coreapologetics

[coreapologetics]

What Happens to a Christian Who Commits Suicide?

Ron Davis | XP Cramerton Church | Founder - CORE Apologetics

In wake of the recent death by suicide of Jarrid Wilson, we have been asked this question many times within the last 72 hours. Understanding this is something many believers are processing right now, we have decided to provide a public response to this important question.

I would like to first offer my deepest condolences to the family of Jarrid Wilson, his close friends, and the many people he ministered to at his church. He was not only a pastor but an advocate for mental health. According to the memoriam written by Greg Laurie, Jarrid repeatedly dealt with depression and especially wanted to reach out to those who were dealing with suicidal thoughts. He was a warrior of the faith fighting a battle that was deeply profound and real in his own mind. I believe he had great courage in this fight, and we applaud his life, ministry and openness about a very difficult issue we face in our world today. Our attempt to answer this question is, by no means, meant to undermine the life or death of Jarrid Wilson. It is only meant to bring perspective and maybe, just maybe, a sliver of hope for those who are hurting and the people who interact with those facing a similar battle.

Before I answer this question, “What happens to a Christian who commits suicide?”, I would like to point out a few church culture assumptions that have made the subject of anxiety, depression and suicide a more difficult topic to engage.

We have made this issue too simple by relegating it to a “spiritual problem.” What do I mean by this? We have taken the position that anxiety is “easily overcome” through a more vigorous engagement of Scripture and prayer. For those of us who have battled anxiety and depression, we know this is not always the answer…and many times it is the absolute worse thing that can be said. Why? It makes us feel more isolated and inadequate. It makes us afraid to ask for help because we fear rejection and judgment. This is not a simple issue, and it will require help beyond what most pastors are trained and equipped to handle.

We are too quick to judge those dealing with these issues (or any issues for this matter). Many of the people we have counseled though religious doubt have been too afraid, many times for years, to reach out because of the judgmentalism they receive from people in the church. This is especially true of those in leadership. We need to create an environment in our churches where grace lives and judgmentalism dies. People who connect with our church on any level should know that it is okay to be broken, to struggle with sin, and to need help.

We make therapy, medication and counseling seem “last resort” and/or something to be avoided all together. Mental health issues are a significant and real problem that needs to be addressed on any level that is helpful to the one who is dealing with it. As a the church, we need to embrace treatment that is helpful and not force our opinions upon those who are trained to deal with deep issues of this nature. While it may be true that some of these issues can be remedied through biblical cognitive therapy (caused by more of an emotional and/or sin issue), mental health issues require an approach that is beyond the training of the majority of those in pastoral ministry. We need to not only be okay with this as church leaders, we need to promote and encourage proper treatment.

Dealing with sin and the struggles of life is abnormal for followers of Christ. This is the furtherest thing from the truth. As followers of Christ, we are to consider ourselves “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11), but we are also commanded to not let “sin reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions” (6:12). In other words, it is normal for us to deal with sin and difficulties of life. Understanding this is so important, because we want to have a church environment where it is perfectly acceptable to not be perfect. We are all growing in grace, and it is not our job to tell everyone what to do but to love them, accept them, speak the truth, and let God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, lead and guide them. I think he is much better at this than we could ever be.

The idea that it is possible for a believer to go to hell because they commit suicide brings great confusion to the body of Christ and is detrimental to those needing love, guidance, and proper treatment. There is not a single biblical concept, or passage of Scripture, that allows for this to be true in any way. As church leaders, we need to be clear on this and not shy away from speaking the truth in this area. I am going to address the biblical perspective below.

The answer to this very specific question, “What happens to a Christian who commits suicide?” is: the same thing that happens to any Christian who dies — they are in the presence of our Savior. Here is the biblical perspective on why this is true.

Ephesians 1:4 makes it clear that those who are in Christ are “holy and blameless” before the Lord. If by the term Christian, you mean someone who is “in Christ,” i.e., has experienced salvation by grace through faith, the quick answer to your question is, “yes.” Those who know God through Christ, in a redemptive relationship, have been declared righteous before the Lord. In other words, their position has changed. They are no longer dead in trespasses and sins but alive unto Christ and have “abundant life” made available to them by Christ (he came to give life and more abundantly - John 10:10). 

