St. John Studies

The family is grieving the death of a young family member. At the funeral home, people come forward in the receiving line to pay their respects.

You know…it is hard to come up with the “right” words. For many this is one of the most uncomfortable conversational situations that you will ever have to face.

Sometimes I have heard people say things like: “It is God’s plan”, “Everything happens for a reason,” or “This is God’s will.”

In my last post, I described the view that God got the world started and then left it to run on its own [a crude explanation of deism, better explained on August 15 in “God: Not Related to the Bad Things in Life at All?”].

Today we are going to begin exploring the opposite view: that God is very much involved in our world. This view is called “theological determinism”.   Pastor Adam Hamilton defines this as “God is not only involved in our world but has predetermined everything that will happen on earth. God is sovereign; He controls all things, knows all things and is all powerful. God has a plan and everything that happens does so according to His plan.”**

Unlike deism, theological determinism is the most commonly accepted way that Christians deal with the things that happen to us in life.

It is so easy to accept determinism when life is good but when life gets tough and we see tragedy, pain and just plain evil in the world we have to ask: is God part of all that?

Most Christians do think that God is a good, loving and just and the horrible things that happen are just us not understanding His plan. If things are not working out the way we want, we just need to trust God and be patient.  We cannot understand His plan because we are so present-centered. God’s view is a long-term view and He will ultimately work out things for the best eventually.   We just have to hang on and wait until our loving God does His work.

There seems to be a problem with theological determinism and it is this. If God controls everything, God directs everything, and God knows everything, then God becomes an agent bringing about action. God is the ultimate cause for an event.

God is the cause of the tragedy, the pain, the evil of the world?

Really?

If we say “everything happens for a reason” that means that God wills everything.

Stop for a minute and think…

Is your God really the originator of tragic times?

One of the most horrific things that ever occurred in my life was the death of my brother Mike at the age of 35.   He died as the result of a scuba-diving accident on a Crittenden County, Kentucky farm. His death was a shock to my whole family, especially my Dad and Mom. We can all point to terrible occurrences in our lives and we can try to place God in the midst.   Mike knew God and he was a member of his church. He was a good man who would help anyone who needed his assistance. In fact, he died aiding a farmer who had a plugged drain on his pond. Did God promise Mike he would never get hurt when he claimed Christ as his Savior? No. God just promises to prepare a place for us when we die.

Was God there when my family was going through the grieving process?   Yes, I believe He was as He found a way to help us survive this tragedy.   Several of us felt Mike’s presence in the days after his passing [see the post from October 16, 2015 “My Angel?”]. We found many ways to comfort each other as we drew together as a family and God was in that comforting process.

Here it is…

Was God responsible for Mike’s death?

Not my God…

Things happen.   Mike’s death was the result of a set of circumstances.   Maybe the best way to say this is, his death was accidental.

Not God’s will.

I was so busy trying to help Dad and Mom that I did not grieve his death. That came years later. But there was one thing that I did not do as a result of Mike’s death.

I did not lose my faith because I became bitter and blamed God.

[My discussion of theological determinism will be continued in the next post].

*Theodicy: the defense of God’s goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil.

**From: Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White [p. 122]

The book I am commenting on is called Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White and of course the book is about people’s opposing views [black vs. white]. What are the opposite views regarding God and the existence of evil in the world? What are the opposite views regarding the bad things that happen to all of us in life?

According to Pastor Hamilton, some Christians have a tendency to turn a blind eye to God being related to bad things altogether. To help explain that perspective, they use a means of explaining the universe called deism.

The opposed Christians have their concept of theological determinism to explain their point of view.

Today we will discuss deism.

I first encountered deism when I was majoring in English in college and I took an 18^th century English literature class. My professor [Dr. Ward] was into deism and he explained that all the popular writers in England in the 18^th century were “into it” also.

What is deism and how does it work for the Christian faith?

