Why so much suffering?

Today I talked with a friend who lost her twin towers (husband and father) back in 2001. She reminisced about the difficulty of losing two individuals so close to her. Two days ago, my wife and I visited a dear Christian lady who has lost six of her children. She only has three children left. During our conversation she asked two questions: why and what purpose does this serve?

A real problem that exists in our world today deals with the immense amount of suffering and evil that takes place. In fact, the atheist will commonly use this argument to try and show that God does not exist. From the atheistic worldview the problem of evil challenge against the existence of God goes something like this: If God is all powerful, then why does he not eradicate the world of evil. They draw two conclusions from this argument, either God does not exist or he is not all-powerful. The second argument against God by way of suffering and evil states, If God is all good, why so much evil and suffering? Coupled together, this argument against the existence of God probably represents the most serious challenge to the Christian worldview.

What answers can be given to those who would pose such statements against Christianity? First, on the Christian worldview, it was the human race that threw the world into its' current condition. Evil, on this planet, never existed until temptation was succumbed to by the first humans. So, evil was not God's fault (James 1:13), but man's misuse of his God given freewill that brought it into the world. Also, on the Christian worldview, one day, God will make everything right again (Revelation 21:3-4).

Knowing this information made a tremendous impact on the woman who lost six of her children. She commented before my wife and I left, that without God she couldn't imagine how to deal with life. At one time during Jesus ministry a mass exodus of followers took place. Jesus turned to his disciples and asked if they wanted to leave, at which Peter responded, "To whom shall we go (John 6:60-68)." This is not a proof for God, but as our friend rightly believed, without God, all this world has to offer is despair. Jesus came to offer life and to offer it to the fullest (John 10:10).

If evil is recognized, that means a good standard must exist by which we can see evil. If there is a good standard and evil can be recognized, then a moral law must exist. A moral law presupposes a moral Law Giver or God. Suffering and evil exist, but one day, the moral Law Giver will make everything right again. Why some suffer more than others cannot be sufficiently answered, but God has a purpose and reason and will one day make all the suffering seem insignificant when we come into his presence.

• An excellent article on the problem of evil by Peter Kreeft.

Coexist at the expence of Christianity?

I often run into the coexist bumper sticker going to work each day. While it is true that we live in a pluralistic society and we all need to get along, I think one of the main issues being pushed is that of tolerance. What is pluralism and what is the message of many that promote the tolerance issue?

Religious pluralism recognizes that this world if filled with thousands of different religious beliefs from Anthroposophy to Zoroastrianism. Thought there are thousands of religious beliefs, with some of the major players including: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, and the Shinto religion.

Being that many different religious beliefs exist, we should be tolerant of all differences that exist. However, the word tolerance assumes that you already disagree with someone else on a particular issue. It is impossible to tolerate an other's view if you first don't have a disagreement with them. This brings me to the point I believe many individuals hold who promote the coexist slogan. What I think many really want, from the coexist camp, is not just tolerance, but in fact acceptance of all religious beliefs.

All religious beliefs, however, are peculiar in what they believe. You can't truly be a Buddhist and Hindu at the same time, for both religious systems make different statements as to how things are. Likewise, Christianity makes a completely different set of claims that contradicts all other religious groups. The real issue as I see it revolves around the question of truth.

Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6)" This statement by Jesus seems to cause a lot of problems to those in the coexist camp as being a statement of intolerance. For sure, the statement is an exclusive statement, but what the coexist camp fails to address is the truthfulness or falsity of the statement. Jesus statement can't be both true and false at the same time. Either Jesus is the way or he is not.

Dealing with those who hold to a non-Christian worldview can be tricky, but Christians must dialogue with others that espouse different views in a loving and respectful manner. The difficult position that the Christian is in today, deals with the fact that we need to tolerate all views, but Christianity seems to be fair game. As Christians we need to argue for truth first. Truth is what we're after, not acceptance of a false belief.

How well do you know your bike?

