Tag: justice

Answering the problem of suffering (part 2)

There can be a real link between suffering and love: willingness to suffer for the good of another is a measure of real love. The more suffering one is prepared to suffer for another is a way of indicating the greatness of love for them. Jesus taught this principle: “Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15.13). And he demonstrated his love when he called himself the “Good Shepherd” who “lays down his life for his sheep” (John 10.11, 15). That’s how much Jesus loves you – he gave his life to save you from hell!

On the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus gave evidence of knowing how awful his suffering was going to be. That Roman death penalty was both horrible and excruciatingly painful. But Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane on that evening alludes to a deeper suffering he was to undergo. He asked that, if it were possible his Father would take away the “cup” from him. This expression is used in the Old Testament to describe the outpouring of God’s holy wrath on wicked sinners. Jesus was sinless: he did not deserve to die nor to suffer God’s punishment. But he had to drink the awful cup of the horror of Calvary: “The cup that the Father has given me, shall I not drink it?” he said (John 18.11). He thus fulfilled the Father’s plan of salvation to save us sinners as he surrendered to be crucified by the Roman soldiers. So, over and beyond the physical suffering, Jesus thus “bore our sins in his own body on the cross” (1 Peter 2.24). He “gave himself up for us… as a sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5.2); “he died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3.18).

These passages and others tell us that Jesus (who was totally innocent) voluntarily took the place of sinners and suffered their eternal hell condensed into his infinite divine person for three hours on the cross; so when we turn from sin and commit in faith to Jesus, we can know God’s love for us personally. He “paid our debt”, so that we might go free. He did it because he loved us very, very much.

Perhaps you object to the idea of hell, as you consider the awful suffering that it represents. But think of this: first, it shows that our sins are indeed extremely serious in God’s sight and deserve terrible punishment. But second, the Son of God became a man so that he might endure in his person that very same terrible suffering. What he did is therefore the demonstration of the infinite love he has – even for hell-deserving sinners like you and me. So the awfulness of hell becomes a measure of Christ’s love for us! If we reject him still, after all he has done to save us from hell, we should realise what we deserve.

For those who repent and trust in him, Jesus promises eternal life, where, according to the Bible, “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21.4). Suffering will be forever over for those whom Christ has saved, when he comes back to judge the impenitent and set up the kingdom of God. Jesus teaches he will be the final judge, separating the sheep from the goats, and he ends by saying, “these (the lost) will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25.46).

Clive Every-Clayton

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Answering the problem of suffering (part 1)

Many atheists think that the problem of suffering is sufficient to prove that a good God doesn’t exist. They are wrong again here, and I will tell you why.

Firstly, let’s think about a “good” God. Goodness is not only kindness and compassion, but also uprightness, justice, decency, holiness. The good God who exists is both loving, and holy. His wisdom leads him to regulate human conduct by his commandments which issue both from his holiness and from his love. This means that the holy human life, keeping God’s commandments, is actually the happiest; it is the best way for human beings to enjoy life and find fulfilment. It follows that sinful behaviour is not the way of true happiness.

Secondly, God has put his creatures in a context where they are answerable to him for the way they behave. He is discontent with human disobedience and sin but in his kindness, he warns people (by their conscience as well as by his Word) that their evil deeds will be sanctioned. This is an inescapable element of our reality. God did not create us all so we could harm people and wreak havoc with his creation with impunity. He is and ever will be the ultimate Master of all his creation and the judge of all his creatures. This is an element of the Christian position that is seldom raised in dealing with the atheist’s objection concerning the problem of pain and suffering, but it is essential to the biblical answer.

Thirdly, punishment is not nice. By its very nature it must hurt, or it is no penalty at all. The ultimate punishment for unrepentant sinners is eternal hell, and this is depicted as terrible suffering. Indeed, it is so awful that biblical prophets, apostles, and the Lord Jesus himself warn everyone most earnestly to turn from the way of wickedness and find the full and free forgiveness that God in his grace offers them, through the work and promises of Jesus. The fact that forgiveness and acceptance and eternal life is graciously offered by our Saviour shows that God is no monster – he is glad to forgive and welcome the sinner who repents and turns to him. But the Christian cannot escape the difficulty by saying that all will go to heaven in the end: what the believer can say is that God will judge rightly. The biblical expression, “God will render to each one according to his deeds” enshrines the principle of exact justice: no one will be punished more (or less) that they deserve, according to the light they received and their actual behaviour.

Now no warning that God might give about this eternal suffering would make any impact – nor could even be understood – if there was no such thing as suffering in this life. God therefore allowed suffering to be a part of our experience, so that we can correctly understand what eternal suffering would be like, in order to avoid it. He has chosen not to make our present suffering correspond exactly to our misdeeds; if he did, we would rightly complain that he is forcing us to be good. He desires that our obedience should be disinterested as far as our present circumstances are concerned. He even warns his children that they will suffer for being good in an evil world. He encourages them to be holy not for the gain they will get, but to give pleasure to their Master. Many of Jesus’ apostles suffered for their faith, and the holiest person ever – Jesus – suffered worst of all!

Clive Every-Clayton

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Questions of morality

In his book Morality, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks quotes sociologist Emile Durkheim who argued that if any society was in a state of anomie – that is, lacking a shared moral code – there would be a rise of suicides. Without a unifying body of ideas, beliefs, and attitudes that shape our world, society would fragment and individuals would not be able to cope. Noting the increase in mental stresses and suicides, the Chief Rabbi affirms that “this aptly describes the state we inhabit today: a world of relativism… subjectivity, autonomy, individual rights, and self-esteem”.

