rj_anderson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rj_anderson) wrote2003-04-29 10:03 am
rj_anderson) wrote2003-04-29 10:03 am
Entry tags:
Questions and Answers
Q: What would you say if you met Jesus [here on earth, in an everyday setting, and he appeared just as an ordinary man]?
A: I've spent nearly a week thinking about this now. I think that if I met Him on the street, and actually knew for certain that it was Him, I would not be able to say anything right away because I would be flat on my face. It wouldn't matter that He didn't look glorious or superhuman; just knowing who He was would be enough. And when I could speak (if I could get past the tears), I would say, "Lord, forgive me. You loved me so much you died for me. I owe you everything. And I've given you nothing."
Q: What do you think of people of other religions, or agnostics, or atheists?
A: I think they are human beings like myself, many of them more intelligent, better educated, and more generous to others than I am. In fact I am quite sure that among those groups there are any number of people whose kindness and sensitivity and general good behaviour puts me to shame. If human beings could earn God's favour by doing good works they would no doubt be a lot further ahead than I.
However, I also believe that like me they have a conscience and a general awareness of right and wrong, and that like me they have all violated their consciences and done things they knew or believed to be wrong, not just once but many times. And so I also believe what the book of Romans says, that before God all men are "without excuse" and that none of us can enter heaven or gain a right relationship with God in our own merit. I believe that every one of us, regardless of nationality or culture or creed or personality or number and nature of sins, is in desperate need of a Saviour and that Jesus Christ is the only One who can save us.
At the same time, I also believe that if our hearts are genuinely searching for the truth about God and crying out for Him -- if we are faithful to whatever little light we have -- then it doesn't matter where we are or who we are, God will give us what we need to find Him. Whether that means meeting a missionary on the road or finding a Gideon Bible in a hotel room drawer or any of a million other, subtler things, I can't say; but I do believe that God is faithful and merciful and just, and He will not turn away from anyone who genuinely wants to know Him, nor will He condemn anyone who does not deserve it.
Q: What is your favorite hymn?
A: I've always loved "Be Thou My Vision", but more recently I've fallen in love with My Song Is Love Unknown, to the gorgeous tune "St. John (Calkin)", which unfortunately The Cyber Hymnal doesn't have so I can't link to that. The words are there, though.
Q: What's your number 1 fanfic pet peeve?
A: Bad characterization. And by "bad" I mean "I do not recognize this character as being in any way connected to the one I know from canon, except for a few incidental similarities." The phenomenon is by no means limited to badfic, either.
Q: What's your middle name / What does the J. stand for?
A: Joan. It's my mother's name.
Q: What colour are your eyes?
A: Blue-grey with yellow rings around the pupils, but they can also look green or brown depending on what I'm wearing.
Q: Coke or Pepsi?
A: Coke, but I don't really drink either. I'm not big on carbonated beverages; more of a Snapple gal.
Q: Have you hugged your muse today?
A: Well, I tried, but the only one who hugged me back was Malcolm. The others either looked at me askance, or went stiff, or threatened me with bodily harm. Sigh.
If anybody has any more questions feel free to stick 'em in the Comments section; I'm game...
A: I've spent nearly a week thinking about this now. I think that if I met Him on the street, and actually knew for certain that it was Him, I would not be able to say anything right away because I would be flat on my face. It wouldn't matter that He didn't look glorious or superhuman; just knowing who He was would be enough. And when I could speak (if I could get past the tears), I would say, "Lord, forgive me. You loved me so much you died for me. I owe you everything. And I've given you nothing."
Q: What do you think of people of other religions, or agnostics, or atheists?
A: I think they are human beings like myself, many of them more intelligent, better educated, and more generous to others than I am. In fact I am quite sure that among those groups there are any number of people whose kindness and sensitivity and general good behaviour puts me to shame. If human beings could earn God's favour by doing good works they would no doubt be a lot further ahead than I.
However, I also believe that like me they have a conscience and a general awareness of right and wrong, and that like me they have all violated their consciences and done things they knew or believed to be wrong, not just once but many times. And so I also believe what the book of Romans says, that before God all men are "without excuse" and that none of us can enter heaven or gain a right relationship with God in our own merit. I believe that every one of us, regardless of nationality or culture or creed or personality or number and nature of sins, is in desperate need of a Saviour and that Jesus Christ is the only One who can save us.
At the same time, I also believe that if our hearts are genuinely searching for the truth about God and crying out for Him -- if we are faithful to whatever little light we have -- then it doesn't matter where we are or who we are, God will give us what we need to find Him. Whether that means meeting a missionary on the road or finding a Gideon Bible in a hotel room drawer or any of a million other, subtler things, I can't say; but I do believe that God is faithful and merciful and just, and He will not turn away from anyone who genuinely wants to know Him, nor will He condemn anyone who does not deserve it.
