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In recent weeks we have seen the utter devastation that has come about in Haiti with nearly 230,000 people having been estimated to have died as a result of an earthquake. When you consider the million people who have been left homeless and destitute as well, it causes deep emotion and a very real sense of concern to rise up in us. We are left asking again why such a terrible disaster could happen, and perhaps why God could allow such a disaster to happen? Many have been quick to speak up and give their opinion. The ‘New Atheists’ such as Richard Dawkins have seen this as further evidence that God does not exist, that it is just ‘the blind happenings of nature’. However, as we saw in the first article there are major problems with this perspective.  Just because you can give a geological explanation for an event does not mean that there is no law giver behind these events. This is a basic philosophical category mistake.

On the other hand, others such as Pat Robertson have been quick to suggest that it is God’s specific judgement on Haiti for their involvement with voodoo and the occult. However, respected theologian Dr. Albert Mohler rightly questions this premise:

“Why did no earthquake shake Nazi Germany? Why did no tsunami swallow up the killing fields of Cambodia? Why did Hurricane Katrina destroy far more evangelical churches than casinos? Why do so many murderous dictators live to old age while many missionaries die young?”

It is far too simplistic to claim that God has specifically judged one nation for wrong doing, but not others. It is true that God will judge everyone in the future (Rev 20:11-15), but for now we are wise not to speculate about God’s specific judgement on nations. In the Bible, we do see occasions of God judging nations and people for their sin, but God gives a messenger to explain these events before they even happen (Genesis 19:12-13).

Why do natural disasters happen?

The reason that we see such disasters take place is first and foremost because we live in a world which is spoiled by sin.  As I stated in my previous article, the world was in a state of perfection until Adam and Eve chose to sin against God (Gen 3:6-7), and there were consequences to this rebellion (Gen 3:17-18). Ever since the ground was cursed in response to the sin of Adam and Eve, these same natural disasters have been present. In Romans 8:18-22, Paul explains that this will remain the case until God redeems everything.

Those who agree that the world is billions of years old may find the chronology of this inconsistent with what scientific records seem to suggest. Surely there was pain, struggle and suffering in the natural order before Adam and Eve the first man and woman?

Intelligent Design scientist William Dembski agrees and has responded to this question by saying that he believes it is entirely possible that when the ‘curse’ took place in Genesis 3, it affected the world retroactively. His reasoning fits with the way that the cross of Jesus affected human history.

God’s acts transcend time in their impact

Jesus gave his life up and brought about salvation for the men and women of faith that lived in the Old Testament age. We find this clearly taught in Romans 4, when Paul is talking about how Abraham was justified by faith (Romans 4:1-3) and not by works. Similarly, despite the fact that the Israelites sacrificed animals on the day of atonement it was not the acts themselves which brought about salvation, but the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:3-5).  The salvation which God gave through Jesus Christ was transhistorical; it saved those who had faith in God’s salvation plan before the birth of Christ, as well as those who lived at the time and in the future.

Dembski argues that if you use this same logic it is possible for another act of God, [the cursing of the earth], to affect the created order in a transhistorical way too. In other words, if the salvation offered through Jesus can go backwards and forwards in history to save those living in 2010 and those living in 2010 BC, it is entirely possible for this to be true of the ‘the fall’ as well. Consequently, any pain, suffering and death which may have taken place prior to Adam and Eve could have still resulted from their sin, and God’s resultant cursing of the earth. I would want to state that this is one theory though, and would be wary of drawing too many conclusions from this.

God’s providence

In the previous article I made the point that our moral behaviour as people would be even worse if it were not for God’s common grace. This is true in a similar way for the earth that we live in. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin are death, so we could easily have expected that God would have destroyed the earth in response to our rebellion against him, but he hasn’t because of his sheer grace and mercy. Luke 8:22-25 sees Jesus commanding the wind and sea, demonstrating God’s control over the forces of nature and whilst we see many natural disasters happening around us, God’s grace will have undoubtedly stopped many others from occurring.