Sometimes my memory stretches back quite a few years, and in the case of Dr. Ward and deism, I remember him explaining that God created the world like a clock. He put it all together and got it running and it had a perpetual mechanism on it. It ran forever. God never had to touch the clock again.

What are the implications for all of us regarding a deistic God and the bad things that happen?

Well God could not be related to the bad things of life because God was not part of this world at all. Pastor Hamilton states “that God created the universe and set in motion the laws that govern its operation, but beyond the initial work, God is not directly involved in the workings of our universe. God does not intervene in our affairs. The universe is a closed system.”

Where does suffering come from?

Obviously God is not related to it at all in a deistic world so He could not cause it.

Suffering comes from the violation of God’s laws that He established when He set up the working universe and the natural processes of the planet: storms, earthquakes etc.

This lets God off the hook for the bad things that happen.

But is a deistic God the God you really believe in? What about prayer? Why do it?   The world is going to unfold in a mechanistic way despite our requests. What about the Holy Spirit? Do you depend on God leading you to do what He wants you to do? If He is not intervening in the world today, the Holy Spirit is not even relevant. It does not exist. Many Christians believe they have a relationship with God. We interact with Him. If God is deistic, there really is no relationship. How can man relate to some mechanism?

Besides the obvious need for connection with prayer, the Holy Spirit and Divine relationship, where are the other problems with deism?

Well let’s turn to the Bible.

My Bible says God knows me by name. God knew me in my mother’s womb. God made Israel His covenant people, lead them out of slavery in Egypt, hears the prayers of His people and continues to be involved in the story of His people. The New Testament tells the story of God being so concerned with this world that He sent His only Son to walk among us, “teaching, guiding, healing, and ultimately suffering and dying to redeem and save the world” [Hamilton, 123]. I don’t know how many times I have read about the Holy Spirit as our guide. John 14: 16-18 says “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.   I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

Does this sound like a God who is not interacting with our world?

I don’t think so.

But when we prove that God interacts with our world, what does that do to God and the existence of evil or at least the bad things that happen to good people? When bad things happen, couldn’t God stop them from happening? Is God the cause of the bad things? Does God stand by and let bad things happen [e.g. the case of Job]?

My God is part of my world.

When times are tragic, where is He?

Next post: “theological determinism”

Well here we are…

I knew this day would come.

I would post my last thoughts on hell.

On June 28, I began my discussion of who is going to get into heaven, focusing on the Jewish people, Hindus and Muslims. Of course there are other world religions but Pastor Hamilton focuses on those three the most. On July 29^th, I posted on the topic of “Who is Going to Hell?” From the 28^th until today, I have written 15 posts that meandered around world events, like terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists, law enforcement murders by angry citizens, two political conventions and all the heated rhetoric of an American political campaign. Needless to say, I tried to pay close attention to what I expressed. After all, the book Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White is about coming together in peace and understanding over divisive issues, not making us a society even more divided.

In this last post on hell, the discussion will center on who is actually going to heaven?

We don’t know; over and over I stated that the inclusion or exclusion of people in heaven is the responsibility of God, not man.

Remember, the most liberal Christian believes that all will be saved except the few who have performed the most heinous acts [Adolph Hitler, Pol Pot and Joseph Stalin].

The most conservative Christian thinks God will be much more strict [no one will be going to heaven unless they have confessed their belief in Jesus Christ]. Of course that includes billions of people.

You see the opposed positions.

Is there a gray area here?

Let’s explore the Bible. In my reading of the Old Testament, it is almost exclusively about God’s relationship with a unique group of people, the Hebrews. But as Pastor Hamilton states, the story of God and man does not begin with Israel. It goes back to Adam and Eve and following the flood, the seeming universal interest that God has is with all of humanity. Genesis 18:18 refers to Abraham and says “all the nations of the earth shall be blessed [through you]. In Isaiah [a book I am reading now] God states that He wants all nations to come to Him.

