Thinking about God, Jesus and The Big Questions

The Bible is strongly supportive of charitable giving. The effective altruism movement, or EA, is focused on charitable giving. But that is where their similarities end. EA is not in line with how the Bible says we should donate our money or time.  I am not saying that EA is intrinsically unethical - I'm simply saying that its aims are in conflict with what the Bible says we should do. So it's therefore a very secular approach to giving - which may not be a problem for you if you're an unbeliever. But for believers, it simply doesn't line up with the Bible.  Here we will take a look at what the Bible says we should do with regards to donating time or money. Then we will look briefly at EA. Disclaimer : Although I have done some research on EA for the purposes of this blog post, I am by  no means an expert on it. It's entirely possible I have missed some of its nuances. Nonetheless, even with those caveats, I still don't see how EA is compatible with Christianit...

I was reading the passage of Mary and Martha again. While I have talked before about it , an additional angle on it was revealed during the most recent reading. This is the Bible passage where Jesus visits Mary and Martha: Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’ Luke 10: 38-42 It is clear from the message that if we have a choice between ministering to Jesus or hearing what he has to say, we should pick hearing what he has to say (which I covered in...

Sometimes it is tempting to fall into the trap of thinking everything was simpler in Biblical times. It was not! There was as much corruption, political backbiting, and greed as there is today. Of course, it is sad that things have not improved in that regard over the past 2,000+ years. In the book of Micah, we can see an example which resonates strongly with today's world, even though this was written before the birth of Christ: The faithful have disappeared from the land, and there is no one left who is upright; they all lie in wait for blood, and they hunt each other with nets. Their hands are skilled to do evil; the official and the judge ask for a bribe, and the powerful dictate what they desire; thus they pervert justice. The best of them is like a brier, the most upright of them a thorn hedge. The day of their sentinels, of their punishment, has come; now their confusion is at hand. Micah 7: 2-4 You can see that this passage speaks of widespread corruption and greed, b...

When so many bad things happen in the world, or to ourselves, it seems like these are cancelling out all the good things we are doing. Yet, this is not the right way to look at it - the good news is that we have a lot more hope and joy than it first seems. Even if you literally do something good, and someone literally goes and destroys it before anyone gets to see the good thing you did, your hard work is not wasted. Because God sees it, and ultimately you are answerable to God, not to the people who never got to see your work because it was destroyed.  The good and bad things do not cancel each other out; instead (here on Earth), they coexist. This is actually good news and offers some hope. No-one can take away your good work from you even if they physically destroy it, because God has already seen it, and He is the most important entity in the universe. There is strong Biblical evidence supporting this attitude. Let's take a look at the parable of the weeds among the wheat (Jesu...

This is a concept I used to grapple with, and still do: the question of when it's important to pray, and when it's important to do works. Ideally one would do both. Still though, there are times in the Bible where it has been made clear that one or the other is more necessary, depending on what the situation was at the time. One of the clearest examples is when Jesus was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane. Prior to that, he had been praying. He had even asked his disciples to pray, but they were tired and fell asleep. When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter immediately acted, but not in a way that Jesus wanted. Peter cut off the ear of one of the soldiers with a sword. Although from Peter's point of view he was defending Jesus, it was not something that was necessary. Let's read the passage: Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.” At once he came up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed hi...

When serving in some volunteer capacity as I do at the church, I occasionally have hurt feelings or feelings of conflict if someone has a criticism toward me that is not worded in a constructive or loving manner. To be fair to my church family, this is a rare and unusual occurrence, but when it happens it can feel jarring to me. In this situation it is all too easy to get take it too personally and have negative feelings - whether toward the other person, the church, the volunteer role itself, or whatever. That is a trap that Satan would love for us to fall into. Instead, we need to remind ourselves that when we are serving in any capacity, we are there to serve the Lord as best as we can. We are not there to control everyone else's reaction to our serving role!  If we keep the focus on the fact of our serving role, and on God, that is going to be a lot better than focusing on what others think of us or of our own hurt feelings. But it is all too easy to wind up wit...

Have you ever tried to do some good work (e.g. volunteer work) that seemed really hard to you, and that you didn't really like? I've done that a lot.  I have also done some volunteer work that seemed surprisingly easy and fun, and was a joy to do, not a burden. What is the difference? Well, some of the difference is the work itself, for sure.  If you have a natural interest in the work then it will obviously seem easier and more fun to you. But the bigger reason is God.  God makes the impossible become possible.  He makes difficult work become easy.  When this happens (you find yourself doing something which you really enjoy while you're doing it) then you know this is God acting in your life. If you do not have the skill for something, yet feel called to do it, God will give you what is needed.  In fact, I believe that even if God were not willing for my own sake to equip me with what I need (and I think actually he would do this for our own sake) bu...

It is only relatively recently that I have glimpsed that prayer is powerful, and seen why prayer is powerful. Here I'll share what I have learned. Before this, for the longest time, I used to believe that the quickest and most effective way to bring about positive change to a situation, was to use direct physical action, without necessarily involving any prayer.  Part of this was probably a lack of faith.  Although I believed in God, I felt a need to be useful via direct practical action.  I didn't really question whether my desire to be useful was in order to help the situation/person affected, or whether it was out of a desire of self-worth, or out of a desire to honor and help God (e.g. by doing good works).  I really don't know, and couldn't tell you.  The book of James has always stuck sharply in my head, too, which has tended to make me lean heavily toward works - probably as a way of showing my faith and my love. But I didn't have the balance of p...

