Category: General Christian Teachings

Judgment Day: Honor and Shame

We’re going to take a little break from our study to consider a topic a friend of mine was talking about with me last night. First, I’d like to think Smithers for his comment. The article I read from him seems quite excellent and I have since added a link to his blog right here. Now on to the topic!

We were talking about skeptics we’ve encountered and there are some that to be blunt, I am stunned they do not see the contradictions. Most notably is the complaint that God is evil in the Old Testament while at the same time they defend moral relativism. I remarked that sometimes I think part of the aspect of judgment day for all is that God honors us in the face of those who have shamed us and shames those who have mocked those who proclaimed the truth in his name.

At this my friend started wondering about our sins. Do I think that they will be made known on judgment day? Will everyone there know what it is that I did all my life? I answered yes. My friend was very concerned about this saying that he didn’t want everyone to know what he had done and still does nor does he want to know what all I’ve done and still do. 

I think we can all relate to that. There’s a joke I heard a long time ago about in London that a telegram was sent one evening to 12 leading officials in the town from someone anonymous who said “All is revealed! Leave immediately!” By morning, half of them were gone.

Many of us can understand that. We don’t want the world to know what we’ve done and what we do and yet this is what I believe will happen on Judgment Day? If I am correct, then how is it that I can take joy and peace on the thought of that day?

I don’t believe there are any secrets in Heaven. No one has to hide anything. The Bible speaks of all being laid bare to account. However, when our sins are presented, God does not condone them. They are inexcusable. We must be absolutely clear on that. For someone interested in further information on this point, I recommend a sermon on excuses and forgiveness in C.S. Lewis’s “The Weight of Glory.” 

He also doesn’t just overlook our sin. There can be none of that here. It’s the final day of reckoning and he can’t treat it like it’s not there. He also doesn’t just forget our sin. He doesn’t somehow wipe his memory clean of any sin we have. He does something far better.

He forgives it.

It’s the imputed righteousness of Christ. He places upon Christ the guilt that we deserve. All that was to our shame will be taken from us and replaced with honor. There won’t be any extra baggage or hidden baggage. We won’t have to hide anything in eternity.

But will people look down on us in Heaven? No way. That’s not an activity of Heaven. Throughout eternity, we will be reminders of the glory of God in that his plan to overcome evil worked. While personal testimonies are not my favorite kind of evangelism, we will be personal testimonies forever in Heaven. 

As for those in Hell, there will be no honor. All that they thought good will instead be a testament to their shame as they did not use it for the glory of God. There is no honor in Hell. There is only eternal shame at what one has lost.

Going back to us, we are there forever. We are forgiven. We are loved and we are loving one another. There is nothing to hide. All is forgiven.

Welcome home.

After The Tea Party

I’m one of those many Americans who went to a tea party today. If you did, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did mine. Today has been an interesting day as a result. I found myself in places I normally wouldn’t be and got home to find a final post in a debate I’m in with the debater making a slanderous remark about autists. Many of you will know about the blog I did on Obama, Socialism, and my story. I do not take such lightly so I wish to let you know I am quite livid about this tonight. Am I personally offended? Not really. I am offended on behalf of all those out there like myself and some who are unable to defend themselves. 

Which is one reason I decided to forego the usual blog tonight, which is what we will be returning to very soon. I say that instead of tomorrow because anything could come up. I doubt it, but it could. Tonight, I’d like to post on my thoughts after the Tea Party. As I do, I don’t want it to be a political blog really. I’d like to tie this in with the church today. 

It was quite exciting to see so many people come out in support of a cause. The numbers were tremendous and it would be great to get a full count. All of these people are coming out because they don’t like what’s happening in their government. In one day, numerous tea parties showed up all over America.

I’m not against that. I think a grassroots movement is wonderful. I think it’s excellent that people are taking their own time, such as my taking my own PTO from work, to come to these parties and let their voices be heard. 

I think it’s so wonderful I ponder “Why isn’t the church doing anything like this?”

Wouldn’t it be great to see the church one day also organizing all across America at rallies speaking out against the evils we see in culture? Let our voices be known about the homosexual movement. Let them be known about the abortion movement. Let them be known about the removal of prayer from schools. Let them be known about the way we are treated in the mainstream media.

