A Dialogue on the Problem of Evil

Well, I just realized this is my 100th post.

I felt compelled to post a blog for April, because it seemed that the blog might be "dead" if I didn't. (Shouldn't you blog at least monthly to keep your blog alive?) It was already on life support.

I was going to post another Psalm of Ascents blog, but I can't find my notes or my Hebrew translation! (I'm sure I will eventually.) So, for the second time in a row, I'm resorting to posting some old material.

This is a little imaginary scene I wrote back in 2005. It could use some editing, but I think there are some good thoughts there.

Setting—Two men are visiting gravesites in a local cemetery. One man, Arthur, notices the other, Bernard, praying as he kneels before a headstone. He is just intrigued (or perturbed) enough to approach Bernard.

Arthur: Whom are you here visiting?

Bernard: My daughter. She died three years ago today. What about you?

Arthur: I came to remember my son. He was killed just over a year ago…He was driving home from college when some lady fell asleep at the wheel, crossed over into his lane, and hit him head on. I’ll never get over it.

Bernard: I’m very sorry to hear that.

Arthur: Yeah, I’m sorry, too. What about your daughter?

Bernard: She died of leukemia after a long, hard battle with the disease.

Arthur: So, would you mind telling me how it is that you can pray? I don’t understand how anyone can believe in a God that would let something like that happen. I mean, God’s supposed to be so good, right? And He’s supposed to have unlimited power, right? So how could He just stand by with all that goodness and power and let our babies die? I can’t fathom a god like that, yet you’re here praying to Him.

Bernard: Well, I believe that in spite of the suffering and the tragedy that goes on in this world, God is still good and powerful, and He is worthy of our worship.

Arthur: Sounds like they’ve got you brainwashed. Why would your God let this happen if He could stop it? Why does He allow any evil at all?

Bernard: It’s pretty complicated, but I’d be happy to explain it as best I can. It sounds like you’re asking two separate questions. I’ll try to answer the second one first if that’s OK. God is completely good and so cannot create anything evil. However, because He created us for the purpose of having a loving relationship with us, He endowed us with free will. The fact that we have freedom to make bad choices or good ones has serious consequences. We may choose to obey God or to rebel against Him. When we rebel against Him and freely choose evil, people suffer. Both the person who committed the evil and the person or entity against whom the evil is committed will suffer. The man who commits the evil will suffer as his relationship to God deteriorates. The victim will suffer because of the other man’s transgression.

Arthur: Exactly. That’s just not fair! Why would a good God give us such power to hurt one another?

Bernard: We are given freedom to choose because true love can only be chosen freely. If I am coerced to love, I do not truly love. God wants us to freely choose Him and to freely choose to do good. In fact, He calls obeying Him (or doing what is good) the same thing as loving Him! Because we were created to love God and love each other, God had to give us genuine freedom to love. That means we had to be able not to love Him as well—not to obey, not to do good.

Arthur: So God allows all this suffering just because He wants to be loved? That sounds really selfish and egotistical.

Bernard: Yeah, I admit that it does. But you’ve got to remember that God is the one who created us all. He knows exactly how we work. He knows what’s best for us. He knows what life is all about. And from our perspective it may seem cruel or meaningless, but God has His reasons. Evidently, love is so important that He was willing to risk all of this evil to let us choose to love. It must be that love is intricately tied in to the meaning of life! Without love, there is no life.

Arthur: I loved my son. And now he’s gone. What was the point? My son wasn’t killed by someone who made an evil choice—just a senseless one. Where’s the meaning in that? And what about your daughter? Who’s to blame for her suffering?

Bernard: Earlier you asked why God would allow any evil at all if He had the power to stop it. When He gave us freedom, He also created a world with natural laws…physics, chemistry, etc. Our actions have consequences, and God doesn’t suspend those consequences every time we make a mistake. If He did, we would never develop any sense of moral responsibility. We could do just anything we pleased, knowing that God would bail us out. Like a spoiled child running through a china shop, we could take the attitude of “No big deal. Daddy will clean up and pay for this mess.” Because we were created to have fellowship with Him, we must become like Him. That means we have to forsake sin. And the natural law helps us to realize that our actions have consequences. Real change has to happen in our character.

Arthur: But I’m not talking about character, dang it! I’m talking about the death of our innocent children! Why did they have to die? How can you believe in a God who values character formation more than the life of an incredible young man like my son?

