The World According to Tom
Thomas Brown
Issue date: 2/25/10 Section: Opinion
This article is an attempt at the impossible: to make life simple. But when you try to do the impossible, you have to fail.
So, although I don't succeed, I hope that the thoughts I present assist you in understanding God, yourself, and others, and in learning to serve God and others better.
The topics I discuss herein are: brokenness, happiness, Christianity, how we view God, human institutions, other people, and our ultimate purpose. Many of them overlap, but I hope to discuss each fairly, wisely, and distinctly.
Here's the crux of the matter: everything on earth is imperfect, but happiness is possible. How we view God deeply affects what we believe and how we behave, and, in the end, amidst all our strivings, there is one purpose for human life that trumps the rest.
According to the Christian worldview, humanity is sinful, and even creation groans for redemption. Although many people will acknowledge that "nobody's perfect," the idea of the "brokenness of creation" is not a popular one. However, I believe that to gain anything close to a healthy perspective of the world, one must recognize this basic fact.
Perhaps even more important, however, is that each individual recognize that this brokenness characterizes him or her as well. It's not just "corrupt politicians" or South American drug lords; we're all to blame. Perhaps if more people understood this attribute of themselves, they would seek after the loving and forgiving God.
If we're all fundamentally flawed, where does that leave the pursuit for perfection? Well, it simply means that pursuing perfection is pointless. Only God is perfect. Does this mean we do not strive to improve ourselves? Of course not. It means that we don't get upset when we fail.
If we're so broken, how can we be happy? Doesn't brokenness and sinfulness lead to some sort of depression? Well, of course it does in some cases. However, if all other things are equal, depression can only be a result of a false understanding of life: Living life the wrong way.
But if we understand happiness as "the state of being satisfied with the overall pattern of one's life" (with "joy" being a feeling--I know, opposite for most of you), I would argue that happiness is possible to attain.
It starts with a relationship with God. Not that Jesus promised we would always be joyful, but the Bible seems to support the idea that Christians should, overall, be content.
After this fundamental first step, happiness is found by living a life rich with the higher pleasures (relationships, intellectual stimulation, experiences of joy, achieving goals, etc.).
The "lower pleasures" include things like sleep, food, sex, or a hot shower. While you can be happy without many of the lower pleasures, you cannot be happy without the higher pleasures.
Moreover, you cannot have too much higher pleasure, but too much lower pleasure leads to pain. Because we look to so many things to find happiness, happiness is an intrinsic good. We don't seek anything beyond it.
However, this does not mean that happiness is greater than God. God created happiness, and He calls us to seek Him--not it--first. However, in offering us eternal life, what is God offering us? Eternal happiness.
Still, the problem of evil troubles many. Did God create evil just so we could oppose it? That seems unfair. Does God allow evil to test us? That seems kind of unfair as well, although I do believe that experiences with the unpleasant sides of life (can) strengthen our faith.
So while I acknowledge that God knew we would experience the incredible evil that we do, God does not cause evil. Humans and nature do. God is not responsible for the death of anyone's child or the rape of any girl. Such things, unfortunately, characterize human life. "But that's still unfair!" you say. But God gave us freedom: the incredible, miraculous, wonderful ability to choose.
It may be that some people don't have the choice to go to college, etc., but we choose to accept or reject God's love in whatever form that might take.
Where does this leave the Bible, which offers conflicting views on the problem of evil and, most likely, everything else I've hitherto discussed? The Bible, especially the Old Testament, tells the story of a people's experience with God, and it portrays God as the authors understood Him.
The Bible is not a history or a science textbook, but if you wish to say that it is "useless" or "irrelevant" because everything in it is not literal, go ahead. However, it was never meant to relay literal, infallible truth--at least not in every passage.
But even if the Bible were infallible, we are still faced with two glaring problems. When people say the Bible is inerrant, they usually mean (perhaps unknowingly) that the original autographs are inerrant. However, we do not have any of these.
