A Well-Thought-Out-Response To Some Not-So-Well-Thought-Out-Responses To The Problem Of Evil, With Regards To Who Is Responsible And How We Should Respond To It
Evil. What is it? Why is it?... Is it? Let's explore this topic in the format of a response to some of peoples responses to it. Thus the title.
For those of you who observe the staggering amount of evil in the world and proclaim, "there cannot be a God", I say that without a God there is no basis for good and evil. There is nothing by which to measure right and wrong. You see, you must acknowledge the Almighty just to make an argument against Him based on the existence of evil. It's circular and relies completely upon your opinion of what a good God would and would not allow.
For those of you who watch the news or read the paper and ask, "how can a good God exist?" My answer again is "how can He not?" To even understand the difference between good and evil there must be an absolute Good. For instance, let's compare Mother Theresa and Adolf Hitler. Well, we know that Momma T. is better than Hitler in terms of goodness or morality, but is she absolutely good, the moral apex? No. We are not comparing everyone to Mother Theresa whenever we ask if they are good. Let's now assume that there is someone who is morally superior to her, but is that person the standard? No. There must be a fixed goal by which to measure everything else. Without a moral Lawgiver there is no moral standard. It's all a matter of opinion. There is no intrinsic value in any idea or belief.
For those of you who sit idly by as humanity wastes away and blame God for the evil of men, use the brain God gave you and think over the situation. Who is responsible? Who is truly to blame for the ills of humanity?
As infants and young children are sold and traded like mere possessions, beaten, raped, mutilated and murdered by humans, not God - you sit. As the LRA and similar groups of people, not God, kidnap children and, through brainwashing and forced drug abuse, turn them into emotionless murderers, rapists and sex slaves - you sit. As human trafficing and slavery continues undaunted in every country on earth and easily curable diseases kill millions of innocent people - there you sit. You sit and you do nothing. And your one selfless, heroic act on the part of humanity is to point your well-manicured finger at the Creator and ask, "how can You let this happen?" His answer, with as much eloquence as I can muster on His behalf, is "how can you let this happen?"
Humanity is it's own worst problem. Despite what Billy Joel believes or sings, we did start the fire. We are the disease that plagues us. Our wounds are self-inflicted. We did this to ourselves. We are sleeping in the bed we made and complaining about its condition. If the Bible is true, if the God of Christianity is real, then the answer to the big "why?" is readily available. Genesis chapter three - The Fall.
God is not to blame, man is. By one man sin entered this world, and death came by that sin (Romans 5:12). All the woes of humankind are entirely due to the original sin of our ancestors. At that moment man chose to reject God's way. Men have been doing that by nature ever since, and all the while God has been telling man, "have it your way". God's way is to not lie to, steal from, or murder our fellow humans. God's way is to love your enemies and bless those who curse you. God's way is to give sacrificially to the poor and needy, to comfort the lonely and befriend the despised.
His way just isn't selfish enough for us.
And so God continues to let us have it our way. But be warned, that will not go on forever.
Now, I am not implying that God does not act. In no way am I inferring that God does not take part in the rescuing of humanity. Obviously He cares tremendously for us and desires for us to be healed. Jesus is living proof of that. Jesus Christ, in one act of selfless love, has forever solved the sin problem. Meaning that the eternal effects of sin have been removed and are no longer a problem for the redeemed. But here on earth, right now, it is our task, not only to preach the Gospel so that men and women can be saved and have the eternal effect of sin removed, but to -in the power of God- turn back the physical, tangible effects of the curse.
Christians, myself included, are faling miserably. I'm not just talking about the 40% or so of Americans who claim to have been born again and yet bear no signs of actually being a Christ-follower. I am speaking to the pastors, the worship leaders, the evangelists; I'm referring to the prayer warriors, the Bible students, the street preachers. Christianity is doing almost as bad a job as possible representing Christ here on earth.
What to do?
