Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. But just how much of what happens in today's world can we attribute to that vengeance. Can we attribute earthquakes and tsunamis to the wrath of God? Maybe only those over 6.0 on the Richter scale? How about planes crashing into buildings? How about famines and floods? What about school shootings? Some of our most influential religious leaders have very strong opinions about these issues. Largely, the media focuses on the most controversial of these leaders rather than the most rational or wisest or those most representative of the Christian faith.
Billy Graham suggested that some of the great tragedies in the United States have occurred because of our rejection of God. Jeremiah Wright suggested our actions and moral corruption were revisited on us in the trade center attacks. And Pat Robertson recently asserted that Haiti is being punished for the practices of non-Christian religion centuries ago. Interestingly, a dinner party of these 3 men and their wives seems unlikely, but they all espouse the general belief, which is not uncommon amongst [American] Christians, that the collective failure of believers (and non-believers) is directly related to the amount of suffering through enormous tragedies through which God punishes the world.
i can't say i agree with any of these three men. i understand Billy Graham. i understand that he's making the point that it's so out of vogue to teach children moral behavior that we can see some of those affects, but i don't think God moves in such violence just to say, "i told you so." i can see the points that are made by Jeremiah Wright. As a nation, we have allowed our leaders to make foolish decisions for greed and military conquest, but it doesn't address the ideological concerns of the radical groups that will continue to exist and attack us and others, no matter how little we exert our influence overseas as a country or international community. And i understand that Pat Robertson believes that God punishes people for disobedience or unbelief, but scripture also teaches that the rain falls on the just and unjust alike, and in Haiti, it has.
In all of this, i cannot read scripture and come to the conclusion that God punishes people through these horrendous acts. If you look at the times when God showed his wrath, you find no examples like the tsunami in SE Asia or the earthquake in Haiti, much less Columbine or 9/11. God's wrath fell on the world during a great flood, but it was made clear that Noah's family was the only righteous one and they were spared. There was no question. Everyone else was given the chance and they ignored it. They were given warning and a plan and it was clear. When God had wrath toward Nineveh, he gave them warning and when they repented, truly repented, they were spared. God is not in the habit of letting the innocent die when he moves to punish. God has no collateral damage. In fact, the Good News in which we believe is that God has only ever allowed one innocent person to die in place of the punishment of someone guilty. And that was his only son in place of all of us.
In any great disaster, particularly the ones i have mentioned here, there are deaths of the innocent, of righteous men and women and innocent children. i do believe scripture shows evidence of God's wrath unleashed in our world, but it shows so much more of a loving God who seeks to protect the innocent and the suffering ones and to bring healing to the remnant, the survivors. i don't see God moving in disasters, but in the aftermath, in healing, in rebuilding, in the body of Christ, the Church, to help and to heal and to love the world. Our God is a God of restoration and redemption above all else, and seeks the restoration and redemption of this world until Christ comes again to bring a new one.
Billy Graham suggested that some of the great tragedies in the United States have occurred because of our rejection of God. Jeremiah Wright suggested our actions and moral corruption were revisited on us in the trade center attacks. And Pat Robertson recently asserted that Haiti is being punished for the practices of non-Christian religion centuries ago. Interestingly, a dinner party of these 3 men and their wives seems unlikely, but they all espouse the general belief, which is not uncommon amongst [American] Christians, that the collective failure of believers (and non-believers) is directly related to the amount of suffering through enormous tragedies through which God punishes the world.
i can't say i agree with any of these three men. i understand Billy Graham. i understand that he's making the point that it's so out of vogue to teach children moral behavior that we can see some of those affects, but i don't think God moves in such violence just to say, "i told you so." i can see the points that are made by Jeremiah Wright. As a nation, we have allowed our leaders to make foolish decisions for greed and military conquest, but it doesn't address the ideological concerns of the radical groups that will continue to exist and attack us and others, no matter how little we exert our influence overseas as a country or international community. And i understand that Pat Robertson believes that God punishes people for disobedience or unbelief, but scripture also teaches that the rain falls on the just and unjust alike, and in Haiti, it has.
In all of this, i cannot read scripture and come to the conclusion that God punishes people through these horrendous acts. If you look at the times when God showed his wrath, you find no examples like the tsunami in SE Asia or the earthquake in Haiti, much less Columbine or 9/11. God's wrath fell on the world during a great flood, but it was made clear that Noah's family was the only righteous one and they were spared. There was no question. Everyone else was given the chance and they ignored it. They were given warning and a plan and it was clear. When God had wrath toward Nineveh, he gave them warning and when they repented, truly repented, they were spared. God is not in the habit of letting the innocent die when he moves to punish. God has no collateral damage. In fact, the Good News in which we believe is that God has only ever allowed one innocent person to die in place of the punishment of someone guilty. And that was his only son in place of all of us.
In any great disaster, particularly the ones i have mentioned here, there are deaths of the innocent, of righteous men and women and innocent children. i do believe scripture shows evidence of God's wrath unleashed in our world, but it shows so much more of a loving God who seeks to protect the innocent and the suffering ones and to bring healing to the remnant, the survivors. i don't see God moving in disasters, but in the aftermath, in healing, in rebuilding, in the body of Christ, the Church, to help and to heal and to love the world. Our God is a God of restoration and redemption above all else, and seeks the restoration and redemption of this world until Christ comes again to bring a new one.
2 comments:
Hey Brian,
This is Jordan. Good Post. My only contribution to most people is to recommend reading some books by Donald Miller. Specifically "Blue Like Jazz" and "Searching for God Knows What" good stuff. Brennan Manning's "Abba's Child" is a good one too just for getting a look at the "loving God" over the "Vengeful God".
Miller will tell you that most of the evil in the world today is the result of the fall of man (adam & eve) and that humanity and creation was immediately corrupted from that point on. Corrupted in the sense that, a factor was added to the formula of life (sin) that was not in the original plans for creation (even though God undoubtedly knew before He created Man the sacrifice He would have to make). And the "badness" of the world is attributed to this idea of the "plan being out of whack". Anyway, I'm sure he as the author can wordsmith all of those ideas better than I just did. Check it out if you've got some time.
I can find myself suscribing to that belief, as well as the aftermath providing healing (strength in weakness...seeking His glory in humility...and hope). I have also heard the idea of Jesus' death being an act that also redirects (or calms) God's wrath.
Anyway lots of pieces of ideas. just thought I'd say the pieces you propose in your blog are good.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Thanks, Jordan. Many of those books were required or recommended reading at my seminary. i keep looking for more and more to read. It discourages me when a message of disparity and doom is heard from the pulpit and a message of hope from the political podium. That seems a little suspect to me. And as always, thank you for your words.
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