealogies, such as Communism) but never wiped away. While the concepts about God found among different cultures are varied, yet the idea remains.
Source: Truth For Today
Prehistoric structures (Stonehenge in England, Hagar Qim and the Hypogeum in Malta, etc.) all testify to the fact that man is a "religious animal," distinct and radically different from the beasts and all living creatures upon the face of the earth. The earliest civilisations (Sumerians, Egyptians, Incas, etc.) all without exception has a strong sense of religion; these people all attempted to Re-ligio, to be bound to their Maker and Superior.
Their earliest records and structures all point to the fact that religion is not an opium for the people, as Marx mistakenly believed. It is rather his desperate and unsuccessful attempt to make amends with God.
Admittedly, he is the Unknown God, as Paul took the hint from one of the numerous Athenian altars, who is worshipped in ignorance, in superstition and idolatrously. But man, inevitably, lives and moves and exists in Him. He is the offspring of God and therefore man is incurably religious.
This pervasive idea of God has been explained away by some modern anthopologists. In our Scientific era, when we know what causes lightning and rain and earthquakes and tornadoes, we no longer have room for God. These events that used to terrify our forefathers are easily explained now. So the idea of God is outdated and needless. Not so! For the most learned men are still religious. They are still influenced by their belief, however warped and inconsistent, in a Supreme Being. Logic and reason are both within man's constitution, but these have never defaced the notion that there is a God. Man still desires to worship and bow down, even though it be (quite illogically) before stocks and stones. People may arrogantly live as if there is no God; they learn to do this quite will and boast themselves of being atheist. But even Voltaire, who tired himself of mocking the Scriptures and the church, when caught in a storm and in danger of death, is known to have spontaneously pray to God to deliver him. To say glibly, "There is no God," is the oppose all mankind, to deny the course of human history, and to contradict your own nature.
Customs, traditions, politics, commercial methods, art, and everything else in a state of flux; everything changes, but man, as a religious being, does not change. His religion may change, but he is still religious, and his conscience unceasingly testifies of his moral nature. Now since man is a moral and intellectual being, it is certain that a Higher than he has made him, who is also moral and intelligent. Man's moral nature (at all times and among all nations), his religious instincts, and his conscience all argue forcibly in favour of God's existence. His sense of moral duty may be weak of strong, defiled or pure, but is never totally absent. The only adequate explanation for all this is that God, the Supreme moral Being, who made us, also implanted this moral sense within every human being. No other explanation is satisfactory.
Humanity has an idea of a supreme being. This idea was frequently challenged (by atheistic idealogies, such as Communism) but never wiped away. While the concepts about God found among different cultures are varied, yet the idea remains.
Source: Truth For Today
Sunday, February 26, 2006
God and Suffering
If God Is Good, Why Is There So Much Suffering in the World?
Bob and Gretchen Passantino, ©Copyright 1997
Each of us has watched a loved one die, been the victim of a crime, lived among the poverty-stricken, or in some way been confronted with the reality of suffering. Human history sometimes seems like one long chronicle of suffering and despair. In the midst of suffering we cry out,
Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of the soul, to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure. . . . For sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water. What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil. [Job 3:20-21, 24-26]
Why is there suffering? Why are the innocent victimized? Is there purpose in pain? Is there any escape? For the Christian, who believes that God is all-good and all-powerful, answers to these questions are especially important.
Skeptics frequently challenge Christians with the problem of a good God allowing suffering. Usually their argument says, “If God is all-powerful, he could prevent or eliminate suffering. If God is all-good, he would not want his creation to suffer. Since you say God is both, suffering should not exist. In fact, however, we see suffering all around us and experience it ourselves. Therefore, God doesn’t exist, or he’s not all-powerful, or he’s not all-good.”
First, we need to distinguish between philosophical and personal engagement with suffering. When someone is in the midst of anguish, all the logic and truth in the world is incomplete without a demonstration of compassionate love. Answers are not merely conclusions of mental exercises, they should have consequences in our lives.
