God Allows Adversities—Because He Loves

God Molds Us With His Mighty Hands

God allows hardships in our lives so we can (1) grow closer to Him (2) grow in faith (3) comfort others.

(1)- 1 Peter 4:19- So then, those who suffer according to God’s Will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Acts 14:22- Strengthen the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

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If we are suffering, commit to the Lord. Draw close to him. There is a reason for the anguish. Study God’s Word. Pray continually. God will reveal through his Holy Spirit, in time, why we are going through the storm. He will hold us tight in the palm of His mighty hand as the storm surrounds us and swirls around us.

One of the possibilities for the storm is, we are being tested by Satan. A testing is when Satan stands before the throne of God in heaven and petitions God to test a person. He has studied us and finds us with unrighteousness. God allows the testing to purify us; we are refined by fire.

For more information on testing, I invite everyone to read my article: The Full Armor Of God—Wear It! https://bestill876095733.wordpress.com/2018/03/14/the-full-armor-of-god-wear-it/

Not every storm is from Satan. This is a broken world. Bad things happen to good people all the time; a bad medical report, family issues, work relationship problems, financial hardships. All these problems can lead to horrible consequences, sometimes at the best we can do.

These catastrophes in our lives will rip us apart—tear or families into pieces. Our best solution is to turn to our heavenly Father for comfort and guidance and ride out the hurricane. As the winds of disaster blow in our lives, rest in the palms of His mighty hands. Ride out the storm in His strength. If we rely on his strength, we will survive the storm.

2 Corinthians 12: 10- That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Ephesians 6:10- Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

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(2)- Grow in Faith- When God allows a storm into our lives, it can be for many reasons. Many of these reasons are not for us to understand.

Isaiah 55:8-9- “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9- As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

All things are in God’s control; he owns the entire world. When the Lord allows a catastrophic event into our lives, it can be difficult to think of him as good and loving. How could a God who loves his people allow bad things to happen to good people?—especially when he has the power so stop the hurricane.

We must consider that this is a broken world; full of sin. Bad things happen all around us, all the time. Sometimes, God rescues us from the disaster, and in his wisdom, sometimes he does not. He allows us to go through the event even though he loves us with a deep love that is beyond our understanding.  The question is, where is our focus?

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2 Timothy 3:16- All scripture is God –breathed and is useful for teaching, reproofing, for correcting and training in righteousness.

2 Peter 1: 20- 21-Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21- For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes God’s reason for allowing us to go through a storm is to drive us upward toward Him, in our faith. The Lord, through the Holy Spirit, will call us to read His Word with a passion, perhaps like never before. Through the reading of the bible, the Holy Spirit will reveal God’s truths to us that we never understood before. The scriptures will take on new meaning; they will become alive to us.

God will use the horrific event to reveal new truths about himself to us through his Word and allow an increased pouring out of His Holy Spirit upon us. (This may be accompanied by excessive crying or weeping)

God grows our faith in spurts like this. He might use a storm as the event to grow us.

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(3)- Teach us to comfort others. It is difficult to feel mercy toward someone else’s pain if we have not been through pain ourselves. Pain is a universal bond. The pain does not have to be the same but sometimes it is the same or often times relatable. God allows his children to go through pain, to help others who are suffering; that is only one reason.

Romans 8:17-18- Now if we are children, then we are heir –heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his suffering in order that we may also share in his glory. 18- I consider that our present sufferings are not worthy comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

We are called to share in Christ suffering; we also will share in his glory, if we remain faithful to him to the end.

Therefore, since we as Christians are called to share in Christ’ sufferings, in all pain, we must run our race, no matter what the Lord has called us to do. Encourage one another in our pain.

If we are not sure what our race is, pray and ask the Lord for his wisdom as to what our purpose is. He will reveal our purpose for us in His good time. Wisdom is waiting for the Lord while remaining in the faith.  By remaining in the faith, we pray, read our bible, and attend church; walk in the Lord.

One part of running our race is comforting others who are in pain. We should be quick with comfort and compassion—but withholding judgement. Since we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, none of us has the right to judge—no matter what a person’s pain.