Jonah in the Bible is sent to preach repentance to the Ninevites. Jonah does his job, the Ninevites repent and God spares them. Jonah is not happy that they are spared and he questions God. God’s reply in Jonah 4:11 is “Should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, to which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do know their right hand from their left. “

This begs the question: would God be concerned about the people of India, China, Saudi Arabia or even the people of His own land Israel?

When we get into the New Testament, we find Jesus concerned with the Gentiles. The Apostle Paul understands that God wants the Gentiles incorporated into the people of God . All they have to do is have faith and even that faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Rather than being exclusive, Gentiles are the people who are outside the Jewish faith; that includes all people.

The more I read the books of the New Testament, the more I see Jesus as a man who is concerned with “lost sheep” and “prodigal sons.” Jesus does not seem to be a man who shuts the narrow gate on people, he holds it open so more people can be included.

Will all people make it to heaven? I doubt it. Will the vast numbers of people who conservatives say “don’t measure up” not make it. I doubt it.

God chooses who will get the gift of salvation; men don’t. God is merciful. If you earnestly seek God, love God and respond to His mercy I believe He will extend His grace to you.

On August 3^rd, I posted my thoughts on men who take on the mantle of God in declaring who will make it to heaven and who will not. I need to be careful but maybe these kinds of people have a sense of pride about themselves that is not healthy. Would it be a stretch to say that this ability to put people in hell and heaven may indeed be a sin?

Using myself as a sample Christian, who should I really be concerned about regarding heaven or hell?

I should be concerned about my own salvation.

I need to quit worrying about others’ final destinations.

What I am really talking about here is humility, you know, the word that is the opposite of pride.

I need to let God do His work. He looks into the hearts of people and He can see the truth that resides therein. I can’t see that. I am a mere man.

Like most of you, I do battle with judgment. I want to exercise my right to declare people either saints or sinners. However, the battle I am engaged in is worth it. You see, for me to get to heaven I need to know my place and my place is not at the right hand of God.*

That place was reserved for Jesus.

Not me.

*From the Apostles Creed “The third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence, He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”

I had lunch the other day with a man who was born in Uruguay. His parents were missionaries. We have a group of people at my church who go to Costa Rica every year. A young woman in my Sunday school class is now in Haiti, serving as a missionary.

Why?

Why do these Christians go to far-away lands to share their faith with people?

I have been writing on people who are going to hell. I have been writing about what hell is going to be like. For several posts now the topic has been hell.

How are missionaries connected to hell?

What is the purpose of the missionary? Are they trying to save the world by spreading the word about Jesus Christ? Are they trying to keep people from going to hell? Well, duh—that is exactly right. Conservative Christians especially think this. People who are not Christians need exposure to the Christian message so they can be saved and they won’t have to suffer eternal torment in the fires of hell. It is the old exclusivist axiom: you are either with us or you are “agin” us [and by the way, if you are agin us, you are going to hell].

I am going to write the truth. Many people are very disappointed with this attitude. Pastor Hamilton knows of a young man who left his Christian roots due to this very issue. You know the old argument that if you don’t receive Christ, you will suffer in hell just did not appeal to him. He states “That’s not loving. That’s blackmail. That’s coercion. There’s something wrong with this picture.”

Really, what is wrong with this picture or message?

It contains a threat. It basically says that you either choose Christ or you will suffer, no in between.

The message of the missionary?

That’s what some people assume.

In reality, I like to think it is not like that. Some people who are missionaries have a softer sell. They help those in need and maybe their message of Jesus is incorporated in the offer of aid and assistance. I would hope that the message is one of unconditional love and acceptance. I would hope that the message is about improving life on this earth. I would hope that the message is about finding a new mission for life through joining the body of Christ.

It should also be about communion. I have written about this before but people need to realize that Christianity offers a connection to God that is rare among other faiths.