Second, we need to consider the consequences of accepting the skeptic’s alternatives: Suffering proves that God does not exist, or He is not all-powerful, or He is not all-good. If God does not exist, then all of existence, including our suffering, has no enduring value, purpose, or goal. If God is not all-powerful, then we have no hope that suffering will ever be eliminated. If God is not all-good, then to pain and despair we must add the threat of immanent divine sadism. Each of these alternatives is at least as problematic as the Christian alternative, so the skeptic has merely exchanged one answer he doesn’t like for others equally unpleasant. The skeptic has not solved the problem of suffering merely by refusing to solve it. We should judge answers by truth, not emotion.
Third, we need to understand that many problems with theology come from problems with personal world views and values. For example, the pleasure of helping someone who is needy has absolutely no value to the person to whom self-indulgence is the highest good. Many people struggle with the problem of God and suffering because they reject a Christian world view. Avoiding suffering has become preferable to learning patience; immediate gratification means more than self-discipline; self-gratification is more important than sharing; and physical pleasure is superior to spiritual joy.
Fourth, the skeptic assumes parts of the Christian world view in order to indict the Christian God, but he is unwilling to acknowledge the other parts of the Christian world view that answer his indictments. He assumes a standard of “good” that is absolute and eternal (and, therefore, cannot have its source in changing, finite humans), but denies the existence of the absolute and eternal.
In a non-theistic world where values are social conventions, survival mechanisms, majority opinions, or assertions of the most powerful, there can be no absolute, eternal values. “Good” as a social convention is merely what a society declares to be good; in one society it might be eating one’s enemies, in another it may be loving one’s enemies. “Good” as a survival mechanism could include killing off imperfect, non-productive members of the species, such those with less than average intelligence or poor eyesight, or restricting reproduction to the physical and mental elite; etc. If the skeptic wants to borrow the Christian definition of values as absolute and eternal, then he can’t reject the Christian explanation of suffering which is consistent with such values.
If the Christian world view is considered, there are a variety of approaches to the question of God and suffering. Biblical convictions include (1) suffering does not originate with God and will be eliminated at some point; (2) God works good in the midst of suffering; (3) not all pain is suffering in the moral sense; (4) and physical, transient suffering and death are relatively inconsequential compared to spiritual, eternal suffering and death.
God is all-powerful, meaning He can accomplish anything that can be accomplished with power. He cannot use power to do “non-power” kinds of things, such as the logically impossible. He cannot make two plus two equal five, violate His unchangeable nature, make Himself go out of existence and come back into existence, and He cannot make morally responsible persons without allowing for the possibility of those persons making wrong choices. The Bible says that suffering is the consequence of the wrong choice (sin) of morally responsible persons. If God always prevented people from sinning, or always prevented the consequences of sin, then human goodness would be mere programming, not true goodness. We do not pat a computer on its head when it executes its program -- it is a determined function, not an exercise of moral responsibility. Suffering, the consequence of human sin, is not caused by God, but by the sin of persons with moral responsibility. Also, God has not abandoned the world to eternally suffer the consequences of sin. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to provide ultimate freedom from the consequences of sin. It is wrong to indict God because suffering is not yet eliminated, just as it would be wrong to indict a doctor who treats a gunshot wound he didn’t cause, simply because the wound is not healed instantly.
Our assurance that God will eliminate suffering is not the only comfort God gives us. While God did not cause suffering, he has given it purpose. It became the vehicle for our salvation when “Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Hebrews 12:2). Complete avoidance of suffering is not an option for any of us. Our option is to waste our experience or realize God’s purposes in the midst of suffering. Through suffering we can learn patience, self-discipline, trust, and many other “virtues.” When we suffer we can experience the love, compassion, and self-denial of those who help us. When we help someone who is suffering, we find significance in our own lives as well.
Not all pain is “bad” in the moral sense. God created us with nerve endings that use pain to protect us. Pain keeps us from burning our hands in a campfire, bending our legs back until the joint breaks, neglecting nourishment until we starve, etc. Suffering can also be a direct, just consequence of our own actions. Our sense of justice says that it is “good” when an exploiter loses his friends, even though loneliness is “painful.” It is good when a mugger is locked up, even though he “suffers” the loss of his freedom.
