Arbitrary

5/7/18      Jonathan    (video)         about 25

One of the complaints skeptics have about Christianity is that our beliefs seem so arbitrary.  We have specific beliefs in historical events and people, rather than general beliefs in universal truths that are equally available to everybody.

For example, I was talking with a young man named Jonathan, who said he hadn’t given religious belief all that much thought, but generally feels turned off by references to a specific religion.  He calls God the “oneness” and believes we all come from the same universal source with, ultimately, no arbitrary difference between us.  He says he wants to simplify his life, to empty himself from outside thoughts and concerns until he no longer feels he has any needs or desires and is basically one with the universe. 

For him, Christianity seems arbitrary because it is based on particular historical events that seem to favor certain groups of people at the expense of others.   He prefers spiritual beliefs that are equally fair and accessible to all, because his idea of “god” is an idea or universal source of some sort that doesn’t really have preferences or make decisions on its own.

But the “arbitrary” nature of God is evident from the very beginning, revealing His personality as He chose to create the world in a specific order and time frame, to establish male and female, to create one creature in his own image, to forbid Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of a particular tree, to prefer Able’s offering over Caine’s, to choose Noah and his family to build the ark, and to choose to form a covenant relationship with one man, Abraham, as the father of many nations.

I could go on and on, because the Bible is an entire library documenting God’s personal involvement in human history, revealing His intentions and personality along the way.  This is distasteful to a generation that rejects absolute authority in favor of everyone’s right to choose.  However, if “God” is a universal entity that treats everyone exactly the same, something constant like, say, gravity, then the only ones in the position of decision making would be ourselves.

There are so many ways this “nonarbitrary” view of God works itself out.  2 Corinthians 6:2 says “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”  If God is constant and nonarbitrary, with no day different from another, then the urgency of this passage is lost, because God would be obligated to respond the same way every day.  But if it is true that the day we hear the Gospel may be the only day we are made capable to respond to it, then we need to respond today, before it is too late.

Jonathan also stated that, at his young age, thoughts of eternity are far from his mind.  I hope and pray he will respond to the message and evidence God has already given him, because the future contains no guarantees.  Our world is, indeed, arbitrary, because God has a mind of His own.

See our conversation HERE