Conclusion

In the final article of this series we will look at how God uses suffering and difficulty in the here and now for good. For now, we can say that we see the world in the mess that it is because of sin. God was completely justified in cursing the earth in response to human sinfulness.

The sin should have led to death for all of us, but God has shown mercy and grace to us by restraining the physical destruction which happens. God can still use these very tragic events for good as we will see in our final article in this series, but we can have hope for the future, when God will complete his redemption. God is making all things new (Rev 21:5), and those who place their trust in Christ will not be experiencing pain and misery forever. There will be a day when Christ comes again, and every tear will be dried (Rev 7:17).

In the meantime Christians are called to show compassion to people who have experienced loss, to reach out with the love of Christ, both my providing for people practically (James 1:27) as well as introducing people to the one who will heal their pain ultimately.

In the first article I was looking at if it was possible for a good all-powerful God to allow suffering to exist within our world, or whether the very existence of suffering proved that there is in fact no God at all. I came to the conclusion that in order to define suffering and evil in a meaningful way, the existence of God was necessary. In this article, we will look at the causes of suffering in our world, particularly focussing on the issue of ‘personal evil’. What I mean by this is the kind of suffering that comes about as a result of individuals or groups making decisions that have an impact on others. This includes a very broad range of things from mass evil such as the Holocaust, and 9/11 to everyday decisions.

The necessity of free will

So if God is all-powerful, why does he allow suffering to happen on an individual level? The first point to highlight is that God has given us dignity as humans through giving us free will. This free will is necessary, as without it we are sub-human and do not have a capacity to experience love.  We would merely be robots.  I have been married for 9 months to my wife Jac, and we love each other very much. Imagine though that I had met her and forced her to be in a relationship with me, this would not be love at all, but coercion. God has given us the same dignity of responding to him. He does not coerce us into relationship with him.

Some people will ask ‘if God knew that we would sin, why did he choose to give us free will in the first place?’ The issue here is that relational love could not exist without free will. God could have built a world with androids in it, but he chose something more glorious, a world with relational love, and there are potential consequences to that. God decided that it would be more glorious and praiseworthy to have a human race with love, even at the risk of his own children turning their backs on him, than an enormous bunch of robots who are simply programmed to have to respond to him.

The effects of sin

The reality is that God made men and women in the beginning to experience a relationship with him. If we look in the Genesis narrative we see that there was total harmony (Genesis 1:31), but then Adam and Eve chose to disobey God (Gen 3:6-7) and everything changed.  We have continued as a human race in much the same way. As human beings we certainly have a dignity about us, which enables us to do some very positive things: we are able to be creative with technology, draw wonderful art, make fantastic music, advance scientifically and many more things. This comes from being image-bearers of God who is also creative, but sadly we also exhibit the signs of rebellion.

It doesn’t take much to see this in action in other people such as Hitler and Stalin who were responsible for millions of deaths. Each of these dictators clearly misused their free will in order to gain power, and we rightly label their deeds as morally wrong. However, this rebellion is present in our lives more subtly as Jesus pointed out when he said in Mark 7:21-23:

‘For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.’

Each of us has probably also been responsible for the suffering that someone has experienced in their own life. The pain experienced may range from the relatively trivial to the very severe, but it is worth recognising that as humans we are not faultless. Romans 3:23 indicates that we have fallen short of the standard set out by God. We all stand guilty of misusing the free will given to us by God, and we all stand in need of a redeemer.

Why doesn’t God intervene?

One of the things that we tend to ask when evil happens to us is why God doesn’t intervene in situations? My fourth article will be devoted primarily to the purpose that comes out of suffering which God sovereignly allows, but for now I will make a couple of points.

There is an underlying assumption in this question that God never intervenes in any situation. How can we know this though?

God does intervene; if he didn’t there would be alot more suffering than there is. God does restrain the amount of evil that happens in the world. This is part of his common grace to us, if he handed us over to our desires of rebellion completely then the world would be even worse than it is.

