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Hard questions
131 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1977
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September 7, 2024
ENGLISH WRITERS RESPOND TO THIRTY-SIX DIFFICULT QUESTIONS
At the time this book was published in England in 1976, editor Canon Frank Colquhoun was Vice-Dean of Norwich Cathedral; he has written a number of other books, such as 'Parish Prayers,' 'Fourfold Portrait of Jesus,' 'My God and King: Prayers of Christian Devotion,' etc.
He wrote in the Editor's Preface, "The purpose of this collection is to make available in a compact, convenient form some plain biblical answers to the sort of questions which are commonly voiced by people today, both in the church and on the fringe. Most of the questions dealt with are big ones and raise all sorts of issues. It is clear that within the limits laid down (roughly 1,000 words for each answer) the writers are not able to deal with the questions completely or adequately... All they attempt here is to face the questions honestly and sympathetically in the light of modern trends of thought, to indicate the general lines of approach from a Christian viewpoint and to stimulate further thought and inquiry on the part of the reader."
One writer says, "Perhaps the greatest problem is the question of interpretation. Christians who believe the Bible are often accused of 'taking the whole Bible literally.' We don't, of course. The proper way to 'take' the Bible is NATURALLY. Each part has its own NATURAL idiom---parable is parable, poetry is poetry, apocalyptic is apocalyptic, sober history is sober history. Obviously some facts are not literal. Shall we have harps in heaven, for instance? I doubt it---but I do not therefore disbelieve in the Book of Revelation [e.g., Rev 5:8, 14:1-3]... The difficulty has been that Christians have in the past tended to bind together a literal interpretation of the difficult passages with the truth of the Bible, so that they stood or fell together. They duly fell. But they need not have done, if they had not been bound together." (Pg. 19)
John Stott wrote, "could not God simply have pardoned our sins without all this fuss and bother? Why was Christ's death necessary?... What can God do? God is not omnipotent in the sense that he can do absolutely anything. God can only do those things which are consistent with his nature. He cannot therefore readily pardon the sinner, because he is a God of infinite justice. But neither can he readily punish the sinner, because he is also a God of infinite mercy. Here, then... was the divine dilemma... There was only one way. In his infinite justice he would exact the penalty for sin, but in his infinite mercy he would accept the penalty himself. Only thus could he express and satisfy both his love and his justice." (Pg. 39-40)
On the question of why God allows the innocent to suffer, he suggests, "In honesty we must recognize this problem and admit the great burden of undeserved suffering due to poverty, malnutrition, disasters, disease, and the selfishness of people. Nothing is gained by trying to belittle this paradox, that God who is loving and good has placed man in a world where the innocent often suffer... On one side of the coin is all the evidence of the Bible and from the life and teaching of Christ that God is good; on the other is the inescapable fact of innocent suffering. It is beyond our finite minds to understand why God permits tragic suffering which appears to have no beneficial result; yet we do know that Christ calls us to follow his own example in relieving useless suffering whenever we find it." (Pg. 93)
About unanswered prayer, a writer says, "man is a great deal more than a puppet. He can frustrate the will of God. He very often does. So the effect of prayer is all bound up with the purpose of God and man's rebellious attitude towards him... It probably grieves him far more than it grieves you to see a man reject him. But that is the terrible responsibility which man chooses to lay upon himself. Through all the choices of life---great and small---he CAN choose a fearful destiny for himself if he is foolish enough to want to do so." (Pg. 113)
This is an excellent, very broad treatment of these often-asked questions, and it will be of very great value to Christians pondering such "deeper" questions.
At the time this book was published in England in 1976, editor Canon Frank Colquhoun was Vice-Dean of Norwich Cathedral; he has written a number of other books, such as 'Parish Prayers,' 'Fourfold Portrait of Jesus,' 'My God and King: Prayers of Christian Devotion,' etc.
He wrote in the Editor's Preface, "The purpose of this collection is to make available in a compact, convenient form some plain biblical answers to the sort of questions which are commonly voiced by people today, both in the church and on the fringe. Most of the questions dealt with are big ones and raise all sorts of issues. It is clear that within the limits laid down (roughly 1,000 words for each answer) the writers are not able to deal with the questions completely or adequately... All they attempt here is to face the questions honestly and sympathetically in the light of modern trends of thought, to indicate the general lines of approach from a Christian viewpoint and to stimulate further thought and inquiry on the part of the reader."
One writer says, "Perhaps the greatest problem is the question of interpretation. Christians who believe the Bible are often accused of 'taking the whole Bible literally.' We don't, of course. The proper way to 'take' the Bible is NATURALLY. Each part has its own NATURAL idiom---parable is parable, poetry is poetry, apocalyptic is apocalyptic, sober history is sober history. Obviously some facts are not literal. Shall we have harps in heaven, for instance? I doubt it---but I do not therefore disbelieve in the Book of Revelation [e.g., Rev 5:8, 14:1-3]... The difficulty has been that Christians have in the past tended to bind together a literal interpretation of the difficult passages with the truth of the Bible, so that they stood or fell together. They duly fell. But they need not have done, if they had not been bound together." (Pg. 19)
John Stott wrote, "could not God simply have pardoned our sins without all this fuss and bother? Why was Christ's death necessary?... What can God do? God is not omnipotent in the sense that he can do absolutely anything. God can only do those things which are consistent with his nature. He cannot therefore readily pardon the sinner, because he is a God of infinite justice. But neither can he readily punish the sinner, because he is also a God of infinite mercy. Here, then... was the divine dilemma... There was only one way. In his infinite justice he would exact the penalty for sin, but in his infinite mercy he would accept the penalty himself. Only thus could he express and satisfy both his love and his justice." (Pg. 39-40)
On the question of why God allows the innocent to suffer, he suggests, "In honesty we must recognize this problem and admit the great burden of undeserved suffering due to poverty, malnutrition, disasters, disease, and the selfishness of people. Nothing is gained by trying to belittle this paradox, that God who is loving and good has placed man in a world where the innocent often suffer... On one side of the coin is all the evidence of the Bible and from the life and teaching of Christ that God is good; on the other is the inescapable fact of innocent suffering. It is beyond our finite minds to understand why God permits tragic suffering which appears to have no beneficial result; yet we do know that Christ calls us to follow his own example in relieving useless suffering whenever we find it." (Pg. 93)
About unanswered prayer, a writer says, "man is a great deal more than a puppet. He can frustrate the will of God. He very often does. So the effect of prayer is all bound up with the purpose of God and man's rebellious attitude towards him... It probably grieves him far more than it grieves you to see a man reject him. But that is the terrible responsibility which man chooses to lay upon himself. Through all the choices of life---great and small---he CAN choose a fearful destiny for himself if he is foolish enough to want to do so." (Pg. 113)
This is an excellent, very broad treatment of these often-asked questions, and it will be of very great value to Christians pondering such "deeper" questions.
Displaying 1 of 1 review