hart's shirt
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Isn't the bigger question 'why aren't believers questioning their faith'?
If there is an interventionist god out there, why would she/he (see what i did there?) do this to us?
Might start another thread.
It's a fair question, JR. And it's one that many people both of faith and none are asking at the moment. So it deserves a fair reply.
It's probably worth noting that we ask this same question, albeit often phrased in different ways, in other times of crisis in our lives like war, sickness, bereavement, etc.
Firstly, even as a Christian, I'm all too aware that bad theology hurts people. We should always be mindful of this. There's a difference between truth that may convict and be uncomfortable but is still truthful, and downright falsehood. So I'll try and support my points with Scripture (all quotes from the ESV). (Obviously, the question could then naturally arise about the infallibility of Scripture, etc. I'll be happy to discuss that separately at another time - it's quite a big topic and deserves a separate discussion!. But I'll continue for now...)
Secondly, Christians should apologize for the too-quick, glib, silver bullet easy answers that some preachers have given, often with their own popularity, notoriety or prosperity in mind. We should always be wary here. (1 John 4:1 - "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out."). Even Job (mentioned earlier in this thread) wasn't told the reasons for his suffering. And it wasn't his fault as he's described as "blameless and upright" in the opening line of the book. God even says that "there is none like him on the earth" (Job 1:8). If Job didn't know the reasons for his own suffering, it's unlikely some charlatan televangelist or YouTube preacher will know about other peoples. They don't even know about mine!
Thirdly, there's also a tendency for Christians to either try and get God off the hook here when it comes to suffering and the problem of evil, or to ignore the question altogether as it's more than a little inconvenient and close to the bone. Both are unhelpful, so I'll try to steer clear of those.
The problem of evil/suffering can be seen 2 parts:
1. Logical - "If God is all powerful and all good - then evil would not exist.
2. Practical - "Why is there evil in the world?" "Why so much evil in my life? How is that fair?" "Why Hitler, the Holocaust, 9/11, Coronavirus, etc.?"
C.S Lewis explains the problem this way:
"If God were good, he would wish to make His creatures perfectly happy, and if God were almighty, He would be able to do what he wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God either lacks goodness, or power, or both. This is the problem of pain in its simplest form."
Here are some common perspectives on evil, none of which are IMHO either helpful or sensitive:
1. It's unreal - an illusion, it's good in disguise (you just don't know it), purely relative as there as no absolute standards of right and wrong
2. It's real - dualism (Good v Evil equal footing constant battle), a shrunken God (He'd stop it, but he can't...), open theism (God didn't know what was coming)
And here's a Christian perspective that I've adapted from a recent church session on 'Tough Questions - If God Is Good, How Can Evil Exist?'
(Quick disclaimer - I don't claim to speak for all Christians here nor do I know in full. And my theology is always reforming, or being reformed, so it's possible that my view may change in the future. But this is what I believe/know for now at least.)
1. God is the all-powerful Lord of His Universe
"Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases." (Psalm 115:3)
"God spoke and the worlds were created." (Genesis 1:1)
"For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:16)
2. God is in control of every aspect of His creation
"In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will." (Ephesians 1:11)
3. God even orchestrates the sins of man to glorify himself (yet is not tainted by them)
"And the Lord said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharoah all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go." (Exodus 4:21)
4. Yet, God is never blameworthy for evil that occurs. Those who commit evil are to blame.
"Let no-one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires." (James 1:13-14)
5. For God is holy, and he hates evil
"You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?" (Habbakuk 1:13)
6. God judges us. We do not judge God.
"But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is moulded say to the moulder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honourable use and another for dishonourable use?" (Romans 9:19)
7. God will use evil for an ultimate good purpose.
- To display his power and mercy, as in the story of Joseph
"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." (Genesis 50:20)
- To refine the Christian
"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Romans 5:3)
- To lovingly discipline the Christian
"It is for discipline that you have come to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." (Hebrews 12:7)
- To draw unbelievers to Jesus
"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
So, to conclude, Christians can trust that God will keep his Word and that he will:
1. Empathize with us
God himself has personally experienced evil when Jesus was crucified as part of God's plan for salvation from the start.
2. Preserve us - God will never let his people go
"For I am sure that neither death nor life, not angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
3. Execute justice - God will vindicate himself.
In this life, justice may be delayed, but it will will never be denied.
4. End suffering - God will one day put an end to pain, suffering and evil
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:1)
But I don't want this to come across as a purely dry and dusty theological viewpoint. I don't claim to have the answer for suffering any more in this world anymore than anyone else. My only brother was mentally disabled from birth and died suddenly at the age of 41. My mother has battled with Parkinson's Disease for the last 7 years, and my father continues to have mental health counselling. Everyone who lives in the world suffers to some degree, regardless of whether one has faith or not. Christians or anyone else for that matter aren't immune to it.
What I can say is that for the Christian, the answer doesn't come from this world, it originally came from outside it.
I'll end with John Stott, a vicar who I was blessed enough to briefly meet as a callow 18 year old, and his thoughts on suffering:
"I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross...in the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross, which symbolises divine suffering."
If anyone wants to PM privately with any follow-up questions, I'll try and answer them as best I can.
Other than that, keep safe everyone, keep isolating/distancing, and keep posting on NSC!
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