Okay, you can't have a blog that deals with Christianity and not comment on Christopher Hitchens' untimely death. And, given Tebow's immense popularity and public profession of faith, he's a worthy topic as well. What a contrast between the two men and their lives.
When Tebow was at Florida, I wasn't a Tebow fan. I wondered whether he only praised God when he was victorious. This is the problem with most people who publicly thank God--they only thank Him for achievements. But, the thing about Tebow is that I don't believe his faith would be altered by losing. He professes his faith with apparent humility. He continued to proclaim his faith even when things weren't going well for him. Time will tell, but I think Tebow is genuine about his faith. Genuine faith is that which acknowledges that God is good whether one is experiencing victory or defeat, joy or sorrow, easy street or impasse. Genuine faith causes one to continue to praise the creator of the universe even when things turn sour. So, I have changed my mind about Tebow. I'm betting that, like Job, Tebow will praise God even when he encounters difficulty.
Hitchens, with much vitriol, rejected the existence of God. Like most atheists, Hitchens believed that man's belief in God was merely a panacea--merely "wishful thinking." Of course, Hitchens wasn't the first to make this argument. Freud made this argument and used his understanding of psychology to support it. Was Freud any happier than Hitchens? Not according to Harvard professor, Armand Nicholi, who wrote a book comparing Freud's life to Lewis' life--"The Question of God." The book illustrates the joy that Lewis experienced in life (even though he didn't have an easy life), while Freud's life was filled with depression and misery. One could do the same between Tebow and Hitchens--their lives couldn't be any more different.
Nicholi notes that Freud had two principal reasons for rejecting God: 1)he believed that mankind created the idea of God because the world is a difficult place, and man longs for a protector, a helper, i.e., the existence of god is merely wishful thinking; and 2)he believed that the degree of suffering and pain in the world meant that there could be no higher power. "The Question of God," p. 41. These ideas have been batted around for centuries and are batted around today.
Lewis responded that the "wishful thinking" is actually evidence that we were created for a "different world: "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." Lewis believed that earthly blessings were designed to arouse in us a desire for another world, but could never satisfy that desire. So, Lewis believed that the "wishful thinking" was actually a God-given desire for our true home.
Insofar as the argument for human suffering and difficulty proving the non-existence of God, the Bible suggests that only difficulty and suffering can pry the things of this world from our grasping hands. While this is a difficult pill to swallow, it certainly has been proven in my life. So, the existence of difficulty and suffering, rather than suggesting that God doesn't exist or that God is against man, actually proves God's love for man. When we finally let go, at least to some degree, of seeking earthly blessings, God reveals himself in a powerful way, which leads to love, love, love for one's fellow man.
So, this is one of the reasons that the Cross is so powerful. The Cross is God's expression that He, like us, wishes the world was different, but that, given man's self-will to sin and man's complete narcissism, the only loving response is to open our eyes through suffering. This doesn't mean that we should seek out difficulty and suffering. Instead, it will find us right where we are. One caveat is that I have not experienced the degree of suffering that many have--so it is easier for me to make this statement than for many. One of my best friends, who is Jewish, finds God to be merciful even though he lost his brother and mother early in his life. My friend's faith in a merciful God, despite his own suffering, is a wonderful picture of faith.
Insofar as my feelings about Hitchens, I can't express my thoughts any better than a dear friend, Michael Dennis, did. Today, Michael posted:
"However foolish or insignificant it may be to the world and the modern atheist, I'd bet everything I had on the reliability and truthfulness of God's word in its three forms: oral, written, and sacramental. I don't think people who believe in God are any better than those who don't, but I am convinced that gambling against and rejecting God in Christ has extremely dire and irreversible consequences. I will miss Christopher Hitchens. He made me think deeply. At times he infuriated me and at times he made me laugh uncontrollably. I can only hope that God extended mercy to him and triumphed over his resistance and animosity. Lord, have mercy upon us all."
No comments:
Post a Comment