We just had communion at my church today and it was a pleasure to assist in serving communion. People came forward and received the bread.   “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” [John 6:35]. That is a connection that is not seen in Islam, the Hindu faith or Buddhism. This is a fulfillment of a hunger that all people have. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” [Matthew 26:28]. The wine that is served is a blood connection with Jesus, the fact that he came to earth to atone for our sins. When we drink the wine of communion we connect with the most self-sacrificial act that any man could do. In the Old Testament, the Hebrews used animal blood to atone for the sins of man, but Jesus shed his own blood for us.

Allah did not do this. Brahaman did not do this. The devas of Buddhism did not do this.

Ravi Zacharias said it best: “Jesus Christ is identical with His own message: I am the Bread, I am the Door, I am the Good Shepherd.”

The message of Jesus should not be a threat or coercion. I too get turned off by this approach. I have heard it first hand and I have seen people make life decisions based on a threat of hell.

My concern about that decision is this: is it long-lasting? Does it cause thoughtful reflection or is the response just a knee-jerk reaction, a fearful knee-jerk?

In Christianity, we have a chance to invite people into a better life, a chance to meet their deep spiritual hunger, a chance to help people understand the Gospel by using their minds. We really don’t have to threaten the person who does not believe. We have a positive offer.

We may not be missionaries to some foreign land but we have many opportunities to speak to people who don’t really know God. They are all around us. Why bother? Jesus Christ asks us to tell of our faith. Down deep we know the message provides hope for the world.   The commitment to Christ offers the chance for us to mend our brokenness, the chance to transcend the mere materiality of this world so we can live a much better existence here on earth.

This is not a threat.

This message does not inspire fear.

It’s a positive message, a message of hope.

*comments based on Chapter 12 and Chapter 13 of Adam Hamilton’s Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White.

Readers of C.S. Lewis will recognize the allusion that hell is a jail cell that is locked from the inside. This is a powerful image but what does it mean? Also what are the implications for hell? What is hell like?

First, let’s explore the image of the jail cell. Let me be clear. God does not want to put us in a jail cell or in any form of hell for that matter. God wishes that all of his creatures would join Him in heaven. He is a good God, kind to all who love him and extremely caring for his believers. But God is not into forcing people to do things. He wants us to make our own choices. From the beginning of man and woman, He did not force Adam and Eve to sin and he does not force me to sin. He also does not force me to love Him.

Real love, I was told by a very wise woman, is manifest when you give your loved one total freedom to choose and they choose you. They could go somewhere else but they don’t. When people are given the freedom to choose to follow their own way, they are in danger of sinning and think of it…if they choose sin it is like a jail cell that is locked from the inside. They have put themselves in the cell and they have the key to get out, but they are staying in it, due to their choices and the love for their sinning.

Even though the jail cell communicates a strong message, consider how Pastor Hamilton describes it. Of course, none of us know what it will be like. His idea is that first of all, it is full of people of do not wish to live by the will of God. They would rather do things their own way. They are “narcissistic” with an attitude that they have to look out for number one. They are prone to take advantage of others. They are users.

Goodness is not a part of hell. There are no boundaries in hell as people do exactly what they want. And everyone in hell is trying to get the “upper hand” on everyone else. Another image that Pastor Hamilton uses which is frightening comes from the famous poet Dante, who tells of a resident in hell who is gnawing on the flesh of another. Not much concern for others there…

The place is a veritable “nightmare”. Elmer Towns in his book Bible Answers for Almost All Your Questions says hell is a “place of memory and remorse.” The rich man in Luke 16 remembered his lost condition. It is also a “place of thirst.” He cried out for water because he is tormented by the flame [Luke 16:24]. It is a place of misery. He was in torment as he lifted his eyes from hell. As I have alluded in another post, it is a place of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth [Matthew 13:42 and Matthew 24:51].   Maybe the most telling aspect of hell is that it is a place where man is separated from God. Towns says that unsaved people joke about how they won’t be lonely in hell: “all my friends will be there.” However in Revelation 2:1, 20:6, 14 and 21:8 hell is described as a second death and not only will people there be separated from God; they will be separated from others too. There is no indicated that you will enjoy the company of your friends in hell.

