Arabian nights 2016

Month of Ramadan. 

This is the first time I’ve entered into a Muslim nation in my life, and the second time to have entered into a Middle Eastern nation. My plane touched down at 2:15pm. I did not book any hotel or tours in advance because my flight flies out at 7am the following morning, and I didn’t know how fast things function in Dubai! There seems to be a service at the airport called “Dubai Stopovers on Arrival”. However, I somehow missed that desk before getting out of customs, despite having tried “asking” an impressive virtual reality airport information lady for help. So I went to the Emirates desk for further help and they booked me in for the Arab Hotel for AED 253.36 ($99.19 AUD, $75 if booked in advanced at Hotels.com). I thought about booking a dessert safari earlier, but when the flight captain announced a temperature of 41oC on touchdown, I no longer fancied that idea. The tour operators in the airport already left their desks anyway. And there is already a “dessert” in front of the hotel which I had to cross to get to the metro station, which is golden in colour and shaped like some sort of engine! 

I noticed that Dubai is a very multicultural city: lots of Philippinos/Indians/Pakistanis, and some Chinese, African, and Caucasians! I decided to go to Dubai Mall and look at the current “Tower of Babel”: Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world! Again, I just bought the ticket on the spot, for AED 165 ($64.59 AUD), which would have been cheaper if I booked in advance… And they have this photography service but it costed AED290 ($113.54)!! I think it’s expensive but spent it anyways because I seriously don’t know when I will have the chance to come back, and all the selfies I took with my iPhone turned out quite bad on the top of the tower. The privilege to pray on the tallest building in the world had been a worthwhile experience! 

In the morning, when the plane took off, the sky had a foggy look to it, and the city of Dubai faded out like a mist.

Is God the author of evil in this world?!

Recently we looked at the question of providence and evil in theology class... and here comes the disturbing question: Is God the author of sin?! Here are some notes on the topic of providence and evil!

(Photo taken in Jerusalem, Sept 2015. Armed police is normal everyday sight everywhere.)

·         The logical problem: [The Christian] God is all loving & all powerful; as all-loving, God would be willing to abolish evil; as all-powerful, God would be able to abolish evil; evil exists; therefore [this] God does not. The basic strategy for a response to the logical problem is that if God has a good reason to allow evil, then the existence of evil is not incompatible with the existence and nature of God. God allows evil to exist, but it’s not immediately caused by God. Church grows and gets purified as a result.

·         The evidential problem of evil: The existence of so much evil is incompatible with the probability of the existence of an all-loving and all-powerful God. The evidential problem admits that God and the existence of evil are not logically incompatible, yet considers if the amount or kinds of evil in the world count as probable evidence against the existence of God. This approach argues that the large amount of evil in the world and/or the existence of unjustified evil (variously called surd, superfluous, pointless, gratuitous) mitigate against a plausible belief in God because we assume God would not allow for the existence of evil that appears to have no good purpose. Sometimes even Christians don’t understand evil. For example, prosperity gospel, where people who gave very little substance to evil. There are also people who are on the other spectrum: everything is about evil spirit, how evil things are in the world, etc. Evil is irrational: why evil happens in the world is beyond our ability to reason. Otherwise, if we are smart enough, we can save ourselves. The cross is also not rational, it’s a mystery revealed to us. It doesn’t matter what good purpose/intention it’s supposed to bring out, the evil acts needed to achieve it can never be justified/synthesised/rationalised. Communism may be a good idea but in practicality we never seen any society benefiting from it. Utilitarianism is Nazi like (eg. a Japanese missions lecturer said that when Japanese uses comfort woman/forced labour: the act is wrong but the purpose is good…?! When people oppress people, these things cannot be justified.)

·         The existential problem of evil: As often called the "religious," "personal," or "pastoral" problem of evil, the existential problem is one that asks, "Why my suffering and/or evil at this time in this way in this place?" Why would I want to trust and love the God (who may or may not exist) who – if he exists – is responsible for all the evil in my world and in my life?

·         The problem of natural evil: Whatever may be said of moral evil, how can anyone but God be said to be to blame for the natural evils of the world?

What are three solutions to the problem of evil, and what is the response to these solutions?

Think about real world examples of big scale evils such as human trafficking.

1)      Finitism: Abandon the idea of God’s omnipotence.

