EVIL

Continued thought on the subject…

What is the definition of Evil?

According to Mirriam-Webster.com, Evil is, “morally reprehensible : sinful, wicked.”

Wikipedia.org states that evil, “in a general sense, is the opposite or absence of good.”

As a rule, I generally agree with Mirriam-Webster, but in this case, the definition given above (there are more as well) lacks a foundation. One might ask, who or what determines what is morally reprehensible, sinful or wicked? In this case, Wikipedia, not generally a favorite source of mine, gets closer to the root.

My personal definition is: the lack of good, or better still, the lack of God. 

You see, apart from God, there is no such thing as good. God is the absolute standard by which we measure what is good or evil. Some would argue that society measures what is good, moral, or evil but one must ask, which society? In some societies, it is okay to eat your enemy while in others, this practice is highly frowned upon.

In the movie Nuremberg, a movie about the trial of Nazi war criminals after WWII, a Jewish psychologist, U.S. Army Capt. Gilbert, is brought in to ensure the accused are fit, mentally and physically, to stand trial. While talking to the prisoners, he tries to get into their minds to understand how they could do the atrocious things they were accused of, mainly torturing and murdering millions of Jews. At one point, he makes the statement, “Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.”

While his assessment sounds good, I think it falls short. He fails to base his conclusion on a set standard and relies on personal feelings. Some of those accused felt empathy but they still carried out their orders, out of devotion or fear but that is irrelevant. This destroys the basis for his conclusion.

When I heard his conclusion, I went back and listened to it a couple of times. I knew it was lacking and immediately, the thought came to my mind, God is love. Then I began to think about passages in the Bible that support this claim.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” -John 3:16 (NKJV)

“But God demonstrates His love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

A holy God, who created us and everything around us, who has the right to do anything according to His will, chose to take human form so that He could live a perfect life and then voluntarily suffer and die to pay for our sins, that’s love. Then He rose from the dead, conquering sin and death, giving us the hope of the resurrection, and now sits at the right hand of the Father, waiting to bring us into complete communion with Himself and the Father. It’s almost too good to be true.

God is the only answer to sin, evil, and suffering.

Friend, if you have not yet experienced the peace and joy of a relationship with Jesus Christ, why not make this decision today? Call upon Jesus and He will hear you, forgive you of your sins, and give you new life.

If you make this decision, I encourage you to get a bible and begin reading the Gospel of John. I promise, you will never regret it. Then find a church that teaches truth found in the Bible and continue to read it for yourself daily. Spend time each day praying, simply talking to the Lord.

Feel free to ask any questions in the reply section of this post and may God richly bless you~      

    

Sand Fleas

A few days ago, I was talking to a friend who served in the Army. Since I served in the Marine Corps and he in the Army, we like to swap stories; these conversations can be most entertaining. While we relive some hilarious, often, almost unbelievable tales, invariably, some of the more unpleasant things arise. In our last conversation, “sand fleas” came up. If you don’t know what a sand flea is, I suggest you look it up online; however, whatever you find cannot possibly come close to what anyone who has dealt with them knows about them.

During my days at Parris Island (an island in SC for Marine basic training), I became well acquainted with the sand flea. They are very small but pack a powerful bite. They are not your garden variety flea, at least not as far as I am concerned. As I recalled, once they bite, the don’t stop until something makes them or they die of old age. Okay, maybe that is somewhat of a stretch, but it seemed like it.

Oftentimes, after we left the chow hall, our drill instructors would march us into a field and have us march in place in the tall grass to stir them up. Then we would have to stand at attention, perfectly still, and let them cover us. As you felt them all over you, crawling into your ears, nose, eyes, and everywhere they could get, you watched them on the neck and ears of the guy in front of you. It was torture!

I always felt that our DI’s were sadistic and this was simply a form of torture derived for their entertainment, much like Nero burning Christians in his gardens. I remember praying hard and trying to figure out any possible motive, which was never explained to us, and I always came up empty. It must have been sheer evil on their part.  

What I didn’t know then…

The reason for this inhumane treatment was to teach discipline. To stand perfectly still while something is gnawing on you takes discipline. Discipline that could save you and your buddies lives in combat. Later, one of our DIs told us of a Marine patrol in Vietnam that was returning from a mission when an enemy convoy approached them. They dove off to the side of the road in haste to avoid contact. Once the convoy had passed by, the Marines began to regroup; each emerged but one. When his buddies finally found him, he had dove into a bee hive. He was so swollen, he was only recognizable by his uniform. He had never made a sound. Had he yelled out in agonizing pain, his buddies would have been taken prisoner or killed. Discipline.

When I learned of this, my whole outlook changed. Every torturous thing I encountered, I thought of this true hero and I persevered with a purpose. It wasn’t pleasant and I hated it but I had a great reason for doing it and one heroic Marine’s memory to honor.

Today, many people are asking, “If God is loving and all powerful, why does He allow suffering?” The answer is not easy and it goes against what we see as loving and just. Most of us do all we can to spare our children from pain. Many mothers prohibit their children from certain activities because they don’t want their child to suffer. While that is loving, it is not wise. We learn from experimentation. How many of us learned not to touch a hot stove because we touched it, not because we were told not too? How many of us were spared a deadly disease because we got inoculated? I have never met a child who enjoyed getting a shot. But our mothers allowed the Dr. to hurt us because they knew it was best for us.

