Sunday 19 August 2012

Redemption.


God is impartial not indifferent.

"'For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.'"  Matthew 5:45b (NRSV)

Evil is a label we attach to the inexplicable.
There are reasons for evil.

"The Lord.....is patient with you, not wanting any to perish."  2 Peter 3:9 (NRSV)

But God does not do evil.

In the new paradigm - a holistic vision - the only evil is that consciously chosen by some as an intellectual alternative to good.
There is no independent source of evil.
There is no Satan.
There are no dark forces or powers.

Only God's love.

The shortcomings of humankind are enough to account for all the evil in the world.

Humans are a conglomerate of genetic and environmental factors :
Birth.  Childhood.  Education.  Experience.
All evil can be explained by these.

There is no devil.
There are no demons.
There are no dark powers.

Hitler's fury and hatred are conceptual.

Jesus' love and forgiveness are universal.

God does not destroy evil.
He redeems it.

So :
"'Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.'"  Luke 6:27,28 (NRSV)


(Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.)

Photo Credit: jean louis mazieres Flickr via Compfight cc

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