Often takes the form of a dualism, two ultimate principles in the universe: God and the power of evil. This evil is uncreated, simply a force that has always been present. There is a struggle between God and this evil power, with no certainty as to the ultimate outcome.  For example, ying and yang in the Chinese culture.

2)      Modification of the concept of God’s goodness.

Determinism: Calvinism=God’s causing of all things, including human acts. The relationship of God to certain evil actions of human beings.

God hardening the heart of Pharaoh?

God is the ultimate cause of sin, not the immediate cause of it. God does not commit sin; human commit sin although God wills it decretively. It was Judas, not God, who betrayed Christ. God neither sins nor is responsible for sin.

3)      Denial of evil.

Pantheism. The only reality is God, infinite mind. Spirit is real and eternal; matter is unreal and temporal. Matter has no real existence even in the mind. One of the most serious evils, disease, is therefore an illusion; what is experienced as disease is caused by wrong belief; the cure for sickness is not to be achieved through medicine, but is to be found in knowledge of the truth that pain is imaginary. For example, Buddhism, Christian Science.

Three problems stand out: 1) Christian science has not fully banished evil. 2)The existence of the illusion must be explained, because it’s so widespread. 3) The theory does not work, Christian Scientists do become ill and die.

The first three options are not biblical. Evil doesn’t fit into anything, and can’t be resolved by any system. Some hard core determinist may agree with point two. Evil is bigger than us.

Evil as a necessary accompaniment of the creation of humanity:

l   Mild Calvinism.

l   Humans would not be genuinely human without free will. God cannot create a genuinely free being and at the same time guarantee that this being will always do exactly what God desires of him. Apparently God felt, for reasons that were evident to him but that we can only partly understand, that it was better to make human beings than androids. And the possibility of evil was a necessary accompaniment of God’s good plan to make people fully human.

l   God has created us to love him. But love isn’t love if it is coerced. Genuine love requires free will.

l   Apparently, for humans to have a genuine moral choice with the possibility of genuine punishment for disobedience meant that they could die.

l   Argument against this view: Tsunami cannot be justified, even if it does good in the advancement of God’s kingdom.

l   The sustenance of life required conditions that could lead to death instead. For example, the same water we need for life can in other circumstances cause death by drowning. Under certain conditions, the very fire providing that warmth for the maintenance of life can kill us. If God was to have a world in which there would be genuine moral choices along with genuine punishment for disobedience and ultimately death, there would have to be warning signals of sufficient intensity to cause us to alter our behaviour. And this signal is pain.

l   If God could not create the world without the accompanying possibility of evil, why did he create at all, or why did he not create the world without human beings? We cannot answer that question since we are not God.

A re-evaluation of what constitutes good and evil:

l   Good is not defined in terms of what brings personal pleasure to humans in a direct fashion. Good is defined in relationship to the will and being of God. Good is what glorifies him, fulfils his will, conforms to his nature. Romans 8:28 (We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.)

l   God’s superior knowledge and wisdom: We may not be the best judges of what is good and what is harmful to our welfare. It may seem good to me to eat sweet, sticky candy. My dentist (unless simply interested in fees) may see it quite differently.

l   Dimension of time or duration: Some experienced evils are actually very disturbing on a short-term basis, but in the long term work a much larger good.

l   Extent of the evil: God has many persons to care for. The Saturday rainfall that spoils a family picnic or round of golf may seem like an evil to me, but be a much greater good to the farmers whose parched fields surround the golf course or park.

l   The danger of this view of “greater good” is that one may take on a consequentialist view of ethics to justify their evil actions.

God as the author of sin?

l   An important question that cannot be ignored is how sin could have happened in the first place. If humans were created good, or at least without any evil nature, made in the image of god, and if the creation God had made was “very good” (Genesis 1:31), then how could sin have occurred?

l   Example of a problematic passage: I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things (KJV Isaiah 45:7). However, the KJV’s rendering of this word evil is inaccurate. This word ra’ah can also be translated “trouble,” “disaster”.

l   Reformed theologians typically shrink from ascribing the authorship of evil to God. Paul Helm says that while God “ordains moral evil, he is not the author of it.” John Frame says that while God is not the cause of evil, he is the ordainer of evil. Permission is not causation.