All humans have a moral conscience, even corrupted by sin and often ignored. Our conscience should not rejoice in sin, suffering, and death. When we see innocents suffering, we should experience moral outrage and seek to rescue the sufferer. When we see someone suffer death, we should experience loss and sorrow. Sin, suffering, and death are not the destinies for which God created us. He created us to enjoy perfect, good, loving fellowship with Him for eternity. Despite our moral betrayal, he continues to offer eternal life.
The skeptic has it partly right -- suffering should offend our sense of goodness and justice. Sadly, he misses the rest of the argument: Because suffering violates goodness and justice, there must be an all-good, all-powerful God whose remedy restores the perfection he created. This is the hope that the Christian offers in the midst of suffering:
I consider the that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. [Romans 8:8]
Suffering and death in this sinful world are not without remedy. The only reasonable response to the existence of suffering is confidence in God’s promises for eternity:
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. . . . Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. . . . Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [Matt. 5:3-10]
Bob and Gretchen Passantino, ©Copyright 1997
Each of us has watched a loved one die, been the victim of a crime, lived among the poverty-stricken, or in some way been confronted with the reality of suffering. Human history sometimes seems like one long chronicle of suffering and despair. In the midst of suffering we cry out,
Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of the soul, to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure. . . . For sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water. What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil. [Job 3:20-21, 24-26]
Why is there suffering? Why are the innocent victimized? Is there purpose in pain? Is there any escape? For the Christian, who believes that God is all-good and all-powerful, answers to these questions are especially important.
Skeptics frequently challenge Christians with the problem of a good God allowing suffering. Usually their argument says, “If God is all-powerful, he could prevent or eliminate suffering. If God is all-good, he would not want his creation to suffer. Since you say God is both, suffering should not exist. In fact, however, we see suffering all around us and experience it ourselves. Therefore, God doesn’t exist, or he’s not all-powerful, or he’s not all-good.”
First, we need to distinguish between philosophical and personal engagement with suffering. When someone is in the midst of anguish, all the logic and truth in the world is incomplete without a demonstration of compassionate love. Answers are not merely conclusions of mental exercises, they should have consequences in our lives.
Second, we need to consider the consequences of accepting the skeptic’s alternatives: Suffering proves that God does not exist, or He is not all-powerful, or He is not all-good. If God does not exist, then all of existence, including our suffering, has no enduring value, purpose, or goal. If God is not all-powerful, then we have no hope that suffering will ever be eliminated. If God is not all-good, then to pain and despair we must add the threat of immanent divine sadism. Each of these alternatives is at least as problematic as the Christian alternative, so the skeptic has merely exchanged one answer he doesn’t like for others equally unpleasant. The skeptic has not solved the problem of suffering merely by refusing to solve it. We should judge answers by truth, not emotion.
Third, we need to understand that many problems with theology come from problems with personal world views and values. For example, the pleasure of helping someone who is needy has absolutely no value to the person to whom self-indulgence is the highest good. Many people struggle with the problem of God and suffering because they reject a Christian world view. Avoiding suffering has become preferable to learning patience; immediate gratification means more than self-discipline; self-gratification is more important than sharing; and physical pleasure is superior to spiritual joy.
Fourth, the skeptic assumes parts of the Christian world view in order to indict the Christian God, but he is unwilling to acknowledge the other parts of the Christian world view that answer his indictments. He assumes a standard of “good” that is absolute and eternal (and, therefore, cannot have its source in changing, finite humans), but denies the existence of the absolute and eternal.
In a non-theistic world where values are social conventions, survival mechanisms, majority opinions, or assertions of the most powerful, there can be no absolute, eternal values. “Good” as a social convention is merely what a society declares to be good; in one society it might be eating one’s enemies, in another it may be loving one’s enemies. “Good” as a survival mechanism could include killing off imperfect, non-productive members of the species, such those with less than average intelligence or poor eyesight, or restricting reproduction to the physical and mental elite; etc. If the skeptic wants to borrow the Christian definition of values as absolute and eternal, then he can’t reject the Christian explanation of suffering which is consistent with such values.
If the Christian world view is considered, there are a variety of approaches to the question of God and suffering. Biblical convictions include (1) suffering does not originate with God and will be eliminated at some point; (2) God works good in the midst of suffering; (3) not all pain is suffering in the moral sense; (4) and physical, transient suffering and death are relatively inconsequential compared to spiritual, eternal suffering and death.
