What makes God good in a world of tornadoes?

This morning I read an old book by a theologian who has been dead for thousands of years and titled the post "What makes God good?" The post describes how ancient Christians thought long and hard about how to affirm God's goodness in a world where suffering is real and terrible. It also highlights the danger of ill-formed answers to difficult questions. I ended the post with the question that originally caught my attention while reading the ancient theologian's words, "What makes God good?"

Roughly four hours after I published the post I was alerted to the massive Tornado that ravaged Moore, Oklahoma this afternoon, killing 51 people and injuring at least an additional 120.  CNN is reporting that 20 or more of those killed were children. The Tornado comes just shy of the two year anniversary of the May 22, 2011 Joplin Tornado. The horrific effects of which I witnessed firsthand. These natural disasters are keen reminders that asking the question, "What makes God good?" is much more than an academic exercise. When tornadoes churn death, tragedies kill, and diseases devastate, theological arguments often sound petty, detached, and even blasphemous. The words of a brilliant, long-dead theologian seem like hair-splitting minutia, lifeless and empty.

A boy rescued from beneath at collapsed wall
at the elementary school in Moore, OK where
the EF4 tornado hit 5/20/2013
(AP Photo by Sue Ogrocki)
Found here.

A wise and honest friend commented on a link to my earlier post:

"I think that when sweet children get killed by violent storms people are looking for answers and not questions."

I once drove to the door of parents morning the inexplicable death of their child. I hoped and prayed every second of that drive that God would give me answers for them. When the door swung open we embraced and prayed together. I had no answers to why their daughter was dead. I had no logical explanation that would make the pain go away. I still don't. 

But the Christian God is not aloof from our suffering. He is not distant or ignorant or uncaring. I do not believe that God orchestrates all suffering to teach us a lesson or to work a mysterious plan that cannot be understood by the human mind. I think, rather, that God is just as appalled by evil as anyone. In fact, I think he's more appalled by it, he's righteously appalled. He hates it with a perfect hatred. He hates sin and death so much that he has gone to great lengths to rescue the world from it. This is the Christian answer to the problem of evil-- the cross and resurrection. Christians believe that the world is not as it should be and at the same time we believe that God has decisively acted to rescue us from the evil of the world. Now he has called and commissioned us to participate in his new creation. In this new creation the old order of things has passed away, and God wipes every tear from our eyes, and there is no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain.

We believe that one day our perishable bodies will be raised and clothed in immortality and we will shout:

Death is swallowed up in victory! Where, O Death, is your victory? Where o death is your sting? (1 Cor 15:54-55)

On days like today we feel the sting of death. But we trust that God will condemn sin, suffering, and death, fully and finally at the resurrection.

So what do we do until then? 

We do the work of people who believe that God created the whole world and is at work redeeming it through his church. We pray, we serve, we rebuild, we wait for resurrection with a joyful resilience because we have caught a glimpse of how the story ends. 

Teacher embraces a child at an elementary
hit by the Tornado on 5/20/2013.
(AP photo by Paul Hellstern)
Found here.

After a lengthy description of resurrection hope, St. Paul encourages:

Be steadfast, immovable, always overflowing in the work of the Lord knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Cor 15:48).

What makes God good?

Whether someone believes in a creator, as Christians do, or he is an atheist, evil is a glaring philosophical problem. It confronts the believer with doubts about the goodness of a god who could make a world filled with starving children. Likewise, suffering confronts the atheist with questions about how to define “evil” and how to confront it.

The earliest Christians were not oblivious to the problem of affirming the goodness of a creator and the constant reality of suffering and evil. They wrestled with the difficulty and purposed a number of responses. One response, proposed most famously by Marcion, argued that the god who created the world was to blame for evil but the heavenly father of Jesus released believers from captivity to the trappings of material things turning them instead to the spiritual. This proposal, if I can oversimplify, says, “There is a god responsible for creating evil, he’s the god of the Jews found in the Jewish Scriptures. But that’s not the god we worship in Jesus. In fact, Jesus came to set us free from captivity to that evil god and to worship his loving, kind heavenly father.” 

