It has been a while since my last post, and while I have enjoyed my few weeks' reprieve from these deep intellectual pursuits, I must say I am very glad to be able to type another post. This week, I am going to consider one of the more common objections to Christianity. I am not going to try to answer every facet of this objection, but rather to present a proposal which may annul much of the argument in the first place.
This objection to Christianity goes as follows: How can a good and loving God allow for the torture of souls which are not loyal to Him? That is, can hell really be consistent with the concept of a benevolent God?
Of Course Not
At face value, it seems as though this cannot be. Certainly, a God who professes to love His creation and who allegedly sent His Son down to die in order to save it would never want to cause pain to any part of this creation. Benevolence, it would seem, is inconsistent with punishment. But the problem with this consideration (much like many of the modern atheist arguments) is that this is not a question to be taken at face value. One of the things that irks me most about many atheist claims is that they look into certain questions in a manner which is far too in-depth (such as fairly simple biblical passages), while treating other, more cumbersome subjects with an undue sense of levity. The present subject is an example of the latter.
Love, despite what the modern world may suggest, is not a topic to be taken lightly, and it most certainly is not easily to understand. It does not fall into black and white boxes of "always right" and "always wrong" behaviors. Actions are influenced by love, but they are not easily judged by it. Love dictates different responses depending heavily on circumstances. Take, for instance, a son asking his father for a gift. Out of love for this son, the father will likely be inclined to buy him the gift. But say that the family does not have much money. In this instance, the same love which compelled him to spend the money in the previous example might now be the very reason he does not buy the present. Does the father love his son any less for withholding the gift? By no means!
You Give Love a Bad Name
There is yet another aspect of Christian theology which the skeptic in this instance neglects to mention. That is, the concept that God is Love. We as humans have a hard time understanding this (and I certainly do not profess to fully comprehend it). For us, love is a verb- it's something we do. And to be honest, its something we do very imperfectly. Sure, we have the concept of love as a noun, but for the Christian God this concept is totally different. Love is part of who He is, and this makes all the difference in the world. This means that everything God does is influenced by and guided by love. This idea, however, also means that God is loving, no matter what He does. It is a little awkward to put into words, but the main idea I am trying to convey is: God is defined by Love, and Love is defined by God.
Do not take my word for it. Just ask John- "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:7-8) What does David say about God's love? "Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,/ your faithfulness to the skies." Or read Psalm 136: "His love endures forever." Even Paul comments on the power of God's love: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39).
Who are we to tell God what love dictates of Him? He is the very standard by which all love is measured! To the atheist this might seem like deflecting the question, but it is simply the truth. At times, this facet of theology confounds even the most astute Christian, but that does not make it any less true. And from everything I have read in the Bible and from my real-life experience, this concept is very consistent with what I know about love and about God.
Love and Wrath
The final concept I wished to express this week is that God's wrath is not inconsistent with His love. The world over the past several decades has accomplished the extraordinary- it has managed to totally dilute and adulterate the concept of love. The love pictured in the Bible is a powerful and momentous entity which heals the sick and alters the course of history. What I believe many people picture when they think of love today is little more than kindness and warm feelings. This image of love is not only weak, it is in many ways misleading.
True love (the love found in the Bible) is not always happy, and it is certainly not always gentle. And while God certainly is Love, this is definitely not His only trait. God is also perfect (Psalm 18:30), jealous (Exodus 20:5), just (Ezekiel 18:25), and righteous (Ezra 9:15), among other things. I particularly want to focus here on the perfection of God. God is perfect, and He demands perfection from His creation (after all, that is the way He created it, see Genesis 1:31). If God is in control, and He demands this perfection, then He is certainly justified in punishing those parts of His creation which are not perfect. But could a loving God really do this? Yes, He could! There are several instances in the Old Testament, and even some in the New Testament, where He displays such punishment.
But the surprising thing about God is that He chose to give His creation a way out. This is the exciting thing about Christianity. God, being perfect, still found a way to allow imperfection into His Kingdom! This Grace is quite monumental, and no Christian would have hope without it. This salvation came with a price, however. A man (who was actually God, but still totally a man) had to die to sanctify those who believed in Him. But this sacrifice did not totally erase all punishment, however. God bent the rules to allow for imperfect people to be perfected, but their perfection hinges on belief in the perfect Jesus. And for those who still refuse to believe, their impurities cannot be reconciled with His perfection. It is not that God chooses to torture them; these people select their own fate.
So there you have it, as well as I can put in words for right now. God is loving, in fact He is Love. But that Love does not preclude His Wrath. God is perfectly justified and perfectly loving in whatever He does, simply by being God, but He chooses not to punish His creation to the full measure they deserve. As long as they can believe on Him, God's Love truly can be a positive and helpful force. But for those who refuse this Grace, the more vicious attributes of His love are still very much in play.
I will leave you with a passage I referenced earlier regarding God's justice:
"Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die. But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life. Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die. Yet the Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
"Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!" -Ezekiel 18:25-32
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