As a believer, Paul warns us of abusing the grace of God (Romans 6:1-23). The grace of God will abound, but we should not let this be! We have died to sin and should not live in it anymore (6:2). He also states that there are “death wages” and “life wages” for the believer (we incorrectly apply 6:23 to the lost - it is clearly written to believers - see this blog on our website). In other words, Christians can live really wicked lives, and in doing so abuse the grace of God. Our position in Christ requires the grace of God to abound, but we, in this life, will reap either death wages or life wages, i.e., God’s law of reaping and sowing is true, and we can choose our actions but not our consequences. 

Suicide is a sinful choice. It is complicated from the aspect of “why would anyone do this if they truly love Christ?” But can we not ask this same question of someone who slanders a fellow brother/sister in Christ, continually lies, commits adultery, etc.? They are all sins, and they all have consequences (death wages according to Paul in Romans 6). This does not mean, however, that our position with God has changed. It also does not mean that someone who choses to disobey God in this way is a “greater sinner” than we are, nor does it mean that we are better than they or closer to God. We all struggle with sin…period.

If we die with any unconfessed sins, including suicide, it does not change our position, i.e., we are still holy and blameless before the Lord. How can this be true? Salvation brings about an incredible spiritual phenomenon that is so wonderful: our sinfulness (all of it) is place upon Christ while, at the same time, his righteousness is placed upon us. Wow! This is so indescribably amazing, and it is why Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10 that we are the masterpiece of God created in Christ for good works. God has chosen us to be used, it is up to our obedience and submission to his leading that will bring this about as a reality in our lives. Death wages destroy our ability to be used, and suicide certainly is an example of how this takes place. Those who truly know Christ, and commit suicide, are most certainly in His presence because of the wonderful grace of God. But they have also missed out on being that continual wonderful masterpiece of God to be used unto good works for the sake of the gospel. 

If you, or someone you know, is dealing with these significant issues, please take the necessary steps to love them deeply and help them find the treatment they need to face what most of us cannot comprehend. Here are some amazing resources to help those of us dealing with anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) | website

Christian Counselors Network | website

The American Association of Christian Counselors | website

ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America) | website

Axis - A resource developed for parents to engage these topics with teens and can also be used for young adults, etc. The “Conversation Starter” they have for anxiety & depression is excellent and good for any age group.

Also, if you would like to give to the Jarrid Wilson Memorial Fund, here is the link: Jarrid Wilson Memorial Fund.

#JarridWilson #yourlifematters #mentalhealth

[coreapologetics]

What is the Christian Answer? A Brief Retort

Ron Davis | CORE Apologetics Founder

I grew up in an era where the technology war was between VHS or Beta. It is truly hard to fathom how far it has come since those days in the late 70s and early 80s. For crying out loud, I was the remote control in our house. If the channel needed to be changed, the volume turned up/down, or the TV turned off, it was good ole Ronald who had the honors. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love technology. I always have…and I am sure that I always will. 

This is why the transhumanism is a fascinating movement to me. What is transhumanism? It is the idea that the human race can extend beyond its physical and mental capacities through the avenue of science and technology. This obvious progression of thought from the technologically advanced culture we find ourselves in should not be surprising to us. We have gone from a society where everyone knew everyone else’s phone number, to our phones actually being an extension of who we are (and no one actually knows anyone else’s number). We are dominated by technology and desire to know the latest and greatest ways our lives can be “made easier” by the new technological advances that are just right around the corner. Transhumanism takes this desire and pushes it to another level. An easier life is no longer the goal of technology to the transhumanist. It is now a better human, i.e., a different, evolved human. Is this something the Christian theist should embrace? 