l   R. C. Sproul Jr., a hyper-Calvinist, in the pursuit of theological consistency, concludes that God must be the originator of evil. He lists the range of possible “suspects”: Adam, Eve, Satan, the environment, and God. God created a good environment and Adam, Eve and Satan were originally created good. That means none of these four candidates can be the source of sin and it is God himself who introduced evil into this world. Sproul Jr. thinks that the reason God wanted Adam and Eve to fall into sin was because of God’s eternal attribute of wrath, and “God is as delighted with his wrath as he is with all of his attributes.”

l   If God is accused of doing evil, Sproul Jr. would say “He’s God, he can do what he wants.” But what God does will be good and just, because we can’t rightly say, “God can break his promise or lie because ‘he’s God, and he can do what he wants.’” It’s impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18). The Bible makes it clear that God is not the cause of sin: but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed (James 1:14). For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world (1 John 2:16).

l   Sproul Jr. acknowledges that God cannot sin but suggest that he created sin. Augustine would have denounced such dangerous theological notions. Evil is not a thing, but a corruption, defect and lack of what ought to be there (ie. an absence or corruption of goodness). Sproul Jr is opposing the Scriptures: “Everything God created is good.” (1Timothy 4:4).

l   Calvin himself confessed that he did not know how to account for the origin of evil.

l   God is not the author of sins, no more than John Watt (the inventor of the steam engine) is the author of all train accidents.

l   Sin is a corruption of God’s good creation: Goodness can exist without evil. Evil, however, requires reference to what is good. Evil is like counterfeit money: in order to detect the fake, we need to know what the genuine currency looks like.

l   The “germ theory” of sin, whereby one has to “catch” or “be infected by” sin is an incorrect understanding of the nature of sin. It is not necessary to come in contact with someone who has a fracture to fracture a bone; all that is needed is to twist a limb in the wrong way, and there is a broken bone! Similarly, sin results when a person’s will and relationship to God are twisted the wrong way, when the wrong one of two possibilities is actualised.

l   The first sin was voluntary. Augustine maintains that the first sin originated with finite moral agents. Though created without moral defect, they became the sinners. It was up to the creature to refrain from sinning. God created human being who possessed free will, but by the free will’s action, a radical, new occurrence broke into God’s good created order.

l   The serpent’s temptation appealed to desires that were not evil in themselves, but could be expressed and actualised in the wrong way (disobeying God). With this twist in relationship, sin has become a reality.

l   God, then, did not create sin. He merely provided the options necessary for human freedom, options that could result in sin.

l   The primal sin was a turning away from God (the greatest good) toward a lesser (created) good.

Specific evil as the result of specific sins:

l   Traps: AIDS as a punishment from God. Although this could be possible, but then who is not a sinner?

l   Some of the evil occurrences in life are caused by the sinful action of others. However, tragedy is not always the result of specific sin. The question “Why?” often reflects the mistaken idea that God sends each event as a direct response to our actions.

l   People are very ready to attribute sin when people are suffering. However, misfortune may also fall on the just and unjust alike.

l   But having given this caveat, we need to note that there are instances of sin bringing unfortunate results on the individual sinner. Much of the evil recounted in Scripture came upon people as a result of their own sin, or that of someone close to them.

God as the victim of evil:

l   God took sin and its evil effects on himself is a unique contribution by Christian doctrine to the solution of the problem of evil.

l   It is remarkable that, while knowing that he himself would become the major victim of the evil resulting from sin, God allowed sin to occur anyway.

l   Through incarnation, God is a fellow sufferer with us of the evil in this world, and consequently is able to deliver us from evil.

The life hereafter:

l   If this life were all that there is, then surely the problem of evil would be unresolvable.

l   Hell, the absence of God, is God’s simply giving that person at last what he or she has always asked for. It is not God, but one’s own choice that sends a person to hell.

Resources:

Theology lectures at Morling with Miyon Chung
Erikson, Millard J. Christian Theology.

God and Evil. Edited by Chad Meister and James K. Dew Jr.

Condolences to the talented young singer, Christina Grimme, and the 100+ shooting victims in the Orlando massacre. Video of Christina singing In Christ Alone.
https://youtu.be/luWazAbFvMY
Sometimes God allows terrible things to happen in your life and you don't know why. But that doesn't mean you should stop trusting Him. Christina Grimme, twitter 22 Feb 2013.