Common Grace

This means that there are actually many wars and evil deeds which are prevented from happening. Through common grace God gives anyone the ability to forgive someone instead of holding a grudge (which we would be pre-disposed to do otherwise) which ceases the chain of bitterness and unforgiveness. How often do we see friendships and family relationships break down over something very small, which is not forgiven and escalates until the two parties no longer speak. Without God’s common grace given to all, this would be experienced on every occasion.

However, God does not always intervene in these situations, and this is because he is able to use such situations for good. I’m sure we can all think of things that have not gone our way in life, but we have come out stronger as a result. We will look at this in more detail in a couple of articles time. There will be other occasions where we can’ t see the good that comes from it, and we end up seeing it later on in life, but also times where we won’t be able to see it in this life. This is when we will need to trust God, based on what he has revealed of himself elsewhere. We can be confident even in mystery that God will use it, after all his thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9), given his perspective (unlike ours) is eternal.

If you consider yourself a sceptic about Christianity or a Christian who is looking for honest answers to some of the toughest questions, then this book was quite simply written for you. Tim Keller is a pastor in New York, who has put into writing the kinds of questions that he is asked on a regular basis about Christianity such as ‘ How can a good God allow suffering?’, ‘Hasn’t science disproved Christianity?’ and ‘How can a loving God send people to hell?’

In this book, Keller takes an unusual approach to defending Christianity, in that he essentially divides the book into two. The first half is dedicated to answering objections that are often raised against Christianity, but in the second half of the book he somewhat changes his approach. Many people often believe that the burden of proof is on Christians to show why they believe in ideas that go beyond mere naturalistic thinking. However, Keller shows very clearly through philosophy, literature and reasoning that there are in fact many assumptions made in atheistic and agnostic worldviews in practice; such as when we consider the origins of moral values, and indeed meaning in life, amongst other things that are a significant problem.

Tim Keller manages to come across as thoughtful and persuasive while maintaining an intellectually credible yet accessible work.  Overall, I would suggest that this book is a must-read for anyone, whether you consider yourself a person of faith or not. This will challenge many of your pre-suppositions to the core.

The Genesis account describes how Adam and Eve disobeyed God at the instigation of a snake. Could this be interpreted to suggest that God had made a mistake in his creation? A mistake that would have devastating implications for humanity. The fact that the snake spoke should be noted, and suggests an alternative understanding of the event. There was nothing created in the seven days or eras apart from humans that could speak. The only beings that could were created before the earth was formed, that is, the angels. In fact, throughout the Bible ‘snake’ has been representative of Satan or the Devil (Rev: 12:9, 20:2). Satan is an angel who envied God’s power, tried to usurp the throne of God, and who was thus thrown out of heaven.

Did God ‘put’ the snake in the Garden of Eden?

The Bible does not explain systematically, like a textbook, the events of the Fall (when Adam and Eve turned against God after the snake tempted them). We have the narrative of the first few chapters of Genesis describing Satan as a ’snake’ who incited Eve to disobey God. It seems to be suggested in the text that the snake was a created creature like any other animal, so in one respect God did ‘put’ the snake in Eden. Yet, no normal, natural snake speaks. This factor combined with other scripture passages using ‘snake’ as refernce for the Devil suggests that the snake was influenced by another supernatural entity.

The omnipotence of God

Did God ‘put’ Satan in the Garden of Eden? I have mentioned above that the Bible does not give exhaustive detail on this point. The other passages, apart from the opening chapters of Genesis, that refer to the fall of Satan are Isaiah 14:4-21, Ezekiel 28:1-17. These two sections of text are poetical and have more than one meaning. As such there are things that we can know about how and why Satan (the snake) was in the Garden of Eden, but there are aspects of the event that we cannot discover from scripture. Yet scripture is clear on this point: God never intiates evil. Instead this has always been a result of the choices made by the created: angels and humans (James 1:13-14). The Bible provides records of God’s actions in history. It is not written as a theology essay, explaining who God is and how he acts in detailed academic exposition. Nevertheless, within the records of the Bible , God’s sovereignty is displayed very clearly, in so-far-as nothing happens that is outside of God’s control. This includes the snake’s presence in the Garden of Eden.

