Jesus is at the last supper with his disciples. In this passage, we learn that it’s Judas who will betray Jesus but – with the exception of John – the rest of the disciples are oblivious.
Tag: philosophy
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Media treats being pro-life and pro capital punishment as moral paradox
Alabama governor Kay Ivey On Wednesday, Alabama passed the most restrictive abortion law in America. On the same day, Alabama also executed a man who was a participant in a grizzly quadruple murder in 1997.
It was interesting seeing how those two stories are being taken together in the media. The New York Times ran an article titled “a day after banning abortions, Alabama executes a murderer.” The LA times ran a headline that said, “Alabama’s antiabortion governor urges respect for life, will oversee 7th execution.”
I’ve hard this argument before levied against those who are pro life but also support the death penalty, as if it’s some sort of moral inconsistency. For the life of me, I don’t understand why this position should have to be defended.
It’s really quite simple. I believe a baby should be allowed to live. I believe a quadruple murderer should not.
I think that a person who supports abortion and opposes capital punishment is the one who needs to answer for that stance. Because it treats a murderer as being more deserving of life than a baby.
Some people oppose both abortion and capital punishment. I respect that view. There are a number of thoughtful arguments that can be made on that subject, and at least it has consistency to a moral principle.
I hold my view because I believe that life is precious. Every human is created in the image of God and is worthy of dignity. The most fundamental right that humanity has is the right to life (because all other rights presuppose a right to the life through with other rights are exercised.) And so I believe that a baby has the right to be born and to live.
If a person deprives someone else of their right to life, that is so wicked, so grotesque, so heinous of a thing to do that in the process of depriving someone of that right, the assailant has forfeited their right to life.
I don’t expect everyone to agree with my view, but that’s how I look at the issue.
As a Christian, the Old Testament certainly allows for capital punishment. Genesis 9:6 is a good example of this: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe!
Josh Benner has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has served churches in Minnesota and Illinois. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in St. Louis.
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Couldn’t God just forgive us? Why was the cross necessary?
A person might look at the crucifixion, look at what the Lord did on the cross, and wonder “Why was that the only way? Why was that necessary? Couldn’t God simply forgive us?”No.This is an idea I’ve heard from Tim Keller before, and it’s an important idea on having a theology of forgiveness. -
God’s truth is true. Even if we don’t like it.
I was recently reading a profile on a popular singer. The profile said that she had been raised going to church but she had stopped going because she disagreed with the church’s teachings on LGBT issues. Because the church didn’t agree with her, she left.We try to dictate what truth is, based on preferences.
LGBT issues are a hot button political topic right now. Many don’t like the idea of a God who disapproves of those lifestyles and so, just like the singer, people decide that God affirms it. They overlook clear Biblical teachings and concoct arguments based on feelings.
God is awesomely holy and perfectly righteous. We are not.
And because we’re not, there can be times where we read something in the Bible, where our initial gut reaction is to dislike what God has done or to dislike his moral will.
There are people who don’t like that God is just and a judge. So people simply decide to ignore those texts. They throw out the true notion of God for one that accepts everything they want to do.
Some people want to believe that a person doesn’t have to have faith in Jesus to be with him, and so they decide that being a good person is the basis on which God judges the human soul. But that’s not a Biblical idea. Jesus says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the father except through me” (John 14:6).
There are people who like to speak for God and suggest that God is too distant. That such an infinite God wouldn’t care about the world, therefore it doesn’t matter what we do. That’s an assumption which contradicts the Bible. These people still often assume there’s a heaven. So they believe in a God who made the world, but doesn’t care about it. Yet, he made a paradise for people from the world that he didn’t care about?
Based on what?
Based on nothing! Based on what a person wants to believe. Based on the god a person makes up in their own mind.
We’re created in God’s image, he’s not created in ours. And it’s tempting to believe in a God who only believes in what you believe in.
Or people pick and choose which teachings of the Bible they want to apply to life and disregard the others. All sorts of ways that humanity tries to speak for God.
It can be really hard for us to not want to create these caricatures of God.
Even for people in the church. We might not talk about it. We might not say it in Sunday School or in a small group. But is there something about God, where you see it in the Bible but have a justification for why it’s not true?
If you believe in a God who never disagrees with what you think, you might be worshipping a god you’ve made in your own image rather than you worshipping the God in who’s image actually you’re created.
There can be times where we don’t understand a teaching, perhaps we don’t like a teaching. In those times, let us walk by faith, to trust that his ways are good. That his ways are higher than our ways.
Do you have any areas of your life today where you struggle to not justify a certain sin?
It’s so tempting to want to believe in a God who only believes in what you believe in. But God’s truth is not up for a vote.
It’s so tempting to undermine the gospel and to say it’s really about how someone lived, regardless of what they believe.
It’s about trusting in Jesus.
That is how the unholy are made holy. Jesus is the great high priest who gives us access to God. And that is true, regardless of what we want to be true. Salvation is entirely the work of Christ.
People undermine the morality of the Bible. They suggest that it’s just teachings created by men. Or suggesting that God doesn’t really care how we live.
Again, that’s an assumption people make based on what they want.
The God of the Bible does care. Because he’s a Holy God. And he made us for Holiness and righteousness. Maybe you have an area where you struggle to accept something about God’s word. I pray that the Holy Spirit would convict you of that. I pray that you might know that God is good. When I say his truth is true, regardless of what we want, that it’s not up for a vote, my point isn’t that it’s just a top down dictator imposing things upon us.
Thanks for reading my 500th post! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe!
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Leadership comes in a thousand little moments
In our society, when we talk about “leadership,” I think we often think of a general, leading people into battle, someone who’s decisive. And to be fair, there are obviously times where that’s necessary.But as I think about leadership, those types of situations can be relatively rare.
To illustrate this point, think about marriage. There are big events in a marriage: the wedding day, the birth of a child, anniversaries. Those are really big moments. And those days can all be great days but that doesn’t mean that the marriage is going to be good. (more…)
