From: Richter@lrz.lrz-muenchen.dbp.de (Helmut Richter)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: answering everybody's questions (was: dealin w/atheist)
Date: 15 Apr 92 08:10:10 GMT
Reply-To: Richter@lrz.lrz-muenchen.dbp.de
Organization: Leibniz-Rechenzentrum, Muenchen (Germany)

superc@sam.ksu.ksu.edu (Shawn E Chase) writes:

>hi, i'm new to this newsgroup. i have been a christian since mid 1989, and
>lately, i have comeupopn a person who has presented me with some rather
>subversive questions dealing with god. and i dont have the answers for some of
>them, those of which i'm listing here:

You have already received a number of good answers to your questions.
What I want to add is not another answer but another question (therefore
the change in the subject line): why are we Christians supposed to answer
everybody's questions? Does God answer everybody's questions? Read John 4.
Did Jesus answer any of the questions the woman asked him? No. He answered
the questions the woman HAD, and not the questions she ASKED.
Read John 21:21-22. Jesus did not answer Peter's question. He did not tell
him what to THINK but what to DO.

> 1. hypothetical situation: let's say that there is a group of people on an
>island who never hear the gospel in their lifetime. they die and go to hell.
>(athiest's question) "is that supposed to be some kind of a just god???"

This is not your question not your atheist's. Neither of you lives on a remote
island. You have both heard the gospel. So your question "what is going to
happen to those?" is the same as Peter's question in John 21, and you should
expect a similar answer as Peter got.

This question is, however, relevant to us in one respect: should we bring them
the gospel or should we leave them alone relying on God's justice? This question
is clearly answered in the bible, though.

> [snip]
>  anyways, here are some of the main questions, but the principal one is: WHY
>DOES GOD ALLO SUFFERING AND PAIN IN THIS WORLD? ?? i tried to tell him that satan
> [snip]

Who's in the dock?
If it's God, you'll have a very hard time as his attorney. How defend a God who
insists that blood be shed - if necessary, the blood of an innocent?
If it's you however, you'll have a very hard time defending yourself. You'll
be happy when after the sentence God himself stands up saying that He will
bear your punishment - the death at the cross.

Another poster has already pointed you to the book of Job in the bible.
What I want to say in this posting is much better expressed there:

- The three friends of Job are biblical scholars who are perfectly right:
  they know God is just (who would contradict them?) and have a theologically
  sound explanation for Job's suffering. They answer all questions. But look
  what God thinks about their reasoning.

- These three friends act as crafty attorneys for God. Job accuses them of
  even lying in favor of God (Job 13:7-8). Unfortunately, neither God nor Job
  is impressed.

- God's answer is not to Job's accusations. Instead, He insists that He is not
  in the dock before a human court.

- Note that Job's questions are not really answered. Nowhere in the book is a
  definite answer given to suffering. The answer is not anything people say
  about God, not even anything God says. The answer is HE HIMSELF.
  Job, the man whose righteousness was doubted not even by Satan, finally had
  to confess: "I knew you just from hearsay, but now my eyes saw you."
  (Job 42:2-6).

That's the point. Your atheist will not be convinced by your answers but when
God meets him. Until then, you may try with your answers but know they are, at
most, hearsay.

Again: I have no problems with the answers you got. But I do have a problem if we
think we have an answer for everyone.

Regards, Helmut