ExodusPodcasts.com

Last night we spent a considerable amount of time discussing what God could do, specifically as it relates to the problem of evil in the world. For most Christians, they are fairly comfortable with the idea that God is not only the creator and author of all things, but knows what will happen to each of us (perfectly) and the choices that we will make. Naturally, this line of thinking can lead us to some important philosophical issues, specifically that if God is all powerful and knows all things then isn’t God, at the end of the picture, at least responsible for the problem of evil.

Let us consider the following thought:

God (by God’s very nature) can do whatever God wants to do.

God, being all powerful, creates the world that we live in.

Let’s stop here for a moment. I realize that many thinkers disagree on these characteristics of God, but for the sake of the argument, let’s assume that the vast majority of Christians think about God this way, having little or no training in different theological perspectives that view the very nature of God differently.

The question that quickly comes up for me is, if God could create in any way possible, why did God create the world in the way that God did? For example, it is possible to conceive of a creation where there was no “original” sin, where the world never existed as “fallen”, where there existed none of the conceptual frameworks and boundaries that are common to our Christian understanding (i.e., freewill, grace, mercy, etc.). It is possible to conceive of a world where God simply created us perfectly, free from the issues that disturb us today.

On this picture, wouldn’t God be ultimately responsible for the evil that exists in the world today? To be sure, some would instantly argue with me, that it is precisely because God did not create that perfect world that we can know that God “values” the qualities of our life (grace, mercy, freewill) that we define as key components of our relationship with God. However, God only “values” (if we can even say that we know that God values anything from us at all) those things that we understand in this creative construct. In other words, if we lived in the perfect world mentioned previously then we would not understand God in the way that we understand God now–the rules of the game, so to speak, would be entirely different. The language and grammar of our very existence would not be the same. Comparing what we think God values of us in this world to what we think God would value of us in a different creative construct would be like comparing apples to oranges. Just because we define our existence now by a certain set of terms does not mean that we would do the same thing had the world been created entirely different.

That God created the world that God did does not mean God could not have created it differently, since by our earlier definition, God’s creative ability is unrestricted and unfettered. Our created status only has significance insofar as it is wholly dependent on God as its source. We may still ask, why didn’t the source create differently? The fact that we value this current existence says nothing about whether or not God could have done it differently or even values it in the same way that we do.

Thus, the problem still exists–if God could have created the world differently then, logically speaking, God could have created a world just as meaningful as the one we live in now, only without the evil, sin, and suffering we experience now–the question still remains as to why God did not do this.

There are, by the way, philosophical arguments which address this very question. Some have argued that this creation is in fact the “best of all possible worlds” while others have said we need to change our notions of the character and creative qualities of God. This post is far too long to go into all of those details, but as we continue on through our series of suffering and evil, hopefully we will have a chance to explore those options as well.

Something that Phil and I discussed later in the evening, after tonight’s talk had ended, was what it means to give and act responsibly. Let us start out with the premise that it is best to act responsibly whenever possible. Our first question quickly becomes, what does it mean to act in a responsible manner? Different people will have different answers, but I suspect that the majority of us could find some consensus on its meaning, that is, to make good choices.

What is problematic, though, are the reasons for the choices that we make when it comes to responsible judgments and actions. I can choose to be responsible in a given situation, but is it really for the sake of responsibility? Let us give an example: There is a homeless man begging for money on the street–two obvious responses are as follows: to give or not to give. In the case of the latter, a reason for not giving may be a belief (justifiable or not) that the homeless person will spend the money unwisely, thus making him undeserving of one’s charity.

Jesus addresses this situation in a peculiar fashion, one that is often overlooked when discussing the merits of charitable given. In Luke 6, Jesus compels us to give alms (to the poor) without reservation, and to lend to people without any expectation of being repaid. Jesus gives us an example of charity that is, by any standard definition, irresponsible. In our world, we do not lend to people who cannot pay a loan back. And we often withhold money from the poor for fear of how they may use it.

Perhaps the most difficult part of giving is understanding its motivations. I believe that Jesus is not simply giving us an example of giving that is by definition “irresponsible”, but is encouraging us to examine the reasons behind why we give (or do not give). Do we give only because it is convenient, only in situations where we feel we can control its outcome or direct it towards some desired effect? Ultimately, the definition of responsibility is tied to some cultural expectation, some meaning that is connected to more than just a religious perspective. I believe Jesus gives us an example of giving that goes beyond some merely human idea of what it means to be responsible, an example that at its core is not tied to either an idea of responsibility or irresponsibility, but is tied to the very heart of the matter; why we give and ultimately to whom we believe we are giving.

A few weeks ago during our Wednesday night series on Lamentations, the concept of cursing our enemies during prayer came up.  It seemed as if there are multiple places in the Bible where people call on God to be wrathful towards the speaker’s enemies.  This creates a potential problem with other teachings of the Bible to love our enemies.  As I was recently encouraged to investigate this more, I came across one persepctive that I wanted to see other people’s opinions of.   God has the right to curse people and be vengeful towards them because he is God.  We, on the other hand, do not have that right.  The potential way to merge these ideas is that the speaker is actually speaking a curse from God.  I thought this idea was interesting, but I am not sure how justified it is.  Share your thoughts.

It’s easy to see that others can lack perspective.  A child declares that they can’t live without a particular toy, but as adults we smile and assure them that their life can be lived without it.  If only they had our perspective. 

A teenager deals with heartbreak at the end of their first relationship and feels the intense pain that it brings.  They feel they might never love again.  But we assure them that the pain eventually does subside, and that though they can hardly imagine it at the time, they will find love again.  If only they had our perspective.

We struggle with the pressures of life that bear down on us, while others who are facing crippling illness or death remind us of how relatively well off we are and how much life we still have before us.  If only we had their perspective.

Jesus often reminded us in subtle and not-so-subtle ways that we lack His perspective.  We are often self-centered, while He reminded us that we were created to love others as ourselves.  We often cling to our possessions, while He reminded us that everything that was made belongs to the Lord.  We live entirely for this life, while He reminded us that we were also meant to live in anticipation of the life to come in eternity.  We are obsessed with our own needs and desires, but miss the movement of God in the greater stories around us and throughout the arch of our own life story.

We are in anguish over all the pain and suffering and poverty and illness in the world, while He gave us the ability, resources and opportunity to address almost all of those things.  We struggle with doubts and fears and worries, and ignore the truth of an ever-present God who invites us into His presence and into a place where there will be no more sorrow, no more tears, no more worry and no more pain. 

If only we had His perspective.

Lately I’ve been thinking a great deal about a word; a way of thinking differently about the people around me. Namasté. Translated literally, this greeting means “I bow to you.” In yoga, it’s used with the meaning “The light in me honors the light in you.” To me, it’s a great reminder that God has created and deeply loves each of the faces–both new and familiar–I encounter every day.

I’m sad to admit how much easier it is for me to extend judgment and mistrust onto people I don’t know, rather than to choose to love them. In very tangible ways, I know God would have me be a presence of light and love so I can embody who He is. To me this means smiling at strangers instead of fearing them. It means choosing gentleness over annoyance when my neighbors are loud or I get cut off in traffic. It’s praying for people who hurt me and choosing to be patient. It’s looking people in the eye, treating them with dignity, and realizing that God loves them just as much as he loves me.

Everybody hurts, doubts, cries, experiences loneliness. I believe that God gave us our earthly relationships in part to model His healing love to each other. It’s not usually the response that comes most naturally, but it’s always within our control to choose love. And maybe that’s the closest we’ll ever get to Heaven on Earth.

And so, a humble Namasté to my Exodus family, who are so easy to love!