Probably like me you hear it all the time, "everything happens for a reason." More than likely? Those who say that do not realize they are espousing Reformed theology, or drawing on Reformed sensibilities. But really, does the Bible teach that everything happens for a reason? And if so, doesn't that make God the author of evil, and so make him a moral monster? My essential problem with Reformed and Arminian theological framing is that they are not God-enough, not Trinitarian enough, not biblical enough. How so? Because the Lordship of Jesus does not stop at the boundary of culture I examine why American culture loves war so much. How do our international brothers and sisters perceive us in light of that love of war? What drives our nearly century-old love of war? This is difficult but important to think through.
The Uncensored Unprofessor
369 Reformed vs. Arminian (7) God and the Problem of Evil
(upbeat music) Welcome to a little show about big ideas. Bone-crunching ideas like Theodicy, evil in light of the existence of God. I'm the uncensored unprofessor, Ed Rebarcek. Thanks for joining me. Hey, I'm starting a new UU promotional. For all new frankincense monthly donors, $20 per month or more, you will get a UU coaster and mousepad mail to you. You can work and read and enjoy your cup of Joe with a sweet UU-designed mouse or coaster right by your side. Just go to Patreon, P-A-T-R-E-O-N and sign up for a $20 per month or more donation. And as always, I'm perpetually grateful for your help. Well, I'm a GPON now. I have four grandkids and it's so different being a grandparent versus being a parent. Being a GPON is less immediately frenetic and you're more aware of the long-term implications of children's behaviors and parental responses. And of course, there's mucho, more peace involved being a grandpa. And on that front, I heard about a grandparent, grandchild exchange. Little Tony was so happy to see his grandmother that he ran up and gave her a big hug. I'm so happy to see you grandma, he chirped. Now daddy will have to do that trick he's been promising to do. His grandma was curious so she asked, "What trick is that, sweetie?" Little Tony smiled and said, "I heard daddy tell mommy that he would climb the walls if you came to visit us again." (laughing) Folks, be careful what you say around little ones. They don't yet have the boundaries that make life more, well, peaceful (laughing) and thank you for that one, Mikey's funnies. Twice a year or so I give blood. Yes, I do enjoy helping people. But partly it's because blood donors blessed me when at 16 years old my life was saved in a hospital following a massive automobile wreck. I got some five pints of blood that night. But partly I give blood 'cause I have thicker red blood. It runs just at the high end of normal and that over time that increases potential for a stroke and weight gain. Really, ee, ribby, really? No, stroke, yes, but my doc wants me to send it out by giving blood. Anyway, sheesh, you know you're getting old when you think other people are interested in your medical issues (laughing) When I recently gave blood the young man helping me was as it turned out from Ukraine. I had asked him what that accident was that I was hearing. Then when I told him I'd bend Ukraine twice and that my academic specialty was Eastern Orthodox Theology, he really lit up. From Eastern Ukraine, his wife's parents' home was seized and occupied by the Russians early on after their invasion and he told me what it was like, what that was like and it happened one year and four months ago and he had to move from Ukraine to the United States and he didn't then know any English. He wasn't prepared for how different the culture and economic and the lifestyle was here in the United States versus over in Eastern Ukraine. But he was grateful that the United States is helping his countrymen fight the Russians. Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise going to give blood. I mean, usually I go nuts with all the bureaucratic nonsense that accompanies giving blood and the things you have to do as a blood donor, right? You have to fill these questionnaires out, are you living an antiseptic life? Do you have HIV? Have you been having sex with prostitutes? Do you use drugs? Do you have cancer? Do you have anal sex? I mean, you guys, the list is long of what'll get you de-cued there. And me, never having been vexed, I'm at the point where I think they need to be paying me more than a lousy t-shirt each time I donate. Oh, anyway, where was I? Going to give blood and having an enjoyable 25-minute conversation with a man who is thrilled to be here, he believes in God, though his wife, he said for different reasons, does not. Oh, Lord, today I pray you bless and grab and woo and convict and woo, both Simeon and Svetlana, as they come to the United States, put them in contact with the gospel and your spirit. Amen. Anyway, all of that