If bad politics gets us angry, and it should, we should be all the more angry at the sin that is destroying our culture. Just last night I had a conversation with a good friend of mine who I believe is allowing the poison of relativism to creep in. The main position I saw presented last night was that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It’s a shame so many Christians are buying into that and maybe after this Trinity series we will see some blogs devoted to that topic.

We Christians tend to talk a lot about changing society as well. The only problem is we rarely seem to do anything. Strangers all across various cities came together and united because they didn’t like the politics going on. One of our speakers I believe got it right. It’s a moral problem at the start. That’s something the church needs to address. 

The church is called to be salt and light in the world. It’s not a suggestion. It’s a requirement from Christ. Spreading the gospel is not an option. It is a command. If we can unite across the country for a political cause, surely we can do so for a Christian cause.

Are We Showing Sinners Love?

I’ve been doing a study on the Trinity in Scripture, but I decided to give a brief interruption tonight. Besides, I love John 1:14 and my time is limited tonight and I want to be sure I can give that verse a lot of attention. 

Tonight’s blog is based on a conversation I had with a friend from Bible College that I spoke to online last night. I read something he wrote about how his church did not want to preach good conservative values because it would drive people away. He told of a pastor who had a stripper come forward to receive Christ, but he didn’t tell her to stop what she was doing. After all, that’s how she feeds her family.

Some of us might think that is noble. The pastor’s intentions are good, but good intentions are not enough. When we are judging an action, we cannot look at an intention alone. Now there does have to be a good intention for a good act, but we must ask if this act is helping this woman to become more like Christ.

Now I will say that when we call something a sin, there is a loving way to do it and unloving way to do it and the way to do it will depend on the situation. Sometimes, you will have to be point-blank blunt. Sometimes you won’t. I’d guess that this time a kinder approach would have worked best. If someone has just given their life to Christ though, they should have some idea of how seriously Christ takes sin.

Now some of you are thinking, “Yeah. But that’s her job and she does have to feed her family. What’s she going to do?” Did anyone stop to think that maybe the church could help out actually? Maybe someone from the church could offer to look after the kids. Someone else could help train this woman in how to go out and get a job or else teach her some skill so that she can get a job. In the long-term, someone could find a decent man she can marry who will help provide for her and raise her children.

Wouldn’t any of these be better answers?

I know some of us could say that there are government programs, but you know what? I’m sick of having the state do the work the church should be doing. We offer to help the downtrodden when they want salvation, but when it comes to their physical needs, we pass them off to the state. Didn’t James say something in chapter 2 about addressing someone’s spiritual needs but not addressing their physical needs? Of course, I’m not against getting people to come to Christ, but that’s just the beginning of a long journey. (One that should continue into discipleship and not just having them be converted and that’s the end of it. That’d be like getting the lady to say “I do,” kissing the bride, and then going off on your way.

Also, this kind of idea leads to an entitlement society I fear that thinks the world owes everything to them. Note that I’m specific. I think we should help this woman, but it should not be a hand-out. It should be a hand-up. We want her to achieve so much that when someone else comes in in the same situation, she’s able to be the helper this time. 

We do this with our children after all. Why do parents help their children? So they can keep helping them? No. They help them so they will reach a point where they are no longer dependent on the parents for help.

What this pastor did was not showing love. To not help someone out of doing what is immoral is not love. Sin keeps us from being who we were meant to be in Christ. If something is keeping me from being who I was meant to be in Christ, how is it love to allow me to continue in that?

If we treat sin lightly in the church, we are treating the cross lightly as well. If we treat that lightly, then we are treating the whole of Christianity. We are lowering the sacrifice of Christ and by implication, we are lowering him. Sin is serious business. Sometimes we think we feel too guilty today. If we compared to a preacher like Jonathan Edwards, he said the problem was we don’t feel guilty enough. We don’t treat the holiness of God seriously and we end up making our sin a trifle.

I’m not saying we should walk around in guilt constantly, but we should come to realize the gravity of sin and see it for what it is. Divine treason against the one who is goodness and love in his very nature. Every time we sin, we are claiming that our way is better than his and by implication, we are claiming that he is not who he says he is and that frankly, we ought to be in his place.

Maybe someday pastors will wake up. I don’t think that would just change the church, but it’d change America. I do believe that we have produced a generation that doesn’t know how to think, but frankly, they stopped thinking because the church stopped thinking first. Of course, I’m not saying there are no thinkers in the church. I’m in the church and I’d consider myself a thinker. I’m saying that by and large, the church has become shallow and does not take the search for truth seriously any more. Why should we be surprised when the world follows suit?

