The Goodness of God

We don’t want in our comfortable 21st Century Western Christianity to be brought to our knees weeping and wailing before almighty God when faced with the challenge of His goodness. But when we really see His goodness that is precisely where we find ourselves

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Here is a quote from an unexpected source – The ‘Atheists for Liberty website’: “On March 31 this year, Richard Dawkins appeared in an interview with Rachel Johnson on LBC, where he made headlines after identifying himself as a cultural Christian. After stating he was “slightly horrified” to hear about when Oxford Street in London began promoting Ramadan instead of Easter, he explained his belief that England is a culturally Christian country. “I’m not a believer, but there is a distinction between being a believing Christian and a cultural Christian. I love hymns and Christmas carols and I sort of feel at home in the Christian ethos, and I feel that we are a Christian country in that sense.”

I guess, firstly, I never thought that I would be agreeing with Richard Dawkins about anything! However, I can empathize with the sentiment that he expresses about the absence of public signs of our Christian heritage - he mentions Easter – with me it was both Easter and Christmas. Notably, I was deeply saddened that after having listened to “Messiah” at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham last Christmas, Jan and I walked the length of New Street amidst the decorations and symbols of several other religions, but not a single Christian emblem anywhere to be seen.

I first came across Richard Dawkins as a student as the author of a book “The selfish gene” (published in 1976) which explained evolution from a gene’s point of view. Genes contain our DNA and the code that instructs our cells to make us what we are physically – for example: an ant, a rabbit or a human being. The code also predetermines some aspects of behaviour – so for example male lions who have just taken over leading a pride will often kill all of the young cubs – you could say that this behaviour was ensuring that the new leader’s genes were past on to the next generation rather than the outgoing leader’s genes. 

Dawkin’s theory was that gene’s force creatures to work in their own self-interest – they are “selfish” and predispose living things (including us) towards ensuring their own survival for future generations. This of course gives a problem when it comes to explaining altruism (willingness of someone to sacrifice themselves for someone else’s benefit). In the natural world there are many examples of altruism – take worker bees that have “given up” the right to reproduce in the “interests of the colony” – how is this “selfish genes” at work?.

His theories were the source of much vigorous debate both scientifically, ethically, and as a well-known and “evangelical atheist”, with followers of Jesus. In an on-line essay Neil Shenvi summarises Dawkin’s approach like this: “What is it, (Dawkins) goes on to ask, that leads some individuals to be loving and altruistic to the degree that there is no possible benefit to themselves and rather the certainty of permanent loss? What can we learn from individuals whose behaviour is simply not explicable in terms of maximization of their own fitness? And this brings him to Jesus. Not, Dawkins would hasten to add, because he considers Jesus in any way unique, but because Jesus seems to embody precisely this standard of selflessness, compassion, and universal love”.

So here is someone who confesses that they are not a believer but do value “cultural Christianity”. I would say that many want the benefits of being in a Christian country without wanting to actually participate in the faith or follow its author. It’s a bit like parents wanting the benefits of a church school but not the God from whom those blessings and benefits originally flowed – or the trappings of a church wedding without belonging to the community of faith and body of belief that makes the covenant between God, a man and a woman real.

As we are now seeing, day after day and week after week, the dilution of active participation in the Christian faith but still expecting its blessings and benefits does not work and in the end even those good things that “cultural Christians” treasure will be no more. These shadows of treasured blessings cannot exist without the substance. Without the reality there are no shadows.

It reminds me greatly of some lines from the BBC adaptation of “pride and Prejudice”. One of the Bennet sisters (Jane) has just agreed to marry the person that she is in love with (Mr Bingley). She is speaking to her sister (Elizabeth) saying something like “Oh Lizzie! I’m so happy! Can you believe that everything would work out in such a wonderful way”? She then expresses a wish for her sister to be similarly blessed and happy. But Elizabeth, knowing her own heart replies: “If you were to give me forty such men, I never could be so happy as you. Till I have your disposition, your goodness, I never can have your happiness”.

And that’s it – Elizabeth is right – without following Jesus, without a transaction with the Holy Spirit, apart from experiencing God’s goodness and kindness, we cannot have the blessings, they are beyond our reach. The trappings, sentiments and practices of Christianity cannot on their own save our souls. There is a cry for the church to be relevant today – the world wants us to modernise and “fit in” and go along with a sham godliness; the world wants to tell us what to think and what to believe – It wants to tell us what “goodness” is and what is “good”.

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Richard, a brother in our church who spoke recently about the message of the gospel of Mark reminded us that Jesus has pointed us to what is good. In Mark 10 v 18 Jesus says: “Why do you call me good?” … “No one is good—except God alone”. When Richard spoke about this I felt both the conviction and excitement as the Holy Spirit gave power to those words. This is Jesus reminding us through scripture: “No one is good—except God alone”! As Richard says it is understanding this goodness and contrasting it with everything we are, which brings us to repentance. Many want a bloodless and repentance-free gospel. A nice feeling, good singing, being assured of God’s love. We don’t want in our comfortable 21st Century Western Christianity to be brought to our knees weeping and wailing before almighty God when faced with the challenge of His goodness. But when we really see His goodness that is precisely where we find ourselves.

In scripture Job, who had been through such sorrow at the end of it has a revelation of God’s goodness. He says: “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Who could imagine God’s goodness woven through what Job went through? But there it is - Job is overwhelmed by his encounter with God and seeing how His goodness transcends all that we are and all that we can do… What can we do in the face of such overwhelming goodness? Well, when we come to the end of ourselves, our arguments and our justifications, we can throw ourselves on His mercy. He wants us to be partakers of His goodness as well as brought to repentance by it – but we can’t be partakers until we have been convinced and convicted. Then just when we are in despair of any hope God the Father shows us His ultimate goodness – Jesus…

Romans 2 v 4: Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

This is the message for all humankind. In the story in Mark 10 Jesus remarks that it is very hard for comfortable, rich people to enter the Kingdom of God – because as Richard says “why would they want to repent”? Paul add to this other kinds of comfort and in 1 Corinthians 2 v 26 - says:

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

Everyone – even academics capable of mental feats that most of us can only dream of – if they want the “happiness” that goes with “Christianity” must come to terms with God’s goodness through repentance, and become followers of Jesus. Without this its like chasing shadows… you think that you have something – but not really….

Author: Chris Pearson

May God bless and enrich your life

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