Category Archives: Christianity

January 17, 2013

Is God Good?

By David D. Flowers

Is God good? If so, then why is there evil and suffering in the world? Have you heard this before? If you’re like me, you’ve wrestled with it yourself.

It’s a legitimate question that we must answer.

Epicurus (Greek philosopher, 4th cent. BC) is believed to be the first to argue the following:

  1. If an all-powerful and perfectly good god exists, then evil does not.
  2. There is evil in the world.
  3. Therefore, an all-powerful and perfectly good god does not exist.

David Hume (Scottish philosopher, 18th cent. AD) said…

“Is he [God] willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then is he impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?” (Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion)

Theologians and philosophers throughout history have responded to the scoffing of skeptics and accusations made by agnostics against a “good” God creating a world where evil is possible.

From Irenaeus, Augustine, and Aquinas to contemporary voices like John Hick, Alvin Plantiga, and William Lane Craig, a great deal of ink has been devoted to the issue of theodicy (moral defense of God in the face of evil).

I personally subscribe to the Trinitarian Warfare Worldview proposed by Greg Boyd. It is a serious theological, as well as philosophical, treatment of the problem of evil. See my summary of Greg’s views here.

Is it logical for a good God to create a world where evil is possible? Yes, I believe so. However, philosophy (logic & reason) must also make room for theology (natural & divine revelation) for a full, satisfactory response.

God has expressed his true nature in the cross of Jesus. Contrary to the sentiments of Richard Dawkins, the crucifixion is not a “petty” matter inconsequential to human history and the cosmos.

In orthodox Christian perspective, the cross of Christ is the climax of incarnation. God displays the depths of his love for all of creation by bearing the ultimate consequence of the evil our free will has brought into the world.

We also learn that God’s omnipotence doesn’t look like that of Zeus, king of the gods. The power of God is revealed in Jesus’ giving of his life by his own free will for the purpose of reconciling a broken humanity.

Greg Boyd writes…

“The cross refutes the traditional notion that omnipotence means God always gets his way. Rather, the cross reveals God’s omnipotence as a power that empowers others—to the point of giving others the ability, if they so choose, to nail him to the cross. The cross reveals that God’s omnipotence is displayed in self-sacrificial love, not sheer might. God conquers sin and the devil not by a sovereign decree but by a wise and humble submission to crucifixion. In doing this, the cross reveals that God’s omnipotence is not primarily about control but about his compelling love. God conquers evil and wins the heart of people by self-sacrificial love, not by coercive force.”  God of the Possible, p.18

The logic is sound, but the true beauty of it is only discovered in faith.

Do you find this video helpful in articulating God’s righteousness in the face of evil? Let’s renew our belief in the goodness of God by looking upon Jesus as the full and final revelation of his character. 

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Culture, Theology

January 9, 2013

The Twilight Zone God

By David D. Flowers

I’m sort of a nerd. I haven’t always been that way. I grew into it. I’m not ashamed of the fact.

I have always enjoyed movies. But when I was younger I didn’t care much for black & white films. I was entirely disinterested in Science Fiction.

I actually laughed at my dad when I caught him watching Star Trek in the living room. Not anymore. No sir. Not anymore.

Today I enjoy reading theology books and contemplating the mysteries of the universe. When I want to wind down and detach from the world a bit, I watch a sci-fi film. I like to feel like I’ve entered another dimension of reality. It’s therapeutic and stimulating all at once. I told you I’m a nerd.

I have especially grown to love Rod Serling’s TV episodes of The Twilight Zone (1959-64). There are so many theological and ethical messages that are nicely illustrated in the original series.

The original Star Trek episodes are of the same sci-fi strata.

In the future, I’m gonna use some old sci-fi to help us rethink God in Christ.

I’ll begin with the last five minutes of “It’s a Good Life” (season 3, episode 8) from The Twilight Zone.

A little boy named Anthony has divine powers that are wreaking havoc on everyone in his world. He does some really bizarre things. The neighbors witness him create a three-headed gopher and kill it because he can. When he gets angry at people for the slightest reason, he makes them disappear.

He even turns someone into a jack-in-the-box before sending them to the “corn field” never to be seen again. Right before he makes it snow on the crops in the middle of summer, destroying the harvest.

Anthony doesn’t even allow people to think bad thoughts about him. So his parents and neighbors all try to convince each other that Anthony is really good after all. They dare not question the justice of Anthony, or else.

He can do it because he’s Anthony. And it’s The Twilight Zone.

I think this episode epitomizes the idea of some really bad pop-views about what God is like. Some call it Calvinism. I call it The Twilight Zone God.

Don’t you think it’s time for someone to knock some bad theology over the head? Isn’t it time that we seriously consider how Christ is the full revelation of God? Let’s say “No” to The Twilight Zone God. 

D.D. Flowers, 2013.

* This post inspired Greg Boyd’s message: Escaping the Twilight Zone God.

15 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Culture, Faith & Science, Theology

December 12, 2012

Greg Boyd on Christmas

By David D. Flowers

Greg Boyd recently began a video Q&A over at ReKnew.org. I thought some of my readers might find his thoughts on Christmas helpful.

Is Christmas a pagan holiday? Should Christians celebrate Christmas? 