What do we need? We need the gospel. We need to realize sin is sin, Christ is Christ, the cross is the cross, and God is God. We need to return to true Christianity. I’m convinced this could change our country. If we don’t, I am quite sure our society in America will fall. That won’t mean the end of the gospel of course. It’ll keep going. The gospel doesn’t need America. America needs the gospel.

In giving the gospel and helping sinners both spiritually and financially, we are showing true love. Let us not lower down the principles of the gospel and call it love. It is anything but love.

Staying Humble

I’m going to take a break again from the Trinity series to write about something based on recent events in my life.

I received a pleasant surprised Friday night as a friend who I respect very much in apologetics wrote to me to tell me he was sending me a book. It’s always encouraging to have someone who you see as a hero write to you to let you know that they’re thinking of you and better yet, to send you a gift like that.

This gets me to thinking about being in my position and the question I got asked last night at the house of some friends with their parents. Their parents always enjoy talking to me and at one point in the discussion asked, “How do you stay humble?”

This is something I really wrestle with. I try to not be egotistical and most people would probably tell you I’m not, but there are times I see that inside of myself. Of course, I also realize part of this could be a super-sensitive conscience that makes too much out of things that I shouldn’t. For those who want more of the back story on me, it can be found in a blog I did here:

http://deeperwaters.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/obama-socialism-and-my-story/

I also want to be sure I’m not confusing this with ambition. I think ambition is important. We don’t want to be mediocre for God. When I’m at an apologetics conference and see my heroes speaking on a topic, it gives me something to shoot for. When I see people around me writing books, it gives me the dream of one day having my own book (Which is being written now) being on the shelves someday. I look forward to having a reputation someday and doing the debates.

I will also say plainly I like compliments. However,  it would be odd to meet someone who didn’t. I share those compliments with the people I trust. I will call my family and tell them what is said and tell my roommate and tell other people in my life who I trust and who I’m sure can keep me humble.

I remember being in Florida with an apologist friend of mine at his old church. He would introduce me to people and every time, he would give a huge compliment about me. I at one point told him he’d better stop or I’ll get a big head. He smiled and laughed and said it wasn’t going to happen because I know who I am.

I didn’t understand him then, but I think I do now. My friend knew that with my personality, I’d try to give myself an honest appraisal. Sometimes, it’s hard for me to praise myself and say good things about myself for fear that I will be boasting, but I think stark honesty is needed. If I truly am good at something, I need to be able to say it. What good does it do to deny truth?

I live in a world where it seems people are always saying good things about me and I’m some sort of hero in the field that I’m in. When I look at myself many times, I don’t see it. That’s often dependent on my mood. If I’m in a down mood, I certainly won’t, but sometimes what lifts me up is that unexpected kind word from someone that makes me think “maybe they’re right” and I get a glimmer of hope. I do have strong perfectionistic tendencies as I think many in this field do.

Yet in all of this, I haven’t really answered the question. Is there something else that keeps me humble?

And I do hope I’m humble.

And there is something that does it. There are nights I’ll be alone in my room at night and see all the books that I have. I have five bookshelves full, and it’s not enough. Books are on the floor now. I have a few more out here in our living room. I also have numerous video game systems in our living room. I come from a small town and was an outcast who most people were ready to cast aside and was told to not go into this field of ministry because I couldn’t handle it.

And yet I look at all the stuff I have. I live in a great town. I live with my best friend. I have a good job now. I have been given a mind. I have several other friends here. That doesn’t mean all is perfect. I still seek a loving lady and I still seek to get past some of my own phobias and fears in my life. I pray for my parents also as they can’t really help me financially and I ask others to pray for them. My Dad makes just $7 an hour.

But I look at all those blessings in my life and I think “Who am I Lord that you should bless me in this way?”

I realize it all comes from him.

That keeps me humble.

He has blessed me more than I deserve and I pray it is something I remember more often.

Your Worst Critic

I was going to continue our series some tonight, but something I saw made me think otherwise. There are times a person is moved to write something because they know it will benefit another specifically. I’ll also admit right off that some of this is my own concern for my own self as well in that it is a boat I am usually in and so I can imagine what it’s like for others. Telling my story could benefit me, but I think it could also benefit others.

I’m a perfectionist.