Q: What is your favorite hymn?
A: I've always loved "Be Thou My Vision", but more recently I've fallen in love with My Song Is Love Unknown, to the gorgeous tune "St. John (Calkin)", which unfortunately The Cyber Hymnal doesn't have so I can't link to that. The words are there, though.
Q: What's your number 1 fanfic pet peeve?
A: Bad characterization. And by "bad" I mean "I do not recognize this character as being in any way connected to the one I know from canon, except for a few incidental similarities." The phenomenon is by no means limited to badfic, either.
Q: What's your middle name / What does the J. stand for?
A: Joan. It's my mother's name.
Q: What colour are your eyes?
A: Blue-grey with yellow rings around the pupils, but they can also look green or brown depending on what I'm wearing.
Q: Coke or Pepsi?
A: Coke, but I don't really drink either. I'm not big on carbonated beverages; more of a Snapple gal.
Q: Have you hugged your muse today?
A: Well, I tried, but the only one who hugged me back was Malcolm. The others either looked at me askance, or went stiff, or threatened me with bodily harm. Sigh.
If anybody has any more questions feel free to stick 'em in the Comments section; I'm game...
no subject
(Anonymous) 2003-04-29 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)I hope it's not too presumptuous of me to carry on. I'm not trying to be obnoxious, indeed it's usually me who's trying to defend some Christian attitude or other to people I know. Also, you said you felt guilty about not doing enough to promote the message, so here's your chance: I am a Christian, though a somewhat skeptical one. :)
What if you are an atheist, because you have deliberately rejected the teachings of the Christian society you have been brought up in? Not as a way of justifying acts of sin, but because you honestly believe the existence of God is just implausible? Then, if you live your life generally according to Christian values, and obeying your conscience, is your entry into heaven blocked because you never appealed to Christ to redeem you from your small sins? Does the same apply to people of other religions who seek God but find Him in their own faith? Or must it only be the Christian faith?
Also, while I'm here, another, more obvious question. What's your favorite character in a book, ever? :)
~Chresimos
no subject
I think what I'd say first of all is that the problem in humanity's relationship with God is not so much our sins -- the number of bad deeds we do -- but rather the fact that we are sinners. In other words, the root of the difficulty is in us, in the very attitude of our hearts to God. Even if we could perfectly control our outward behaviour, we would still not be free of the problem, because sin is in our thoughts and attitudes and motives as well. The Lord made this plain in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), but it's also in the words God spoke to Samuel in the Old Testament -- "Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart."
Furthermore, God is completely holy, righteous and perfect; He cannot look on sin with favour, or fail to judge it -- much less allow anything tainted with sin to dwell eternally in His presence. So even if there were a person who had only ever committed one sin in their lifetime, they would still "fall short of the glory of God" as Romans describes. They would be very impressive and admirable to their fellow human beings, but they would still be unable to stand in the presence of God's utter and complete holiness.
In that sense, there is no such thing as "small sins". Some sins are more obviously destructive and hurtful than others, some are more flagrant and grotesque than others, some are more obvious to the outside world than others, but in fact the sin the Bible condemns most strongly is one which is almost entirely private and personal -- pride.
Sinners of every other kind may repent and be forgiven, but pride inevitably drives a person away from God. Pride is what causes us to say to ourselves, "I don't need God, I don't believe in God, I can do great things and show myself to be a good person without God." Or the pride may take a subtler, theistic form, leading us to believe that by doing (or not doing) certain things or observing certain rituals or being a member of a certain religious group, we can make God our debtor and obligate Him to let us into heaven. Pride makes us think that God ought to play by our rules, and judge us no more strictly than we would judge ourselves. And as long as we have that mindset, there is no way we will accept God's offer of free salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. Why should we, when we're so sure we can save ourselves?
So, to directly answer your question, the morally upright atheist or the devout Buddhist or the idealistic pagan is in precisely the same position as everyone else. Regardless of how many sins they have (or haven't committed) or the philosophy to which they subscribe, they are still responsible to respond to the glimmer of spiritual truth God has given to them in nature and in their conscience. That glimmer of truth is enough to make them seekers of God's truth and eventually lead them to Christ, if they are willing -- but if they willfully choose to suppress that knowledge and remain in a state of self-reliance, they will have to suffer the judgment of a righteous God against their sins.
Sin must be judged, punished, and paid for. The question is, who's going to take the judgment, receive the punishment, and do the paying? If we don't accept Christ as our Substitute, then we must take the punishment ourselves. No religion, no philosophy, no code of good behaviour can address the problem of sin in our lives and hearts, much less cancel it out. But as Paul said to the Corinthians, "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation".
Sorry for the verbose answer. But I hope it addresses your question(s)!
no subject