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Atheist Sam Harris, in his book Letter to a Christian Nation, writes: “Somewhere in the world a man has abducted a little girl. Soon he will rape, torture, and kill her. If an atrocity of this kind is not occurring at precisely this moment, it will happen in a few hours, or days at most……  statistically this girl’s parents believe – as you believe—that an all-powerful and all-loving God is watching over them and their family. Are they right to believe this? Is it good that they believe this? No. The entirety of Atheism is contained in this response.”

The “Problem of Suffering and Evil” (PoSE) has been used by skeptics as an argument against Theism since at least Epicurus in the 4^th century BC – and was most famously re-directed against Christianity by David Hume in the 1700s. It remains a major roadblock (and/or excuse) for self-professed Atheists and Agnostics – I’ve heard it countless times myself in many different forms.

The logical and {evidential} forms argue:

1. If God exists, He is all-good (omnibenevolent), all-powerful (omnipotent), and all-knowing (omniscient).
2. If He is all-good He would want to remove evil from the world.
3. If He is all-powerful He could remove evil from the world.
4. Suffering and evil exist in the world.
5. Therefore, God {most likely} doesn’t exist, or He is not all-good, not all-powerful, and/or not all-knowing.

If premises 1-4 are true, then the conclusion (5) must follow. Can you see how premise 2 is not true? Do you also see how accepting premise 4 implies the God exists, undermining the whole argument?

Even if you could successfully accomplish both of these, it is likely to help someone during a time of personal suffering – but at that point we can point to the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Christ to establish how God chose to deal with the evil in the world that results from sin. God doesn’t just conquer evil/suffering He conquers through evil/suffering to answer our all our questions not with an explanation, but with a person, and with a relationship. God chose to enter in to our suffering in the person of Jesus on the cross --  who died for you and for me when we didn’t deserve it.

Derek Rishmawy gives a gospel-centered defense against the PoSE:

1. If God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, we have good reason to believe both that He exists, and that He is unfathomably powerful.
2. Furthermore, if He is good enough to send His only-begotten Son to die on behalf of a sinful, rebellious world He loves, He is unfathomably good.
3. Next, if God is wise enough to use what is objectively the most horrifying, and initially apparently pointless, event in human history – the unjust murder of the Godman – for the salvation of the world, then it is entirely reasonable to trust He has a good enough reason for allowing the evil that He currently does.
4. Finally, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ promises that ultimately evil will be judged, removed, and made right. There is comfort and hope for the future.

If you’d like to improve your ability to contend for the Gospel without being contentious (Jude 3, 1 Peter 3:15), I’d love to hear from you!  I’m currently planning—but haven’t yet worked out the details—for an apologetics-oriented study group for high-school age and older starting in August or September of this year. 

Lukefeldner@pm.me.

We are continuing our series on getting to know your church leaders a little bit better. Read along to learn more about Nicole Barker, who serves on our Deacon Council. 

Where were you born, and do you still consider that home, or somewhere else?

I was born in Washington DC, but we moved when I was 7 days old, and I haven’t been back, yet! I’ve lived in the East Mountains since I was about 7 years old, and definitely consider it home! 

What did you want to be when you grew up – and is that still a dream?

I am grateful that I was able to live my dream of being a stay-at-home mom. I think it is the most important job I could’ve had.  

What or who was your earliest spiritual influence?

Marv & Barb Procter were my youth leaders for many years. I still remember some specific lessons that Marv taught, and I am thankful for the time they invested in me, and in the lives of MANY others!

How and when did Christ call you to Himself?

I was baptized at MCC when I was 13, and rededicated myself at age 18 at a Christian Conference in Albuquerque. The speaker said something like, "If you have any doubts about your salvation, you can know here and now that you have accepted Christ as your Savior.”  

What is a scripture you often read or share with others?

I listen to the ‘Proverbs of the day’ each morning. I love the nuggets of truth sprinkled throughout Proverbs! 

What is a special answered prayer you’ve received from the Lord?

I can’t think of a ‘large’ prayer; but God often answers my ‘little’ prayers, such as ‘please take this thought away if it’s not something I should be concerned about’.

What is a blessing and what is a challenge in serving as a deacon?

I enjoy the admin side of serving as a deacon. The challenges are that often the various projects that come to us are outside of my skill set. And it’s difficult to juggle time management and various responsibilities. 

What are your hobbies and how did you get into them?

I guess my favorite hobby is ‘puttering’ around the house doing whatever odd job needs to be done (or more truthfully what I FEEL like doing). In the summer I enjoy sitting outside, especially with our cat on my lap; or watering the trees and flowers. I usually listen to audiobooks while I’m puttering.

What is your favorite family tradition?

Christmas morning is my favorite time with our kids. We all have our cups of coffee and gather in the living room in our jammies and take turns opening gifts. We have been fortunate to have everyone home every Christmas, and I know that is not something to be taken for granted because they will soon begin their own families and traditions. 

How do you enjoy spending a day off?

