Questions on Christianity

We make a multitude of decisions every day—what we eat, wear, read, listen to, how we spend our money, how we treat others.  To some of these decisions we attach a moral feature; we say holding a certain position or taking a certain action is right or wrong.

The definition of “moral” is “the principles or rules regarding right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong”.  Much of our conversation involves the discussion of what is acceptable conduct or not.  C. S. Lewis points out that we are constantly quarreling with others, and our quarreling is about how someone else should behave or a justification of our actions. [1]  Is not much of our political discourse about what is right and wrong, about how we as a nation should conduct ourselves?

So how do we determine what is right and wrong?  The problem is God has made us finite which makes our decision-making process more difficult.  God has given us several guides (the Bible, Jesus, the Holy Spirit) but we still must apply these principles to our lives.  So how do we decide what is right or wrong; what is good and evil?

One step we can take is to recognize exactly where we are morally.  If you want to know what type of person you really are conduct a little thought experiment.  Imagine that you knew with absolute certainty that there is no God, no judgment for our actions, no hell, no heaven, no punishment if we do something wrong, and no reward either here in this life or in an afterlife.  How would you live your life?  What type of person would you be?   Would you live your life differently than you currently do?  Would you do whatever gave you the most satisfaction without regard to how it impacted others?  Would you totally ignore the Ten Commandments, or would you follow them?  If you had the power, would you use it to crush those who opposed you or would you follow Jesus’ instruction to love your enemies?  Your answers to these questions reveal who you really are.

A second method of determining where we are morally comes from simple observation.  Our soul is the sum total of our life experiences and decisions.  If we want to know what we are like at our core, if we want to know what our soul is like, we only have to look at the world around us to see what we have created.  Our world reflects back to us, in a physical form, the reality of our non-physical soul.  As John Hicks says:  “We do what we do because we are what we are.”[2]   Paul tells us we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7-9).  God has structured our existence so that we create the world in which we live.  This applies to our world, our nations, our communities, and our families.  The values held by each of these entities are reflected in their character and actions.  And if we do not like what we see, should this not give us the motivation and opportunity to change our soul?

It is the moral decisions we make each day which determine what type of person we are; what our character will be; what our soul will be.  And our soul will determine what the world in which we currently live will be like and where we will spend eternity (Matthew 25, 2 Corinthians 5:10).  Will we follow the teachings of Christ or has our soul been so corrupted with the accumulation of money and power so that, like Satan, we will choose to go to hell because we believe “it is better to rule in hell than serve in heaven”? [3]  The choice is ours.

[1] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, pp. 3-4.

[2] John Hick, Evil and the God of Love, p. 68.

[3] John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 1, Line 263.

The history of Christianity is filled with the stories of those who have suffered and died for their faith.  And we rightly honor their commitment to their faith. [1]

What is not widely known is that more Christians have been killed by other Christians than by those who are considered non Christian.  Christians have killed other Christians over disputes in theology and doctrine. [2] 

How could this have happened?  It is because these Christians have professed belief in Jesus without applying the teachings of Jesus to their lives.  They have been more focused on obtaining money and power than the renovation of their soul so it becomes like God.

As Goethe says:  “To think is easy.  To act is difficult.  To act as one thinks is most difficult of all”.

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[1]   William Byron Forbush, editor.  Fox’s Book of Martyrs.  Grand Rapids, MI:  Zondervan Publishing House, 1926.

[2]   Edward Gibbon.  The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1.  New York:  The Modern Library, 1995, pp. 452-453.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Luke 12:34 ESV).  This teaching of Jesus tells us that whatever we value in our earthly existence determines where we spend eternity.

C. S. Lewis puts it slightly differently when he observes quite accurately that for a lot of people heaven will be “an acquired taste”. [1].  In other words, their actions on this earth are so contrary to what Jesus taught us that if they do make it to heaven, it will take some time for them to adjust to how things are done in heaven.

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[1]   C. S. Lewis.  The Problem of Pain.  New York:  Macmillan Company,1967, p. 49.

A certain segment of Christianity maintains that God wants us to be wealthy and healthy and all we need to be wealthy and healthy is by faith claim it.  They do have Biblical support.

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11 ESV).  Also see Matthew 21:22, Luke 11:9, John 14:13.

However, the Bible also says we Christians will experience difficult times.

“. . .but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger” (2 Corinthians 6:4-5 ESV).  Also see Romans 8:17-23, 1 Peter 4:12-14.

So how do we reconcile this apparent contradiction?  As we have stated in this blog and in my book, God’s primary purpose for us is the renovation of our soul so it becomes like him; it is not our earthly comfort.  God will use whatever it takes—wealth or pain—to accomplish his purpose in our lives.

I have heard people question whether God is omnipotent by asking if God can create a square circle.  C. S. Lewis gives the best response:  “. . .nonsense remains nonsense even when we talk it about God.” [1]

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[1]   C. S. Lewis. The Problem of Pain.  New York:  The Macmillian Company, 1967, pp. 15-16.

Many years ago, I worked for a company that utilized a large plant to make their products.  The plant was so large that I could not recognize a person who was at the other end of the plant.  However, I soon learned to recognize a person who was far away by their walk and other mannerisms.

Why do I bring this up?  My wife and I were talking about how, after we die, we will recognize our friends and relatives.  Our physical body will decay but God could make a duplicate spiritual body.  But what about those with physical deformities?  If God corrects those it might make recognizing them difficult.  I think a better solution is that we will recognize each other by our souls.  After all our soul is the sum total of our existence; it is more than our physical appearance.

We spend much time addressing the needs of our physical body including making it look as attractive as possible.  Do we spend as much time improving our soul?

I have been going through my Dad’s paperwork and came across a small book of catechism published by the General Conference of the Mennonite Church of North America in 1937.  In a section titled “By Way of Introduction” it contains the following observation.

One of the great heritages of the Mennonite Church is “The right of the individual to his private interpretation of the Scriptures under guidance of the Holy Spirit”.

Private interpretation of the Scriptures leads to diversity of interpretations.  This need not be a weakness, but may become a source of strength, provided that charity prevails, and diversity of gifts be recognized. [1]

God has given us free will which means each of us is responsible to ensure we interpret the Bible correctly because our beliefs help determine our actions.  At the judgement seat of Christ, we will not be able to blame others for our actions (2 Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 20:13).

And part of our judgement will be on how we treat those with whom we disagree.

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[1]   A Catechism.  Berne, IN:  Mennonite Book Concern,1937, p. 5.