Problem of Suffering.

At Elevate on Sunday we did our second to last lesson on Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias. I have to admit it was a little heavy and took some concentration to make sure we understood Ravi's points. That being said I have found a couple short commentaries on the problem of suffering that supplement our lesson well.

These articles were taken from www.preachingtoday.com
This is the first part of an article that was from:
Dinesh D'Souza, "Why We Need Earthquakes," ChristianityToday.com (4-28-09)

The problem of theodicy—why bad things happen to good people—predates Christianity. Writing around 300 BC, the Greek philosopher Epicurus framed the problem this way: God is believed by most people to be infinite in his power and also in his goodness and compassion. Now evil exists in the world and seems always to have existed. If God is unable to remove evil, he lacks omnipotence. If God is able to remove evil but doesn't, he lacks goodness and compassion. So clearly the all-powerful, compassionate God that most people pray to does not exist.

This old critique has been revived by [theologian] Bart Ehrman in God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question—Why We Suffer. Theologians over the centuries have responded to questions about the existence of evil by pointing out that man, not God, is the author of moral evil. Evil in this view refers to the bad things that people do to each other. Moral evil is the necessary price that God pays for granting humans moral autonomy.

Yet while human freedom may account for moral evil, it cannot account for natural evil, or more accurately, natural suffering. Ehrman's book is full of examples, to which we can add recent tragedies such as the earthquake in China last spring and the 2004 tsunami that killed tens of thousands in Southeast Asia. (And obviously the earthquake in Haiti recently.)

Christian apologists such as C. S. Lewis have attempted to account for natural disasters by showing how they draw people together, or how they provide moral instruction to the survivors, or how they turn our eyes to God. Ehrman asks, but couldn't God have found better ways to achieve these worthy objectives? Rejecting as implausible and offensive the usual responses to innocent suffering, Ehrman has stopped calling himself a Christian.

Another person who is not a believer is Richard Dawkins. Lets take a quick look at how he deals with the problem of suffering and evil.

In his book River out of Eden, renowned scientist and leading atheist Richard Dawkins recalls a bus crash in England that claimed the lives of several children. A London newspaper asked a priest to explain why God would allow such a thing to happen. The priest replied, "The simple answer is that we do not know why there should be a God who lets these awful things happen. But the horror of the crash, to a Christian, confirms the fact that we live in a world of real values: positive and negative. If the universe was just electrons, there would be no problem of evil or suffering." When Dawkins read those words, he scoffed. He writes:

"On the contrary, if the universe were just electrons and selfish genes…blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference."

In Richard Dawkins godless worldview he is not allowed to get upset over evil and suffering because all we are is electrons and DNA who some get lucky and some don't. If someone totally embraced that philosophy then they would go crazy. We may not see people totally embrace and live it out but there are many many people and Christians included who reject God because of suffering and believe they are better living for themselves than living for God.

We may not understand totally the mysteries of evil and suffering but do remember this important truth from Augustine. "God judged it better to bring good out of evil than not to permit any evil to exist." We need to remember that God is the starting point, he is the author, he wrote the script to our lives and history and our purpose is to worship him. (Mans chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever) Jesus came not to make bad people good but to make dead people alive. We were dead in sins without Christs work on the cross. And it was on the cross that ultimate goodness and ultimate evil played out. Jesus suffered more than we can ever imagine and he is our great high priest who can be there for us when we go through suffering. If we draw near to him then he will draw near to us. And tragedies, evils and sufferings can help bring us back to God.

Montana Missions Trip Meeting this Sunday

A friendly reminder that there will be a Montana Missions Trip Meeting this Sunday January 24th at 5:41pm for all students and parents. (In the youth annex)
Having at least 1 parent there would be great as we will be going over as many fundraisers as possible in the coming future. Including the Valentines Fundraiser that is just mere weeks away. We will also talk about our Memorial Day 5K Race and 1mile fun run fundraiser. There will be other fundraisers too, such as a car wash, etc.

To make these fundraisers work we will need students and parent help. Remember it is these fundraisers that will help lower the cost for the missions trip. Its also a great way to come together as a team and trust that God will provide.

Here is a quick clip about Glacier National Park...while in the Blackfeet Reservation we will be on the plains but the Rockies will be right there in the backdrop. We will also have a little time to do some sightseeing before we return home.





We did not have a lesson last Sunday night. Instead JT led the group in a time of worship and prayer. Next week will continue our series on Jesus Among other gods with Ravi Zacharias.

To keep you thinking on the topic. Here is a quick one page question and answer interview with Ravi Zacharias about the topic of Jesus Among other Gods.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2372651/HS.Lessons/Christian%20worldview.Interview.Ravi.Zacharias.docx

Also remember that deadline for Snowfest Applications and Money is this Sunday!!
Scroll down blog for forms.

