Everything Happens For A Reason...Part 2

I like to put the smackdown on people like Pat Robertson for their crazy, inappropriate notions when they invoke God's will as the reason for disaster. It's probably not fair of me, but I can't help it.

If I'm going to be perfectly honest, though, I can't really say that I don't believe in Providence, or Sacred Coincidences. In fact I can think of a few events in my life in which I would be dead without these Sacred Coincidences. To deny them or declare them mere happenstance would be almost sacrilegious to my being.

I couldn't utter the words, "I was just lucky," without feeling it a betrayal to God and myself. When moments pass through my mind in which I see the path that might have been, a cold chill settles over me which is then replaced by a feeling of immense gratitude. That gratitude is almost always directed towards God.

If I were completely consistent, I would deny these serendipitous moments possession of any intrinsic meaning.

Yet, I can't. It's impossible for me.

As I was thinking these things over, I couldn't help but think that everything may not happen for a reason, but that's not the same thing as saying that everything is meaningless. Meaning can be found in anything. However large or small a moment, however important or insignificant the times, there is always a place for finding purpose and meaning. It's not that God is causing A, B or C to happen, but that He is asking us what we will do with A, B, or C.

Maybe the best attitude to have is one of zen-like surrender, which doesn't fight against what is happening, but only seeks to react in a righteous way to it. Deep gratitude seems to well up in the hearts of those who understand the lack of control they have in a given situation. When you know you are at the mercy of Fate/God/Life/The Universe, and you surrender to whatever might be coming for you, you find the starting place for peace.

That sounds very Buddha-like... but it's no different than Paul learning to be content in all things or the lilies of the field being dressed by God. To worry about the "reasons" for some things is to lose a spiritual peace that is being offered to us.

Everything Happens for a Reason, Part 1

The Pat Robertson Brouhaha continues to both Brou and Haha throughout the internet and the world at large. Robertson's epitaph will undoubtedly refer to his death by Foot-in-Mouth Disease, a terminal case if ever there was one.

The question that is being asked throughout many Christian blogs revolves around whether or not God actively causes or allows disasters, such as Haiti's earthquake, as a punishment or judgement. Many of us, myself included, disavow the idea that events like Haiti's earthquake are any sort of divine reprimand or sign from God.

So where does that leave us? Do we deny the possibility that God could use death and destruction to achieve some sort of eternal purpose?

It puts Christians who want to view God's goodness as his Ultimate attribute in a sticky situation; if God doesn't interact in such a way with humankind, then we must explain most of the stories of the Old Testament in some way that isn't an avoidance of the idea of Divine Retribution.

One approach to take with biblical literalists/inerrantists would be to point out that in most of the Old Testament stories of God's divine judgement, people are warned beforehand. They are told of the impending doom headed their way, and if they repent of their wickedness, they are spared.....like Ninevah in the book of Jonah. I don't recall any prophets proclaiming that God was going to destroy a large portion of Haiti by an earthquake if they didn't break their supposed pact with the devil. It's only people like Pat Robertson, who like to play Monday Morning Quarterback, who make connections between disaster and God's judgement, at which point any message from God is moot.

A day late and a dollar short.

They might as well be reading chicken bones and tea leaves, because after-the-fact warnings are always based on speculation and trying to find reasons for things that have no discernible reason.

The Bible has competing themes communicated within it; one theme which confirms everything that happens as part of God's will, and another theme portraying God's will as less certain and changeable.

The idea that God fore-ordained everything, that He is in control of every action and every consequence, is at the heart of how the Israelites made sense of the world around them. If they wanted to know what God thought about something and hadn't felt that they had heard from Him, they would cast lots, consulting the Urim and Thummim to divine His will, or uncover information. If a husband was uncertain of his wife faithfulness, the priests would make her drink a special drink. If she got sick, or died, then that was proof that she had been unfaithful, if she had no ill effects, then she must be innocent of the charges.

A God who operates through the inference of disaster, lots, and poison drinks is the kind of God that operates the way Pat Robertson thinks he does. There is no difference between the two.

However, as Christians, we don't deal with God that way, and He is not said to deal with us that way. This is a break between the Old Testament portrayal of God and the New Testament portrayal of God. The Old Testament portrayal of God is of a God who is very precise and particular. He cares about details and ceremony and exactness.

Profaning God's holiness in some way, like accidentally touching the Ark of the Covenant, or burning the wrong kind of incense, or performing duties only meant for priests, resulted in quick deaths for the profaners, however accidental or purposeful their acts were.

But, in the New Testament, is that completely lost?

Maybe not. Paul talks about people dying for taking communion unworthily, and we have Ananias and Sapphira suddenly keeling over after misrepresenting the size of their donation, and Herod dying and being eaten by worms because he let people attribute God-like qualities to him.