Recently I participated in an event called, "Bike Across Kansas." It was a wonderful 500 mile trip from West to East across the state. I had to dust off my 20 year old bike, take it into the bike shop for a needed tune-up, and work my way into shape. I knew before going into the ride that my bike (although still very good) would be a dinosaur compared to most other riders. There were some 800-900 riders who participated in the ride and they were like a sub-culture of their own. They treated their bikes like a precious commodity (some were actually worth thousands of dollars). They had their own lingo as they talked of components, derailleurs, cranks, cadence, and composite fibers. Being that I have been involved in cycling for a number of years, I was familiar with their lingo. After every day on the bike, the riders would talk about the day, the specialness of their bikes, and past rides.

Like the "Bike Across Kansas" sub-culture the Christians are a separate sub-culture all their own. Unlike the "Bike Across Kansas" culture the Christian culture often has scant knowledge of their precious commodity-God. The prophet Hosea states this concerning God's people, "my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:6)" Knowledge of God is crucially important especially in today's culture. Proper knowledge of God serves three primary purposes.

First, knowledge of God is profitable for spotting those who oppose the work of God or who travel the road of heresy. The early Church experienced heresy as this was addressed by the apostle John toward the end of the 1st century (1 John 2:18-23). Whether this was the beginning of Gnosticism or not, the point to be taken is that knowledge of God is important in order to recognize heresy.

Secondly, and related to the first point, is that, knowledge of God grounds the believer in who God is. Being familiar with God's word (which is the primary way we access knowledge of God) allows the believer to contradict those in our culture who would attack the Christian world view. 1 Peter 3:15 states, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." Obviously, a defense or answer of the Christian worldview cannot be sufficiently given without first having proper knowledge of who God is. So, having a proper knowledge of God, not only helps in spotting heresy, but it is crucial in being able to speak the truth of God.

The third and final reason why knowledge of God is important, has to do with the strength the believer receives when knowing more of who God is. One does not have to worry about exhausting all knowledge of who God is, for He is God (Isaiah 40:28). But, increased knowledge of God, brings one closer to God and makes better sense of the world around us. The knowledge of God is exactly what Job experienced in his life when he said in Job 42, " 1 Then Job replied to the LORD :2 I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.' 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." One bit of caution, knowledge of God is unimportant if one does not have an open heart to the Holy Spirit of God, for then it only becomes head knowledge.

Knowledge of God is as important today as it was to the people of Hosea's period. Sadly, many individuals today have a greater knowledge of their bikes (which will perish and fade in time) than they do of the One who can actually make an eternal difference. How well do you know your bike, maybe should be phrased, how well do you know your God?

* Article dealing with the knowledge of God.

At the expence of love - No way!

Apologetics is all about defending the truth of Christianity. Truth is important and Peter comments, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15)." Peter adds to this statement by saying, "But do this with gentleness and respect." Often times it seems that the Christian forgets this last part. It's as if the heart of the Christian message is left to the wayside at the expense of truth. We should always be concerned with truth, but more importantly, we must share in a loving way. After all, are you concerned for the person you are in dialogue with or are you only interested about winning an argument?

Perhaps the best example of how to dialogue with those who have not come to accept the truth is found in Acts 17. I feel the most glaring passage is found in verse 16, where Paul observes the various idols and in his heart, "he was greatly distressed." Paul's main concern was for people. He desperately wanted to share the truth of Jesus from his heart to all individuals. This is the same attitude that Peter had on the day of Pentecost when the Church originated. In Acts 2:40 Peter, "pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Apologetics is far more than winning a debate, it involves an urgent love for those who don't know Jesus.

Apologetics is also about relating to others in order to persuade them toward the good news of Jesus. Paul said, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some(1 Cor. 9:22)." According to Paul, what is important is the person you are in dialogue with, not just trying to win an argument. With that said, we should still be prepared to answer all in a gentle and respectful manner (1 Pet. 3:15). On two occasions, Paul tailored his dialogue depending on the audience he was addressing. When talking to the Jews, Paul used reason and Scripture (Acts 17:2-3) in order to win them to Christ. In addressing the secular gentile thinkers, Paul made no reference to the Scripture as this would have been irrelevant to them. Instead, Paul appeals to them on their level, even referencing know poets in order to make a case for the good news of Jesus (Acts 17: 24-31).

