I just read your response to a reader’s question as to why God does not heal amputees and I think I know where the reader got the question from.
Actually, it is one in a series of ten that question the rationality of believing in the God of the Bible. It is titled “10 questions that every intelligent Christian must answer.” I was hoping you could answer the remaining nine.
When I first got your eMail I thought it would make a good article topic. But after watching the video I’ve changed my mind. Whoever thought this up didn’t even make the effort to come up with good questions. Of course there are answers to all of the ones he asked, and because you asked I’ll give you the answers.
I already did the one on amputees. Se we’ll take the second one about starving children next. God is not starving these children, evil, sinful men are. And they’re able to do so because for now Satan is in control of things here. (1 John 5:19) The Bible warns these men that there is a fate reserved for them that no one would wish on their worst enemy, and the children who die are spared a terrible life at the hands of these men and get an express ticket to heaven. Who are the winners and who are the losers?
Question 3. Why did God demand death for violating His commandments? To show us how serious the sin problem is. By the way, that one never changed. People who sin still die (something I’ll bet this guy hasn’t considered) unless they accept the remedy God provided for them by dying in their place.
4. Why the anti-scientific nonsense in the Bible? It’s often the scientific stuff that’s nonsense, like evolution. What scientist can prove that God didn’t do the things He claims to have done? Where’s the evidence that science has developed to deny the creation, or the flood, or Jonah’s time in the whale. In the absence of that, who are you going to believe? The creator of the Universe, or the non-believing scientist?
5. Why did God condone Slavery in the Bible? Biblical slavery is much different than the kind man developed on His own, but this guy didn’t take the time to discover that. Many Hebrew slaves asked to stay on for life after their maximum term of 6 years had ended. They had become slaves in the first place to pay off their debts according to the laws of the day, and there were strict rules governing their treatment. At the end of their term they were free and clear, no matter how much they still owed. The ones who left were given generous stakes for starting over. The non-Hebrew slaves were also happy to be so. They had signed on with God’s enemies and tried to wipe out His people. They deserved much worse than they got and they knew it.
6. Why do bad things happen to good people. Two reasons. One, there aren’t any good people. We’re all sinners. And two, see the question about the starving kids above and remember who’s in charge for now. Want to blame some one for all the bad stuff? Blame Satan. He’s responsible.
7-8. No evidence for miracles? Says who? The Bible’s full of eye witness accounts. I’ve seen miracles and know people who’ve been healed. And how does this guy know that nobody’s ever seen Jesus? Does he know what Jesus looks like? But more importantly, the basis for the Church’s exalted status in eternity is that we haven’t seen. Jesus told Thomas, “you believe because you’ve seen. Blessed are those who believe yet haven’t seen.” The issue is faith, after all.
9. Even school children know how to answer the one about eating His flesh and drinking His blood.
10. The Christian divorce rate is the same as non-Christian one because Christians are the same as non-Christians. The only difference is that one group has been forgiven for divorcing and the other one hasn’t.