I am reading "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. I have learned so much in the basic principles of Christianity. One of the chapters addressed the topic, "Why does God allow bad to happen?" I wanted to share a little bit of what he wrote, because it really gave me answers to this question. I would highly recommend reading this book. If you have already read it, then read it again. I think I will have to do that myself in a few years...
"God created things that have free will. That means creatures which can go either wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong. I cannot. 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 free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love and goodness 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 free, 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 used their freedom the wrong way: apparently He thought it worth the risk." -C.S. Lewis
3 comments:
Thats so cool you are reading Mere Christianity. I downloaded the audiobook last week and just finished the last disc today! Amazing how that timing works. If you are interested, you can borrow the discs I have. I find it much easier to listen as I drive or work than to read out of a book.
Another amazing thing is that just a few days ago I was reading "Answers" by Josh McDowell. He addresses this very same question. His answer is very similar to C.S. Lewis and I think a lot of other people hold this view as well. John Piper holds a different view which aligns more with traditional reformed theology. If you are interested, there is a link to a post on his view if you are curious to see "the other side of things". http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/why-i-do-not-say-god-did-not-cause-the-calamity-but-he-can-use-it-for-good
Dennis, I think it's really neat that you and Coral have the same taste in reading books. I read "Mere Christianity" and one of the "Answers" books when I was at Northwest College. Those are great books. There are several more books by Josh McDowell on "Answers" that I would like to read still.
I read the post by John Piper about his views of why 'God causes calamity'. I appreciate your willingness to share. I have been trying to look into Calvinism to understand "the other side of things". In reading this post, by John Piper, I can't help but see scripture used out of context and an assumption placed on others to control the view taught through traditional reformed theology. It looks like scripture being used to justify a point of view, instead understanding the point of view God gives through scripture.
I do respect your choice of view. If you would like to talk about this further, please email me. I am curious. Thanks for reading our blog. -Jared
Hey Dennis and Jared,
Good thoughts. C.S. Lewis and John Piper are both favorites of mine. Since we live in what is the birthplace of Calvinism I have had to delve into this subject much more since Seminary.
One of the things I was told once by a Bible professor...is that in Ancient Israel, the Hebrews had a way of seeing God as "both" rather than "either/or." We, as human beings with a finite mind, often are limited to a one-sided perspective but I really think God is beyond that. He is not just a God who grants us "free-will" but He is also a God who "pre-destines." To us that seems like a contradiction, but to God it is just His infinite wisdom.
In the eternal perspective, the only thing that will matter is what we say to Jesus when we stand before Him at the end of the age. Our theological positions will probably burn up with a lot of the other stuff as works of the flesh and pride in our own understanding. Studying the Word is good. Applying it is even better...
my 2 cents,
steve
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