For more information on running your race, I invite everyone to read my article:

Run Your Race For Jesus https://bestill876095733.wordpress.com/2018/03/06/run-your-race-for-jesus/

Be like Christ and give comfort to others.

John 15:9- As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
God’s love gives us the ability to love, if we are abiding in his love.

John 14:15- “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
If we truly love the Lord Jesus, we will be eager to follow his commandments; we will pick up our cross and follow him.

1 John 3:11- This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

If we say, we love Jesus, then we must love one another. If we call ourselves Christians—Christs’ followers, we are required to love as he loves us. To love with agape love isn’t humanly possible; loving unconditionally is a trait that is given to us from the Father, through his Holy Spirit. Pray that God will give you, as I do, a heart that loves with agape love (Deep and unconditional love) of the Father in heaven.

For more on God’s agape love, I invite all to read my article: God’s Agape Love, Displayed For All To See
https://bestill876095733.wordpress.com/2018/03/30/gods-agape-love-displayed-for-all-to-see/

Let’s all pray for Christ’s love (agape love) toward everyone and give comfort and love to all who hurt,

Gary The Tested

 

Are You Ready?—When Jesus Returns?

Jesus Is Returning Soon!

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14- We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15- According to the Lord’s own Word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16- For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with a voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17- After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18- Therefore encourage each other with these words.

1 Corinthians 15: 52- 53-in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53- For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the mortal with the immortality.

John 5:28-29- Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice 29- and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

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Daniel 12:1-2- At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2- Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

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Everyone dead will rise at that moment, the non-believers in Christ, during the rapture will rise from their craves. (John 5:28-29) All will rise.

Will non-believers receive a resurrected body, as believers in Christ do, or remain in spirit? (Luke 16) Jesus tells the parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus. Lazarus dies and goes to heaven. The rich man dies and goes to hell. His tongue was (is) overheated from the fire he is in. He was(is) in torment. A spirit body would not feel pain. A physical body of some type would feel torment.

Matthew 10:28 – Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

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The scriptures suggests people in hell have some type of physical body that can be tormented.

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What will our ( Believers in Jesus Christ) resurrected bodies be like? Paul gives us an idea in (1 Corinthians 15:35-54) Our heavenly bodies will be completely different from the earthly bodies. Changed forever, immortal. Imperishable, raised in glory, raised in power, also a spiritual body, people from heaven- likeness of Christ.

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2 Corinthians 5:6-8- Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  7- We live by faith, not by sight. 8- We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

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When our earth body fails to function, we are taken immediately to heaven to be with our Lord. This process takes only a second. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death , is your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:55)

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REVELATION6:9-11- When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the alter the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10- They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood? 11- Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers were to be killed as they had been was completed.

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According to this scripture, as our souls(Us-Who we are-Our person) waits for the rapture and our resurrected bodies(Which will be out of this world), we live in heaven with the Lord. We are given some type of temporary, physical body that is capable of supporting a robe. That scripture is a hint of the bodies we will have at that time.

Then, at the moment of rapture, all the dead will rise from their graves, no matter where their graves are. All will receive their resurrected bodies. (I believe the bodies of Christ’s followers will be different than that of non-believers. Our bodies will be designed by God for heaven, Christ-like. Non-believers bodies will be designed by God for a total separation from the Lord in hell, the burning lake of fire, for all eternity.)

We believers in Christ, will live with our Lord Jesus and the Lord God Almighty and the Holy Spirit in heaven for all eternity. We will have our resurrected bodies designed for His purpose.
Non-believers will spend all eternity in the lake of fire with Satan, his fallen angels, in their resurrected bodies designed by God to endure that environment, separated from God.

Where are you going to spend eternity? Jesus said, “If you are not for me, you are against me.”
If you do not choose Jesus, you are choosing Satan. It’s that simple. It does not matter if you don’t like it. It does not matter if you remain in denial your entire life. If you reject Jesus for any reason, you are choosing Satan.

Please choose Jesus.  Your eternity depends on it.