Tertullian, the father of Latin theology pictured above, argued that in his attempt to find a good, kind, loving god, Marcion invented a god that is really no good at all. In his response, Tertullian created a rubric for measuring the goodness of a god (Against Marcion 1.22–25). According to Tertullian, a good god must be eternal, rational, and perfect. Each attribute is aimed as an attack on Marcion’s theology.

Marcion’s solution to the problem of evil was to blame it on the creator thus absolving the heavenly father. But, Tertullian argued that a truly good god could not just arrive on the cosmic scene after creation. From a good God “we shall expect goodness to be perennial and ever-flowing, [. . .] being stored up in readiness with the treasuries of his natural attribute” (Against Marcion 1.22). If a god is truly good, then that goodness has to be on display from the very beginning of time. Otherwise he is only good on a whim, and that’s not really good. If Marcion's god is good, then, where was he when the evil creator did his creative work? Why didn’t he stop it? Why did he wait so long to provide a solution? For a god to be truly good, he has to be eternal.

Marcion’s redeemer releases humans from fleshy living in order to become truly spiritual and non-physical. This kind of salvation is inadequate, according to Tertullian because such a god fails to rescue humanity and settles for an escape from their created existence. Tertullian mocks:

“I should reckon no man more presumptuous than the one who in one God’s water is baptized for another god, who towards one God’s sky spreads out his hands to a different god, bows down upon one God’s soil to a god whose soil it is not, over one God’s bread give celebrates thanksgiving to another.” (Against Marcion, 1.23)

His point is that Marcion’s god is irrational because he fails to redeem humanity and instead offers an escape from the creator god. Such a salvation does not make sense. For Tertullian, a good god must be rational.

Lastly, a good god must be perfect. Similar to the previous critique, Tertullian is referring to a perfect salvation. A salvation of the soul is imperfect, because humans are not just souls. We have bodies, flesh and blood, and so for us to be rescued our bodies must also be saved by a good god. A god that can only save part of us is not a perfect and thus not a good god.

What do you think it means for a god to be “good”? This is a crucial question for thinking through the problem of evil. If a “good” god acts like us, is he really good? Or is he just what we want?

Stoicism and Colossians

Reading through Colossians closely and grading the exegetical papers for my Advanced Greek Course, I've been struck by the similarities between Colossians and Stoicism.

(the bust to the left is of Epictetus, one of my favorite Stoics and a close contemporary of Paul)

I know there has been a lot of work on Paul and Stoicism from Troels Engberg-Pederson and a few other monographs comparing Stoic thought to Romans and the "Body of Christ" metaphor. But I've yet to see anything that explicitly compares and contrasts Colossians to early/middle Stoic literature.

It would seem to me that Colossians would be a very helpful point of comparison. Does anyone know of work or a person  comparing the two? I'm pretty ignorant of Colossians scholarship since it's never been a major research interest of mine, so perhaps I'm just really late to a party that's already over, but I thought I would check.

Meeting in the Air (1 Thess. 4:15-17)

In preparation to teach on 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, I read John Chrysostom’s Homily on the passage. There were lots of interesting insights, but I want to point out only one that I think has significant value for contemporary readers.

John Chrysostom, for those unfamiliar, is one of great “Doctors of the Church” in the East who lived from around 347–407 CE. He was made Bishop of Constantinople against his will in 398 and worked tirelessly to preach the Scriptures to reform the nominally Christian culture in which he found himself. His most enduring legacy is found in his many sermons and exegetical writings. Thankfully, we have a number of writings on Paul’s letters, including a collection of homilies on 1 Thessalonians.

Commenting on 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17, in his eighth homily in 1 Thessalonians, Chrysostom asks an important question: “If he [Christ] is about to descend, for what reason will we be caught up?” Many modern readers fail to ask this question and simply assume that believers “go to heaven.” The imagery here, however, is not of “rapture” (of the Left Behind sort), or final departure to the pie in the sky, but a welcome party for the arrival of Jesus. Chrysostom’s answer to his question about why Jesus comes down and we rise up is quite helpful:

“The reason is honor. For when a king enters a city those in honor go out to meet him, but those condemned remain inside for judgment. When a loving father comes, the children, and those worthy to be children, go out on a chariot in order to see and kiss him, but those having offended him remain in the house.”

The “meeting” that occurs as Jesus comes down and believers go up is a welcome party for Jesus that bestows vindicating honor on the saints. It refers to believers going up to meet Jesus, only to then return to earth for final judgment.

