Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Summary of Lecture 1
Right attitude: aware of one’s imperfections, willing to be
corrected, seek the truth
Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?
The cosmological argument proves that God (understood
as the Creator of the Universe) exists.
Jesus claimed to be God and He did miracles, lived a
perfect life of loving, healing and teaching others, and rose
from the dead to prove that He is God.
The logical implications of Jesus being God:
He can reveal what God is like (perfect, just, loving etc)
He can give real meaning and purpose in life
God created humans in His image: basis for equal worth
and dignity of all human beings
God loves us so much that He came to seek us
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the
beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him
nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3)
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who
is Himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father,
has made Him known. (John 1:17-18)
Questions from students: Why is God ‘He’ and
not ‘She’? Is Jesus God or the Son of God?
Son of God: a metaphor for someone who had an intimate
relationship with God the Father.
Used for angels (Job 1:6), Adam (Luke 3:38), Israel (Hosea 11:1),
Christians (Gal 3:26), Ephraim (Jer. 31:9) and king (2 Sam 7:14).
Unlike these, Jesus was regarded as Creator and worshipped by
the earliest Christians => unique (“one and only”) Son of God
God is a Spirit (John 4:24)=> God does not have a gender
All gendered God-language is metaphor.‘The Father’ is a
metaphor for expressing care and authority
How can Christ be God and God the
Father be God if there is only one God?
‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Rom.
3:23)
Fall short of the greatest commandments: “Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind.” “Love your neighbor
as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
Hypocrisy, lying, pride, self-righteous, lust, greed,
envy, hatred, malice, unloving, unforgiving,
slanderous, treacherous
God Sin Humans
The logical consequence of unresolved sin: Hell
Consider your
Strength
Interests
Desire
Grief
Opportunity
Problems overcome
Relationship to God
Not following the culture
Resources for dealing with temptations,
stress, suffering, failure, disappointments
The Church
‘Why Does God allow suffering?’
The absence of suffering is not the highest good
It is more worthy to be a person who suffers than a piece of stone
which doesn’t suffer.
Throughout history, many thinkers from east and west have realized
that suffering can bring benefits.
“ 天将降大任于斯人也,必先苦其心志,劳其筋骨,饿其体肤,
空乏其身,行指乱其所为,所以动心忍性,曾益其所不能。”--
Mencius
“No pain, no gain”
A meaningful life can be extremely satisfying even in the midst of
hardship
To experience God is the greatest good
Some Benefits of Suffering
Patience (2 Cor. 1:6; James 5:10; Rev. 1:9)
Courage (1 Thess. 2:2; Rev. 2:10)
Perseverance/Endurance (Rom. 5:3; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1
Thess. 1:4; 2 Tim. 2:3; 2 Tim. 4:5; Heb. 10:32,36;
12:7; James 1:2-4,12; 1 Peter 4:19; Rev. 1:9,
2:3,10,13)
Thankfulness (1 Thess. 5:18)
Learn to forgive others (Matt. 5:39-45; 2 Tim. 4:16)
Closer bonding with others; For the benefit of
others (1 Cor. 12:25-26; 2 Cor. 1:3-7; 8:2-4; Eph.
3:13; Phil. 1:14; Col. 1:24; 1 Thess. 3:2-4; 2 Tim.
2:8-10; Heb. 13:3)
Closer relationship to Jesus (Ps 73; Rom. 8:17;
Phil. 3:10; Heb. 11:26, 35; 12:2-3; 13:13; 1 Peter
4:1; Rev. 21:4)
Q. Why do some innocent children suffer from
diseases when there born?
John 9:1-3
The goal of human life is not happiness per se, but
the knowledge of God--which in the end will bring
true and everlasting human fulfillment.
Many evils occur in life which may be utterly
pointless with respect to the goal of producing
human happiness; but they may not be pointless
with respect to producing a deeper knowledge of
God.. Of course, whether God’s purpose is
achieved through our suffering will
depend on our response Do we respond with
anger and bitterness toward God, or do we turn
to Him in faith for strength to endure?’—
Philosopher William Lane Craig
Connection Building Theodicy (CBT)
Collins: Many people have a great desire to contribute
positively to the world and only feel satisfied with their
lives if they have made significant contributions;
They gain great satisfaction from having contributed,
even to the extent of thinking that their life was
worthwhile even if they endured more suffering than
happiness.