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! - who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

Providence: to pray or not to pray? are miracles natural or supernatural?

Providence refers to God's intervention in the world. This is an interesting topic to think about because it raises questions such as to pray or not to pray? Are miracles natural or supernatural?

Here are some notes on the topic made from theology classes and a few other book sources!

Would you call this natural, or supernatural?

https://youtu.be/w7J_m23ZTCc

On 5 October, 2015, the ICEJ Taiwan marching prayer group was raising the flag on the Jesus boat in the Sea of Galilee when a spectacular view appeared where I was standing. I filmed/photographed these with my own Iphone. Jump to 1:12 to view how the normal sunlight turned into a cross.

Providence as Government:

l   The purposive directing of the whole of reality and the course of history to God’s ends.

l   The general providence view holds that God has general goals that he intends and actually attains, but with respect to specific details, he permits considerable variance, allowing for human choices. Traditional Arminians are among the general providence proponents. Emphasises on Biblical narratives that depict people making choices, such as Adam and Eve, and the calls to sinners to accept Jesus Christ.

l   Specific providence: God ultimately decides even the details of his plan and ensures that they eventuate as he intends. Proponents of specific sovereignty contends that the Scriptures teach God’s sovereignty over all that occurs. There are many impressive didactic passages that seem to teach that God brings about all things: In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will (Ephesians 1:11).

The relationship between Gods governing activity and sin:

l   Willing that sin exist in the world is not the same as sinning. God does not commit sin in willing that there be sin. God has established a world in which sin will indeed necessarily come to pass by God’s permission, but not by his “positive agency.”

l   The Bible makes it clear that God is not the cause of sin:

l   but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. (James 1:14)

l   For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. (1 John 2:16)

l   But if sinful actions of humans are not caused by God, what do we mean when we say they are within his governing activity? God can and does relate to sin in several ways as he can prevent it, permit it, direct it, or limit it.

l   God can prevent sin: When Abimelech, thinking that Sarah was Abraham’s sister, took her to himself, the Lord came to him in a dream to prevent this.

l   God does not always prevent sin: Jesus said regarding Moses’s permitting divorce: Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. (Matthew 19:8)

l   God can direct sin: While permitting some sins to occur, God nonetheless directs them in such a way that good comes out of them. For example, the story of Joseph in Genesis, and the crucifixion of Christ. God is like a martial arts expert who redirects the evil efforts of sinful human beings and Satan in such a way that they become the very means of doing good. Our omnipotent God is able to allow evil humans to do their very worst, and still accomplish his purposes, even working through them.

l   God can limit sin: For example, God permitted Satan to act on Job but limited what he could do. “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” (Job 1:12)

Major features of God’s governing activity:

l   God’s governing activity is universal and extends to all matters: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28). He may use seemingly “unclean” agents, such as Cyrus (Isaiah 44-45), to accomplish his ends. The Scripture talked mainly about the people of Israel and not on the other nations. Lecturer Miyon Chung mentions: Salvation is granted in through Christ. Does this mean that Koreans before the Medieval Age have died? Probably not that simple as sometimes we don’t know what we are. For example, Hungarian and Korean language have same linguistic roots. It may not be correct to say that no one was saved in the Chinese race until the missionaries arrived as Jews travelled a lot! Persian and Hellenistic empire were very extensive. Persians established the cast system in India!! Northern Indians are from Persian roots. People have been migrating for centuries and centuries.

l   God’s providence does not extend merely to his own people: sun to rise on the evil and the good, rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthews 5:45).

l   God is good in his government. As per Romans 8:28. We must be careful, however, not to identify too quickly and easily the good with what is pleasant and comfortable to us. Good is associated with God’s purpose (v28) and that in turn is identified as the conforming of his children to the image of his son (v29), which may sometimes involve suffering trials (1 Peter 1:6-9) or enduring discipline (Hebrew 12:6-11).

l   God is personally concerned about those who are his. For example, one lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7).

l   Our activity and God’s activity are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes humans are conscious that their actions are fulfilling divine intention, such as Jesus said he must do the Father’s will (Matthew 26:42). Other times there is an unwitting carrying out of God’s plan, such as Caesar Augustus decree (Luke 2:1) that would make possible the fulfilment of the prophecy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

l   God is sovereign in his government. He alone determines his plan and knows the significance of each of his actions. We know that everything does have a significance within God’s plan, but we must be careful not to assume that the meaning of everything should be obvious, and that we will be able to identify that meaning.

l   We need to be careful as to what we identify as God’s providence. For example, German Christians endorsing action of Hitler as God’s working in history. The folly of those statements seem obvious from our perspective. But are we perhaps making some pronouncements today that will be seen as similarly mistaken by those who come a few decades after us?