I also think that if you’re a perfectionist, you never really get over being a perfectionist.

I also think everyone in ministry has some degree of perfectionism in them. I’m no exception.

I’ve told my story before as well. This is for those who need a refresher: http://deeperwaters.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/obama-socialism-and-my-story/

I’ll also add that since then, I have got a position in ministry, but I choose to not say where as that would disclose my location. 

Growing up like that, I often saw myself as weak and incapable. It’s probably one reason I never really applied myself to much. I look at where I am now in philosophy and often think “Why weren’t you thinking like that back then?”

And part of me sometimes thinks, “Why aren’t you thinking good today?”

One of my worst fears is that one day I will be seen as some charade. What if I am merely playing the part of the apologist and in the end it isn’t so? What if I don’t possess skill?

In my brighter moments, I know that this isn’t so, but sometimes the bullet from Jezebel can come and it can knock a guy out for a bit. Circumstances come in and your emotions get blown for a loop and they take your rationality with them.

But then some other things happen that pick you up. I just had a friend email me and said he wanted to send me a book. I have no idea what, but this is a highly respectable friend in the apologetics world. Some of you might know him and I think, “Wow. You were thinking about me?” 

Someone will compliment you or maybe it’ll be something else. You’ll have something really good happen at the job. If you’re a guy like me, you might develop an interest in a beautiful lady and suddenly life seems different. The last time the realization came to me, I was actually in the locker room at the Y after my weekly dip in the pool.

Now here’s something I realize. While I would say I am constantly learning, it’s not learning some new apologetics argument that brings me out. It’s simply recognizing something. My friends and family are likely telling me the truth. Some of my opponents might not recognize that, but so what?

Am I going to tell all my friends and family they’re liars?

Am I also not going to recognize who I am in Christ?

Christ didn’t make me to be William Lane Craig or Norman Geisler or Gary Habermas or Ravi Zacharias or Greg Koukl or anyone else you can think of in the field.

He made me to be me. 

Maybe I don’t think like others. Okay. That means something else as well.

They don’t think like me.

Maybe they’ll see things I won’t. 

But maybe I’ll see things they won’t.

I also have to realize I’ll make mistakes.

Who doesn’t?

I won’t always know the perfect thing to say and maybe there isn’t a perfect thing to say sometimes.

I won’t always give a stellar performance.

That’s okay.

I’m still a work in progress.

I now think to my friend who is battling with this also.

Take heart.

You’re not alone.

I’m being quite transparent here, but I’m betting if you spoke to your heroes in the faith, they’d tell you the same thing.

And you know what? I’m going to show a side that could be self-serving some, but there are going to be times that I’ll be down also.

I’ll need you to smack me upside the head then and remind me of the truth.

Just as I hope I’ve done for you.

Thoughts Heading Home From Christmas

I mentioned last night in the blog that my family and I were watching Monk. Now my mother and my roommate and I were downstairs when the latest new one that was a Christmas episode also came on called “Mr. Monk and the Miracle.” My mother saw it and said “Oh! I remember this one this is the one where…” and she proceeded to tell a little bit about what happened.

I smiled and told her it was also one my roommate had never seen before.

We didn’t get to see the whole episode as we had to go pick up my grandmother, but I did end up on the way back home that day telling him what happened seeing as he had had his curiosity piqued. I thought about that later though and thought “I am thankful the greatest author of all leaves a lot of the plot open without telling us everything that’s going on.”

Sometimes, we all wish he would, but he’s a good author. I’m thankful he doesn’t.

On the way back, my roommate and I were both exhausted and I was doing the driving. Now we’d had a close call on the way there. We’d had to take an area of at the most I’d say 200 feet at a traffic light and cross two lanes suddenly to get to a turn-off. Downtown traffic in a major city is murder. It doesn’t help that I can’t really turn my head and I needed him to be my eyes for me.

On the way back, he fell asleep some of the way and I thought about that. I thought that he was calm enough and trusting enough with me that he could rest easily even though I, the best driver in the world, was not driving. Then I thought back on myself and wondered, “How often do I sometimes stay up at night or wake up at night because I’m worried about something in my life?”

It made me ponder that if only I could trust God as much as my roommate was trusting me then. Now I think I’m a pretty trustworthy guy, but I can assure you of this. I have far more reason to trust in God than my roommate could ever have to trust in my ability or in me in any way. I took that as an object lesson to work on recognizing that I need to trust God more and relax in him and believe that he is looking out for me.

