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Archives for March 2015

On Trials

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Introduction
Certainly, the problem of evil is philosophically persistent and even more certainly is it emotionally difficult. I think that the problem of evil has multiple solutions many of which are true and many of which are entirely compatible with one another. And though I find the problem interesting and though the problem in some way bears upon this post, I think that it can be put aside for the purposes of what follows. Whether the problem of evil has a solution or not, here we are and we face struggles, trials, unfair horrors, and nature-inflicted deformations of personhood and body. The question is this, “How shall I respond?” I don’t mean this in some insensitive way, where I claim that all difficulties are actually a good thing. Evil is evil. I mean it in this precise way:

Whatever difficulties we are facing, no matter how terrible or inexplicable, are exactly the difficulties that we are facing. This means we must face them until death ends our difficulties or until we overcome them. It is not comforting to have this knowledge, it is simply the fact of the case in question. If you or I face an obstacle, trial, or trouble, it must be faced.

Again, I offer here no explanation for one’s sufferings or attempt to justify why they happen in a way that makes God seem good or evil seem less bad. I also do not mean to say, “Tell people who are suffering right now that God is testing them.” I am attempting to bring an issue to the foreground concerning the difficulties that we face as individuals and as a species. When we face various trials and look for metaphysical explanations or emotionally satisfying warrant for our going through them, we can ignore the problem at hand. Questions like “Why am I facing this?”, “Has God forgotten me?”, “Couldn’t this have been stopped?” have their place and often have answers. Even Jesus asked them. But the issue I wish to tackle is the way we face these trials when they come. The trials could be anything. Take these examples or any number of similar ones:

  1. A sad diagnosis with a worse prognosis
  2. A terrible accident
  3. Sudden loss of career
  4. Harmed by somebody’s incompetence
  5. Trouble raising children
  6. A wrongful accusation (or a correct one)
  7. Being tempted to sin, cheat, steal, or avoid blame for wrongdoing
  8. Having terrible and dangerous enemies
  9. Being oppressed
  10. Being born in unfair circumstances

Our approach to trials will determine whether or not we can make it through them with grace, character growth, or by leaving the world a better place. I am recommending this experiment as a personal solution to the problem of evil, pain, and suffering. The solution is somewhat simple, though probably not easy. I simply mean to agree with yourself in advance to do this: treat difficulties as tests. In other words, when any trial comes, immediately approach it with an attempt to improve oneself through the trial. You’ll note that the word “trial” is practically a synonym for test, but I think that in modern usage, trial to simply means “hardship.” Please excuse the apparent tautology.

The principle is contained in Stoic format in Aurelius’ Meditations:

“Our inward power, when it obeys nature, reacts to events by accommodating itself to what it faces— to what is possible. It needs no specific material. It pursues its own aims as circumstances allow; it turns obstacles into fuel. As a fire overwhelms what would have quenched a lamp. What’s thrown on top of the conflagration is absorbed, consumed by it— and makes it burn still higher.” – Aurelius, Marcus (2002-05-14). Meditations: A New Translation (Modern Library) (Kindle Locations 1117-1120). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

What the emperor is saying is that when the human organism is operating at tip-top capacity, it is capable of turning obstacles into fuel for moral improvement. The notion is Biblical in the highest sense, in that the author of Hebrews says that Jesus learned this lesson:

(Hebrews 5:7-8 ESV) In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. (8) Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.

Again, this isn’t meant to be some theological explanation for why we suffer. It is meant to offer an approach to personal suffering that prevents us from being overwhelmed, which provides us with a mindset aimed at overcoming evil with good.

Conclusion: In Practice
How does an approach of this sort actually work out in life? I propose that when you wake up in the morning remind yourself of the character you wish to have and the goals you wish to achieve. Then, no matter what comes throughout the day, instead of losing your temper or giving in to despair ask yourself questions like those listed below and change your habits and add to your knowledge accordingly.

