Why?

Wednesday, January 17th, 2024

by Ken Pullen

ACP

There are things such as Science Doesn’t Explain What You Think It Does (Brilliant Insights!) here. It is reasonable that others finding themselves here would ask, “Why?”At times I ask myself why certain things I come across end up becoming a part of this place. All apparent pieces knitting everything together. For the perpetual, daily, most important praise, honor, and acknowledgment of our amazing, loving, great God.

Yet there is a constant barrage of why in our world. From every spot on the circle of this world. From every discipline, ideology, religion, and individual. Pagan, atheist, those who appear to merely exist devoid of thought or depth, to believer and everyone between.

There is a point in the lengthy discussion mentioned above in which the folks on the panel finally get around to allowing a member of the audience to ask a question. And a man stands and asks what has become a universal question, he actually asked two questions in his one offering, “Why does God allow wars, and why does God allow suffering? And why does God allow destruction by natural disasters?”

There are a few videos of Professor John Lennox here on ACP. As with everything, which is often misunderstood in the times in which we live whereby it is assumed if attached to something or someone they then must be in constant one hundred percent agreement with each other. I greatly respect Professor Lennox, a truly brilliant man, the majority of his words are spoken well and from a Biblical worldview, a Christian perspective. But that does not mean I have a wee bit of a difference here or there. It is only reasonable, rational, and logical such exists. Those who are compelled to only associate, find themselves in 100% agreement with others or else they must disassociate, deny, or even vilify are foolish. And also liars. For even in the greatest of relationships differences are always present. Of some sort.

That said;

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?

Amos 3-3

Context is everything;

Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:

I was waiting the whole time during Professor Lennox’s reply to the man’s question to say the word sin, and how this is a corrupted and fallen world due to the nature of man to act willfully, selfishly, and disobediently. Impulsively. Recklessly. Foolishly. What the world and man and woman were like prior to their disobedience of God. To the resulting consequences of their disobedience.

Evil was mentioned. But not Satan. Evil was mentioned but not sin. Not the blatant willfulness of Adam and Eve to turn from God and permit their temptation to come to fruition. Falling away from God. Causing a rift that was not there prior to their sin, their life choice. Prior to this, they had communion with God. Literally. Similar to what it will be in heaven. Only instead of being spirit that had lived, died, and been resurrected as the Lord Jesus Christ they were flesh, blood, bone, human beings as we are. In constant communion with God. In a world where there was no death. No pain in childbirth. No weeds. No backbreaking sweat of the brow work in order to provide food and sustain life. Adam was a gardener in the most amazing beyond comprehension garden wherein he did not need to suffer. At all. While also being in communion with God. It was Paradise. Heaven on earth.

It was said, by the brilliant professor, that there is no easy way to explain why there are wars and suffering if there is a God.

I disagree.

It’s all clearly given to anyone willing to learn in the early words of Genesis.

Man and woman’s turning from God and to Satan, to themselves, vainly, foolishly imagining they could be their own gods just as the cunning, lying Serpent, Satan, had told them and they believed him over their love of and obedience to God.

To explain why there are wars, suffering, pain, violence, and everything people blame God for, or deny the existence of God because those things exist is one of the easiest things to explain.

The telling of the beginning of human history on earth found in Genesis is not myth or mere allegory. It is fact. The truth. Don’t believe it? Choose to believe some things in God’s inerrant infallible living Word but not others? Because of the whispers of the world in your ears entering your heart and mind?

Then woman willfully listened to and believed Satan. Adam turned out to be a spineless weak man who could not take responsibility for his actions and blamed Eve. She had first blamed the Serpent, Satan, when they both had free will and the ability to choose the path they would take and they chose the one of self and turning from God while turning to the lie, delusion, disobedience, and thus sin. Falling short of God’s glory. Disobeyed the one thing, there was only one thing God commanded them not to do — and she willfully decided to ignore God’s command and listen to the cunning eternal death, pain in childbirth, bringer of pain and weeds — the bringer of wars and all sufferings — the devil. That fallen once magnificent angel, Lucifer, a created being, who imagined himself greater than his Creator! Imagine that.

The fall from a state of grace. Of perfection. Accomplished by innate human nature. As the result of listening to a created supernatural being that is the father of lies, a hater of God, and the source of all pain, suffering, wars, and death.

Our ancestors’ actions ushered suffering into human existence.

Just as it ushered in murder, war, and death.

The world prior to the fall of man is beyond our ability to comprehend. It had to be a world created in perfection, in perfect harmony. Remember — it had not rained on the earth until the time of Noah. God in His infinite power provided hydration and nourishment for every living plant, tree, and animal on earth without it raining.

Think about that for a bit.

