Posted on 10/08/2006 8:23:50 PM PDT by Dr. Eckleburg
THE TRIAL
DEFENDANT: God
OCCUPATION: Maker, ruler, judge of heavens and earth
ADDRESS: Everywhere, particularly “the heavens”
CHARGE: Being selfish
THE EVIDENCE:
1. Hell, Fires of. Billions will suffer there, and the Defendant says he will do it to “display his wrath.”
2. Intolerance of non-Christian religions. He calls them idolatry and says he will punish them.
3. Intolerance of numerous behaviors that people enjoy.
4. Insistence that people focus all attention on Defendant all the time. Intolerant of those who do otherwise.
5. Multiple unexpected outbursts of anger.
* a. Nadab & Abihu, whom Defendant burned with fire while they offered sacrifices in Defendant’s temple. * b. Uzzah, whom Defendant struck dead while trying to keep Defendant's ark from falling to the ground. * c. Ananias and Sapphira, whom Defendant killed while they were donating money to Defendant's church. * d. Christians in Corinth whom Defendant killed because they ate their communion bread too quickly.
6. Repeated remarks that everything must happen for Defendants own glory. Refusal to share glory with others.
DEFENDANTS PLEA: Guilty as charged.
There are lots of passages in the Bible that honestly trouble a lot of Christians—passages where God kills people, punishes people, says things that seem intolerant, offensive, even selfish. Whenever a passage in the Bible rubs us the wrong way, it should give us pause, because the problem is not with the Bible, but with us. What is it we don’t understand about God’s character that makes some of God’s actions seem so unfair? There is one simple truth that—once grasped—makes us see things as God sees them and unlocks a renewed understanding of God and God’s ways. One single passion drives God’s heart. That passion, as teachers like Augustine and Jonathan Edwards have helped us to see, is this: God’s primary concern in everything he does is to bring glory to himself.
God is chiefly concerned with his own fame. God is self-centered. Selfish, one might even say. If there's one thing we know from the Bible, it's that God is chiefly concerned with the honor of his name—just look at the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. Before ever getting to ourselves and our needs, we pray for God’s name to be honored, for God’s rule (kingdom) to be furthered and for God’s will to be done. Even when God saves sinners from their sins—a supreme act of generosity—God insists that he's doing it for his own benefit more than for theirs. Observe how God speaks of salvation in Isaiah 48:11:
"For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another."
Think about it. If it is man's highest purpose that he glorify God, how can we expect God to have a lesser purpose? Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. God has not disobeyed this commandment. The first commandment was to have no other gods before the LORD. God is not an idolater. The most passionate heart for God in all the universe is God's heart. God's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy himself forever. God is not an instrument, but the end for which we exist. This is why the English revivalist George Whitefield cried, “Let the name of Whitefield perish, so long as God is glorified!” -- George Whitefield (1713-70)
God is ultimate, not us. And true religion ultimately exists not for humanity, but for God. This is only reasonable. It is wrong for a man to be self-centered because man is not actually the center of the universe. God is, has always been, and always shall be the center of the universe. Were God to act as if another were central to the universe, that "other" would be God. It is wrong for man to judge, as if he were God, because he isn't God. But God is God, and it is right for him to perform the functions that are only worthy of God. Besides, God is God, and his perfect character is the very standard of good and evil. Whatever God desires is good. And God chiefly desires himself. The biblical doctrine of predestination will make no sense until we grasp this central aspect of God’s heart.
The ultimate answer to every question is “to glorify of God”:
*Why did God create us? Isaiah 43:6-7
*Why did God rescue the Israelites from Egypt? Psalm 106:7-8
*Why did God raise up Pharaoh? Romans 9:17
*Why did God defeat Pharaoh? Exodus 14:4
*Why did God spare Israel in the wilderness? Ezekiel 20:14
*Why will God not reject believers? 1 Samuel 12:20-22
*Why did God restore Israel after the exile? Ezekiel 36:22-23, 32
*Why does God answer our prayers? John 14:13
*Why does God forgive sins? Isaiah 43:25
*How could David ask God for forgiveness? Psalm 25:11
*What is the Holy Spirit's ministry? John 16:14
*What should motivate everything we do? 1 Corinthians 10:31
*Why did God strike Herod dead? Acts 12:23
*Why is Jesus coming back? 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10
*What is God's plan for the earth? Habakkuk 2:14
God even ordains evil for the greater good of the display of God's character. Look at Romans 9:19-24. God ordains human sin so he can make his wrath known. This display would be impossible without evil. God also allows our evil choices so he can make his mercy known. This too would be impossible without evil. A world with evil is thus eternally significant in a way that a world without evil would not be. It can bring a greater display of God’s character. Again, in all he does, God’s chief concern is to bring honor to himself.