  1. Is this a problem I caused?
  2. Is this a problem I can solve?
  3. Do I need to make a course correction?
  4. How can I make the most of this situation?
  5. How can I help people make it through this?
  6. How do I feel about this moment and are these feeling useful?
  7. How could I have been better prepared for this moment?
  8. What is the best and wisest thing to do right now?

Secondly, I propose that when you go to bed at night ask yourself what you learned throughout the day and how you could have done the day better.

These two rather simple steps will no doubt seem daunting and even exhausting at first. But I think that this sort of Stoicism is precisely attuned to human nature and our need to make progress. Seeing ourselves as the project and the outcomes around us as a gymnasium for personal growth has the ability to add some transcendent value even to our most mundane tasks. The world is not merely a gymnasium for moral improvement, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t that at all.

Any thoughts about this topic? What results have you had trying to approach life’s struggles this way?

Appendix 1: Clarifying the Model
The test model of difficulties does have support in the psychological literature (see Carol Dweck), in the religious literature (see almost every religious text), and in the traditions of Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Platonism (they often saw trials as a gymnasium or the soul). It also might have some support in your personal experience in school or preparing for a new position at work. Learning how to perform a new skill, though difficult and perhaps causing you to become sleep deprived is worth the struggle and sometimes full of joyous anticipation of the future you prepared for.

What I am not saying is that in every circumstance our difficulties, trials, and sufferings are tests from God or that they all have cosmic meaning. The Bible says that a great deal of suffering in the cosmos is meaningless (Romans 8:20-21). I am saying that because our trials come no matter what, we have to deal with them. Thus, if we wish for life to improve our character, a tool for coping with trials is to approach them as tests. Tests offer insight into where we are strong, what we care about, what our weaknesses are, and just like tests in other endeavors, they offer stressors that may indeed make us stronger somehow.

This is difficult for somebody born with a bone disorder, who loses a loved one, loses a job, goes to jail for one bad decision, or loses a limb (or several). I have no doubt of this. On the other hand, if you survive such things, then here you are. Nobody else can face the world or your struggles for you.

It would be a mistake to adopt this perspective for yourself and then to tell people as they suffer, “I sure bet you can grow from this.” On the other hand, if this experiment has positive results for you, it would similarly be a mistake not to help others adopt a similar stance toward difficulty and suffering.

Appendix 2: New Testament Support for Treating Difficulties as Tests
If you are not a Christian, feel free to skip this section, but I do think it could help you. If you are a Christian, here are a few passages of Scripture which exemplify this perspective on difficulties:

  1. Rom 5:3-5 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, (4) and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, (5) and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
  2. Heb 12:5-11 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. (6) For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” (7) It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? (8) If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. (9) Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? (10) For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. (11) For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
  3. Jas 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, (3) for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. (4) And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

So, as an experiment treat your difficulties as tests which prepare you for a more pleasant reality. Even death, in Christian perspective, is an evil which God’s Son experienced. Hell, your difficulty could be a temptation to sin rather than some horrible struggle with physical pain or emotional suffering. Even count your bad habits as opportunities or tests.

St. Thomas Aquinas on Apologetics

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In De Rationibus Fidei, St. Thomas explains how best to go about arguing with those who do not identify as Christians:

First of all I wish to warn you that in disputations with unbelievers about articles of the Faith, you should not try to prove the Faith by necessary reasons. This would belittle the sublimity of the Faith, whose truth exceeds not only human minds but also those of angels; we believe in them only because they are revealed by God.

Yet whatever come from the Supreme Truth cannot be false, and what is not false cannot be repudiated by any necessary reason. Just as our Faith cannot be proved by necessary reasons, because it exceeds the human mind, so because of its truth it cannot be refuted by any necessary reason. So any Christian disputing about the articles of the Faith should not try to prove the Faith, but defend the Faith. Thus blessed Peter (1 Pet 3:15) did not say: “Always have your proof”, but “your answer ready,” so that reason can show that what the Catholic Faith holds is not false.