We look around, we travel, we watch incredible documentaries on television of amazing and beautiful places on earth today, we witness the seasons, the rebirth of springtime, all the amazing beauty of this earth and are in awe. It makes us feel good inside. Because it reveals God to us. Imagine what this earth was like prior to Adam and Eve turning from God and turning to self, to sin, to Satan.

Wars? Pain? Suffering? Disease? Death? Catastrophes causing great destruction?

We did this. Not God. God has allowed these things, it was never His first intention. It was not how He created the heavens and the earth and ALL GOOD THINGS. Everything — EVERYTHING — that God created in creating this world WAS GOOD. There was no sin, no death, no suffering, no pain, nothing but Paradise and eternal life if obeying Him. It is the sole result and responsibility of us and our wilful actions against God that have brought wars, violence, pain, disease, suffering, disasters, and death into this once Perfect world created by a Perfect God. Man and woman. Who from the very beginning blamed their willful, sinful actions, their choosing evil over righteousness on someone else. Something else.

It’s easy to understand and explain.

Is there to be no consequences for disobeying the Creator of all things good that were given to us out of His love? Anything goes without a consequence? We live in such a world. How’s that going? Is that the one created by God or the one of our own making? Who is permitting the evil, the wars, the pain and suffering, the disease and destruction? Who initiated these things on earth? God or us?

There are consequences for disobedience. Rebellion. Turning to lies rather than the truth. For turning from God our Creator to ourselves, trusting in ourselves rather than He Who made all things, and when He made them THEY WERE ALL GOOD.

It is like you giving a priceless, precious, perfect gift to someone and they bash it about, leave it out in the rain, do not tend to it, cherish it, love it, or understand its worth.

Would you continue to lavish eternal goodness on them for their actions? Or would something change in the relationship?

God does nothing that is not perfect. No evil in God. No sin in God. God created what He did for us to live in perfection and harmony, communion with Him. Forever.

We decided that was not good enough for us. We were going to go our own way. Do that which was right in our sight rather than what is right in God’s sight.

There are consequences.

As an adult, a father perhaps, a mother, a friend to someone, if the ones you know, love, care deeply about, especially if a father or mother do great and grievous things leading to destruction and death due to their disobeying your loving instruction do you shrug, say “Oh well, que sera sera, that’s okay.” Or are there consequences for the actions taken by those who blatantly disobeyed and determined on their own to follow someone who lies to them, truly hates them, and wanted to see them suffer, perhaps even be destroyed?

In our finite minds now imagine what we did to God, our Creator in our disobedience. When He had created all that we know for us. So we could be His friends. Have daily communion with Him.

Why are there wars, pain, suffering, great calamities and catastrophes, death and destruction, disease and tribulations?

It’s easy to know and understand, really…

When living in the Holy Bible. Understanding the Holy Bible. And just presenting what is in the Holy Bible. From faith in, trusting in, believing in every word within the Word of God.

This can be a very difficult thing for massively brained more brilliant and gifted in that way than others folks, but everything that needs to be known, that can be known can be easily found and understood in going to, reading, meditating upon — deeply thinking, pondering, practicing, while asking faithfully the Holy Spirit for help in understanding — God’s Word.

And finally obeying. To the best of our fleshly ability.

As we profess our sin, know then why everything that happens happens, and we faithfully commit our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings, Lord of lords, making Him Lord of our lives.

To at one point coming to know what that Paradise, that Garden, this earth was like prior to our willful disobedience and turning from God to ourselves, to Satan. And that is exactly what happened and why there are all the wars and death, all the pain and suffering, all the disease, all the gnashing of teeth and constant destruction.

It’s because of our actions. Our personal actions. Against God.

This can change. If you want to. Personally. Individually. It does not have to be like this eternally for anyone.

Aren’t sure? Don’t think so? Don’t believe it? Well, don’t believe me. I’m just another sinful man, a very limited man, who by the free gift of grace, by the resurrection of Jesus, by God’s love in sending His only begotten Son to this world to take my place on the cross for my sin, by God’s love and mercy, by His forgiveness, by my faith in this and everything in God’s Word has been transformed from within — if this sounds like so much malarky and words lacking substance and truth then do not take my word for it. Get a Bible in your hands. Get the words of God in your heart, in your being, in your soul and spirit. In your mind. Read them. Ponder them. Meditate upon them — think deeply. Believe them. And see what happens…

Oh, wars, troubles, disease, suffering, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes will continue to erupt, and trials and tribulations will continue to come. But it isn’t because of a mean, mad, hateful God. It’s only because of mean, mad, hateful folks who have determined to disobey God Who created Paradise for us and we of our choosing tossed it all away and ushered in what we see, what we have experienced, what is and what is to come.

A longwinded explanation for — we brought it all upon ourselves. By doubting God and believing Satan. By our willfulness and disobedience. We did it all, we do it all to ourselves.

But it doesn’t have to be this way eternally…

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