Picking and Choosing

Some of my next few posts will probably continue to be edited versions of things I've written on a message board (Beautiful Heresy) in a discussion about sovereignty, free will and the OT atrocities.

I would never argue that there are not verses throughout scripture that proclaim that very thing. But I fully believe we ALL choose which verses we will embrace and which we will ignore based upon our own particular theology.

George Bernard Shaw was quoted as saying:
"No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says; he is always convinced that it says what HE means."
I think he might have hit the nail on the head with that one.

Those who proclaim total determinisn and the accuracy of the OT atrocities might say:

"Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good?" Lam.3:38

And I can volley back the verse that declares:
For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. (Psalms 5:4)

I could also point out that their verse is a question…and the verse preceding is also a question (Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?)
But that might be splitting hairs.

I could also point out that another infamous total sovereignty proof text is also a question.
Amos 3:6 asks the rhetorical question shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

A better choice might be:
I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.' Isaiah 45:7

Or they could say:
The Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of thy prophets. II Chronicles 18:22

And I could toss back:
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Hebrews 6:18

To which they might reply:
God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false. 2 Thes 2:11

And not to be one upped I might say:
God is not a man, that he should lie. Num 23:19 (the lie in this verse also means “deceive”)
And I might even add for good measure
Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. James 1:13

So, my point is that we all edit scripture….we all choose what we will believe and what we will ignore. We might devise elaborate explanations and complicated reasonings to explain it all away but what it really boils down to is we pick and choose to fit our theology.

I know I have said this before….but I base my view of scripture on what the four gospels show us about Jesus and on the witness and guidance of the holy spirit who resides within me. If it does not fit with the image of the invisible God portrayed in Jesus then I don’t accept it as being of my Father (someone on TM said in a post….Jesus came to RE-present God since mankind’s view of his true character and nature had become so distorted). I’m going to go with the character and nature I see presented in all four gospels. Jesus did not command atrocities. Jesus did not preach judgment. Jesus did not demand “justice”…but rather mercy.

As far as evil, I'm not sure. I will say that even though the mystery of iniquity is after all a MYSTERY….I do believe God is responsible for evil. The buck stops with him. But I also acknowledge that he declares he created the destroyer to destroy…and in so doing takes one step back from actually doing evil. Believing in at least a limited amount of free will for satan and for mankind (and there are a whole lot of verses there that could be volleyed back and forth on THAT issue but again, everyone would pick and choose based on what we want to see) I do not necessarily have to see God orchestrating each and every detail of all the rapes and murders and horror that abound in our world today and that have abounded down through history to believe he is sovereign. For some reason outside of my scope of knowledge….looking through the glass darkly, I acknowledge that there must be a darn good reason God allows evil and suffering to continue in the world because I know he is a good God and since he does not afflict willingly or grieve the sons of men for now it must be unavoidable.

In The Desire of the Everlasting Hills Thomas Cahill said “In the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Job, God refuses to explain why good people must suffer. In the New Testament, he still does not explain, but he gives us a new story that contains the first glimmer of encouragement, the only hint of an explanation, that heaven has ever deigned to offer earth: ‘I will suffer with you.”

And he promises that he will work all things together for good…and I believe he will.