Aquinas means some very specific things by “articles of faith.” For instance, God’s existence for him was a matter of rational demonstration. But the Trinity or the Atonement were matters of “the Faith” meaning that they were revealed by God and not things which could have been determined by mere investigation or deduction from first principles. Aquinas doesn’t mean, “some things you just take on faith [belief for no reason].” He means that certain articles of the faith aren’t to be proved in discussing Christianity with those who do not adhere to it, but rather to be defended against charges of falsehood. Far from being baptized Aristotle, Aquinas here claims that the revelation of God, though perfectly reasonable, is within the purview of reason to be examined once revealed though not within the purview of reason to be proven or discovered.

Roast Game and Enjoying the Finer Things

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Proverbs 12:27 (ESV)  Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth.

There are essentially two possibilities for interpreting the first part of this saying:

  1. A slothful man will have no game to roast because he’s lazy.
  2. A slothful man will not roast the game he has, because he’s lazy.

Because of the nature of the Proverbs, it is possible that both are implied, but I’m more interesting in the second. I think that this is a good heuristic for determining whether or not we’re slothful and whether or not we should buy something new. For instance, if I have a nice set of digital Bible commentaries that I never use, is it wise for me to buy new ones just because they’re on sale? The answer must be, “No.” The evidence is that I’m the type of guy who doesn’t roast his game despite having it in the freezer.

This might apply to gym memberships, exercise equipment, a laptop, a writing desk, tools, hobby equipment, and so-on. Why buy an expensive study Bible if you never read the Bible you have? Similarly, why go “church shopping” if you don’t know the names of anybody at the church you already attend?

The contrast in the Proverb is with somebody who becomes rich through diligence, but I want to entertain the opposite possibility of the first clause. What if one learns to enjoy the nice things already possessed before moving on to more things? Is it possible that the great discontentment many experience is precisely due to a lack of diligence with the sliver of the world under their care?

The Bible’s Teaching on How to Learn Anything

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The Bible contains a great deal of advice based upon observation of the world that would be helpful to know even if you did not accept any of its claims about God. One of the most helpful pieces of the Old Testament is this little gem from Proverbs:

(1) My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, (2) making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; (3) yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, (4) if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, (5) then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:1-5 ESV)

The passage is about learning from teachers. It basically tells us how to learn anything we choose. The main goal of the passage is to teach young men and women the fear of the Lord because the author sees this as the foundation of all knowledge and wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). But, the author is also trying to help young people gain skills in philosophical, literary, practical, and ethical reasoning. So, even if “fear of the Lord” and “knowledge of God” are not what you want out of life (and at the end of the day you will want them), the advice given here is useful for any field. Look at the instructions from the father:

  1. If you receive my words
    The father (or teacher in this case) says that receiving his words is part of gaining wisdom. I am both a teacher and a student. And one of the chief difficulties for students today is actually receiving the words of their teachers. They do not listen, they do not take notes, they do not think about them, and they do not respond well to teacher criticism. But if students would receive the words of their teachers, then wisdom would suddenly be a potential result.
  1. If you treasure up my commandments
    The father then challenges the hearers to memorize what he says (Learn about permanent memory here). In math you memorize proofs, in languages you memorize endings and vocabulary, in science your memorize instructions for lab equipment, for mechanics you memorize vehicle schematics. Barbara Oakley has argued that the major flaw in mathematics education today is a lack of focus on brute memorization. I would argue that this is true in seminary, humanities, philosophy, and local church discipleship programs.
  1. If you make your ear attentive
    This is similar to the first, the idea is that you make yourself listen when your mind veers off. If you’re reading, you force yourself back into focus.
  1. If you incline your heart to understanding
    Here the idea is that you treat the topic as though it interested you, even when it doesn’t. Study after study demonstrates that “grit” or a tolerance for delayed gratification, endurance, deliberate practice, or a growth mindset in the face of difficulty often correlate with cognitive success.
  1. If you call our for insight and raise your voice for understanding
    I think that a lot of people infer without reason that this merely means “pray to God.” But the context is that of learning lessons from human teachers. If you wish for wisdom, ask questions and then test the answers against evidence and experience.
  1. If you seek it like silver
    This is similar to #4 above. Treat wisdom as something that is worth seeking, even when it is difficult. Treat wisdom like an economic transaction even. Be willing to pay for it with less valuable objects and hold on to it rather than lose it through disuse.
  1. If you search for it as for hidden treasure
    Finally, search for it as for hidden treasure. In whatever you study there are hidden insights, flashes of insight, undiscovered connections, more efficient processes, overlooked facts, and so on. It is often said that part of learning more is realizing how much remains unknown. If we know anything, it is that there is more to learn. With knowledge that there is hidden treasure, it is a lot easier to dig everywhere in a field no matter the cost or to sell everything and just buy the field! If we search for wisdom as obsessively as we would search for hidden treasure of whose existence we were certain, I suspect we would become much wiser.