Questions and concerns about how (or even if) Christians should celebrate certain holidays are raised by the church every year.

Not long ago I created a section on the Archives page dedicated to holidays. My article on Halloween & the Gospel is oddly enough one of the most popular posts here at the blog. It’s clear people care about these issues.

You can expect more posts to come on holidays as we learn how to express our faith as a counter-cultural movement. It is clear that many Christians really want to do the right thing during the holidays. Sometimes we simply need to be reminded, challenged, and jolted into renewed action.

Listen to Greg give a brief history lesson and share his thoughts on how Christians should navigate through the Christmas season.

What do you think about what Greg has shared? How do you celebrate Christmas with your family? How can we celebrate Christmas without glorifying greed? Let’s be intentional in the way we celebrate this year.

D.D. Flowers, 2012.

10 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Holidays

December 10, 2012

Heaven is Not Our Home

By David D. Flowers

There has recently been a great deal of hype stirred up by those claiming to have had out-of-body experiences of heaven. Bookstore shelves are filling up with them, and all of the media outlets are reporting on them.

I don’t want to speculate on the claims made by the kid who met Jesus or the agnostic neurosurgeon who has confessed to having experienced another dimension of reality. Maybe they did experience these things for real, or maybe neurons were simply misfiring in their brain. I’ll let you decide.

It’s not that I’m entirely skeptical of these subjective claims. I believe in heaven as a present reality. I also believe that the apostle John experienced something of this heaven, as he records in Revelation 4-5. So, I do believe in that realm the Scripture calls heaven—God’s space.

What concerns me is that many Christians have made more of these contemporary claims than they ought. We’ve allowed folk religion to shape enough of our theology as it is. And this infatuation with heaven says we have a ways to go in understanding the Gospel and the biblical future God has planned for heaven and earth.

Is heaven is for real? Well, of course it is. It doesn’t appear that the NT church had any doubts about it. They clearly believed in the present reality of heaven, but they were far more interested in something greater.

What fascinated the early church—driving the entire Gospel mission—was the biblical hope that God would bring heaven to earth. The Messiah was to be the one to make this happen, at least to initiate it and complete it. The Kingdom of God is all about this marriage of heaven and earth.

It’s God’s idea of new creation.

“Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” Isaiah 65:17

The creation of a “new heavens and a new earth” is a transformation of the former things. It is a world transfigured like unto the physical body of the Lord Jesus (Matt. 17:1-9). Think about it.

The resurrected body of Christ was of its own kind. There is continuity with the old body and there is discontinuity as well (Lk. 24: 13-35, 36-49; Jn. 20:1-18, 24-31; 21:1-14). The resurrected body of Christ is heaven intersecting with earth. Therefore, the resurrected Jesus is proof of what God plans to do with the spiritual and physical dimensions of reality.

In Rev. 21-22 we do not see believers flying off to a disembodied spiritual existence on the other side of the cosmos. No, we see heaven coming to earth. We see heaven, God’s realm, breaking through and fully consummating with the physical realm we call earth.

We must rid ourselves of this mantra that speaks of going to heaven when we die, as if we will have come to the end of our journey.

Heaven is indeed where the Lord is presently, but it is not our final home (Ps. 14:2; 20:6; 33:13; Ecc. 5:2; Is. 66:1; Dan. 2:44; 7:27; Rev. 11:15).

If anything, heaven is only a temporal dwelling for those awaiting the resurrection of the dead. Jesus said there are “many dwelling places” in his Father’s house (Jn 14:2). The Greek word for “dwelling places” used here, monai, has regularly been used to refer to a temporary stop on an extended journey. Don’t merge this verse with Rev 21.

Even when Christ was on the cross, he told the thief on his left that “today” he would be with him in “paradise” (Lk. 23:43). This too doesn’t speak of a final destination, but of a temporal garden of rest.

All of the saints, past and present, still await the return of the King and the establishment of heaven on earth (Heb. 11:13-16; Rev. 6:10-11).

God’s desire has always been to complete his good work in the created world upon which every human being has ever lived.

For the Jew, there was a firm belief that God would restore creation and fulfill his covenant with his people. The Lord of heaven and earth would finally merge the two into one unified reality.

This resurrected world is called the “New Jerusalem” and the “Holy City” (Rev. 21:2). This newly remade world is our final destination. It is the Kingdom of God fully realized. In Revelation 21:5, Christ says:

“Behold, I am making all things new!”

And it is Christ that has the authority to say such things, for he was the first to be resurrected and be clothed with the imperishable.

Our hope is in a future resurrected existence in the “new heavens and earth.” The finished work of Christ is not fully realized until God makes his home on this earth. This should be our great obsession.

It is on this earth that Jesus prayed, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). Heaven is indeed coming to earth. Jesus has called for its renewal and resurrection!

“Heaven, in the Bible, is not a future destiny but the other, hidden, dimension of our ordinary life—God’s dimension, if you like. God made heaven and earth; at the last he will remake both and join them together forever.” N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, 19

Give some serious thought to N.T. Wright’s description of this future reality.

Does your language about the future reflect this biblical hope? How do you think the pop-culture confusion on this theological issue impacts the way in which we live out the Kingdom on the earth?

D.D. Flowers, 2012.

12 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Christianity, Church, Culture, Theology