Bernard: I know your pain. I was devastated when Hannah died. I miss her terribly. She was the most beautiful girl in the world, and nothing can replace her. But I have hope, you see? The story is not over. I’m going to see her again. God didn’t cause her death. He allowed her to die, just as all of us will die. But I’ll spend eternity with her. There is no more pain where she is. No more chemotherapy. No more weakness or tears. And God has given me that hope. Where would I be without it?

Arthur: But why would He allow sickness in this world?

Bernard: I used to believe that the sins of men affected the very fabric of the world and caused everything to be “out of whack.” I thought that was why we have natural disasters, suffering, sickness, and so on. Beyond all of that, I knew that there were spiritual forces of evil—angels who had rebelled against God and seek to harm creation in any way they are able, driving a wedge between us and God. I still think these things to be true, but I have realized that regardless of the explanation behind all of this suffering, God allows it. Even if He doesn’t cause it directly, He lets it happen. He must have a reason for this. I don’t pretend to know the mind of God or to understand His purposes. I can’t even tell you how a microwave works, much less the universe! But I believe that God has a plan. Our suffering is very real in this life, but compared with the backdrop of eternity it is very temporary. And through the pain we learn to trust, to endure, to hope, to have empathy and compassion, to give, to be a faithful friend, and to forgive. All of these traits make us more like Jesus. And that’s the goal—to learn to love like God so that we can spend eternity with Him and in fellowship with others that have responded to His love. Heather will be resurrected. So will your son. Doesn’t that give you some hope for the future?

Arthur: It’s all “Pie in the Sky” B.S. How does that help me now? I have to live the rest of my life without Danny. Nothing can change that.

Bernard: You’re right. We will never again be able to hold our children in this lifetime. If this life is all there is, there is no consolation. But your outrage itself is a clue that something is amiss. Just as physical pain tells us that something is wrong and that we need to take action to prevent further harm, so spiritual anguish alerts us to seek a remedy. If our hand is burning, the pain tells us to move it away from the flame. If we have a fever, our immune system goes into action. Sometimes we need to take medicine. Other times we may need surgery. When we suffer in our souls, we need to seek a spiritual remedy. I’m talking about more than counseling to help us deal with emotional issues. I’m talking about finding a way to make sense of the pain. For me, the only way it makes sense is if God can redeem it. Only if God is all good and all-powerful can He make it right someday. If He doesn’t exist, then what hope do we have?

Arthur: So you’re telling me that the best thing I can do is to embrace the God that let this happen to my son? What kind of guarantee do I have that I’m not just playing the fool, letting myself be anesthetized by the “opium of the masses?”

Bernard: The best guarantee you have is Jesus. God loved us so much that He sent His own Son to lead us to life. In Him we may receive forgiveness, the gift of His Spirit, and the hope of eternal life. God is not a disinterested observer who sits idly by and watches us suffer. He knows what it is like to lose a Son. He knows what it is like to suffer pain and suffer loss. He too was innocent, yet He entered into our suffering. He tasted death. Have you seen the movie The Passion? Do you recall the scene that showed a view of the cross from the sky above? Looking down onto the dead body of Jesus, we see a single teardrop fall. God knows your pain. He cares. But that was not the end of the story. Jesus rose again! He is alive and will never die again. The best guarantee you have is the empty grave! Your story and your son’s story are not over either. God is still good. He is still powerful despite the way things look now. When Jesus died, no one had hope, either. Everyone close to Him was crushed. They despaired. But everything changed on the other side of resurrection. It will change for us as well if we allow God to have His way in us. And in coming to know God, there is a love and a peace His Spirit gives that cannot be explained. Please don’t write God off because of your hurt. Let Him bring healing and hope as you come to know Him. The story is not over. God loves you. He can still write a beautiful ending for you and your family if you will let Him.

Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity (a book review)

Recently I taught a Sunday school lesson based on David deSilva's book Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture. People seemed very interested in learning more about the culture of the New Testament world, and I remember finding this book fascinating. I gained insights from it that helped me appreciate the New Testament, as well as the beauty of God's love, at a deeper level. That can never be a bad thing.

While in seminary, I wrote a review of deSilva's book. If you're interested in learning more about New Testament culture, read the book. But for a quick synopsis (and review), here's this (written 2006):

Clay Brackeen. Review of David A. deSilva, Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2000).