We live in a fallen world. Fallen because of us, not because God made it so. We invited sin into God’s perfect world that He created for us. Sin has ramifications. A holy, just God, cannot simply overlook sin, He must judge it. He could have dealt with sin right there in the garden and wiped out Adam and Eve but He didn’t. He provided a way to reverse the effects of their sin and it cost Him greatly. He sent His Son Jesus to pay for our sin, on a cruel cross, so that we could be restored to Him.

But why does He allow us to suffer?

Pain and suffering are results of our sin but also to bring us to our knees. We either bow the knee or shake our fists. If becoming a Christian ended all our pain, everyone would become a Christian; not because we love God, rather it would be to escape pain. God is love and desires our genuine love in return.

For the Christian, daily trials teach us of our need for God’s strength and discipline. In the Old Testament, we read about Joseph (Genesis) and Daniel (Daniel). Two young men who experienced great trials but had disciplined themselves early. To many, they could have taken the easy road and simply asked for God’s forgiveness later. Not these two boys. God had big plans for them and though they suffered, neither budged. Neither complained, at least it is not recorded if they did. Joseph, who was betrayed by his family, later stated, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Gen. 50:20, NKJV). He could have had them killed or thrown in prison, afterall, he was the second highest ruler in Egypt, but he chose to see how God used bad circumstances to bring greater good rather than exact revenge. Discipline.   

As I have grown in my walk with the Lord, the trials have gotten harder. The Apostle Paul wrote, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13, NKJV). As babes in Christ, He will protect us from more than we can stand. As we mature in Him, He allows greater trials. Every time we overcome a trial, we become more disciplined and strengthened. We can jump into a spiritual bees nest and never make a sound. When others see the difference in us, they are either drawn to it or repelled by it.

It’s funny, when I look back at the horrible things I endured at the hands of my drill instructors, I’m thankful. They pushed me to be tougher and better than I thought I could be. I had that one dead Marine, who gave his life for others, as an example and role model. I can even look back and laugh at so much that I once thought would kill me and I am grateful. I don’t believe I’ve ever met a Marine or soldier who said they wish their training had been easier.

When we reach the end of this life and look back, will we be grateful for the pain God has allowed us to experience? I think so because I have already seen how pain has helped shape me into who I am today and it makes my heart tender to the plight of others. As the years go by, I will see even more how God has used my pain, to bring about good, maybe even save many people. I can’t wait to get to heaven and see the Big Picture.  

As a Christian, Is it okay to Ask Questions about God?

The following is from a response I wrote to a young Christian and new college student preparing to attend a Christian university:

Joe (not his real name), I think you raise some great questions that many are asking today. Unfortunately, what you describe as the typical church responses are all too common. I have been in the church almost all of my life and from my personal experiences, most in the church are not open to questions, especially hard ones (even pastors). I believe most of these are lazy and apathetic. Some are simply ignorant, don’t know where to find the answers, or they remain silent as they know they will be beat down for speaking about such things. I have had my share of run-ins with this mindset. I believe it is very foolish and destroys our ability to effectively reach others.

Peter said, “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…” (1 Pet. 3:15, NKJV). The word apologia was used here and it is where we get the word apologetics. Apologetics is simply giving an answer for what we believe and why. Questions, as you have, are very common today and this is why there are so many apologists today. Many devote themselves to colleges because so many students are asking questions that their families and churches could not or would not answer or even try.

Is God’s Word not good enough? Certainly not! God’s Word has reached millions but, in the world today, some people have to be shown outside evidence that will lead them to look at the Bible and consider it. Our willingness and ability to explain it to them will help them see it as credible. To support this claim, consider why so many young people who grow up in the church leave the church by the time they are in their early twenties, if not before? Many of them say the Bible is a book of fables and fairytales. Many believe much of the Bible was taken from other religions that pre-existed Christianity. Even many pastors today do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. If we cannot defend why we believe the Bible, why should we expect skeptics to believe what we say we believe? Do we not seem silly?

We have sufficient evidence to defend our faith historically, scientifically, and philosophically. We can give enough evidence to win a court case but all the evidence in the world will not win everyone. Even Jesus did not win everyone, and we are certainly not equal to or better than Christ.   

Dr. Gary Habermas (Liberty University) wrote a book with one of his former students, Mike Lacona, called The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus. He has delivered an excellent presentation, based on his book, around the country (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aiPCeDku_k&t=5s). He makes a compelling argument for Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection.

J. Warner Wallace, a forensic expert, also makes a compelling argument for Jesus, using the same techniques he has used in law enforcement (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14JkC5at_Fw).

Lee Strobel, a former atheist, sought to disprove God and the Bible, much like     C. S. Lewis, but after going over the evidence, he became a Christian. He has an excellent book/video series: The Case for a Creator, The Case for Christ, and The Case for Faith.

Other great apologists I recommend:

Ravi Zacharias (Philosophy) and his team at RZIM, Frank Turek (Philosophy and science), Michael Behe (science), Stephen Myers (science), William Lane Craig (science/philosophy), Hugh Ross (science), J.P. Moreland (philosophy), Norm Geisler, Paul Copan, Greg Koukl, Francis Chaffer, and C.S. Lewis. Of course, there are many others.

God bless~

Quote from 1 Pet. 3:15 retrieved from BibleGateway.com