"God is Faithful" : Conspiracy
Part of Biblical Christianity is conspiracy theory. "The devil deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9, 13:14).
And if the world is deceived, then the Christian may ponder that maybe reality isnt what it seems. Maybe there is deception all around us! As one Christian I knew put it "I dont believe in coincidences any more." The Christian may ponder that maybe all coincidences are actually the hidden hand of God! Ah huh, God is everywhere and in control of everything! Once you start looking, it’s obvious!
Christians often say that God is faithful. But what is meant by this statement can be hard to pin down. Basically it seems to mean that no matter how you mess up as a Christian, God will look after you.
But according to my observations, this isnt really obvious to someone who tests it empirically. I guess you have to decide what is meant by "looking after you."
When I became a Christian I probably thought, as most young Christians probably think, that God doesn’t let seriously bad things happen to his followers. But as time went by, I saw that this idea was neither Biblical, nor did it reflect reality. Almost every bad thing that happens to non-christians, also happens to Christians. And those bad things probably happen with equivalent frequency to both groups.
When I was travelling in a car with Christian friends recently, we almost had a car accident. One Christian said that the reason we didnt actually crash was that God was looking after us. But if this statement was true, then why did God allow us to almost crash? Furthermore, why did he let another Christian we knew crash and loose so many of her faculties that she had to undergo months of rehabilitation?
Ah, but God allows us to undergo difficulties because they are good for us, say the Bible scholars. So even when we experience bad things, God is showing his loving care. The problem with this theory is that those who die of starvation, murder etc dont gain a thing because immediately after this torture, they are dead. Where is the love in that?
After coming to these realisations, I was no longer able to see how God really is faithful. Years later I found I was not the only OJer who had reached the same conclusion.
The following is an email joke that has been passed around. Although it has a touch of humour for all who read it, it is a remarkably realistic assessment of how Christians and non-Christians interpret events. One sees a lack of a higher power, while the other perceives god as intervening. I increasingly found myself taking the view of the former group.
There was a little old lady living in Buttrutt, Idaho, who was so spiritual that she would step out on her porch every day, raise her arms to the sky and yell "Praise the Lord!" to great irritation of the atheist next door.
After a month he could stand it no more and yelled from his porch: "There is no Lord!"
She persisted regardless, day after day, until one cold, wintry day she went out on her porch, raised her hands up to the sky in supplication and said: "Help me, Lord, I have no more money, it's cold and I have no more food."
The next morning she went outside and there were three bags of food on the porch, enough to last her a week. "Praise the Lord" she yelled.
The atheist steps out from the bushes and says: "There is no Lord. Ha Ha Ha! - I bought those groceries!"
The little old lady raises her arms to the skies above and says: "Praise the Lord! You not only sent me groceries you made the Devil pay for them!"