Christianity’s answer to transhumanism is found within the ontic structure of mankind as so described in Scripture: we were made for a purpose in the image of God. The idea that technology will bring about a new kind of human existence is more of a fantasy consumed with prediction and prescription than a human-controlled evolution of man into an almost different species. While technology can enhance the ability to live longer, improve quality of life, allow us to stretch beyond our normal limits, etc., it will not bring about something that goes beyond the capabilities of the God-given ontic structure of both the physical and metaphysical realties of man. I would also say the real answer is: the gospel. Why? Transhumanism is really the attempt to redeem mankind from his own peril (aging, illness, etc.). Christ has already redeemed mankind through his sacrificial death on the cross. He then proved himself to be God by raising from the dead. When he returns, he will redeem this fallen/broken world. This is the true answer humanity is desperate for, and it is our wonderful responsibility to share this beautiful message with the world.

So…technology is a wonderful way to enhance our lives and improve our experience in the world, but it is not the answer to mankind’s most significant need: redemption. Liberation from the broken state we find ourselves will not come from science. It has come...and it is the person of Jesus Christ.

Good resources for this topic:

Transhumanism and the Image of God by Jacob Shatzer Modern Technology and the Human Future by Craig M. Gay

[coreapologetics]

Endgame | A Conversation Starter for the Gospel (No Spoilers)

Ron Davis | CORE Founder

After acquiring tickets on the second row only a few minutes after the pre-release tickets sales began, I marked my calendar and awaited what will certainly be the largest opening weekend of a movie…ever. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has created a cult like following that rivals (and probably even surpasses by most measurable data) the Star Wars enterprise that dominated the cinematic world in three separate story-telling occasions. The MCU, in about a decade of story-telling, has produced twenty-one films before Endgame grossing a staggering 18.5 billion in box office sales. These thoughts were running through my mind as I awaited the beginning of the end of the Avenger phenomenon created by the MCU…and then it began, and there was not a dry eye in the place after the opening scene.

A three hour journey brought my thinking to where it has been for some time concerning the Avenger phenomenon: this is a battle of competing moralities concerning the redemption (the best possible version) of an obviously fallen universe — and there is not enough room for both. One has to triumph, and Thanos’ morality has won (as seen in Infinity War). Endgame opens with the remaining Avengers, and all of the universe, living within the aftermath of the infamous snapping of the fingers of Thanos, the most evil of all villains, i.e., he is the supervillain of the MCU, and he has intentionally been projected as this evil entity that must be stopped by “whatever it takes.”

When we think about the post-modern epistemic landscape that we find ourselves in, the obvious question is: why is Thanos a bad guy? I mean, he truly believes that killing half of all sentient creatures is the best possible moral choice. Who are we to question what he understands to be, not only right, but the only true path to a universe that will thrive? After all, he is, by far, the most powerful of beings in the MCU. Shouldn’t the Avengers simply change how they think about things and get on board with the morality of Thanos? No…a loud, screaming no! Innocent people have died, and Thanos has enhanced the suffering of an already broken universe. This must be remedied, if at all possible…and the Avengers were assembled for this ultimate purpose: to bring redemption to a broken universe.

You will have to watch the movie to see what happens, but I would like to encourage you to use this cultural phenomenon to engage people with the gospel. I know you are asking: how does this make-believe world of superheroes and villains provide an opportunity to discuss Christ and the beautiful message of the gospel? We want to follow the example of John, Paul and Christ as they leveraged a cultural phenomenon to point people to a relationship with the true and living God. John used the logos doctrine of the Greeks to introduce the reader to Christ as THE Logos (John 1:1-18). Paul referenced “the unknown god” to say to the Athenians, “I declare him unto you” (Acts 17:23). Christ uses a Roman coin to point out the claims of Caesar and God are mutually exclusive, and they must decide to whom their allegiance belonged. In other words, it is a good thing to engage cultural expressions of morality, purpose of life, and divinity for the sake of the gospel…and Endgame gives us a great opportunity to do so.

