“Tell people there's an invisible man in the sky who created the universe, and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they have to touch it to be sure.”
-George Carlin
Doubt is a normal part of life. We are taught from a young age that God exist. When we grow older and escape our church bubble we encounter people who have different beliefs than we do. This can cause us to reflect on our own upbringing and lessons we were taught growing up. What if their beliefs are right? If God is all-powerful, why can't he stop evil? Why would a loving God send his creation to eternal darkness? These questions have been plaguing me for years. I have recently begun the process of seeking the truth. I have finally overcame the fear that seeking the truth would lead me away from the God of the bible. When I began to seek truth it lead me straight to him. The hardest questions for me weren't regarding his existence but his nature.
Many ponder the question,"If God is all-powerful, why doesn't he stop evil?" By definition evil is anything morally bad or wrong. If we stop to take a look at the scriptures we begin to see that evil is not only ,"Out in the world", it's in the mirror. If you have ever lied, glanced at a woman lustfully, or even thought of being with a woman other than your wife, it's sin. In the perfect and holy eyes of God sin and evil are one in the same. By making this connection we step back and realize that we should be eliminated. In other words, at what level of evil do you want God to stop allowing? If we say that evil should be stopped, we can't pick and choose what "evil" acts to stop. Do we stop the murder or the hate? We have to be consistent in gauging what is evil and what is righteous. Sin (evil) is rebellion against God.(Romans 8:7) So every sin we have ever committed is evil according to God's judgement. We are all evil by God's definition. (Romans 3:23) I agree wholeheartedly that we deserve separation from God eternally along with the rapist and murderer. The only way we are not evil is through our redemption through Jesus. He is the only being that can bridge the gap between our own sinfulness and God's righteousness.
Another question that I've spent countless moments on is,"Why would a "loving" God send his creation to hell?" I've received this objection to the Christian faith on multiple occasions. I'll start by saying that God created free will. (Proverbs 16:9) God's knowledge of our choice before our choosing doesn't mean he sends us to hell. It simply means that God is all-knowing and he knew what our free will choice would be. God knew our fall was going to happen. This changed the way I believe In a big way. I'll try to explain this in an illustration. A car is passing a cow and headed to a bend on a narrow country road. The bend prevents the car from seeing a semi making it's way into the opposite side of the bend. The car is driving into a crash. One more player in this illustration is the helicopter in the clouds. The helicopter can see the cow, the car and the semi. The helicopter's knowledge of the inevitable crash doesn't make him guilty of the crash. It just means the helicopter has a wider scope than the car's limited line of vision. Like the car, our vision of our future is extremely limited. We like to put God in our fleeting, finite box of the present. What we fail to realize is that God's vision of time transcends our understanding.(Isaiah 40:28) We try to make our own way when God has already laid out a path leading to him. (Proverbs 16:9)
One very prevalent belief that I've recently begun examining is the idea of relativism. Relativism basically means that truth is relative. Whatever truth you have found is true to you. Whatever truth I have found is true to me. This feels warm and fuzzy on the surface. Everyone gets a golden ticket to a dance party on golden clouds. Even though it feels great, it has gaping holes in It's own logic. For example:What if my truth says that your truth is wrong? My truth says that Jesus is the only way. (John 14:6) How can this truth be right when other religions (Or "truths") say differently. Two absolute truths relevant to the salvation of man can't exist simultaneously. Another popular belief that fits in the category of relativism is the belief that there's no way to know what's absolute truth. With this very statement we already find a lack of logic. You just claimed an absolute truth saying that there is no truth. The only viable option in this time of doubt is that there is absolute truth and that Jesus is that absolute truth. I won't argue in this post on why I believe every other "religion" is wrong and polluted with false doctrine. I'm simply attempting to lay to rest questions that have caused me to look at the nature of my God in a new way.
I believe that doubting is healthy. It has only strengthened my relationship with God. When I began this journey for truth I believed that I would find myself in a place of logic separate from anything spiritual. What I came to realize is that God created logic for his glory. Every road apart from his narrow country road is filled with holes in logic. If you have fear that seeking out truth will lead you from God, that is called doubt. Countless people doubted in the bible and we are still doubting today. If you have any questions about the bible or the nature of God feel free to leave them in the comments. Or if you are wanting to be more private don't hesitate to shoot me a message or come talk to me in person. I am confident not only in my logic but the one who created logic.
P.S. Carm.org is a fantastic website.
P.S.S. http://youtu.be/Sw_8o85lFxA
P.S.S.S.Thanks to the Gospel Coalition for the great picture (http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/files/2012/01/Doubt.png)
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