Tag: Christianity

When one considers today’s headlines about coronavirus and its potential to kill, it’s easy for anyone to ask, “Why is there so much suffering?” It’s a question that has been asked since the Old Testament.  But on whom does responsibility for suffering rest?  What does the Bible say about our corrupt world?  Do we have any choice in the matter when it comes to suffering?

Consider Job and how he responded after losing all his wealth and children. He took his concern to God and asked for understanding. And with that understanding came peace.  Job’s suffering was not because of something he did.  His suffering was caused by the sins of Satan. Doesn’t this teach us that suffering is the result of sin, and those who suffer are not necessarily the sinner who causes the suffering?

God created a perfect world, but man’s sin opened that world to corruption.  Viruses, tornadoes, floods cause suffering.  To be clear, they are the result of the corruption of what was once a perfect world.  We suffer from sin that corrupted the world in the past, and present-day sin that continues to corrupt God’s creation. While the Bible doesn’t tell us in scientific language how the world physically changed, it does tell us the corruption of God’s creation sprouts from man.  It also tells us that we can choose to remain blinded to the cause of corruption and wallow in the suffering, or we can ask that God would open our eyes to His will for us.  We may also ask for the strength we need while surrounded by corruption.

God gives everyone the choice. Which one do you choose?

 

 

There are a lot of people today who claim they want to tell you what God’s word means. They quote scripture verbatim, then go on to explain its meaning. But does including a scripture mean they are presenting God’s message? Are you disagreeing with God if you question someone who claims a specific passage is the source of their belief? I’m not nick-picking when I say there is a very big difference between telling someone God’s Word and telling someone what you say God’s word means.

Consider that Galatians tells us that even if an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one the apostles preached, let them be under God’s curse! The irony here is that there are people who use this scriptural warning about those who add to God’s Word, to get others to follow the things they’ve added. What I mean is, if someone reads a scripture and says this is God’s Word, they have spoken well.  But if they follow the scripture they just quoted with phrases like, “And what that means is…” they are no longer speaking God’s Word but giving you their interpretation of God’s Word. Shouldn’t we be wary of anyone who claims that if you disagree with them, you’re disagreeing with God if they have said anything in addition to what’s written in the Bible?

Disagreeing with what someone says about the scripture is not the same as disagreeing with scripture. Too many times people, even preachers, claim that if you have a problem with what they are saying you’re disagreement is with God when they’ve added to what God actually said. If someone claims that they alone, or their congregation alone, is the only one following God’s Word, would you know how to tell the difference?

What are your thoughts?

Religion is man’s attempt to understand God.  Science is man’s attempt to understand His creation. The two disciplines are not mutually exclusive.

 Anti-theists often argue that Christianity is corrupt because it is a religion, and some religions teach violence. I’m talking about those who say religion causes evil. This is clearly a composition fallacy; that is, inferring that something is true of the whole from the fact that it is true of some part of the whole.  It is the same as lumping science into a category with all other attempts to understand the physical world. Scientists should not be strapped with all the baggage of non-scientists who have made claims about the universe. And yes, there have been terrible things done by some who seek to understand the physical world. Consider those who say they know some cure for cancer and encouraged people with symptoms to avoid the doctor. Those people may have developed their “cure” through some non-scientific effort to understand the physical world, but they are not scientists and it’s wrong to lump scientists into a group with them simply because both try to understand the universe. That is the same kind of composition fallacy committed by the anti-theists who lump Christians into the same group with all others who seek to know God.

 By the way, it would be wrong to call everyone involved in science a malefactor because individual scientists have used their understanding for bad things. It would also be wrong to judge all scientists because individual scientists have been mistaken about one or more of the basics of their field resulting in harm. A misguided scientist and minister who misunderstands the basics of what Jesus taught are individuals. There is no logic in judging all Christians or all scientists by the actions of either one of these people. People are individuals.  

 Have unfair judgments lobbed at Christianity prevented you from seeking God?

 What are your thoughts?