How do you choose Jesus? You must believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins. That He took your punishment for your sins. He died for your sins. Jesus went to hell in your place; for you. On the third day, God raised him out of hell and the grave and gave him a resurrected body. You must believe this happened for you; because Jesus did it for you. All mankind; every person who will ever live. He bought our way into heaven. That is the only way we could get there; by Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. A free gift, we must accept it and believe.

Next, with the repentance of a child, pray to the Lord that you are truly sorry for your sins and you want God’s forgiveness for your sins. That you want Jesus to be the Lord of your life. You want him to be your Lord and Savior. Pray this in Jesus name. A-men. Pray with a sincere heart with true repentance.

If you prefer, there is a Believer’s Prayer at the beginning of this blog. Pray that prayer with sincerity and repentance. Jesus will become your Lord and Savior. He will change your life for all eternity. It is God’s Will for all to receive Him and come to His Son, Jesus.

Become a believer in Christ and wait expectantly for Christ’s return,

Gary The Tested

Put On The Full Armor Of God

Protect Yourself From Satan

Ephesians 6:13-18- Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

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If you are called by the Lord to read or study the gospel of Job you are being tested.
Satan petitioned God at His throne in heaven to test you. And God allowed Satan to do so for a reason. That’s right. Satan and God had a conversation at the throne of God in heaven and they discussed you. In time, God will reveal to you why He allowed Satan to test you.

During his testing, Satan attacks your emotions; agonizing fear and terror. Deep loss and depression. Uncontrollable crying. No appetite (food repulses you) and more. All to the point of near or possible death. He will cause you to lose your church, job, home, children, spouse, family, everything, life. He can only do what God allows him to do.

Job 1:12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

Job 2:6 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well then, he is in your hands, but you must spare his life.”

Satan will study you, look for your weakness, then use someone or something to attack you. If you are married, he will study your spouse as well. He will attack whichever of you two he feels is the easier target for him to destroy you and your spouse. His goal is to destroy your life—completely and totally.

Satan will use someone from your church, family, job, neighborhood, close friend, etc to betray you and his testing will begin. This person will behave demon-like. They will terrify you to the point of almost death. Remember Satan will manipulate your emotions. You will feel deep emotions that you would not normally feel. His testing may go on for years. You could be reduced to skin and bones while struggling to sleep or eat. You may be barely able to function in life as you attempt to keep your family together as you deal with whatever outside crisis Satan has brought into your life via this person or thing or circumstance he is using (his tool to torment you). This can go on until you are nearly to the point of death or your family is broken apart. You may lose your job, your home, lose everything.

The person Satan uses is always someone who is not saved but who is faking Christianity. If you remember back through history with this person, there were lots of red flags. And you did not know what to do with the warning signs so you ignored them. God tries to warn us to stay away from these people, but we must heed His warnings. Someone who is very loud, always drawing attention to themselves, is someone to keep an eye on. God loves the humble and meek. Learn to be a good fruit inspector. If God shows you the red flags, you don’t need to understand. Obey the Lord and keep your distance, you’ll be glad you did.

Galatians 5:22- 23a- But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Satan petitions God night and day to test the Lord’s people. To protect yourself against Satan’s testing, don’t tell lies, don’t gossip, don’t steal, pray continually, live a righteous life, live a Christ-like life. Be honest, good, humble, and fair. Do not have any unconfessed sin in your life. Read and study the bible (Word of God). Make sure your faith is sure and steady. Believe God keeps his promises. Make certain you are saved. That Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit dwells within you. Then pray in the Spirit for all the saints. And attend church.

Pray for wisdom. Pray for the Lord to draw you close to Him.

Psalms 91:11- For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Pray for God’s hedge of protection. He will send His angles to protect you.

Pray that God will increase your faith; use you for His glory in this world.

When Satan is finished with you and your testing comes to an end, if your family is still intact, and you still have your job and home, you have fared better than most.

Know this, Satan always betrays the person he used to betray and test you (his tool). After Satan is finished with you and your family, he betrays that person and goes after them, but much, much worse. If you thought you got it bad, what you got was child’s play compared to what that person got from Satan.