God’s providence

Does the above mean that God is somehow to blame for the Fall of man? Was it God’s mistake? Within a human context, if someone has complete control over another, the one who is subject to the other has no power to initiate free action. Therefore the one who is in control must ultimately take responsibility for any action taken by the one who is subject. The image that comes to mind is a puppeteer in control of the strings. This is not an analogy that can be transfered to the God of the Bible and his relation to humanity. God is beyond us, and therefore his actions cannot be equated to that of a human, and his ultimate control does not negate our free action. God is at the same time distinct from his creation, and working through it. Human action is very real and effective, therefore each human is accountable for what he/she does.

Human free will and God’s providence are not opposed to each other. Many times the Bible represents a scenario where a human freely chooses to act, but the Bible declares that God ultimately governed the outcome of the event (Acts 2:23, 4:27-28, Luke 22:22, Matt 18:7). Therefore there is a paradox which is represented – humans act and choose freely, and are therefore accountable, but God works his purposes in and through the willing free actions of humans. Thus God cannot ever be accused of causing the Fall; humanity chose to reject God, and Satan decided to incite us. We remain accountable.

For a more detailed exposition read: Grudem, Wayne Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Chapter 16: God’s Providence.

But did God make the ‘mistake’ of not preventing the Fall?

Firstly, because we are beings that are made in the image of God we have the freedom to choose, as I have outlined above. Therefore when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God they had to take responsibility for it. The highest human virtue is love. Part of the essence of love is choice. We need to be free to choose in order to love; and we need to be free to choose in order to do evil. The Fall was caused by our choice to reject God’s governace over our lives.

Secondly, however, God knew that the snake would incite Eve; could he not have stopped it, as he is all powerful? Simply: yes, but realistically, this is a question that is very difficult to answer because it requires information that humanly we do not possess. Such as, God’s thoughts and eternal intentions. How can God not prevent evil and be not partly to blame? I will let Calvin’s words serve as an answer, because he expresses it so well: ‘Let those for whom this seems harsh consider for a little while how bearable their squeamishness is in refusing a thing attested by clear Scriptual proofs because it exceeds their mental capacity’ (Calvin, John. Institutes). The point is this: If God has all the attributes we expect of him he is far beyond our capacity to intellegibly dissect. Paradoxically, however, at the very moment that humanity betrayed God’s law, which he foreknew, God also knew the extremes to which he would go to save humanity from the results of the Fall. This is the very irony of the question: why did God not prevent this evil for our sakes? A result of evil entering creation was the suffering God knew he would undergo for us. The Bible tells us that it is because of his great love for us.

God’s plan

From the beginning God had a plan to save people from the Fall, to totally and ultimately defeat evil through the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who willingly went to the cross to suffer in our place because of our rejection of God. At the Fall, when God is cursing the snake he said this: ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heal’ (Genesis 3:15). This is a promise that Satan and evil will be trampled under the feet of one man – Jesus Christ.

For more information on Genesis 3:15 see: http://biblescripture.net/First.html

Further Reading

1. Wright, Christopher J H, The God I Don’t Understand, Zondervan, 2008, Chapter 1, 2, 3.

2. Grudem, Wayne, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Inter-Varsity Press, 1994, Chapter 16

There is a famous scene found in a paragraph from the great atheist existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s novel Nausea that almost perfectly sums up the dilemma of modern man.  Here the book’s protagonist, Roquentin, spends most of his days living out a humdrum existence – frequenting coffee shops, the public library and just general aimless wandering, all the while attempting to write a book.  Throughout much of the narrative he is frequently struck by feelings of intense nausea that unexpectedly well up within him – mostly they are caused by the various inanimate objects he observes (i.e. a pebble, a newspaper page etc.).

Sartre & Roquentin

One evening, after having dinner at a restaurant and being overcome by an especially intense bout of nausea, he goes for a walk and ends up sitting on a park bench under a chestnut tree, where, in a sort of epiphany moment, he comes to the realization of why he has been afflicted with such sickness.  In essence Roquentin realizes that all of existence is completely meaningless and every object that exists has no reason for doing so.

All life is meaningless?