See ‘puttering’ around the house above. We are fortunate to have a cabin near Questa, NM that Micah’s grandparents built in the early 1980’s. That is where we spend our vacations or long weekends.  We are also hoping to take our new-to-us camper on trips.

What is the perfect meal?

My favorite meal would include mashed potatoes and biscuits. 

Who or what never fails to make you laugh? 

Watching Micah play with our dog Daisy provides our daily dose of laughter.

We asked Micah:

What is your favorite trait of Nicole's?

I love her gentle and kind spirit. She truly has a servant's heart for all of her friends and family.

What does Nicole do that can always make you smile? 

When Nicole starts to uncontrollably laugh, I can't help but start laughing also. It is contagious. She is the most consistent, positive bright spot in my life. 

Recently, a pastor friend asked me what comes to mind when I think of God’s goodness. My first thought was God’s goodness to me personally, the countless reasons I have for gratitude, all the blessings of God that have flowed into my life.

Not even a minute passed before the words and melody of the worship song “Goodness of God” were in my heart. It’s a song I’ve come to love. A couple years ago, my brother sang that song as he walked through every room of the house he’d just moved into, a quiet expression of gratitude for God’s provision of a new home for him and his family. It’s a song I sang last year at the funeral of a children’s minister I had the honor of serving alongside for several years. “I have lived in the goodness of God.” It’s no surprise we think first of God’s blessings or that our gratitude wells up into song.

Goodness to the Undeserving
The longer I reflected, the larger the circle of God’s goodness grew. It’s good to exist. It’s good to be. Every breath we take testifies to the goodness of creation and the goodness of a Creator. And this fatherly benevolence flows to undeserving, often ungrateful creatures.

Jesus remarked on the Father’s goodness when he spoke of both righteous and unrighteous people enjoying sunshine and rain. Everyone on earth is a beneficiary of God’s goodness, whether they acknowledge him as the source of their blessings or not. God is so good that he sustains the breath of even the person who defies him. He grants life to men and women who deny his existence. He’s the fountain of all that’s good, the source of all life and love.

Compared to God’s magnificence, we’re mere ants, and yet God is good to us, small and weightless though we might be. It’s only because of his goodness that we have value and worth. We’re dust. We came from the ground and will return there. And yet, wonder of wonders, God is a dust-lover.

Goodness of Jesus
The Christian cannot long ponder God’s goodness before being drawn toward Galilee and to a hill outside Jerusalem. There we see Jesus, the eternal Word, who not only announces but embodies this goodness.

Many in our world find a measure of comfort or spiritual benefit in offering generic thanksgiving to a generic God. But it’s only when we look to Jesus that God’s goodness becomes like the sun: we can’t take in the brilliance, but it’s what gives light to everything else. The goodness we see in Jesus chases away the shadows of our sin.

When we read the Gospels, we see Jesus’s goodness on full display. There we see him tussling with the Pharisees, calling out the self-righteous, embracing those on the outside, showing compassion and love while making radical claims about his identity. Like Aslan, “he is not a tame lion, but he is good.”

The goodness of Jesus isn’t safe. He’s revolutionary in his words and deeds, a firebrand in his passion, a preacher of the kingdom coming, a prophet who warns us away from the path of destruction, a healer who restores people to wholeness, a storyteller whose tales delight and disturb, an agitator and annoyance to those most committed to the status quo, an exorcist whose presence causes demons to shriek and evil to flee, a wonder-worker whose miracles gives us a glimpse of the world the way God always intended it to be, a king whose crown is made of thorns and whose first throne is a cross. Everywhere we turn, we’re confounded and overcome by the undeniably fierce and ferocious goodness of Jesus Christ.

His is a goodness that startles us, a perfection we long for and shrink from. The more we gaze on Jesus, the more we see where we fall short, whatever in our lives requires repentance and restoration. And yet the more we gaze on him, the more we also see what God wants to make of us, the greater our hope in God’s promise to renew us and all the world.

Goodness Stored Up
The second-century bishop Melito of Sardis sought to capture the glory and goodness of Jesus:
Born as a Son,
led forth as a lamb,
sacrificed as a sheep,
buried as a man,
he rose from the dead as God,
for he was by nature God and man.
He is all things:
he judges, and so he is law;
he teaches, and so he is wisdom;
he saves, and so he is grace;
he is begotten, and so he is Son;
he suffers, and so he is sacrifice;
he is buried, and so he is man;
he rises again, and so he is God.
This is Jesus Christ,
to whom belongs glory for all ages.

“How great is your goodness,” the psalmist exclaims, “which you have stored up for those who fear you!” (Ps. 31:19). God is the fountain, the storehouse, the depository of all goodness; the cross is the key that unlocks the inexhaustible, boundless riches of his grace. His goodness is pursuing us, running after us like the father hot on the tracks of the prodigal son. And so, “With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God.”

The Gospel Coalition. Let's Talk About How Good God Is. April 2, 2024. Trevin Wax

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/talk-about-god-good/

We are continuing our series on Getting to Know your church leaders a little bit better. Read along to learn more about Angela Davis, who serves as our church accountant.