We complain about the fast pace of life today.  I understand.  When I was working 50 hours a week regularly (and I realize this isn't all that much compared to the 60+ hours a week worked by some), it seemed I never had time to take care of even the basics. Things like laundry, groceries, washing dishes, cooking food, cleaning, and so on seemed to use up what little time I had left over in the day.  How, then, could anyone expect to have any time to think about any of the big questions, like whether God exists? Even for Christians (believers), how can any of us make time to study God's word? It seemed like the business of just living took up all my time! Yes, I made time to attend church and Sunday School each week.  I did volunteer activities.  Somehow, I fitted this in.  Yet, with or without these, I still felt sorry for myself and for our generation. I felt we didn't have enough time to think about God and study His word. But when I stopped to real...

Christians believe that this earth (and outer space) are created by God.  In addition to this universe we have managed to detect using physical measurements, there is another Universe, which contains basically everything else that isn't here, such as angels and Heaven.  Our universe is nested within the other Universe. We are a universe within a Universe.  This is not a surprise to Christians, but some atheists find it hard to believe. The difference between the universes: Our universe is enemy-occupied territory (Satan has considerable, but still limited, power on Earth).  Our universe is ephemeral and will not last forever (a really long time, but not forever).  In contrast, the outer Universe is permanent and out there somewhere in it there is a big battle between various heavenly beings over each of our souls (yes, a battle is being fought over us, strange as it may seem).   Some secular themed examples of the concept: This concept of a univ...

Although this topic is not strictly theology, I have put careful reading and thought into the spiritual angle of housework, so I felt I should finally write about it.  Understanding God's viewpoints on housework is not easy, I found.  There is not a whole lot written in the Bible relating to housework.  This is very likely a sign that housework is not of vast spiritual importance one way or another.  However, this did not help me with my questions.  Whenever I was doing housework, I always wondered: "How do I strike the balance between doing sufficient housework to make my house a safe and hygenic place but not spending so much time on it that I neglect God's work?"  For me, this was a burning question.  I did not want to report one day to God that I had spent all my time keeping my house clean.   Yet, it is also obvious that all of us need to maintain a reasonable level of housework for health and hygiene reasons if nothing else. I...

The Mary and Martha scripture is one which many people frequently find difficult to understand.  I was one of those people, until I heard a good sermon about it which was explained in a way that was easy to grasp.  Here is the Bible reading below: As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10: 38-42 Many people find it very easy to identify themselves with Martha in this scripture. After all, if Jesus came to your ...

Almost everyone has seen someone, or a group of people, do works in the name of God or Jesus which don't fit with the teachings of the Bible. The best way to describe these works is that they would not be consistent with a natural outpouring of faith in the form of works. Sometimes it is the aim of the work that is at odds with the Biblical teachings; other times it is not the aim but the way in which it is carried out that is inconsistent with God's teachings.  In either case, the root of this is usually the person's 'preconceived' view of God rather than really getting to know God by reading the Bible. This observation raises a very important question: how do we know whether our works are consistent (or inconsistent) with God's desires? Are our works are in line with God's plans for us? There were so many different types of 'big' things that happened in the Bible that were clearly consistent with God's desires (like Noah building an ark)...

Earlier, we found out about misguided works in Misguided Works Part 1: How Do We Know These?   Here, we'll find out what happens to the misguided works of someone who mistakenly but genuinely believes that these are God's desires.  At first this may seem like a complex theological question.  Misguided works surely cannot please God, but would he be pleased by the reverence and desire to serve that is evident in the person's heart? Fortunately, this question of what happens to such works has a direct answer to it from the Bible in the book of 1 Corinthians, which was written by the apostle Paul : For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, c...

Imagine if Noah hadn't bothered to listen to what God wanted.  Instead of building an ark (which admittedly would have sounded like a crazy idea to most people at that time - or even today!), suppose Noah had decided to do 'something good'.  For example, started a soup kitchen for the poor.  Or countless other possibilities, all of which were very helpful at that moment but wouldn't be of any use to anyone once the flood came.  Noah clearly listened to God's wishes and spent his time on that project, even if this meant that he would be ridiculed by his neighbors.  So it's equally important that we a) determine what it is that God is asking of us and b) listen to him and follow through on that task, even if we don't understand or see the eventual outcome of the work. With so many 'generically helpful' things out there to do, it is important to ensure that we are doing is part of God's appointed task for us.  I'm not suggesting we give up o...

There is often confusion about whether we are saved by our works or our faith. This debate is pointless, because the true answer is that we are saved by the grace of God (although faith plays a critical role at our end of things). God's grace can be thought of as an invitation extended freely to everyone to know him through belief in Jesus. Yes, that's right – an invitation to all of us sinners. Faith is the means by which we accept this invitation . It is true that without faith, we cannot be saved. So faith is critical, but make no mistake – if God hadn't issued this invitation by His grace, all the faith in the world wouldn't save us. Let's move on to works. Works are a way God knows us (provided we are doing the works for His glory). In contrast, if we are doing good works without a thought of God, this alone certainly won't save us. If we truly have faith, truly believe, then our actions will be in line with the Bible and this will be evident in an ou...

One of the things I find the hardest is to put in practice God and Jesus's teachings in the busy 'real world'. In fact one of the biggest struggles I have is listening to a religious leader (whose full-time job is in ministry) exhort us to do various ministry works, when the rest of us are so busy already with demands of a secular job and/or caring for children or other dependents. It is easy to feel that the religious leader is simply 'out of touch' with the demands on our time, yet I know that they are simply conveying the message that is there in the Bible. So, as a (currently) stay-at-home mother, why did I feel a drive within me to find some volunteer work I could do? After all, wasn't I already justifiably busy with the unpredictable and full-time demands of a baby? (To clarify ahead of time, I certainly didn't feel I was guilted into volunteering by religious leaders). So why did I feel to need to help minister to others? (For those who are curious ...