A Hyperbolic Misconception

"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" 1Cor 2:2

I was speaking with a friend a while ago and we were discussing the doctrine of predestination and election and sovereignty and 'free will' and all the other philosophical and theological associations. It was a pleasant conversation, but as I have encountered many times with one who opposes Calvinism, he posed this question:

How can you say that God purposed and planned and predestined an evil act such as rape, or child molestation and sexual abuse? How could a loving God do this?

I understand his dilemma ... he believes that God is holy and that all his ways are righteous (Ps 143:17) and that in him is found no evil or sin. And because he believes this, he wants to keep God from ever being wrongly accused of evil. But in his attempt to vindicate God, I think that he has stepped beyond the bounds of Scripture.

Indeed, rape, sexual abuse and mutilation, ESPECIALLY when done to children is heinous and wicked and evil and that all perpetrators ought to be punished for their crimes! I believe this strongly, and without diminishing its wickedness, I would want to bring up one point. Whenever we are attempting to argue a point we often use hyperbole. That is, we attempt to use the most extreme cases to prove our points, because we assume (and I think there is truth in this assumption) that if our hyperbolic example holds true than, lesser and more frequent examples would also apply.

To apply this to the current argument ... it acceptable to think that God is in control of a "bird dying" since this is not a major moral infraction, but to say that God is in control of a small child being forced to eat excrement and then sexually abused and killed is to make God a monster, one who has the ability to stop this evil but chooses not to. This is because we think than any right minded human being would keep this atrocity from occurring, thus, because God is more righteous than man, he would do just that ... but because these evils do exist, then there must be another explanation ... God must not be in absolute control.

The major objection that I have to this argument is that objectors hyperbolic example is not extreme enough. There is one example that is unprecedented in its wickedness. One example that because it is overlooked, creates a hyperbolic misconception. The most nefarious act ever committed is not the abuse of a child, but the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. We must make this paradigmatic shift in our thinking if we are to begin to understand the suffering and the sovereignty of God. Scripture is clear, God willed the death of his son (Isa 53:10) before the ages began (1Cor 2:7). He was and is the only innocent one who never deserved death and yet the in the mysterious plan of God, he willed that his son should suffer and die. If there is any example that we can use to refute the Sovereignty of God in the work of evil then this is it ... yet the Bible leaves us no room to think that the Crucifixion was a mishap, an alternate plan, an uncontrollable outcome ... no, it was the will of God who ordained all these events to take place (Acts 4:25-7).

Therefore, I will say as Paul, "I have decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." This is the only way I will be able to understand the mysteries of God and the marvelous glory of his grace.

How Can you Believe this?

"I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me." John 14:6

A few nights ago I was speaking with a young lady about religion. After drawing her out for nearly an hour, I began to ask her more specific questions. The conversation soon focused on the issue of truth and absolutes, right and wrong.

"You mean to say that you think that you are right and that all other religions are wrong?"

"What would you say if I answered that question in the affirmative?"

"I don't know how you could think that you are right and that others are wrong."

"So it is wrong to think "I am right" and "that person is wrong?"

"I just don't know how you could say that."

"Sure you do, because you are making the same statement. Tell me, do you think that you are right ... or that I am wrong? Of course you do, that is why you are in disbelief over what I say. If I may, I think the problem you have is not about 'right and wrong' but about how a person applies what they think is right and wrong. Would you rather have a person be right or be loving?"

"Loving, because that is the 'right' thing"

"Yes, I am called to love everyone, even my enemies and those who disagree with me. But you see, I extend to them the right to make truth claims ... that is, I believe that I am right and they are wrong, and if they disagree with me they can do so and not fear that I will manipulate or force them to believe what I believe. BUT, they, as well as I, must argue for why they believe what they believe ....... so to answer your question, yes, I think that I am right and that I have reasons for thinking this way."

"What are they?"

"To put it simply, you believe your best friend when he or she tells you something, right? Likewise, I believe what Jesus said when he said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the father except through me.' In the simplest form, that is it. I believe what Jesus said and who he is."

Food For Thought: Isaiah 55:1-3 Part IV

Isaiah 55:1-3
"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; ..."

Listen diligently
As I sit in this Panera I hear many sounds ... the ripping of a receipt, the crunching of falling ice, the clinking of spoons, the rumble of a lowrider passing by, the slamming of an oven door, and the babble of lively conversations. I hear it, but I am not really listening to it ... at least not diligently. Numerous times has my father given me oral instructions only for me to quickly forget them because I was too busy doing something else while he was talking to me. I hear him, but I was not listening to him ... at least not diligently.

