A Most Important Question

Perhaps the most fundamental question that faces mankind arises from the ideas that God is omnipotent, omniscient, just, fair, and loving, and at the same time, allows terribly evil things to occur to innocent victims. The approach to answering that question has an incalculable impact on the individual, the church, and the world's understanding of God. Answering it wrongly can cause people to dismiss the whole idea of a benevolent creator because the ideas are incompatible. Answering it rightly, however, can validate the meaning of our existence and draw man up to a higher level of purpose. It is therefore worthy of careful contemplation and is central to any belief system.

Therefore, we consider the way one approaches this question as one of our core beliefs. It is a crucial question because it touches on the very nature of God as well as the purpose of his creation. Side-stepping this question does not solve the problem; the question comes back constantly. With every crisis in life, with every joyful event, every setback, every victory, with every decision, the question of God's will is ever present.

It is worth noting that it was Augustine, in his masterpiece work, City of God, who was one of the first to assert that God is responsible for everything that happens, including evil. When one contemplates the influence of his work and how fundamental it was to the post-apostolic church, it is not surprising that it has produced in all of us a predisposition on this topic that requires some work to overcome. It is partly because of the far reaching aspect of his life and work, flawed or not, that more than just simple analyses are required to deal with these fundamental questions. For example, consider the fact that the words "omniscient" and "omnipotent" do not appear in the Bible. While there is abudant Scripture that points to the mightiness of God, our culture's extension of that terminology in the Bible to these more abstract "omni" terms creates unecessary intellectual puzzles. The question, "Can God create a rock too heavy for him to lift?" is an example of such a puzzle that results from the "omni" abstractions. In Christian circles, people will even say things like, "God is outside of time." This idea, although it runs counter to Scripture at several points, is widely accepted as some type of last ditch effort to resolve the "omni" puzzles. In the end, however, it is unsatisfactory since it does not square with the God portrayed in the Bible.

So while the actual questions of free will, predestination, and God's sovereignty are straightforward to answer, we at the same time must deal with centuries of abstractionism that has been heaped upon the Biblical notions of God. The well-developed arguments that are required to disassemble those non-Biblical ideas are of a scope larger than can be accommodated in this web site. For those interested, there are rather weighty books (again, weighty because of the predispositions that must be overcome) worth investigating. See, for example, Gregory Boyd's book, "Satan and the Problem of Evil." From that book, it is convenient to draw some noteworthy examples from Scripture regarding God's interaction with man's free will and God's real-time existence with man.

Some Valuable Scriptural Evidence

Some Key Conclusions

Instead of simply taking references like those above literally and at face value, many are deeply influenced by the abstractionism established by the Greek philosophers that was then canonized by Augustine. The above scripture references simply do not fit with the idea of an omniscient God who knows and controls every detail of existence. One of the popular interpretations of the above scriptures is that they were provided by God as a way to portray far more mysterious aspects of his being. Those who pursue that line of reasoning insist that God does not actually "regret", "seek to know" man's heart, or "admit the future is uncertain." Instead, he just put those things in the Bible to help us understand something more mysterious.

As Boyd points out, their interpretation is self defeating. It is essentially saying, "That was a nice try, God, but we are smarter than you think we are. Despite all of your attempts to mask your mysterious, beyond time, omniscience with these dumbed-down portrayal, we figured you out." We, instead, take them at face value, and the implications are enormous.

In paraphrase, God's actions depend on our actions. He has an epic agenda and uses us to the extent he can in advancing his agenda. The rate at which his kingdom grows depends in part on us. The amount of evil that is surpressed depends in part on us. We are engaged in the battle between good and evil, and we are to fight on God's side. What a spinetingling notion that is. It is a purpose that brings meaning to each moment in life and brings to life each ordinary thing. It is a fundamental notion in our church.

Pandora's Box

While at face value the above, rather earthy portrayals of God and our apparent engagement with him in an epic battle of good versus evil is attractive, there are other points that must be grappled with before a thorough position can be solidified. It seems apparent that the need for grappling with these other points is, once again, rooted in our deeply in-bred Augustinian view of God, for Scripture does not ever grapple with them. But, that does not mean grappling with them is a bad thing. In our culture and with our God-given desire for truth and our desire for logical explanations, natural questions arise. The scope for such a discussion is great for a small group, but is beyond this web site. Still, below some of the key ideas are briefly outlined.

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