da vinci code and evangelicals and evangelical view of god and evangelical view of jesus christ

In the previous essay I argued that Evangelicals' understanding of history may help them demolish the flimsy historical claims of the Da Vinci Code but it leaves them exposed to searching historical questions that can be posed by any half-intelligent, run-of-the-mill secular humanist. I ended with a presentation of the Evangelical view of God. And so, I start here with how you should deal with an Evangelical on the issue of God.

In brief, my argument is that Evangelicals, in their zeal to defend and speak for God, claim too much for God and that, by doing so, they make God into an implausible Creator whom a thinking person would have a hard time trusting. If indeed God is a God who is "right there" with you in your pain as well as your pleasure, "right there" with you when you pray, and is able to help and wants to help, then Evangelicals have to face the fact sometime of why God seemingly helps so little when He/She ought to help so much. Let me use an example from law. If an entity or a person is charged with knowledge of some legal reality, they are charged with more responsibility than if they had no knowledge. Those in a fiduciary relationship with their clients (possibly investment advisors, administrators of estates, guardians, etc.), for example, have a greater duty, than those without a fiduciary relationship, not to harm or permit harm to come to those under their care. Law treats with greater severity those who violate fiduciary duties than those who simply are negligent or irresponsible if no fiduciary relationship exists between the parties.

God, according to the Evangelical picture of Him, is the ultimate "fiduciary" in the universe. He has bound Himself in a personal way to each person who responds to Him in faith. He has bound himself with a series of promises in the Bible that are as true as the Bible is true. But this puts too much pressure on God. The only way that an Evangelical really can answer the complaint of one who says, "I put my trust in God, and God let me down," is to deny the truth of the person's experience who said those things. Or, to put things slightly differently, Evangelicals will say, "Well, you don't have all the information, or you are limited in your vision, or God is working for you in ways you don't understand and anticipate" or something like that. In other words, if you challenge an Evangelical directly on the point of their claim regarding the concern of God for you, they are forced into the position of denying the truth of your experience or your explanation of your experience. This puts them in a fairly week position. It would be analogous to a person saying, "I really hate the government," and you, who may have a good relationship with the government, are forced to say, "No, your experience really isn't true." Often people become Evangelicals because their lives are so hopelessly tangled that God can't do any more harm than already exists in their lives. But they don't have a useful or helpful view of God.

The Evangelical View of Jesus Christ

Evangelicals believe that Christ died for your sins and that you need to "accept" Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord for forgiveness of your sins and to restore a right relationship with God. If you think about this doctrine for just a moment, though, you wonder really if it makes any sense at all. Let me raise a few questions about this belief.

First, what does it really mean that someone dies for another's sin? If someone in our justice system volunteered to suffer death for another person who was condemned to death, even the State of Texas wouldn't permit this to happen. Why? Because of the elementary rule of justice that you only serve time or suffer consequences for crimes you have committed. Thus, the notion of a vicarious suffering Christ (and a Christ who himself is innocent of any wrongdoing) belies our deepest sense of what justice is. Second, why, really, do we need anyone to die for our sins? Granted, some of us have made a pretty big botch of life and need some forgiveness from people, but to die for my sins? I wouldn't allow it and I don't understand how someone dying could make things better. Third, how can the death of a person who lived 2000 years ago forgive me today? Granted, one might look to a person from the past who gave up his life for a cause in which he believed with respect and even reverence, but to say that his death actually redeems us today is a stretch. And, once again, it tries to claim too much, for if Christ's death does forgive sin, it seems like it does so regardless of whether we approve of it or not. If Christ's death forgave sins, then mine are forgiven whether or not I approve of it. It then becomes sort of like someone paying a debt I owe. I may or may not be grateful to him, but I don't have to debt anymore. And, I hardly think I would devote my life to him for paying such a debt.

Conclusion

Thus, if Evangelicals truly want to use the occasion of the release of the Da Vinci Code movie as an occasion for evangelization, sign me up for one or many of the meetings. I have tons of questions to ask. I hope you, too, will feel free to ask your questions. Unfortunately, however, I don't think I will receive any invitations. They just don't seem to know my address.

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