Mars Hill is a meeting place to talk about life. It's named for the hill in Athens where the philosophers used to meet and debate what life was all about. Thanks for letting me share part of my journey with you.
Book Review: "Unspeakable - Facing Up to the Challenge of Evil," Os Guinness, New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2005. 242 pages.
I have had Os Guinness' books on my bookshelves before, but I had never taken the time to read them. Then I had opportunity to hear him speak at the RZIM Summer Institute in 2012 and realized I needed to start reading his work. He is a man with a brilliant mind and a great grasp of history. In "Unspeakable," Guinness takes on one of the most challenging issues we face as human beings, that of evil: it's source, its substance, its remedy. A daunting task to be sure.
It's difficult to know where to begin with this review - I can't imagine how challenging it would have been to write the book. To each of us, this subject is uniquely personal. We all have, or will, experience or witness evil and suffering in our own lives. As Guinness says: "One of the effects of globalization today is
that our eyes vastly outreach our hands and our pockets. We always see
more evil and suffering than we can possibly respond to."
Os builds his book around seven questions:
Where on earth does evil come from?
What's so right about a world so wrong? (Or "why me?" or "where's God?)
Are we really worse or just modern?
Do the differences make a difference?
Isn't there something we can do?
Why can't I know what I need to know?
Isn't there any good in all this bad?
Throughout the book Guinness explores these questions through the lens of different worldviews, taking pains to respectfully share each point of view. He makes three arguments throughout the book: "that there are important differences between the various answers to evil; that these differences make a difference; and that the differences make a difference not only for individuals but for societies." His thoughtful and reasonable approach provides a great deal of insight into an issue which has long been discussed, but not understood. He destroys the modern myth that most evil is perpetrated by people of faith. In fact, the twentieth century was the bloodiest in the history of the world, largely due to the atheistic regimes of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and the like. But the biggest question arising out of the discussion is number 5: "Isn't there something we can do?"
Guinness provides three features to a biblical response to evil and suffering:
There is an acknowledgement that evil resides in each of our hearts.
There is a commitment to forgive the evildoer appropriately, though without condoning the evil deed. (Witness the success of this approach in post-apartheid South Africa.)
The commitment to take a practical stand against evil and injustice.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
The bottom line to all of this is that each of us are challenged to take a stand against evil - that begins in our own hearts. This book shares many brilliant examples of brave men and women who have dared to stand and who made a difference against evil. Let me conclude with a quote from one of the giants of the twentieth century, Alexander Solzhenitsyn. "Let us not forget that violence does not and cannot flourish by itself; it is inevitably intertwined with lying. Between them there is the closest, the most profound and natural bond: nothing screens violence except lies, and the only way lies can hold out is by violence. Whoever has once announced violence as his method must inevitably choose lies as his principle... The simple act of an ordinary courageous man is not to take part, not to support lies! Let the lie come into the world, even dominate the world, but not through me." (Nobel address, 1970)
I wanted to continue on with the theme I discussed earlier this week and talk about the challenges of modern man. Our culture has largely embraced a conflicting view of reality. In many things, most people that I meet could be considered to be functional atheists. In other words, regardless of what they say they believe, they live their lives as if God doesn't exist.
Yet they find this type of life ultimately dissatisfying. It doesn't conform to reality as we know it. If there is no God, for example, how is it that we can satisfactorily explain things like love, sacrifice, hope, etc... If they are simply the products of "millions of years of evolution," than they are merely chemical reactions.
Years ago, my brother was in a discussion with an atheist couple at their home. He asked the husband if he loved his wife. He responded that, of course, he loved his wife. He then asked him what his basis for love was. Without appealing to some higher source, was it not just a chemical reaction - his response to her pheromones? He said that, yes, that would be the scientific and rational explanation. What then, would happen, if someone were to come along with a stronger chemical than his wife? Based on his worldview, is there no other explanation for love?
His wife looked at him expectantly, wanting to hear the answer as well. He finally asked my brother to leave. Apparently the question hit a little too close to home.
C.S. Lewis dealt with this question on a different level - the longing of human beings for what we call heaven. It's not simply a "Christian" thing, cultures have believed in an afterlife throughout history. This is how he explains it: "Creatures are not born with desires unless
satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there
is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a
thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as
sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can
satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another
world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove
that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never
meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing."