Apologetics is needed more than ever in a skeptical world, especially when many seem so antagonistic against the Christian worldview. We are living in an interesting time in the West. The Christian man and woman must always be ready to give an answer to anyone who would ask. This means, the Christian needs to study God's word and stay relevant on current issues that are facing the Church. Given the need for apologetics, the apologist should never seek to win an argument at the expense of love. We always need to pray and dialogue with those who would question the Christian worldview with gentleness and respect.

Big Bang + fine-tuning = God

One of the arguments often given against the existence of God is called, the "god-of-the-gaps" inference. When the term "god-of-the-gaps" is applied to the theist by the skeptic, what they mean is, the theist will automatically infer the existence of God when science has not yet come up with a sufficient explanation . Philosopher and Mathematician, William Dembski explains god-of-the-gaps this way, "Design substitutes extraordinary explanations where ordinary explanations will do and thereby commits a god-of-the-gaps fallacy."[1] For example, what if you were diagnosed with an incurable disease one week and you started to pray thereafter. The following week you return to the doctor and discover that your disease was completely eradicated. You explain to everyone how God healed your body, but the skeptic would accuse you of a god-of-the-gaps explanation. The skeptic might say, "You were mis-diagnosed" or possibly it was "Just a coincidence."

Today there exists powerful evidence that the universe not only came into existence from nothing (Big Bang), which supports the Genesis 1:1 passage, but that the universe was designed for life to exist or it was fine-tuned for life. These two aspects of the universe (Big Bang and fine-tuning) point directly toward a Divine Being that created the spacial-temporal universe. The fine tuning has been hailed by many leading scientist as powerful evidence for the existence of God. Astrophysicists Paul Davies states, "There is for me powerful evidence that there is something going on behind it all...It seems as though somebody has fine-tuned nature's numbers to make the Universe...The impression of design is overwhelming." [2]

What is fine-tuning and how does it point to the existence of God? Fine-tuning involves constants of nature that are so delicately balanced that if just one of these constants were slightly off, the universe as we know it could not exist. Each of these constants are crucial to life. Each of these constants was in place from the beginning so that life could surface. The universe is like a car that needed all the parts put together just perfectly (including a filled gas tank) down to the last screw in order for the car to operate properly. If the universe is not fine-tuned from the get go, life has no chance whatsoever.

I will list two constants of the universe that are fine-tuned in order to explain what fine-tuning is all about. First is the expansion rate of the universe. The universe is expanding in size at a specific rate. The number assigned concerning the expansion rate of the universe is 1 in 10 to the 55th power. This is an incredibly large number. Simply put, if the expansion rate of the universe is just a hair slower or faster, life cannot exist anywhere. A second fine-tuned constant is the ratio of protons to electron. The number given here is 1 in 10 to the 37th power. Again, if this ratio of protons to electrons varies ever so slightly, no universe for life can exist. Astronomer, Hugh Ross, has listed some 34 constants that each have to be fine-tuned in order for life to exist. [3] To get an example of how precise the ratio of protons to electrons (1 in 10 to the 37th power) is, consider this analogy. If you piled dimes on one billion North American sized continents from here to the moon and painted one dime red for your friend to pick blindfolded on the first guess, then you have succeeded in just one of the finely-tuned numbers. This is just one constant that would have to be fulfilled and it is not even the most precise (largest constant) number. All 34 constants have to be considered together. If just one of the constants is slightly off, the universe has no chance to produce life. Philosopher, William Lane Craig has stated, "It's as if the universe knew we were coming."

The fine-tuning for the universe gives such powerful evidence for God's existence that the skeptical community has responded in one of two ways, either, they appeal to a science-of-the-gaps explanation or they posit that there are literally millions of universes that exist (Multi-universe hypothesis). Realize that the skeptic in order to deny the existence of God has to defer to either of these two responses. The science-of-of-the-gaps response would go like this, "Someone had to win the lottery, we were just the lucky ones" or they might say, "You can't appeal to God because this is the way it just happened." Many who are skeptical believe that science will one day answer all questions. This view is called scientism (science answers all and only science can give us true knowledge). There is only one problem with this view, "What caused the Big Bang?" Science will never be able to answer this question, because the entirety of matter in the universe came from nothing. Something never comes from nothing according to the laws of science. Similarly, the multi-verse hypothesis has no answers and absolutely no scientific evidence to back it up. It is purely a statement given to try and dodge the fact of fine-tuning. Those who hold to this outlandish explanation do so in order to try and boost the chances of life happening by a random chance process. There is another big problem here and that is, you still have to explain where the first universe (from which all else sprang) or the first part of matter came from. Again, you cannot get something from nothing. Science will never be able to answer this question.