Providence and Prayer:

l   What does prayer accomplish? If prayer has any effect on what happens, then it seems that God’s plan was not fixed in the first place. If God’s plan is established and he will do what he is going to do, then does it matter whether we pray?

l   There are two important facts: 1) Scripture teaches that God’s plan is definite and fixed. 2) We are commanded to pray and taught that prayer has value. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)

l   From Scripture, in many cases God works in a sort of partnership with humans. God does not act if humans do not play their part.

l   When Jesus ministered in Nazareth, he did not perform any major miracles. Jesus was “amazed at their lack of faith” (Mark 6:6)

l   Examples of faith which, demonstrated in petition, resulted in God’s working: the woman with the haemorrhage (Matthew 9:20-22)

l   Both petitionary and intercessory prayers clearly form part of the order of providence, that great matrix of causes and effects through which God governs the world.

l   However, if there’s the belief that some particular evil will be averted, and only if, an intercessor properly intercedes for its removal, then the burden of responsibility for the continuing evil falls squarely upon the shoulders of the intercessor: if only A had prayed harder, X would have been adverted; but also, only if A had prayed harder, would X have been adverted. Who is to blame for Auschwitz?

l   The alternate view is that prayer is a God-ordained means of fulfilling what God wills. Intercessory prayer is not one means of settling God’s mind on a course of action, but one of the ways in which the already settled mind of God effects what he has decreed. So the ‘burden of responsibility’ for the answering or not answering of intercessory prayers is placed firmly upon the shoulders wide and strong enough to bear it, the shoulders of God himself.

l   Prayer does not change what God has purposed to do. It is the means by which he accomplishes his end.

l   Prayer is more than self-stimulation. It is a matter of creating in ourselves a right attitude with respect to God’s will. Prayer is not so much getting God to do our will as it is demonstrating that we are as concerned as is God that his will be done.

l   We do not always receive what we asked for. Jesus asked three times for the removal of the cup, Paul for the removal of his thorn in the flesh. In each case, something more needful was granted. For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). The believer can pray confidently, knowing that our wise God will give us, not necessarily what we ask for, but what is best.

Providence and Miracles:

l   Definition: Those striking or unusual workings by God that is clearly supernatural. A divine operation that transcends what is normally perceived as natural law; it cannot be explained upon any natural basis.

l   This can be looked at in terms of their relationship to the laws of nature. There are several views.

l   Naturalism is the idea or belief that only natural (as opposed to supernatural or spiritual) laws and forces operate in the world.

n   Miracles are actually the manifestations of little known or virtually unknown natural laws. If we fully knew and understood nature, we could understand and even predict these events. For example, if we were to use this concept to describe Luke 5, the miraculous catch of fish: unusual conditions were present so that the fish had gathered in a place where they would not ordinarily be expected to be. The miracle came in Jesus knowing where the fish would be. He did not create fish for the occasion, nor did he somehow drive them from their places in the lake to where the net was to be let down.

n   Theistic naturalism: a God who has made a universe to operate fully naturally, with ongoing divine sustenance of this natural order, but without miraculous interventions. “God does not ‘interfere’ with the nature of his creation, because such interference would be inconsistent with the modern, scientific world-view.” (eg. R.Bultmann)

l   Providentialism:

n   “God does not ‘interfere’ with his creation, but he has set up its natural processes so that they accomplish his purposes. What are traditionally called ‘miracles’ are by this view rather ‘special providences’ which are distinguished from ordinary providences not by any mechanism but by our recognition of God’s purpose in the event.” (eg. Howard Van Till).

n   All events are both ‘natural’ and ‘providential’. Since all ‘natural’ events are God’s providential actions, it is therefore invalid to think of qualitatively special divine action.

n   Argument against: Biblical authors present some events as unusual, not simply in the actuarial sense of ‘rare’ but in the very mechanism by which they came about.