The MCU created a hero/villain world where the only real moral choice is to protect the innocent at all costs…and to do otherwise would have most-likely been a very mediocre series to be rejected by the masses rather than embraced and projected into the stratosphere of cinematic entertainment. Why? It is innate within humanity to stand against evil and do what is necessary to protect the innocent. This is where we can leverage the worldview of the MCU, and particularly the last two movies, to begin a conversation that will allow us to ultimately point to the God of Scripture. How do we do this? We bring into focus the following:

There is a moral code that permeates humanity. Those who violate it, regardless of the depth and breadth of this violation, must be brought to justice. World War II substantiated this as Hitler, regardless of his stated moral foundation, was evil and had to be stopped. If there is no transcendent moral code, who gets to decide what is evil and not evil, what is acceptable and not acceptable? If there is no all-powerful, transcendent being upon which the moral standard of humanity is based, then mankind gets to develop our own morality. Humanity embraces a transcendent concept of evil because a transcendent God has written this moral code into his creation, and it flows from the very essence of his being, i.e., his character, and not ours, has established the moral framework by which we judge the world.

The real world we live in is broken, and it needs to be redeemed…and not the concept of redemption in the MCU but true/final redemption where all things are made right. Some have asked, “If the world is broken, then why doesn’t God do something about it?” The answer: God has done something! Jesus Christ came into this world, as God and man, to pay for the sins of mankind, establish his Kingdom (the new covenant in our hearts), and ultimately redeem the broken world we live in (when he returns to establish the new heaven and the new earth). 

God has revealed himself in the Person of Jesus Christ, in nature, and in a written text. This text, called Scripture, has provided an infallible source of revelation about the creation of the world, the plight of man, the need for redemption, and the way in which mankind can be forgiven and reconciled to God through Christ. This text has all authority because it comes from the true and living God who has all authority.

The love of God compelled Christ to do what mankind could not do: fix his broken relationship with God…and this wonderful redemptive act is available to all people, regardless of race, social status, nationality, etc. (Romans 10:13). 

Engage people around you, and point them to the God of Scripture and the person of Jesus Christ. Start the conversation, and let the power of the Word of God do its amazing work. Echoing the words of Paul, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16). May we walk wisely in the world, and may we use the evil days we are in to let the light of the glorious gospel shine brightly in our hearts and overflow into our world.

#Gospelengagement #Endgame

[coreapologetics]

Why I agree with an agnostic (with atheist leanings) concerning the crucifixion of Jesus Christ

by Ron Davis

I sat in my office reading the latest book by Bart Ehrman, a former evangelical turned agnostic with atheist leanings, and I kept thinking, “I agree with almost everything he is presenting in this book concerning the historical evidence for the existence of Christ.” The book was entitled, Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth. The year was 2014, and I was preparing for a Ph.D level course on the Historical Jesus. I kept scratching my head wondering why had so much common ground with Ehrman on this subject. Then I realized, as a historian and scholar, he is laying the foundation for the obvious: Jesus Christ was a real man who walked on this earth, had a great following of people, was condemned to death, and died according to Roman crucifixion. 

Ehrman has rejected the teachings of Scripture as being reliable; God as being someone who has either so hidden himself from man that we can’t know him (his claim of agnosticism) or doesn’t exist at all (his atheist leanings); Jesus Christ as being nothing more than an apocalyptic prophet who died (no resurrection); and his followers somehow took his teachings, which had been turned into a forbidden religion, and swept the ancient world by claiming a miraculous bodily resurrection of Christ. Why would he make such an effort to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was a real man who lived and died by Roman crucifixion? He claims to have no agenda but to look at the evidence, honor the past, and dispassionately show that “there was a Jesus of Nazareth” (p.7). While I take great issue with his claim to being “dispassionate” about the data, I do agree with his assessment: the evidence is so compelling that to deny the existence and death of Christ by Roman crucifixion is to do nothing less that ignore the data.

So…I strongly agree with Ehrman about his claims in this area. It is truly one of the best defenses of the existence of Christ I have ever read, and I encourage anyone to read this book. He is to be commended for his use of the data and the way in which it is offered to the reader. He ties the mythicists (those who claim Jesus never existed) in knots, and leaves little room to disagree with what is so obvious: Jesus lived…and he died. And he didn’t just die, he died by Roman crucifixion…and his followers thought he could possibly be the Messiah (p.164). I say to Ehrman: thank you for an excellent book.

