January 28
In the past two weeks you examined how the Christian Gospel of Wrath presents a stark choice: accept salvation or incur damnation. How does the Gospel of Wrath explain the relationship between God and human beings in a way that makes sense of divine purpose and human will?
PK
copyright http://www.believers-dilemma.org/ 2012Dear PK
All Christian theology begins with the belief that the God of Creation is perfectly good and perfectly just. The Early Church knew that Jesus had introduced something different to the world and yet his teachings were in such close continuity with Judaism that ‘Christians’ and Jews were difficult to distinguish for many generations. The Early Church circulated many scrolls about Jesus but no formal division was drawn between ‘inspired’ and ‘uninspired’ texts for more than 200 years. In addition, the New Testament gospels and epistles were written in Greek and were not available in translation to Latin speakers of the Roman Empire for many years. The Gospel message of the Early Church was largely anecdotal and oral.
What did the Early Christians believe? What caused so many of them to share their faith at the risk of their lives? What compelled Pagans to risk earthly persecution in exchange for a righteous resurrection? The Early Church held a few simple beliefs about the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome sin and about the resurrection of Jesus promising eternal life. All converts, whether Jews or Pagans, were keenly aware that their ancestors had known nothing about Jesus. They believed that the Gospel message was consistent with Hebrew Scriptures yet offered salvation to the entire world, living and dead. If this new religion was to make the revolutionary claim that a man - who had recently lived and died in an obscure corner of the Empire - was Saviour of the entire human race, it needed to provide a revolutionary explanation for how that was possible, even for people who lived in remote times and places.
1) Does the universe exist for a purpose? If so, what is it?
Primitive tribes believed that gods lived on local mountains and behaved like despotic kings. They defended their people, blessed them, punished law-breakers, and often intervened in human affairs in ways which now appear trivial (incessantly bickering among themselves) and un-divine (regularly seducing attractive young humans).
Ancient religions believed that planet earth sat at the centre of creation, providing food and shelter for the human race; the sun, moon and stars provided heat and light. The modern world has come to understand that the universe is inconceivably vast, complex and mysterious. Is there life in other parts of the universe or in other universes? We don’t know. The world’s religions never mentioned gigantic dinosaurs which dominated this planet millions of years ago so it should not be surprising that they have nothing to say about life in other galaxies.
What do we know about the universe? Until quite recently ‘religious’ beliefs about creation were dismissed as myths. Science scoffed at the idea that the billions of stars, planets, moons and asteroids scattered over innumerable light-years of space could have been created out of nothing. As recently as the early 20th century the idea of a Big Bang seemed more like speculative fiction than factual science, in the way that string theory and multiverses are viewed in the early 21st century. By the late 20th century, the Big Bang had become dogmatic fact: at a precise moment many years ago the entire universe exploded out of ‘nothing’. At no other moment in history have religion and science so perfectly harmonized their creation stories.
But what is the purpose of this vast, complex and mysterious universe? We know it is governed by natural laws that can and do reveal themselves. They make the universe remarkably coherent, predictable and comprehensible.
2) Why is the natural world plagued with catastrophic events?
The primitive world believed that local gods micromanaged every aspect of their lives. ‘Natural evil’ in the form of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and droughts was inflicted as divine punishment. The gods required repentance and sacrifice, preferably blood sacrifice of the criminal who provoked their wrath. Similarly, plagues and famines were divine punishments, and enemy invasions were permitted or provoked by angry gods.
Every minor detail of the natural world was micromanaged by the local gods. If a child was born dead, deformed or sickly, the parents or others in the family were being punished. Sterility was a punishment along with being struck blind, deaf or lame. Death was never accidental or natural: it was always a divinely appointed rendezvous with mortality.
The modern world does not understand catastrophic events as divine punishment; they are the consequence of natural laws. We know that earth’s core consists of molten lava which breaks through the surface in volcanic eruptions. These explosions can be terrifying and destructive; they are also predictable and comprehensible. Similarly, shifting tectonic plates can cause earthquakes and tsunamis which are terrifying and destructive, but nonetheless predictable and comprehensible. Weather systems of hurricanes, tornadoes, and cyclones can be predicted with increasing accuracy.