The author goes on to note that an active pursuit of wisdom leads to this:

(Pro 2:9-15 ESV) Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; (10) for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; (11) discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, (12) delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, (13) who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, (14) who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, (15) men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.

Becoming wise, in any pursuit, leads to doing thing well. In fact, the very thing which you master will shape you into the kind of person who loves excelling at that thing. The wise, in this case will be able to determine the difference between those with knowledge and those without as well as those who are cheating and deceiving and those who aren’t. I think most people would love to become the kind of person who finds learning pleasant and who is difficult to fool, it’s just that we often do not know how to get to that point.

John Gill on Knowledge of Christ

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John Gill’s thoughts on what it means of have knowledge of the Son of God or faith in Christ:

…and of the knowledge of the Son of God; which is but another phrase for faith in Christ, for faith is a spiritual knowledge of Christ; it is that grace by which a soul beholds his glory and fulness, approves of him, trusts in him, and appropriates him to itself; and such an approbatory, fiducial, appropriating, practical, and experimental knowledge of Christ, is here intended; and which is imperfect in those that have it, and is not yet in many who will have it; and inasmuch as the Gospel ministry is the means of it, this will be continued until every elect soul partakes of it, and arrives to a greater perfection in it: for it follows…

Faith, for Gill is not merely beliefs about Jesus, but beliefs about Jesus’ trustworthiness and an intentional disposition toward him based about those beliefs.

When Helpful Ideas Replace Central Ideals: On Being Totally Radical

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On Being Radical
David Platt, in his book Radical, challenges Christians that if they would do five things over the course of a year, they would find themselves “coming alive like never before (Platt 186).” Here are the five things (185):

  1. Pray for the entire world;
  2. Read through the entire Word;
  3. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose;
  4. Spend your time in another context;
  5. Commit your life to a multiplying community.

I’m fairly sympathetic with attempts to rouse the church from its cultural captivity and I think that most of these are laudable practices for any Christian. I would say that a firm grasp of the gospels is more important than reading the whole Bible in a year though. Also, I would say that investing money in a cause is good unless you’re poor. Then your money should be invested in your family. Similarly, spending time in another context, in Platt’s book is going on a foreign mission trip. I would contend that learning to have Christ-like character at work or at home is more important for the individual than going anywhere in particular, unless that person has specific skills to do mission work. Finally, I would say that step five is important (I just wrote about the need to regularly attend worship service), but finding a growing mega-church is nowhere a part of the Christian life in the New Testament.

At least people who do that list are doing something right?
Many genuine Christians never thought about doing some things on that list. Platt’s pastoral concerns are valid in that respect. So what if some of them don’t really make sense? Why care? Well, as a minister to college students and a student returning to college, I find that concern for excellence in studies and in the workplace is at an all-time low. I also find that college age people can have a tendency to be yes-men and yes-women. If you’re a college student who is interested in understanding the Bible and being Jesus’ disciple, watch out. Ten different ministry leaders will probably come ask you to sign up for this or that cause. Many of these causes and ministries are good things. But the question is this: are these the things to which you should dedicate your time at this stage in your life?