However, what Ehrman writes next is amazing and perplexing at the same time. He claims the disciples lost hope in Christ as Messiah after his death, and…there is great evidence to support this claim. After all, they did lose hope and scatter. This is where Ehrman gets so interesting, he states: “But then something else happened. Some of them began to say that God had intervened and brought him back form the dead” (p.164). He goes on to call this “a story” that many of his “closest followers came to think that in fact he had been raised.” Ehrman portrays these events in this way because the evidence is clear: Jesus died, his disciples lost hope, and then they immediately (even before Paul started persecuting Christians according to Ehrman) began claiming a resurrection and that Jesus was truly the Messiah. What makes this account so perplexing by Ehrman is the idea that this story was fabricated in order to create a “suffering messiah’ upon which this “new religion” could be build upon (pp.171-173).

I would like to say, “nice try,” Dr. Ehrman, but the evidence, and even the impetus of such a claim, does not support these conclusions. Unless, of course, there is an a priori assumption driving the conclusions (and I argue there is - he clearly does not see Christ as the Son of God, the true Messiah, and his conclusions are a priori and not a posteriori). There is no possible reason that is feasible enough to explain such an elaborate scheme by the followers of Christ who obviously thought his Kingdom had come to an end. As with most other Jews of the day, they did not understand the Kingdom of Messiah to be a spiritual Kingdom and not a political one. I do agree with Ehrman on one statement for sure: “But then something else happened.” I love this statement because it is so true, and it is not true because it is an intentional fabrication to give birth to a new religion. The “something else” he claims is best understood as the glorious resurrection of our Lord. No wonder Paul states, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14). If the resurrection is true, then it is all true…and it is upon this teaching that we have our faith and hope and sustenance in living for Christ in this world!

#Christisrisen

[coreapologetics]

Sin and the Believer - Does My Sinfulness Invalidate Justification?

Ron Davis | CORE Founder

Does my sinfulness invalidate my justification? This is a common question for the believer, and it is also a source of religious doubt for many. If you find yourself asking this question, you are in the company of others who have asked, “How can a true follower of Christ who wants to love Jesus with all their heart, soul, and mind be even reasonably involved with such filth? It seems almost impossible.” I would like to answer this question by looking at a verse in Romans that is, many times, incorrectly interpreted and applied, Romans 6:23.

In this chapter, Paul is dealing heavily with the concepts of grace and how freedom in Christ affects our relationship with sin and the amazing grace of God. When he gets to what we now have labeled as Romans 6:23, he is not making a declaration about our eternal dwelling place but, rather, he is indicating the ramifications we face in relation to how we live our lives as a believer: we will experience the payment for sin, death/destruction; or we will experience the gift of God, eternal life (the blessings of God upon the believer now, i.e., this is more of a statement of quality of life than eternal destiny). Therefore, it would be good to think of this verse as clarifying how sin affects the “wages” of the believer: 1) death wages from sinfulness; or 2) life wages from obedience.

This evaluation and explanation is based upon the context of the passage. Paul is most definitely writing to believers here and answering the questions he posed twice in the chapter: “Should we sin that grace may abound? Absolutely not (may it never be, God forbid)!” (Romans 6:1, 15). Have you ever thought about why Paul asked this question? The answer: grace can be misunderstood and abused. Concerning this passed, the great preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones states, “There is this kind of dangerous element bout the true presentation of the doctrine of salvation” (Romans: The New Man, An Exposition of Chapter 6, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973, 8-9). MLJ understood what Paul did — and what we should: grace can be abused, taken advantage of, leveraged for sin because of our freedom to chose in Christ. This is why Paul asks these questions and then quickly states: “Absolutely not!” Although we have the freedom to chose to sin and allow grace to abound, it should not be the choice we make as believers. Why? There are death wages that come from these choices, and the wages go far beyond our own personal lives. It affects our ability to embrace the freedom in Christ over of the bondage of sin and also show others the beautiful implications of the gospel! The bottom line: as followers of Christ, we have a choice: sin or obedience…and we will receive either death wages or life wages as the result of our choices.

