Phillip Jensen used the SBS show, which recounted the disaster of September 11 to condemn atheists. He said that those who had gone through that terrible disaster learnt sobering lessons, like evaluating life and priorities. Jensen goes onto say that ...For many atheists, the problem of suffering, especially unjust suffering, is the greatest argument against the existence of God...Herein lies the problem for the atheist. For without the Biblical God there is no basis for complaint that things are unjust or evil... In this atheistic framework, the ‘evil’ of the terrorists whose hatred led them to die killing strangers was no different to the ‘good’ of the firemen whose love led them to die trying to save strangers; “there is…no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference.”
Phillip continues... In contrast, the Christian can name evil for what it is and be appalled that in God’s world there should be such suffering and pain. The Christian mind can wrestle with the moral order of the universe that is so awry as to see thousands of ‘innocent’ people die in a few moments of dreadful agony. For us, it is not simply a matter of the random chance of a pitiless, impersonal universe and the survival of the fittest. It is not surprising then that we find atheists, not in the troubled and painful life of poverty and difficulty, but in the wealthy societies of pleasure seeking ease. This is just as Jesus predicted: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:17).
So is Phillip saying that all the victims, relatives of victims and rescue workers who were atheists couldn't tell the difference between good and bad, humane and inhumane, peace and terrorism, and all because they did not believe in a fundamentalist God that declares people good or evil? Next he'll be saying atheists flew the planes into the Twin Towers or planted bombs in the buildings, whilst sipping a latte in an upmarket Bellevue Hill cafe. 
Rowan Williams was in New York at the time of the tragedy, and he shows why he is the head of the Anglican Church and not Phillip Jensen, eventhough Phillip and his colleagues would like to steal it!
Not quite. He's saying that everyone has a knowledge of God, and this is why people do have a sense of right and wrong, good and evil. It's just that atheists choose not to acknowledge this truth but have 'exchanged the truth of God for a lie' as Romans 1 puts it.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteThanks Marcus, your comment is appreciated. Are you implying that everyone has a knowledge of a Biblical God, even without reading the Bible? Or are you implying that the Holy Spirit is at work within everyone? If it is the latter, then surely there is no need for such a heavy reliance upon Scripture because that kind of God would be inherently universal, and we would all have the same understanding of right from wrong. All this is hypothetical from my point of view, but what is not hypothetical is that when someone embraces fundamentalist dogma, which declares that some people are of lesser worth than others, then this often incites the actual violence that is deemed as evil.
Yes, you are absolutely correct when you say everyone has a knowledge of a Biblical God even without reading the Bible. This is what's called general revelation.
ReplyDeleteRomans 1 says 'For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.'
However, only by reading the Bible will someone come to really know God. This is special revelation. You cannot really know someone unless someone chooses to reveal himself to you. In this case, the Bible is God revealing himself to us through his word, and, with the work of the holy spirit, come to a right understanding of God and His purposes.
In no way does the Bible view some as 'lesser' than any other. From God's point of view, everyone has sinned and turned away. The only difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that Christians are forgiven sinners because they have put their trust in Jesus who's died for their sins.
Thank you Marcus
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