Watch the hilarious new TV commercial for the popular online MMORPG World of Warcraft below:

After watching the video, I checked out Mr T's Wikipedia page and noticed something that I'd heard before but never investigated: That Mr T (real name Laurence Tureaud) is a dedicated Christian. At the bottom of the Wikipedia entry there's a link to an interview Mr T did with Beliefnet.com entitled Words of Wisdom from Mr T. I'm not sure if the article title is intended to be sarcastic, but he actually comes across as quite wise in the article and deeply dedicated in his faith. He talks about why he no longer wears the gold chains (though he's wearing 'em in the commercial, I guess people might not recognize him without them??), his battle with cancer, and how he attempts to live our his faith in his life. It's a good read, so check it out.

The logical problem of evil (aka the deductive problem) namely that the existence of God is logically incompatible with the existence of evil, has (to the general agreement of modern philosophers) been deflected by Plantinga's free will defense. (See his book God, Freedom & Evil; be ready for heavy philosophical content.) But the emotional problem of evil (aka the inductive problem) will always remain during our lives here on our fallen Earth. When we are faced with obvious evil in the world, or the death of a loved one, our natural response is to question, to ask why, and perhaps to doubt God. Not because we are thinking of some rational objection, but rather because it hurts.

Some people will respond by denying that evil exists. But what is perhaps easy to say is quite difficult to live, or as C S Lewis put it: "Whenever you find a man who says he does not believe in a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later." There is a name for the person who denies good and evil: a sociopath. Clearly the proper response to evil is not denial.

Other people will respond to evil by removing God from the equation. While we may point out here that without God, saying something is "evil" is nonsensical, let's ignore that argument for the moment (though I think it is valid and sound) and think about if there is any gain we might receive by "removing" God.

Removing God does not make evil less evil, nor pain less painful. In fact, removing God also removes ultimate hope. Without God, our world seems permanently and irredeemably evil. Without God, there is no ultimate relief from pain, only pain. And there is nothing we can do to solve the problem.

Without God we cry out, not to a loving Father who remains with us and comforts us as we hurt and Himself came to Earth as a human being to suffer and die for us, but instead without God we cry out into the empty void of nothingness that neither hears our cry nor cares for our pain. Removing God results in no gain and much loss.

This of course does not prove that God exists, far from it. But it does indicate what we are giving up if we abandon God.

Dr Gary Habermas is a renowned scholar of the resurrection. His minimal facts argument is a persuasive argument that the resurrection actually happened, and thus because Jesus was raised, those who put their trust in Him will be raised, and therefore we should remain hopeful even in the most dire of circumstances. But Habermas does not approach this subject merely as a cold, detached scholar. In his article When Truth Confronts our Worst Suffering, he explains how, in his own hour of deepest despair, the cross of Christ and His resurrection gave him (and will also give us) the greatest hope.

As Paul says so succinctly: "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. 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." (1 Thes 4:13-14)

When a person who knows and trusts in the Lord dies, a Christian grieves, but not as one who has no hope. God is just and merciful, and we know that "in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye" we shall see one another again. We put our trust in God, who assures us that the day shall come when "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain." (Rev 21:4)

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 15:50-57)

Dedicated to mils, a constant inspiration in my faith. In prayer and hope.

Further reading:

• When Truth Confronts our Worst Suffering – The significance of Jesus' resurrection in the midst of suffering.
• Good People – Does being good guarantee a place in heaven?
• Jesus: True or False? – Is Jesus really who He claimed to be?

Melinda Penner made a thoughtful post on the nature of faith on the Stand to Reason Blog today … I think she's "in rare form, as usual"¹:

It's common these days for people to talk about how their "faith" will get them through a difficult and trying experience. This is said without qualification of what the faith is placed in and of anyone who exhibits faith. It seems as though "faith" is usually treated as a quality which, in and of itself, has the power to endow strength, endurance, and hope.

• Click here to continue reading the full post! (It's really short )

¹ Extremely obscure STR inside joke

Please indulge me as I proceed to conduct a bit of a thought experiment. Note that if I quote the Bible, I am not doing so in an attempt to prove that the Bible is true (that would be a circular argument) but rather to allow it to speak for itself as to what it really claims.

The question to ponder is: How can Christians claim that all human beings are "sinners"? Isn't that just being unnecessary pessimistic? Aren't people essentially good?

Yes, people are, in a sense, "essentially good". But Christians use those words in a slightly different way. To say a person is essentially good means that since people are made in God's image (that is, resemblance, likeness) we never are able to fully erase that essential quality, regardless of how much we may deface it.¹ Essential goodness in this sense means that we cannot entirely remove or escape our divine worth; since God has given us this worth, it is not within our power to expunge it.

