This session of the Church of the Infinite Chasm is hereby called to order.
As an addendum to last week’s diatri… I mean sermon, a few additional thoughts. To refresh your memory, or inform the FTAs (Failure To Attends), I rhetorically wondered why people can readily accept a “bad guy” in books, movies, TV shows, et cetera (whether fiction or non-fiction), yet the very same people think the Bible’s teaching that there is an actual, real-life Devil is considered a relic of superstition and mythology.
We also touched on the fact that so-called Christians don’t exactly help their own cause by often portraying the devil as a fire-breathing, forked-tongued, pitchfork-wielding character. (More about that in the next sermon.*) And then there’s the puzzling habit that was mentioned last week, and to which we’ll add a few thoughts today: among the “faithful,” God gets the credit for anything and everything – good or bad.
That belief – which is not a Bible teaching – finds frequent expression in phrases like, “Well, everything happens for a reason.” I once had a conversation with a gentleman who said that. I asked for details. He said that God has a reason for everything he does. I wish I could remember what we were discussing, but it was something horrific – let’s just say it was September 11, but it could have been the Christmas tsunami a couple years ago or the earthquake in Japan – so I asked, “You think God did that?” His reply was a somewhat accusatory: “You don’t think God is in control? Of everything? In the whole universe?”
In a word, no. In two words, heck no. The Bible actually says (it’s in the book of First John) that Earth is, unfortunately, under the domain of Satan, “the wicked one.” That would explain things like September 11. The explanation for earthquakes, tsunamis, fatal mudslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and so on, is what I call the 9-11 scripture. Specifically, Ecclesiastes 9:11, which essentially says stuff happens. No one should conclude every event – however heinous or wonderful – displays the hand of God. For those who do, I can only say one of two things:
a.) their faith in this cruel and capricious god is amazing, or
b.) their rejection of this cruel and capricious god is understandable.
In both cases, a or b, the believer is incorrect. You Bible believers, haven’t you read the account where Jesus was asked about the big talk of the day? A tower under construction in the city of Siloam collapsed, killing several people. Jesus was asked (in so many words) if the accident was “karma” for something the workers had done, or perhaps they were paying the price for some indiscretions of their parents. Jesus (in so many words) said, “It was just an accident.”
The common belief that God works in mysterious ways or that everything has a reason – implying that God or “the universe” is behind everything, is a misrepresentation of the Bible’s teaching, and has undoubtedly contributed to the decision by many to reject the Bible, religion, God, etc. For some, the new religion is science/evolution. For others it’s kind of a self-guided tour through life, where you do what you think is best. Of course, so does the next guy. And the next guy might be Mohammed Atta, whose religion is perfectly okay with him killing thousands of “infidels” in the name of Allah. And make no mistake, plenty of “Christians” are walking, talking billboards who inadvertently turn people away from their beliefs, too.
The question that wraps up this topic, then, is not “Why did God do such and such?” but instead, “Why does God allow such and such?”
That’s coming up in a future post.
* The next sermonette will be posted on April 20.