Hello. Let me first start this off by warning you. I will be discussing religion and belief in this piece. If you do not wish to be told of such things, and feel the need to yell at me by the end, then please do not read. However, if you can be civil and friendly in replies then, please, do read. I am not here to attack you or to turn you away from your beliefs. I am not here to condemn you. Rather, I am simply here to try and raise a shield against the attacks of antagonists. Recently, I have come across many questions and insults towards my religion, or rather, my relationship with Jesus Christ. In this, I will try to patch my shield.1
Now, the ranking of the usual questions range from (1) “if God is good, then why is there evil in the world?” (2) “why would you believe in something so simply idiotic?” (3) “why would God, an unquestionably good Being, create something so evil such as the devil—why would he let that happen?” and (4) “if God planned this all out, why is everything so disastrous?” Also, for some reason or other (though there are many kind exceptions), the questioners tend to grow angry, swear a lot, and make a good mess of things that do not seem very well thought out.2
To be clear, I am in no means an expert of theology; I have not gained insight on my own—most definitely—but I have listened, and I have prayed. I will try to answer these questions, civilly, with the help of thinkers such as C.S. Lewis, Roger Barrier, Experience, and Thought.3
First, I think it would be best to take the first and third question. The first: “If God is good, then why is there evil in the world?” It is here that I will borrow a bit of wisdom from Mr. Lewis. In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis writes,4
“God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go either wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong; I cannot. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible.”5
Of course, now, another question of equal concern may be asked. “Why on earth would God create free will?” Again, the answer comes from paraphrasing Lewis: If there were no free will, of course there would be no badness. But, if there were no free will, then how would there be real love and appreciation? Everything would be set to a rhythm and would be counterfeit. However, when you mix in free will, then you find yourself with something voluntary and genuine. You find real, felt feelings, joyous adorations from the pit of the heart that are not manufactured. You have a great contrast against the badness in the world because you choose to be good. And that is why we have free will.6
The reason why I chose to group the first and third questions together is this: they are very much alike. The third question: “why would God let the devil come into existence?” Now, the devil is the other opposite of free will—the bad, tugging will. In fact, and this is what I believe, the devil himself may have been governed by free will when he was an archangel. If God gave us such things, surely He must have given them to His messengers. It was from that negative side of free will that Lucifer had decided to fall and ultimately cause the sin in this world.7
Again, yet another question may be asked now: “surely, God could have prevented Lucifer from causing so many terrible things?” and the answer is quite simple. Yes, He could have. And the reason why I think He decided not to is that He wanted to give us more freedom. He wanted to give us temptations in order to see us turn away from them and towards Him, looking up and not down. God wants to be proud of us, as a father would be towards a child who decided to be just a bit better that day and not lose his or her temper. That is why I think the devil is here. He is here so we can refuse him.8
When I come to question four, I see that it seems to spiral up with questions one and three. “If God planned this all out, why is everything so disastrous?” It is here that I will take the chalkboard figure from Back to The Future (which was also used by Roger Barrier) and Mr. Barrier’s thoughts on the issue—perhaps put a little differently. In a Sunday sermon, Roger Barrier had brought up this very topic and began drawing his diagram, starting with a single straight line across a computer’s plane. He explained that this line represented God’s plan for life. Then he began drawing different pathways branching off from the original one. These new markings represented our plans—our plans that ended in failure. Mr. Barrier explained that the map that God had designed was perfect—indeed, that is true—but what we have done, since sin entered, has brought about all the things that we see happening today. Roger Barrier then began erasing the extra marks, leaving only the original, bold one. “This is what we have to get back to,” he said. “And there is only one way there.” I paraphrase for lack of memory, but that is the main part of the sentence. That is the truth.9
Finally, I come to the second question: “why would you believe in something so simply idiotic?” This question troubles me particularly. Mostly, it is because I’m feeling so sorry for the questioners, but I should also feel somewhat happy. By the time this question rolls around, with the word “idiotic” in it, I sense that the questioners are very troubled and saddened. They just don’t seem to have any clue, and, to borrow another phrase from Mr. Lewis, “the spirit of Christ is probably nearer to him then than it ever was before.” That is why I should have some happiness then. But I, because I’m human, have a hard time seeing what’s going on.10
To come to the answer of that second question, and the final one of the night, it is because. It is because I’ve seen Him work so hard for my family. It is because I’ve felt and sensed Him so closely. It is because that when I went through my stage of doubts, I pulled out of it, saw what was really happening, and turned back to Him through Him. It is because God is here. 11
It is that simple.12
13
14
15
A contest entry
- Sell Me Your Religion.....What's Your Take On It? by Marta.