Anomie literally means absence of law, but this translates into autonomy where each person is a law unto themselves. People in our muddled relativistic age believe they have the need and the freedom to choose or make up their own moral code.

Previously in the West, Christendom provided the basis for law which defines good morality, and this performed a vital service for society even though there were (and always will be) law-breakers. Why then has it been contested, overturned, and widely disobeyed?

The root of all turning away from righteous law is the human penchant for disobedience: evil, wickedness, and rebellion dwell deep within the human heart. Unless there is some imperious reason to impose on oneself the necessary moral self-discipline to keep such laws, the tendency is to “enjoy” sin and try to get away with it. But when the reality of an all-seeing righteous divine Judge is generally accepted, society leads a more wholesome life. Turning away from God and his law is simply the outcome of the sin-controlled human heart. If conscience’s light is not upheld by a good religious teaching and by the upright ethics of society, a downgrade is bound to occur.

From the 1960’s these two bulwarks have given way as various movements comprising the sexual revolution overtook the West. But by throwing off God, the absolute holy foundation of all Good, atheistic humanists also wiped away the source of absolute morality such as would be imposed on all humans everywhere.

Without an appeal to Transcendence, every idea about morality becomes relative: I think this is sin, but you think it’s good – who’s to decide? So we each have the burden of deciding our own moral code, since no-one can provide absolutes any more. So the tendency downwards continues uninterrupted, until, like today, people begin to realise that atheism cannot give us the moral guidelines we need, and we return to consider afresh the commandments of God.

When questions of morality are raised, Scripture gives two kinds of answers: first, clear commands, like the Ten Commandments and others which condemn sins categorically. But second, it emphasises the cultivation of virtues like loving care, self-denial, humble service, purity of mind, truthfulness, and faithfulness. Similarly it condemns vices such as hatred, pride, unbridled lust, greed, envy, selfish anger, and covetousness (the tenth commandment). The Bible does not address only deeds, it deals with feelings, thoughts, and motives too.

Christian biblical morality thus balances duty, freedom and responsibility before God. To know the good, we need both the guidance of good law and the discernment of a good conscience. There is no law more perfect than that of Jesus, expressed, for example, in his Sermon on the Mount and his commandments to love God and one’s brother, one’s neighbour, and even one’s enemy.

Do you want to know if some line of action is sinful or permitted? Check the law of God in Scripture. It is there that we may find the absolute light we all need.

Clive Every-Clayton

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Why not other religions?

Maybe some think that my referencing Christianity and the Bible as the source of true and valid answers shows disrespect for other religions. Why not turn to them instead?

Apparently there are about 4,000 religions in the world – a statistic that reveals humankind’s innate religious disposition. In every country people discern there must be some Higher Power, some transcendent Reality, some Deity. Allied to this intuition is the reflex that God must be the fount of all goodness and justice, and that we, by contrast are not totally good and pure. People therefore fear divine judgment – sometimes perceived as the intervention of evil spirits – and they feel the need for God’s protection and his mercy.

The brightest and noblest minds, therefore, giving thought to these uncertainties, propose varying theologies, moral systems, and religious practices with a view to connecting with the Divine, or appeasing the powerful Spirit, or obtaining peace of mind by God’s forgiveness. Christianity deals with these same troubles of the human spirit, but with a radical difference that sets it apart from all other religions of the world. The essence of Christianity’s uniqueness is that while other religions issue from humanity’s deep religious thinkers, the religion of the Bible comes by the initiative and intervention from out of this world – from God himself who became incarnate in Jesus.

I have written an (unpublished) book: “Only Christianity: why Christianity is truly unique and uniquely true”. Interestingly, the 12 or so reasons why the Christian faith is unique correspond to reasons why it is true. Let me give you some of them.

Firstly, Christianity is anchored in history: it is not a mere religious philosophy proposed by man. God’s interventions in history are recorded throughout the Old Testament – Creation, the call of Abraham, the Exodus of Israel out of Egypt, their entry into Canaan, and ultimately of course the absolutely unique incarnation of God in Jesus, his historic life, death, and resurrection, recorded by the apostles. That God thus became incarnate should be known throughout the world!

Secondly, the unique fact of fulfilled prophecy. Blaise Pascal, impressed by this fact, enumerated in his Pensées (§489ff/693ff) numerous Old Testament predictions that were subsequently fulfilled. “I see a number of religions in conflict,” he wrote, “and therefore all false, except one. … But I see Christianity and find its prophecies, which are not something that anyone can do” (§198/693). As a statistician, Pascal found this convincing.

Thirdly, it provides a conscience-appeasing atonement. The sacrifice of Christ, bearing our sins and our punishment, is an historical accomplishment by which alone the requirements of Justice are satisfied. Only the atoning death of the God-man, Jesus Christ, could permit the Righteous God and Judge of all to grant forgiveness in a way that does not undermine the whole justice of the universe. 

Fourthly, the promises of Jesus Christ offer a full and perfect remission of all sins – not as earned by one’s religious practice or deserved according to one’s efforts at holiness, as all other religions propose  – but by a life-transforming experience of God’s grace that makes believers God’s children. 

This conversion experience is also unique to Christianity: it makes saints out of sinners as they receive the risen Christ into their hearts in repentance and by faith. 

Finally, Christianity offers a love relationship with a loving God and saviour which is beyond imagining. Believers may be overwhelmed when they grasp the love and faithfulness of their Saviour and the lengths to which he went to save us from hell.

Could any other religion rival all that?

Clive Every-Clayton

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