Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day? The original intent of Labor Day was to provide a holiday that would honor the social and economic achievements of American workers. Essentially, it was intended to be, and in many ways remains, an annual national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. Men and women have built our country into one of the greatest nations literally by the sweat of their brow since its beginning. However, there has been a great shift in attitudes and beliefs the last couple of decades regarding work ethics and entitlements that have changed the views of a growing segment of our citizens about who is responsible to support them and how they are to contribute to their own support. Working in Human Resources, I hear more and more people say, I should have the freedom to work when I want, take off when it suits me, quit when the job gets hard, and if I can’t find a job that meets my requirements, then the government should support me. I recently read a book titled “The five Laws of Liberty: Defending a Biblical View of Freedom” by Scott Hyland. The following except is from a preface of this book titled “Remember the Past”. Quit honestly, freedom I not something that can be demanded, especially financial freedom. In the past, most parents taught their children that benefits such as healthcare and a decent wage were earned through thrift and hard work. The more diligently a person worked, the more opportunities he would create. A good work ethic would also encourage an employer to commit to the employee by providing benefits that were earned. This concept is not new. In fact, this kind of arrangement is what most Americans used to mean when they made statements about the American Dream. Our history is full of individuals who took advantage of a free economic system and made something of themselves. Indeed, Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest Presidents to occupy the Oval Office, believed in this work ethic. He did not believe the government owed any man anything except an environment that allowed him to freely pursue financial ventures at his own expense. David Donald in his book “Lincoln”, states the following: he firmly adhered to the labor theory of value; “labor is the source from which human w ants are mainly supplied.” Labor was thus “prior to, and independent of, capital”; indeed “capital is the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed.” But capital, through derivative, performed a valuable service in a free society, because those who had it could offer employment to “the prudent, penniless beginner in the world” who owned “nothing save two strong hands that God has given him, and a heart willing to labor.” If this novice worked industriously and behaved soberly, he could in a year or two save enough to buy land for himself, to settle, marry and beget sons and daughters, and presently he, too, would begin employing other laborers. So, this Labor Day, let us celebrate our freedom to earn our own way, support our families and live the American Dream our forefathers forged out, it is our constitutional right. “The five Laws of Liberty: Defending a Biblical View of Freedom” by Scott Hyland can be purchased on Amazon.com, I highly recommend this book.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Why Evil, Pt 7, the Eternal Evil (Hell)
Unbelievers generally question both hell’s existence and justice; they also have called hell cruel and barbarous. Bertrand Russell said anyone who threatens people with eternal punishment, as Jesus did, is inhumane (“Why I am not a Christian” in The Writings of Bertrand Russell, 593-594). Orthodox Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, have defended both hell‘s reality and equity. if God is all loving, then why punish people at all why not just rehabilitate them? Even if punishment is justified, why punish them forever- isn’t this gigantic overkill? Why have a hell at all – why not just annihilate them? Or why not just save everyone? The evidence for hell is biblical, rational, and moral. Jesus Christ, whom orthodox Christians believe is God, affirmed hell’s existence. The Bible affirms there is a hell, read Revelation 20:11-15, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9. The writer of Hebrews added a note of finality when he wrote: “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment (9:27). Not all evil is punished in this life. Many observers have noted that the wicked sometimes prosper Psalm 73:3. Thus a place of punishment for the wicked after this life is necessary to maintain God’s justice. The Bible asserts that “God is Love” 1 John 4:16, and again, love cannot act coercively, only persuasively. A God of love cannot force people to love Him. Those who do not wish to love God must be allowed not to love Him. Those who do not will to be with Him must be allowed to be separated. Hell is eternal separation from God. Just like in society, where punishment for evil is necessary that good might prevail, even so in eternity good must triumph over evil. At the center of creation is the cross (1 Corinthians 1:17-18, 15:3), without there is no salvation (Romans 4:25; Hebrews 10:10-14) It is the very purpose for which Christ came into the word (Luke 19:10; Mark 10:45) for without the cross no one can be saved (Acts 412; John 10:1,9-10). But why the cross and all this suffering unless there is a hell? If there is no hell to shun, then the cross is a sham. Sigmund Freud would say, it is an illusion to reject something simply because we wish not to believe in it. Nowhere does the Bible describe hell as a “torture chamber”, but this does not mean hell isn’t a place of torment; Jesus said that it is (Luke 16:24) But unlike torture inflicted from without, against one’s will, this torment is self-inflicted by one’s will. As has been noted even by atheists (see Sartre, No Exit and Three Other Plays), the door of hell is locked on the inside, its inhabitants condemned to their own freedom. To punish a person eternally for what he did on earth may seem like tremendous overkill. However, on closer examination it turns out to be not only just but necessary. For one thing, only eternal punishment will suffice for sins against an eternal God. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” Hebrews 11:6 What to know “What about those who have Never Heard?” Then you must buy the book. I hope this series has answered some questions about God and Evil. In encourage you to buy your own copy of . If God, why Evil? By Norman L. Geisler, this article is excepts from chapter 9.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Why Evil pt 6, Physical Evil, Miracles and Evil
When it comes to pain, most of us are chickens. We do anything to avoid it, even a little needle prick at the doctor. We go to great pains to avoid pain including pain pills, sleeping pills and sedatives. The problem of evil is real for human beings, and the problem of physical evil is acutely real. The reason is that while moral evil can be explained by free choice, it is not apparent how all physical evil can be explained this way. No one wills a lightning strike or a tsunami on themselves. Much physical suffering results directly from misuse of our own bodies, smoking, alcohol, drug use, overeating, lack of proper exercise all cause physical problems. We can hardly blame God for things we inflict on ourselves. Some physical evil is the direct result of the free choices of others. The truth is that in a free world the result of one person’s freedom impinges on another person’s life. Drunk drivers often kill other people. Some physical evil is necessary for the greater physical good. The early bird gets the worm, but the worm gets eaten. Higher forms of life feed off of lower forms. Some physical evil is needed for a greater moral good. The truth is that we learn more enduring lessons in life through pain than through pleasure. Some physical evil may be inflicted by God’s justice in punishing evil actions such as plagues, famines, sickness and death. Some insist God could miraculously intervene and prevent these evil results, but without the regularity of nature, moral decisions are impossible and moral improvement cannot occur; both of these are necessary to producing the best of all worlds. God cannot perform any miracle that involves a logical or actual impossibility; He cannot make 2+2=5. Nor can be make two mountains together without a valley. God cannot make it rain and not rain at the same time to answer opposing prayers. Obviously there are some miracles God could do that He does not do. Sometimes the most loving thing God can do is not to supernaturally intervene to prevent all physical evil in our lives. Parents know that giving their children everything they want is not the most loving thing to do, sometimes tough love is necessary. Surely God has the power to stop all atheist, skeptics, and agnostics from expressing themselves but then they would not really be free to express themselves. Constant miraculous interruption of the natural order would destroy the very order necessary for making moral decisions. Few enduring moral lessons are learned through pleasure; most are learned through pain. This being the case, miraculous intervention to eliminate all painful consequences of actions would eliminate lessons on moral improvement to be learned through them. The truth is that higher virtues can only be attained by free beings that have struggled with evil and been victorious over it. Of course, not all persons will achieve the higher virtues and the greater good possible. Some will sufferers get better, some get bitter. Next week we will take our final look at “If God, Why Evil”, we will discuss Eternal Evil (Hell) and what about those who have never heard. Excerpts from chapter 7&8, If God, why Evil? By Norman L. Geisler, I encourage you get this book and read all of Dr. Geisler’s research and 50 years of knowledge in theology, philosophy, and apologetics on the college or graduate level.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Why Evil pt 5, Purpose and Avoidability of Evil