Final note: The Lord (via my wife) asked me to write this article. The information I am giving you about testing and Satan, except for the scriptures, is from my own experiences.

Put on the Full Armor of God,

Gary The Tested

Born Into Eternity

Psalm 139:13-16 For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother‘s womb. 14- I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15- My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16- your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.

Job 33:4 The spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

John 5: 24 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

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We were all formed by the Lord in our mother’s womb. God breathed life into us, bringing us into eternity. That means, from that moment, the person we are (our soul) lives throughout eternity.

As everyone knows, one of the grim facts of life is that everyone dies in the Lord’s good time. If we consider that we are all born into eternity, then only our body ceases to function. We are still alive for all eternity.

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Acts 7: 56 + 59 (The stoning of Stephen) “Look”, he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 59- Then he fell to his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

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For believers in Jesus Christ, heaven opens up and Jesus descends to escort us (soul) to the throne of God, at the moment of our bodies death.

For the unbeliever, Satan claims that person (soul) for all eternity.

Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Are you prepared for the next step in eternity? When we die. Are you going to spend eternity in heaven or hell? It’s your choice. The choice is very real.

Repent of your sins and ask Jesus into your heart and you will live for all eternity with the Father and Jesus, and every Christian.

There is a believer’s prayer above. Sincerely pray with a repentant heart and repent of your sins and experience Jesus’s forgiveness. Jesus will save you and become your Lord and Savior. This will insure your name is written in God’s book of life. You will have eternal life in heaven. You will be a Christian.

May God lead you to His salvation,

Gary The Tested

Son of God – Movie Review

Dear Friends,

Recently I had the pleasure of watching the movie, Son of God. This is John’s story, from the Gospel of John; he narrates the story. 

Inspiring Movie about Jesus' Life

The movie begins with John1:1; In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God. He was with God…In the beginning. He was there in paradise with Adam and Eve; the fall of man. He was there with Noah…In the great flood. He was there with Abraham when he was chosen. “Abraham,” God said. “I will make you a father of many nations.” He was there when Moses led our people out of Egypt. “I will be with you,” God said. He was the light shining in the darkness. Jesus is that light. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

John; Writer of The Gospel of John

John introduces himself. He is one of Jesus’ followers. “After what I saw, how could I not be?” John of the Gospel. John’s story; The Roman soldiers are collecting taxes. Occupied and oppressed—Jerusalem. Crucifixion is every day and commonplace.  A new governor, Pontius Pilate is in power.

Jesus walked across the rock hills toward the Sea of Galilee as Peter fished below. Peter is frustrated due to another day of no fish. Jesus walks through the water, and with Peter’s help, climbs into his boat. After Jesus waved his almighty, loving hand in the water, fish from the sea gathered around Peter’s boat. He quickly filled the small, primitive schooner.  In bewilderment, Peter asked, “How did this happen?”

Peter- The Fisherman

Jesus replies, “Come with me Peter. I will make you fishers of Men.” As Jesus continued his ministry, the numbers grew. All who heard his preaching were amazed at his wisdom and felt his power. Scores of people quickly became followers.

After healing the paralyzed man and forgiving his sins, a jealous Rabbi who witnessed the miracle confronts Jesus. “Jesus replies, “The Son of Man has authority to forgive sins.”  In turn, the Rabbi threatens Jesus with charges of blasphemy.

Matthew- The Tax Collector

Matthew soon becomes a follower and Jesus feeds five thousand.  Afterward, Jesus performs one miracle after another.

After raising Lazarus from the dead, he declares himself the Messiah that Isaiah prophesied about. He tells his Mother, “It has begun.”

Jesus and his followers journey to Jerusalem for the festival of Passover. Jesus enters the city on a donkey. He goes to the temple and overturns the tables due to merchants selling goods.

The Roman Government plots against him. He declares, “To see the kingdom of God, you must be born again. You must be reborn. Not in the flesh, but in a spirit. The Holy Spirit.”