So…does your sinfulness invalidate your justification? Simply stated, no. It is the evidence of the old man that lives in you, and you have a choice to make: sin or obedience. As you continually engage Scripture, submit to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and obey what God is leading you to do, you will begin to cash in on life wages that bring peace, stability, victory and confidence in your faith. You are justified, not because you have been made righteous but because you have been declared righteous. Justification does not bring about a perpetually perfect individual. It changes your position with God because of what Christ has done, and it is the “new creation” you are in Christ that gives you the foundation by which to become victorious over the continual bondage to sin.

My advice is two-fold: 1) you need to continually engage Scripture; and 2) you need to listen to God and obey. You will not be able to control your temptations, but you will be able to control your actions. In the midst of your temptation, listen to God…he is speaking to you — be obedient. If you fail, know that his grace will abound, but also know that death wages will be paid. This is why engaging Scripture is so important, and it is why we have developed the CORE Journal method — biblical engagement is the key to long term obedience and life wages. For instance, those who engage Scripture at least four times a week are 407% more likely to memorize Scripture, 228% morel likely to share their faith, and 59% less likely to look at pornography. Wow! That is a truly amazing statistic (link to article). You do not have to engage this journaling method, but I advise you to find a method that works for you. 

Sustained victory is around the corner. You must make the daily choices that will bring about the kind of victory that you so desire. Your faith is secure in Christ, and the grace of God has not only saved you, it will also grow you!

#graceovercomes

[coreapologetics]

Dealing with Anxiety & Depression

A Brief Memoir - by Ron Davis

I began a battle with Multiple Sclerosis a little over 13 years ago. I recently passed the 13th anniversary of my neurologist telling me this news. The part of my brain that was affected caused increased anxiety and depression. Since that day, I have struggled with many bouts of both. I am very good at hiding it, but I have also learned to manage it well. You will almost never overcome anxiety and/or depression alone. You need the grace and power of God, people who truly love you, and those who can guide you inside of your anxiety, fears, and depression. I cannot truly express the wonderful network God has built for me — starting with a wonderful wife, two precious girls, family, amazing friends (you know who you are), and a church family that is wonderful.

One of the greatest factors that lead people on a journey down the dark road of depression is the pain of broken relationships. This comes in many forms, but the most devastating is your closest relationships (family, friends, co-workers, confidants, etc.) In recent days, I have counseled many dealing with these things. I wrote the following in an email early this morning, and I hope it will be of some help to you or someone you know. This is not the entire email, but it gets right to the point: the people we are closest to, many times, hurt us the most...and this is perfectly acceptable inside of a proper understanding of who God is and His sovereign hand in shaping us for Kingdom work. (Think about that last statement for a moment.)

* This email was a paradigm shift for the reader, and I felt led to share it on this platform hoping to be a help to many others. The following is the final synopsis of my advice in the email to this anxious and depressed person who had been deeply hurt by a close friend. I had discussed a similar difficult situation (without names or details) that brought great pain and depression into my life and how the Lord, His Word, close relationships, and valuable counsel led me out of it and into a place of peace and victory. We pick up at this point...

**********

...I once read a piece of advice from a leadership expert. He said (loose quote): “Be careful who you share your dreams with...they may do what is necessary to remove you, hijack your dream, and leave you holding an empty bag of wishful thinking.”

As I sat there holding this bag, I sure wish I would have taken his advice. Then I remembered something else that he said (loose quote): “Don’t let these things define you. Find your value outside of the empty bag and embrace those who love and respect you, who desire value over results, who covet relationships over success, and who embrace a bigger picture of the world than the small-minded people who hijack the dreams of others for their own gain.”

I found great comfort in these words. And it is not because I desired success or recognition. I found comfort because the work of the Kingdom is far greater than any person, group, movement, etc. My value and identity is in Christ...nothing else!