l   Occasionalism:

n   Denies the category of natural altogether. Denies that created things have any natural causal properties; instead, every event is entirely ‘supernatural’, all events are taken to be caused directly by God. Since every ‘natural’ event is supernatural, it is therefore invalid to think of any natural causation at all.

n   “Laws of nature are not alternatives to divine activity but only our codification of that activity in its normal manifestation, and a miracle means nothing more than that God at a given moment wills a certain thing to occur differently than it had up to that moment been willed to occur.” (eg. Edwards, Kuyper, Berkouwer)

n   “A miracle is not an abnormal or unnatural occurrence presupposing the normality of nature, but a redeeming reinstatement of the normality of world and life through the new dominion of God… Miracles are not part of a supernatural order which intrudes upon an absolutized “natural” order of things, thereupon creating a tension between miracles and nature.” (G. Berkouwer, The Providence of God, p. 211)

n   Argument against: But it is precisely because the miracles of Jesus are often symbolic of the coming of salvation that a supernaturalistic description of them is so suitable (the advance of the kingdom is the work of the Holy Spirit). John 9:39-41 explicitly makes this connection, where there is a direct parallel between physical and spiritual blindness, and our blindness of heart needs a supernatural cure. Healing is itself a special divine operation of divine power on ‘nature’.

l   Supernaturalism:

n   Affirms the existence of ‘nature’ as a web of cause and effect. The view that God maintains his created things in existence with their causal properties. The interaction of these properties gives us the regularity of nature/a regular order of nature. Supernatural events may occur when God transcends these natural properties to achieve some purpose.

n   “There is such a thing as ‘nature’ as a web of cause and effect, and… God’s ordinary providence is the preservation of the things that he has made and concurrence in their effects… God is [also] free to work ‘without, above, and against them, at his pleasure’.” (eg. Aquinas, Protestant Scholastics, C.S.Lewis)

n   Two views of supernatural forces:

u  Miracles break the laws of nature. In the case of the axhead that floated (2 Kings 6:6), this theory suggests that for a brief period of time, in that cubic foot or so of water, the law of gravity was suspended. The problem with this explanation is that suspending or breaking of the laws of nature usually introduces complications requiring a whole series of compensating miracles.

u  When miracles occur, natural forces are countered by supernatural force. Laws of nature are not suspended. In the case of the axhead, the law of gravity continued to function in the vicinity of the axhead, but the unseen hand of God was underneath it, bearing it up just as if a human hand were lifting it. This view have the advantage of regarding miracles as being genuinely supernatural or extranatural, but without being antinatural.

l   God’s working is not restricted to the dimensions that we inhabit: There may be more than the three spatial dimensions with which we are familiar, so God would be able to perform actions that could not be accounted for by the laws governing these three dimensions.

l   When we look at the biblical examples of miracles, we cannot be proponents of providentialism or occasionalism unless we radically reject our ordinary perception of the world.

l   The supernatural acts of creation. Certain creation activities were accomplished by the word of God (Hebrews 11:3); he merely spoke, and it was done (Psalm 33:9). Obviously, this type of divine action is not being duplicated today since the creation process of the material universe was concluded at the end of the initial week of earth’s history (Genesis 2:1-2).

l   Miracles which involved a temporary and localized suspension of laws regulating nature. Jesus calmed a ferocious storm on the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 8:23-27), and, on another occasion, he walked upon the waters of the lake (John 6:16-21). Joshua Stops the Sun

l   The manipulation of certain material things. Christ turned water into wine (John 2:1-11), and multiplied a lad’s loaves and fishes, so that thousands were fed (John 6:1-14).

n   Subject to sense perception: The water that Jesus turned into wine could be tasted (John 2:9)

l   Healing of man’s physical body. The blind were made to see (John 9:1-7), and the lame to walk (Acts 3:1-10), instant healing of amputated ear (Luke 22:50-51).

n   Genuine miracles were not slow, progressive processes; rather, they produced instantaneous effects. “And straightway he received his sight” (Mark 10:52); “And immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength” (Acts 3:7).

n   How can a perfectly restored ear, that had been amputated, be explained by current processes (Luke 22:50-51)

l   Virgin birth of Jesus: obviously contrary to the course of nature. Joseph obviously knows that as he was operating under the assumption that everyone else makes about how women come to be pregnant.