Modern science also understands a great deal about the functioning of the human body: blood circulation, the nervous system, genetics, mental illness, aging and malfunctions such as cancer. Most Illnesses can be explained by natural laws; very few people in the modern world reject medical treatment which, by the standards of the Dark Ages, is positively ‘miraculous’. Catastrophic events cause much suffering in the world but they are ‘natural’ occurrences rather than ‘evil’ inflicted upon the victims by a wrathful God.
3) Do human beings exist for a purpose? If so, what is it?
Primitive peoples worshipped local gods who watched over them from the nearest ‘high places’. All primitive peoples had creation stories, which served to answer the same questions, in the way that all languages serve to describe the same objects and ideas, but creation stories can be as mutually incomprehensible as foreign tongues.
The great religions of the modern world propose grander conceptions of divinity to encompass the entire human race. The great religions claim that the purpose of the human race is for human beings to honour the divine and to love one another. The first violation described in the Bible was a sin against God by eating the forbidden fruit. (Genesis chapter 3) The second violation was a sin against a brother by committing murder. (Genesis chapter 4) These two events encapsulate revealed religion. This simple Gospel of ‘love God’ and ‘love your neighbour’ was stated by Moses in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:13 and 30:2 Leviticus 19:18) and reiterated by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew 22:37-40 and Mark 12:29-31)
Every nation and civilization has known some form of the ‘Golden Rule’. This is the universal principle which has guided human behaviour and defined laws. To interpret the Golden Rule, religions have produced vast commentaries about which exceptions are permissible and what punishments are to be administered.
The Golden Rule outlines a human purpose so simple that it can be taught in minutes to the youngest child. Yet nothing is more complex to interpret or more difficult to put into practice.
4) Why did a God of perfect goodness create - or permit - evil?
This ancient question presumes that a God who is omnipotent and perfectly good could and should have created a universe in which there is no ‘bad’. Therefore a God who created 'bad' could not be perfectly good; or a God who failed to prevent the corruption of his plans could not be perfectly omnipotent. Original Sin resolves the paradox by making mankind responsible for the creation of evil. This does nothing to explain how omniscience failed to anticipate corruption and omnipotence failed to prevent it.
The forces we describe as ‘evil’ are not alien to God. If a man foolishly or arrogantly dives off a cliff he will have a splattering encounter with reality when he hits the ground. The law of gravity is not ‘evil’ simply because the man dies and his family suffers. The effects of gravity are perfectly predictable and therefore the ‘evil’ outcome is avoidable. Rather than cower in fear of natural laws, we are wiser to understand and respect them. Suffering caused by 'natural evil' decreases in direct proportion to our capacity to understand the laws of nature.
The great terror of death is also regulated by natural laws, but death cannot be avoided and is often accompanied by the ‘evil’ of physical pain. The natural function of pain is to warn of danger. A small pain triggers a reaction which often prevents serious injury. Pain is a benign messenger. There is nothing inherently ‘evil’ in pain, and there is nothing inherently 'evil' in death, unless we presume that the land of the dead is inferior to the land of the living.
Manmade ‘evil’ appears to be different; less predictable and difficult to avoid. Why would a good God permit rape, murder and war? The root of these causes of suffering is not some malevolent force called ‘evil’. Children can come to tears arguing whether they should spend a sunny day at the beach or the zoo. There is nothing inherently evil in beaches or zoos. A married couple can be driven to divorce bickering over whether the new car should be tan or turquoise. There is nothing inherently evil in tan or turquoise. The greatest cause of suffering in the world is conflict of will. Most of the suffering in the world would be eliminated if we were all deprived of the freedom to choose colours, activities, values and actions. It would also mean the end of humanity.
5) Why does human nature appear to be a mixture of good and evil?