Where were you born, and do you still consider that home, or somewhere else?

I was born in California, but moved back to NM (my parents are originally from NM) before elementary school. Home is the East Mountains for sure.  

What did you want to be when you grew up – and is that still a dream?

I wanted to be a doctor or a veterinarian. I was majoring in Bio/Chem and was accepted into vet school. I changed my major at the very end to Accounting, with a minor in math and music. I'm not sure if it's still the dream but I love medicine and still have a science thinking mind. Maybe one day I can suture someone! 

What or who was your earliest spiritual influence?

My mother has always been a believer and led us as kids to prayer and faithfully attending church. I was raised Catholic but attended non-denominational Christian youth groups in high school with one of my best friends. I would say that during those high school years I started learning more about Christ and accepting him into my life. 

How and when did Christ call you to Himself?

This was in high school attending youth groups weekly with one of my best friends. I learned that there was more to being a believer than just attending church. I accepted Christ during one of the youth group camps. Later on as an adult, Matt and I were baptized at Mountain Christian Church prior to having our first child. 

What is a scripture you often read or share with others?

Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through him who gives me strength.  Living with hip issues and struggling with surgeries and healing, I lean on this verse all the time.

What is a special answered prayer you’ve received from the Lord?

Being a mother has been my special answer to prayer. We prayed for over three years before having Tori and then were also blessed by our two boys, Jack and Samuel.  

What is a blessing and what is a challenge in serving as the church’s accountant?

I get to see so many blessings being the church’s accountant. I get to witness God’s provision through our membership and see the outcome to the ministries it provides for. The challenges are minimal but are normally based on me turning accounting into a language that can be easily followed by our highly mission-driven leaders and in a graceful manner. I have learned a lot about myself and that grace does not come easy when I have my professional hat on. I am a work in progress on my grace walk.  

What are your hobbies and how did you get into them?

I love skiing! My parents taught me how to ski when I was 5 and I have been skiing ever since. The air is crisp and speeding down the hill is so refreshing. I would love to say I taught my husband, but taking him to the top of the mountain and hoping for the best is not really teaching. But I loved teaching my kids, who now out-ski me.  

What is your favorite family tradition?

Vacationing together is by far a tradition I love. We have been taking our family out since the kids were born, teaching them to live one adventure at a time. I would say that Christmas Eve service followed by seeing Christmas lights and visiting Old Town is a close second.  

How do you enjoy spending a day off?

Going to Durango. I love the mountains there and enjoy having coffee on the deck, looking at how majestic the peaks are.  

What is the perfect meal?

Anything Matt smokes in the smoker plus BBQ sauce. So delish!

Who or what never fails to make you laugh? 

Matt makes me laugh all the time. He has great Dad jokes and just sometimes purposely says something to make me smile.  

We asked Matt: 

What is your favorite trait of Angela's?

Angela's integrity is my favorite trait. She does not compromise when it comes to doing the right thing. 

What does Angela do that can always make you smile? 

It always makes me smile when she gets excited about an upcoming adventure.

The familiar Acacia trees greet us as we drive in from the remote Hawassa airport. Such a welcome friend! I cannot hold back a smile.

Beyond the native dome huts and cacti-fenced yards that scatter along the roadside, the fields of corn are now as tall as a man. I suspect that the harvest is not far away. Passing through the villages, before many homes stand piles of wide, flat stones. Each is crowned with sacks of potatoes. The markets are open.

The land of Ethiopia is a nation of great beauty, and also great turmoil. On a teaching trip there last year, I had the privilege to meet with some of our missionary church planters. The nation has recently seen a northern tribe rise up against the government, and Islamist guerrilla groups are also active in some areas. Prolonged drought in the horn of Africa has left millions of people acutely in need. Please continue to pray for our gospel workers, and for the people of this dear land.

Ask for the Lord’s grace and power for Alebachew. He works his trade and builds relationships with people among the Afar tribes. He loves to share his testimony. Pray for Medina to grow in her new faith, and for God to lead Alebachew to more open hearts.

Pray for God’s continued provision for Epheson. He is in a very impoverished area, and the needs are large even for him and his family. Believers in this animistic region are sometimes threatened and even beaten from the time of their faith in Christ. But the Lord has brought many to Christ, and there have been many baptisms. Pray for the growing church there to have a safe place to worship, and for Epheson to grow in shepherding them well.

Tesfaye’s church was scattered by war. Pray for the Lord’s great wisdom for them, and for stable and rich relationships among the weary believers. Also that the Christian witness of Tesfaye, a security guard, a barber, and several women selling bread, would be fruitful and see many come to Christ. 

Ask for God’s power amid spiritual battle for Henoke. He has been persecuted many times - losing his place of rent; being beaten and hospitalized; being driven out of town. He shares the gospel in the markets, and has seen miracles that have brought others to salvation. For safety, he also does discipleship out in the bush, and meets with friends interested in the gospel in this way.