Deconstruction and the Church 6: The Falling Dominoes of Deconstruction, part 2

 

6 The Falling Dominoes of Deconstruction II 

4. The Experience of Suffering 

One of the most common challenges in apologetics1  is the question about suffering. Having read a fair bit about the Holocaust, the Killing Fields, the Rwanda/Congo genocides, warfare and slavery throughout the ages,2  I am amazed when someone claims that “People are basically good.” Although most people would agree that ‘it is wrong to harm other people’, almost all people do not hesitate long to modify this claim with ‘unnecessarily’ or ‘unless I feel that they harm me’. When our power or reputation, health or wealth are threatened, most of us would sooner or later accept the ‘necessity of hurting others’. Study political history or competition in business and you should find tons of examples. And look at ‘Cancel Culture’, which often justifies harming others in order to enforce their own agendas.3 L’histoire, se répète! 

So, why does God allow people to harm and hurt each other? Many good reasons can be given and have been given. God is… 

 • trying to bring people to turn from destructive sins to seeking him. C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” 4

 • having patience before evil (and, essentially, all people who don’t seek to honour their creator and provider are evil) to be destroyed and -ultimately- people and societies to self-destruct. The Lord does not delay his promise (to return and remove all evil and rebellion), as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. 5

 • working in us to make us more effective as his witnesses in experiencing his grace. The apostle Paul was given ‘a thorn in the flesh to facilitate his faithful ministry.'6  Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 7

 • allowing people freedom to make bad decisions, thereby exposing the evil within the world and themselves and the inability to save the world by human efforts. 

On the other hand, consider this: 

• If there was no suffering, how would anyone feel the reality of sin and feel the need to seek God? 

• If there was no God and demons, how would that help us explain the existence of suffering? 

5. The Future Hope 

Giles argues: 

‘If you live long enough, like me, you’ll start to notice an embarrassing yet consistent string of failed prophecies concerning the return of Jesus and the End of the World. After a while, it gets hard to believe that anyone really knows what the Bible says about this topic at all and you begin to lose faith in your leaders, Bible teachers and pastors who just keep making these predictions, or falling for them.’ 

The Bible teaches us that nobody knows the day or moment of his return.8  Therefore, if there is a string of false prophecies, there must be a string of false prophets.9  Peter already warned that, in the last days, scoffers will challenge the return of Jesus.10  People may argue that, since Jesus never did return in the past two thousand years, it will not happen in the future. This is like the Turkey’s Fallacy, where the turkey said the day before Thanksgivings Day, “The master never killed and butchered us, so, why would tomorrow be any different?”. 

6. The Church of Christ 

According to Giles, the church today no longer looks like the early Christian church; in fact, it has adopted pagan traditions. As a result, it is hierarchical and oppressive. The Bible clearly warns about authoritarian leadership and control in the church.11  So, if there are churches that lord it over others or try to legislate beliefs or ways of living -and such churches exist! - then, they need repentance and Reformation. On the other hand, if there are members who want to be accepted and respected as followers of Christ, while they persist to go -in teaching or living- against the clearly revealed will of God, then the church cannot and may not accept them as true believers. In spite of abuses in many times and places, this has been the basic churches’ commitment throughout the centuries. 

In summary, the six concerns are: 

• ‘There are examples of contradictions, apparent errors in time and names, and other aspects that show that our Bibles are not perfect.’ Well, God did not dictate his message to the biblical authors in the words of the King James Version. And biblical perfection is not the basis of our faith, for even with imperfections the message does not change. 

• ‘Hell is not so bad as evangelical Christians say.’ Well, Jesus spoke more about Hell than about Heaven, and though most of the language is symbolic (as the details are probably beyond our limited comprehension), it is very clear -for everyone who takes Jesus to be the expert on the topic of ‘hell’- that it is a well-deserved and actually self-chosen destiny of incredibly suffering and agony. What else do we really need to know? 

• The idea of God’s Son being sacrificed to pay for our sins is a late theory that suggests that God is guilty of cosmic child abuse. Well, the truth of the Atonement was believed by the followers of Christ in the first decennia after Jesus’ Ascension and -although it is foolishness for those who cannot or will not believe-, it is the most wonderful fact for those who have eternal life by faith on the ground of Christ’s voluntary sacrifice. 

• Why does God allow suffering? Suffering is directly and/or indirectly the result of rebellion against the Good Creator, Provider, and Sustainer of all life. God has patience and does not (yet) destroy all who do evil (and, who has never done anything evil?), so that must be seen as good news. Because we see evil, we are encouraged to search for what (or Who) ultimately defines ‘good’. When we make or buy something, we consider it ‘good’ if it serves the purpose it was made for. So, the ultimate question must be: “Who made us, for what purpose?” We need suffering in order to earnestly seek the (Source of) Good. 

• Many so-called Bible teachers and prophets have ignored Jesus and have predicted the time of Christ’s return. Why does this discredit the Bible or our faith in Jesus? Study the Scriptures, for people lose their faith for lack of knowledge. 12

• Although Christians are radically changed by the indwelling Holy Spirit, this is not total and perfect change during our earthly lives. If it was, then we could save ourselves and boast about it. Yet, when ‘Christians’ or ‘churches’ fail to show humility, love, and a willingness to dialog with those who ask sincere questions, this should lead us to study the Scriptures and to seek a living church. Those who are disappointed with the humility and loving patience of their leaders must also examine themselves to see whether they live up to their own standards. 

1. from the Greek word ‘apologia’, referring to the giving a rational explanation for our Christian faith 

2. 'recent' publications you may (not) want to read: Jason K. Stearns: Dancing in the glory of monsters, Christopher R. Browning: Ordinary Men, and Kevin Bales: Disposable People. 

3. “The rationale … is that physically violent actions, if used to shut down speech that is deemed hateful, are not “acts of violence” but, rather “acts of self defense”. Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. The Coddling of the American Mind. (Penguin, 2019) p. 86.

4. from The Problem of Pain, chapter 6. 

5. 2 Peter 3:9. 

6. 2 Cor. 12:7-10. 

7. Rom. 5:3-5. 

8. Matthew 24:36-44, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3,2 Peter 3:10. 

9. If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed. Deut. 18:22. 

10. 2 Peter 3: 1-7 

11. Matthew 20: 24-28; Phil. 2: 1-8. 

12. Hosea 4:6.