Human nature is no more inherently ‘good’ or ‘evil’ than the natural world. Fire can be creative or destructive. Gravity can hold us securely on the face of the planet, or bring us crashing down from great heights. Human nature also has the potential to be creative or destructive. How we use it is a choice.
The story of Eden is about choice and consequence. Adam and Eve were faced with a choice: they could remain perfectly innocent in a state of bliss or they could acquire the knowledge of good and evil which would cause them to suffer in a multitude of ways they could not begin to imagine. Suffering was not imposed by a wrathful God, it was chosen. It was also temporary. Death is not a punishment, but a promise that the suffering of this world will come to an end.
6) What form of religion was known to ancient cavemen, such as Neanderthals? How did they know it?
We know that ancient tribes created tools and weapons. They created art in the form of cave paintings, sculptures, jewellery and musical instruments. They buried their dead and offered up sacrifices to their gods. They survived as social beings by caring for one another.
It is unlilely that ancient cavemen practiced a more complex religion than ‘love God’ and ‘love your neighbour.’ This is the essence of revealed religion.
7) How did a God of perfect justice reveal Laws and Commandments to all the peoples of the earth?
The Gospel of Love presumes that God is universal and just. Therefore important Laws and Commandments would have been revealed to all peoples of the earth, and any Laws and Commandments not revealed in all times and places would not have been important.
Ancient peoples were incapable of breaking the Ten Commandments and the Laws of Leviticus. They were not incapable because they lacked the freedom, but because those laws were unknown to them. The only universally known commandments are ‘love God’ and ‘love your neighbour’.
Had Adam and Eve loved God more than their own curiosity they would not have bitten into the forbidden fruit. Had Cain loved his brother mare than his own pride he would not have killed him. All of the detailed laws known to advanced civilizations are contained in these two guiding principles. This is precisely what Jesus taught. (Matthew 22:34-45)
8) Did Laws and Commandments reconcile believers to God and cause them to live righteously?
The short answer is no. Adam and Eve knew only law but broke it. Cain had two laws and broke them both. Moses received Ten Commandments from the hand of God and the Israelites proceeded to break them all. Modern societies are governed by an incalculable number of religious commandments, legal codes, civil laws, municipal regulations etc. etc. We all break some of them same of the time. Many people strive to be righteous and fail. This is the human tragedy. No amount of laws, or severity of punishment, can save us from our self-inflicted suffering.
9) What is required for salvation to occur?
All religions of the world and all utopic philosophies seek an end to sin, suffering and death. The final resting place is paradise, heaven and nirvana. Paradise is free of sin, suffering and death because it is preceded by a separation of the righteous and unrighteous. This is often envisioned as a separation of ‘good’ people from ‘bad’ people. But people who are perfectly good or perfectly bad have never existed. We are all a mixture of goodness and badness, egotism and altruism, kindness and cruelty, forgiveness and resentment. The separation of good and bad must be internal.
Salvation requires perfect righteousness. The great religions of the world assist believers to achieve righteousness, with varying degrees of success. No religion has ever caused a single person to attain perfect righteousness. Not a single person left this world sufficiently righteous to be welcomed into the presence of righteous God in paradise. Something more than this world has to offer is required for salvation to occur.
10) Who is saved?
If salvation requires perfect righteous, then no one is saved. This is the starting point for the Gospel of Wrath. Everyone is born a sinner and condemned at birth. Augustine attributed salvation to baptism but even baptised Christians must be cleansed in Purgatory before entering the divine presence. Luther and Calvin made divine grace alone the source of salvation, which was predestined for the chosen few. Eastern religions attributed salvation to numerous reincarnations.
Another way to define ‘who is saved’ is to identify ‘who is not saved’? Apostles of Wrath would place Adam, Eve and Cain at the top of the list. They disobeyed God directly. How could there be any salvation for such brazen sinners? God warned Adam and Eve that they day they ate of the forbidden fruit they would surely die. God said it. Apostles of Wrath believe it. That settles it.