In either case, when I fail to listen diligently, I fail to comprehend and apply what is being communicated. It is impossible to "listen diligently" to everything ... I would go insane attempting to "listen" to everything in the Panera ... but I am foolish when I don't listen to my father. I think that I can multitask, when in reality I do a poorer job on the task at hand and the one he instructed me to do. Therefore, I must make a choice. What am I going to listen to?

Listen to me
I must listen to God. But how do I practice this? But how do I learn his voice? How do I know when he is speaking? For starters ... why not listen to those who I do know. The habits I cultivate with others spill over into my relationship with God. If I don't practice listening to my parents, friends, or teachers ... why would I think that listening to God would be different?

God speaks through his word. So how often do I go to his word and listen? How often do I read the Bible? This is how I learn his voice and discern "good" and "rich" food from the poor bland generic brand.

In What do I delight?
Where is my delight? For there is my treasure and my desire? Do I come to God? Do I hear God? Do I delight myself in the food of the King? Or have I satisfied myself with empty calories ... all this talk is making me hungry. I'm going to go eat the word.

Food For Thought: Isaiah 55:1-3 Part III

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has not money, come buy and eat! Come by wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

NO MONEY
The call to come is for those who have no money. What happened to it? I think that a few thoughts could fit ... (1) the person had counterfeit money which is no money at all, (2) the person never was given money, or (3) the person had spent all of the money. The latter seems to fit well. Why do we have no money? Because we have spent it ... yet we have spent it on that which does not satisfy, because I am asking from it what it only points to rather than gives.

I THOUGHT IT WAS BREAD
When I look for substance in the shadow I will never be satisfied. Food, relationships, work, clothing, buildings, nature ... all these things are emblems ... road signs that point to a greater reality a higher satisfaction.

To be satisfied in the emblem and not the substance is like a man getting filled on magazine pictures of bread. He sees the food and then gorges himself with the print outs, but is never satisfied. He thinks it is "bread" but can never get enough. He continues to spend his money on the pictures ... and even begins to "bake" the pictures ... but it never satisfies him.

Imagine a family going on a trip to the Estes National Park in Colorado ... as they are driving to the park they come across the sign which reads "Estes Park Ahead" and instead of being guided by the sign they mistake it for their destination. The whole family jumps out of the van and they take gobs of photos and video footage of them by the sign. Then, "satisfied" that they made it, they return home ... we laugh ... but do we not do that with the blessings of God? Do we not spend our money on that which is not bread and labor for that which does not satisfy? We hope it will deliver, but it never does. Why? We are asking from it, what it was never meant to produce. It is a sign, pointing to the real Bread ... are we willing to go?

Random Thoughts: 1 Thessalonians 4:17b

"... and so we will always be with the Lord." 1 Thes 4:17b

STOP AND 'SMELL' THE PASSAGE
If you haven't already, stop and contemplate this passage. Think about its implications. The context is Paul writing to the Thessalonians about the Second Advent of Christ. He does not want them to be uninformed and to grieve as others do who have no hope (4:13). As Christians, we do have hope ...

HOPE IN THE RESURRECTION
"For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep." (v 14) We no longer fear death nor the wrath of God, for 'through Jesus' (dia tou Iesou) God will 'bring with him' those who have believed in him.

HOPE IN THE VICTORY OVER DEATH
"And the dead in Christ will rise ..." (v 16b) Death has no hold on us. Those who have died to self and died 'in Christ' will be made alive 'in Christ.' Christ is the firstfruit of this hope.

HOPE OF AN ETERNITY WITH CHRIST
"... and so we will always be with the Lord." (v 17b)

• "we" - this is a corporate hope and not simply something that happens to one person. It is not a "me and Jesus" but a "we and Jesus." All those who have believed in this hope will be there ...
• "always" - never ending, ever increasing! We will never again be separated from Christ and the redeemed. Picture it. Imagine it. 'Always" with the Lord.
• "the Lord" - though it is true that there will be loved ones there, and that pain will cease, and that death will be conquered, and that joy everlasting will be heaped upon us, and that eternal blessings will be stored up for us ...... the greatest treasure and the greatest delight is that Christ will be there, and we will "always be with the Lord."

HOW'S YOUR HOPE?

What are you hoping in? Do you long to be with the Lord? Do you long to be with him forever?