His nausea was actually the unconscious realization that those objects had no actual reason for existing – the trees, the pebbles, the park bench and even himself.  His contemplation of suicide only served to highlight the fact that death was just as pointless, or ’superfluous’, as life, as existence.  This realization was, for Sartre, the fundamental absurdity at the heart of the cosmos – that everything that does exist should do so for no reason, and that existence and non-existence are equally as meaningless.

Similarly, another famous atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote an oft-quoted line in his essay A Free Man’s Worship:

‘That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave; that all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and that the whole temple of Man’s achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins — all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain, that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand. Only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul’s habitation henceforth be safely built.’

Meaningless but purposeful – a contradiction?

Yet, despite such pessimistic views of the ultimate nature of existence, both Sartre and Russell lived what seemed to be immensely full and productive lives – both wrote prolifically and were highly esteemed philosophers in their day, with a continuing influence on the academy years after their deaths.  Both were also active in many of the political and social issues of their time, from Sartre’s activity in the French Resistance of World War II to Russell’s championing of the poor and vulnerable of society.

In a similar way, we can see that many atheists, agnostics etc. can and do live full, meaningful and productive lives – they have successful careers, family and friends, as well as being involved in many pressing social issues.  Indeed they can, and often do, live life as fully as any religious believer and, perhaps in many cases, take hold of such aspects of life with even more enthusiasm.  Yet the paradox remains that, when pressed into the deeper meaning of existence, it appears that most atheists and agnostics have as similar a nihilistic view of meaning and purpose as do Russell and Sartre.

An Inconsistent Worldview

This kind of schizophrenia was famously described by Francis Schaeffer as a ‘two-story existence’, where people live their lives like a kind of two floored building.  On the one hand people no longer believe in a higher power or deity to guide them and give any intrinsic meaning to their existence (call that intrinsic meaning the lower story or ‘the basement’ where the foundations are).  On the other, however, they carry on with their day-to-day lives as if it had all the meaning of just such a fact – everything they do is done as if it really meant something in the grand scheme of existence (call this the upper story or ‘living room’ area).  The problem is when, if ever, they go downstairs to the basement that floor is completely empty and the structure that holds it all together is frail and wasting away.  In other words there is no real foundation for the beliefs and actions that constitute many people’s existence – but as long as they don’t go down into the basement and scrutinize the basis of their lives it can be easily ignored.

Does consistency matter?

But is there anything wrong with living as if life had value while, ultimately, holding that it actually doesn’t?  After all should atheists have such a consistency between their beliefs and their actions? Perhaps an atheist could suggest here that such a consistency is of no real virtue because if life has no ultimate meaning then living with such a consistency is equally as pointless as living with an inconsistency.  But if this is the case then it must also be acknowledged that there is no objective difference between, to borrow an illustration from Christian philosopher J.P. Moreland, a man who spends his entire life playing tiddlywinks or a Mother Theresa who devotes her life to helping the poor and needy.  Both lives are equally as pointless.  But can anyone really and truly believe such a thing?  This is the practical impossibility of atheism.

Humanism – Self-delusion

Sartre himself attempted to overcome the inherent meaninglessness of existence by inspiring a great existential project for humans to create their own meaning in the face of a cosmos devoid of purpose.  This is what the word ‘existentialism’ ultimately derives from – that ‘existence’ comes before ‘essence’ – that human beings create their own meaning and purpose through the way they live their lives (or the way they ‘exist’) and the choices they make, as opposed to some fixed essence of being which gives them a preordained purpose to life.  The obvious contradiction here is with Sartre’s own admittance in Nausea that every action we do and every action we choose is just as pointless as that which we choose not to do instead.  In other words Sartre’s project, and the project of modern atheistic humanism in general, is nothing but a grand act of self-delusion.

Indeed it seems that when confronted with ultimate reality the atheist cannot but admit that human life, qualitatively speaking, is no different from that of a dog – and perhaps the dog’s existence is actually more desirable as it has no true capacity for self-reflection and abstract thought and cannot come to this realization of the inherent meaninglessness of its existence.

Solomon and Nihilism?

