I dont claim any theological insights at all, but I know when something absolutely turns me off, and penal substitution absolutely turns me off. I dont believe that God ordains pain and suffering on us, and any God who WOULD isnt going to get worshipped by me. Similarly, largely for the reasons set forth in here, I dont believe that God sent his son to earth with the intent that he be killed as penance somehow for our sins. I love this passage from Alan Patons Cry the Beloved Country, which makes this point: - This world is full of trouble, umfundisi. - Who knows it better? - Yet you believe? Kumalo looked at him under the light of the lamp. I believe, he said, but I have learned that it is a secret. Pain and suffering, they are a secret. Kindness and love, they are a secret. But I have learned that kindness and love can pay for pain and suffering. There is my wife, and you, my friend, and these people who welcomed me, and the child who is so eager to be with us here in Ndotsheni – so in my suffering I can believe. - I have never thought that a Christian would be free of suffering, umfundisi. For our Lord suffered. And I come to believe that he suffered, not to save us from suffering, but to teach us how to bear suffering. For he knew that there is no life without suffering. Kumalo looked at his friend with joy. You are a preacher, he said.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 05:00:35 +0000
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