Except Footloose doesn't Fancy being Free.
"He is testing us," pontificates the preacher. The father of the boy who died in a tragic car accident with four of his friends consoles his congregation by insisting that there is a lesson to be learned somewhere in this tragedy. God allowed this to happen for a reason.
This is how the remake of the epic 80's film, Footloose, opens. I cringe. I shutter. The problem is not that Hollywood has distorted the church's view of God. It is that they have broadcast our pathetic patronizing for everyone to see.
I admit that I have never experienced tragedy quite like this one. I cannot begin to imagine it; neither do I want to try. But there seems to be some sort of coping mechanism within humanity that wants to believe something or someone is in control, that everything happens for a reason, and that some good will somehow come out of tragedy. Sounds nice, does it not? If there is some grander purpose, the tragic loss seems somehow manageable.
But blaming an accident on God is only a temporary fix. Because you will have to turn around the next day and do something for that God. And who wants to serve a teenager-killer? Not me. (And do not give me the line about him "allowing" it and not "causing" it. That's for another blog post.)
While we are talking Hollywood, a scorned Demi Moore was interviewed recently. When asked about her husband's (Ashton Kutcher) affair, she smugly answered, "Nothing happens on accident." Really, Demi? Some greater cosmic force (God or whatever else you want to call that Great Puppeteer in the sky) manipulated your husband into cheating on you? Was it not his fault? Your fault? Oh, that's right, everything happens for a reason.
Allow me to very explicitly deny some very popular theological statements:
1. "God is in control." Clearly, he is not. He has relinquished much control to Satan and humanity. Satan's third temptation of Jesus was not an empty offer.
2. "Everything happens for a reason." That's crazy talk. I am no robot.
3. "Nothing happens by accident." This is just a corollary of #2. More crazy talk.
These phrases sound nice. But there is a reality that flies in the face of these Christian cliches:
Free Will
I understand your thoughts and your points however there is a point you made that needs to be reiterated. God IS in control but he definitely has relinquished control in the form of free will. The point being He was in control to be able to give control to us and to Satan for an allotted time.
ReplyDeleteCan He step into our world and manipulate a situation? Are miracles still happening today and if they are, don't they fly in the face of God relinquishing control? Why would he choose to manipulate sometimes and not others? Pastor Jim talked about roadblocks to receiving healing and miracles. What do you make of that?
Very interesting discussion.
I totally agree that God is never the cause of evil. If evil happens, God can help you cope and move from the point of tragedy but he never causes it to "teach you something." Rather something can be learned from a tragedy and God can help you discover something good from it, but he is not the "lesson giver" in terms of giving you adversity. Do you agree? Am I missing something?
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