Pastor Hamilton has spent a lot of time in his book Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White explaining the position of Christians who are quick to send people to hell [the exclusivists] and he has explained the position of Christians who are inclusivists [all are accepted into heaven]. He is neither. He believes that hell is real and some people are going there.

“The inhabitants of hell [are] ever seeking to do whatever they wish to one another. This is utter darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.” He quotes from C.S. Lewis “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end ‘Thy will be done’”.

Living a life where exerting my will is the only thing on my mind will get me in that jail cell at the end of my life, you know that one where I can get out. I have the key which is living a better life, but I don’t choose to use it.

I stay in the cell because I love my sins.

What a bad decision.

“Not me!” I answer QUICKLY!

Ok, who then who is going to hell?

Many Christians say that all of those who have not accepted Christ as their savior are not going to heaven so where are they going? They are going to hell.

As you may have heard in the recent election talk, it is a binary choice regarding voting for president. It can be considered a binary choice between heaven or hell.   Of course, the choice is choose Jesus or go to hell.

Millions of people who could have chosen Jesus have not. They could have lived lives where they loved their neighbor and could have placed high value on justice and mercy but they have not: they have lived a life where they are the center of their universe. God could have removed their free will and God could have made them choose Him but that is not what God would do. God wants all to join Him and to live lives on earth as His children and His subjects. God is a good King, a loving King but he will not force people to be his subjects. He “beckons” them to come, to willingly follow Him. In the minds of exclusivists, there is a dark place reserved for people who make the choice to ignore God’s beckoning. Maybe they are banished to a place at death where everyone there only thinks of themselves. Maybe that would be a horrible version of hell. Indeed.

So we have established it.

Hell is full of people who could have accepted God as their savior but they choose not to.

Hell is also full of people who did not follow Jesus. Yes folks the Jews, Muslims and Hindus won’t make it into heaven as well as many other faiths like Buddhists, Sikhs, Bahia, Confucianists etc. We are talking about billions.   They are following other Gods, not ours and that will not get you into heaven.

Those who are quick to exclude people from heaven think many are not going to make it to the final wonderful reward.

It seems so funny that most who exclude say “They are not going to make it into heaven.” They don’t say “They are going to hell.”   The last statement sounds much more harsh doesn’t it?

Then we get to the hard cases. You know, the villagers on the islands where no missionary has been. Maybe they would have responded to the beckoning but they never were exposed to it.   Then you have the children of believers who die before they reach an age of accountability.   What happens to them?

I am not saying that all people should be included in heaven. The liberal Christian would say that all can be admitted, but this person ignores Matthew 5:22 when Jesus says someone who calls their neighbor a fool is going to hell. Matthew 5:27-30 says that those who lust after women in their hearts will suffer eternal punishment. Matthew 23:1-36 speaks of religious leaders who are hypocrites not making it into heaven. People who are not good stewards of God’s gifts are banished [Matthew 25: 14-30] and religious people who refuse to help others in need are not going to make it either [Matthew 25: 31-46].

Here is where the gray area comes in. This is why Adam Hamilton talks so much about hell in his book Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White. Jesus does spend time talking about people who profess to know God but he does not spend time talking about people of other religions or even people who have turned their back on God.

Here is what Jesus talks about in my reading of the Bible. He warns people like me not to call my neighbor a fool. He warns me not to lust after others in my heart. He warns me not to say one thing and act out another. He warns me not to turn my back on those in need.

As Christians we threaten the lost with hell. I have heard it over and over in church, on television and on the street. As Christians we threaten others of other faiths with hell, because we want them to convert.

We don’t like to think about it, but instead of talking to the lost or the people of other faiths, Jesus is threatening me with hell

And He should.