Random Thoughts: Revelatory Epistemology

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, by my Father who is in heaven." Mathew 16:13-17

HOW DID PETER KNOW JESUS WAS 'THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD?'
According to Jesus, Peter "knew" that Jesus was 'the Christ' because God give him that knowledge. In other words, if God had not revealed this truth to him all other answers would have been human speculation but woefully short of the glorious reality ... Jesus was the 'Son of the living God.'

Jesus is adamant in contrasting what did reveal this truth to him with what did NOT reveal this truth to him: 'Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you.'

WHY WOULD JESUS TELL PETER WHERE HE LEARNED THE TRUTH OF CHRIST?
One must wonder if Peter might have felt smug about his answer. 'Others say such and such, but I know better. You are the Christ.' It isn't much later (chapter 18) when the disciples are arguing over who will be the greatest, so you can imagine that some of this attitude had to be present in this profession. Jesus asks the question and Peter jumps on the opportunity beating the other disciples to the punch, like a school boy who knows the answer to the teachers question and wants to be picked so that he can demonstrate his knowledge to the classroom (though as an adult I still do this).

But Jesus deflates any notion of pride that Peter may have had. 'Yes, Peter, your are right and consider yourself blessed for knowing this, but don't think that it was your own intellect and acumen that gained you this knowledge. This truth is not derived from man, but God. You know, because God has chosen to let you know.' In other words, Peter has this knowledge only because it was given to him. If God did not reveal this truth to him, no amount of study or seeking would ever discover this truth. Man is at the mercy of God revealing himself and his truth to us. All 'Eureka's' should be followed with exclamations of praise and thanksgiving to God who has been gracious to impart an insight to an otherwise dull and blinded mind.

REVELATORY EPISTEMOLOGY
This story is an illustration of what I call revelatory epistemology, the belief that all knowledge is a gift from God. Therefore, to know is to be endowed by God with the grace to do so. Some may find this elementary, but I find it profound, because it deconstructs any refutation that "One cannot 'know' truth absolutely." I think we can know truth, because truth is not limited to the realm of abstraction, but is embodied in the person of Jesus Christ who himself proclaimed to be "the way the truth and the life" (John 14:6). We can know truth, because we can know Jesus. But we know Jesus, not because we went searching for him and found him ... but because he sought us and revealed himself to us. We know him because he has shown himself to us. This should humble the wise and encourage the simpleton.

WHAT DO WE DO IF WE DO NOT KNOW? AN OBJECTION
If we find that we are ignorant or without, what do we do then? I can hear the objector, "Well, if I don't know than it is God's fault since he has not 'revealed' himself or the truth to me!" No, God is not to blame for your ignorance, O foolish man. You do not have because you do not ask or seek, and when you do, you ask or seek amiss and for your own passions and not for the glory of God ... thus God will give you up to your own passions which will not lead to wisdom, but foolishness, perversion, and destruction (James 4:2,3; Rom 1:24, 26, 28).

WHAT DO WE DO IF WE DO NOT KNOW?
Paul would tell us to "Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything" (2Tim 2:7). As John Piper would say, "Thinking is a gift for thinkers." No amount of thinking will gain us understanding unless God gives it to us. But the means by which he imparts understanding is by us thinking! "Thinking is a gift for thinkers." Do you not know? Then ask (but not amiss), seek (but not for your own passions), think (but with all the God given ability to do so) ... and then you will receive, you will find, and you will know what you do not now have and know. So that when you have received this knowledge ... praise God and acknowledge that 'flesh and blood' did not gain this knowledge, but the grace of God revealed it to me through the means of asking, seeking, and thinking.

Random Thoughts: 1 Chronicles 17:1-2

Now when David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, "Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent." And Nathan said to David, "Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you." 1 Chronicles 17:1-2

What is in my heart?
David was grieved to see that he lived in a better house than did the ark of the covenant. In the preceeding chapter David let loose a litany of praise to God ...

"Splendor and majesty are before him,
Strength and joy are in his place.

Ascribe to the Lord, O clans of the peoples,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name"

David had ascribed to the Lord the glory due his name in word ... and now he desired to magnify the majesty of God by making for Him a glorious temple. There was a discrepancy in the splendor of his house and the splendor of God's tent, and he wanted to change that.

No Word, No glory
There is another discrepancy that I see. There are millions of people who do not have the Word of God in their own heart language. Their hearts are darkened and the Spirit of God does not dwell in these "temples." Yet here I am in a sea of Bible versions and translations ... this is cannot be.

Lord, my heart is for your splendor and majesty. Oh that I may do what is in my heart because you are with me. May it be so, O God of heaven and earth. May I magnify your glory and spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ.

I do not want to waste my life. Grant my heart's desire (Ps 37:4).