A reflection on the problem of pain: sovereignty of God vs. free will

There is a lot suffering going on right now: in Japan, in Libya, all around the world.  It's not just out there, it is also within our lives and in our own communities.  I preached on this subject today.

The problem of pain is the argument that God can't be both good and all powerful at the same time because if he was good, he couldn't be all powerful because he has not stopped all of the sufferings; and if God is all powerful, he couldn't be good because he has not stopped all of the sufferings.  He can't be both good and all powerful.

It is interesting that there are two camps among Christians on how to explain the problem of pain, and those two camps are the same two camps on the debate between Calvinism and Arminianism.  Predestination vs. Free Will.  Sovereignty of God vs. Human free will.  Piper vs. Boyd.

Here's how Greg Boyd, who emphasizes human free will, explains suffering: Suffering is caused by human free will, which led to a fallen state of the universe.  God is powerful, but this power does not mean he controls everything.  God does not exercise power by brute force but by loving influence.  Through Jesus, he demonstrated that he is not a God of the power-over, the power of brute force, but a God of love, the power of power-under.  Because he seeks to change people by the power of love, God allows suffering.

Here's how Reformed Christians, those who emphasize God's sovereignty, explain suffering.  God is in control of everything, even suffering.  God allows suffering because he has a purpose for it.  Just like a surgeon has a purpose in causing the pain of surgery, God has a purpose for our pain.  Just because we don't know the reason does not mean there isn't a good reason.

I preached from the story of Joseph which culminates in Genesis 50 where he says: "you meant it for evil but God meant it for good."

My argument is a middle argument between the free will people and sovereignty of God people.  As Joseph said, "you meant it for evil."  Our suffering is caused by human free will which led to sin and the fallen state of the universe.  But, God is in control.  "God meant it for good."  God is so powerful that he can actually turn even the evil actions into something good.  "In all things, God works for the good of those who love him."  So, I believe that suffering is caused by sin, but God is in control of everything.

The Debate about Heaven, Hell, and Rob Bell

Rob Bell, the pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan, wrote a book on heaven and hell called Love Wins.  It has not been released yet.  A lot of people have been blogging and tweeting on this topic.  See the one blog that started the criticism.  NY Times has written an article on this as well.  I hear that it is one of the top ten trending topics on twitter.  People are calling Rob Bell a Universalist.  I think this is a difficult issue.  Frankly, I continue to wrestle with this issue.  I live with a lot of tension in my life on this issue.  I will be reading this book to see what his position is.  I don't want to judge him before I read the book.  I think this article from Christianity Today captures the civility of the debate and the struggles of many Christians who take the Bible seriously.  Check it out:

Heaven, Hell, and Rob Bell: Putting the Pastor in Context | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Craig Ferguson with Dr Cornel West About Black History and Music

This is a great discussion on Black History Month and the history of music in the African American context. Good stuff.

A Thought Provoking Parenting Book: Loving Our Kids on Purpose by Danny Silk

I highly recommend this book.  I got it at Bethel Church when I went up there for a conference.  Grace read it first and told me I had to read it. 
It is paradigm shifting.  It is the gospel applied to parenting.  I don't agree with everything in the book, but it made Grace and I think.  We've had a parenting workshop with this book, and it made all of us think. 

Christus Victor

We are in the middle of a series called Christus Victor, which means Christ the Victor in Latin. It is a series on spiritual warfare from Ephesians 6:10-20.

This artwork was done by Glen Baugh.

Exciting time at New City Church

God is doing something here at New City. Summer has not slowed us down at all. We have grown the most during the summer. Two Sundays ago, we had 43 newcomers and last Sunday, we had 34 newcomers. I don't even understand how a church of our size can have that many newcomers. It seems like a lot of them are coming back as well. We've been breaking our attendance records lately (we are at around 200). We are not about numbers, but each person represents a soul that Jesus died for.

There is a sense that God is doing something here. We've felt the presence of God in a powerful way for the last few weeks. Our worship team has been great at bring us to that sweet presence of God. People are getting the gospel, deepening their understanding of the gospel, and getting filled with the Holy Spirit, and lives are changing everyday. It's exciting!

The Current, our wednesday night worship and prayer time, has been an awesome blessing. It has slowed us down so that we can soak in His love.

We are also about launch a new discipleship ministry, more Community Groups, and a recovery ministry.

We will celebrate our second anniversary of the church on September 12, 2010. We have a lot to be thankful for and a lot to look forward to.

The Coolest "Car" I've Seen

This has to be one of the coolest cars I've seen.  It seems like crazy fun to drive one of these.  It's called Pursu and coming soon.