The writer of the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes made this point almost three thousand years ago:

“The fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. All go to the same place. All come from the dust and all return to the dust” (Eccl. 3:19-20).

Indeed the writer of the book, which reads more like a modern existentialist tract than a book of the Bible, passes judgment on all the world has to offer to provide some kind of meaning in the face of meaninglessness: pleasure, wealth, fame, honour etc. etc..  His verdict on all these things is simple: “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (1:2).  For him a life that ends in death and has no God and no immortality is sheer absurdity.

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Some people believe that it is rather egotistical of God to demand that he has worshippers. This seems to many people to show God as a kind of overly insecure version of a teenage rocker, who has had a few knockbacks from girls in the past (before he was famous perhaps), and now needs the constant love and adoration of his fans to cover over these previous rejections!

So this begs the question, is God an insecure ageing weather man up in the clouds, desperately looking for an ego-boast, before his fragile little heart can take it no more and he goes to sit in a corner and quietly cry himself to sleep because he is not popular?

The Sufficiency of the Trinity

One of the first things that we learn about God in the bible is his Trinitarian nature. This is what Christians refer to as the holy trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Although the word ‘Trinity’ is not actually used in the Bible the concept is very clearly implicit within it. In Genesis 1:26 we see that God says he is creating people in ‘Our Image’ clearly showing that God is plural. Please do not allow this to confuse you, there is one God but three persons within the Godhead. In Matthew 3:16-17 we see another time where at Jesus’ baptism all three persons are present in differing roles.

We will discuss the concept of the trinity at greater length in our up and coming article: What is The Trinity?

The main thing for now to understand is that God the father actually lives in perfect community, with the other two people, Jesus and the person of The Holy Spirit and has done for all of eternity. Because of this perfect relationship (and therefore perfect love) which is experienced, there is no need within God for anything. He is completely self-satisfied (Acts 17:25). He is not requiring us to believe in him for some kind of ego-boast. God is not an ego-maniac.

Isn’t the universe enough for God?

It was out of this state of perfect love that God decided to express himself by creating the universe, and everything else that we see before us, the vegetation, the animals and also ourselves. It may seem surprising but in this vast universe the pinnacle of God’s creation was actually men and women (Genesis 1:26-27). Regardless of whether you believe that this came about through God creating each creature on earth through a process of evolution, or by special creation, one thing we can be sure is that we are no accident. The writer of Psalms says that we have been ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ (Psalm 139:14). God has taken great care to make sure of our very existence, and the very details of our life.

We need God

The reality is that we have been made with a desire for eternal things (Ecc 3:11). The meta-narrative (or over-arching story) of the bible is that despite the perfect creation in the beginning, we have turned our backs on God, and have fallen short of his perfect standard (Romans 3:23). This means that both our lives and the world we live in is no longer what it should be. This shows us that we need God, not that he needs us. He has promised to renew all things through the Jesus Christ.

We all have a desire to worship

It is very clear that as humans we all worship something. It may sound very primitive and like the kind of thing that people did in ancient times, but if we are not talking about simply bowing down to statues then it becomes obvious.

We all give our best time, money, dreams and passions to something, and this can become the thing that we use to identify ourselves by. This could be absolutely anything, and more often than not it’s a good thing which we have gone and made the ultimate thing.

One example would be having a relationship with someone. This can in itself be a good thing, but if we make this the ultimate thing in our lives then we end up disappointed because the other person may fail us, dump us or even if it lasts, will never treat you perfectly and will not save you for eternity. God on the other hand will never desert you, loves you perfectly as a father and offers you eternal life. He is the only one that we should bow down worship.

Conclusion

The early church father St. Augustine once said, ‘Our hearts are restless until we find our rest in him’. Far from God being needy, it turns out that we need him for fulfilment in this life, and in order to be transformed and to experience eternal glory and perfection in the next. Because God is a completely just judge, he can’t simply turn a blind eye to all the evil that goes on. It had to be paid for, on the cross, by Jesus. If we put our trust in him then we can know this wonderful God personally (Romans 10:9).

In short, yes.