This teaching tends to hit people like a ton of bricks. Why? Is this a terrible notion? Not at all—this is it a cause for joy! Granted, if we’re living for ourselves, then we should be depressed. But if what we really want is for our Father to be honored, then no teaching should thrill us more! God’s self-centered majesty is what I find most beautiful about God—that God is God and there is no other! Jonathan Edwards suggested that until God's selfishness is precisely what attracts us to God, we may not yet have begun to love God at all, but only ourselves. The heart of true worship is in line with God’s heart, and wants nothing more than for the King to be magnified. Let us remember Henry Blamires’ warning:
“If we try to change the face of eternal God, we indulge in the supreme idolatry, beside which perhaps, in the scale of sin, adultery weighs like a feather and murder like a farthing. Yet the sin is committed among us, within Christendom, within the Church-- maybe within ourselves; for are we sure, after all, that we prayed to the true God this morning?”
Some good stuff, thanks!
A few weeks ago I told a friend without man's sin, God could not baptize the Earth (Noah's flood).
SO, "ordain = allows"?
"God even ordains evil for the greater good of the display of God's character...God ordains human sin so he can make his wrath known...God also allows our evil choices..."
Indeed, He has a reason for everything.
Is that a "no"?
What did your friend say?
The earth, the Lord says, abides its creation; it has been baptized with water, and will, in the future, be baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost, to be prepared to go back into the celestial presence of God, with all things that dwell upon it which have, like the earth, abided the law of their creation. Taking this view of the matter, it may be asked why we build temples. We build temples because there is not a house on the face of the whole earth that has been reared to God's name, which will in anywise compare with his character, and that he can consistently call his house. There are places on the earth where the Lord can come and dwell, if he pleases. They may be found on the tops of high mountains, or in some cavern or places where sinful man has never marked the soil with his polluted feet. (Brigham Young in Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. [London: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot, 1854-1886], 10: 252.)
Latter-day Saints look upon the earth as a living organism, one which is gloriously filling "the measure of its creation." They look upon the flood as a baptism of the earth, symbolizing a cleansing of the impurities of the past, and the beginning of a new life. This has been repeatedly taught by the leaders of the Church. The deluge was an immersion of the earth in water (D. & C. 88:25; Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 1:274; Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 603; Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, 1:331).
Though the whole of the earth was covered with water, the depth was immaterial. When a person is baptized, it does not matter how far under the water he is brought, nor whether every part of him is at the same depth. The essential part of the symbolism is that he should be completely immersed. So with the story of the flood. All parts of the earth were under water at the same time. In some places the layer of water might have been twenty-six feet deep or more; in others, as on sloping hillsides, it might have been only a fraction of an inch in depth. That the whole earth, however, was under water at the same time was easily possible under a terrific, long-continued downpour, such as is described ii, Genesis. The depth of the layer of water is of no consequence. Many Bible accounts that trouble the inexperienced reader become clear and acceptable if the essential meaning of the story is sought out. To read the Bible fairly, it must be read as President Brigham Young suggested: "Do you read the scriptures, my brethren and sisters, as though you were writing them a thousand, two thousand, or five thousand years ago? Do you read them as though you stood in the place of the men who wrote them?" (Discourses of Brigham Young, pp. 197, 198). This is our guide. The scriptures must be read intelligently. (John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations [Salt Lake City: Improvement Era], 126.)
Let's ask him. HKWASD, are you a LDS?
I've read the whole series on my own, good stuff. Thank you for the link.
Am I missing something, or did you just say you have a "friend without sin"?
I was just rather shocked that you would so readily agree with such an odd statement.
The only references I could find to the "Baptism of the Earth" occurring during the flood were those I showed you.
Do you "indeed" believe that God baptized the earth during the flood?
Many liberal churches have their own version of the Fairness Doctrine. This is an excellent series - very helpful in showing the truth to those who subscribe to the "Kindly, Gentle, Non-Judgemental Grandfather" - blasphemous - idea of God.
Thank you for posting these.
I think she was pointing out that you have a reading comprehension issue to overcome before you can provide us with the explaination.
post tenebras lux,
Yeah, God takes his instructions seriously and when man disobeys it tends to go bad for him. Most people prefer the mamby pamby momma's boy image they have invented of Jesus to the one actually presented in the Bible.
post tenebras lux,
Leave it to a Navy man to read directions and be thorough. 8~)
Thank you for posting this series. It's excellent. If anyone is interested in HEARING these lectures, they are available in Mp3 format for FREE at this site =
http://www.gregscouch.homestead.com/Lectures.html
Enjoy ~!
LOL Well, I couldn't help myself!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.