The word “meet” is used in precisely this same way elsewhere in the New Testament. In Acts 28 Paul journeys to Rome to await trial before the Emperor. When Roman Christians hear of Paul’s arrival they leave the city to meet him, with the obvious intention to return with him to Rome. In Jesus’ famous parable of the ten virgins there are five wise virgins who have enough oil in their lamps and five foolish ones who do not. The virgins are waiting to meet the bridegroom only to be taken to the ultimate destination of the wedding banquet. 

Meeting Jesus in the air is, as Chrysostom points out, a vindication of those who know their king (cf. Josephus, JW 7.100–2). They celebrate his arrival by publicly meeting him on the journey down to welcome and honor him.

Philo of Alexandria on Remembering Moses

I've recently been thinking a bit about memory theory as applied to historical Jesus studies while I happened to be reading Philo of Alexandria and I came across a passage that has some interesting cross-over. 

The passage caught my attention for two reasons. First, Philo is introducing his two-part work "On the Life of Moses," and is focused on telling the story of the "greatest and most perfect" man (Moses 1.1). Second, Philo believes that Moses has been overlooked by educated Greeks as "not worthy of memory" (Moses 1.2) so he aims to remedy the situation with his work. Philo's expressed goal is to bring attention to the overlooked wise man of wise men.

Here is his description of his sources:

"I tell the story of Moses as I learned it, both from the sacred books, wonderful monuments of his wisdom which he has left behind, and from some of the elders of the nation. For I always have woven together the things having been spoken with those being read and on account of this I consider the life story to be much more accurate than others." (Moses 1.4)

There a number of fascinating features to this short excerpt. First, Philo expresses his view of the scrolls as "sacred [ἱερῶν]," thus investing higher status to the Pentateuch. Second, the Pentateuch is described as, "wonderful monuments of wisdom." The word for "monument [μνημεῖα]" can be used for a "tomb" or a physical memorial (Lk 11:47), which raises interesting questions about how books functioned as physical memorials. Third, Philo considers himself to have a more accurate account by combining written sources with the oral testimony of elders.

Philo's introduction shows that ancient people valued oral sources for their "histories." Furthermore, it provides some fodder for discussion for how texts functioned alongside oral testimony to provide better stories.

The Good News about Easter - We're NOT going to Heaven

At least not as our ultimate destination.

Unfortunately, most Christians are confused about what scripture teaches about life after death. Imprecise language in the pulpit and popular worship music isn’t helping the situation much either. The hymn, “I’ll Fly Away,” is a perfect example of inaccurate eschatology,[1] but most people know it far better than 1 Corinthians 15. Preachers are often fond of proclaiming their excitement about going to heaven. There is even a best-selling book describing a young boy’s description of heaven based on his near-death experience.[2] As will become clear below, I’m not trying to discount Christian hope in life beyond the grave. I’m also not trying to deny that heaven is a place for believers, but I do want to clarify it in light of what Scripture teaches, "heaven" is not our ultimate destination.

Most Christians think of heaven as the place you go to be with God forever after you die. Typically it is thought of as a city in the clouds where people spend time with God. But this is a terribly incomplete description of what the Bible teaches about life after death. It is a description of eschatology that ignores the significance of Jesus’ resurrection as the foundation of Christian hope.

The early Christians believed that Jesus was raised from the dead and that eventually they would be too. The Christian hope is that God will raise believers from the dead when he judges the earth at the end of time. The early believers did not eagerly desire to “go to heaven.” Instead, they longed to participate in the resurrection of Jesus. Heaven is merely a pit stop on the way to a more glorious future – a new earth filled with God’s presence!

Consider some of these passages:

“³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6.38-40)

In his “bread of life” sermon Jesus declares that it is God’s plan to raise the dead and Jesus will participate in raising the dead! This is a bold declaration that surprisingly will be previewed in the resuscitation of Lazarus in John 11.

To the Roman church Paul wrote,

“And if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit dwelling within you.” (Romans 8.11)

Romans 8 is a masterful description of how our hope in God’s future shapes how we live in the present. Paul is emphatic that if we are believers then we have the Holy Spirit (Rom 8.9), which in turn allows us please God—an impossible calling without the Spirit of God dwelling in us (Rom 8.1-8).

