Last week we featured resources for those who are checking out the claims of Christ. Of course, followers of Christ and seekers can have the same doubts, but sometimes they are coming from different places. Today we offer a list of resources for the follower of Christ who struggles with doubt.
the first resource I've not actually read. It was released just a few weeks ago, but this author is always worth reading, so I recommend it on reputation alone:
Philip Yancey has written many incredible books chronicling his and others' doubts. I've shown a picture of one of his best, but if you click the link, you'll see many other great options. 
Fred Buechner is one of the secret weapons of the church. When I'm feeling particularly contrary, I like to go to the local Christian bookstore and ask for books by him. They don't stock him and have often never heard of him. So many great Christian authors are largely unknown to the wider Christian audience and Buechner is one for sure. He's known as the "Minister of Doubt" and he's been a breath of fresh air in my life. 
there are many other great resources, but hopefully these will assist any struggling on your journey
Saturday, 8 November 2008
Doubt resources for the believer
Fred Buechner on Doubt
Fred Buechner is a wonderful author who writes with great compassion and authenticity about the Christian experience. Here is what he has to say about doubt:
"If you tell me Christian commitment is a kind of thing that has happened to you once and for all like some kind of spiritual plastic surgery, I say go to, go to, you’re either pulling the wool over your own eyes or trying to pull it over mine. Every morning you should wake up in your bed and ask yourself; “Can I believe it all again today?” No, better still, don’t ask till after you’ve read The New York Times, till after you’ve studied that daily record of the world’s brokenness and corruption, which should always stand side by side with your Bible. Then ask yourself if you can believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ again for that particular day. If your answer is always Yes, then you probably don’t know what believing means. At least five times out of ten the answer should be No because the No is as important as the Yes, maybe more so. The No is what proves you’re human in case you should ever doubt it. And then if some morning the answer happens to be really Yes, it should be a Yes that’s choked with confession and tears and great laughter."
(from The Return of Ansel Gibbs.)
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Doubt Guest Blog: God as One and Three?
This guest blog is from Dan Pence who recently retired from pastoring a church for 35 years. He also happens to be my father in law and is a gifted thinker and writer. Thanks Dan, for giving the time to address the mystery of the Trinity.
Explain Jesus, God and Spirit as one and three.
Our difficulty here is with math. How can one equal three and three equal one? This is not essentially a question about math, but about the identity, the person of God. Let me correct two common perceptions that do not gel with the Bible.
First, Christians do not worship three Gods. They worship one. Israel’s ancient theme chanted in synagogues today says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4) Jesus taught in synagogues and doubtless quoted this often.
Problem: Sometimes even discussing this question leads us to infer three Gods by the way we speak. Our limited language is a hurdle.
Second, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit fully share the title of “God.“ They are not ranked in order of importance or power. Paul taught this in Philippians 2:5-7 “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness.” Equality with God was not something to be “grasped” or “clutched.” Why? Because that equality - that oneness - was not going to be destroyed even in his role as Savior pouring himself into human flesh, living among people on earth.
Our solution will be found in the Character of God and the distinct roles of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
John begins his gospel by telling the history of Jesus whom he calls “the Word.” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
Jesus replied to Philip’s request “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” with these words, “Don’t you know me Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say ‘Show us the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is I me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me who is doing his work.” (John 14:8-10)
Those who knew Jesus -- saw his miracles, heard his teaching, interacted with him, felt his compassion, observed his consistency and were convicted by his firmness -- believed that he was the promised Messiah and Savior. “Emmanuel -- God with us.” They recognized this unity in his character, love, power and message.
The Holy Spirit dwells in the believer to help her live the Christian life. Hours before his crucifixion, Jesus told his closest followers, “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7) The “Counselor” is generally understood to be the Holy Spirit. Later in the New Testament the Holy Spirit is described as the “one who walks beside us.” This is the distinct role of the Holy Spirit. He is “Christ in us.”
Three definite persons/personalities, but one God. All of this to bring about our salvation.
God the Father is primary Creator. (Yes, the Bible says that Jesus and the Holy Spirit were part of the creation experience.)
Jesus came to be the Savior of believing people and our mediator with the Father. That is his distinct role.
The Holy Spirit lives in us to help us grow in the Christian life. That is his role.
I’ve heard all kinds of illustrations intended to help with the math issue. Example: An egg has three parts: shell, yolk and white. But it is still one egg.
Instead of counting divine noses, I think we are better advised to let the character and work of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit guide us in all of this. This divine mystery will become clearer.
I’m still taken by Jesus question to Philip when he wanted to see the Father. “Don’t you know me Philip?”