God is all-powerful, meaning He can accomplish anything that can be accomplished with power. He cannot use power to do “non-power” kinds of things, such as the logically impossible. He cannot make two plus two equal five, violate His unchangeable nature, make Himself go out of existence and come back into existence, and He cannot make morally responsible persons without allowing for the possibility of those persons making wrong choices. The Bible says that suffering is the consequence of the wrong choice (sin) of morally responsible persons. If God always prevented people from sinning, or always prevented the consequences of sin, then human goodness would be mere programming, not true goodness. We do not pat a computer on its head when it executes its program -- it is a determined function, not an exercise of moral responsibility. Suffering, the consequence of human sin, is not caused by God, but by the sin of persons with moral responsibility. Also, God has not abandoned the world to eternally suffer the consequences of sin. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to provide ultimate freedom from the consequences of sin. It is wrong to indict God because suffering is not yet eliminated, just as it would be wrong to indict a doctor who treats a gunshot wound he didn’t cause, simply because the wound is not healed instantly.
Our assurance that God will eliminate suffering is not the only comfort God gives us. While God did not cause suffering, he has given it purpose. It became the vehicle for our salvation when “Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Hebrews 12:2). Complete avoidance of suffering is not an option for any of us. Our option is to waste our experience or realize God’s purposes in the midst of suffering. Through suffering we can learn patience, self-discipline, trust, and many other “virtues.” When we suffer we can experience the love, compassion, and self-denial of those who help us. When we help someone who is suffering, we find significance in our own lives as well.
Not all pain is “bad” in the moral sense. God created us with nerve endings that use pain to protect us. Pain keeps us from burning our hands in a campfire, bending our legs back until the joint breaks, neglecting nourishment until we starve, etc. Suffering can also be a direct, just consequence of our own actions. Our sense of justice says that it is “good” when an exploiter loses his friends, even though loneliness is “painful.” It is good when a mugger is locked up, even though he “suffers” the loss of his freedom.
All humans have a moral conscience, even corrupted by sin and often ignored. Our conscience should not rejoice in sin, suffering, and death. When we see innocents suffering, we should experience moral outrage and seek to rescue the sufferer. When we see someone suffer death, we should experience loss and sorrow. Sin, suffering, and death are not the destinies for which God created us. He created us to enjoy perfect, good, loving fellowship with Him for eternity. Despite our moral betrayal, he continues to offer eternal life.
The skeptic has it partly right -- suffering should offend our sense of goodness and justice. Sadly, he misses the rest of the argument: Because suffering violates goodness and justice, there must be an all-good, all-powerful God whose remedy restores the perfection he created. This is the hope that the Christian offers in the midst of suffering:
I consider the that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. [Romans 8:8]
Suffering and death in this sinful world are not without remedy. The only reasonable response to the existence of suffering is confidence in God’s promises for eternity:
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. . . . Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. . . . Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [Matt. 5:3-10]
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Faith in the Unseen
Faith is a reasoning trust, a trust which reckons thoughtfully and confidently upon the trustworthiness of God - John R. Stott
Recently, I befriended a blogger who is a self-proclaimed atheist. In the course of our chat, the subject of the existence of God came up.
His main reason for no longer believing in the existence of God is the suffering found in the world. His reason is that if there is a God why doesn't He stop bad things from happening. God is supposed to know how much pain and suffering people will have to endure through famine, war, natural disasters, diseases etc but yet he does nothing about it. Therefore there is no God.
Also he said, he doesn't believe what he cannot see.
His challenge to me is to prove to him that there is a God. :-) How does one set about proving the existence of God to someone who only believes in material things? God is infinite, outside time and space.
There are many arguments for the existence of God, but to a hard-core atheist none of these is persuasive enough.
Anthony Flew, a well-known atheist philospher turned theist, in an interview conceded that there is a God because he “had to go where the evidence leads.” He could not ignore the possibility of Intelligent Design because natural evolution has never succeeded in producing “a plausible conjecture as to how any of these complex molecules might have evolved from simple entities.”
Not many atheists are as honest as Anthony Flew. As a philospher and an intellectual he was willing to go beyond the the rigid beliefs of atheism.
The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' Psalm 14:1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)