got me to thinking, my cultural reflections here on the you, you are consistently ad-intra. That's fancy theological speak for, with an eye to the inside. But there are ad-extra cultural doings. We can also reflect on how American culture presses out on the world. Because we know the lordship of Christ does not stop at the boundary of culture. And you see, my un-friend, I love America. I've been in enough foreign countries to know how exceptionally blessed we are here in the good old US of A. And just one reason, things work here. And they don't much work around the world. And significant to the reasons things don't work around the world is that they're all run by the government. Around the world, there's so much governmental interference, so much bald-faced statism, so much required day in, day out bribery that people can't get things done. They, things just don't work much. But anyway, that's not the point in my remarks here. I wanna think with you about America's war machine. I love my country. But the Ukraine war should not be happening. And no, no, not because I'm a pacifist, which is a constantly unwise policy that always leads to more death. The Ukraine war shouldn't be happening for reasons owing to history and, well, frankly, greed. You see, before the USSR came unglued in 1991 under the rule of Mikhail Gorbachev, the United States, Ronald Reagan, had promised Russia that NATO would not expand. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was formed in 1949 by 12 nations to fend off any future, any possible Russian attack. Then, as of 1991, again, when the USSR began to dissolve, when it ended, there were 16 nations in NATO. And George Bush the Elder told the Russians, now that the USSR is no more, and now that we have a mutual nuclear weapons treaty, NATO will not any further expand. And Russia for its part was happy. I mean, they wanted to join the world economy. Millions in Russia wanted to be more European, more Western. And then, well, in 1999, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, that's three more, totaling 19 nations, they joined NATO. That happened despite the promises to Russia of Bill Clinton that NATO would not expand. Then, in 2004, despite the promises of George Bush the Younger, that there would be no further NATO expansion, seven more European countries were added to NATO. That brought the total number to 26. Well, it finally stopped there, right? Oh, no. Under Barack Obama, two more countries were added, bringing the total to 28. And all along, Vladimir Putin kept saying, "What's going on here?" Didn't we sign a mutual nuclear ban on, didn't we sign a mutual nuclear treaty ban? Didn't we agree that Russia would join the world community? And then, how many were added during Donald Trump's tenure? One more nation, that total 29. And Russia and Putin kept saying, "Hey, you guys, you said NATO would remain static, why are you continuing to build such a coalition against us? Why is NATO double since the USSR ended?" But still more, my friends, and I promise you this is going toward a cultural frame. Putin and Russia kept saying, "We don't like this, not von Beat, but whatever you do, do not, do not try to bring the Ukraine into NATO, do not, that ease red line, do not NATOize the Ukraine." Well, you guessed it. Under Stammer and Joe Biden, there were wide open public talks about how to bring Ukraine into NATO. Ukraine, the final red line for Russia. And now we know Russia invaded on February 24th, 2022. Like one month after Slotchy had been inaugurated. Well, what happened? Well, first and obviously, the Western nations led by America lied to Russia. They lied to them for decades on end, but more, 'cause there's lies. And then there are motives for lies, right? More importantly, America's military industrial complex made billions and billions by NATO's expansion. Selling weapons, driven by greed, building for war, perpetuating warfare, driven by greed. But it's not only that. One of the points I want you to understand today is that America's military industrial complex against the warnings of President Eisenhower back in January of 1961, the military industrial complex is more powerful than any single president. The military industrial complex is more powerful than Reagan, Bush number one, Clinton, Bush number two, Obama, Trump, and Biden. That's seven presidents combined, together. But let's press this still further. And oh, just so you know, I learned this from an interview of Professor Jeffrey Sachs. He's a professor of economics. He studies history about all this. He says that the military industrial complex is more powerful than the office of the president. So this is a cultural matter. Our nation, God help us, loves war. And to my international listening friends, 'cause I do have folks from all over the globe who like to think with me, I am sorry. I'm sorry that America so deeply loves war. America loves war because our major economic power brokers get rich, rich, rich from war gaming. And please, my international friend, please know that most Americans ourselves are not pro-war. We don't approve of America's constant press for international violence. Oh, but war equals money. And money? She talks. Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Bosnia and Herzegovania, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Libya. Really? Libya? Yeah, for not much good reason, Libya. ISIS in Iraq, Syria, and sorry. Oh, so sorry, Ukraine. Ukraine and now Israel wore on top of war, on top of war, on top of war. It's so daggum, ugly. Yuchet. Ukraine cannot win the war. They're being drained. Their population of young men is being depleted. They can't win. They don't have an Air Force. They can't win. So why does Joe Biden press for a peace treaty? Why doesn't he press for a peace treaty? Three letters. M-I-C, military, industrial, complex. There's too much money to be made for weapons makers. Well, sorry. Weapons makers and the politicians left and right who pushed for always still more war weaponry to be funded by the American citizenry politicians who, through multiple avenues of grift, themselves benefit from the M-I-C. And then what about Israel and Gaza? Why wouldn't Joe Biden give Israel the weaponry they needed to finally eliminate Hamas? Well, duh. That'd bring a war to an end. And the last thing the military, industrial, complex wants is to end another war. No, it's better to prolong it. And frankly, sorry, but it's true, the more civilian deaths in Gaza, the better, better for Hamas. They get sympathy. Better for sympathy for Iran. That ugly Israel American configuration, right? More civilian deaths are better for progressive fundraising. It's better for the dazed and confused Biden administration. Wait, should we help Israel or hate them? Which one gets us more votes, help or hate? And let me put all my cards on the table. I never thought like this five years ago. I never thought like this across my adult life. But the openly lying nature of our government over the last five years, that our government openly sides with evil here in our nation, no, celebrates evil, it has shattered my trust. That the DOJ goes after pro-life protesters, that the DOJ goes after Catholics who do Latin in their churches, it's shattered my trust. That the government is on the side of trannies and the predation of children. Oh, I no longer believe our government is noble. In fact, there's almost nothing about it that's virtuous. I believe the government by its actions. I know it hates me. I believe it hates you. I believe it hates us. It eats only for its own pleasure. Oh, Lord, I have mercy, Christ I have mercy. The military industrial complex, sadly it runs the world. Or to put it differently, it's more powerful than the office of president. The MIC is more powerful than seven presidents. And today, my international friends, I apologize to you. I'm sorry for what American culture does to you. Jesus have mercy on us all. (upbeat music) Hey, I enjoy teaching and preaching at local churches. I love looking folks in the eye, enjoying the presence of the Holy Spirit together, worshiping with them. I love critical thinking out loud together, working through tough real life questions. And along with sermons, I've held worldview workshops, how to think through our faith workshops. Would your Sunday school class benefit from a Saturday workshop, your college group? I'd be happy to visit your local church. For booking information, contact me at uncensoredunprofessor@gmail.com. Now, probably like me. In church circles, you've heard this one. Well, we don't know why that happened, but we do know that everything happens for a reason. Me, I hear it all the time. So today, I'm gonna think with you about God and the problem of evil. ♪ Whoo, and it is a biggie ♪ But we'll tackle it distinctly through the reformed Armenian lands. And just like we've established so far, the reformed emphasize God's sovereignty, his absolute power. They believe nothing is beyond the purview of God's control. And this includes even who is saved and who is ultimately damned. Well, whether because God doesn't visit the reprobate with grace, single predestination, or because God positively chooses some for damnation, even to his glory with double predestination. And it's because of this doctrine, predestination, well, predestination in light of God's sovereignty, that we hear the aforementioned, everything happens for a reason. Now, with the reformed for reasons that belong to God alone, he does not love everyone equally. He chooses some for salvation, the elect, and God chooses some for damnation, the reprobate. He loves the elect, but the reprobate, not so much. Romans nine, he might even hate the reprobate. By the way, most reformed are slow to say God hates sinners. And then yes, yes, we need to qualify. According to