He described the world today: wars, persecutions, poverty, illness and diseases, starvation and so on, and he asked "Where is your God in all this? Why is He allowing it to happen?"
The Christian fellow tried to explain that God is in control, He does not make bad things happen, He allows them to happen, but he was not making much progress. The atheist maintained that if God loved people He would make all the bad things stop. The fact is that He does not exist.
The reality is that we don't know where God is in all this suffering. If we believe that He exists, then we know that He is suffering with us to see what we have made of this world and His many gifts to us. To put it bluntly, He left us in control and we messed up. If He took the reins once again He would be taking our free will from us and reduce us to mere robots following His will.
But try explaining all that to someone who does not believe in God's existence anyway.
The atheist turned his attention to Christianity and outlined how many wrongs Christians did over the centuries. How many wars Christians fought believing that God was on their side and how much evil they inflicted on society.
Yet again, a difficult point to defend. The reality is that we should not judge Christianity by the behaviour of Christians. Many Christians are far from being that, and Christ Himself would be ashamed to be associated with them. Many use the term Christian as a badge of identity rather than a way of life. For example, In the UK about 47% of people identify themselves as Christians. Yet regular weekly church attendance (all denominations) is around 5%. According to my maths this implies a lot of people are lying.
Indeed, Christians have done many wrongs throughout history and still do. Cynically, I would say they are exercising their free will to do so. However there is a great difference between Christianity and the way Christians behave.
Christianity means following Christ. Believing that He is the Son of God, that He died and was raised from the dead to redeem humanity, and to obey His Commandments. Namely to love God and to love one another. It is a difficult way of life. Some would say impossible.
Living every day as Christ's example. Loving and caring for everyone we meet. Not just feeling sorry for those worse off than us and needing help; but also being compassionate enough to do something about it. Forgiving those who have wronged us no matter how much we have been hurt. Being a true Christian role model for others.
This last one is really difficult. Being a true Christian role model for others.
When we look in the mirror, what image of Christianity do we portray. One that others would wish to emulate or avoid at all costs?
Now that's the real test of our Christianity. Not just a badge or a description of who we are, but a way of behaving that would identify us as different.
...many atheists understand the real meaning of religion, better than believers.
ReplyDeleteI have never known a hesitant atheist.
DeleteGod bless, Tom.
Why is there suffering in the world if there is a loving God?
ReplyDeleteWe are here to make a choice. There is good and there is evil. It is a strange type of hubris to assume we know all and can instruct God.
You would be amazed at the number of people who want to serve God in an advisory capacity.
DeleteGod bless, Sandi.
Being a Christian is a way of life, Victor, and our own lives should reflect the goodness and mercy of our loving Father.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Yes, it is a way of life that few follow ... because it is too difficult.
DeleteGod bless, Martha.
God gave us free will and it's us that decided to kill, have wars, etc. We can't blame God for our dirty deeds, that's on us humans.
ReplyDeleteYou said it well, Bill. Thank you so much.
DeleteGod bless you.
Atheists often point out that the God in the Old Testament used warfare to carry out his purposes and that Christians (at least those in the West) believe that God required Jesus to be tortured to death in order to pay/atone for our sins. I find this negative view of God hard to defend as a Christian.
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice to see you here Les. Thank you. Call again soon and often and invite your friends.
DeleteYes, in the Old Testament God did punish people perhaps too harshly. Perhaps this is because at the time the people would not have been receptive to Christ's message of loving one another and one's enemies.
When the time was right, God sent Jesus into the world to preach His message of redemption and forgiveness. However, it is worth remembering that it was not God who killed Jesus on the Cross. It was humanity.
I have explained it further here:
https://timeforreflections.blogspot.com/2022/10/why-did-god-not-save-jesus.html
God bless.
Thank you for the excellent post. Yes humans carried out the execution of Jesus but according to Church teaching (Catholic and protestant) it was Gods will that this be done in order to atone for the sin of Adam and free us from the damnation of original sin. To atheists this makes no moral sense.
DeleteYou are right Les, it was God's will that Jesus should die. We can never understand why His will was so, and it is not for us to second guess Him and try to understand Him. God knew that the Crucifixion would happen and predicted it through the prophets in the Old Testament.
DeleteOf course it makes no sense to atheists. It probably makes no sense to many Christians too. But then, it was through the Resurrection that God was glorified and it underlined His power to raise His own Son from the dead.
Previously, Jesus had raised people from the dead and this was witnessed by many. Remember when He raised Lazarus He said it is so that God be glorified.
"So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ John 11:3 onwards.
In the same way, by Jesus Himself being Resurrected God's power and glory were made known to mankind.
God bless you.
Being only human, I suppose it's natural to look for 'proof' of God's existence. At times like these, one phrase leaps to mind: "Lean not on your own understanding."
ReplyDeleteIndeed Mevely. We should not rely on what we think we know.
DeleteGod bless you my friend.
We can not learn God's ways and thoughts by just asking another person one question, as the atheist did, it is a process. Going to a 'church' does not necessarily make us Christian, as God does not live in a house made with hands. It is not God Who does the bad things in this world, it is mankind, and in order to be changed from doing bad things in this world we have to come to Jesus and be born again of the Holy Spirit. Not one person in this world has done no wrong, including the atheist on that program.
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing is, when things go wrong in our lives, people tend to blame God for what has happened.
DeleteGod bless, Brenda.
That program might be part of bringing the atheist to Jesus further on.
DeleteAmen Brenda. God bless.
DeleteThe atheist is asking the wrong question. The Good Lord created us with brains and gave us to caretake this world, and we're messing it up. If we choose to ask for His help, He will help, by giving us wisdom and helping us do what's right. If we ignore Him and do whatever we want, we get what we earned, like spoiled children.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Mimi. The atheist was making his case that God does not exist anyway.
DeleteGod bless always.