l   Divine power over death. Lazarus, dead four days, was raised (John 11:43-44), and, of course, the resurrection of Christ is the very foundation of the Christian system (1 Corinthians 15:16-19).

l   Expulsion of demons that had entered into human bodies (Matthew 12:22).

n   When Jesus performed signs, even his enemies did not deny the effect of such; they merely attempted to attribute his power to some other source (e.g., Satan; cf. Matthew 12:24).

l   Miraculous power was demonstrated in both the plant and animal kingdoms. Balaam’s donkey spoke with a man’s voice (Numbers 22:28), and the Lord Jesus, in an object lesson relative to the impending destruction of Jerusalem, destroyed a fig tree with but a word from his mouth (Matthew 21:19).

l   Ten plaques and the Crossing of the Red Sea. The naturalists try to analyse these scientifically, with red toxic algae, diseases, weather conditions, etc. Although the signs may be associated with natural phenomena, their occurrence is clearly attributed to divine intervention because there are references to Moses or Aaron stretching out their hands, or a staff, in order to bring about the signs.

l   Purposes:

n   To glorify God: meaning that when miracles occur today, we should credit God, who is the source of the miracle, not the human agent, who is the channel.

n   To establish the supernatural basis of the revelation: in biblical times miracles often accompanied the revelations.

n   To meet human needs: Jesus is frequently pictured as moved with compassion for the needy and hurting people who came to him (Matthew 14:14).

Resources:

Collins, John C. The God of Miracles

Erikson, Millard J. Christian Theology.

https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/5-what-does-the-bible-say-about-miracles

Morling Tuesday Chapel Ephesians: The Armour of God

Topic: The Armour of God

Speaker: Michael Frost

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-20

Before the foundation of the world, God allows you to hear about Jesus. This was His plan all along, the eternal plan of God. A world restored, renewed and repaired.

We need to read chapter 1-2 Ephesians before Ephesians 6:

Ephesians 1:18-23: That power is the same as the power that rose Jesus from the dead. A magnificent vision of our identity in Christ.

When we face the schemes of the devil/deceiving forces:

V10: be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Jesus wins, because we inherit the same power as the power which rose Jesus from the dead.

Schemes of the devil:

1)      Attempts to destroy the unity of the church.

Disunity, factionalism, etc. See Ephesians 4: There is one body and one spirit. People get worried about people getting sick because they offend the god of the fertility, etc. There is only one God. Any fracturing amongst Christians is a scheme from the devil. Do not be angry and give the devil a foothold.

2)      False teaching.

Hold fast to the truth in Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves… Ephesians 4:14-15.

3)      Temptations to ungodly living.

Live in fidelity to the values of Jesus. You can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person… has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Ephesians 5:5-7.

Paul’s message: Keep calm and armour up!

V11: Therefore, put on the full armour of God…

V14:

Belt of truth: The truth about Jesus: there are no other gods!

Breastplate of righteousness: From Isaiah 59:17. Our God Yahweh is righteous, and He is the one who saves. Put on the character of God! Ephesians 4:24, put on the new self! Build a rhythm of life about service, sacrifice, etc.

V15:

Shoes of readiness (gospel of peace): Jesus came and preached peace. It’s a gospel of peace. From Isaiah 52:7. Root your life in the person of Jesus, share the gospel with every chance you get. If you really want to learn something, teach it.

V16:

Shield of faith: it’s faith that will repel false teaching, temptations to ungodliness, etc.

V17:

Helmet of salvation: Ephesians 2:4-5. It is by grace you have been saved.

Sword of the spirit: Which is the word of God. Word that build us up to follow Jesus. Hold on to the words of God. Luke 4:3-4, Jesus replied 3x using the words of God.

Be rooted in the truth about King Jesus, holding onto faith in his kingship no matter what; be shaped by the hope of salvation through his work on the cross, in order that you live holy lives that reflect his reign; be always ready to tell others about him, as revealed to us in his Word… so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand!

There are two letters to the Ephesians: This one, and one by John of Patmos 35 years after: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance…

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.

Revelations 2:2-5.

Take your stand… but don’t lose your first love for Jesus! Seek Him, yearn for Him, desire more of Him! Knowing is one thing, but loving the King with all your heart, that is our destiny/vocation/calling above all else.