Reformed theology, there is common grace. The grace of God woven through life that makes for civilization, makes for peace between diverse peoples, makes for generosity and daily kindness, and that things get done between people struggling with what? Drug addictions and anger issues and deep emotional wounding? Common grace. Popular Reformed pastor, John Piper said it like this, quote, "There's a general love of God "that he bestows on all his creatures," close quote. But that's not the love that God has for his elect. So yes, God loves his creation, but ultimately, God does not love all people equally. Naturally, and it's not hard to see the arguments logic here, even evil is guided or controlled or secretly willed by God. By God, sheesh. Yes, evil is guided by God. It stems from his hidden will, according to Martin Luther. It's a matter of mystery, but God is still sovereign, even regarding evil, right? 'Cause the Reformed assert that God, in a pre-creational decree, determined not only who would be saved in damn, but determined when and where and that the fall would happen, that Lucifer would become Satan, the Prince of Evil, all of that in Reformed theology is under the sovereign control of God, under his hidden will. And again, all that's true, too, with evil. Now, my listener, I don't mean to be redundant, but I do want you to see how the Reformed logic unpacks. Monurgism, one energy, God's energy, God's power alone. And with monurgism, nothing forts or interferes with God's energy, God's power. And in high Calvinism, double predestinationism, in staunch Reformed theology, there's no causation that is beyond God's power. And that includes even evil. When it comes to sin and evil, Reformed theologian Lorraine Butner argued this, quote, "God ordains all those circumstances, which are necessary for the performance by a person of a particularly evil action," say an action of cruelty at a particular time and place. God does not himself perform that action, nor could he? Nevertheless, he permits that action to take place. He does not stop it, end quote. Or if we want to sum that logic up, Roger Olson writes, quote, "Without causing them, God specifically wills them in such a way as to assure they will happen without actually causing them," quote, close, quote. It's a mystery. So when believers today all across the church, 'cause I hear it everywhere, Catholic churches, Anglican churches, Lutheran, Protestant, Pentecostal, charismatic, Baptist, when we hear people say, "We don't know why, but everything happens for a reason." They are probably unawares quoting Reformed theology. And can I be pastoral for a moment? I believe the first reason people say that, we don't know why, but everything happens for a reason. I think it flows from emotions. It's reassuring. Believing that brings comfort, it sues the soul. I mean, isn't it nice to know that God is sovereign? Isn't it nice to know that he's the Lord of history? Isn't it good to know that nothing's beyond God's control? It's reassuring, right? It's just too much. Actually, it's sort of scary to think that things can happen beyond God's will outside of God's power. So people say it usually at the popular level because they find it reassuring. And they think their friends will find it reassuring too. But the second reason I believe people assert that everything happens for a reason and there's a corollary to it, right? God is in control. People say those things. God's in control because it's understandable. We don't like to not know. Or on the flip side of that, we love to know and we can understand that God is always in control. It's intellectually reassuring. It's true we don't know why God is doing that, allowing it, permitting it. But we do know that he is, that he did, so we can get our reasoning around it even if we don't know God's own reasons and people love to know. But then on the flip side of that, the number one reason people who think about it, the number one reason most Christians are not reformed, God and the problem of evil. It's just too much to believe. God is secretly in a hidden will with absolute power. It's just too much to believe that God is the cause of cruelty and infant mortality and deep psychological wounding and generational pain and cultural wickedness and genocide and sin. It's too much. It turns God into a moral monster. And so me, the you, you, I don't. I don't find the reformed position emotionally compelling. I don't find it intellectually compelling and worse I don't find it biblically compelling. Now, to make the case that God is not only not the cause of evil, but that evil happens outside of his will, I could cite individual Bible verses Psalm 5, 4. You are not a God who delights in wickedness. Evil will not sowjourn with you. Psalm 97, 10, the Lord loves those who hate evil. Proverbs 8, 13, the fear of the Lord is hatred of evil, pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. Isaiah 