Soon, the arrest of Jesus is ordered. Jesus has visions of Judas betraying him and his death on the cross. He has the Last Supper  with his disciples. Communion/Eucharist is created.  He gives thanks and hands them bread then wine. “This is my body…This is my blood…Eat and drink…Remember me.”

The Last Supper- Communion/Eucharist.

Judas betrays Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane—with a kiss. He is captured. Later, the Supreme Court of Elders tried and convicted him. Their judgment; guilty of blasphemy and threatening to destroy the temple. Their sentence—death by crucifixion.  

Caiaphas and the high priests talk to Pontius Pilate.  Barabbas goes free and Pilate orders the execution. As Jesus is whipped; Judas hangs himself.

Pontius Pilate- Rome's Governor

During the crucifixion, Pilate says to his wife, “Jesus will be forgotten in a week.”

Jesus was in agony while hanging on that brutal cross, in the blistering sun. Later as dark, thick clouds rolled overhead, he said, “It is finished.” After more time, Jesus said, “Father…into your hands I commend my spirit.”  While hanging on that terrible cross, Jesus Dies! Later, after being taken down from the cross, and the crown of thorns removed, Jesus’ lifeless body is prepared and sealed in a tomb. Jesus’ family and followers are devastated, heartbroken,  and lost. Their friend, family member, and Messiah is dead. What went wrong?

Jesus before and crucifixion

Three days later, Mary Magdalene found the tomb empty and Jesus’ body missing. Jesus is Alive!

Later Peter starts the first church. Jesus appears and shows them his nail scarred hands.  

Forty Days Later; Jesus tells a crowd of believers about the Holy Spirit and ascends to Heaven. Peter said, “We have work to do.” He became their new leader. “On this rock, I will build my church,” Jesus said previously.

John continues his story while in exile; But in the light there was darkness. Persecuted for our preaching, all of the disciples died for our cause.  Except one. I must live out my days in exile. Alone. One day, I hope to see my friends again for they are with our Lord.

Jesus - The Eternal Savior

John reminisces about Jesus; The people today- they called you king. They think you are the Messiah. “Who do you think I am?” Jesus asked.

Peter replied, “You are the Son of God."

Jesus says, “I am coming soon. May the grace of the Lord be with all God’s people.”

The movie ends. As the credits roll, and we see short videos from the movie, Ceelo Green performs “Mary, Did You Know?”

Speaking as someone who has studied God’s Word my entire life, I can say this movie was very accurate. A few things were left out and others moved around a bit, but that is to be expected.

This movie was perhaps the best telling of Jesus and his life that I’ve ever seen. I literally didn’t want it to end. My heart was full of joy as I watched Jesus on screen. I felt emptiness and despair when he died and later ascended. He was gone. I can’t imagine the heartache at the actual moment. Seeing the gift he gave us all; paying the price for our sins and our way into heaven-a gift we cannot repay, re-ignites the fire in my faith. We can only love, worship, and follow him. Peter is right; we as God’s people have work to do. Spend time in God’s Word daily and see what He wants you to do.

This is my review of the mega movie smash, Son of God. Watch the movie yourself. I promise you will be moved.

A Follower of Jesus, 

Shepard Cross

A Bible Story – David; Saul; and Jealousy

   Dear Faith Readers,

   Being a life-long scripture reader, God's Word has helped me to understand many trials. However, by understanding my plights, that hasn’t always made me feel better. Often times the increased anxiety of wisdom is equally painful.

   Just like today, in many of my favorite bible passages, the character in the story goes through horrific trials. Knowing that my biblical brothers and sisters suffered for their faith doesn’t always help me to feel better.

A Bible Story - David and Saul

   You probably think I’m referring to  Job.  His testing is considered by many to be the harshest in the history of mankind.  I don’t know if that's true or not since testings go on every day in God’s kingdom. I have read about many testings. I have also endured many of my own testings – some more severe than others.

   I'm referring to the trials that David endured. If you recall, Saul and his armies had been pursuing him  for some time. Saul’s goal was to kill David. In the cave, David had an opportunity to kill Saul and spared his life; he crept behind him.