One part of our journey was through the mountains and as we got to them, I thought about what a wonder it was. Somehow, sights like those dwarf us automatically. Yet I considered first off the biblical statement of how if you believe and pray a mountain be cast into the sea, it will be done for you.

Now I’m not going Word of Faith nonsense here. I don’t believe the mountain is literally supposed to do that, but I think the Lord was getting at how the greatest things that dwarf us so much are nothing compared to the power of God and if we trust in God, then he will take care of them. 

A mountain is an apropos example. It’s something great and majestic and you imagine what it would be like if you could get a mountain to be hurled into the sea. You would think that nothing would be impossible for you. Could it be Christ is trying to tell us that all things are possible with God so trust him in prayer?

The second thought was of how the medievals said that one man is worth more than the entire universe. I believe they were right, but you look at the mountains and you feel so dwarfed and then realize that God considers you worth much more than them.

I also watched as we left late in the afternoon to see the sky turn from blue to black as day became night. It’s an odd thing as you notice it happening, but at the same time, you don’t. You just look up and realize that it’s darker than before as the Earth is making its turn. Then you realize that it’s night.

I’ve been told that if you put a frog in boiling water, it’ll jump out immediately. However, if you put it in water and gradually boil it, you can cook the frog alive and until it’s too late, it won’t realize what is happening to it.

I thought if the church was like that also. I’m quite sure we are. We’ve had our moment in the sun so much that the world gradually grew darker and darker and we didn’t really pay attention and we’ve suddenly woken up and it’s night all around us. It’s a shame we haven’t paid attention. Is it too late for the church in America? My advice is to act like it isn’t.

Towards the end of the journey, I was counting on my roommate to provide the directions. He’s got an IPhone and if you don’t know, those have GPS capabilities. Well, I’m a control-freak in some ways I think. When I’m on the road, I like to know exactly what the next exit I’m supposed to go to is and how far away it is so I can start looking and calculating the distance and how long it’ll be. 

My roommate does not give such information, which I think is for the best for me and it taught me a lot about trust.

I had to trust him the whole way but as I thought about it, he had to trust me also. He was giving the directions, but I was the one behind the wheel and we had to rely on each other, which I think is a good definition of friendship as well. What benefit would it be for him to give me the wrong directions and how would it benefit me if I was to drive haphazardly? Of course, that doesn’t mean we each did it for our own benefit. Sharing a mutual goal, we both had to work together and that is also in friendship. I believe Aristotle said that one thing friends do is help each other on the path to becoming more virtuous.

As I got home that Christmas, I had a lot to think about. I had to think about God in ways that you can only realize I believe with the help of others. What does it mean to trust? What does it mean to be trusted? What does it mean to rely on your friends? What can be done to make a difference for the church?

I have much to think about, and I hope you have much to think about as well.

Thoughts on Christmas

I’m back home and I plan on writing on the thoughts that I had on the way home probably tomorrow. For now, I hope my loyal readers didn’t mind the absence of a blog yesterday, but I knew my family was wanting to see me and I wanted to go on and get home.

I’d like to write tonight on how Christmas has changed over the years for me and maybe some of you are in the same boat. I remember being younger and getting to bed at an early time on Christmas Eve night. (Well, as early as I could. We usually stayed up till about midnight opening presents at my aunt’s.) I wanted to get to bed so I could see all the cool stuff I got in the morning.

I don’t think patience is one of my strong points. I remember getting up in the morning and making sure that my parents got up and rushing them as quickly as I could so we could go downstairs and we could all have Christmas together. I can remember some of the gifts that I got for Christmas, but as I look back, it’s harder and harder. 

As I’ve got older, I look forward more to the reactions of other people when they see the gifts that I’ve got them. This year with my roommate, it added a new perspective as I’d see him open gifts that I’d told them that he’d like and seeing the joy that he had, as well as the joy at hearing that my mother had gone out and bought a chocolate cheesecake. 

There are so many gifts that I can’t wait to see other people open them. That joy is a far greater joy to me. Now that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy receiving gifts, I do. It does mean though that being older and wiser, I see the wisdom of the quotation from Acts of Christ. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

Now that I’m away, Christmas has become more about family. It’s not in opening gifts that I will eventually not see as exciting as I do at the time, but it’s about the moments of seeing my mother’s face and having chats with my Dad again. This morning, my family and I watched Monk together on a USA network marathon, something we used to always do together.