Some more food for thought. The Bible in Ephesians 5 speaks of two other “mysterious unities.” Christ with his church and a husband with his wife. The more we grasp and practice the Biblical roles of husband and wife -- a relationship -- the better we will grasp the unity of Christ with his church. And the better we will grasp the unity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Three in one.
Guest Blog on Doubt: Would God die for only me?
Today's guest blog is from Aaron Carmichael who is a gifted writer and who teaches university level English in China. In case you are wondering, Aaron is the man toward the bottom of this picture. If you know him, it makes more sense somehow....
thanks Aaron, for taking time to address this vital issue.
“I doubt that God loves me. I believe his love is huge and he died for everyone, but had I been the only one, would he have died for me?”
The Beatles were right. No matter how much money you have, you can’t buy love. However, we do often think and talk about love in economic terms. Love, like money, is sometimes treated like payment for services rendered, or a commodity that grows and diminishes according to fluctuating circumstances.
A happily married couple might claim that their love has multiplied over the years, but an unhappy couple might feel as though love has faded. Love is viewed as the effect of some external cause. I love you (the effect) because you please me, make me feel good about myself, or because you are fun to be around (the cause). Of course, when the cause wanes, so does the effect, and that’s usually when couples “fall out of love”, or when friendships end.
While this economic approach towards love seems to prevail when it comes to both romantic and platonic relationships (especially in the early stages), cultures around the world and throughout history have highly regarded displays of what might be called “selfless love”, or what, in his book The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis refers to as “Charity”. In Lewis’ opinion, Charity (based on his understanding of the Greek word Agape) is the highest form of love; more admirable than affection, friendship, or the erotic love shared in marriage. Charitable love rises above the others because it is love without a cause; it is a love that exists independently of external factors. Selfless love is not economic in nature; it seeks no trade off or benefit from the beloved.
It is this kind of love that makes heroes out of common men and women. We have great admiration for firefighters, police officers and soldiers who risk death attempting to save the lives of people they have never previously met. Our greatest role models are those who choose to sacrifice their own health or comfort for the sake of others, with no promise of reward. While we may often practice economic love, we recognize selfless love when we see it, and our highest ideals are shaped by it.
The greatest demonstration of selfless love humanity has ever witnessed was Christ’s death on the Cross. In that act, charity was displayed to its fullest extent. In Romans 5:8, Paul writes that Jesus died for us while we were “still sinners”; meaning, not only had humanity done nothing to deserve His love, but even worse, by our sin, we had become enemies of God.
If we approach love from an economic standpoint, it’s perfectly reasonable to ask “Why does God love His enemies?” It doesn’t make much sense to love someone who won’t love you in return (or even intends you harm). But if you read the Bible and believe what it tells us about God’s personality, His love for His enemies (in this case, us) begins to make more sense. The New Testament writer, John, tells us that our understanding of love cannot be separated from our understanding of God, because “God is love” (1 John 4).
What this means is that God’s nature - His very essence - is love. Paul creates a beautiful description of love in 1 Corinthians 13, and in this description reveals the personality of a God who is patient and kind and delights in the truth. He is a God that forgives; He never fails, and neither does His love.
Because many Christians are so accustomed to thinking of love in economic terms, it’s hard for us to believe that God loves us regardless of our behavior. The sin in our lives makes us feel unworthy of His love. This feeling of unworthiness is actually an accurate sentiment, because we don’t deserve it. But the question “Does God love me?” is a self-centered one. Not selfish, but self-centered. The question’s focal point is on the magnitude of our failings rather than on the magnitude of God’s love.
It is understandable that in our lowest moments, we face doubts about God’s love. But asking, “Does God love me?” brings into question His very nature. God loves you because He is God. His love isn’t acquired through obedience or special prayers or church attendance. He loves you because He created you to be the recipient of His love. Your existence and status as one of His “offspring” (as Paul says in Acts 17) assures that you are loved. You did not earn His love, and neither can you escape it.
Asking “If I was the only one, would Christ still have died for me?” again confuses God’s charitable love with the economic love we are accustomed to in our human relationships. When we ask this question we are basically wondering whether we, individually, are worth the sacrifice Jesus made on the Cross. From an economic standpoint, we have an easier time understanding why Jesus would make such a large sacrifice if He was certain it would pay off with big returns. His death might be worth the salvation of all humanity, but what about just one human? Would it still be worth it?
Though the Bible uses terms such as “ransom” and “purchase” to describe Christ’s death, these are given to help us understand what was accomplished, not to define the motives behind the sacrifice. When God submitted to death, it was an outpouring of His loving nature, not a calculated maneuver that seemed economically beneficial. The truth is, because we are all sinners, not even the whole lot of us combined is worth the sacrifice He made. John 3:16 tells us very clearly that Christ died because He loves us. He’s incapable of anything different, regardless of the numbers.