Francis Schaeffer has explained this point well. Modern man, says
Schaeffer, resides in a two-story universe. In the lower story is the
finite world without God; here life is absurd, as we have seen. In the
upper story are meaning, value, and purpose. Now modern man lives in the
lower story because he believes there is no God. But he cannot live
happily in such an absurd world; therefore, he continually makes leaps
of faith into the upper story to affirm meaning, value, and purpose,
even though he has no right to, since he does not believe in God.
I see this all the time. We have holdover values of our culture's Christian heritage. Couples who would declare their lack of faith due to the hypocrisy of some Christians but, yet, will stand at a Christian altar to declare their vows before a God in whom they don't believe. (No hypocrisy there!) Another example is parents who have no desire to be Christians, or no intention to have their children live as Christians, yet bring their child to a church for baptism or dedication.
Perhaps nowhere is it more obvious than at the loss of a loved one. There are the rare occasions when the deceased are coldly placed into the ground without ceremony or sentiment. But, more often than not, regardless of the life lived or the beliefs espoused, those remaining look for words of encouragement and hope that there is something beyond the grave.
As a pastor, I've thought long and hard about these issues, and had my share of discussions with people from all walks of life. The truth is that people are hungry for spiritual meaning and yet are very unsure where to find it. Our post-modern culture has also tried to redefine the rules of engagement by declaring such maxims as "all truth is relative" and "history can't be trusted," etc...
Yet the law of non-contradiction still stands: two antithetical propositions cannot both be true at the same time and in the same sense. In other words, we're not all right.
As Ravi Zacharias says, "truth, by definition, is exclusive." Some 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ stood before Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who was determining whether or not to have Jesus crucified. Jesus said to him: "In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." Pilate's response is a question people have been asking ever since - "What is truth?"
If Jesus is who He says He was - and He is - none of us can afford to ignore Him. It is ironic that in Iran, where conversion from Islam to Christianity is punishable by death, there have been more conversions in the past 15 years than in the past 300. Yet, in the "free" West, Jesus' name is most often used as a by-word. The temptation for many is to assign Him a place with the "other" religious leaders who have come and gone and to respect His teachings. Yet, Jesus didn't come as a mere teacher, He came as Messiah, to give life and to make our lives meaningful and everlasting. What will you do with Jesus?
I'll leave the last word with C. S. Lewis: "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would
not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level
with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the
Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is,
the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up
for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon; or you can
fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any
patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not
left that open to us. He did not intend to."
For many people, what they believe is something that they don't often think about. I have found that, quite often, people simply want to fit in and so they "parrot" what they hear expressed in the culture around them. When pressed, many people cannot give a coherent answer about what they believe.
This is unfortunate, because what we believe shapes who we are and how we act. In other words, ideas have consequences. Sometimes those consequences don't matter a great deal, but sometimes, when the wrong ideas permeate a culture, the consequences can be devastating.
A quick glance at the history of the twentieth century provides enough illustrative material for a few books. Witness the consequences of the state-imposed belief in atheism, the belief that “No God exists beyond or in the universe. The universe or cosmos is all there is and all there will be. All is matter: it is self-sustaining.”
This may sound like a fairly harmless statement to make, but when it becomes a dogma of a state, it leads to some horrific results. If there is no God and the cosmos is all that there is and all that will be, then it follows that people are simply products of an impersonal process and have no intrinsic value. It also follows that there is no absolute standard for morality and a powerful state can set it's own rules arbitrarily to serve its own purposes. Horrific acts can then be justified as being in the best interests of the state.
We saw this in the Soviet Union (USSR), where Stalin was responsible for the murder of fifty million of his own people. Basic human rights were suspended because the state didn't recognize them - they had no foundation in atheistic ideology. Contrast this with the expression of the American Declaration of Independence: "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights..."This radical statement lead to the building of a nation that lead the Western world in freedom for more than two centuries. It's not just the Soviet Union that set a bad example, however.
Pol Pot, the leader of the Communist Party in Cambodia, was responsible for the deaths of two million of his own people in a four year period, with similar reasoning as the USSR. Communist North Korea today is one of the worst offenders of human rights in the world. Then we look at China, with its forced sterilization and enforcement of a one-child policy, which has resulted in what we now call "gendercide," the murder of baby girls because boys are more favourable and only one child is allowed. There are many other examples, but the point is that ideas matter.