What is the significance of suffering? The meaning of misery? The cause of calamity? Or the purpose of pain? Just because we don’t know a good purpose for some evil does not mean there is no good purpose for it. There are many things we don’t know. And there are many things we once did not know but now do know. So it should be expected that in the future we will discover good purposed for things which we do not now know a good purpose. Take an illustration from science. Evolutionists once claimed there were some 180 vestigial organs (with no known function) left over from our animal ancestry. Over the last century or so, this list has shrunk to six! Study has shown that the unexplained is not necessarily the unexplainable. Likewise, just because we don’t know a good purpose from some suffering does not mean there is none. God informs us that “The secret things belong to the Lord our God” Deuteronomy 29:29 Scientists cannot currently explain everything in the natural world, but they have good reason to believe that there are explanations for the things they can’t explain. Unexplained evils are not unexplainable, and many evils we once could not explain we can now explain. Certainly Joseph did not know why he was sold as a slave into Egypt by is brothers, later however he was able to say “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” Genesis 50:20 Pain is designed to keep us from self-destruction such as chest pain to avoid heart attack, pain in lower side to prevent death by a burst appendix. We have all suffered loss of loved ones for no explained reason, however if for no other reason, God sometimes allows us to suffer pain so we can comfort others suffering in a like situation. The truth is that we learn more enduring lessons through pain than we do pleasure. God is more interested in our character than our comfort; more concerned about our holiness than our happiness. If we knew in advance that we would have a son who would become Adolf Hitler or Osama bin Laden, wouldn’t it be better not to conceive him to begin with? God had to create free creature who could sin before He could produce free creature who can’t sin. So the best possible world would be one where people were truly free to sin, did sin, but despite their sin God brought about a greater good by allowing it and then providing satisfaction and forgiveness for it. In short, even if a free but sinless world is actually achievable, it may be morally less desirable, since the greatest good would not be achieved in it. Forcing people to “freely” believe is a contradiction in terms. God is love (1John 4:16) and love cannot work coercively, only persuasively. The problem is that all do not want to be saved. God is willing to save all, but all are not willing to be saved. One day God will say “Have it as you will”. The nature of an all-good God assures us that this world which He did create is the best one achievable without violating anyone’s free will. A good parent permits a possible accident every time he permits his teenager to drive the family car; however, he is not promoting it. God allows evil to produce the greater good. So now that we have discussed the persistence and purpose of evil, next week we will look at the problem of physical evil then miracles and evil to give you some more food for thought. Excerpts from chapter 5&6, If God, why Evil? By Norman L. Geisler, I encourage you get this book and read all of Dr. Geisler’s research and 50 years of knowledge in theology, philosophy, and apologetics on the college or graduate level.
Why Evil pt 4, The Origin and Persistence of Evil
As we said two weeks ago God did not create any evil thing. He created only good things, and evil is a privation or corruption of a good thing. So the difficult question is where, then, did evil come from? That is, how did the privations or corruptions get there? The answer is free will. Evil cannot come directly from the hand of the Creator any more than polluted water can come directly from a pure mountain spring. Freedom means the power to choose otherwise, so one is free to do good and also free to do evil. We must be given the freedom of choice or we would be robots, puppets, or automatons. God made evil possible by creating free creatures; they are responsible for making it actual. Thus, sin was born in the breast of an archangel in the presence of God. God created only good things. One good thing He made was free will. A good being, with the good power of free will, chose to put his will over God’s. Who caused Lucifer to sin? No one did- he was the cause of his own sin. So why doesn’t God stop it all? Why doesn’t He call a halt to all suffering? The only way God could literally destroy all evil is to destroy all freedom. No one can be praised or blamed for an act in which they had no free choice. Now, evil is still on the rampage, both morally and physically. Hatred, crime, war, tornados, earthquakes, poverty and starvation. The fact that God has not yet defeated it does not mean He never will, in fact that is exactly what the Bible says He will do. But we humans want to know the reasons for everything, if we can’t or don’t understand, we look for someone to blame. We cannot just accept God’s Sovereignty and that there is a purpose and reason for everything. So next week we will look at the purpose and avoidability of Evil. Excerpts from chapter 3 &4, If God, why Evil? By Norman L. Geisler, I encourage you get this book and read all of Dr. Geisler’s research and 50 years of knowledge in theology, philosophy, and apologetics on the college or graduate level.