To the Philippians, Paul described his overwhelming desire was:

 “¹⁰ to know [Christ] and the power of his resurrection and the sharing in his sufferings, being conformed to his death, ¹¹ if somehow I might attain to the resurrection from the dead. . . ²⁰ For our citizenship is in heaven and from there we eagerly await a Savior – the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who will transform our lowly bodies to the same form of his glorious body by the energy which enables him to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3.10‒11, 20‒21)

Paul describes his hope as the resurrection (Phil 3.10) and confirms that it the hope of all believers to have our bodies transformed (Phil 3.21).

Jesus, speaking to his host a dinner party said, “¹² When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14.12‒14)

Here again, we see Jesus describing how we live today as relevant for the resurrection!

The hope of resurrection is pervasive throughout the apostolic preaching (Acts 2.22-32, 36; 3.13-16; 4.33; 5.29-32; 10.39-43; 13.30-39; 17.2-3, 18, 31-32; 23.6-8; 24.14-16, 21; 26.6-8, 23). The most detailed passage on resurrection is found in 1 Corinthians 15. I would of course suggest reading the entire passage, but there is only space here to quote portions of it:

 ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵ And we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. [. . .] ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹ If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. ²⁰ But now Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. ²³ But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

³⁵ But someone may ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?’ . . .

As usual, Paul answers his own question.

It [the body] is sown perishable, is raised in imperishability; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

He goes on,

⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: All will not fall asleep, but all will be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying having been written will be, “Death has been swallowed up in victory” [Isa 25.8] (1 Corinthians 15:14-15, 17-23, 35, 42-44, 51-54)

Notice the significance of Jesus’ resurrection for Paul. If Christ is not raised, our faith is useless (v 14), we are lying about God (v 15), we are still dead in our sins (v 17), anyone who has put hope in Christ believed a stupid lie (v 18) and Christians should be pitied as fools (v 19). Apparently, there were some Christians in Corinth suggesting that there is no resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12-13, 16). Jesus’ resurrection is, according to Paul, the foundation of Christian hope. Not only does it define what Christians believe happened to Jesus in the past, but it shapes their hope for the future – resurrection on the last day!

If resurrection is something that happens at the return of Jesus, as 1 Corinthians makes clear, then what happens to believers when they die? According to the New Testament, when believers die they are in the presence of Christ (2 Cor. 5.8; Phil 1.23; Rev 6.9-11; 7.14-17; 14.13; 20.1-6). Then, at the end of time, when God judges all of humanity, the righteous will be given new glorious bodies and the wicked are judged. Resurrection properly describes the stage of humans receiving new bodies at the final judgment. Until that great day, those who have “fallen asleep” in death are in the presence of Christ awaiting the full glory of new bodies.

Because he was raised, we believe we will be raised. Our bodies will be transformed to be like his. The prayer we learned from Jesus will be answered. God’s kingdom will have come and his desires will be done on earth as they are in heaven (Matt 6.10). Finally, John’s vision will be fulfilled,

“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev 21.3-4)

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[1] Eschatology is broadly defined as “the study of last things.” It comes from two Greek words‒ eschatos and logos. Eschatos means “end.” It can refer to the last in an order (1 Cor. 15.8), the “last” penny of a debt (Matt. 5.26) or “end” of the earth as in the “furthest region” (Acts 1.8). Logos means “word,” “teaching,” or “study.” The word “Eschatology” did not come into existence until 1844. It was developed by theologians to try and describe a branch of systematic theology.

[2] Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent, Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of his trip to Heaven and Back, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).

Equity as the Key to Education?

Everyone in American politics agrees that educational reform is a high priority, or at least necessary on some level, but the means to accomplish such reform is hotly debated. In seeking solutions policy-makers have wisely sought to learn from the success of others. The perennially successful powerhouse of public education in the western world is . . . Finland!

What is the secret to educational success? Competitive school systems? Higher pay for teachers? Elimination of a tenure system that doesn't reward good teaching? 

In a fascinating article from The Atlantic, "What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland's School Success," Finnish journalist Anu Partanen observes the surprising source of Finland's educational success is equal access to a quality education for everyone. 

tolle lege