Secondly, the interpreters(we)are flawed. So it would not matter if the Bible were infallible anyway. As Sharon Baker says, "As soon as we get our hands on the Bible, we make mistakes."
One faulty doctrine the church seems to have popularized is that God is responsible for the evil we experience. But the church didn't create this doctrine. In fact, this understanding of the world--that God is essentially responsible for everything--has been and is held by many different people groups over thousands of years.
But God is not an evil dictator, sitting in heaven, devising the next way in which God can ruin people's lives. Consider the words of Jesus: "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luk. 13:2-3).
Also, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). To me, Jesus seems to understand evil like this: "It is a fact of the world. I do not cause it, but I help you through it; and someday, all shall be made right."
Although God is not a malevolent despot, he is not a "teddy-bear" either. He is not happy with everything His people do. He loves you, but He hates sin and hypocrisy. So say you're trying your best to live purely because of your love for God. But then you do something which you know displeases Him. How should you feel? Well, considering God's abundant love and forgiveness, joyful.
However, you must recognize that God has so much better for You. So instead of thinking, "I can continue to do this and God will forgive me," maybe you should think, "God loves me, but He has so much better for me than this! Lord, help me to overcome this battle." And an absence of guilt does not mean the action is Okay. There are some things which by knowledge we should know are wrong, regardless of how we feel about it.
How we view God also affects how we interact with other people, and now I will touch upon some things I've learned about them.
At least on the campus of Messiah College, most people are what we would consider kind. I'm often baffled when kind, confident people get nervous over what someone might say to or think of them if they do something which might seem a little "weird" (such as ask someone, "You're in my Chem. class, right?," etc.).
This strikes me as curious because if someone were to ask these people the same question, they would respond with kindness and understanding. Why don't they think others would do the same?
We also need to learn not to be fooled by appearances, for nobody is perfect. In fact, the person who thinks he "has it all together," by definition, does not. Recognition of our inadequacy is one step closer toward maturity. Have you ever noticed how humble most elderly people are?
The things we do with people are sometimes similar to what we do to God: we "put them in a box."
We judge and categorize people, based on their appearances and our limited interactions with them, so that we might feel more comfortable around them. People are not as threatening if you can sum them up in one or two words, as if you completely understood them. But don't be fooled. People are often opposite of what you judge them to be.
Perhaps this attitude is a result of thinking we're better than others, which is another false notion. After all, how do you compare? What's the standard? For instance: I could say that I'm better than you because I'm great at math (in reality I am not at all). But what if you don't even like math? Would it matter if I were better at it? Is there some kind of law that says that people who excel in math are better than the rest? Of course not.
But our culture creates the standards, and in America, these standards are usually based on (financial) success, fame, and appearances. But what if I don't want to be rich? What if I don't care that I'm ugly! Your judgments become moot and your accusations baseless. Not to mention, I'm good at math and you aren't! We are all gifted differently and we all have different interests. No one is better than anyone else.
Right now you may be thinking, "I hate this philosophical stuff!" Perhaps you're bored out of your mind. If that is the case, I congratulate your perseverance. If these things don't interest you very much, that is Okay.
But there are a few things which I hope do interest you, things which we were all truly created for; things which, when understood and approached correctly, lead to happiness and life in its most meaningful form; things which can and are being lived out on this campus every day: Communion with God and community with Christians.
During one of our devotions for the J-Term service trip I helped facilitate, I told the group, "Guys, I feel weird saying this, but this--right now--is sort of like heaven. We can worship God freely and enjoy one another's friendship in peace."
In my opinion, we are living in the richest country ever during a time of relative peace. We are surrounded by Christians our age and older, and we can learn so much from one another.
But we also have a mandate from God, and that is to show hurting and neglected people the love of Christ: the poor, the widowed, the young, the old, the handicapped, etc.
There are plenty of opportunities to spend time with and show the love of Christ to such people through service opportunities the Agape Center offers.
When the day of reckoning comes, our knowledge of calculus, philosophy, and English won't matter. These things are simply vehicles to assist us in the greater purpose, which is to serve God and our fellow man and woman. That is the purpose that trumps the rest.