The examples of Paul's unworthy communion eaters and Herod's death could possibly both be explained as early Christians reading into the events the idea that everything happens for a reason. Therefore, the conclusion they reach seems to fit within the overall view of a God who is in control of all things. However, this is a loose inference, not a claim of direct revelation from God. Paul frequently states conclusions based on his own logical if/thens without making any claim to have received a clear word or explanation from God.

While discussing those unworthy communion participants he writes:

1 Corinthians 11:18-19

18In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.

Really? Why do there have to be differences among them?

This is a holdover of Paul's background beliefs. He makes no claim to knowing that the differences are from God. He just simply assumes that they exist because God must want it that way.

When trying to explain God's sovereignty, Paul uses his rhetorical skill once again:

Romans 9:19-24

19One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' " 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?

22What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

It's important to notice that Paul doesn't say these are the exact reasons that God has done certain things. No. Paul is simply arguing a point from what appears to be logical and consistent to him and his view of God. Once again, it's not a direct claim of knowledge about God's reasons, just a likely explanation in Paul's mind.

Yet....many people have taken Paul's strong opinions as direct communication from God, instead of simply taking them as an honest attempt by Paul to offer an explanation that makes sense to him and will hopefully redirect some of the problems the churches he is writing to are experiencing.

I'd liken it to what happens in life when we are discussing things we don't have an answer for. We comfort each other and propose theories about why such and such did, or didn't, happen to us. Maybe we lost our job because God has something better for us. Maybe we became sick in order to learn gratitude for the things we have in life. Maybe we missed that plane that wound up crashing without us on it because God has a plan for us. Maybe every trial we face is supposed to teach us a lesson of some sort.

These are the types of suppositions we all put forth in times of crisis, but we can never declare such ideas as completely true....and most of us would hesitate to put forth these speculations with any level of certainty.

Ugh

Pat Robertson--always reliable for inappropriate, stupid responses to natural disasters.

Theology(not very good theology, BTW) divorced from compassion makes people say inhuman things.

I wonder if Pat happened to be in a horrible car accident and lost his legs, or had a house fall on him from a tornado sweeping by, if he would be so quick to assume that it was because God was mad at him and punishing him.

Where is that spontaneous bolt of lightning from heaven when it's needed?

I'm Not A Prophet...I Just Play One On TV

I don't usually dip my toe into political blogging. My latest post about Hillary Clinton was more observation rather than endorsement.

That being said, I am rather intrigued at Pat Robertson's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani for the Republican nomination. Pat Robertson....Rudy Giuliani. OK.

This is the same Pat Robertson that warned Dover, PA residents not to come crying to God when something horrible happened to them because they decided not to teach intelligent design. The same Pat Robertson who warned a tsunami was going to hit America. The same one who suggested sending an assassin to take out Hugo Chavez. Oy Vey! Is Giuliani sure that he wants Robertson's endorsement?

Robertson declared his endorsement was based on Giuliani's ability to lead America in the fight against Islamic terrorists. That's a fair enough statement, but a curious one for a man who has warned people about deserting God and making unbiblical choices that will lead to disastrous consequences. It would make much more sense if Robertson endorsed Mike Huckabee, a former pastor and current evangelical, or even Romney--Mormonism not withstanding.

(As a side note....I saw Huckabee on Charlie Rose, where he did an OK job of representing himself. Rose kept trying to bait him into a debate about evolution, which has no immediate bearing on the presidential campaign, nor is it one of the most pressing issues facing the country, but serves only as a way to label someone backward if they don't accept the standard model of evolutionary theory....but I digress.)

Back to the Robertson issue...

I don't really care who Robertson endorses. I certainly don't look to him for cues as to what I should think, or how I should vote. I do think it is interesting that, all of sudden, he has ejected his Christian socio-political ideology out of fear of facing down Islamic terrorists. That hardly seems to be a faith-filled response to the current situation.

What is more, I wonder how many people will blindly follow his endorsement, not based on their thought-out agreement with him, but simply because he's some famous guy on Christian TV.

Speaking For God

I was still thinking about the whole Pat Robertson thing, mulling over what to do with the pronouncements that come so easily from the lips of those in Christian circles. It has always disturbed me. I remember hearing one miscellaneous preacher talking about how the Bush compound in Maine had been badly damaged by a storm at about the same time that Bush(senior) had pushed through some policy that wasn't as positive for Israel as this preacher apparently thought it should be. He said that it was God's punishment.

I remember laughing and saying something rude to the TV. If that was his version of God's judgement he serves an inept and bumbling one. If God really wanted Bush punished I am sure he would no longer be alive. Some storm damage, that was probably covered by insurance, would hardly seem like a sign from heaven.

