God on Trial

We were in Australia on holidays recently when we heard of the shocking tragedy of a man who threw his four year-old daughter sixty metres to her death from a bridge. If not for the intervention of other road users, the man’s other two young children could easily have met the same tragic fate.

Whilst careful not to draw any comparison with the above particular case, how often in other equally heinous crimes do we hear the cry of the defence, “The devil made me do it”? The reality is that the devil does not make us do bad things. The devil may tempt us to do bad things, but until we give in to these temptations we have not committed a crime (or sin).

Until Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve lead an idyllic existence in harmony with God. There was no sin, and no death. But when Eve was tempted to eat of the forbidden fruit, which she then shared with Adam, sin and death entered the world and man’s relationship with God was broken forever.

Now, it is only through the redeeming blood spilt on the cross at Calvary by Jesus Christ that we have a way to renew our relationship with God, and to secure a place in heaven when our earthly days are through.

The secular world, and no doubt even Christians in a time of grief, may rightly question the presence of a god who could allow death and destruction through man-made and natural causes. To address this issue we came across the following in the December 08 / February 09 edition of Creation magazine.

Wings As Eagles

15Feb09

God on Trial?

Filming has begun in Scotland of God on Trial, a 90-minute BBC drama that depicts Jews in Auschwitz concentration camp putting God ‘on trial’ during WWII. Three judges listen to evidence from both believers and atheists as to whether God is to blame for the terrible acts of humanity.

The film asks, ‘how can there be so much suffering in the world, and what kind of god could let such things happen?’ Executive producer Mark Redhead is reported to have said, “To me, it seemed time that he was called into account.’

Given the humanist stance of so many BBC documentaries, we have little doubt as to what the film’s ‘verdict’ will be. However, we have news for the scriptwriter and producer. The Creator God gave our first parents, Adam and Eve, free choice as to whether they would obey Him or not. They chose not to, and ever since then every one of us has chosen not to also. As a result we all live in a cursed world, with death and suffering (<creationontheweb.com/death>), where men willfully commit evil.

However, God has provided the way for us to be reconciled to Him – through the death and resurrection of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers are not promised freedom from harm in this life. We are, however, promised the grace to bear and oppose the evil we encounter.

 As to a trial and judgment, God has appointed a day in which He will be the one who does the judging (Acts 17:31; Revelation 20:11-15).

 Creation magazine is produced by Creation Ministries International.