So, although I don't succeed, I hope that the thoughts I present assist you in understanding God, yourself, and others, and in learning to serve God and others better.
The topics I discuss herein are: brokenness, happiness, Christianity, how we view God, human institutions, other people, and our ultimate purpose. Many of them overlap, but I hope to discuss each fairly, wisely, and distinctly.
Here's the crux of the matter: everything on earth is imperfect, but happiness is possible. How we view God deeply affects what we believe and how we behave, and, in the end, amidst all our strivings, there is one purpose for human life that trumps the rest.
According to the Christian worldview, humanity is sinful, and even creation groans for redemption. Although many people will acknowledge that "nobody's perfect," the idea of the "brokenness of creation" is not a popular one. However, I believe that to gain anything close to a healthy perspective of the world, one must recognize this basic fact.
Perhaps even more important, however, is that each individual recognize that this brokenness characterizes him or her as well. It's not just "corrupt politicians" or South American drug lords; we're all to blame. Perhaps if more people understood this attribute of themselves, they would seek after the loving and forgiving God.
If we're all fundamentally flawed, where does that leave the pursuit for perfection? Well, it simply means that pursuing perfection is pointless. Only God is perfect. Does this mean we do not strive to improve ourselves? Of course not. It means that we don't get upset when we fail.
If we're so broken, how can we be happy? Doesn't brokenness and sinfulness lead to some sort of depression? Well, of course it does in some cases. However, if all other things are equal, depression can only be a result of a false understanding of life: Living life the wrong way.
But if we understand happiness as "the state of being satisfied with the overall pattern of one's life" (with "joy" being a feeling--I know, opposite for most of you), I would argue that happiness is possible to attain.
It starts with a relationship with God. Not that Jesus promised we would always be joyful, but the Bible seems to support the idea that Christians should, overall, be content.
After this fundamental first step, happiness is found by living a life rich with the higher pleasures (relationships, intellectual stimulation, experiences of joy, achieving goals, etc.).
The "lower pleasures" include things like sleep, food, sex, or a hot shower. While you can be happy without many of the lower pleasures, you cannot be happy without the higher pleasures.
Moreover, you cannot have too much higher pleasure, but too much lower pleasure leads to pain. Because we look to so many things to find happiness, happiness is an intrinsic good. We don't seek anything beyond it.
However, this does not mean that happiness is greater than God. God created happiness, and He calls us to seek Him--not it--first. However, in offering us eternal life, what is God offering us? Eternal happiness.
Still, the problem of evil troubles many. Did God create evil just so we could oppose it? That seems unfair. Does God allow evil to test us? That seems kind of unfair as well, although I do believe that experiences with the unpleasant sides of life (can) strengthen our faith.
So while I acknowledge that God knew we would experience the incredible evil that we do, God does not cause evil. Humans and nature do. God is not responsible for the death of anyone's child or the rape of any girl. Such things, unfortunately, characterize human life. "But that's still unfair!" you say. But God gave us freedom: the incredible, miraculous, wonderful ability to choose.
It may be that some people don't have the choice to go to college, etc., but we choose to accept or reject God's love in whatever form that might take.
Where does this leave the Bible, which offers conflicting views on the problem of evil and, most likely, everything else I've hitherto discussed? The Bible, especially the Old Testament, tells the story of a people's experience with God, and it portrays God as the authors understood Him.
The Bible is not a history or a science textbook, but if you wish to say that it is "useless" or "irrelevant" because everything in it is not literal, go ahead. However, it was never meant to relay literal, infallible truth--at least not in every passage.
But even if the Bible were infallible, we are still faced with two glaring problems. When people say the Bible is inerrant, they usually mean (perhaps unknowingly) that the original autographs are inerrant. However, we do not have any of these.
Secondly, the interpreters(we)are flawed. So it would not matter if the Bible were infallible anyway. As Sharon Baker says, "As soon as we get our hands on the Bible, we make mistakes."
