How many times have you heard statements like "If there is a God, why would he allow so much evil in the world", or "How could God let that happen"? Although there is more than one biblical answer to why, the simple answer to both questions is that He didn't. Does he let bad things happen sometime? Yes. Can he stop bad things from happening? Yes. (Have you ever thought how many times He has stopped bad things from happening, not only in general, but to us personally, that we don't even know about?) So what is the answer? Unfortunately, most of the time it's because of us.
God has given us humans a trait that we can either use for good or
bad ....free will. God had given us the power to make our own choices. Sure, He could have prevented all bad from happening in our lives, but how would we learn from our mistakes or mature and grow as human beings? It would be like a parent making all of the decisions for their child. The child would never learn or grow on their own.
Free will was first illustrated in the third chapter of the bible. Genesis chapter 3 describes how Eve (and Adam) were tempted by Satan (in the form of a serpent) and decided, on their own, to go against what God warned them about and eat from the "tree in the middle of the garden". They were perfect and had everything, but willfully chose to commit a sin, and mankind has never been the same. This story also shows how our free will is continuously caught between a battle of good and evil influences. When a bad thing happens, it's normally because the evil influence has prevailed. The Biblical books of Ezekiel and Isaiah also describe Satan as having been created a cherubim, apparently the
highest created angel. He became arrogant in his beauty and status and
at some point decided he wanted to sit on a throne above Gods. Satan’s pride led to his fall. Just like Adam and Eve, Satan made that decision on his own.
C.S. Lewis dedicated part of a chapter in his Mere Christianity book on the topic of free will, and here is what he had to say about it:
"God created things which had free will. That means creatures which
can go either wrong or right. If a thing is free to be good it is also
free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why then, did God give them (humans) free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or good or joy worth having. A world of automata - of creatures that worked like machines - would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free.
Of course, God knew what would happen if they (humans) used their freedom the wrong way: apparently He thought it was worth the risk. Perhaps we feel inclined to disagree with Him. But there is a difficulty about disagreeing with God. He is the source from which all reasoning power comes: you could not be right and He wrong any more than a steam can rise higher that its source. When you are arguing against Him you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all: it is like cutting off the branch you are sitting on.
If God thinks this state of war in the universe is worth paying for free will - that is, for making a live world in which creatures can do real good or harm and something of real importance can happen, instead of a toy world which only moves when He pulls the strings - then we may take it it is worth paying."
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Next blog: Self.....a four letter word that turned around the human race: "The moment you have a self at all, there is the possibility of putting yourself first - wanting to be the center - wanting to be God, in fact. That was the sin of Satan; and that was the sin he taught the human race (beginning with Adam and Eve)."
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
C.S. Lewis and 'Mere Christianity' - Part 1: Introduction
I've recently been reading a book by author C.S. Lewis, best known for his work on the "Chronicles of Narnia" stories, called Mere Christianity, in which he sets out to explain and defend the Christian faith in a way that would impact and make sense to everyone – including those who do not believe in or agree with Christianity. I'm actually only about half way done, but I thought I'd begin sharing some of what I've read, as I think some people might find it interesting. But before I do that, here's a little introduction to C.S. Lewis and the origins of Mere Christianity.
C.S. Lewis: A Brief Bio
Born in 1898 in Belfast Ireland, Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis began writing Mere Christianity in 1942 when he was 44 years old. But what made this book even more intruiging to me is that Lewis didn't become a Christian until 1931 at age 33. In fact, prior to that, he was an atheist for nearly 20 years who at one time even developed an interest in the occult.
So why write a book on Christianity only 11 years after becoming a Christian? Lewis answers that question himself:
"It’s not because I’m anybody in particular that I’ve been asked to tell you what Christians believe. In fact it’s just the opposite. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) have asked me, first of all because I’m a layman and not a parson, and consequently they thought I might understand the ordinary person’s point of view a bit better. Secondly, I think they asked me because it was known that I’d been an atheist for many years and only became a Christian fairly recently. They thought that would mean I’d be able to see the difficulties – able to remember what Christianity looks like from the outside. So you see the long and the short of it is that I’ve been selected for this job just because I’m an amateur and not a professional, and a beginner not an old hand. Of course this means that you may well ask what right I have to talk on the subject at all."
