No, Turning to God Isn't All Roses

 A preview of October's email-only article.

Pedro Vergara

TURNING TO JESUS means you'll be happy and prosperous the rest of your life, right?

Therefore, if you're unhappy or less than wealthy, it probably means you don't have enough faith.

You see where one can run into trouble with this line of thinking.

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers, and this month we're talking about the reality of turning to God in the context of the book of Job. If you'd like instant, free access, fill out the form below. (If you are already a subscriber, check your inbox!)

Here's a snippet of this month's exclusive:

I've written it in numerous places, but once more for effect: bad things do happen to decent people all the time. The fall ushered in an era where entropy reigns supreme (for a time) so that even were sin not present, the pure randomness of lightning or gravity would still cause pain and suffering. 

Cast out of God's Edenic hedge, we no longer enjoy protections from the negative aspects of thermodynamics. In short, there's no escaping the heat death of the universe sans the intervention of the Almighty. Adam made humanity's bed, now we must lie in it.

 
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What Did Job Mean We Should "Receive Evil" from God?

  A preview of November's email-only article.

Job on the Ash Heap: Job Berated by His Wife, Jusepe de Ribera (c. 1632)

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers. (If you'd like to join the club, fill out the form below. It's free!)

In this month's subscriber email we're examining what Job meant when he said we should "receive evil" from God.

Here's how the article starts:

Stop me if you've heard this one.

A friend, family member, or coworker has a terrible thing happen. Car accident, layoff, death of a family member. Now he is "mad at God" because, "How could he let this happen?" Once he was a Christian, now he's not so sure he can believe in God who would cause so much pain.

No doubt you know someone firsthand or have heard tell of such a tale thirdhand. Maybe that person I just described is you.

Why is this story so common?

I think the reason is quite simple. Human beings, created in God's image, are designed for eternity. We are meant to live in harmony and peace with him forever. This destiny is embedded in our psyche, woven into our DNA. The story of Adam and Eve in the garden of eternal bliss and the promise of eternity in glory with our heavenly father are as natural to us as breathing. We anticipate harmony without even being conscious of said anticipation. Why?

 
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The Unbeliever’s Greatest Question (And How to Answer It)

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon

Did you know I write some articles only for my email subscribers?

This month, I wrote about a problem that haunts all humanity, especially the unbeliever. Here's how it begins:

Toward the end of a book called If God Made the Universe, Who Made God?, the editors included an essay titled, “Intellectuals Who Found God”. It’s a short section, detailing the conversions of six men to Christianity. The piece included no introduction or concluding thoughts—just disparate transformation stories of six “intellectuals."

What I found interesting about these stories is that nearly every one involved someone rejecting God because of the existence of evil. For example, the write up on Aurelius Augustine says, “[Augustine’s] biggest problem with Christianity was its failure, in his opinion, to deal adequately with the problem of evil. If God is all powerful and all good, how can evil exist, and exist so prevalently and powerfully in the world?”

In C. S. Lewis’s blurb, the author wrote that, "[Lewis’s] great concerns were with whether Christianity was unique and how it could solve (or not solve) the problem of evil."

These two men, of course, went on to overcome those objections and devote their lives to Christ. But how did they overcome them? Is their critique of Christianity valid?

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Perhaps the Most Misquoted Verse in All of Scripture

People misquote scripture all the time, but there’s one verse that seems to rise above the rest in its errant rendering, and the misrepresentation goes multiple layers deep.

Kevin Dooley (CC)

The verse is 1 Timothy 6:10a. It’s actually half of a verse because most people only reference the first sentence. See if you can recite it. It has the words “money,” “root,” and “evil.”

Let’s see how you did. Here’s the verse in the New International Version:

The Good Thing about Evil

When you first walk into the sanctuary of College Church of the Nazarene, the room seems smaller than it is. The back rows of pews have a claustrophobic feel since the low ceiling also serves as a base for the balcony above. But continue onward several paces and you leave the balcony behind, entering into a breathtakingly large and beautiful place to worship the LORD.

Atilla Kefeli (CC)

As an eight-year-old, it seemed even larger than it is. I used to lay on the pew—my chin on its rough red fabric—and stare at the ground. The tall ceilings boasted hundreds of light bulbs, and when the lights hit my parents' feet, they cast multiple shadows. There were at least four distinct shadows forming an X on the crimson carpet. Each was a different shade, as some shadows were layered upon others. This optical phenomenon intrigued me, and I would wave my hand over the ground to try and figure out which lights were casting which shadows. That is until my parents thumped me and told me to sit up.

Where's God When You Suffer?

Upon debate Katie and I decided to take our not yet one-year-old to the emergency room; Abram labored more and more with each breath. We had even administered two breathing treatments to him earlier in the day, but they weren’t enough. He needed more help.

Allan Foster (CC)

Furthermore, he refused to eat or drink, and the resultant dehydration compounded the problems. In retrospect, Abram’s pediatrician theorized that even though the x-ray that night showed negative for pneumonia, it was probably a false negative; the lack of fluids masked the condition.

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

After I puked the second time they gave me a shot in the butt.

I was in the Vally View Hospital emergency room in Ada, Oklahoma. That was over two decades ago. But despite not being from Ada or anywhere near Ada I didn’t have to look the name of the hospital up; you don't soon forget a needle piercing your ass.

But the sting of the syringe hurt much less than the loss of pride at having to drop my drawers in front of the nurses.

John Barrie (CC)

The first time I threw up was in my Granny’s car on the way to the hospital (so sorry Gran!). I’m pretty sure she drove straight to the dealership and bought a new car after that incident. I don’t know why I puked. Maybe it was the gallon of phlegm I had coughed up from my lungs and then swallowed.

You see I had pretty bad asthma. Attacks would come randomly and often wouldn’t get better even with a breathing treatment.

In this particular episode my family was visiting my grandparents in Allen, Oklahoma for spring break. What was supposed to be a week of fun and relaxation quickly turned south.

The second time I puked, though, I can tell you the exact reason.

The Lie Some Christians Like to Tell You about Being Rich

I won’t tease this one. I’ll give it to you straight. Here’s the lie:

The more money you have, the more evil you are.

Photo Credit: Reza (CC)

This lie is proliferated on several fronts:

In the political sphere.
From the pulpit.
In the workplace.
In literature and cinema.

Envy often fuels this sentiment, but I think there is something more underlying the argument.

How to Ward Off Evil Spirits: What Every New Christian Should Know

Our front flower bed was quite embarrassing.

People who came over were too polite to say anything, but the weeds had taken over, and the few good plants we had left were starting to wither, dying of claustrophobia amidst an army of inconsiderate vegetation.

Photo Credit: aussiegall (creative commons)

A couple of months prior, Katie and I had worked very hard to clear out all of the weeds and old mulch left in the beds. We spent hours hunched over the earth. I took a hoe to the dirt in order to snag the roots, and we disposed of them.

When we were done, we had a nicely tilled bed with a few shrubs and some rose bushes. It was simple, and it looked good.

But you can guess what happened within a few days:

Why the Monotheist Must Believe in Free Will

I can prove to you that mankind has free will.

But in order to prove it, I assume you believe three things:

1. God is omnipotent.
2. God is benevolent.
3. Evil exists.

For your average monotheist, these three things are not much of a stretch. I would guess that the vast majority believe this way.

Photo Credit: sacks08 (creative commons)

If you are a Christian, and believe that the Bible is true, then you believe these things.

For omnipotence, see Revelation 19:6.
For benevolence, see Psalm 100:5, Mark 10:18.
For the existence of evil, see Genesis 6:5.

Now, let's get to the heart of the matter: