Devo IX: The Purpose of Evil

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."
John 9:1-3

An important fact to understand about evil is that it always serves a purpose. Jesus makes that clear in this story of a man with congenital blindness, which was interpreted then, as it might be today, as evil; an unnecessary blight in the world. And notice how it is simply assumed that this evil is the result of sin; either the man or those responsible for his conception must be to blame for his condition. But Jesus points out that evil doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes evil is permitted by God so that He will receive glory, and indeed, by the time the dust fully settles around this blind man, he is worshipping God after having boldly confronted the religious leaders of his day who desired to lead him astray. Jesus’ own disciples make the mistake here of assigning blame to humanity for the presence of evil, failing the entire time to understand that evil, regardless of the cause, is the servant of God.

Romans 8:28 tells us, “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Whether it’s a congenital birth defect, or a natural disaster, the loss of a cherished relationship, a tragic accident or a human abuse, all things means all things. Sometimes the ‘evil’ we suffer is only the discipline of a loving God. Sometimes it is a catalyst for his Glory to be revealed. Sometimes it is the pain we suffer for our own wrong choices, and sometimes it is impossible for us to understand, but never does it fail to serve His purposes. And that is where the comfort lies. In that, there is strength.

Apologetics I

I found the argument below in Ravi Zacharias' book Jesus Among Other Gods. Of course, its not new to him either, but I wanted to remember it for later. Here it is in my own words:

Skeptics point to the problem of evil as the greatest challenge to the Christian faith. Here's a VERY nutshell response:

1. Without good, there is no evil, but since you've already admitted that evil exists, you admit good exists also. This begs the question: how are objective good and evil determined? Answer: Objective truth (unless you think its okay to mutilate children for fun. Any takers? Didn't think so!) Question: What, then, is the source of objective truth? Answer: Atheism offers nothing, so it must be something super-natural. THAT would be God.

2. Now, perhaps you want to simply say that evil doesn't really exist, its only a euphemism for things we don't like, such as emotionally painful events, giant tsunamis, or asparagus. Weeelllll.... Now we're back to mutilating babies for fun. I mean, if you eliminate evil, then you have no way of establishing any objective morality, therefore, if I want to mutilate babies for fun (or poke you in a sensitive area), you have nothing; no basis for complaint, no reason to say, "that's wrong!" Do you really want to go down that road? I didn't think so.

Incidently, anyone silly enough to call themselves a relativist fall afoul of #2 as well. Moral relativism is ultimately indefensible, philosophically speaking. Its also important to note that although we've dealt with the existence of God here, we're still a country mile from proving Jesus's death on the cross as the propitiation for all of man's sin.

America the Beautiful

So, I was singing in the shower one day recently (yes, I sing in the shower), and for whatever reason America the Beautiful popped into my head. Perhaps it was because it was Sunday, perhaps it was because I was thinking patriotic thoughts after having watched Blackhawk Down the night before, God alone knows. Anyway, as I sang it occurred to me that I have most often sung this hymn in church. Then it occurred to me that there can’t be a more inappropriate place to sing it. I mean, the entire song is basically an ode to the nation, which is the definition of idolatry. Three of the four verses of the song are addressed directly the country, not God as one might expect while singing hymns in church.

Music is an amazing form of worship, and I love singing in church, be it hymns, praises or spiritual songs, but let’s be honest, America the Beautiful, judged by its lyrics, simply doesn’t fit the bill well at all. Yes, it is in many ways a plea, a call for blessing on the nation, and could thus be justified, but, again, let’s be honest here, when most people sing the song, they’re not prayerfully hoping for God’s blessing on the United States, but pridefully considering the largess of their wonderful homeland. Such is the extent of American vanity.

Having said that, let me say, for the record, that I firmly believe the United States of America to be a great nation, a nation I am proud to say that I have myself served. That it has been forced to play global-police in the name of democracy and justice in no way lessens the fact that God alone could have guided her to become the superpower she is. What must be recalled, and with fear and trembling, is that the same God who makes nations great will also show no hesitation to destroy them when they leave the path of righteousness He has lain out in the Holy Bible.

