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Many thanks to Jim Gray for creating this video of our April 24th Intermediate Ride to the Cabrillo Monument!

Along the way, I have learned that it is generally unproductive for those currently going through personal pain and suffering to question God’s actions, or, as the case may be, inactions. The inquiry degrades from “How can God allow evil in this hypothetical case?” to “Why me?” There is a barb attached to the inquiry; a bias in the questioning that rejects most valid answers as unacceptable, cold and without compassion, and thus not very “God like”.

But for those seekers/inquirers of God who honestly desire to reconcile the Bible’s description of a holy, compassionate and all-powerful God allowing rampant evil to pervade his creation, let’s open the discussion…

First, I offer this anecdote regarding the generic form of evil that confronts humankind “naturally”:

My maternal grandmother was a saint – not in the Catholic sense with the characteristic halo and Mona Lisa smile, but in the catholic (universal) biblical sense. She understood God’s grace and thanked him in return with her love and service on a daily basis. Her life was full of trials, ending with a painful death from breast cancer and dementia. My uncle is an atheist and uses this event to “prove” the non-existence (or at the very least absence or apathy) of God. “If God existed”, he’d say, “he sure doesn’t take very good care of his followers.” Then he might follow up with the more classic, “How could an all powerful, compassionate God allow a righteous person to suffer needlessly?”

So, does this “prove” the non-existence of God? Is it reasonable to expect God to give preferential treatment to his followers? A short reflection on this should make it clear that, if “natural” pain and suffering is permitted for anyone, it is only fair that it be permitted for everyone. Another perspective is that pain, suffering, death, et. al. shouldn’t even be considered part of “evil”, since these things are part of the natural order, “circle of life”, “a time to be born, a time to die”, and the like.

What about behavioral evil, that is, evil that is inflicted by one person on another. Why doesn’t God just eliminate all evil and be done with it? The Bible hints that behavioral evil wasn’t part of the original creation – but introduced by his creation (in this case Satan, but Man certainly shares culpability) . Once in the mix, it has proved remarkably resistant to removal. Jesus sheds some light on the topic with the following story:

He told another story. “God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too.

The farmhands came to the farmer and said, ‘Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn’t it? Where did these thistles come from?’

“He answered, ‘Some enemy did this.’

“The farmhands asked, ‘Should we weed out the thistles?’

“He said, ‘No, if you weed the thistles, you’ll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I’ll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.’”

Matthew 13:24-30, The Message

With this parable, we are introduced to God’s version of Gene Roddenberry’s Prime Directive (those of you unfamiliar with the Star Trek franchise please bear with me). Also known as the Non-Interference Directive, it limits Starfleet personnel’s contact with lesser developed cultures. The thought is that most interaction would likely have unexpected and deleterious results. According to the mythos, the Prime Directive probably originated from the hyper-logical Vulcan race.

Jesus thus answers here two often asked questions: “How can a loving God allow evil to exist and thrive?”, and, “Why doesn’t God just eliminate evil once and for all?” The answer to both questions: “He chooses not to interfere because rooting out evil would damage the good.”

Think about the implications of this for a moment. God’s economy, if you will, runs on faith. Direct interference tends to damage that faith. True, there are times when God chooses to interfere in a big way, but it follows a calculated weighing of the costs vs. the benefits.

Another mistake people make when judging God for evil’s effect on our lives is the thought that our comfort is paramount. God illustrates in the Gospels that relationship with him trumps our comfort, and even our very lives, every time. This lesson is aptly demonstrated in the life and death of Jesus.

“Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death – and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion.

Philippians 2:8, The Message

So far, it would appear that I’ve been building a case for God having his hands tied when dealing with his creation so as not to interfere with its natural development. Thankfully, God knows no such limits. I’ll discuss this topic in a future post. Until then, I welcome your thoughts and comments.

I had a limited online “conversation” the other day on a blog discussing old earth/universe vs. young earth/universe viewpoints. It didn’t go as I would have expected. For background, I presently believe in an old earth/universe approach to creation, agreeing with the mainstream scientific community in affirming the age of the universe to be roughly 13.7 ± 0.13 billion years. As you might imagine, this creates some theological problems when reading Genesis 1-3, some of which I honestly haven’t worked out (but I’m working on it!). Most posters on the blog in question believe in a young earth/universe, roughly 6,000 years old, give or take. Many of these believe that scripture gives them no choice but to believe in six literal 24 hour days of creation. While this allows for maximum theological consistency, it does this at the expense of estrangement from the scientific community.