In the beginning God created Man to live in relationship with him. Sin has ruined this relationship and created a barrier between us and God. Throughout history man has sought to bridge this gap through his own efforts, by being ‘good’ or by abstaining from things in order to please God. This is religion. Most Christians would  not class Christianity as a religion for the reason that there are no strict rules we have to follow, Jesus has done everything that is necessary.

Without sin, there would be no need for ‘religion’ at all. No one would be seeking to find God, as there would be no separation from Him to start with. In this sense, yes, the world would be better without religion.

If we accept the fact that as long as there is sin, there will be religion because of our inbuilt longing for God, we must then look at the second part of the question, regarding war.

We must avoid the mistake of blaming someone for things done in their name.

For example, if you told me that you wanted your favourite sports team to win the league that year, and I then went off and killed all the players in the opposing teams, claiming that it would guarantee your team winning, and so it was what you wanted, would it be fair for me to attribute my behaviour to you, or to generalise that behaviour to all the supporters of your team? I hope that you agree that it would not.

This is similar to religious wars.

There are countless wars that have been fought in the name of religion. Christianity cannot distance itself from this, the Crusades are a prime example of atrocities performed in the name of Christ.

However, these things are the complete opposite of the teachings of Christ himself. There are many people who would call themselves Christians, but do not necessarily reflect Christ, but, instead have their own agenda. This is not new and Christ even spoke of these people:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’   (Matthew 7:21-23)

Although Christians are to be imitators of Christ, this is not something that anyone can perfectly achieve. Please do not have your view of Christ tainted by those who follow Him.

For more on this subject:

http://reason.cck.org.uk/werent-people-from-around-300-1800-ad-under-a-great-deal-of-pressure-to-conform-to-christianity-or-they-would-face-death/

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. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.  (Rom 8:28-30)

The theme of predestination and divine selection runs right through the Bible – right from the choosing of Abraham, to God’s favour upon Issac instead of Ishmael and Jacob instead of Esau. Romans 9:10 -13 tells us why —in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls. It was not based on them being Jewish or on their virtue or their faith. It was based on God choosing and therefore, His graciousness. From Jacob, God created a nation of His own, Israel. Deut 6:6-8 explains why God choose Israel to be His nation – it was because He loved them.

In the New Testament, the Bible talks about God choosing to add non- Jews (Gentiles) to His Kingdom. (Eph 3:6)

So what then is this ‘choosing’ all about?

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor 1:26-31)

God chooses freely who will belong to his people. And He chooses in such a way as to accomplish two things, which are really two sides of the same coin. In verse 29 the goal of election is “that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” The goal of God in election is the elimination of all human pride, all self-reliance, all boasting in man.

And the second goal of God in election, the other side of the coin, is given in verse 31: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” In other words, take all boasting off of man and focus all boasting on God. Humble man and exalt Christ. Make man see his utter dependence on God’s mercy – that’s what predestination is all about!

Committing suicide is a serious issue and for obvious reasons a very emotional one also. So what does God have to say on the matter?
 
The Bible refers to God as the giver of life, and the one who sustains life also (Colossians 1:16-17). Therefore, it is definitely wrong for somebody to take their own life regardless of how bad things may have got in their personal life.
 
There is a way out
 
Before going any further in answering this question it is important to note several important truths that God promises to believers. Sometimes, circumstances may seem particularly bleak but as a Christian you can know God with you (Romans 8:31). He will never leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6). Just as crucial is God’s promise that he will never allow us to be tempted beyond that which we can bear, and that he always provides a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). This shows that he is willing to be active in helping you in the midst of your dark situation.
 
You can’t lose it
 
The first thing we must consider is whether salvation can be lost for any reason? If you are a Christian then you will be pleased to know that you can’t. There are many scriptures to back this up, but I will use just one. ‘No one can can snatch them out of my hand ‘said Jesus (John 10:28) when referring to his people (his sheep). This means that once God has his hand on our life his commitment to us is unshakeable.  We can’t lose the eternal life that God has given us. When we become a Christian we are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), who then comes to live inside of us.
 