The bottom line: God has a way of orchestrating chaos to put us where we need to be (and, many times, where we never thought we would be) for the sake of the Kingdom. It seems as if you are now in that place and moment. Think about the following: it is in these divinely orchestrated events that we discover three things (among many): 1) how amazing our God is; 2) who truly loves us and can add value to our walk with Christ; and 3) who is passionate about Christ and the gospel. Focus on these three things, and allow God to help you forgive, embrace the right people, and grow your passion for the gospel.

I can truly say that I am so thankful that God has placed these people in my life, and I rejoice in what He is doing for the Kingdom...even though, many times, the pain is almost unbearable.

[coreapologetics]

Why Is God Silent?

Dialogue with a doubter by Ron Davis

The following is a response to one of the many people God has privileged us with helping in the area of religious doubt. There is great anonymity in this process, and this blog does not violate this in any way. This person asked, “Why doesn’t God interact with me in an existentially substantive way?” This blog is a response to this question. I am sure there are many who can benefit from this response, so we have decided to make it available you in this format. If you need help in this area, or any other area of religious doubt, please feel free to contact us. We would love to help!

Why doesn’t God interact with me in an existentially substantive way? Many followers of Christ desire to have a real existential relationship with God that is consistent. You most certainly are one of these people and find yourself expressing, “I want to love you, but where are you?” I do not think this is unreasonable, nor do I think it is impossible to answer. I want to address this from a few areas. This is a very complex issue, and I want to try and cover it in a substantive way in this response but also, at the same time, begin a conversation that will continue.

This issue seems to be affected by the metaphysical concepts of reality and how “knowing” is even possible. I say this because you are struggling with accepting a reality where God exists but is silent, and the best we can hope for is agnosticism. The alternative explanation also troubles you because Christian theism is absurd without a personal relationship with God  — a concept that seems to elude you at this moment. In other words, a correspondence with reality (as defined by Christian theism) and a plausible correlation to the world you experience seem to be in opposition (or at least disjunctive). Thus, the question has to be asked: can we really know with precise certainty that true existence, and knowing/comprehending it, is something to be grasped? Within this framework/discussion, certainty is as much existential as it is intellectual. For instance: you are 100% certain that you have anxiety/confusion over why God does not existentially relate to you on a more regular basis. This certainty is as much an existential concept for you as it is an intellectual one. 

Consciousness demands an interaction and explanation of reality that requires confidence in our senses, cognitive abilities, etc., but it also requires our senses and cognitive abilities to be connected to an objective referent. Since we do not have one outside of our senses and cognition, the idea of exhaustive, 100% certainty is more of a straw man than an actual pillar of cognitive and/or faith related concepts of reality. I have come to embrace the idea that I can be certain that I exist and Christ, the resurrected Lord, is my Savior. This certainty is existential, i.e., peace of God, forgiveness of sins, joy, etc.; and it is also intellectual, i.e., the rationality of Christian theism, claims of Scripture, evidence (scientific, historical, anthropomorphic), etc. When I engage both of these, the most reasonable response is: yes, I truly exist and Christ is the impetus of this admission and the Truth by which I correspond to reality and correlate to the world (physical, emotional, spiritual). So, for me, 100% certainty is exhaustive inside of the proper faith framework. Outside of these parameters, what certainty can anyone have? Thus the beauty of the gospel: the brokenness of the world that brings about your anxiety over these issues has found its remedy in the person of Jesus Christ who came for one purpose: to redeem mankind and the world. From our discussion, you seem have experienced this redemption and have hope in Christ and the potential perspective that you, to a 100% certainty, not only exist but have value in God through Christ.