Modern readers of the New Testament tend to collapse the cultural and historical distance between themselves and the text by approaching it as if it were written with their specific context in mind. In Honor, Patronage, Kinship and Purity, David A. deSilva attempts to alert the modern reader as to how much she is missing if this tact is taken. He explores four important aspects of first century Jewish and Greco-Roman culture and then demonstrates how understanding the cultural context sheds much needed light on the meaning of New Testament passages. DeSilva argues that without an understanding of the views that were held concerning honor, patronage, kinship, and purity, one cannot fully appreciate the New Testament’s Christian witness. He goes on to show how Christians can appropriate these concepts in today’s context.

The book’s title provides a blueprint of deSilva’s treatment of four key cultural elements. He first examines the way that first century Jewish and Greco-Roman culture viewed honor. Honor and shame, explains deSilva, provided a touchstone for all of society’s values. Honor was both ascribed at birth due to one’s lineage and conferred by society through acting in a way deemed noble. The approval of others was thus greatly desired and served to keep people in line. At times, however, various groups espoused competing values, and a minority culture would promote an alternate “court of reputation” (40) from which its members were to seek approval.

Christians, one such counter-cultural minority group, encouraged the seeking of honor from a source other than the culture-at-large. In the face of being shamed by the “upside-down mentality of the society” (53), New Testament authors urged the faithful to seek the lasting honor that God alone could bestow. They pointed to Jesus and to Old Testament examples who endured hostility from ignorant outsiders who were often committed to wickedness. Rather than losing heart in the face of such opposition, Christians should rejoice and use the opportunity to display their loyalty to God. God’s approval, reinforced by the community of faith and the testimony of Scripture, was to be enough. As God’s people, Christians were to honor and care for one another. The community of faith promoted right behavior by using honor and shame, refusing to tolerate sin but confronting and restoring the wayward with love and gentleness. The church of today, says deSilva, needs to define itself as a counter-cultural movement, seeking honor through God’s approval rather than via status symbols such as wealth, education, possessions, and achievements. Modern Christians also need to recover a healthy sense of shame, allowing one another to be held accountable by being a community of honesty and openness and by confronting one another in love.

DeSilva next examines the first century concept of patronage. Although western society values self-sufficiency, New Testament culture valued the “giving and receiving of favors” as a normal and useful practice. In society, one often used relationships to obtain money, appointments, or access to influential individuals. The person in need, called the client, would seek out a patron and enter into a binding reciprocal relationship of give and take. The patron would provide the needed goods or service and would be owed a debt of gratitude in return. Ideally, the patron would give generously with no thought of return. Thus, it was an act of grace. The client, on the other hand, would show his or her gratitude by promoting the reputation of the patron, remaining loyal to the patron through thick and thin, and returning favors to the patron whenever possible. In short, the client was to demonstrate a “desire and commitment to return grace for grace” (118).

New Testament authors made use of this fundamental relationship to show what God had done for humanity through Jesus Christ. As the patron par excellence, God chose enemies to be the beneficiaries of His grace. Not only does He give life to all, but in Jesus He purchases salvation for all who will become His clients. Jesus, then, is seen as a mediator to God’s favor. He died voluntarily for our benefit, nobly giving His all, and thus we seek God in Jesus’ name. The Christian response to such generosity includes thanksgiving, a willingness to promote God’s honor by testifying to what He has done, a life of good works, loyalty, trust, obedience, and generous service to others.

A third element of first century culture that deSilva explores is that of kinship. In a very real way, one’s family of origin defined a person. Blood relatives worked together and promoted the common good of all. They could trust one another. They shared ideals and possessions, hid each other’s shame, and readily forgave one another. Cultural roles within the household were well defined, and the family unit was committed to loving and helping one another.

In the New Testament, deSilva explains, kinship was defined as being part of the “household of God” and the ethos of kinship was the “standard for interpersonal relations” in the church (199). Christians are described as being adopted by God Himself, born of the Spirit into the family of God. Although the world does not recognize the honor that has been given to believers, the New Testament reassures that the world failed to recognize Jesus as God’s Son as well. Jesus is “the critical link in the construction of this family” (200). Christians must trust the witness of the Spirit that they are God’s children and trust that their true identity will be made manifest to all at Christ’s second coming. In the meantime, they are to treat one another as sons and daughters of the King and as kin. The mutual love required of any family should show itself in the way Christians share their resources, maintain their unity, and honor one another. In their commitment to a separate ethos, they maintain a clear division from the world. At the same time however, they reach out to outsiders in love and remain open to receiving new converts. One point of Christian kinship that deSilva urges modern believers to take to heart is this: “to honor Christ by saying his blood is more important than our own in determining who shall be our family” (238). The “fictive” kinship of God’s family takes precedence even over the “natural” kinship of physical relatedness.