Adam and Eve did not literally die on the day the rebelled. This tells us that the rest of the story is not meant to be understood literally. God did not kill Adam and Eve for their sin. They went on to have many children and die in old age. Were they condemned to Hell? The Bible is silent. All we know is that they had freedom of will and exercised it. They very likely died a mixture of wisdom and folly, righteousness and unrighteousness. In short, they lived and died very much like every other human being who ever inhabited this world.
Cain defied God’s personal warning that sin was crouching at his door and proceeded to murder his brother. Did God kill Cain as punishment? No, God marked Cain so that no one would harm him. Bible students have long debated who Cain feared would kill him. If Adam and Eve were the only couple on earth, and if Cain was their only surviving child, who were these ‘other people’? Who was the woman from the land of Nod that Cain took as his wife? God did not kill Cain. He went on to have many children and die in old age. Was Cain condemned to Hell for his sins? The Bible is silent.
The Bible makes no claim that anyone was saved or not saved prior to the incarnation of Jesus. The Bible does explicitly state that no one was admitted to heaven prior to the resurrection of Jesus. The Bible is not explicit about who in the ancient world was saved or why they would have been saved.
11) Does divine love and justice ensure that salvation is available to all?
The New Testament makes strong claims about the role of Jesus as Saviour.
The great error of the Gospel of Wrath is to conflate salvation with Original Sin. By placing the entire human race under the curse of sin and allowing Jesus to save only the elect, Jesus became the friend of a few and the enemy of many. Calvinism explicitly states that the atonement of Jesus was limited to the elect few to save them from the curse of Original Sin.
Jesus never mentioned Original Sin a single time. He offered salvation from the self-inflicted suffering of personal sin. Salvation is a transformation of the human heart and mind. It is a process that takes time. Christianity makes unique claims about Jesus as the saviour of all humans. What about people who lived in remote times and places? What about people who were not sure what they believed at the time of death? Christianity offers a unique solution which is described in the Book of Revelation as a 1,000 year resurrection of the dead.
12) What role does human freewill play in salvation?
The Early Church believed that salvation was entirely dependent on a choice freely made by the human will. Augustine would later redefine salvation as a remedy for Original Sin and make infant baptism the preferred mechanism for salvation. Infant baptism left no room for personal choice in salvation, although it was possible for adults to reject their salvation. Many Christians went on to become notorious criminals but very few ever rejected the hope of salvation. Their sins could be expiated by length incarceration in Purgatory. Luther and Calvin dispensed with freewill entirely. Their God of Wrath predestined the elect few and damned the multitudes. The elect could neither choose salvation nor lose it: once saved always saved.
Most people in the modern world believe that freewill is essential to salvation, but Christians have inherited a theology that does not permit everyone to exercise their freewill. What about people who lived in remote times and places? What about people who were only partly transformed at the time of death? Christianity offers a unique solution which is described in the Book of Revelation as a 1,000 year resurrection of the dead.
13) How does salvation bring an end to sin, suffering and death?
The short answer is that salvation does not bring an end to sin or suffering, and certainly not to death. We all sin, we all suffer, and no one avoids death. Does mean that all religion is a hopeless delusion?
It is easy to understand why sceptics regard all religion as self-deluding. They hear Christian preachers proclaim that faith in Jesus destroys the power of sin and brings an end to suffering, and then they observe that Christians sin and suffer like everyone else. Christians cannot even agree on what they mean by salvation because the emphasis has been Original Sin for 1,500 years.
Augustine, who laid down the theological foundation of Original Sin, spent the final decades of his life fighting a man named Pelagius who preached freewill and personal holiness. Calvinists have fought for centuries against Arminians who preach freewill and personal holiness. The entire focus of the Gospel of Wrath has been to save the world from Original Sin. Efforts at personal holiness have been condemned as the heresy of ‘salvation by works’ or as self-indulgent asceticism when the real battle should be to save ‘lost’ souls.
What does salvation mean in the absence of profound transformation of mind and soul? There can be no end to sin, suffering and death until this transformation is complete.
14) Does supernatural power intervene in the natural world to answer prayer?
All religions admit that most prayers are not answered. Some Christians justify the failure of prayer by claiming that God always answers prayer but not always with a ‘yes’. God can also answer prayer by saying ‘no’ or ‘not now.’ Not now can mean much later: decades or even centuries. By resorting to this convention, anything that happens or doesn’t happen can be attributed to God’s perfect will.
The belief that a good and just God controls every aspect of the universe is extremely powerful until a child is killed or raped, until debilitating illness strikes, or some terrible injustice occurs. The victim can make a leap of faith that God uses evil to bring about good. The failure of God to protect the innocent is the greatest cause for loss of faith.
The Gospel of Love agrees with sceptics in not expecting God to override the laws of nature, or to intervene in sporting contests the way the gods of Olympus were believed to interfere in human wars. There is no reason to believe that God overrides human nature. Murder, rape and war happen every day. They do not happen only to bad people. They are purely the result of human choices.
It is not impossible that God is omnipresent, micromanaging every detail of the universe, while remaining invisible, inscrutable and incomprehensible. It is also possible that God has created natural laws and allows them to operate naturally. If the Gospel of Love is right and God has endowed us with freewill, then he must also permit us to exercise it freely, for good or for bad. God does not prevent gravity from causing airplanes to crash and there is no reason to expect that God prevents Cains from murdering Abels.
Does God intervene anywhere in the natural world? There is one point of intersection between the divine and human, between the natural and the supernatural. This is the place at which human freewill seeks divine intervention via voluntary cooperation. The tragedy of Christianity is that supernatural power of sanctification has so often been demonized rather than demonstrated in transformed lives.
15) What is the eternal state?
The eternal state of paradise requires perfect righteousness, which results from a deliberate and conscious choice of the human will to cooperate with the divine will. We see traces of the process in this world. It is never complete.
Christianity makes extraordinary claims about Jesus as the only hope of salvation. How could Jesus be Saviour of people who lived in remote times and places?
The toughest question of all – Why would a just and loving God cast people into eternal hell after they spent their lives striving to love God and their neighbours? The Gospel of Wrath has no problem condemning multitudes of innocent souls to eternal wrath. Calvin claimed that God predestined damnation of multitudes ‘for his own pleasure.’ The Gospel of Wrath is a beautiful religion for the undeserving few.
How does modern Christianity reconcile justice, love, freewill, Jesus as Saviour, and the vastly different experiences of human beings throughout history? It can do nothing more than trust that God is just, warn the lost of the wages of sin, and prepare for judgement.
The Early Church had a much stronger vision of God’s plan for the human race. Eden was the story of choice. First God made his case, then Satan created the role of devil’s advocate, and finally the human beings were free to make a choice and suffer the consequences.
The final book of the Bible describes a 1,000 year resurrection of the dead (Revelation chapter 20). The millennium begins with a reign of the saints. Over whom do they reign? The masses of humanity who are still working through their salvation; people from every tribe, race, language, and nation. Dead infants will grow into adulthood; the mentally and physically damaged will be restored. Peace will prevail upon for earth temporarily. The human race will be granted an extended period of time to examine human history and the consequences of their choices. At the end of the 1,000 years Satan will be released and humans will be faced with a choice that will determine their eternal fate. It will not be a blind or trivial choice. The choice to love God and our fellow humans will demand submission, compassion, and total transformation: voluntary cooperation with the divine will. It is hard to imagine who will prefer to choose the opposite but all will be free to do so. Then, and only then, will come the final separation of the righteous and unrighteous. This is describes in the final two chapters of the Bible (chapters 21 and 22).
The Early Church knew nothing about Original Sin or complex theology. Faith consisted of loving God and loving their neighbours. The Early Church understood that Christianity made unique claims about salvation and also provided a unique solution. Augustine changed everything. Luther and Calvin were Augustinian to the core. Over the coming months we will examine how modern denominations have attempted to restore the Gospel of Love within an inherited framework of Original Sin.