Truthfully, by blaming God for every negative outcome, we make Him small and weak. We portray Him as nothing more than a schoolyard bully that is more interested in I-told-you-so's than in reaching out to this world.

I do not prescribe to the clockmaker approach to God that views Him as some distant third party, that made us and has no further interest in us. He does interact with this world and in the personal lives of His people. The disconnect comes when we think that we know everything that He is up to. We become arrogant, putting our words and ideas into His mouth. We assign Him a political party, clothe Him in our own vestments, and limit his movements to a few strict dance steps. We so often go beyond what is written for us, directly disobeying 1 Corinthians 4:6b.(...."Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over another.)

The God I know is a vast , unfathomable, creator of the complex, neverending, mysterious universe. He knows each atom He has created. He knows what the inside of a black hole is like. He knows each protein strand in my DNA. He knows me even better than I know myself. He stoops down to my lowly estate and chooses to call me daughter.

He is in control and his plan is much bigger than what we can see. He works in ways that are incomprehensible to us. He is the God of Job 38-41. The only response we can have to Him, during times when we have presumed to explain Him and His ways in our limited, finite methods, is the same as Job's : "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked 'Who is this that darkens my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you and you will answer me.' My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:2-6)

Later, God responds to some of Job's friends, who have interpreted Job's horrible circumstances as punishment from God for Job's sins. He says, " I am angry with you[Eliphaz] and your two friends because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." (Job 42:7) They have to make sacrifices to God and have Job pray for them. After fulfilling these requirements, God says that He will not deal with them according to their folly. He is merciful even in the face of being libeled and smeared by others.

So, even when I get irritated by people who should think before they speak, I must extend mercy to them and ask God to help me not harbor resentment against the foolish things that people say. I am sure that I have probably said stupid things too....as hard as that is to believe. :-)

May God teach us to weigh our words carefully.

I surfed over to http://www.foxnews.com/ to check out the news. I had been busy all day with the kids and cleaning up all the mess from having multiple family visits during the past couple of weeks. There had been a snippet of something about Saddam's execution being shown on YouTube, but before I caught what the jist of the story was, the anchor had moved onto something else.

What caught my attention first was this: Pat Robertson's prediction.

And, so we have yet another inflammatory prediction by a Christian leader. During the year of 2005, after all of the hurricanes of 2004 and Katrina in September, many Christian leaders pontificated about God's judgements against the US. They did the same thing after the September 11th attacks and various other disasters and shocking circumstances.

The problem with most of the interpretations of these events is that they come in hindsight. Throughout the Bible, God always forewarns of disaster before it actually happens; in some cases, hundreds of years before they happen. He does not speak to his children after it is too late to bring about a different outcome.

Predictions of specific disasters always hinge on an if/then prophecy. He proclaims the upcoming wrath, describes why it is coming, and allows plenty of time for repentance and change. That is the whole point of a doomsday prophecy, to motivate people to action. If He simply wanted to wipe people out, He would. Why go about confusing things and wasting time with wrathful proclamations? The story of Jonah is a perfect example of this method. Jonah is sent to Ninevah with a simple, terrifying message:"Forty more days and Ninevah will be overturned."(Jonah 3:4)

This caused a huge panic in the people. They fasted, prayed, turned from their evil ways and escaped God's wrath.
"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened."(Jonah 3:10)

I would be wary of anyone reading God's specific will into situations after they have occurred. If they possessed such great wisdom and understanding, then we should have heard from them before anything actually happened.

Back to Pat Robertson...

Here we have a prediction of future events. Not being one who wants to taunt what might actually be God speaking to Robertson, I won't out and out deny the possibility. However, I would say to him, "What's your point?" I mean, if you're going to make vague predictions about US terrorist attacks that could easily be lifted from a "24" script, then you'd better have something more to go on then,"Oh, by the way, millions are going to be affected." If God is speaking to you about something, He usually has a greater purpose than letting us know that we might want to pick out our caskets now.

The use of vague fear is repulsive and demeaning to the message of Christ. We know that there are going to be disasters. We know that terrible circumstances will only worsen before His return. He has already warned us and told us to be ready and prepared for such events.

Our preparations are not to consist of underground bunkers and ten years worth of baked beans. There aren't enough generators in the world to provide a peaceful heart. We are not to run from one panicked state to another, living on the adrenaline of imminent danger.

Death is coming for everyone; it might happen in a nuclear attack or falling off a ladder while taking down the Christmas lights. We are not to live in fear, but in faith. Our preparations should consist of a heart for spreading His message of reconciliation to Him, forgiveness for sins, and hope for a glorious future.

If someone is insistent on inciting anxiety and worry, I would avoid them.