If the former is accurate, it requires admission of the value of humanity, even a single human, to be part of the redemptive expression of biblical concepts, i.e., God cares for mankind because of the redemptive work of Christ. The problem lies inside of the expectations you have for a relationship with a God who “loves,” has made himself “known” through natural and divine revelation, but seems to be hiding himself from the very ones that he claims to love and be reconciled to through Christ. So…let me make a connection to the previous discussion about “knowing” to the concepts of what is known by engaging the parameters of transposition. I would describe transposition as a way of life by which knowledge comes downward to us through sensory experience, i.e., we gather information from an existential and intellectual process providing lower level knowledge that connects to higher level experiences and/or concepts. For instance, you are reading this email because your eyes see organized funny-shaped objects that your brain has assembled into meaning. These objects were introduced to you as lower level knowledge that transposes into higher level understanding. Thus, all communication/learning takes place within this process, i.e., “knowing” is a fluid reality and not a static one. It seems reasonable to conclude that the the experience of knowing through sensory perception is a reflection of a principle that operates in the spiritual realm. Modernity did more than bifurcate these two realms (natural/supernatural), it also produced the desire within humanity to do so. (Maybe this is evidenced throughout history, but it seems to be more prevalent in post-enlightenment epistemology.) God does not share this desire, and it is evidenced by the Incarnation. Jesus brought both worlds together in a way that had not been realized since Eden (pre-Fall). Agreeing with Jürgen Moltmann, “Embodiment is the end of all God’s works” (God in Creation, 244). This Word-become flesh expression of reality enabled the redemption of man as the seen and unseen worlds merge into the beautiful expression of divine humanity — a God-man who redeemed a fallen world and forever merged two worlds together. No wonder Paul exclaims that we are “in Christ” all throughout his writings. Thus, the miraculous advent of Christ in the Incarnation gives the fullest expression of transposition: humanity can become vessels filled with the Spirit of God allowing the acts of redeemed men/women to become nothing less than works of the Divine.

What does this have to do with the silence of God (divine hiddenness)? Everything. The coming of Christ, as the transpositional act of God for man, produced the vehicle by which the world can know the good news of the gospel. Is God silent? Is he hidden? I would like to answer this with another question: are we silent? This broken world that we find ourselves in required a redemptive act — an act that could only be carried out by the One who could unite both the seen and the unseen. The transpositional nature of the Incarnation is evidence of the “beyond knowing” concepts of the Divine, and we, as his followers and mouthpiece, will sometimes have a hard time connecting our lower level learning with the higher level knowledge of the redemption of man, the love of God, and, most importantly, the existential nature of our relationship with him. Why is this so hard for us to grasp in our post-enlightenment world? We have a tendency to let reductionism run rampant without recognizing it for what it truly is: a way of perception and, not necessarily, a way of revealing, i.e., is it not a method by which cognitive realities can be clearly defined but a informative process that engages a part of the equation but not the whole. I think it is impossible to grasp what our existential relationship with God should/could be by comparing it, reductionistically, to relationships we have with friends, family, etc. It seems more prudent to construct a concept of the hiddenness of God based upon the transpositional elements of our relationship with him. Maybe the silence of God is more about the epistemic failure of man than an existential failure of God. Agreeing with Alvin Plantiga, the epistemic environment of mankind is not functioning inside of the original design of God, i.e., we live in a fallen world. This provides a framework by which epistemic blindness can be a reality (of course we have sinful structures, noetic failure/blindness, human freedom that brings epistemic harm, etc.). 

Maybe the silence of God is better described as the blindness of man, i.e., we have not positioned ourselves well to experience the existential presence of God. Is this because God is elusive and the road to experience with the Divine is a shadowy trail on the epistemic journey of existence? I would have to say, no. It seems better to conclude that we have, from a transpositional perspective, failed to connect the beauty and grandeur of God because we do not perceive the true benevolence of God inside of our own lack of being truly benevolent. Of course there could be a myriad of transpositional short-comings, and this is to be expected. After all, we live in a fallen world with a broken epistemic environment that will one day be redeemed, and the new heaven and the new earth will bring about what is so longed for — a return to an Edenic relationship with God. And this is all made possible by the redemptive work of Christ bringing hope to the world and the beautiful existential encounters with the Divine — even if they are remote, sporadic and seemingly fickle.

#religiousdoubt