Why Evil pt 3, The Nature of Evil
The statement of the problem of the nature of evil could be 1. God created all things 2. Evil is something 3. Therefore, God created evil. So what is evil? Many people believe God made evil because He made all “things”. But, God said, “looking back on all His creation, It was very good” Genesis 1:31 So, if everything God made was good, then how can evil be real? The answer, evil is not a “thing” or substance. How then can evil be real but not a thing? Augustine found a satisfying, enduring answer: Evil is a real lack, privation, or corruption of a good thing. That is, evil does not exist in itself. To illustrate, Evil is like a wound in an arm. The wound does not exist in itself, a totally wounded body is not a body at all. Evil is like rust to a car, a totally rusted car does not exist, it would just be a brown spot in the road. Evil is like rot to a tree, a totally rotten tree is not a tree at all, it’s topsoil! So, like a wound, rust, or rot, Evil is a real lack, privation, or corruption of a good thing. So, you can say 1. God created all things. 2. Evil is not thing. 3. Hence God did not create evil. But don’t misunderstand, evil is not a mere absence of good. For example, the power of sight is absent in a rock and a blind person. By nature a stone is not supposed to see, so there is no privation of sight. However, a human by nature is supposed to see, to be blind is a real privation. So to say evil is a privation, or a lack of some good that ought to be there, does not mean evil is unreal. Isn’t Satan totally evil? He is completely evil in a moral sense, but not in a metaphysical sense. Insofar as he is a creature of God, he has intelligence, power and free will as remnants of good that God gave to him as a created angel. But he uses all his God-given good powers to do evil; he is ever, always, irretrievably bent on evil. God is the author of everything, including evil, in the sense that He permits it, but not in the sense that He produces it. Just like parents give children limited freedom to learn from their mistakes, even so God does with His children, but in no way does God “author” evil in the sense of producing, promoting, or performing it. Just as Joseph told his brothers who left him for dead, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” Genesis 50:20, even so God overrules the evil intent of humans to accomplish His ultimate good. Of course, explaining evil as a lack in good things does not explain where the lack comes from. All it explains is the nature of evil as a real privation in good things. Where the corruption came from is another question. So we will look at the origin of evil to provide you some more food for thought. Excerpts from chapter 2, If God, why Evil? By Norman L. Geisler, I encourage you get this book and read all of Dr. Geisler’s research and 50 years of knowledge in theology, philosophy, and apologetics on the college or graduate level.
Why Evil- Views on Evil
There is no human on earth that does not have some brush with evil in their lifetime. Many things can be classified as evil; illness and disease, natural disaster such as hurricanes or earthquakes, pain both physical and mental, evil created by man such as rape or murder, world evil such as starvation or poverty. Three basic answers to the overall problem of evil have been offered: Pantheism affirms God and denies evil. Atheism affirms evil and denies God. Theism affirms both God and evil. In general pantheists believe God exists but deny the existence of evil. [i] The atheist’s solution to evil is just the opposite, they admit evil is real, but do not believe God is. Sigmund Freud claimed that God is an illusion because belief in God is based on wish fulfillment. However, we can only know something is evil (not good) if we know what is good.[1] C.S. Lewis said “(when I was an atheist) my argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line”.[2] This leaves us with the remaining alternative that both God and evil are real. But this nonetheless is a real problem- as least for the Christian view of God. The God of the Bible is all-knowing, and He foresaw that evil would occur in His world. He also is all-good and He desires to do away with evil. In addition, He is all-powerful and could accomplish this. Why then does evil exist?[3] The Christian (theist) claims that only an infinitely good and infinitely powerful God can solve the problem of evil. But how? Again, are not absolute good and evil incompatible? And could not an all-good and all-powerful God eliminate evil? Next week we will explore more about the nature of evil. We will look at this problem: 1. God created all things 2. Evil is something 3. Therefore, God created evil. We will discuss and respond to this problem, we will learn that evil does not exist in itself.[4] If you want read more details about “ If God, Why Evil?” Be sure and pick up your own copy of the book by this title by Dr. Norman L. Geisler. He will give you some real sound food for thought.
[1] Pg 13 If God, Why Evil? Norman L. Geisler
[2] Mere Christianity, 45
[3] Pg 14 If God, Why Evil? Norman L. Geisler
[4] Pg 19 If God, Why Evil? Norman L. Geisler
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