NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

Natural Disasters – God’s Fault?

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Is It Reasonable To Expect
God’s Omni-Capabilities
To Override Natural Law

A friend recently sent me an email posing an assortment of questions about miracles. The questions originally came from an agnostic/atheist type (Agath) – my friend is neither – and were intended to discredit God and belittle believers.

A summary of each question is included for your reference. I summarized them because unedited they were quite long but I was careful to retain the essence:
 

  1. If God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, as the Bible claims, why does He allow people to die in floods and tsunamis or children to die of cancer?
  2. Why are miracles reported less frequently and in fewer numbers in modern times?
  3. If God is so powerful why does the Devil exist?
  4. Why are the Ten Commandments so shallow/narrow? Why do the commandments say nothing about children’s rights, mathematics or the internet?
  5. Why doesn’t God heal amputees (restore lost limbs)? Why does God only heal things that have a statistical possibility of healing on their own, e.g., cancers?
  6. Doesn’t the conflict between Christian, Muslim and Jewish beliefs cancel each other out? If one is right wouldn’t the others be considered atheists?

I can’t say whether Agath is genuinely open to real answers or not but he apparently won’t accept fluff. According to my friend “God works in mysterious ways” won’t do, hence this post.

Disasters, Diseases And Miracles – Accusations vs Issues

I’ll discuss only the first two questions in this article. The others will come later but since the first two are closely related and Agath offered an answer for each they seemed like a good place to start. [Read more…] about Natural Disasters – God’s Fault?

Sovereign Choice: Jacob And Esau

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God's choices are ratified by human response.

Calvinism Implies God
Is Partial

Unfortunately, God’s dealings with Jacob and Esau are often used to bolster the claims of Calvinism, the idea that God elects certain people for salvation and sends everyone else to hell. Admittedly, God made three very interesting statements relative to these two men that on the surface seem to support a Calvinistic view.

This post, however, is written in an effort to rethink Jacob and Esau and offer a different perspective. It isn’t a final answer on God’s sovereignty but is a different interpretation on these two fellows and God’s relationship to them.

It is my contention that the names “Jacob” and “Esau” were used, in most cases, as references to nations not individuals. In other words, the name of the person, Jacob, is used to represent his posterity, Israel.

And this isn’t just my opinion. Interchanging related words in this manner is a well accepted rhetorical device – otherwise known as metonymy – which is often used in the Bible. Most references to “Jacob” and “Esau” are references to their descendants and that is particularly true in Romans 9.

Figures of speech aside, however, you don’t have to be grammatically astute to recognize that any direct statement to or about “Jacob,” after the death of the man, in every case is a reference to his descendants.

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Most references fall into that category. The conversation with/about Jacob and Esau lasted almost two millennia. Obviously, most of what God had to say was said after they were dead.

What that means is God’s choice of and discussions about Jacob or Esau was national. It was focused on the larger picture. He was choosing a community, a nation to work with. He was selecting Jacob’s posterity not just Jacob and this choice had nothing to do with personal, individual salvation.

Now, with that understanding in mind let’s note some facts and make some general observations about the Romans 9 passage.

God made the following critical statements:

  • The elder (Esau) will serve the younger (Jacob). Genesis 25:23 and Romans 9:12
  • I have loved Jacob but Esau have I hated. Malachi 1:2-3 and Romans 9:13
  • I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Exodus 33:19 and Romans 9:15

Although all three statements were repeated in Romans 9 they were originally recorded in the Old Testament and were separated by hundreds of years.

  • The conception of Jacob and Esau, 1800 BC (+/-). Genesis 25
  • The Exodus, 1400 BC (+/-). Exodus 33
  • The Book of Malachi, 400 BC (+/-). Malachi 1.

Paul added some explanatory remarks to these statements which seem to further endorse Calvinistic ideas:

  • Paul said God’s choice of Jacob over Esau was based on His elective purpose.
  • He pointed out that this choice was made before the boys were born and, therefore, before they had done anything good or evil.
  • He said the choice was based on mercy and not human desire or effort – not of him that willeth or runneth.

Everyone admits these statements were made in the context of Romans 9. Not everyone accepts the Calvinistic interpretation imposed on them. I offer the following arguments as the basis for a different opinion. [Read more…] about Sovereign Choice: Jacob And Esau

Jesus Death: Ugly And Beautiful At Once

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Everything God Does Says
I Love You

Some portions of Scripture are very pleasant to read and very popular.

Who doesn’t like Psalm 23. Even nonreligious people enjoy reading this passage and many can repeat it from memory.

We love to talk about God’s grace and the song “Amazing Grace” is still one of the most popular songs in the world.