First, pray and ask God to reveal to you what you should be doing. Then, READ YOUR BIBLE!!! Study the words of the Man you claim to follow. What did He do? What does He call us to do? Then, once you have some answers... do something!
I would like to direct my final thoughts back to the ones who blame God for the current state of things. Just humor me on one or two analogies and then I'll be done with you.
Blaming God for the current moral condition of humanity is like driving the wrong way down the interstate and blaming Volkswagon for crashing my car. Ridiculous! It's like putting a big, metal bowl full of spoons into the microwave and then blaming GE when it blows up and sets your apartment on fire. God made this place perfect, as in Genesis one and two, then because of mans sin, Creation fell. God put as big a warning label as anyone could ever need on that tree. "If you eat this fruit you will die. ~thanks, God". God made it, we wrecked it. But He will fix it. It's only because of His extreme patience and longsuffering that He has not returned to set things straight. As in the days of Noah God is giving individuals the chance to be saved. He has prepared a way of escape that is beyond trustworthy.
Back to the subject.
Evil. It is real. It is up to each individual person to decide that there are things worth standing up for. There are issues that demand response. How can we look at pictures like the ones below and not be moved to action?! Come on people! If this were your child would you not covet the help of someone in a place to change things. Wouldn't you be disgusted to learn that there are millions of people with the resources to help you who simply do not care? We are fat and lazy and the world is pleading for our help. We can do something.
So there you sit. The question I have for you now is: When are you going to stand?
For those of you who observe the staggering amount of evil in the world and proclaim, "there cannot be a God", I say that without a God there is no basis for good and evil. There is nothing by which to measure right and wrong. You see, you must acknowledge the Almighty just to make an argument against Him based on the existence of evil. It's circular and relies completely upon your opinion of what a good God would and would not allow.
For those of you who watch the news or read the paper and ask, "how can a good God exist?" My answer again is "how can He not?" To even understand the difference between good and evil there must be an absolute Good. For instance, let's compare Mother Theresa and Adolf Hitler. Well, we know that Momma T. is better than Hitler in terms of goodness or morality, but is she absolutely good, the moral apex? No. We are not comparing everyone to Mother Theresa whenever we ask if they are good. Let's now assume that there is someone who is morally superior to her, but is that person the standard? No. There must be a fixed goal by which to measure everything else. Without a moral Lawgiver there is no moral standard. It's all a matter of opinion. There is no intrinsic value in any idea or belief.
For those of you who sit idly by as humanity wastes away and blame God for the evil of men, use the brain God gave you and think over the situation. Who is responsible? Who is truly to blame for the ills of humanity?
As infants and young children are sold and traded like mere possessions, beaten, raped, mutilated and murdered by humans, not God - you sit. As the LRA and similar groups of people, not God, kidnap children and, through brainwashing and forced drug abuse, turn them into emotionless murderers, rapists and sex slaves - you sit. As human trafficing and slavery continues undaunted in every country on earth and easily curable diseases kill millions of innocent people - there you sit. You sit and you do nothing. And your one selfless, heroic act on the part of humanity is to point your well-manicured finger at the Creator and ask, "how can You let this happen?" His answer, with as much eloquence as I can muster on His behalf, is "how can you let this happen?"
Humanity is it's own worst problem. Despite what Billy Joel believes or sings, we did start the fire. We are the disease that plagues us. Our wounds are self-inflicted. We did this to ourselves. We are sleeping in the bed we made and complaining about its condition. If the Bible is true, if the God of Christianity is real, then the answer to the big "why?" is readily available. Genesis chapter three - The Fall.
God is not to blame, man is. By one man sin entered this world, and death came by that sin (Romans 5:12). All the woes of humankind are entirely due to the original sin of our ancestors. At that moment man chose to reject God's way. Men have been doing that by nature ever since, and all the while God has been telling man, "have it your way". God's way is to not lie to, steal from, or murder our fellow humans. God's way is to love your enemies and bless those who curse you. God's way is to give sacrificially to the poor and needy, to comfort the lonely and befriend the despised.
