Friends,

Here is Common Christianity column #820 (8-2-22), “God Doesn’t Care.” Ignorance and faithlessness abound in humanity, but it changes nothing about God.  See the column below.  Blessings, Bob

-- -- --

Spirituality Column #820

August 2, 2022

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

God Doesn’t Care

By Bob Walters

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.” – Darth Vader, while summoning the Force to choke arrogant Death Star commander General Motti in “Star Wars IV, A New Hope” (the first one)

In our less gracious moments perhaps many of us Christians have bemusedly imagined the utility of such a “hands-off” power as Vader’s to silence God’s naysayers.

I once accompanied my dear friend and mentor, retired Cambridge Divinity lecturer, multi-lingual Bible translator, former Coptic priest, and renowned Patristics (study of ancient church fathers) scholar Dr. George Bebawi to a local high school Advanced Placement (AP) senior World Literature class.  The class was studying the Bible and various other religious texts – as literature – and George was invited to lead a Q&A session about questions the students had about the Bible: smart kids asking smart, sincere questions.

I don’t remember anyone asking a question, because one student – very bright, very erudite, very philosophical, very loud and who soon enrolled in an elite university – opened up attacking the very idea of God, how the Bible was a meaningless old book, and exposing every level of his own dearth of understanding and gaping hole in his intellect because nothing about God, Jesus, or scripture could possibly be true.

The student in question had no idea how ignorant he sounded despite his AP-caliber lexicon, and no appreciation for his rudeness in badgering and interrupting one of the world’s experts on the topic up for discussion: biblical translation and history.  The student’s self-entrenched view that there is no God superseded all civility and dialogue.

The Bible – the bedrock text of Western civilization (go ahead and argue if you wish; the student discussed above wasn’t shy about it) – is the Lord’s gift to us as the Spirit’s key.  I’d like to have had Vader’s trick to silence the student’s rude and insolent verbal patter.

Sadly, as culture turns both faith and humanity upside down, we hear that a lot.  “God doesn’t exist.”  “A Good God wouldn’t allow evil things.” “The Bible changes and isn’t reliable.” “I’m a good/spiritual person and don’t need God/religion/church to prove it.”

The origin of Humanity?  Ask Darwin.  The purpose of this life? There isn’t any.

And the modern secular gold standard of human idiocy, “I have my own truth.”

Scare polls reveal not just a society-wide drop in church attendance and faith, but a new poll in May tracks an alarming, nearly bottom-scraping drop in “Biblical worldview” among professing Christians and, gulp, clergy (see link: Lack of Biblical Worldview - ACU).

By “Biblical worldview” we mean just the basics: Jesus Christ born of a virgin, Son of God, Word of God, fully man fully God, lived on earth, died on the cross, rose from the dead for the gifted purpose of sinful mankind’s salvation to restore our original relationship with the loving, good, and true Creator God Almighty that we might know God in this life and in death be resurrected, like Jesus, to eternal life with God and the saints in heaven.

If I left out anything important, sorry; I know there is much more to Jesus, the Bible, Church history, and Christian life than a single sentence.  The point is that one’s faith, obedience, grace and commitment factor heavily, nay, totally, into our “worldview.”

These polls may scare us, but I can’t imagine they scare God.  God doesn’t care.

God will be the same no matter what His creation does. God gave us – His favorite Creation, mankind – the freedom and curious mind to discover Him and believe … or not.

If man’s lack of faith is disturbing, take a breath. God’s faithfulness is unshakeable.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) cites Isaiah 40:8, Hebrews 13:8, Revelation 4:8 – God doesn’t change; we do.