Q4: " Isn't it unfair to condemn them [people who live in places where the gospel isn't discussed/allowed] when they never heard about Jesus and merely followed the religious traditions of their parents?"
A4: "We are clearly told that wherever we live - in whatever culture, in whatever nation - he is within reach of every one of us." "If a person genuinely and sincerely seeks after him, there will be some way God makes available for that person to hear of him." "Virtually every Muslim who has come to follow Christ has done so, first, because of the love of Christ expressed through a Christian, or second, because of a vision, a dream, or some other supernatural intervention."
R4: Yet again, the book managed to pinpoint a key issue for me. I think it makes a pretty big claim to report the experiences of "virtually every Muslim" I would be interested to see some sort of data on that...I'm still not sure the response totally tackles the question though - I mean, let's be honest, most Muslims have at least HEARD of Christianity. What about followers of indigenous beliefs in more remote areas (perhaps some smaller African communities would be a good example). Missionaries have not been able to travel to every corner of the globe after all. The response to that, then, would be the "supernatural" approach...again, I would like to see some data/read some testimonies on that. I completely believe that if someone is seeking God, they will find him. But how does someone who is completely removed from even the idea of a monotheistic religion come to the realization that they should be seeking him? If God's purpose in our creation was for us to seek him and create a relationship with him; why would he design it so that some people would be at such a great disadvantage comparatively? If God created Adam and Eve, and they knew he was the creator, how did polytheistic religions even come to be? Is it really believable that that knowledge was somehow lost? Early cultures were so heavily based on story-telling, how could that story be forgotten/so grossly altered? Kind of went off on a tangent there...oh well. Can you tell that I don't really prepare these responses and that I totally fly by the seat of my pants? lol...at least it provides for an authentic response :-)
Q5: "If Jesus is the truth, why do so many people reject him?"
A5: "Because he calls you to die to yourself. Any time truth involves a total commitment in which you bring yourself to complete humility, to the surrender of the will, you will always have resistance. Christ violates our power and autonomy. He challenges us in areas of purity...I have never had a problem knowing what is right and wrong in most situations; what I have lacked is the will to do what is right. That's where Christ comes in. He says if you'll bring all of yourself to him, he will not only give you eternal life, but he will change what you want to do in this life."
R5: That response pretty much hits the nail on the head and doesn't really leave a lot of room for critique. To be a true follower of Christ you really do have to give up your control - which is something that we as humans LOVE to have (I know I certainly do...control freak/perfectionist/I've been called it all...) It is SOOOOO hard to give that up and to truly release yourself from that desire of power. But, the Bible says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." I would say that there's some misunderstanding of that quote...in the sense that "all your heart" doesn't just mean that you really want to find him...it means that you really want to find him AND that you're willing to follow him regardless of the path he demands. Of course, to some extent we must take control of our own destiny (and you'll never convince me that's not true! lol); but it's been hard work for me to "give it up to God" on the big stuff. BUT - he has delivered when I have...case in point: getting the job offer the day before the wedding.
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ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I posted a response to this last week but it seems to not be here. So I'll try again.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, it seems that this book tries to button up all the holes of faith in some neat package. I think that a lot of the explanations are good but I don’t think you can completely answer all of these questions.
Part of living in faith is living with the struggle that the world doesn’t make sense completely. We can’t understand it and we don’t know how God works fully.
So with that caveat, I’m going to give my current feelings about each of your questions. I don’t know if they are right. But in my walk with God, this is where I stand.
But how does someone who is completely removed from even the idea of a monotheistic religion come to the realization that they should be seeking him?
Christ came and died to restore a relationship between man and God that was broken. With the relationship restored, God dwells among us. The Spirit is among us. I feel that God calls each of us unto themselves. Even if a person has never heard of God, heard of monotheism or anything, I believe that the Spirit whispers out of creation, out of an inner yearning for a connection with God. As a person seeks, God reveals themselves.
We are meant to be light. God choses to reveal themselves through us. As we strengthen our walk and relationship with God, we reflect them into the world.
If someone never finds Christianity, refer back to my last comment. God is the God of the world and loves each of us. It is for God alone to judge . Jesus was a man and knows our condition. He could decide to “let everyone in” regardless. He could decide “just his best friends.” Salvation is a Jesus’s hands. If you read the Gospel you will find a Jesus that is compassionate, loving and difficult to understand. I trust that this Jesus will do the right thing for the world and for all of us.
If God's purpose in our creation was for us to seek him and create a relationship with him; why would he design it so that some people would be at such a great disadvantage comparatively?
It wasn’t God’s design for man to be separated. It is man’s own doing. Man’s own choice to separate. Man’s choice also to seek. It’s not a baby’s fault where they are born and the life they are born into. But as the baby grows, it gains the ability to make choices and learn about the world. Finding God is part of that path.
If God created Adam and Eve, and they knew he was the creator, how did polytheistic religions even come to be? Is it really believable that that knowledge was somehow lost? Early cultures were so heavily based on story-telling, how could that story be forgotten/so grossly altered?
So, lots of answers to this
1. I think all religions have a creation story
2. God is immense. My version of an encounter with God and the words I try to use to describe it would be very different from yours. And if we each told our children about our encounters, each of our children would retell differently. God can’t be pinned down with facts and descriptions. God defies description. We don’t have words. We try. But it to me would seem easy that the story would get lost.
Even Jesus, a man, a historical figure. It was only 40 years between the time he died and the time the Gospels were written. In this time, many competing stories about who Jesus was and what he taught surfaced. If God, in human form, can be so confusing then I can imagine God in God form to be unfathomable.
Faith is a mystery. A journey. A relationship.
The Bible is a guide, a history and a light.
We have to give ourselves time to develop faith through the word. It doesn’t come all at once and it occilates from moments of clarity to moments of obscurity.
The point is to keep trucking. Keep reading. Keep asking. Keep listening. God is there