One faulty doctrine the church seems to have popularized is that God is responsible for the evil we experience. But the church didn't create this doctrine. In fact, this understanding of the world--that God is essentially responsible for everything--has been and is held by many different people groups over thousands of years.
But God is not an evil dictator, sitting in heaven, devising the next way in which God can ruin people's lives. Consider the words of Jesus: "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luk. 13:2-3).
Also, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). To me, Jesus seems to understand evil like this: "It is a fact of the world. I do not cause it, but I help you through it; and someday, all shall be made right."
Although God is not a malevolent despot, he is not a "teddy-bear" either. He is not happy with everything His people do. He loves you, but He hates sin and hypocrisy. So say you're trying your best to live purely because of your love for God. But then you do something which you know displeases Him. How should you feel? Well, considering God's abundant love and forgiveness, joyful.
However, you must recognize that God has so much better for You. So instead of thinking, "I can continue to do this and God will forgive me," maybe you should think, "God loves me, but He has so much better for me than this! Lord, help me to overcome this battle." And an absence of guilt does not mean the action is Okay. There are some things which by knowledge we should know are wrong, regardless of how we feel about it.
How we view God also affects how we interact with other people, and now I will touch upon some things I've learned about them.
At least on the campus of Messiah College, most people are what we would consider kind. I'm often baffled when kind, confident people get nervous over what someone might say to or think of them if they do something which might seem a little "weird" (such as ask someone, "You're in my Chem. class, right?," etc.).
This strikes me as curious because if someone were to ask these people the same question, they would respond with kindness and understanding. Why don't they think others would do the same?
We also need to learn not to be fooled by appearances, for nobody is perfect. In fact, the person who thinks he "has it all together," by definition, does not. Recognition of our inadequacy is one step closer toward maturity. Have you ever noticed how humble most elderly people are?
The things we do with people are sometimes similar to what we do to God: we "put them in a box."
We judge and categorize people, based on their appearances and our limited interactions with them, so that we might feel more comfortable around them. People are not as threatening if you can sum them up in one or two words, as if you completely understood them. But don't be fooled. People are often opposite of what you judge them to be.
Perhaps this attitude is a result of thinking we're better than others, which is another false notion. After all, how do you compare? What's the standard? For instance: I could say that I'm better than you because I'm great at math (in reality I am not at all). But what if you don't even like math? Would it matter if I were better at it? Is there some kind of law that says that people who excel in math are better than the rest? Of course not.
But our culture creates the standards, and in America, these standards are usually based on (financial) success, fame, and appearances. But what if I don't want to be rich? What if I don't care that I'm ugly! Your judgments become moot and your accusations baseless. Not to mention, I'm good at math and you aren't! We are all gifted differently and we all have different interests. No one is better than anyone else.
Right now you may be thinking, "I hate this philosophical stuff!" Perhaps you're bored out of your mind. If that is the case, I congratulate your perseverance. If these things don't interest you very much, that is Okay.
But there are a few things which I hope do interest you, things which we were all truly created for; things which, when understood and approached correctly, lead to happiness and life in its most meaningful form; things which can and are being lived out on this campus every day: Communion with God and community with Christians.
During one of our devotions for the J-Term service trip I helped facilitate, I told the group, "Guys, I feel weird saying this, but this--right now--is sort of like heaven. We can worship God freely and enjoy one another's friendship in peace."
In my opinion, we are living in the richest country ever during a time of relative peace. We are surrounded by Christians our age and older, and we can learn so much from one another.
But we also have a mandate from God, and that is to show hurting and neglected people the love of Christ: the poor, the widowed, the young, the old, the handicapped, etc.
There are plenty of opportunities to spend time with and show the love of Christ to such people through service opportunities the Agape Center offers.
When the day of reckoning comes, our knowledge of calculus, philosophy, and English won't matter. These things are simply vehicles to assist us in the greater purpose, which is to serve God and our fellow man and woman. That is the purpose that trumps the rest.
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