Let it not be lost on us though what makes this day so astounding, as it easily can be. This is the day to celebrate that the Word became flesh. Heaven came down and visited Earth. God wrote a story and then made an appearance in his own story. The author stepping into it caused the calendar to be restarted.

The world is vastly different today as a result of Jesus. It has been said that if Jesus had never been, we could have never invented a Jesus, and I concur entirely. We have grown up with the message of the gospel though that in a sad weay, we have lost the shock value of it. There are so many things that we would be stunned to hear as people living in the 1st century Roman Empire that we think of in a more “Ho hum” kind of way today.

As a child, I did look and wonder what each gift was for me under the tree. May it be that we regain and never lose the wonder of the gift God gave to us.

A Further Defense of Hell

A comment on my thoughts in the After-Death on Hell has spurred me to write more of a defense of this doctrine. I do plan, of course, on getting back to the topic of errors in anti-Trinitarian thought. I will be trying to blog on Christmas Eve, but I will be away from a computer on that night and if I don’t get around to it before heading back home, I don’t get around to it and my readers will have to wait til Christmas night so don’t panic if you don’t see something new on Christmas Eve. Of course, it will be a Christmas blog.

However, at the start I will say that I don’t get teary-eyed at Hell, but of course, I think the point of Moody is that this should not be a thing of joy. I’ve gone through several painful things without tears, but they are things of deep sorrow. I am not the type to express myself in that way, but I will say to my reader that I find it appalling that some will look with a knowing glint at the thought of anyone going to Hell. 

Hell has been presented as a grotesque doctrine. I will say most of our ideas from Hell come from Dante, but I don’t think Dante was making a literal description of Hell. He was writing an allegory. After all, he has mythological figures in his Hell. However, he did have degrees in there as well as the righteous pagans seemed to be living pretty good lives there. I’ll also say that I do believe in degrees of Hell that are determined by the way one lives their lives here.

Now I am told to defend God’s transformation of sinners into hideous sub-humans. I don’t believe God does such a thing. I believe God is simply giving the sinners what they’ve always wanted. Death hardens you in whatever path you’ve been walking. If you’ve been following Christ, your after-death will show that to the degree you were following him. If you weren’t, the corresponding will be true. What Hell is is actually God giving people what they want. To the degree that they want a life absent of him and in defiance of him, he gives them that.

Interesting though is being told to defend this. To defend assumes that it’s wrong for God to judge the world the way that he does and the question must be asked at this point, “Why?” I have several people who argue against the concept of Hell, and I can certainly understand it, but the question I would ask is “What do you propose God do instead?” For the sake of argument, let us grant that God is who the Bible describes him as and he has revealed himself in Christ and it’s entirely true. If that is granted, what ought God to do with those who persistently choose to deny what he has revealed?

Now I’m told that I do admit that we are separate from God in this world so why do I want it to be worse? That’s an odd question. I don’t teach the doctrine of Hell as true because I want it to be true. For instance, do I teach that people must wait to have sexual intercourse before they’re married because I really want that to be true? After years of thinking and reading on it, I do see a great beauty in that and see it as the best way, but there are many times I will definitely say, “No. I don’t want that to be true.” 

So when I speak about Hell, I am not speaking about what I want. I am speaking about what I can gather from the biblical text and my own speculation on it. I state what I state simply because I believe it to be true.

Now what of the response to God? Will some hate him? I fear they will for there are many who already do. I am not saying our questioner does, but I also think our questioner will not deny that there are some who hate him. Even if they are convinced in atheism, many people hate what they see God as representing. This would particularly be the case with morality. If my view that I am defending is true though of God being goodness, truth, beauty, love, etc., while being personal, then to reject God is ultimately to reject those in the long run. This is why I also believe that the more someone pursues those things in themselves, the more that they will get closer to the source of those things.

Why would God imagine Hell the way that it is? Well, if he is good and just and loving and perfect and all-knowing, then we can say that there was no better way to do it. 

Now our reader is right. I will ask what is his standard of good and evil. I note that none was given. However, the one given is not the one I would hold to either. It seems to assume that voluntarism is the only view of morality from a theistic perspective. For those who do not know, it would be saying rape is evil because God says it is. If he had said that rape was good, it would be good.