This brings us directly to God and a definition of who He is. If the universe came from nothing, then whatever created the universe must be non-material. Whatever created the universe must be all-powerful. Being that the universe is fine-tuned, whatever created the universe must have planned it that way. All of these attributes or descriptions are what we think of when we think of God. The Big Bang + fine-tuning of the universe gives powerful evidence for the existence of God. The skeptic who appeals to god-of-the-gaps or multi-universe explanations is making a philosophical leap of faith that has absolutely no foundation to stand on. The best explanation for the beginning of the universe and its' fine-tuning is that an all-powerful, transcendent God exists.

[1] Dembski, William, Intelligent Design, p. 238
[2] Scientific quotes for fine-tuning evidence of God's existence
[3] Fine tuning constants

• A good video explaining what is meant by god-of-the-gaps

Fantasy history

One of my pastimes is to compete against others in games called fantasy sports. My two favorite fantasy sports are baseball and football. In both fantasy sports, an individual picks players from all professional teams in order to make up his/her own unique team. All teams are given names, and what you end up with is a team that is actually composed of players that exist from many different teams. All who compete in fantasy sports realize that their team is not really an official team in reality, hence the name fantasy sports.

It seems to me that some fantasy history is taking place when we consider the resurrection story. For example, we have evidence of the gospel writers, Paul, and other secular sources during the first century that mention the person of Jesus. Specifically the resurrection story is mentioned by Paul and the four gospel writers. Each of these accounts are first century records and can be dated to a time when many (especially the Jewish community) could have disputed the resurrection stories that were circulated. Paul's 1 Corinthians 15 passage is accepted by almost all scholars as being a very early creed of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. If the resurrection story was early and the discovers of the empty tomb were women, then why do we find no counter writings?

What I believe is happening today and has been occurring since the Enlightenment is that skeptics are playing a little game called fantasy history. What do I mean by fantasy history? Fantasy history is when one speculates with out having any evidence to back up the speculation. Consider this skeptical response to the women as being the ones who found the empty tomb, "It could also be that saying the tomb was originally discovered by women, which is somewhat embarrassing, was a preemptive strike against an anticipated objection." What we have is a statement that has absolutely no support behind it. It is like saying, "I believe this because I want to believe this is what happened." The problem is, the Christian worldview has documentation and early historical evidence that underlies their claims, whereas the Skeptical worldview has no support and didn't develop until over 1000 years after the fact.

Another example of fantasy history is found in this statement, "I think this is a case of later writers putting the birth of Jesus there in order to answer objections that Jews may have made." I have problems with the statement, "I think", when there is no underlying reason to be led to think that way. It is as if the skeptic is saying, "I have made my mind up to the contrary of the only available evidence that we have." This is what fantasy history is all about, it is thinking without a supporting foundation to think so. There is a reason why fantasy sports are called fantasy, because they are not dealing with true, reality driven teams. Likewise, fantasy history is being played when no supporting historical evidence can be given to support the statement.

Prophecy and Resurrection

Prophecy and Resurrection by Shelby Cade
A.W. Tozer once stated, “The unattended garden will soon be overrun with weeds; the heart that fails to cultivate truth and root out error will shortly be a theological wilderness.”1 Tozer recognized the importance of truth, especially theological truth. What evidence can be given to show that Christianity is the religion that has truth as its foundation?