   Have you ever known someone who is truly gifted? That was David. He was gifted in music, in appearance, and in battle skills. Everything about him displayed God’s favor. Were all of those gifts and recognition easy for him to live with? David would have been the first person to say no. These gifts caused jealousy. His gifts also caused him to sin.

   God speaks about jealousy in Exodus 20:17, You shall not covet…

   In 1 Samuel 18.6,7; When the men returned home after battle, the women sang the praises about and to David for slaying ten times as many Philistines as Saul. Saul burned with jealousy. In Vs. 10, God put an evil spirit into Saul. I believe just like with Saul, God uses evil spirits for his work today. If  someone is jealous, that is an invitation for trouble – an open door for temptation.

   It can be very difficult to accept that someone  simply has more gifts. It is important to accept that fact and don’t fall into jealous temptation. That was true in David’s time and it’s true in our time. It will be true in the future. Jealousy is a dangerous temptation. Follow God's Word and make the personal decision to avoid the trap.

   In Christ's Service,

   Shepard Cross

 

A Public Faith – Book Review

To My Christian Readers,

I read another interesting book today; A Public Faith by author and Yale professor, Miroslav Volf. In the introduction he writes, debates are raging today about the role of religions in public life, and it is not difficult to see why. Religions of all faiths are on the rise. In a provocative statement he writes, religious people fear impositions—different faiths fear each other.

He argues; Unlike those who think religion should stay out of politics, religious people ought to be free to bring their visions to the good life into the public sphere – into politics as well as other aspects of public life. It would be oppressive to prohibit them from doing so.  The author adds, some refer to this as religious totalitarianism; the ghosts that haunts discussions of the role of public religion today. He cites Sayyid Qutb’s Milestones, to sketch his point.

Miroslav designates a religious political pluralism, emerged within Christianity, but it is not the Christian position.

He explores three questions. One; In what ways does the Christian Faith malfunction into the contemporary world, and how should we counter these malfunctions. Two; What should be the main concern of Christ’s Followers when it comes to living in the world today. Third; How should Christ’s followers go about realizing their visions of living well in today’s world in a relationship to other faiths and together with people with whom they live under the roof of a single state.

In chapter two; Idleness, he states his three reasons for idle faith. One; the character of believers—shallow faith. Two; very little effort put into their faith. Three; their faith has very little meaning to them—irrelevant faith. He also states, many Christians turn from faith due to materialism.

He believes God is not a demander; God is a giver. He further believes, the more we reduce faith to vague religiosity that serves primarily to energize, heal, and give meaning to the business of life whose course is shaped by factors other than faith, the worse off we will be.

He writes, Christians have used and continue to use their faith to legitimize violence they deem necessary, and they have done so on a massive scale. Misconceptions of the Christian Faith mirror the wide spread misbehavior of Christians.

I Sharing Wisdom, he writes, we live in an age of great conflicts and petty hopes. Petty hopes generate self-subverting melancholy experiences.

Although Miroslav Volf’s book, A Public Faith, was interesting, I detected  almost from the beginning a lack of passion or personal understanding for his topic; rather, a tremendous amount of research rewritten.  I felt he used the words Christian and Christianity far too loosely. I detected a lack of personal understanding of the topics.  He somewhat validated my suspicions in his conclusion, With these eight points I trust I have sufficiently attended to the problem of faith’s coerciveness – at the level of theory, of course, not at the level of practice.

I will admit to disconnecting emotionally from this book in the second chapter when he stated his reasons why Christians turn from their faith—shallow faith, no effort, and irrelevant faith. From my experiences, many people turn away from faith and churches as an act of emotional survival of the moment. When a heart has been broken by betrayal, hypocrisy, or an act of evil by a church or church associate, the only viable option is to run; then try to understand why—later. I have seen this wreck a person’s faith far more than this author’s reasons. That is why I suggest this author is lacking person experience in his topic.

Having said that, the book, A Public Faith, was interesting to read. I only recommend that someone reads it from the point of view of a very successful college professor who is well studied in his trade but probably has never experienced the heartache that church members can cause.

In Christ’s Service,

Shepard Cross

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