However, I believe that God is good since goodness is that which is desirable for its own sake. Thus, the word has content and then we find that content applies to God the most in that he is the most desirable good for its own sake. People are to desire God for the sake of God himself. In desiring him, they desire goodness itself for God is goodness. What comes from him then is also goodness. This would include being as God is being and being is good. Thus, the moral law is not something outside of God nor arbitrarily decided by God but that which reflects God himself and the way the three persons that are God act within the Trinity. In order to impugn Hell, we will need a moral standard outside of God and also a reason why that standard should be accepted if it is not rooted in something eternal and immutable.

Now my stance in the Smallville parallel has been brought up and I understand it. However, the first objection I raise is that I have made a slur against the majority of people who have ever lived. I would like to know how my readers knows the majority of people who have ever lived are lost. I find it quite unlikely considering texts from Rev. 7 for instance about a great multitude no one can number.

However, I said that this is what I think Hell is like and I am willing to admit of degrees of Hell for I do believe there is some goodness to Hell as there is ontological goodness of people and of even fallen angels for they are good insofar as they have being. Unfortunately, the more one goes against their being, the less good they become. It doesn’t mean one becomes  a rapist or an anarchist, but it does mean that one is going against what they were meant to be. Christians are told that we are being conformed to the image of the Son and that’s the only image that can get into Heaven. The question is not if someone will be conformed. Everyone will be. The question is, “Into what kind of image?”

Now someone might object that they are living a good life. They just choose to deny Christ. This is also where we are told our righteousness is as filthy rags. If Christianity is true, then to deny Christ is not a mild act, but the worst kind of evil that can be done. Do we see the figure in the gospels of Christ as a liar or not? Of course, if someone wants to deny the historicity of the gospels, which I’m sure they do in some sense to be non-Christian, then I will be prepared to go there. 

Again though, granted the Christian framework, if Jesus is who he said he was, and one denies that, then they are saying that Christ is a liar. He was not who he claimed to be. Note I am saying that based on the historicity of the gospels. If one wishes to accept Christianity as true for the sake of argument, then it would follow that to deny Christ is the worst sin one can do.

Ultimately, it becomes the sin of saying “I see a way has been provided, but I will not accept the sacrifice of the Son of God. I will go my own way.” God has established the way to him though. He has established one. To deny that one way is ultimately to call him a liar as well. When Christ says no one comes to the Father but through him, I believe him. Apart from the agency of Christ, no one will see God. 

It must be noted in all of this also that to say we believe it to be true does not mean we like it. It means we believe it to be true. We believe it to be just, but that does not mean we delight in the justice. I can even believe some things are good and not like them. I can believe it good that an ailing loved one has gone home to be with Christ, but from my perspective, still not see that as good. I think of my friend who passed away recently who has gone home to be with Christ. I’m sure his family realizes that it is good for him now, but that they are suffering as well. I think they should be. We all lost much when he passed away. The point is that something being right or wrong does not depend on whether we like the something or not.

Well, there’s my further defense of Hell, and I hope it helps.

Mere Humanity By Donald T. Williams

Last night, I finished a book I was reading and frankly, I wasn’t impressed. Aside from the quotes I got from some sources, I was thinking that I didn’t really learn anything new and I felt like I was reading something more of a fundamentalist persuasion than an intelligent critique of a view I disagree with.

What a refresher it was to start the next book on my list.

I saw this one at the apologetics conference. The subtitle is “G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien on the Human Condition.” Anyone heavily into apologetics must read the apologetics works of Chesterton and Lewis.

From the first page, I believe I was caught up in this book, which really disappoints me that I didn’t find the time to read today. Of course, I was having Christmas with some friends so I suppose that is justified on some level.

The thoughts I was reading last night were so intriguing and the more I came to know my nature as a human, the more I came to appreciate the glory of who God is. The title in no way is meant to idolize humanity, but one can’t help but think of Psalm 8 and say “What is man that you are mindful of him?” Indeed. What is man?

He starts off his journey with the question of “Is Man A Myth?” Narnia fans will hopefully recognize the title as it was on Tumnus’s shelf when Lucy came to visit him in “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.” Williams tells us that ironically, the question could be asked of our age also. 

What does it mean to be a human after all? Will reductionistic fallacies end up destroying us? Williams points out how we know more about the physical make-up of a baby in the womb than ever before, and yet, never have we been more uncertain about what all that information is supposed to inform us concerning.

