1 comments:

JOHN BARBOUR

It's 2009 but I just read your article, “Cocoa Krispies Christianity” in dentist's office.
The article "spooks many Christians" and seems "questionable and wrong" not because we want to be “joyless” or “Kantian” but because it fails biblically on many levels and Christians know this intuitively.
1. It fails apologetically. The fact that people enjoy doing things is not sufficient to conclude that there is a God. If that were the case, hedonists like Ayn Rand would not be atheists. Metzger begs the question by introducing an analogy he finds in scripture. God does what He pleases, we are in the image of God; therefore we do what we please. But this is incorporating into the argument the thing to be proved. We only know that God does what He pleases and that we are in His image because we accept the Bible as God’s word of revelation.
2. It fails theologically. Metzger states that “the core of God’s character is this central idea; that He does whatever makes Him happy.” (Ps.115:3; Ps.135:6) This I would argue is not the core of God’s character. The core of God’s character is love. God even states it as thus in 1 John 4:16 and He demonstrates it through the cross (Romans 5:6-8). “Love does not seek its own” etc. (1 Corinthians 13). We are told that if we don’t love then we don’t even know God because “God is love” (1 John 4:8) Jesus said that “he that has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). If you look at Jesus, you will see a person who came not to do his own will but the will of his Father. (John 4:34). The core of Jesus’ character is love for His Father. The core of the Father’s character is love for the Son and Holy Spirit, and love for all humanity (John 3:16). Jesus was not happy when he hung on the cross. In fact He said in anticipation of the event, “Now is my soul troubled” (John 12:27). In the garden he sweat, as it were, drops of blood. He suffered because of love otherwise suffering would have no meaning. The cross and the resurrection are the heart and core of theology. In this was the love of God manifested.
3. It fails practically.
a. Our act of pleasing ourselves sometimes hinders others from doing what pleases them. Take your Cocoa Krispies for example. Suppose there are only seven bowls of cereal and there are seven children who would be just as pleased to eat seven bowls just like you. Or take C.S. Lewis; suppose he liked to smoke a pipe but pipe smoke is not only repulsive to me but I’m allergic as well. Just doing what you want would not be acting in love in these cases. Yet God has called us to not just please ourselves but to love others as ourselves.
b. Then there are the times when we have to do things we don’t want to do like go to the dentist. And what about being persecuted for righteousness sake? Christ did not just please Himself, the Bible says, “it was necessary for Him to suffer”. We too, are called to suffering (1 Peter 2:21)
c. Then there is the fact that we aren’t always able to do what we please. We may want to be wealthy but we are poor. We may really enjoy being well but find ourselves sick.
d. Finally, we have the problem of sin. The Bible says that we are like sheep; “all we, like sheep have gone astray, we have each gone his separate way”. (Isaiah 53:6) We’ve done what is right in our own eyes. We have done things to make ourselves happy. The Lord calls this iniquity (lawlessness). This is what was laid on the Lamb of God. (Isaiah 53)

May 8, 2009 12:49 PM

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