lighthouse
October 20th, 2003, 05:16 AM
Why, God, Why?
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Our hearts are broken when we see atrocities inflicted on innocent people. Wars force thousands of refugees - old men, children and families - out of their homes. Teenagers coldly murder their classmates. Toddlers disappear, never to be seen again.
In the midst of this world's carnage, it is only natural to wonder, Where is God in all this? Why doesn't He do something? Why does He allow this to happen?
As difficult as it is to understand, God has already done something. He sent His son to save us. But Jesus Christ did not enter this world to thwart criminals or overthrow governments; He came to change our hearts.
Even the people of Jesus' day thought their Savior came to liberate them from oppression. But He did not. He told them, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36).
This world - with its godless wars, murders and inhumanity - exists under the dominion of Satan. Though the Bible states the absolute authority of God, Satan has been given much power, and the evil in this world is under his control.
That's why the apostle Paul assserted, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12)
Satan was the first one in history to openly defy God. He also started a philosophy of life that was self centered and rejected God's authority. That was the birth of sin.
Sin assumes a self defined life plan rather than one purposed by the Creator. Today sin affects the entire human race. We are all guilty of it, and therefore all deserve sin's penalty.
"For the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23)
According to the Bible, peace on earth will not come until after God's judgement and Christ's second coming. But peace with God is available now for all who faithfully accept Jesus' death as payment for their sin.
"Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1)
God permitted evil to be present in this world. He gave all of us, including Satan, free will. He allows us to choose whether or not we follow Him. If God forced us to love and worship Him, would that truly be love????? He lets us make up our own minds.......
Satan and death were defeated when Jesus Christ rose again after dying on the cross. Satan has no reprieve. But, you still have a chance !
You can come to know "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding," by acknowledging the sin in your life and believing that Christ's death on the cross paid sin's penalty for you and that His resurrection offers you new life.
We will never know all the answers to the question, Why God? But, when you open your life to Jesus Christ, He promises to walk with you through this world's troubles. You will begin to see the world through His eyes. He will begin new feelings insisde of you that you may not have felt for a long time, if ever..........like joy, peace, love and hope.......
Jesus said, "I have told you these things , so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world !" (John 16:33)
American Tract Society
http://www.suffering.net/whygod.htm
lighthouse
October 20th, 2003, 05:19 AM
The Case for Faith
Notes from Lee Strobel's book
Objection 1: Since Evil and Suffering exist, a loving God cannot
If God is all powerful, he can do anything. If God is all good, he wants only good. If God is all wise, he knows what is good. So if all these are true - and Christians believe they are - then it would seem that the consequence is that no evil can exist.
But evil does exist !
God is all powerful
God chose to create people with free will
God did not create evil - he created the possibility of evil
The source of evil is not God's power but mankind's freedom
Even an all powerful God could not create a world where people had genuine freedom and yet there was no potentiality for sin.
You can't have a world where there's real choice while at the same time no possibility of choosing evil
But - if God didn't create human freedom - - -there would be no humans !
If God didn't create freedom of will - it would be a place without sin and a place without suffering - but it would also be a place without love, which is the highest value in the universe.
Real love - our love of God and of others - involves real choice......but with the granting of that choice comes the possibility that people would instead choose to hate....
Before the Jews introduced the world to 1 God there was paganism, which says if there's evil in the world, then there must be many gods, each of them less than all powerful, some of them good, some of them evil....
After God created the world - He said it is good - - - without sin and evil.... God did his part perfectly - - we messed it up !
God is all knowing
If God knows all, then a loving God could deliberately tolerate horrible things, like starvation, because he foresees that in the long run, that more people will be better and happier than if he miraculously intervened.
He has demonstrated how the very worst thing that has ever happened in the history of the world ended up resulting in the very best thing that has ever happened in the history of the world - - the death of God himself on the cross....
At that time, no one saw how anything good could ever result from this tragedy and God foresaw the result would be the opening of heaven to human beings.
So, the worst tragedy in history has bought about the most glorious event in history.
and if the ultimate evil could result in the ultimate good - - it can happen elsewhere, even in our own individual lives.
Here, God lifts the curtain and lets us see it -- elsewhere, he simply says, "trust me"
Suppose you're the devil - the enemy of God - and you want to kill him - but you can't.....However, God has this ridiculous weakness of creating and loving humans, whom you can get at.....You've got hostages ! So - you simply come down into the world, corrupt humankind, and drag some of them to hell. When God sends prophets to enlighten them, you kill the prophets also.........Then God does the most foolish thing of all - - he sends his own son and plays by the rules of the world. - - - and you say "A-ha I got him !"