Purity is the final cultural norm that deSilva introduces in his book. The first century saw certain places, people, and times as being holy—set apart from the everyday and filled with power. Purity had to do with how people ordered the world. It was thought that one did not approach God blithely, for the holy was filled with power that contained a “combination of potential danger and potential blessing” (247). Various rituals provided the means by which one could become pure and whole and thus approach the holy without fear of reprisal.

DeSilva states that the New Testament presents Jesus as redefining purity codes. Jesus Himself provided the ultimate sacrifice that cleansed His people from impurity once and for all. He clarified that what truly makes a person unclean was not external pollutants but rather internal impurity that springs from one’s heart and mind. He taught that true holiness entails love and mercy and that “acts of compassion are never out of season” (290). Jesus’ body replaces the temple as sacred space, and the Church as Christ’s body becomes sacred as well. Christians are to treat the assembly of believers and their own individual physical bodies with reverence because the Spirit of Christ now dwells there. The Church is now set apart from the ordinary, sanctified for God’s service, and must extend God’s love to the world while remaining distinct and holy.

In my estimation, deSilva succeeds in capturing and conveying four important elements of first century New Testament culture. He paints a clear picture of the role that honor, patronage, kinship and purity played in that society. He then makes logical connections to the ways that New Testament authors incorporated such cultural understandings. The insights that deSilva provides are much more than interesting tidbits. They are essential for gaining a true appreciation of what New Testament authors are trying to convey when they use terms like honor, grace, gratitude, family, sacrifice, and purity. The book’s format—that of presenting a chapter on a sociocultural category’s larger cultural context followed by a chapter on its treatment in the New Testament—is very effective. DeSilva’s modern day application’s for the Church are right on target as well.

In summary, Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture is a good example of how an appreciation of cultural context unlocks a deeper understanding of the New Testament message. DeSilva summarizes several important aspects of Greco-Roman and Jewish culture with which the original writers assume their audience is familiar. This book guards against the modern reader’s natural tendency to superimpose his own worldview onto the text. DeSilva bridges the cultural gap and provides the understandings that are needed to more fully and correctly grasp the New Testament authors’ intent.

Catherine Doherty's Island

Years ago I read a wonderful and challenging book called The Gospel Without Compromise. Its author, Catherine de Hueck Doherty, was a Russian lady who emigrated to Canada. Her writings brought the orthodox practice of poustinia to light for many western readers. "Poustinia" is the Russian (and Bulgarian!) word for desert, but it also recalls the place where the Desert Fathers went to be alone with God, seeking Him in solitude, silence, and prayer. We can practice spending time with God in our own poustinias.

I ran across a quote today in which Catherine Doherty refers to her poustinia (her hermitage) as "my island." It just seemed to fit in with the theme of my blog too well not to share. I pray that it rings true with my island (and yours too!).

My island teaches me new truths, or deepens the truths I already know. Like life, the island is never the same. Who of us has not known those 'naked days' when we feel the world is against us, that its prying eyes strip us naked and leave us crucified: days when we feel we could give anything for a little privacy; days of sorrow and pain when we want to hide and have no place to hide?

But if one reads the Scriptures and comes across its lovely poetic words about 'a garden enclosed', a 'fountain sealed', and wonders about it all then my island will reveal the secret of those holy words, and it will lead gently to contemplation, which is the key to that garden. Someday, unseen and unheard, the Bridegroom will come to such a garden. Then one will understand what it is to be all His.

From I Live on an Island by Catherine de Hueck Doherty (emphasis mine)
I found the quote on p. 342 of Celtic Daily Prayer.

If you have a chance to read some of Mrs. Doherty's writings at the above website (the link on her name), I'm sure you won't regret it.

Learning from Our Brothers in Christ

I haven't posted in a while, but tonight I was checking to see what some of my favorite blogs had to say.
I was blessed by Joseph's words about ambition, moved by the beautiful poetry at Wild Grace, encouraged by words of wisdom at Ben Witherington's blog, and I remembered.
I remembered why these blogs are my favorites. I have something in common with all of these folks. I am inspired to see the faith of people expressed in this format. So many of them I have never even seen, and yet I have a kinship with them. The truth of what they believe resonates with my spirit.