The Bible tells us that you become a Christian not because of your behaviour but in spite of it. This is what Paul meant when he wrote to the Ephesians that they had been saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). In this sense, suicide is just another sin, which can be forgiven just like all others through the powerful work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
 
Judgement?
 
Ultimately, if you are a Christian you have escaped God’s just punishment which would have meant you would have been eternally separated from him. We are still judged though on how we have stewarded what God has given us and it is possible to be saved as one escaping through the flames (1 Cor 3:15), and experiencing a sense of loss. It is important that we maintain a healthy fear of God as Christians, reminding ourselves that he is holy and we should not take lightly the gift of life he has given us.
 
Conclusion
 
In conclusion, a Christian can’t lose their salvation by committing suicide, but it is a sin (from which there are many harmful repercussions) and regardless of the circumstances you may find yourself in, there is always a way to get through the emotions of the moment. God can even allow you to go through difficult times to be brought to maturity as a believer (James 1:2-5).

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
(Genesis 1:26-28)

The image of God

Out of all the creatures God made, only one creature, man is said to be made “in the image of God.” To understand what this means, we may use the following definition: The fact that man is in the image of God means that man is like God and represents God.

The words “image” and “likeness” are used to refer to something that is similar but not identical to the thing it represents or is an “image” of. There’s a sense of distinction involved.

Various characteristics of man serve as examples in which the image of God is primarily seen – man’s intellectual ability, his power to make moral decisions and willing choices, his ability to socially relate, or his exercise of dominion over the earth.

But the passage does not list these characteristics out, because no such list could do justice to the subject: the text only needs to affirm that man is like God, and the rest of the Bible fills in more details to explain this.

As we read more of the Bible, we realize that a full understanding of man’s likeness to God would require a full understanding of who God is in His being and in His actions and a full understanding of who man is and what he does.

The more we know about God and man, the more similarities we will recognize, and the more fully we will understand what scripture means when it says that man is in the image of God.

Sin and the distortion of the image of God

Imagine you are an artist, the very best at what you do. You’ve just put in hours, days, weeks, even months into painting the most beautiful picture your mind has ever conceived. You take great delight in your master piece. This is a one of a kind. Never have you nor will you create something as beautiful. You want to show it to the world. Your heart flutters with anticipation! This is the moment you’ve lived your life for. You can’t contain your pride in your work. And then someone walks up to your creation and vomits all over it.

That is what man did to God when he sinned.

Sin is our failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude or manner.

The question that then arises is whether man could still be thought to be like God after he sinned.

The question is answered quite early in Genesis where God gives Noah the authority to establish the death penalty for murder among human beings just after the flood: God says

“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.”

Even though men are sinful, there is still enough likeness to God remaining in them that to murder another person is to attack the part of creation that most resembles God. Man is still in God’s image.

However, since man has sinned, he is certainly not fully like God as he was before. His moral purity has been lost and his sinful character certainly does not reflect God’s holiness. Though man is still in the image of God, in every aspect of life, some parts of that image have been distorted or lost.

To return to my earlier illustration, though the painting has been defaced, it has not lost its original image. God makes a wonderful provision to have the mess removed and His precious creation restored to its original beauty – He sent His only Son to die on a cross for the forgiveness of sin. (Rom 5:1; John 3:16)

The recovery of the image – becoming more like God

It is encouraging to read then that because of the forgiveness that comes from Jesus, we can progressively grow into more and more likeness to God. Paul says that as Christians we have a new nature that is “being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” (Col 3:10)

As we gain in true understanding of God, His Word, and His World, we begin to think more and more of the thoughts that God Himself thinks. In this way we are “renewed in knowledge” and we become more like God. (2 Cor 3:18)

In fact, the goal for which God has saved us is that we might be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29) and thus be exactly like Christ in our moral character.

It is the Holy Spirit who produces in us those character traits that cause us to resemble Jesus more – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22-23)

The beauty of this is that God works in you to recover His image in you. Paul writes, “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Phil 2:13), thus indicating something of the way God transforms us – both by causing us to want His will and by giving us the power to do it.