Now, if you think the purpose of this post is to criticize my young earth brethren for their position, you’d be mistaken… I believe that God gives to each of us a measure of faith to search the scriptures and hold fast to the good we find. The issue of young vs. old earth is not central to our faith and is something which we should be able to discuss civilly while “keep(ing) the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Eph 4:3 TNIV)

All faith systems have “difficulties” – areas in which certain theological beliefs are at odds with contemporary secular thinking. For evangelical Christianity, the age of the universe, the morality of homosexuality and the sanctity of human life are but a few. The point of this post is to challenge us to think of ways we hide behind our faith and thus fail to engage the secular world around us. “Engage” is such a great word! It requires us to be relevant; in the world but not of it; to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Tim 3:15 TNIV)

So let me encourage you. Do you have difficulties with aspects of your faith? Do you suffer from “cognitive dissonance”? Do you dread interaction with people that don’t share your belief system (this applies equally well to people of faith as well as people of no faith)? Don’t be satisfied to walk on egg shells when you find yourselves in a challenging environment. Ask questions. Offer your reasoning. Practice humility. Scripture encourages us to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Phil 2:12 TNIV) And sometimes it is much easier to do with someone holding an opposing viewpoint.

Do you agree or disagree? Do you have any topics you’d like to discuss? I welcome your comments!

Click on the image above to open high resolution version suitable for use as your desktop background – if can tolerate the distraction! Enjoy.

Most people think of moral failure in terms of explicit actions like lying, stealing, murder and greed, among others. They’ll pick and choose from lists such as the ten commandments, the seven deadly sins and the like. Steer clear of committing evil and your a “good person”. Jesus would likely say “Not so fast!”…

Let’s take the story of the ruler who takes a long trip and leaves his finances in the hands of three investment managers. Two succeed to different degrees and are rewarded accordingly. We join the story with the explanation from the third investment manager:

“The next servant said, ‘Master, here’s your money safe and sound. I kept it hidden in the cellar. To tell you the truth, I was a little afraid. I know you have high standards and hate sloppiness, and don’t suffer fools gladly.’

“He said, ‘You’re right that I don’t suffer fools gladly – and you’ve acted the fool! Why didn’t you at least invest the money in securities so I would have gotten a little interest on it?’ Then he said to those standing there, ‘Take the money from him and give it to the servant who doubled my stake.’

“They said, ‘But Master, he already has double…’”

“He said, ‘That’s what I mean. Risk you life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag.’

Luke 19:20-26, The Message

I’ve always wondered how Jesus could be so upset with someone who’s only crime was inaction. M. Scott Peck, M.D. proposed in The Road Less Traveled that laziness formed the basis of the original sin reported in Genesis 3. I’ve come to think that this concept has some merit. Basically, he posited that turning off one’s brain and not thinking about the consequences of one’s actions (or inactions!) constitutes sin.

Related to this, you’ve probably heard the saying, “The opposite of love isn’t hate, but apathy.” This is reinforced by the following scripture:

“I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot – far better to be either cold or hot! Your stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit.”

Revelation 3:15-16, The Message

So, perhaps one way to fail in life might be just to do nothing and not care about it. Consider registering for a college level course for a subject you know nothing about. Don’t bother going to any lectures or doing any studying or homework. Just show up for the midterm and final exams. What do you think your chances are to receive a passing grade?

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my conclusions? I welcome your comments.

I had an experience recently that struck home. I’m an electronic engineer by profession, and I was getting pricing for an expensive integrated circuit. I got one price from the web site of the distributor ($670). I called the distributor directly and received a lower price over the phone ($530). I then spoke with my account manager, and she quoted a still lower price ($382). These are no small differences! Certainly they have the right to set whatever pricing structure they want, but I was a little miffed at the inconsistency…

I then realized how important consistency is to our lives. Fixing design problems is a given as an engineer. But a bug showing up at random intervals can lead to rapid hair loss! We humans will refuse to conduct business, or even have a relationship with someone who is inconsistent.

Do we have a right to expect God to be consistent? Thinking further, why did Jesus go out of his way to emphasize that a central tenet of God’s grace is inconsistency (again, from our perspective)? Since consistency, justice and fairness are as central to our lives today as they were in Jesus’ time, this saying – “Many of the first ending up last, and the last first” – must have tweaked Jesus’ audience as well.