I wanted to recommend a post to you from Michael Spencer's blog. Liturgical Gangstas 6: Unappreciated Strengths and Overlooked Weaknesses In this post, Spencer asks Christian pastors of various denominations to assess certain "underappreciated strengths" and "overlooked weaknesses" of their tradition. The answers were pretty cool. I especially liked the Orthodox priest's comments, Joseph. I, like him, find that a practical agnositicism has crept into Christian culture, especially in the sphere of education. I am often told that any talk of faith would be "inappropriate" at school. Even Christians espouse this thinking. Tonight I read from Acts 4:18-20.

18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. 20For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

I was convicted that I too have been more concerned with being politically correct than with speaking about "what I have seen and heard."

Anyway, I hope you read the post I've linked to. It's a good one.

Abbey of Gethsemani

Last weekend I went on a spiritual retreat. I spent the weekend in silence with God at the Abbey of Gethsemani, a Trappist monastery outside of Bardstown, Kentucky. It was great. I'd been wanting to do this for a long time, but I finally made the arrangements and did it.

I had first read about this monastery when I discovered Thomas Merton and read about his story. Merton is a great Christian thinker, and I was blessed by his writings. When I first drove out to Asbury to visit, I remember passing near the Abbey of Gethsemani and recalling that this is where Merton was a monk. I thought it would be great to visit someday.

It was only 75 miles away. I made reservations months in advance, and I drove down Friday after school let out. My goals were just to spend time with the Lord, reconnecting. I felt as if my prayer life was really weak, and I just needed to rekindle my relationship with God. As I drove down to the monastery, I felt giddy.

The monks pray 7 times a day: Vigils (3:15 AM), Lauds (5:45 AM--Communion follows), Terce (7:30 AM), Sext (12:15 PM), None (2:15 PM), Vespers (5:30 PM), and Compline (7:30 PM). The only time we spoke was to pray. When we weren't praying (by we I mean the other retreatants and I), we were free to do whatever we wanted. I read a lot, rested a bit, walked the surrounding grounds, sat and thought, and prayed. The silence wasn't uncomfortable at all. It became like a friend, and the unspoken friendship between the retreatants grew perceptibly as the hours passed. Gestures, looks, and smiles spoke volumes. We knew that we were there for a common purpose: to seek the LORD.

I loved the times of prayer. The phrase that is repeated most often is "Praise the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, both now and forever, the God who was, who is, and who is to come at the end of the ages." Repeat that 60 times in a weekend and it really sinks down into your heart. That's what these monks do. For over 160 years they have been praying and singing praises to God. Each night, while we sleep, they continue to pour forth adoration to God with steadfastness and faithfulness. I respected monks before. Now I know what a great service they perform for the world.

The time that meant the most to me was Saturday night after Vespers. I remained in the chapel, prostrate in the quiet darkness, and turned my heart toward the Lord. It was so sweet. The time flew. I felt as if I could have stayed forever. Such peace.

I hadn't connected like that with God in years. And it wasn't some big spiritual experience that happened. If you had asked me Saturday morning, I would say nothing had happened. But by Saturday afternoon, I realized that I had been with God the whole time. It was just the act of purposefully spending time together that did it. I loved Him, and He loved me.

I haven't blogged in a long time, and I hope to share more about what I learned on this trip. For now, though, it's just good to be writing again.

Praise the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, both now and forever...

God's Word

The Desert Fathers knew something about the importance of God's Word. This quote impressed me:

"Let Your tender word wear a hole in the hardness of our hearts; so as we hear Your word frequently our hearts will be opened to rightly fear God."

The Veritas Forum

This is a plug for a website I'm happy to have found. Although I had listened to a couple of lectures from the Veritas Forum, I only recently thought to look for their website. What is it? "Veritas Forums are university events that engage students and faculty in discussions about life's hardest questions and the relevance of Jesus Christ to all of life."

The link below lists various topics that speakers have addressed over the past dozen years or so. They are scholarly, yet fascinating and accessible. The few presenters I have heard were outstanding. I am currently listening to "Is Jesus the Old Testament Messiah?" by Richard Pratt.

Here's the list of topics: http://www.veritas.org/media/topics

More Christians should avail themselves of good teaching like this. I hope that an increasing number of people will utilize this site.

Enjoy!