5, 20 and 27. Oh, you who call evil good and good evil who put darkness for light and light for darkness, you will be devoured like the fire devours the stubble. Matthew 5, 37, here's Jesus. Let your word be yes, yes, or no, no. Anything more than this comes from the evil one. Don't get to have it both ways, either does God. John 1, verse 5, the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. James 1, 13, no one when tempted should say, I'm being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. Or about the city of resurrection, here's Revelation 21, 27, but nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood. Lots and lots and lots of verses, still many much more verses that echo the same thing. But you guys, it's not so much a pastiche of Bible verses that convinces me. No, the entire sweep of the Bible shows that not only that God is holy, but that God is in a war with evil, death, sin, and the evil one, and the evil one's army. For his part, God is holy, he's true, he's characterized by perfect integrity. His yes is always, yes is no is always no, perfect integrity, he's morally pure, he's single in his essence, he's transcendent. The archangels and the mysterious creatures around the heavenly throne perpetually cry out, holy, holy, holy, why? Because that's the nature of God. That's the quality that most immediately hits people, that most immediately impacts beings and angels when they encounter the one who holds the key to the book of life, holiness. And so all of that to say, I agree with the Arminians, God is sovereign over his sovereignty. But me, I major league ground that differently. I use Trinitarian relationship versus the power and decree of God with Arminianism. So let me build this out, will you think with me? Let's build this out, shaunt we. God is creator. He's majestic, he's beautiful. He's love, splendor, radiance, goodness. He's hallowed, life, creativity, joy, peace, shalom, or gulp better. God is father, son, and spirit. God is holy Trinity. That's personhood on top of personhood, personhood spilling out for the sake of personhood. God is Trinity. And so, if that's true, God makes space. And yes, again, I agree far more with the Arminians here, though honestly, I've been soaking in Trinitarian theology for 30 years. I'm far more informed by Eastern Orthodoxy and a kind of Bombaltasarian love. All of that shapes me more about who God is and in our many in scholastic, medieval framing. And in all of that Trinitarian framing, God limits God's self. As father, son, and spirit, God makes space. Even when it comes to God, vis-a-vis God. The Father makes space for the Son to be the Son. The Father doesn't insist the Son become the Father. The Son makes space for the Holy Spirit to be spirit. The Son doesn't insist the Spirit be Son. And so on around the relationships of the blessed Trinity, they make space for one another. Or even better, they delight in the other being other. Why? Love. Love requires distance. Love requires boundaries. Love requires respect. Love requires space. Love. And oh, you guys, this is the starting. This is starting to get into the very heart of Christianity. Love limits itself. So I want to say yes. Oh, yes, Dr. Hermann Zune. Yes, Arminius. God is sovereign over his sovereignty. That's nicely put. God's sovereign over his sovereignty. But this is a matter deeper still. God is love. Holiness ultimately spills out as love. But love is impossible when love is coerced. Impossible. Frankly, it breaks the very nature of love to force it upon another person. And man, right up until 15 years ago, the entire world knew that. We always knew that it was a disease and an illness to force love upon another person, to force that upon a child. No, love allows the other to be other. And so, out of love, what did God do at creation? God determined for persons, also known as willing agents, also known as human beings, also known as beings saturated in a macho day. God determined for them to exist as persons. And persons exercise agency. And agency, oh, is your seatbelt fashioned? Agency is risky. Granting other persons agency, that's a bit terrifying. Why? They might exercise their free agency in free ways. They might use their agency in ways that you yourself weren't anticipating, right? If you're a parent and you have kids and you begin to give your kids some freedom, it's a little bit terrifying. What are they gonna do with these new possibilities? But granting others the ability to exist as agents, when God did that at creation, He knew it's the only possible way for there to be true. Trinitarian, godly, Jesus, Christian, love. And all that involves mutuality and respect. Love involves respecting boundaries. Treasuring, love treasures not only the other person, but love treasures their ability to act and exercise agency and to be, oh, to be. God wanted us to be. So what am I saying here? To the