God and Means- The Universe

Why did God create this universe?  I don’t mean ‘for His glory,’ that’s a given.  I mean, why this one?  Why not one where we could fly?  Why not one where cars would run on Coke or Dr. Pepper (but not Pepsi!)?

More to the point- why did He make a universe that is ’cause and effect’?  There are seemingly inviolable rules governing us that boil down that that maxim.  Even the ‘first’ law of physics contains it- a body at rest or in motion will stay at rest or in motion until acted upon by another force. (Please- no physics corrections!  I know I’m dumb!).  The point is that the law is there- cause and effect.  It’s in our physical laws, our chemical laws, our energy laws, even our relational maxims.

Dwelling on this nature of the universe has lead some to despair.  Without a transcendent God it hope in, some philosophers see this cause and effect nature and determine that there is no reason to live.  Everything we do will be determined by the causes that preceded us and there is nothing we can do about it.  But it is precisely this lack of transcendence that traps them in hopelessness.

God created this universe. He created it for His glory and it will accomplish that purpose.  Cause and effect are for our good.  How?  Next time . . .

God and Means

I want to start a series on ‘how’ God works.  One of ‘veins’ of questions I often get is why God works in certain ways and not in others.  Today, seemingly, the refrain of ‘well, couldn’t God . . .’ seemingly trumps any claim of the Bible of God reserving for Himself specific avenues of action.  In other words, the ‘possible’ is seen by many as trumping the ‘actual.’  This cannot be.  God has proclaimed that He will work in certain ways and not in others.  Understanding God and His use of means is crucial to our relationship with Him.

Three Deaths

The last couple of weeks have been pretty hard on the famous or infamous.  If you are a celebrity with health problems, watch out!

The Irrelevant Category

Excuse a sports metaphor here- but someone would look pretty stupid talking about the designated hitter in football.

Coexist

I am tired of seeing those ‘coexist’ bumper stickers.  You know- the ones with all the different religious symbols making up the letters of the word.  Not that coexisting is a bad thing.  It’s the message that the bumper sticker actually gives that wears me out.

Follow me here.

The message of the bumper sticker is that religions should all be getting along.  The de-facto idea is that NONE of the differences you have should override getting along.  The sticker’s idea would be that whatever it is that you disagree on should be ’set’ aside for peace’s sake.  Not that you can’t believe that- just don’t insist on it.

And that is my problem.  See, an owner of said bumper sticker is saying that the religious person’s ideas are causing problems because they insist on them.  The owner sees the solution in the form of ‘insisting’ on their own ideas!  In essence, they aren’t saying ‘Coexist,’ they are saying ‘Submit!’  Specifically, submit to how they see the world should work.

Wasn’t that their problem in the first place?

The Beautiful Tapestry of the Bible

One thing about the Easter story has always bothered me.  It is not that big of a deal- more of a side issue really.  Strike that- there was a prophecy about it, so it was a big deal, but it is not core to the whole ‘penal substitution thing.’

The Cup of Wrath

I recently preached a sermon about the trial of Jesus in Gethsemane.  What was it about the cup of wrath that so terrified Him?  I don’t ask lightly, nor do I ask cavalierly.  My question comes from wanting to know and appreciate more what it was that He accomplished for me.  I’ll take a look at one of the passages I used to reference the OT use of ‘the cup of wrath.’  Let’s look at Isa 51:17-18-

Best. Video. Ever.

http://abc.go.com/primetime/afv/index?pn=player&itemId=1438109

The Idol of Love in ‘The Shack’

Humanity is constantly creating and bowing down to replacement gods.  It is part of our sin nature.  While moderns don’t make rain gods or fertility gods (or do they?), there is still quite a bit of idolatry passing around.  It all boils down to need.  Where the ancients needed rain for food, our current conundrums are psychological.

The Tyrant God of ‘The Shack’

There have been many complaints against The Shack and the God it portrays.  While not all the things The Shack says about God are wrong (for that matter, not all the things in the Koran or the Book of Mormon are wrong either), there are enough things that are in error that The Shack stands well outside Biblical Christianity.  William Young’s comments regarding substitutionary penal atonement should be enough to convince a reader that The Shack should be handled with care.  While many of the complaints about the book are dead on, that the God of The Shack is a tyrant is probably not one of which many people are aware.