Not to long ago right wing Christian preachers were saying that God sent hurricanes to the United States as punishment for liberal policies. Now, Sandy has come ashore and probably given a slight advantage to the President. So according to the right wing Christian preachers, does this mean that God wants the President re-elected? I'm just an old fashioned Christian who doesn't understand Christian political theology.
If you are a Bible reader there's a pretty simple test. Are God's actions consistent to what has been revealed over thousands of years to careful observers? Consider the source. Is he or she seeking to win souls for Christ or are their goals earthly and temporal? Christian theology is beautiful and pretty consistent. Rich, greedy preachers seeking political power also are pretty consistent, but plenty of them are indifferent or antagonistic to Biblical "Christian theology."
Not sure how "right wing" the idea is, but the degree and immediacy of God's intervention into historical causation has been a problematic issue for Christians since the beginning of the religion. Remember that Christianity embraces all IQs and all types of temperments, so it's perhaps unrealistic to expect too much consistency within "pop" theology. And along with that, it embraces people as they develop into a fuller understanding of the faith with experience and age. And I think you'd be hard pressed to find the sort of consistency you mention in any religious or secular doctrine that is sufficiently universal in scope. That said, I find the attitude that "everything happens for a reason" to be pretty vain. The implication is that God causes every event. Most people who have that attitude don't think of it in terms of hurricanes or political justice, but rather in terms of the little day-to-day events of their lives that point them in a certain direction, or that suggest a certain course of action that they believe God wants them to follow. They seem to understand God's role in their life as hyper-interventionist, as though he's shepherding them through life's perils and steering them toward Earthly success rather than eternal salvation. I find this attitude vain and self-serving, but worst of all is that it often leads to a crisis of faith at some future point, when some horrible tragedy befalls them or a loved one. For instance, I dare anybody to say "everything happens for a reason" to a rape victim, or to her father. I dare you. I've argued this before on Quacks, but an omnipotent God does not need to be a totalitarian God. There are simply better ways to think through this issue, ways that are both Christian and sensible. But there's certainly a fair number of Christians who begin with vanity and end up with an evil God.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." Mathew 5:5 Repub interpretation: "Eff you if you're ppor or hungry; I need my tax break"
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." Mathew 5:5 Repub interpretation: "Eff you if you're poor or hungry; I need my tax break"
Coel, good to see your contributions over the last few days. I like your comment that an omnicient/omnipotent God isn't the same as a totalitarian God. It is an issue that I have thought about on some level. I think you offer a reasonable answer to God's character in light of the Bible. It's also hard to tell exactly. That's one thing that will be interesting to learn "on the other side". I do want to comment on one thing you said though. The idea that "things happen for a reason" can be vain. I agree. But I have also seen that idea posed by people who are suffering in a positive way. To use a situation we are all familiar with, Colt McCoy made a comment like that when talking about what happened in the 2010 Rose Bowl. It was a statement of trust in Jesus. He did an interview with a pastor here in Austin. It was really awesome. My point is that the idea of "things happen for a reason" can be misused and result in a person believing in an evil God. For someone who truly trusts in Jesus, it can also be a statement of faith in the middle of a really painful situation. Just a thought.
Or, as Barry Corbin's character said in No Country for Old Men: "It ain't all waitin' on you. That's vanity."
No, it just means God hasn't finished sending hurricanes. That does raise an interesting question for me though. Can God by omnipotence wall off a piece of the universe from God's omniscience?
My preacher has never even come close to making those statements, in fact, I doubt 99% of Christian preachers have. Which leads me to two questions: 1) are you so ignorant that you only believe what you see on TV? 2) does your intolerance of others prohibit you from respecting others in this country regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation etc or are you an equal opportunity bigot?
any concern for the elderly trapped in buildings with no electricity, people on Staten Island with no water, electricity or fuel or are you just seriously happy that Obama might have gotten a late bump from hugging Christie then jetting off to Las Vegas? Nice post though.
I'm a right wing Christian. Hundreds of my friends are. I've heard nobody claim what the OP is saying. Straw man much, homey?
