Theodicy
Our internet has been up and down quite a bit this past week so I apologize for the lack of posts. Hopefully it is all straightened out and I can go back to blogging a few times a week.
What's new:
My Bible Study group is studying apologetics (the defense of the Christian Faith) and last week we tackled the problem of pain and suffering (theodicy for you wordsmiths). We tried to answer the question: "Why does God allow pain?". This question invariably comes up in many forms, like, "Why did God let so-and-so die?" or "Why does God allow suffering of *insert repressed people group here* in Africa?" Our group always breaks the question down to try and discern the meaning behind the question. My experience is such that most people who ask me this question don't really want an answer. They want recognition of their pain and some measure of comfort. Usually sometime later the question arises again and that's when a good dialogue can occur.
This question presupposes two things: A. Death is a bad event. B. God should do everything we ask. I think both of these premises are faulty at best. We know as Christians that death is the beginning of our life in heaven and that death has a 100% occurrence rate among people. Everyone dies, even people cured of cancer eventually die. Heaven is the panacea for life's sufferings and we all get the same opportunity to go. Simply put: we are an eternal people whether we like it or not. Death is not the enemy.
God should not do everything we ask of Him. That very idea puts ourselves at the center of importance and supplants God's position of ultimate authority. How can God be God if he is subject to fulfilling our every request? That makes us guilty of pride, as pride is putting ourselves BEFORE God, or in the place of God and frankly, that's the root of every sin. All other sin is a by-product of our ungodly pride. Besides, can you imagine if we actually got everything we asked for in life? My friend Gayle told me that ,
Yet this still doesn't explain why God doesn't just tell us why we have pain. I have some ideas about this too, but I'll save it for a future blog.
What's new:
My Bible Study group is studying apologetics (the defense of the Christian Faith) and last week we tackled the problem of pain and suffering (theodicy for you wordsmiths). We tried to answer the question: "Why does God allow pain?". This question invariably comes up in many forms, like, "Why did God let so-and-so die?" or "Why does God allow suffering of *insert repressed people group here* in Africa?" Our group always breaks the question down to try and discern the meaning behind the question. My experience is such that most people who ask me this question don't really want an answer. They want recognition of their pain and some measure of comfort. Usually sometime later the question arises again and that's when a good dialogue can occur.
This question presupposes two things: A. Death is a bad event. B. God should do everything we ask. I think both of these premises are faulty at best. We know as Christians that death is the beginning of our life in heaven and that death has a 100% occurrence rate among people. Everyone dies, even people cured of cancer eventually die. Heaven is the panacea for life's sufferings and we all get the same opportunity to go. Simply put: we are an eternal people whether we like it or not. Death is not the enemy.
God should not do everything we ask of Him. That very idea puts ourselves at the center of importance and supplants God's position of ultimate authority. How can God be God if he is subject to fulfilling our every request? That makes us guilty of pride, as pride is putting ourselves BEFORE God, or in the place of God and frankly, that's the root of every sin. All other sin is a by-product of our ungodly pride. Besides, can you imagine if we actually got everything we asked for in life? My friend Gayle told me that ,
"Sometimes God gives you exactly what you ask for and it is the worst possibleAs we mature in our Christian faith I see a trend of people asking for God's will to be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Not just their own will. Since I am a member of a congregation of more mature Christians, I see this prayer request with more of the elder members then the younger. I take that as a good sign that their life taught them to want God's will more then their own.
thing that could happen. Be careful what you pray for, you might just get
it."
Yet this still doesn't explain why God doesn't just tell us why we have pain. I have some ideas about this too, but I'll save it for a future blog.
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