What do you believe? Taking a hard look at Western Civilization today we see clear signs of an impending implosion. We no longer have a consensus of belief. While most believe in human rights, we're not sure from where they come. Many would certainly not adhere to the belief that those rights flow from our Creator - and if they do, He's certainly not the God of Christianity.
Formerly Christian European nations, turned off by the excesses of the State churches, have become functional if not literal atheists. Morality is now defined by popular opinion, and we've seen the spread of euthanasia, the breakdown of the family and the rise of anarchic tendencies. Canada and the United States are not far behind. We are beginning to reap what we have sown.
Hear English journalist Malcolm Muggeridge on the subject: "We look back on history, and what do we see?
Empires rising and falling; revolutions and counter-revolutions
succeeding one another; wealth accumulating and wealth dispersed; one
nation dominant and then another.
As Shakespeare's King Lear puts it, 'the rise and fall of great
ones that ebb and flow with the moon.'
In one lifetime I've seen my fellow countrymen ruling over a
quarter of the world, and the great majority of them convinced – in the
words of what is still a favorite song – that God has made them mighty
and will make them mightier yet.
I've heard a crazed Austrian announce the establishment of a
German Reich that was to last for a thousand years; an Italian clown
report that the calendar will begin again with his assumption of power;
a murderous Georgian brigand in the Kremlin acclaimed by the
intellectual elite as wiser than Solomon, more enlightened than Ashoka,
more humane than Marcus Aurelius.
I've seen America
wealthier than all the rest of the world put together; and with the
superiority of weaponry that would have enabled Americans, had they so
wished, to outdo an Alexander or a Julius Caesar in the range and scale
of conquest.
"All in one little lifetime – gone with the wind:
England now part of an island off the coast of Europe, threatened
with further dismemberment; Hitler and Mussolini seen as buffoons;
Stalin a sinister name in the regime he helped to found and dominated
totally for three decades; Americans haunted by fears of running out of
the precious fluid that keeps their motorways roaring and the smog
settling, by memories of a disastrous military campaign in Vietnam, and
the windmills of Watergate.
Can this really be what life is about – this worldwide soap opera going
on from century to century, from era to era, as old discarded sets and
props litter the earth?
Surely not. Was it to
provide a location for so repetitive and ribald a production as this
that the universe was created and man, or homo sapiens as he
likes to call himself – heaven knows why – came into existence?
I can't believe it.
If this were all, then the cynics, the hedonists, and the suicides are
right: the most we can hope for from life is amusement, gratification of
our senses, and death. But
it is not all.
"Thanks to the great mercy and marvel of the Incarnation, the
cosmic scene is resolved into a human drama.
God reaches down to become a Man and Man reaches up to relate
himself to God. Time looks
into eternity and eternity into time, making now always, and always now.
Everything is transformed by the sublime dream of the Incarnation
– God's special parable for fallen man and a fallen world.
The way opens before us that was charted in the birth, ministry,
death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The way that successive generations of believers have striven to
follow, deriving themselves the moral, spiritual, and intellectual
creativity out of which have come everything truly great in our art, our
literature, our music, the splendor of the great Cathedrals, and the
illumination of the saints and mystics, as well as countless lives of
men and women serving their God and loving their Savior in humility and
Faith. It's a glorious
record – not just of the past, but continuing now.
The books are open, not closed.
"The Incarnation was not a mere historical event
like the Battle of Waterloo, or the American Declaration of
Independence – something that's happened, and then was over.
It goes on happening all the time.
God did not retreat back into Heaven when the fateful words “It
is finished” were uttered on Golgotha.
The Word that became flesh has continued and continues to dwell
among us, full of grace and truth.
There are examples on every hand; we have but to look for them.
For instance, the man in Solzhenitsyn's labor camp who scribbled
sentences from the Gospels that he pulled out of his pocket in the
evening to keep himself serene and brotherly in that terrible place.
Then, Solzhenitsyn himself – a product of this world's first
overtly atheistic materialist society who yet can tell us in shining
words that 'it was only when I lay there, on rotting prison straw, that
I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good.
Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good
and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between
political parties either; but right through every human heart and
through all human hearts.
So, bless you, prison for having been in my life.'
What insight, what wisdom, acquired in a Soviet prison, after a
Marxist upbringing!
"Again, there's Mother Teresa and her ever-growing Missionaries of
Charity going about their work of love with their own special geography
of compassion moving into country after country.
Sisters, now of many nationalities, arriving in twos and threes
at the troubled places in this troubled world with nothing to offer
except Christ, no other purpose than to see in every suffering man and
woman the person of their Savior, and to heed His words, 'Insofar as ye
did it to the least of these, my brethren, ye did it unto me.'" (For the whole article, go here).
So, what do you believe? It matters. Do you have answers for the basic questions of life?
Where did we come from?
How can we find meaning?
How do we define morality?
What is our destiny?
And finally, do our answers form a coherent whole? Do they hold together? I find that many people pick and choose what they believe and, consequently, the worldview they hold to cannot hold water and is ultimately not liveable.
Have you tried to answer these questions? If not, take a stab at it, and please, share your findings. I'm thankful that I discovered the answer to the ultimate questions of life in the person of Jesus Christ. Where has your search lead you?
I originally posted this in May of 2011. I'm reposting it, as my son, Levi, will marry his beautiful fiance, Amanda, in two days. The points are still relevant.
Tomorrow afternoon I get to perform the marriage ceremony for my niece and her fiance. I do a few weddings a year, and every time I do I am acutely aware that there is a lot of disagreement about the very institution of marriage. I've met - and heard - a lot of people who have a very dim view indeed of matrimony.
There are varying reasons for this, some valid, some not so much. The rise in feminism and the resulting cries for sexual "liberation" from marriage resulted, at least for a time, in a great many young women rejecting marriage altogether. This cry for freedom came as the result of the historic patriarchal nature of marriage.
Another obvious reason is the dysfunction of many marriages. When children grow up seeing their parents constantly fighting and maybe even divorcing, their logical conclusion is that all marriage is like this, so why bother? One reason that's not spoken of often is the increase in sexual promiscuity. In other eras, men married in order to have sex; that is no longer necessary, and men are quite happy to take advantage of the situation. This change in behaviour has resulted in the rapid growth of co-habitation, a couple living together with no formal commitment. In today's social climate it is very rare to see a couple come to the marriage altar with their virginity.
The main question coming out of the changes we've seen is this: are we better off now that marriage has fallen out of favour? I, for one, would respond forcefully in the negative. Here are some of the reasons why:
We are not happier! According to a recent study, "researchers have concluded that although (Westerners) are rich compared with most other countries, many suffer from an emotional poverty caused by consumerism and the breakdown of family life. 'We are being seduced by an economic juggernaut and our personal needs are not being met,' said Nic Marks, a social sciences researcher at Surrey University who also worked on the report."
Non-traditional arrangements are less stable than marriages. (See article.) "A recent General Social Survey performed by Statistics Canada reported that in Canada, couples who choose a common-law relationship as their first conjugal union have a greater probability of this first union ending in separation, regardless of whether the common-law partners eventually married... Common-law unions are generally less stable than marriages: more than 60% of people who choose common-law unions as their first conjugal relationship are expected to separate."
Children are generally safer and happier when raised in a married home with both mother and father. (See study.) This is a particularly important issue because it points to what I believe is one of the underlying reasons that many have rejected marriage - selfishness.
We live in a culture that is incredibly narcissistic, and we've been convinced somehow that life revolves around us. This has resulted in the breakdown of community and a growing isolation. People who live like this see others as simply a means to their own happiness, but, as studies show, it's not working. We're not happier as a culture, that's why anti-depressant meds are a multi-billion dollar industry.
Here's what I've learned about happiness: it is not an end in itself, but is the product of consistently doing the right thing. It is not met by external things, but is realized by an inner fulfilment, a realization of a greater purpose.
All that being said, finding happiness in marriage is not an easy thing, it is difficult, as with almost anything worthwhile. I believe that part of the reason for the high failure rate in marriage is completely unrealistic expectations. As Sidney Harris writes: "Almost no-one is foolish enough to imagine that he automatically deserves great success in any field of activity, yet almost everyone believes that he automatically deserves success in marriage."
