Why God Allowed the Objects of His Love to Suffer - Essay Example

Why would the loving God revealed in Jesus Christ allow the objects of his love to suffer Demonstrate knowledge of the difficulties encountered by belief in a Creator God and an awareness of different theological models for understanding the relationship between God and the World. 2. Assess the effectiveness of such models and theological understandings of the God world relationship by adopting appropriate philosophical inquiry and exercising an open and questioning approach to familiar and new material. 3. Formulate a coherent argument with appropriate reference to primary and secondary sources Harvard method. "Both science and religion tell us we are related to the world around us. We share 99.4 percent of our genes with chimpanzees and 50 percent with the lowly banana. We are made of the same particles as the water in the ocean, the sand on the beach, and the stars in the sky. We share our origins with the rest of world, created by God in the language on the Judeo-Christian Tradition." - Chhavi Sachdev Introduction: De Duve (2005) proposed that "Science is based on the postulate that the universe obeys natural laws and is intelligible within the framework of those laws," and this belief is commonly shared by an ever-increasing global populace encompassing both theists and atheists, natural scientists and non-scientists alike. In fact, while pseudo and legitimate religious groups grow in wide diversity from New Age to Panentheism, the Christian belief of God and the Savior remains one of the most enthralling religious wonders of our time. Humbling and altogether enlightening when deeply understood. Discussion: Thomas Aquinas summed up the answer for the question "Why did the Son of God have to suffer for us" when he wrote: It can be considered in a twofold way: in the first place, as a remedy for sin, and secondly, as an example of how to act." Aquinas argued that "in the face of all the evils which we incur on account of our sins, we have found relief through the passion of Christ. Yet, it is no less an example, for the passion of Christ completely suffices to fashion our lives. Whoever wishes to live perfectly should do nothing but disdain what Christ disdained on the cross and desire what he desired, for the cross exemplifies every virtue." He added that "If you seek the example of love: Greater love than this no man has, than to lay down his life for his friends (New Testament). Such a man was Christ on the cross. And if he gave his life for us, then it should not be difficult to bear whatever hardships arise for his sake." Together with the virtue of love, Aquinas cited other virtues represented on the man and the cross: patience for enduring the pain, sorrow and suffering, humility for allowing himself to be judged by the angry mob and Pontius Pilate, obedience to the will of His Father, and immateriality. Finney (1851) in his argument presented 24 reasons why Jesus had to suffer on the cross but this discussion shall present only those which conveys governmental underpinning as: First, he reasoned, is due to God's great and all-encompassing love quoting John (New Testament) "God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life" (John 3:16). Second, "His great love to the universe at large [] inasmuch as it was impossible that the atonement should not exert an amazing influence over moral beings [e.g., angels]" Third, "That an infinite amount of suffering might be prevented. The relation of Christ to the universe rendered his sufferings so infinitely valuable and influential, as an expression of God's abhorrence of sin on the one hand, and his great love to his subjects on the otherAs a governmental expedient it is easy to see the great value of such a substitute; that on the one hand it fully evinced the determination of the ruler not to yield the authority of his law, and on the other, to evince his great and disinterested love for his rebellious subjects." In this argument, Finney (1851) quoted the New Testament: "Which in His times He shall shew, Who is the Blessed and Only Potentate, the KING of kings, and LORD of lords" (1Timothy 6:15) Fourth, the gaining of "the eternal happiness of all that can be reclaimed from sin, together with all the augmented happiness of those who have never sinned, that must result from this glorious revelation of God." Fifth, is that the forgiveness of the "Sin had afforded an opportunity for the highest manifestation of virtue in God: the manifestation of forbearance, mercy, self-denial, and suffering for enemies that were within his own power, and for those from whom he could expect no equivalent in return." He once again quoted the Bible: "Who is like unto Thee, O LORD, among the gods Who is like Thee, Glorious in Holiness, Fearful in Praises, doing Wonders" (Exodus 15:11) Sixth, "God's desire to lay open his heart to the inspection and imitation of moral beings." "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children" (Ephesians 5:1). Seventh, "God is love, and prefers mercy when it can be safely exercised. Because he so much prefers mercy to judgment as to be willing to suffer as the sinner's substitute, to afford himself the opportunity to exercise pardon, on principles that are consistent with a due administration of justice." Eighth, "God consulted his own happiness and his own glory. To deny himself for the salvation of sinners, was a part of his own infinite happiness, always intended by him, and therefore always enjoyed. Quoting "Thus will I magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD" (Ezekiel 38:23) Ninth, "God complied with the laws of his own intelligence, and did just that, all things considered, in the highest degree promotive of the universal good." "For as the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so are My Ways higher than your ways, and My Thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9) Tenth, "Present to creatures the highest possible motives to virtue. Example is the highest moral influence that can be exerted." And the Bible: "Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His Glorious Body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself" (Philippians3:21) Eleventh, "Leading humans to contemplate and imitate his love." "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them" (John 13:17). Twelfth, "The circumstances of his government rendered an atonement necessary; as the execution of law was not, as a matter of fact, a sufficient preventive of sin." And the Bible: "Justice and Judgment are the habitation of Thy Throne: Mercy and Truth shall go before Thy face" (Psalm 89:14) Thirteenth, "To confirm holy beings. Fourteenth, "To confound his enemies." Graeser et al (1994) presented two primary qualities of God that could help explain why Jesus had to suffer on the cross as: that God is righteous and that he required that the penalty for {mankind's) sin be paid. The book likewise quoted one Kenyon that "transgression must be punished [] upon legal grounds that will not rob man of his self-respect" And the second quality of God is "love," that the penalty for sin could be paid by a sinless substitute. Conclusion: With the Bible stating that God is the God of order, among other virtues, and the universal scientific belief that man is "a rational being", and the Bible once again stating that "God made man in is own image and likeness", it was necessary that there is an equal leveling between God and mankind. But this could not happen after transgressions were committed by man as initiated by Adam, God's first created man. So, it was necessary that the "just" but loving God stick to His word, never to "forsake mankind" who were elevated "above angels." And all these things were only perfected with the Man and His cross, and all the virtues it represents. Reference: Aquinas, Tomas. "Why did Jesus have to Suffer" The Crossroads Initiative. 2006. De Duve, Christian. "Where Science, religion meet." Science & Theology. December 29, 2005. Finney, Charles. Systematic Theology. William Tegg and Co.1851. Graeser, Mark, John Lynn, and John Schoenheit. Don't Blame God. Christian Educational Services, Inc.1994 Sachdev, Chhavi. "Panentheism." Science & Theology. 2006. From http://www.stnews.org/package-7-intro.htm Read More