So - when we bleed and suffer, perhaps the same thing is happening ! Maybe this is God's way of defeating the devil.
Just as the disciples couldn't see anything good from the cross at the time - - - we cannot see good emerging from struggles, trials and suffering in our own lives....
we can see how good came from the suffering and death of Jesus - and we can trust that it will happen in our case too.
The greatest Christians in history seem to say that their sufferings ended up bringing them the closest to God - - and this is the best thing that could happen, not the worst.
God is all good
dentists, athletic trainers, teachers, parents - they all know that sometimes to be good - - you cannot be kind.... Certainly there are times when God allows suffering and deprives us of the lesser good of pleasure in order to help us toward the greater good of moral and spiritual education.
Moral character gets formed through hardship, through overcoming obstacles, through enduring despite difficulties.
For example, courage would be impossible in a world without pain
The universe is a soul making machine, and part of that process is learning, maturing, and growing through difficult and challenging and painful experiences. The point of our lives in this world isn't comfort, but training and preparation for eternity.
See the Twilight Zone story...
Every time you use force to take away evil, you take away freedom......
To prevent all evil, you must remove all freedom and reduce people to puppets, which means they would then lack the ability to freely choose love.
If you did this - - you would lose the kind of world a Father would want.....
The megaphone of pain
Evil people aren't getting away with anything - - justice delayed is not justice denied.
There will be a day when God will settle accounts and people will be held responsible for the evil they've perpetrated and the suffering they've caused.
God is delaying the consummation of history out of his great love for them
Perhaps one can reason the purpose of suffering, but why the necessity of the excess, which seems so cruel?
because we're not God we can't say how much suffering is needed. Maybe every single element of pain in the universe is necessary. How can we know??
We are made in God's image - - but we are not morally good. Our good deeds are stained with self-interest and our demands for justice are mixed with lust for vengeance.
Bearing the pain
Strobel believes all suffering contains at least the opportunity for good.... but not everyone actualizes that potential......Not all of us learn and benefit from suffering - thats where free will comes in...we choose how to respond!!
Just about every human being can reflect on his past and say they've learned from that hardship
lighthouse
October 20th, 2003, 05:25 AM
Fischer 26 !
Fischer 26 Bible
1. True faith will be tested. Christians, because they are Christians, will inevitably undergo constant testing. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
2. The stronger the potential faith, the greater the testing one should expect. In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.... He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. Job 1:1,2
3. Testing and suffering reminds us who really is Lord of our life...and it's not us!!! Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. I Corinthians 6:20
4. The hardest thing about suffering is remembering the central focus of the test: to keep our faith strong.. If we lose this focus, we fail the test. Failure is never final; God is always forgiving and will restore us even when we have failed. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14;7-8
5. For this reason, as the Christian regularly and daily prays for a stronger faith, he can also expect that the strengthening of one's faith may best be accomplished through the experience of testing Sixth Petition of the Lord's Prayer "And lead us not into temptation" What does this mean? "God indeed tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us not seduce us I into misbelief, despair, and other great shame and vice; and though we be assailed by them, that still we may finally overcome and obtain the victory." From Luther's Small Catechism
6. Our Christian faith is never so strong that it is ever exempt from or immune to testing and, at times, failure. Even when we fail, Jesus never forsakes us; He constantly prays for us before, during, and after testing. "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me." Luke 22:31
7. In order for faith to be strengthened, it must be refined...by fire. When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply. The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine." Source: "How Firm a Foundation," (Hymn 427) Copyright 1941.The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. Reprinted by Permission
8. As our faith is refined, our feelings will, if possible, undermine our faith.Thus testing ought to drive us to the objective certainty of faith and not to the subjective despair of emotion.When emotions become uncontrolled--or uncontrollable--special professional, medical, and/or spiritual intervention may be required. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. I Peter 5:8-9
9. God allows Satan to test us for the purpose of demonstrating to Satan just how strong a believer's trust in God is; it is Satan who does the damage...to the extent allowed by God and our sometimes ill-equipped selves Examples: Note the relative range of damage done during the following tesings: The Devil deceived Eve, tempted Christ(Christ damaged Satan!), possessed Judas to betray Christ ,led Judas into despair, and led Peter to deny Christ.