A Thought Experiment
A simple logical deduction can be utilized to help you answer the question above. If your parents pay for your school (or if you live with them or they pay your bills), then they have invested in your education. What kind of grades do you owe them? Remember, the Bible says, “Honor your father and mother (Exodus 20:12).” I did not understand that as a youngster. If you owe them the best grades you could earn, is it wise to say, “Yes!” to every single ministry opportunity that comes up? Notice the conflict: do extra things to the detriment of my studies or do the thing that I am explicitly told in the Bible.

Similarly, if you’re struggling to have regular devotional time or to wake up in time for church, is it wise to stay up late to be a part of every single ministry event which you’re asked to attend? The issue is that sometimes the extras can get directly in the way of the character the Lord commands us to develop. Jesus commands us to have devotional/prayer time (Matthew 6:6) and to be a part of the church (1 Corinthians 11:24-26). He does not command us to go to every single thing simply because it is good or has his name attached to it.

The Crux of the Issue
There is a double danger of feeling obligated to do all of the things in the world pertaining to ministry that are asked of us:

  1. We can become burned out and fail to be excellent or wise with respect to anything which we do. A martial arts instructor once related to me that a man can try to chase two rabbits and catch neither or catch one rabbit to prevent starvation and then catch several later. Chasing too many things is a sure way to mediocrity.
  2. We can become legalistic with this attitude: I did the five radical things, what are you doing? We can actually replace Christian character to the point that we begin to denigrate those who have it but do not do the current radical paradigm.

Jesus deals with the second of the problems with the Pharisees. See here:

Mark 7:1-13 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, (2) they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (3) (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, (4) and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) (5) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” (6) And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; (7) in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ (8) You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” (9) And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! (10) For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ (11) But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”‘ (that is, given to God)– (12) then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, (13) thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

Jesus’ issue is that the Pharisees, in this instance, have elevated a series of traditions concerning washing above their commitment to loving their neighbor. Or, in a more serious instance, they have found ways to let people dishonor their parents for religious reasons. Thus, the dishonoring of parents (by refusing to care for them in their times of trouble), has been elevated to a higher status than God’s clear command to honor your parents!

Conclusion
Books like David Platt’s, for all the good work they can do to get lazy Christians off their butts, can have a tendency to encourage zeal without knowledge. At their worst, they can elevate certain ideals (being a part of a foreign mission trip or a quickly growing church body) above actual adherence to the actual teachings of Jesus. I remember being at a mission conference as a young man and being encouraged to not buy things unless I could put the same amount of money into foreign missions (let along giving to the poor or, God forbid, to my local church). I remembered thinking, wow, that’s really cool. Then I thought, “Shouldn’t I save money like the ant at this stage in my life?” College students who are Christians should be generous as it is possible, but they might be better served by learning to save, pay off debt, and do really boring things (study) with little in terms of immediate gratification (grades). I’m not opposed to missions or making radical commitments to simplicity or involvement with those who do not know the gospel or the poor. I just think that our efforts to encourage people to stop being lazy Christians should be more connected with the specific teachings of the New Testament. Perhaps they should also be more clearly stated as helpful suggestions unless they are clear teachings of the New Testament. Maybe something like this:

These five steps are from the New Testament. Check to be sure. Putting them into practice could help you follow Jesus:

  1. Meditate daily on the teachings of Jesus and put them into practice and you will be set free from sin and live an indestructible life (Matthew 7:24-28, cf. John 8:31-32).
  2. Pray the Lord’s Prayer often and extend its petitions to the needs of which you’re aware (Matthew 6:6-13).
  3. Be committed to your local church and seek guidance from the elderly and wise there (Heb 10:25).
  4. Be wise and generous with money (Proverbs 1-31 and Luke 16:1-14).
  5. Perform your duties to your employer, teachers, and local civic servant as those who must give and account to the Lord (Colossians 3:17-4:2).

Or even:

These four steps, in my mind, summarize the New Testament’s approach to the good-life. If you put them into practice, they might help you to walk with Christ.

  1. Recite the Apostles Creed Daily
  2. Pray the Lord ’s Prayer and the Psalms daily.
  3. Attempt to love God and neighbor daily.
  4. Grow in knowledge of the Bible at church services and in private study.