However, a more widespread expression of "essentially good" has a different meaning. What does it mean to be good, in this context? That is, what is the most important thing? It seems that in this popular worldview, the most important thing is that you should be nice to people. In our society (and most churches, for that matter) this is the most important thing. I mean, of course it is … right? What else could be more important … ?

As it happens, Jesus was once asked this very same question by the religious leaders of His time: What is the most important thing?

… but before we consider Jesus' answer, consider this short parable:

A man was walking by a river, when suddenly he heard a splash, and saw a woman flailing her arms in the water. The man recognized that she could not swim. He knew that she would surely drown in the fast moving water. Throwing off his coat, he dove in the river, grabbed her arm, and dragged her to safety.

For saving her life, the man was lauded as a hero, and the tale of his act of valor began to spread. Observers called for the man to be awarded a medal of honor, and a reporter even interviewed the man for the local paper.

However, the next day's newspaper told the rest of the story. When asked why he saved the woman, the man answered "I don't care about the woman herself. I only saved her because she owed me a hundred dollars. I'm an expert swimmer, and I knew that if she drowned she would never be able to repay my money. Frankly I couldn't care less if she drowned." The townspeople were aghast, and no one ever spoke again of awarding him a medal of honor.

Now, why do we react differently to the story after hearing the man's intentions? The act itself does not change, and although the act is not entirely negated, it seems in a sense tainted by the man's motivations. The man could no longer be considered a hero. It seems as though if a person does a right act for a wrong reason, we are innately (and rightly) repulsed by it. Motivation matters. For example, a person who commits manslaughter receives a lesser sentence than one who commits first degree murder; what differs is their motivation. So we can agree that motivation for an act can change the worthiness (or unworthiness) of the act. Let's keep this fact in mind.

Back to Jesus. When Jesus was asked what was most important, He answered by twice quoting the Old Testament:

Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matthew 22:37-39)

Notice what is first: Loving God. This is what Jesus said is the most important thing. Loving God = #1. Loving your neighbors (by which Jesus means all people, even your enemies) is #2. Still important, you understand, but secondary. And according to Jesus, our #2 flows from our #1: our acts made in love for God will likewise be manifest in love for others, but the reverse is not necessarily true. John explains further: "This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome." (1 John 5:2-3)

If Jesus is right (this is how Jesus argued, not me) how can we be "good" if our motivation for acting ignores what Jesus claimed is most important? How can a person be "good" if their motivation is all wrong? How can a person be "good" if they ignore God?

Some will say, "But I believe that God exists. Just not in the Christian God."

Notice how Jesus responded to temptation, by quoting the Old Testament: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." (Matthew 4:10, Luke 4:8) He didn't say to worship any 'ol god, but to worship the Lord. There are many false "gods" in the world, but only one God. I am reminded of James' admonishment: "You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror." (James 2:19, NLT)

Back to our original query: Are we basically good? Generally nice guys/gals? Mostly free from sin? That's like asking if a glass of water that's been repeatedly spit in is still "mostly good to drink". As Paul said, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Sorry to be blunt, but sometimes doctors have to be blunt in order to begin a process of healing. Jesus Himself noted "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)

Trying to 'save ourselves' (by our own effort) won't work, either. I know that's counterintuitive in our culture, because we're always told to do it ourselves. But how can someone drowning in quicksand pull themselves out? The good news (that is, the "gospel") is that we don't have to save ourselves. In Jesus Christ, God Himself came into our world in the flesh in order to save us from ourselves and certain death, and show us the way. Paul explains:

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

Maybe you've never been inside a church and your life (I know I avoided churches like the plague before I started following Jesus) and have never considered this before. Or maybe you grew up in a church but never heard any of this before. There are a lot of terrible churches out there, but that doesn't affect one bit the truthfulness of what Jesus said and did.

No matter where you're coming from, what you've just read is something worth thinking about. Anyone who says all the religions are basically the same has never really grasped what Jesus was offering: Good people don't go to heaven. Forgiven people do.

All that remains is to accept God's offer of grace.

Thanks for listening. Please feel free to read my story or contact me.

Further reading:

• More about Jesus – Includes a brief Flash presentation and plenty of links.
• Experience forgiveness – Begin your life anew today. It really can happen.
• Just Stop and Think – A 15-minute streaming video with more things to think about. It may change how you look at the world.
• Is the New Testament reliable? – Read some of my previous posts to learn why it is.

1 Thanks goes to Rev Victor Shepherd for his way of stating things so eloquently.
Note: Bible quotations are from the NIV or TNIV unless otherwise noted.