Often this sense of value goes beyond the value of the
contribution itself, but crucially involves a perceived
value of having been the means by which the
contribution occurred;
Thus, for instance, if God directly provided for the
welfare of others, this value would be lost.
Q: Why did God do miracles sometimes (e.g.
resurrecting Jesus) but not all the time?
The Connection Building Theodicy
‘We can glimpse a good reason for God to create a
universe containing ECAs [embodied conscious
agents] that are vulnerable to each other and to the
environment: specifically, such vulnerable ECAs can
affect each other for good or ill in deep ways.
Besides being an intrinsic good… this ability to affect
one another’s welfare allows for the possibility of
eternal bonds of appreciation, contribution, and
intimacy, which… are of great value.’(Collins 2013).
Explain why our parents’ sin can affect us
Explain why Adam’s sin can affect us
Explain why it is impt to be connected with a church
Negative connections
An unavoidable by-product
Can be redeemed through the victim forgiving the victimizer.
Forgiveness creates a new positive connection of forgiveness,
such as the person forgiven greatly appreciating being released
from the negative connections and guilt that they bear as the
result of their moral wrongdoing;
Even the person doing the forgiving will greatly benefit through
the act of forgiving.
Even if the connections are not formed in one’s earthly life, they
can be formed in the afterlife -- e.g., in the afterlife one could
form connections based on shared joy or achievement.
CBT helps resolve a conflict many feel between the
apparent cruelty of the world, which seems indifferent to
humans and other sentient beings, and the moral
imperative to value and love others.
The CBT sees this apparent indifference itself as giving
humans the space and opportunity to virtuously respond
to other’s needs, and thus develop eternal, positive
connections.
Consequently, the apparent indifference and unloving
character of the world becomes a necessary condition for
the realization of certain forms of love.
CBC journalist Brian Stewart
…I've found there is no movement, or force,
closer to the raw truth of war, famines, crises and
the vast human predicament, than organized
Christianity in action.
… I'm often asked if I lost belief in God
covering events like Ethiopia, then called "the
worst hell on earth." Actually, like others
before me, it was precisely in such hells that I
rediscovered religion. I saw so many countless
acts of human love and charity, total respect
for the most forsaken, for all life.
Resources for dealing with death
No existence, no meaning
Life is ultimately meaningless if death ends all
=> Hopeless
Glorification and HOPE
Hope has two aspects: desires and expectations
A person working for 10 dollars vs another person doing the
same job for 10 million dollars will behave very differently!
Humans are future-orientated …don’t tell me what happens
after death doesn't matter!
(Tim Keller at HKU)
Love strives to live forever—Plato
In loving and being loved we make a world worth living
in.
Those who have truly experienced love would not
want it to end.
The basis of Hope: The resurrection of
Jesus
God turns darkness into light, suffering
into blessing, death into life.
Even though the problem of evil is the
greatest objection to the existence of God,
at the end of the day God is the only
solution to the problem of evil.
If God does not exist, then we are locked
without hope in a world filled with
gratuitous and unredeemed suffering.
Philosopher William Lane Craig
But there are good evidences to think that God does
exist, and He has revealed Himself in history through
Jesus.
The death of Jesus has borne the sins of humanity, and
His resurrection has overcome death.
He is the ultimate solution to the problem of evil and
suffering.
Professor Paul Williams, historian
and philosopher of Buddhism
The Unexpected Way (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 2002)
The whole man is to drink joy from the fountain of joy. –C.S Lewis
Some Christians will suffer loss
‘each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show
it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will
test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which
he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any
man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself
will be saved, yet so as through fire.’ 1 Cor 3:13-15
The promise of glory
‘is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the
work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really
chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find
approval, shall please God’ –CS Lewis
‘the satisfaction of having pleased those whom I rightly
loved.’– CS Lewis
‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful
with a few things; I will put you in charge of many
things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew
25:19-21)
Conclusion: Christianity’s vision of a good life
Emmanuel: God with us
Jesus said “ I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” --
John 10:10
Ultimate Truth
Objective goodness and subjective satisfaction
Love
Happiness
Dignity
Beauty
Grace
Forgiveness
Power
Purpose
Hope
Glory
and so much more.
An Easter Song on Life Worth Living
‘Because He lives’
God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal and forgive
He lived and died to buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living, just because He lives