I think the key to understanding this lies in the nature of “consistency”. Consistency implies cause and effect. I do action ‘A’, and response ‘B’ will always occur; hence I have a predictable, consistent relationship between what I do and the result I’m seeking. God’s grace is the antithesis of this, and it is imperative that it be that way! For, if God’s grace depended on anything we did, it wouldn’t be grace. It would be the natural response of a stimulus we provided. I’m not saying that his grace must be inconsistent; only that we have no grounds to complain when it is.

We’re far from the end of our journey to understand the paradigm shift that God’s grace brings to light. In the interim, I’d encourage you to leave a comment and convey your own “musings”. What do you think about all this? Remember, We’re just as open to views from those of you who disagree, as with those who agree! Scripture has a saying, which I believe contains wisdom…

“You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another”

Proverbs 27:17, The Message

The short answer: No, and this is a good thing!

When I was a lad growing up with my older brother, fairness was at the forefront of my thinking. A considerable amount of effort was expended by my parents to ensure that we were both treated equally, along with refereeing our disputes when we’d accuse each other of the cardinal sin of “unfairness”. We always had enough to eat, but it seamed that there was always some last bit of food that we’d fight over. The rule at our house was that one person would cut the food item in half, while the other would select the piece he wanted. The “cutter” would go to great effort to ensure that the pieces were exactly equal so he wouldn’t be “cheated”.

Sometime toward the beginning of junior high (AKA middle school), my parents mantra of “life isn’t always fair” sunk in. I can’t remember the moment I became aware of this, but there were many, many incidences that reminded me that life wasn’t fair, and it was always interpreted as a “bad” thing.

Studying the Bible didn’t help either… God often seemed to act capriciously in the Old Testament, but, when spoken of, was always praised for his sense of justice and fairness. Fast forward to the New Testament, where Jesus challenges our concept of fairness.

“God’s kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work.

“Later, about nine o’clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went.

“He did the same this at noon, and again at three o’clock. At five o’clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, ‘Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?’

“They said, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He told them to go to work in his vineyard.

“When the day’s work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, ‘Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.’

Those hired at five o’clock were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager. ‘These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.’

“He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?’

“Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.”

Matthew 20:1-16, The Message

I’m going to go out on a limb and split some hairs: God may be just, but he isn’t necessarily fair (at least from our perspective). Our concept of fairness often implies getting something – almost an entitlement, if you will. And to quote the wisdom of Miss Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird, “Entitlements is bad”. They foster a sense of “deservedness” that just isn’t healthy.

Note that this parable works just as well if the stakes are raised arbitrarily. The estate manager in the story could have negotiated a much larger daily wage and there still would have been grumblings when the foreman paid each laborer. Today, we have athletes, movie stars, and company executives arguing for ever increasing salaries, bemoaning the unfairness of prematurely signing contracts before they came into their prime. The feeling of deserving something based on our perceived “worth” compared to someone else is the error here. The act of being slighted merely exposes our flawed character.

How should this change the way we go about our lives? How should our thought patterns change in order to have a Kingdom view of life? How do we respond when the tapes of our childhood fairness doctrine are played back? How do we answer our post modern culture with it’s warped sense of fairness? I have few answers. I’d really like to here from you – your comments are greatly appreciated!

Together, we’ll explore the practical application of the Kingdom of God to our daily lives. And it isn’t easy. Jesus taught many things that go against the grain of modern life, not to mention life in biblical times. His teaching was both unique and revolutionary at the same time. We’ve not seen the likes since. So today, as a result, many people of faith (or of no faith at all) don’t have a clear picture of the paradigm shift that Jesus introduced.

We plan to include thoughtful audio and video podcasts of interviews, panel discussions, “man on the street” type surveys – all geared to understand the impact that Jesus has had on civilization to date.

We’d really like you to come with us on this journey. We’ll endeavor to keep our communication honest and transparent, not shying away from the tough questions. And we’ll try our best not to bore you. We respect the fact that you took the time to stop by our site when you could have gone anywhere.

Along those lines, we treasure your comments and truly respect all positions – especially those we might not agree with. To make it easy to keep up, I’d recommend that you click on the “Entries RSS” link on the home page (or just click here!) . This will create a browser shortcut that automatically displays article titles using our RSS feed (RSS definition here). It is safe and easy!

Again, thanks for stopping by. Check back often. Hang on, it should be a wild ride!