10. God sets the maximum boundaries for the "allowable" limits of suffering we will endure; Satan pursues them to the max Job 1
11. The limits of suffering may be exceeded if we neglect all of God's provisions for our physical, emotional well-being. It will almost certainly be exceeded if we give up our primary defense: Absolute trust in God as He has revealed Himself in Word and Sacraments. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:13
12. God does not wish us to suffer; However, He must test us as we need to be tested. Therefore the most critical and difficult testings which we will endure can be expected to involve those things, people (friends, family, etc.) and issues which, from our perspective, are most highly prized, precious, valuable, esteemed and loved. Indeed, every essential value, belief, moral, attitude, motivation, world-view and perspective by which we live will be severely tested and, through such testing, leave us strengthened for God's service.This is the ultimate focus of trial: to strengthen our Christian character.
13. Before, during, and after testing, we ought to constantly examine in which ways our armor is weakened so as to prepare ourselves for the inevitable next--and greater--testing. The longer and more severe the testing, the more zealously we need to examine our armor. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:10-11
14. We need not--and should not--blame God for suffering which is a result of our own foolish, intentional sinful actions. Such actions ought direct us to the unlimited forgiveness and grace of God.
15. Suffering, for the Christian, is not punishment. It is discipline, specifically the discipline of Christian character. It is the way God demonstrates that we are His children What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Romans 8:31
16. Christians are never alone in their testing, even when we feel we have left God or He has left us.As Jesus prayed for Peter while being "sifted like wheat" and as the Father continued praying for the return of his lost son (Luke 15), so God never takes His loving attention from us. He is always praying on our behalf. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35
17. Suffering is not a Means of Grace. It is, however, a gracious and careful preparation of God for greater exaltation in His grace.
18. Thus, whatever suffering we endure as a testing of our faith is cause for joy, not despair. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. James 1:2-3
19. The Christian's final response to the suffering and testing of God is always to bless God. "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." Job 1:21
20. "Why" questions, are an important part of the Christian's grieving process in that they acknowledge God's power and our weakness before Him. The answers may be received, as part of the testing, at a later time or, more often, in the eternal courts of God. During our pilgrimmage on earth, one of the most useful purposes of "Why" questions are to shape patient, hopeful, and persevering Christian character. Such questions are so painful precisely because they deal with the essence and core of our being--our character.
21. A Christian's trial is not completed until such time that we have used the promises of God in Word and Sacrament to deal effectively with grief. Christians who continue attitudes of anger, self-pity, confusion, tears, etc. will continue experiencing the overwhelm of these emotions until such time that God's will has been accepted and assimilated into the Christian's heart and life.Only at such time will Christians learn how to consider such sufferings "pure joy" (James 1)
22. Death, at God's time, is the final blessed deliverance from suffering. Until that time, life will be full of difficulties as we walk in the valley of the "shadow of death" (Psalm 23). For the Christian, death from an eternal perspective is never a "tragedy"; instead it is the blessed deliverance from an evil pain-filled world. For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another." Job 19:25-27
23. The most power testimony of our trust and faith in God is patient endurance which trusts that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. Painful learning of our weakness in trial makes for easier, day-by-day application of God's power in our everyday living during--and after--trial. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. II Corinthians 12:8-9
24. After trial, we are never the same. Trial, as God intends, exposes and deepens our weaknesses even as it uncovers and develops new strengths and opportunities for ministry. The tears of trial, therefore, are the chisel God uses to change the Christian's heart painfully--but skillfully--to enliven our hope in Jesus Christ. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:1-5
25. Those whom--or the things which--God graciously provided to sustain the Christian in trial may also be painfully removed, as part of the trial, at such time God deems necessary.
26. God ultimately uses suffering as an act not of Law, but of Gospel, to draw us and renew us in the suffering, death, resurrection and forgiveness of Christ into which we have been baptized. Thus, the ultimate focus of trial is to highlight God's gracious and undeserved love for us in Christ My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth. Hebrews 12:
Jade
October 20th, 2003, 11:27 AM
This is a simple version of a complex answer I heard awhile ago. I'm not sure I fully understood it enough to give this condensed version, but here goes anyway.
When sin was first committed, God could have forgiven everything on the spot. But there had to be consequences for the sin, or we would have been (essentially) spoiled brats. So with sin rampant in the world, and the consequences of that sin, we are all affected by it. It is only by the grace of God and his gift of salvation that we can be saved, but for now we still face the consequences of the sin in this world.
(This does not mean we suffer things always because of our sins, but because sin is in the world in general terms.)
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