We love to talk about the nativity. Pictures have been painted, scenes have been constructed and theatrical productions have been organized all of which depict the beautiful story of Jesus’ birth.

But there are other portions of Scripture we don’t enjoy so much. The last few chapters of each Gospel tell us about the death of Jesus and the reports don’t make very pleasant reading.

When Jesus died it was visually very ugly. His accusers were unfair, unreasonable and manipulative. His executioners were aggressive, violent, abusive and cruel and the Gospel writers recorded all of it in great detail.

The amount of time covered from His arrest to His death was at least fifteen hours, possibly longer, and the humiliation Jesus endured during that time was unspeakable. He was lied about, spit on, whipped, mocked with a crown of thorns and beaten so badly He couldn’t be recognized (Isaiah 52:14). Even His disciples forsook Him.

And because He knew what was coming, just before His arrest He agonized in prayer.

Most people, preferring romance or mystery to gore, shy away from this type of reading. But when it comes to the death of Jesus we should take another look. [Read more…] about Jesus Death: Ugly And Beautiful At Once

Unrestricted Choice? Don’t Kid Yourself!

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Choosing Not To Choose
Is A Choice

“Choice” has been relevant to every person in every era and is part of everyone’s daily life. You can’t get out of bed in the morning without making choices.

Life’s pathway is not pre-scripted. Moving from start to finish involves many electives and the ultimate outcome for each person is the sum of those choices.

Unfortunately, choice-making isn’t fun and games. The difficulties associated with the exercise was illustrated best in Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” speech and every major philosopher has added their two cents as well. Clever sayings abound.

Choices are the hinges of destiny.

Attributed to both Edwin Markham and Pythagoras

Hindsight is 20/20

Author unknown.

And choices come in all shapes and sizes: easy, obvious, hard, intentional, blind, well thought out and so on.

You really can’t escape it. You can ignore the issue but that requires a choice, a poor one. You can choose to rely on “chance” or live “under” the circumstances but that is like choosing not to choose.

“Choice” is an essential part of human nature and history shows that it cannot be bound. Humans go places, do things, learn through experience, expand their understanding, overcome obstacles and become qualified, and all of this growth is fueled by choice. One way or another humans will exercise their abilities to choose.

Unquestioned Authority Opposed

“Choice” is the reason the Protestant Reformation came about. People refused to accept what they were told without explanation or obey bastions of authority unquestioningly. Trading our ability to reason for blind compliance is a choice human nature doesn’t easily swallow.

During the reformation the idea that authority was right simply because it was authority was rejected. Society came to realize that no one has the right to think, believe or understand for the rest of us and they chose to protest.

Tradition Rejected

The Modernist and Post Modern eras began in the mid 19th century and are characterized by the tendency to question traditional ideas in every form: religion, politics, art, and on every level. No ideas are considered sacred.

The individual became more significant and personal taste, feelings, perspectives or inclinations became dominant factors in the choices we made. The democratic approach in the extreme.

“Individualism,” the ultra antithesis of tradition, does more than just question tradition. It endorses and encourages unbounded free thinking. Now we attempt to move the boundaries to accommodate whatever choices a person happens to make.

The fixed values of tradition are no longer accepted only because “it has always been done that way.” Everything is subject to individual inspection.

The Question

But the question is: just because authority and tradition are no longer seen as guiding lights must all the choices they recommend also be recategorized?

Because authority figures couldn’t give reasonable explanations or didn’t allow for individual tastes does that mean the choices they recommended were wrong?

Should we throw out recommended choices or would it be better to vigorously investigate the reasons behind these choices? [Read more…] about Unrestricted Choice? Don’t Kid Yourself!

Jonathan Edwards Talked Hell, Promised No Heaven

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If people are condemned to hell without recourse, why torment them before they go.

When Edwards Described Hell
You Felt The Flames

I’m not sure what you would call it but the congregation’s response to Jonathan Edward’s famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, was not a revival.

He wasn’t speaking to heretics, hecklers or blasphemers. In fact, his hearers weren’t even skeptical. They were regular congregants and they were anything but slack. They endured long, dry, complicated, and often irrelevant or condemning discussions on Bible topics every week.

Deadening, yes, but showing up every week was a sign of determined commitment. They weren’t indifferent.

The services were probably lifeless – the effect had to be numbing – but we can’t blame the attenders for that and there is no reason to accuse them of being spiritually casual.

Mr. Edwards was clearly a very intelligent man with a remarkable ability to articulate his thoughts. But in spite of these abilities those who heard him found his theology difficult to assimilate. [Read more…] about Jonathan Edwards Talked Hell, Promised No Heaven