Jesus Among Other Gods.

At Elevate last Sunday night we did lesson 2 of a short series called "Jesus Among other Gods" by Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias.

We discussed the differences between Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam when looking at the nature of ones relationship with God.

What we learned is that Hinduism is about union with God. In Hinduism the goal is to unveil the divine within yourself. Your identity is absorbed with the divinity.

In Islam the pendulum swings totally to the other side. The Muslim God is distant and far away. Your identity is totally separate from God. And any attempt to bring God closer to man to have an intimate relationship with God is sacrilegious.

In Christianity we see that God is not distant and unattainable but at the same time he is not so close that we become a God or join him once we unveil "our" divine nature.

Instead we see that through the work of Christ on the cross we are brought into communion with God. Thus we have a relationship with God that is a combination of a God who is both incomprehensibly great and yet incredibly loving and involved in our life.

C.S. Lewis puts it this way when comparing Jesus with other religions.

"There is no half-way house, and there is no parallel in other religions. If you had gone to Buddha and asked him, 'Are you the son of Bramah?' he would have said, 'My son, you are still in the vale of illusion.' If you had gone to Socrates and asked, 'Are you Zeus?' he would have laughed at you. If you had gone to Muhammad and asked, 'Are you Allah?' he would first have ripped his clothes and then cut off your head."'

Jesus is unique among religious leaders in claiming to bring God to our world in His own person and making good that claim by such powerful evidences.

(Taken from "But Don't all Religions Lead to God?" by Michael Green)

http://www.amazon.com/But-Dont-All-Religions-Lead/dp/0801064392/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263324359&sr=1-4

If you want to listen/watch a quick video on part how to witness to a Hindu by Ravi Zacharias then please watch the below clip. Its only about 9 minutes long. At the end of the video it shows you how to get access to the first two parts of this 3 part lesson.

Just go to http://www.rzim.org/ Click on USA. Resources. Let my People Think. Archive. And do search on: The Spurious Glitter of Pantheism

Snow Fest Information and Forms

SNOWFEST!

Skiing, Snowboarding, and Snowtubing! A great time to come up and learn as we are going for a half day and getting group rates.

When? Saturday Jan 30th. Meet at Church at 3pm to caravan up.

Snow tubers will return by 8:30, everyone else by 11:30pm.

Who? Open to all families, students and friends. More the merrier! But remember there will be limited rides as most families will need to caravan.

Where? Liberty Ski Resort at 78 Country Club Trail Carroll Valley, PA 17320

Cost? $30 Lift Ticket only. $54 for Ski's/Snowboard Rental with Lift ticket and optional lesson. $45 Learning to Ski or Snowboard package with rental, lesson and access to beginner slopes only. We need parents signatures on the following forms:

Ski/Snowboard Renters:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2372651/RentalForm0910.pdf

Snow Tubing Form:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2372651/RELEASE%20Tubing%20release%20doc%2009-10.pdf

This Year will be Different

Happy New Year Everyone!!

So can you hear that noise? Thats the sound of New Years Resolutions being broken already! Isn't that the way it always seems to go? I know I have already broken a couple I've made to myself. The problem is I rely to much on myself and I am prone to mess up. We then feel unhappy with ourselves and with life. So how do we have happiness and contentment?

When it comes to any resolution and spiritual ones especially the only way we can follow through is by relying on our relationship with God. In life we do a great job of compartmentalizing things. We put on our at home self, our at work self, our at school self, our with these people or with those people self, our at church self. The problem is, we don't always act consistently in all the different compartments and arenas of our lives. We think we can be Godly only during quiet times and church times or with other Christian times but we forget that God is King and Sovereign over all of our life. Why not put God first during a soccer game? During work? Walking in the hallways at school? Driving on the interstate? We get so busy with filling up our lives with ultimately unimportant things that end up dictating how we feel and act. A car cuts us off, an opponent fouls you, a schoolmate mocks you, a boss mistreats you, you join classmates in cheating....whatever it is....we join the world of our moment rather than allow the God of eternity reign supreme in our everyday life. And what happens is we feel angst, we feel separated from something important. That separation is from God.

How about a New Years resolution this year to allow God to reign supreme in your everyday life. Throw up an arrow prayer during the middle of work, school, or play? Filter your everyday deeds, thoughts and environments through God. Talk to him like you talk to a friend throughout the day. Perhaps then you will have the right perspective on resolutions....for its only by following God first that all those other things fall into the right place. Be Resolved to Put God first in all things. That only comes through humbly asking him for his grace to achieve such end. And in doing so you will bring God glory! It wont be self-centered resolutions but God centered.

I think this resolution made by Jonathan Edwards is a good one to take on as one's own.

"Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God, nor be, nor suffer it, if I can possibly avoid it."