The Chesterton chapter is particularly fascinating as he discusses how Chesterton in “The Everlasting Man” wanted to bring about the idea of man as an animal to its conclusion and see if the people of his day (And ours for that matter) could live with such a conclusion.

One line I found particularly interesting told of how Chesterton had a friend who had seen an airplane rising off and what a wonderful sight it was, but not nearly as wonderful as the sight of a man rising upon a horse. 

It was such a marvelous thought! Truly, there is something incredible about us learning the physical laws enough that we can use them to our advantage, but a horse is different! A horse is a free-will entity that we eventually figured out that we could domesticate. A horse doesn’t naturally have a way to be controlled by man, and yet, we have come up with one. However, most of us probably see men on horses and think nothing of it and see an airplane and consider that the real marvel. We should salute the Wright brothers for the good they brought the world, but I wish we knew that first guy who decided to ride a horse.

For Chesterton, there were two things that were unique as the book tells us. There is the creature called man and there is the man called Christ. In another saying prior to the Chesterton chapter we are asked, “Is man a myth?” We are told perhaps not, but there was a time when a myth became a man. 

As of now, I am on Lewis’s chapter on the Abolition of Man and I still believe this is going to be one of the best books I’ve read. Will a full review of it come up on my blog later on? Probably. For now, I can’t recommend enough that readers of my blog get your hands on this book.

Some Thoughts On The After-Death

A friend of mine was talking to me last night and asking me for my thoughts on the nature of the After-Death. (Note that I’m sure he said After-life, but I prefer to call it the After-Death. There is a continuing process with my life in between my being here now and my being in a state of separation of soul and body to finally the unification of the two barring Christ does not come back prior to my death.

What a fascinating question! The question specifically was on Hell and I thought about that and thought “It would not be proper to do Hell without doing basic ground work.” My first goal then is to give some precursory thoughts I have on thinking about the afterlife and ruminating over what I know from Scripture.

One idea I had immediately was thinking of how many times when Heaven is described, we have the word “like” showing up. One word translated as like is Homoios. It shows up from time to time in books leading up to Revelation. The number of times it shows up in Revelation is not huge, but it is definitely greater.

It seems as if when John is describing his revelation, he cannot think of the words to say. No picture seems adequate. All he can say is “Well, it was like this.” He can’t fully give a description and I figure it is because our language is just inadequate to express it. The greatness of the ideas cannot fit themselves into the words that we use.

This certainly isn’t different from what we see in Paul. In 2 Cor. 12, he describes his own experience where he was taken to Heaven temporarily and saw things that cannot be expressed. In a way, this bolsters my belief in Scripture.

Why is that? In other beliefs, you do find ideas being told of what it is like, such as 72 virgins being there. If the Christians were making this up, you think they’d give some concrete realities and tie that to the Earthly experience. The Muslim Paradise is simply taking what is seen as a great good here and extrapolating it to great prpoportions into the after-death.

Not so with Scripture. Scripture leaves the wonder of what is there and indicates that it is too awesome to be conveyed. The writers could have easily given a description were they making it up. I believe though that they saw something and that something was something they knew they couldn’t really convey.

This is the same kind of thing that happens with some Near-Death experiences, and there is some conjecture that Paul’s event could have been a near-death experience that he had after being stoned at Lystra. (I think we can all safely agree that if you weren’t dead after such an event, you would certainly be near dead.)

It’s my understanding that when people who have had these experiences are interviewed, they often will tell that the language they use just doesn’t describe it. If they say anything, we’ll start comparing it to something Earthly and that just won’t get the idea. Now I do believe there is some connection as we are told of a New Heavens and a New Earth so there is some Earth there, but I think the emphasis would definitely be on the “New” aspect of it.

My contention is based on Romans 8 and it is that God is going to redeem creation, but it is not going to be beyond the creation from the beginning. I believe God created this world knowing it would be the battleground between good and evil. It was not made to be eternal as it is. Like the kids in Narnia, it won’t be that the next world will remind us of some of the things in this world, but rather when we get there, we will realize we loved some of the things in the world as it is now, because they pointed us to that world.

If you are looking for the furniture of Heaven, as it were, I do not believe I can give it, nor can I give such for Hell. We are given ideas about these, but not descriptions, for I believe the real ideas of these places is not focused on physical realities, but on relational realities.

We shall continue looking at that tomorrow.