We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

14093709943_fabcae4eef

Do You Argue With God?

Image by michael_swan via Flickr

In sharp contrast to many today who seek the comfortable feeling of certainty as a way of feeling at peace with God, biblical heroes are better known for their willingness to be uncomfortable and to honestly wrestle with God. Like Jacob who wrestled with God through the night (Gen 32), the heroes of faith listed in Hebrews 11 questioned, challenged, argued, and even objected to God’s actions. The father of faith, Abraham questioned God’s justice when he announced his plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18:20-33). We see the same several times in the life of Moses. For example, he once boldly objected when God privately told him he was so angry with the Israelites that he planned on destroying them to start over with Moses alone. Moses’s bold intercession succeeded in changing God’s mind and he thereby spared the nation (Ex 32:10-14). In fact we find dozens of examples in the OT of people responding to God’s announced plans by interceding and changing his plans.

Biblical heroes of faith frequently objected to God’s actions—or at least what they thought were his actions. One of the greatest prophets in the history of Israel, for example, was Jeremiah. Yet throughout the book of Jeremiah, as well as its sequel, Lamentations, we find Jeremiah complaining of God’s apparently unjust treatment of him and God’s people as a whole while the wicked have it easy (e.g., Jer. 12:1; 14:8-9; 15:18). His bewilderment and honest objections become especially acute and are mixed with anger and sorrow in Lamentations, written in the wake of Babylon’s seizure of Judah. Read this brief work, and you will find Jeremiah sorrowfully crying out that God has acted like an enemy and a vicious predator (e.g., 2:4-5; 3:1-21) and ascribing to God absolutely barbaric behavior such as ruthlessly slaying young people (Lam 2:21) and causing mothers to eat their own babies (2:20;4:10-11)!

The prophet Habakkuk also is similar. He acknowledges to God that “your eyes are too pure to look on evil” and that “you cannot tolerate wrong-doing” (1:13). But precisely because he believes this, he raises this complaint:

            Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?

Why are you silent while the wicked

Swallow up those more righteous than themselves? (1:13)

Sprinkled throughout the book are expressions of anger and confusion about God’s apparent inconsistency, especially as he allows pagans to conquer and abuse his own people.

As is apparent in so many OT heroes, the faith of Habakkuk was obviously nothing like we of think of faith today, that is certainty-seeking and doubt-shunning. They didn’t avoid cognitive dissonance by slapping the “mystery” label on things that seemed like contradictions. Habakkuk and others went to the mat with God. And far from being offended by this raw honestly, God is the One who blessed them with it! For instance, Jacob was blessed by God when given a new name, Israel, after wrestling with God all night, an act that reveals his core identity and character. This apparently is precisely the kind of honest relationship, and the kind of honest faith, God is looking for!

—Adapted from Benefit of the Doubt, pages 82-83

Related Reading

Why Bart Ehrman Doesn’t Have to Ruin Your Christmas (Or Your Faith) Part 8

This is the eighth of several videos Greg put together to refute Bart Ehrman’s claims published in the article What Do We Really Know About Jesus? In this segment, Greg gets into the nitty gritty of why portions of the birth account are not the dumbest lie ever. If you missed the first seven installments you can…

Drum Roll Please: Greg’s Final Critique of Bart Ehrman’s Article

This is the ninth and final of several videos Greg put together to refute Bart Ehrman’s claims published in the article What Do We Really Know About Jesus? Thanks for hanging in there for this last one. I know it was a long wait, but the holidays got inordinately busy for Greg. In this segment, Greg talks…

Are You Fully Alive? Here’s the Key

Image by rashdada via flickr.  The cross reveals the full truth about us. This truth reconnects us with our true source of life, which in turn heals our idol addictions. This dimension of the cross is frankly so breathtakingly beautiful that, so far as I can tell, very few followers of Jesus have ever really grasped it.…

Loving God With All Of Your Mind

Rebecca-Lee via Compfight David D. Flowers posted this essay on loving God with your mind that reflects our stance on intellectual integrity as we approach Scripture. It even features a video clip of Greg talking about maintaining humility when we encounter ideas that are new to us and challenge our current understanding. It’s well worth…

Making Room for Doubt and Questions in Our Youth Curriculum

This article from a Christianity Today blog was sent to us from a reader (Thanks Laura!) reflecting on the need for making space for doubt and questions in our youth curriculum. From the article: In our Sticky Faith research, geared to help young people develop a Christian faith that lasts, a common narrative emerged: When young people asked…

Tags: ,

Leaving Westboro Baptist: Damsel, Arise

Burstein! via Compfight A reader pointed us to this fascinating article about the defection of Megan Phelps-Roper from the notorious Westboro Baptist Church (Thanks Rocky). She’s the granddaughter of the founder and preacher Fred Phelps. It’s an amazing story of how sometimes doubt can lead to grace and courage. From the article: In the fifth…