As for America the Beautiful, perhaps we should rethink its incorporation into the modern psalter. It is a fine song, deserving to be sung at sporting events, civil ceremonies, family gatherings and the like, but I have a hard time believing that people singing it on Sunday morning at their local church are offering a praise to God. More likely they are pondering the aesthetic value of the Rocky Mountains, or sunset on the great plains, and how tragic it would be for anyone to worship the created in the face of their Creator.

Execution of a teenage girl in Iran_pieces05/05(BBCdcmentry)

Execution of a teenage girl in Iran_pieces04/05(BBCdcmentry)

Execution of a teenage girl in Iran_pieces03/05(BBCdcmentry)

Execution of a teenage girl in Iran_pieces02/05(BBCdcmentry)

Execution of a teenage girl in Iran_pieces01/05(BBCdcmentry)

Yeah, you need to see the whole documentary. Its pretty sick , but you need to understand that what happened to this girl is perfectly acceptable to most of the Islamic world because this is how Islam, according to the Quran, is SUPPOSED to work for women.

Meningitis stinks!

So, about a month ago I came down with viral meningitis. It stinks! Actually, I came down with an unknown virus that lead to viral meningitis with the added bonus of urinary retention. It started on a Wednesday. I ached all over, but not so bad as to stop me from working or anything. It was like the flu, only I didn't have any head or chest problems; no drainage or coughing or anything like that. Thursday was worse, and Friday I went to Urgent Care. Or was it Saturday? They prescribed an antibiotic and sent me home. The next day I went to the Emergency Room. Same result, but with the added warning that if I developed a headache I should return. On Tuesday, April 17th, I got the worst headache I've ever felt. It was BAD! Back to Urgent Care. I hurt so bad I could barely focus enough to answer the doctor's questions. After examining me he asked if there was someone who could drive me to the ER, or if he should call an ambulance, because I was definitely not going home. Mandi drove me to the hospital.

Once in the ER, I was examined again. This time they suspected meningitis and gave me a spinal tap. I was told that it was probably viral meningitis because if it was bacterial, I'd be dead. They couldn't, however, give a positive diagnosis, so they checked me into a private room, hooked me up with some Morphine and started running tests. Over the next couple of days I was tested for Syphilis, HIV, Herpes, Rickets, Lime Disease, and those are just the ones I know about. I'm sure there were more.

At some point it became apparent that I couldn't urinate. This presented an interesting new wrinkle to my case. I soon had my own medical team working on me: an internal medicine specialist, a urologist, a neurologist, and an infectious disease specialist. The official diagnosis: an unknown virus led to viral meningitis complicated by urinary retention. It turned out that urinary retention, although extremely rare, is a possible complication of viral meningitis. (I was told that there have only been ten cases written about in medical journals.)

Meanwhile, I didn't eat the entire week, and drinking was something I was increasingly reluctant to do given the fact that any time my bladder filled I had to be straight cathetered. It was more than unpleasant. I was surviving on whatever they pumped into my veins through the IV. When eventually I did try to eat, I threw up. I went an entire week without food. At the height of my illness food was something I didn't even want to think about, which for me is weird, because when I'm sick I usually eat like a horse. I'm definitely a 'feed a cold' kind of guy. (I'm also normally a 'feed a fever' kind of guy.) By the time I went home from the hospital I'd lost about 15 pounds. I looked good, I just felt lousy.

Anyhow, I checked out of the hospital the Sunday after I checked in. I had managed to keep down half a cheeseburger from the cafeteria, and I was capable of administering my own catheter as necessary, which was about every 8 hours. I had been subjected to more antibiotics than I can account for (they were constant in my IV), steroids, Morphine and Hydrocodone. My headache was all but gone, and although I was still feeling poorly, it may have had more to do with my treatment than with my illness.

Once home, I was still basically an invalid for another week. All I did was sit on the couch and sleep. How sick was I? For the first four days in the hospital I didn't even have the strength to watch television. I didn't read, I didn't do anything. I just laid in bed and tried not to die. For several days I couldn't even keep my eyes open to hold a conversation because I had developed a sensitivity to light. For the first two weeks out of the hospital I had trouble digesting food because the antibiotics had killed off every bacteria in my body. Even now, nearly a month later, I still have bruises from the IV needles on my left hand and right arm. They're nearly gone, but still definitely there.

And that's the story of my bout with viral meningitis. I seriously recommend avoiding it, if you ever get the chance...