Reformed and Arminian discussion, this isn't, it just isn't, so much about a pre-creational decree whereby God decided to save some and damn others, or save some and allow others to go to hell, or to forgive some so as to be glorified, or to exercise wrath upon others so he could be glorified. I mean, some of that's biblical, but it's the wrong frame. It's not deep enough. It's not God enough. It's not enough creationally. It's not enough emagio day. It's not enough Jesus, the Christ, which means in the end it's not enough Trinitarian. You guys, the sinnae quanon of all reality, class please say sinnae quanon, sinnae quanon teacher. The sinnae quanon of all reality, the that which without there is no other is God. It's not first God's decree, it's not even God's absolute power. No, the that which without there is no other is Father, Son, Spirit, Trinity, divine relationship. God's very being. That's the ground of reality. That's the ultimate biblical framing. And not only is reform theology, reform the odyssey evil in light of God, not only is reform theology not biblically accurate, because it really does by resorting to the hidden will of God. Sorry, but it does indeed make God the author of evil. Not only is reform theology insufficient, so also is our minion theology not sufficient because it's not finally biblically accurate. This is not primarily, it never was first about pre-creational decrees. That does show up eventually, eventually toward the end in the biblical witness, but this is not primarily never was first about God glorifying himself. Did he just say that out loud? This is not primarily first about God glorifying himself. That does show up eventually in the biblical witness. Sorry, again, my Armenian sisters and brothers. No, the immediate biblical frame, the explosion. The explosion of life. That was the first thing we see. Why did God explode creation into being? Because it was an explosion of love. But let me go back to a resolutely reformed Armenian lens. Does total depravity take seriously enough God's love? No. Why? It does not enough insist on our having been created to Majo Dei in the image of God. Why, why, why in the image of God? Why do you do that for our sake of relationship with God? Total depravity is good in that it rightly says we can do nothing to save ourselves, but it airs when it eliminates entirely who we are as created by God himself. It eliminates our God-given goodness. Does unconditional election take seriously enough God's love? Not one wit. God does love the whole world. God hates nothing that he created from that beautiful Ash Wednesday prayer. God hates nothing that he created. Jesus Christ died as the Lamb of God for the sake of the entire cosmos. God didn't send his son to die only for some secret group of individuals. He sacrificed himself out of love for all who will. Does limited atonement take seriously enough God's love? Stop. Let's be serious. Let's move past milk and start eating meat. The limited atonement element of tulip turns God into Freddy Krueger as I taught for years at college. Freddy Krueger, yeah, the horror monster character, he horror movie character who both feigns love, right? God feigns his love for the non-elect, but God secretly delights in and will be glorified by their eternal damnation. And finally, for today, because we will move through still more assessment of both the Reformed and the Arminians, you guys, God is not a moral monster. God is not incoherent. He does not will, love and obedience and relational respect in his revealed will. He doesn't command all that, but then that he commands our will's sin, evil, cruelty, society-wide abortion on demand and genocide out of his hidden will, all of that makes God incoherent. And so, I hope you're listening. Everything doesn't happen for a reason. Not if by that we mean God is either causing or willing sin and evil and cruelty. None of that is biblical, but yes, everything happens for a reason. If by that we mean there's contingency in the cosmos, contingency, everything happens for a reason, if woven into the very fabric of cosmic life, both free-willing, free-acting agents, persons get to live and move and have their being as beings. Yeah, everything happens for a reason, even if the reason cannot be ascertained in the here and now. Why? Because God has created space and boundaries and respect for being and agency and respect for his creation. And why did God do all of that? Because God is love. Oh, folks, woo! We're not done pressing in these directions. We're not at all done plowing through ultimate reality. God vis-a-vis creation, God vis-a-vis human persons. We will come back to this in a later episode I'm gonna give you on contingency. But for now, thank you so much for thinking so resolutely theological with me. Until next week, please go and turn your Trinitarian loving hearts on. 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