Marriage is first a covenant, then it is a commitment. This was how God, who created us for each other, designed marriage. Counselor Gary Chapman tells us that "Something in our nature cries out to be loved by another. Isolation is devastating to the human psyche." We need each other, and we need to know that we can rely on each other. So God made marriage to last for a lifetime. One man, one woman, until death.
The challenge in marriage is working out the commitment. It's putting the same energy into preserving the relationship as we did in its establishment. I heard a wonderful lady say something in a talk years ago that has always stuck with me. She said that there may not always be red-hot passion in a marriage, but there should always be red-hot commitment. So how does this work? What are the keys? As someone who's done his share of pre-marital counseling over the years, here are some of the keys that I've learned.
Get pre-marital counseling before marriage. It's amazing how many people don't feel like this is necessary. They would agree that deciding to marry is likely one of the most life-changing points in their lives yet not feel it is necessary to prepare. When faced with this mentality I usually ask if they have a driver's license. If so, did they study for the test? Is marriage more or less important than a driver's license. That's usually the end of the conversation.
Deal with your personal baggage. Everyone carries emotional baggage. There are incidents and issues in our lives that we carry with us that can affect our relationships. They're easily overlooked when a couple is dating and each is trying to put their best foot forward. But unresolved issues, like low self-esteem, an abusive background, anger issues, etc., will almost certainly jump up and bite you in the relationship later. Deal with them beforehand, and be honest. If your relationship can't handle the pressure of premarital counseling, you are not ready to marry!
Learn how to communicate effectively. In many surveys, the number one complaint of wives is that their husband will not communicate. In my experience, it's often because they don't really know how. Communication is complicated, and men and women obviously think very differently. We need to understand that communication is "a meeting of meanings" and not a battle we must win. We need to learn how to lay down our weapons of self-defense and get to know what makes our spouse tick. For a message on this, go here.
Be sure you're on the same page. This speaks to the question of worldview. I've had couples come to me, one an atheist and one a Christian, who wanted to be married. They didn't see that this was a problem. So I began to ask questions like, are you planning children? Will you raise the children in church or not? The more we talked, the more the potential problems became apparent, and the wedding was soon cancelled, and that was a good thing. For an article on worldview, go here.
Get a handle on your finances. Disagreement here is one of the top reasons for marriage breakup. Even if you think you've got it all together, I highly recommend that every couple take a course such as Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University." You'll be thankful later. Every married couple, like it or not, become financial partners in a new enterprise.
Talk about roles. Many marriages fail because of unmet expectations. Just because your mother was a stay-at-home Mom and loved it, doesn't mean your bride-to-be will be the same. Talk about division of labour. Who will clean the house, mow the lawn, do small repairs, wash the dishes, cook the meals, do the laundry, pick up the kids, etc... Trust me, it matters.
Share your dreams. In my Christian worldview, I firmly believe that God has a plan for each of us, and therefore a plan for each couple. God implants visions and dreams in our hearts as we follow Him. Why did God bring you together as a couple? How can you help one another to be the people that God called you to be? Where do you envision yourselves in 5, 10, 20 years? Are your dreams compatible?
Build on a solid foundation. Many couples will invite God to the wedding but not the marriage. They want the church wedding with all the props but are more than happy to leave God behind to clean up the confetti. The problem is, marriage was God's idea and was only designed to work with Him in the middle. As we love God He enables us to love each other.
The picture painted for us in the New Testament is one that is often missed and misinterpreted. Jesus used the analogy of marriage when He talked about His supreme sacrifice. He loved the church, His Bride, so much that He willingly laid down His life for her redemption. Paul tells us in Ephesians that men ought to love their wives in this way. A deep emotional need in every woman is to be treasured in such a way. Wives are taught to respect their husbands. This is probably the greatest emotional need for men, to be believed in and to be respected .
As we love each other, we give each other what we need, and we create a healthy environment in which to raise children. The Bible teaches us that love is not a feeling, but a choice and an action. As a husband, I can choose to love even when I might not be feeling like it's getting me anywhere. When I consistently serve my wife and sincerely try to meet her needs it makes her want to do the same.