100 points, ended November 20, 4 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next story in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 12 of 12
-
Well done, by taking the logical as opposed to preachy or defensive tone you have given great information and insight and disarmed the arguements against religion.
Good luck in my contest, and thank you for sharing this piece. 2
s up.
beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
-
I agree with you myself. I dont know many answers, but I feel God is always there, and he is the one person, being with whom I would completely devote myself to.
-
Very well put
I don't usually discuss religion or debate it with anyone, but that does not mean I don't believe. You've done a good job of explaining some very perplexing questions.
Good job
Trish
-
And he was just trying to be nice to us.
-
Wow, you answered a lot of people might have been confused about. I liked it. You were polite, you used quotes from authors, and you didn't behave like the extremists some people are. You also explained free will-of course even one of the anti-christ believers would have to agree that it was quite nice of God to give us free will and allow us to do what we want. Unfortunately, he like every adoring parents had made us into spoilt brats.
-
"Also, for some reason or other (though there are many kind exceptions), the questioners tend to grow angry, swear a lot, and make a good mess of things that do not seem very well thought out."
We know why: Romans 1. Man suppresses the truth and will persecute those who hold it dear. Don't be surprised.
Ooh - you're brave! The free will argument is one of the toughest ones out there. I don't agree with everything you say about free will, though. Like the devil existing just so we can refuse him, and God just wanting to be proud of us? I'd need Biblical evidence for that. I think that God created both us and the devil perfect, but the devil fell and tempted us and we fell. But God provided a way of salvation for us through his Son. He did it because he loves us, not because he's proud of us. Why would he be proud of his creature who broke his infinite, perfect law?
"To come to the answer of that second question, and the final one of the night, it is because. It is because I’ve seen Him work so hard for my family. It is because I’ve felt and sensed Him so closely. It is because that when I went through my stage of doubts, I pulled out of it, saw what was really happening, and turned back to Him through Him. It is because God is here."
I would add one more thing: there is the evidence of an Absolute Authority behind the Christian faith. We don't believe just because it's a feeling, we believe because the Holy Spirit enables us to see the truth in natural and special revelation.
Great job defending Christianity! You seem to have had several encounters with people who were less than happy with your Christian faith. May I recommend 'Apologetics to the Glory of God' by John Frame? A well-written essay.
~Chib -
This was very nicely done. It would have been good to see some Scripture put in with it to help answer the questions, but everyone has their own way of doing things. Everything was clear and you totally worked toward your goal of getting the questions answered. You really showed your emotion here while trying to back something up that you strongly believe. You were determined and didn't let anything stand in your way and overall you are set on your answer. That was a great read. Thanks for entering!
I also want to state that, I have talked with many people who you have explained (the ones who swear, have a huge problem with Christianity, and brush it off as idiocy). Not everyone is like that but many people who don't believe are. It only shows believers who want to be civil that those people are childish and are closed minded to studying Christianity without bitterness, rejection, and criticism. And many of those people also have no respect. Thanks again for entering!
-
WOW Andrew that is amazing!!!!!!!!!!! It is so encouraging to see you stand up for what you believe in!!!!!!!! I love that you can do that and write about it in such away to show what you believe and put it so others can understand it!!!!! Once again wow!!!!!!!!!
-
You have penned some interesting responses here and reasoned brilliantly. I am atheist, but would never compare someone's beliefs or religion to idiocy. Yet many ignorant people do say it, so well done for voicing your true opinions. Amazing work!
Michael
-
Thoughts
I have to agree with 'Highwaytraveller' on this. Even though Im no longer a Christian, one should never be all gunho and quick to judge someone based on what they('re) beliefs are. But the true test of life is knowing that someone is always watching over you whether you want it there or not. -
impressive...
I'm not even Christian, but that's not the point. I likked what I read...I agree that God wants to be proud of us, and the reason the devil exists is so that we can refuse him..
thank you for making me think -
THANK YOU!
See, those are the questions I never seemed to be able to answer ^.^! And you got answered for me and everyone that believes in God! Fantastic Andrew!!!!!!!
Adding your comment:
1 - 12 of 12