His way just isn't selfish enough for us.
And so God continues to let us have it our way. But be warned, that will not go on forever.
Now, I am not implying that God does not act. In no way am I inferring that God does not take part in the rescuing of humanity. Obviously He cares tremendously for us and desires for us to be healed. Jesus is living proof of that. Jesus Christ, in one act of selfless love, has forever solved the sin problem. Meaning that the eternal effects of sin have been removed and are no longer a problem for the redeemed. But here on earth, right now, it is our task, not only to preach the Gospel so that men and women can be saved and have the eternal effect of sin removed, but to -in the power of God- turn back the physical, tangible effects of the curse.
Christians, myself included, are faling miserably. I'm not just talking about the 40% or so of Americans who claim to have been born again and yet bear no signs of actually being a Christ-follower. I am speaking to the pastors, the worship leaders, the evangelists; I'm referring to the prayer warriors, the Bible students, the street preachers. Christianity is doing almost as bad a job as possible representing Christ here on earth.
What to do?
First, pray and ask God to reveal to you what you should be doing. Then, READ YOUR BIBLE!!! Study the words of the Man you claim to follow. What did He do? What does He call us to do? Then, once you have some answers... do something!
I would like to direct my final thoughts back to the ones who blame God for the current state of things. Just humor me on one or two analogies and then I'll be done with you.
Blaming God for the current moral condition of humanity is like driving the wrong way down the interstate and blaming Volkswagon for crashing my car. Ridiculous! It's like putting a big, metal bowl full of spoons into the microwave and then blaming GE when it blows up and sets your apartment on fire. God made this place perfect, as in Genesis one and two, then because of mans sin, Creation fell. God put as big a warning label as anyone could ever need on that tree. "If you eat this fruit you will die. ~thanks, God". God made it, we wrecked it. But He will fix it. It's only because of His extreme patience and longsuffering that He has not returned to set things straight. As in the days of Noah God is giving individuals the chance to be saved. He has prepared a way of escape that is beyond trustworthy.
Back to the subject.
Evil. It is real. It is up to each individual person to decide that there are things worth standing up for. There are issues that demand response. How can we look at pictures like the ones below and not be moved to action?! Come on people! If this were your child would you not covet the help of someone in a place to change things. Wouldn't you be disgusted to learn that there are millions of people with the resources to help you who simply do not care? We are fat and lazy and the world is pleading for our help. We can do something.
So there you sit. The question I have for you now is: When are you going to stand?
--For more information on that "way of escape" and the reason why we need it, or for information on what you can do to help end hunger, slavery, child prostitution, preventable and treatable diseases, etc. you can call, e-mail, myspace, facebook or text me and I will be more than happy to chat with you about it, or to answer any questions or objections you may have. I don't know everything but I know God, and He just happens to know everything--
1 comment:
"...to turn back the physical, tangible effects of the curse."
Amen.
It's funny, as I read through your post I immediately felt the questions rising, "How does this fit into my theology?" and "That brings a new light to the doctrine of regeneration, that's interesting." It seems I've so insulated myself from the gospel--from the life of love Christ lived--that my number one concern is how doctrine A fits together with doctrine B.
And I wonder why my faith is slowly dying.
Why do we get so lost in "knowing" and avoid "doing? We claim not to understand theology that my four year old can understand... Perhaps we're actually just afraid of the implications understanding it would have on our American Dream.
Christ hung out in the slums. He touched lepers. He ate with sinners. But we can't have a Jesus who does those things, lest WE be called to do them too. So instead we lock Him into flannel graphs and stained glass windows with some sheep and a halo. He's safe there. Won't threaten our complacency.
Good thing we don't serve a King who's alive and reigning on His throne today... Or He might be really pissed at how He's being misrepresented.
Post a Comment