Most of the above lessons I've learned the hard way, after almost 29 years of marriage. Are there lousy marriages? Absolutely. And marriage isn't for everyone, but it is a very good thing. I believe in marriage and family because it is the glue that holds society together. It's all wrapped up in the very large concept of "home." Home may be a place, but it is primarily about the people, people you love and with whom you can build a life. I'm thankful that God has allowed me to experience the joys and the pain of family life; they have made me what I am.
What is your advice for a happy marriage?
I hope you love this video below as much as I do. Enjoy!
Charles Colson (1931-2012) has passed away after collapsing at a conference a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure that much of the mainstream news media will focus on his time as a leading figure in President Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal, but that will not define him. After being charged and before entering prison, Colson converted to Christianity through events documented in his book Loving God.
There were, and still are, those who believe that this was simply another jailhouse confession, but Charles Colson's life's work since leaving prison has borne evidence of a changed man - truly a trophy of God's grace. In fact, after hearing of his conversion, the Boston Globe reported, "If Mr. Colson can repent of his sins, there just has to be hope for everybody."
While he only served seven months in prison for his role in the scandal, it was enough to motivate him to work to improve the lives of convicts. He started Prison Fellowship Ministries in 1976 and Justice Fellowship in 1983. Prison Fellowship now comprises tens of thousands of volunteers who visit prisoners, care for ex-prisoners and their families and who work to transform lives in 113 countries. Our local congregation has participated through Angel Tree, an outreach to the children of prisoners during the Christmas season.
Colson has also written more than 30 books, some of which are considered classics in Christian circles. He co-authored How Now Shall We Livewith Nancy Pearcey, one of the most important works on the subject of Christian worldview. I have read numerous works by Colson, among my favorites are The Body and Kingdoms in Conflict.
Colson has also been a much sought after speaker, challenging the church to live up to its calling in Christ and often speaking out for unity among Christians. He most recently was one of the authors of The Manhattan Declaration, a document calling on Christians to defend the sanctity of human life, traditional marriage, and religious freedom.
An ex-marine, Colson was not one to shy away from a fight or to be intimidated by criticism. He regularly shared his views on radio and the web through his program Breakpoint, with more than 8 million listeners.
He also spent time developing and equipping young minds to understand and defend the Christian worldview through programs like Centurions.
In recognition of his work, Colson received the prestigious Templeton Prize for progress in religion in 1993, donating the $1 million prize to
Prison Fellowship. Colson's other awards have included the
Presidential Citizens Medal, the United States' second-highest civilian honor
(2008).
I have quoted Charles Colson often, I'll leave you with some of my favorites here. I'm thankful for the legacy that Charles has left behind. Thank God for grace.
"The best argument
for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their
completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also
Christians - when they are somber and joyless, when they are
self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow
and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths.” "The Watergate cover-up reveals the true nature of humanity. Even
political zealots at the pinnacle of power will, in the crunch, save
their own necks, even at the expense of the ones they profess to serve
so loyally. But the apostles could not deny Jesus because they had seen
Him face to face, and they knew He had risen from the dead. No, you can
take it from an expert in cover-ups -- I've lived through Watergate --
that nothing less than a resurrected Christ could have caused those men
to maintain to their dying whispers that Jesus is alive and is Lord. Two
thousand years later, nothing less than the power of the risen Christ
could inspire Christians around the world to remain faithful -- despite
prison, torture, and death."
"This is the great choice every human being has to make: Is the
resurrection true or only a myth? If the latter, it is an abomination,
taking away any validity to the Christian claim. Believing that the
resurrection was merely symbolic doesn't create liberal Christianity or a
more enlightened version of our faith as many argue; it reduces
Christianity to something utterly vain, a belief system like paganism.
For if we were to believe Christ was not bodily raised, then
Christianity would rest on the belief in human sacrifice - offering an
innocent man to die for our sins. This is not enlightened thinking; it
is barbaric. It is why so-called liberal Christianity is untenable, no
better than paganism." "We must
not dilute the gospel by ignoring the Cross - or from the seeds of our
evangelism will sprout followers attracted to Christianity for what it
will give them, rather than out of love and service for a risen Lord. We
follow Christ not because of His blessings, but because He is truth."
Book Review: "Unspeakable - Facing Up to the Challenge of Evil," Os Guinness, New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2005. 242 pages.
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