If you fear that your sin hinders God from loving you, the solution is not to work harder at not sinning. Instead, you should work harder at seeking God, because when you do, He has promised that you will find Him. Once you find Him, you will know His love, and you will learn that it is a force that cannot be hindered.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
Further Reading Suggestions:
What’s So Amazing About Grace? By Philip Yancey
The Ragamuffin Gospel and The Signature of Jesus By Brennan Manning
The Four Loves and Till We Have Faces and The Great Divorce By C. S. Lewis
The Writings of Paul and John in the New Testament
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
Guest Blog on Doubt: God's Love/Anger
Today's post comes from Dan Reich who lives in Paraguay. Dan is a missionary in the very best sense of the word. This year Discovery witnessed Dan's ability to soak in a culture and offer leadership and a gospel word to it. Thanks Dan for taking time to contribute to our conversation.
The Bible seems to teach that God loves us so much as to die for us,but is also often angry at his people.
God’s love is seen both throughout the story of human history narrated in the Bible. He is pleased with his creation, calling it good in the book of Genesis, and especially pleased with his creation once humankind was in the picture, calling it all very good in Genesis 1:31.
God’s anger should be understood in the context of His love. Loving parents have certain expectations of their children, and when children openly rebel, there is frustration, anguish, sadness, regret, and… anger.
God made humankind for the purpose of relationship: reflecting God’s loving care to the creation. Humans were to love God and love one another, to care for one another and to care for the creation that God put them in charge of. By and large, throughout the Bible and history since, humans have chosen idols over God, lust over love, and fighting over caring.
God is/was justly angry with humankind, including His chosen people.
Who are God’s people? In a sense all are by way of creation, but starting in Genesis 12 God chooses a man named Abram and his descendents to be “God’s chosen people.” These people receive God’s special attention, a special set of regulations, a special privileged relationship with Himself, and a special mission of revealing God’s love and justice to the other nations.
When they failed to love God, or obey Him, or reflect His justice, or even try… God was justly angry.
When Jesus died on the cross, according to the writing of Paul, God’s just anger for the heaps of corruption, idolatry, injustice, and evil that humans engaged in before and after the crucifixion was satisfied. Jesus was the sacrifice to satisfy God’s anger at his chosen people, but not only for them… also for all people of all nations.
This to me is the crux of a Christian understanding of history. Jesus’ willing sacrifice on the cross satisfied God’s anger and achieved God’s acceptance and forgiveness of humans… that is, those humans willing to recognize their part in the world’s injustice, repent, and believe in Jesus as God’s perfect sacrifice and God’s truly loving nature.
These people in turn become more than just “chosen people.” They are said to have been “adopted as God’s children.” (Ephesians 1)
For those who continue in rebellion and rejection of God, God’s just anger remains on them and on the unjust systems of the world. The Bible talks about an end of time, a judgment, when God’s anger with His rebellious creation will be revealed in its fullness through awful plagues described in the Revelation, last book of the Bible.
So is God loving or not? Is a parent who sharply disciplines a rebellious child loving? Is a society who locks up a repetitive criminal loving, or not? These examples don’t fully cover the dimensions of human evil or of God’s love, but they might give us an idea of the need for God to respond to evil and injustice. Often we see in the Bible that part of God’s just response is anger.
In Paraguay, many people tend to see bad weather, disease, and accidents in the context of God's anger against someone or a group of people. Declaring that a certain disaster was God angrily punishing those involved is walking on thin ice and thin Bíblical support. In Luke 13 Jesus mentions 2 situations, an accident where a tower fell on some people, killing them, and a politically motivated slaughter. He directly denies that those people involved were worse sinners than anyone else and therefore denies that they were punished by God in anger. He then warns people to repent of their own sins or perish.
Can we trust God’s love enough to know that His anger at sin and injustice is well directed and also good?
Friday, 31 October 2008
Doubt Guest Blog: The Church
Today's guest blog is from David Carmchael, a pastor, lover of people and a deep thinker. David currently serves on Discovery's Leadership Team and has served God in several capacities over the years. In his post, he addresses the doubt raised about a perfect God working through imperfect people: the church. I think his post and the Nouwen post below tie well together. thanks David for taking the time to write your response. as always, we appreciate any comments and questions.
The Church As The Representative Of God
From the beginning of time, God has had ‘a people’; those who would call Him ‘their God’ and He would call them, ‘His people’. It began with Adam and passed on through his linage on to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the 12 tribes of Israel. These were ‘God’s people’.
As Jesus came on the scene, He opened that door wider to include not just a linage or a nation, but instead, opened it up for all who trusted in Him for their inclusion into being a part of ‘God’s people’ – thus the birth of ‘the Church’.
