Is God Purposeless?

Another chillinatthecabstand question from the ask section.  (He asks it in a more detailed form on his blog)

If the point of humans is to worship God, what then is the point of God’s existence?

Response:  The question has a “could God make a rock He couldn’t lift” quality to it, but I defintely think that it is a good discussion to have.  Let me clear up some misconceptions in your post first.  God exists for Himself and in community with Himself.  You claimed in your post that God cannot talk to Jesus or the Holy Spirit because they are paradoxally the same being.  While this is true, we see God refer to Himself in plural pronouns and named in the the plural Elohim in Genesis and conversing within Himself.  Also, you claimed that God cannot be friends with His created beings, which is also not theologically and biblically accurate.  Moses was called a friend of God and that phrase is used several times throughout Scripture to define His followers.  The Bible is very clear that God created man in order to fellowship with them.

I noticed some comments on chillin’s post that appeared to claim that God just exists with no clear purpose.  This is definitely not true.  The purpose of God’s existence is existence.  Let me explain.  God exists so that everything else can exist.  His purpose is to create and give purpose.  He is the uncreated Creator and without Him nothing can come into being.  Our worship of God is required because He makes existence possible.  God also exists for fellowship and community with Himself and His creations.  God’s purpose is creation, receiving glory and fellowshipping with His creations.

Chillin:  Good thought about God’s existence being boring, but as you documented quite well, God is distinctly different in many ways from humanity and you are assuming that boredom would be in His character and make up.

Look forward to some response.

The Morality of Theists and Atheists

More from the Ask Page!  My buddy chillinatthecabstand posed this question

Can you name one moral action done by a theist which could not be done by an atheist?
Can you name one evil action done by a theist which could not be done by an atheist?*
*As in they would never do it because it’s silly, not because they are physically incapable of doing it.

Chillin:  First off, that’s three questions, so I charge double.  I would have to say that the answer is no.  Morality is a character trait that is found in all people (theist and nontheist) that is dominant is some and less so in others.  If one subscribes to theism, that does not remove the ability to act immorally and one who does not believe in God is not incapable of moral actions.  That is why you have Christians committing immoral actions and atheists being philanthropists and vice versa.  As a Christian, I hold that all men were created in the image of God and even though sin has marred that, the communicalbe trait of morality is still present in all people in some form.  Christians are not by nature any “more moral” on their own, merely that they have had their immoralities atoned for.  Followers of God are supposed to seek hard after living a right and moral life, but we still fall because we are still human, but this does not negate the atonement.  In the same way, just because a nontheist may act morally most of the time, there is still a sinful nature in need of atonement.  So all that said to say, no, there is not an immoral action that a theist cannot commit and there is not a moral action that a nontheist cannot commit.  I hope this answered the question at least somewhat sufficiently.  Look forward to all your responses!

How Much Theology is Enough?

Robert posed this question on the “Ask” page of my blog.  Check out my response and throw in your feedback!

·         How should theology be fitted into the life of the average church member? How much theology should they know, and to what extent? Which doctrines do you think they should know as required or essential?

Chuck Colson in his recent book has some great thoughts on this, and just wondering what yours are.  Thanks!

Robert:

Good question.  I am a huge fan of education, especially in the church.  For instance, I am a youth pastor and we have begun running our Sunday Morning Bible Studies in a way that would meet the requirements for an undergrad degree in Bible college.  We did an indepth overview of the O.T. and we are currently working through the Synoptics.  I think God has given us the gift to learn about Him and know Him and we should take full advantage of that.  I think most church members do not know because we do not teach.  A church member should know what they believe and why they believe it so that they can love God in the way we are instructed, but also so that they can defend their faith properly when called upon to do so.  The Holy Spirit is our teacher and when we feed the church members sound doctrine, it is amazing what God can do through that.

As far as what doctrines are essential, that will obviously vary by denomination.  Since I am a pastor at a reformed Southern Baptist church, I teach very heavily on God’s soverignty and the doctrines of grace.  However, there are essentials and there are negotiables and we should defintely stress the essentials (that being the deity and humanity of Christ, inerrancy of Scritpure, virgin birth, etc).  The others, I would say, have room for disagreement in the body and different churches will dwell on different things.  We also spend a great deal of effort and teaching on the two greatest commandments; loving God and loving people. 

I hope this answers your question, looking forward to some feedback.

 

New Page!

I have posted a new page with an open forum setting in mind.  If you have any questions about theology, doctrine, theism, etc., post it up on the ask page and I’ll do my best to give you an adequate answer (or point you in the direction of someone who can do it better).  Should be fun, so participate at will.

(Ch)ills.

The Jesus Prayer

If you’ve read recently, I’ve been on a mission to meld my reformed understanding of Scripture with aesthetic devotion and spiritual life.  I’ve been reading through a book called Traditions of the Ancients which discusses spiritual practices of early Christians.  I have just finished the chapter on the Jesus prayer, and I have been extremely blessed through the practice of this tradition.

In the Jesus prayer, the believer utters the phrase “Lord Jesus Son of God, Have Mercy on Me A Sinner (saved by grace).  The rhythm is set to alighn with the first half coming on an inhale with the remainder flowing through the exhale and the process is repeated constantly.  Please note, this is not a Jabez-esq ritual in order to get something.  The idea is to associate prayer with every breath and having every breath remind you of the mercy and love of Jesus.  I’ve always had trouble “praying without ceasing,” but this tradition of our spiritual ancestors has blessed me intensely by keeping me ever focused in prayer and constantly focused on God and His mercy.

I pray God gives us great balance.  To know His word deeply and accurately and worship Him passionately and intimately in our spiritual lives.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

*chills