In looking at the Christian truth claims compared to other religions, the divisions are distinguished by way of the evidence. Truth, by its very nature, is exclusive. Truth can be defined as that which corresponds to reality or the way things really are. If something is true, it is irrelevant if an individual believes it or not. All religions can be critiqued – including Christianity – to verify which one corresponds to the way things really are. What evidence exists for Christianity? (MP3 Audio RSS iTunes)

The evidence for Christian truth rests on prophesy and the resurrection. The first bit of evidence comes by way of prophecy. Jesus of Nazareth uniquely fulfilled the prophecies that were spoken of him hundreds of years earlier, even to the point of detailing the type of death he would receive (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53). According to Norm Geisler, the Old Testament records 191 Messianic prophecies.2 Peter Stoner has calculated the odds of just eight prophecies being fulfilled as one chance in ten to the 1017th power. An analogy of this is like covering the state of Texas with silver dollars two feet deep and marking one red for an individual to identify, blindfolded, on the first guess.3 The prophetical evidence shows strong support that Jesus was the expected Messiah, but what about the resurrection evidence?

Perhaps the biggest truth claim in context of Christianity is the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Christianity lives or dies based upon the resurrection of Jesus. Paul states in his first book to the Corinthians, "If Christ has not been raised…we are then found to be false witnesses." (I Cor. 15:14-15). Paul claims that the resurrection of Jesus either verifies the truth of Christianity or it does not. If Jesus did rise bodily from the dead, then the best explanation is that Christianity is true. Is there evidence to verify the resurrection?

Being that no one witnessed the resurrection event, the evidence falls to those who claimed to have seen the resurrected Jesus, but how can these accounts be trusted? First, there are multiple attestations to the resurrection, with one of the most important given by the Apostle Paul. Multiple attestations help to show why the individuals who saw Jesus were not hallucinating or seeing a vision. Hallucinations are always individual, not group experiences.4 Paul, writing to the Corinthians, states that Jesus appeared to over 500 individuals at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6). This letter to the Corinthians was written when the people of Paul's day could easily have offered counter explanations, but none were given. Also of note is the almost universal agreement of scholars that 1 Corinthians 15, specifially the first 8 verses, is a creedal passage concerning the resurrection that goes back to the resurrection itself. Jack Kent, a skeptic of bodily resurrection said the I Corinthian 15 passage “could be dated very close to the actual resurrection.”5 In other words, the resurrection story is not a later invention.

What other evidence exists to validate the resurrection story? According to the four gospel writers, the first appearances of Jesus were to women. In the first century, the testimony of women was considered invalid, so why would the authors include this point if they were simply trying to invent myth?

Another piece of evidence is the place at which the resurrection occured, Jerusalem. Jeruselem was the hub of Judaism. The Jews had strongly condemned Jesus for claiming that he was equal to God (Matthew 26:63-66, John 19:7). If Christianity were forged, we should expect to see this new group start anywhere but Jerusalem. Knowing the kind of persecution that would ensue claiming that Jesus was the resurrected Messiah of Judaism is just one more shred of evidence to point to the truthfulness of Christianity.

The final piece of evidence centers on the disciples themselves. They believed they had physically encountered the resurrected Jesus (Luke 24:36-43, Galatians 1:11-12). They changed from scared men to individuals who were willing to die for their encounter (John 20:19). No other stories existed to explain away the appearence of Jesus as the ressurected Messiah during the first century.

In summary, the body of Jesus was missing from the known burial tomb. The Jews claimed the body was stolen, only confirming that the body was gone. Women and a multitude of others saw Jesus alive. The Christian community was birthed in the most hostile environment imaginable, but this did not slow down the followers who had seen the resurrected Jesus. The resurrection story is early and the scale of evidence tips toward the truthfulness of Christianity.

Centuries later, other theories developed to explain the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus, such as the swoon theory, wrong grave theory, legendary story theory, hallucination theory and so forth. The fact is these explanations appeared late and can be discounted as false for not matching up with reality. Only one story has stood the test of time in aligning with the evidence. The one story that puts the pieces of truth together is that Jesus rose from the dead. Ultimately, Christianity is true based upon the bodily resurrection of Jesus.


1 http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/t/truth.htm, acquired 14, January 2010
2 Geisler, Norm, Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, p. 610
3 http://www.factnet.org/vbforum/archive/index.php/t-1809.html, acquired 16 January 2010
4 Collins, Gary as quoted by Lee Strobel, The Case For Christ, p. 238
5 Kent, Jack, The Psychological Origins of the Resurrection Myth, p. 16-17