Like ‘God’s people’ throughout history, the Church was created by a holy and perfect God with a holy and perfect purpose, yet it was and is made up of imperfect and less than holy people. This becomes a difficult question for all of us. Why did a perfect God choose imperfection to represent Himself?
I think we can possibly trace the answer to this question back to the beginning. We find in Genesis that when God looked upon what He had created, He saw it as ‘good’ and complete. It seems as if this goodness and completeness was a reflection of who God Himself is. In the Bible, we see God as a God of love. Love is an intricate part of who God is and therefore, as we were created in His image, we ourselves have love as an intricate part of who we are. We have the same need and capacity for love as God does. One thing we must understand about love is that it has to include ‘choice’ or ‘free will’ for it to be considered real love. Can you imagine love being considered as real love if it is manipulated, demanded or required of you? To love God or to love anyone we must have the opportunity to choose to love or not to love.
Sin entered into this perfect and good world when the choice was made to ‘not love’ God by denying Him and by denying what He had asked of us to show our love towards Him – obedience. Sin continues to enter into our world today by the very same means as it did when Adam first sinned.
Perfection was shattered forever. The ‘perfect representatives’ of a perfect God were no longer perfect. God’s people became ‘imperfect representatives’ from that point on.
To help us better understand this, here is an illustration involving our own body and how it might be compared to the church:
In the Bible, God has illustrated the church by comparing it to a ‘body’ like yours and mine (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4). The body is made up of many parts. It was God who created and designed all of these parts to function together in perfect harmony and His design is good and perfect. However, this isn’t necessarily the way our bodies work. Disease, abuse, neglect, stress and the passing of time all contribute to disrupting and destroying the perfect harmony God had designed into our body. When one part of our body is affected by any or all of these things, our entire body suffers and its functionality is diminished to ‘less than perfect’.
The church is no different. It functions just like a body, for it too is made up of many different parts. God’s design for the church is also good and perfect, but the diseased, abused, neglected and stressed out spirits of those who make up the church causes the same sort of disruption and destruction as we see in our physical body. The church is no better than the parts it’s made of, which is in all cases - imperfect people. Because of this, it’s sometimes difficult for us to ‘see God’ in this body we call the church, being blinded much of the time by only seeing the weak, diseased and imperfect parts.
I believe the key to all of this can be found in the most important part of the body, the head. What we think or the way we think (our attitudes) or the way our brain functions can have a great amount of influence upon the way the parts of our body respond and function, whether for good or for bad. The head directs the way the rest of the body goes and the actions it takes. If we want to see God in the church, we must first see Christ in His appropriate place – as the ‘head’. There will always be body parts which are less than perfect, but with Christ, in all of His perfection as the head, God will be seen and will be represented as He truly is.
Eph 4:15-16
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
NIV
Love seems to be the key for the church in helping us to ‘grow up’ together into the ‘head’ and thus achieving the distinction of being true ‘representatives of God’.
One last thing concerning our doubts about the condition and place of the church as God’s representatives in the world today - I believe we need to consider how God looks at the church, both in its perfect and imperfect form. Christ called the church ‘My Church’ in Matthew 16:18 and promised that He would build it and that nothing would ever prevail against it. In Ephesians 5:25, Paul tells us that Jesus loved the church and gave Himself for it. In 1 Timothy 3:15, Paul tells Timothy that the church is God’s household. Finally, in Revelation 21:2, John speaks of the church as being the beautifully prepared ‘Bride’ of Christ. With these things in mind and with us trying to see the church as God does, it may be easier for us to see the handprint of God on those who make up His church and who He has lovingly chosen as His representatives – imperfection and all.
A Little Nouwen Now and Then
Today's meditation is from the late Henri Nouwen who's very life was a gift to the church. Some would read this meditation and say it is too simplistic. I'd tend to agree except Henri proved it and I think he's onto something.
Focusing on the Poor
"Like every human organization the Church is constantly in danger of corruption. As soon as power and wealth come to the Church, manipulation, exploitation, misuse of influence, and outright corruption are not far away.
How do we prevent corruption in the Church? The answer is clear: by focusing on the poor. The poor make the Church faithful to its vocation. When the Church is no longer a church for the poor, it loses its spiritual identity. It gets caught up in disagreements, jealousy, power games, and pettiness. Paul says, "God has composed the body so that greater dignity is given to the parts which were without it, and so that there may not be disagreements inside the body but each part may be equally concerned for all the others" (1 Corinthians 12:24-25). This is the true vision. The poor are given to the Church so that the Church as the body of Christ can be and remain a place of mutual concern, love, and peace."