Smashing Fists and Joyful Songs - Hard Questions for Christianity

Some Christians say we shouldn’t question what God does – often quoting Romans 9:20 or Daniel 4:35. But the Bible also tells us to test all things and hold on to what is true (see 1 Thessalonians 5:21); and God challenged people in the past to reason/argue things out with him (see Isaiah 1:18).

What follows are some challenging issues in the Christian faith. They are each briefly described and followed by an important question(s). I welcome reactions.

The human heart

The Bible tells us that the Lord made the human heart (Psalm 33:15). The prophet Jeremiah also states that, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9, emphasis mine). The same Hebrew word (lēb) is used for heart in each verse. One might wonder, why will God judge mankind for behaving according to the way he made us?

The prophet Isaiah seemed to support this question when he wrote, “LORD, why have you allowed us to turn from your path? Why have you given us stubborn hearts, so we no longer fear you?” (see Isaiah 63:17). Again, the same Hebrew word for heart is used. It’s also worth pointing out that the apostle Paul wrote that God has imprisoned us in sin (see Romans 7:23 and 11:32).

Why will God judge mankind for behaving the way he created us to behave? 

Violence

I recently heard a sermon where the speaker made a point of noting that God is love. He emphasized this distinction between Christianity and other religions, i.e., while other gods may love, the Christian God is love.

As I listened to this, I wondered why a God whose very essence is love would create people in his image who are so consumed by selfishness and violence; preside over a world soaked in violence; and reveal so many acts of his own violence in the Bible.

One could argue that violence is a feature of Christianity. The Bible is filled with accounts of violence from front to back. One of the first two children of Adam and Eve killed the other; God wiped out nearly everyone on earth after it became filled with violence; God defined laws that include death by stoning as a punishment for certain offenses and a host of bloody animal sacrifices; the Old Testament includes countless accounts of man-on-man and God-on-man violence; the New Testament includes numerous descriptions of the horrible crucifixion of Jesus; Jesus described the violent state of the world at his return when there will be wars and rumors of wars and people will cause their family members to be killed; and Jesus is depicted as returning to earth with a sword protruding from his mouth to strike down the nations, and judging those who have rejected him in frightening terms.

Why is Christianity and God’s creation immersed in so much violence?

God at the extremes

The book of Zephaniah in the Bible starts with God detailing how he will bring judgment and destruction on Judah and other nations. God is described, among other things, as fiercely angry, jealous, furious, terrifying, and striking the lands with his fist. He inspires the prophet to detail the devastation he will bring on these nations using terms like slaughtered, destroyed, crushed, and plundered. At one point Zephaniah writes, “Your blood will be poured into the dust, and your bodies will lie rotting.”

In the middle of all this, the prophet briefly interrupts his prolonged description of carnage by saying God will, “visit his people in kindness and restore their prosperity again.” He then turns back to God’s tirade.

At the end of the book, Zephaniah shifts back to a fuller description of God’s kindness. At one point he writes that God will, “take delight in [Israel] with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

Smashing fists and joyful songs. I find Bible narratives like this difficult to read. The extended, almost relishing description of God’s judgement is hard to take. The extremes of God that are described are also unsettling. (I once heard someone compare this to bipolar behavior.) Numerous descriptions of God’s violence and threats of violence are contained in the Bible alongside verses that describe him as compassionate, merciful, faithful, slow to anger, and filled with unfailing love.

What are we supposed to take away from these extreme descriptions of God?

Suffering & ugliness

Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, dementia, stroke, obesity, bulimia, infections, COVID, influenza, the common cold, diarrhea, vomiting, paralysis, blindness, bed sores, pain, chronic pain, CRPS, nerve pain, inflammation, burn wounds, lacerations, chronic illness, death, autism, mental illness, depression, schizophrenia, suicide, self-harm, narcissism, psychopathy, sociopathy, drug addiction, alcoholism, old age, frailty, fear, worry, anxiety, tribalism, war, fascism, genocide, murder, torture, assault, rape, slavery, trafficking, famine, homelessness, imprisonment, poverty, sleeplessness, chronic fatigue, grief, natural disasters, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, floods, violent animal attacks, poisonous animals, pollution, toxins, poison, mold, accidents, injuries, greed, corporate greed, politics, bribery, theft, grift, hypocrisy, dishonesty, lying, injustice, inequality, oppression, persecution, harassment, deception, misogyny, racism, prejudice, bias, evil, hatred, selfishness, apathy, negligence, cruelty, abuse, insults, bitterness, offence, resentment, jealousy, arrogance, lust, adultery, prostitution, porn, pedophilia, stupidity, ignorance, delusion, willful ignorance… I could go on.  

Why do people and the world have to be overwhelmed with these things? And when is enough, enough? When will God finally put an end to the misery?

Choose life

Much is made in the Christian faith about God giving us free will. We find the most quoted verse supporting this claim early in the Bible where God gives the Israelites a choice between life and death and urges them to choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19). There are also scriptures that indicate God wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth, and that Christ’s sacrifice purchased freedom for everyone (1 Timothy 2:4,6).

But the Bible also contains many verses that seem to counter these scriptures. Among other things, these verses indicate that God hardens hearts (Romans 9:18); determines the direction we go (Proverbs 16:9 & 20:4); chooses some people over others (Matthew 24:31, Romans 8:29, Acts 20:32); chooses only a few (Matthew 22:14, Romans 11:7); elevates and removes leaders as he pleases (Daniel 2:21); narrows the gateway to true life and makes the path to it difficult (Matthew 7:13-14); intentionally hides the meaning of his teachings (Matthew 13:11, Romans 11:8); determines the boundaries of nations (Acts 17:26); requires us to endure to the end (Matthew 24:31); and sends powerful delusions (2 Thessalonians 2:11). They seem to describe a life-long, difficult obstacle course that few will successfully navigate.

Do we all really have a choice?

Unleashing a powerful enemy

The Bible repeatedly uses words like compassionate, merciful, faithful, forgiving, and filled with unfailing love to describe God. For example, Exodus 34 quotes God as he revealed himself to Moses saying, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.”

The Bible also repeatedly describes God as sovereign over all creation. In other words, he is completely in control of everything. Psalm 103:19 says, “The LORD has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything.”

Yet God allows an exceedingly powerful being called Satan to attack us. Satan is described as prowling around like a lion, seeking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8); blinding people to the truth (2 Corinthians 4:3-4); and ruling over our world (John 14:30, Luke 4:6).

Jesus told Pontius Pilate – who had Jesus crucified – “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above” (John 19:11); and the book of Job describes God permitting Satan to unleash various horrors on Job, his family, and his possessions.

Why does such a kind and compassionate God allow a vicious and powerful enemy to repeatedly attack us?

Photo by Brett Jordan: Brett Jordan (@brett_jordan) | Unsplash Photo Community