The Origins of Mere Christianity
Mere Christianity was adapted from a series of BBC radio talks Lewis made between 1942 and 1944. After the talks were concluded, Lewis decided to publish the summaries of each lecture into three pamphlets:
In his book, Lewis attempts to point out that Christianity is the only thing that makes sense. He uses the very basics of the sense of wrong and right to prove his point, first by pointing out that many atheists (including him when he was one) say they do not believe in God because the world is so bad.
But how, asks Lewis, can one know the world is bad? What gives one a sense of justice, morality or decency? Lewis says the answer is God, and that if people would give their lives to the God of Christianity that they would be able to find peace and contentment because a life of walking with God is how humans were created to live.
Accolades
Several decades after the book was first published, it is still considered one of the premiere works on the subject. In 2006, Mere Christianity was placed third in Christianity Today's list of the most influential books amongst evangelicals since 1945.
In addition, evangelist Charles Colson's conversion to Christianity reportedly resulted from his reading Mere Christianity, as did the conversions of physician-geneticist Francis Collins (current Director of the National Institute of Health), musician/song writer Josh Caterer, and philosopher C. E. M. Joad.
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Next blog: Free Will - "God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go either wrong or right. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible."
C.S. Lewis: A Brief Bio
Born in 1898 in Belfast Ireland, Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis began writing Mere Christianity in 1942 when he was 44 years old. But what made this book even more intruiging to me is that Lewis didn't become a Christian until 1931 at age 33. In fact, prior to that, he was an atheist for nearly 20 years who at one time even developed an interest in the occult.
So why write a book on Christianity only 11 years after becoming a Christian? Lewis answers that question himself:
"It’s not because I’m anybody in particular that I’ve been asked to tell you what Christians believe. In fact it’s just the opposite. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) have asked me, first of all because I’m a layman and not a parson, and consequently they thought I might understand the ordinary person’s point of view a bit better. Secondly, I think they asked me because it was known that I’d been an atheist for many years and only became a Christian fairly recently. They thought that would mean I’d be able to see the difficulties – able to remember what Christianity looks like from the outside. So you see the long and the short of it is that I’ve been selected for this job just because I’m an amateur and not a professional, and a beginner not an old hand. Of course this means that you may well ask what right I have to talk on the subject at all."
The Origins of Mere Christianity
Mere Christianity was adapted from a series of BBC radio talks Lewis made between 1942 and 1944. After the talks were concluded, Lewis decided to publish the summaries of each lecture into three pamphlets:
- The Case for Christianity
- Christian Behavior
- Beyond Personality
In his book, Lewis attempts to point out that Christianity is the only thing that makes sense. He uses the very basics of the sense of wrong and right to prove his point, first by pointing out that many atheists (including him when he was one) say they do not believe in God because the world is so bad.
But how, asks Lewis, can one know the world is bad? What gives one a sense of justice, morality or decency? Lewis says the answer is God, and that if people would give their lives to the God of Christianity that they would be able to find peace and contentment because a life of walking with God is how humans were created to live.
Accolades
Several decades after the book was first published, it is still considered one of the premiere works on the subject. In 2006, Mere Christianity was placed third in Christianity Today's list of the most influential books amongst evangelicals since 1945.
In addition, evangelist Charles Colson's conversion to Christianity reportedly resulted from his reading Mere Christianity, as did the conversions of physician-geneticist Francis Collins (current Director of the National Institute of Health), musician/song writer Josh Caterer, and philosopher C. E. M. Joad.
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Next blog: Free Will - "God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go either wrong or right. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible."
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