by Aaron Davis
I think it is not only safe but also logical to assume that many theological doctrines have been written based solely upon the experience and agreement of the leaders within the denomination that derived those conclusions. I also think it would be difficult to argue against the understanding that pain has the potential to influence a wavering of faith, and as a result, many have concluded that because their experience contradicts what the Bible says, then the problem must rest with God, or at least with His intent for what was written.
See if any of these thoughts sound familiar:
Maybe that promise was strictly for the disciples but died out with them.
Maybe there was a time limit on that scripture and it was relevant for then but not now. (This is also defined as cessationism, or a doctrinal belief regarding the gifts of God ceasing to exist or dying out.)
Maybe it’s all a farce, created by men as a means of controlling the poor. (This often results in an agnostic or even atheistic perspective on God.)
For the person looking for a reason to hang on to faith, sometimes this kind of cessationistic processing leaves them at least feeling comfortable with not giving up, as they cling to hope in confusion for why their outcome did not line up with their expectation for God’s intervention. But for the person whose faith is hanging by a thread, explaining God and the Bible with experientially based excuses—that to them are an apparent inconsistency or even contradiction to what the Bible says—often pushes them over the very edge. Ultimately, it becomes an example of the straw that breaks the camel’s back for their future ability to process God and faith.
When someone has a need and they do as the Bible says by praying to a God who is supposed to hear them, and they do not receive what they prayed for, their faith becomes shaken. Whether they failed an exam they prayed to pass or their loved one died when they were praying for healing, the result is the same. Then when a leader provides a faithless but convenient excuse that contradicts the very Bible, they say they believe in, for that person, the Bible and God’s relevance becomes irrelevant in application. When God’s promises are defined as being for yesterday or irrelevant for today, their today-based pain becomes their catalyst for a throwing-in-the-towel on faith.
As a pastor, I completely understand why a pastor or leader would try to offer excuses or answers for why he believes that God allows pain, and I believe at the heart level, the intent is not to be harmful, even though the fruit it produces may prove to be. As a spiritual leader, he is supposed to know the answers but finds himself not understanding why his or your experience was unfulfilled.
I think many times, instead of admitting that he doesn’t understand why something happens the way that it does, he attempts to make excuses for God or the Bible by inadvertently discrediting a part of it as a yesterday promise. Not because the Bible put a timeline on it, but because his experience did not line up with his own expectation. As a result, his good intention to help someone else is the catalyst for one of two things: People will then have faith in faith but not faith in God and His Word, or they will abandon faith altogether because of what they perceive as inarguable inconsistencies between life, God, and the Bible.
Dallas Willard said it this way:
The real world has little room for a god of sparrows and children. To it, Jesus can only seem otherworldly a good-hearted person out of touch with reality. Yes, it must be admitted that he is influential, but only because he affirms what weak-minded and faint-hearted individuals fantasize in the face of a brutal world. He’s like a cheerleader who continues to shout, “we are going to win” although the score is 98 to 3 against us in the last minute of the game.
When this cheerleading approach to the real world triumphs among those who profess Christ, they may then have faith in faith but will have little faith in God. For God and His world are just not real to them. They may believe in believing but not be able to rely on God. Like many in our current culture, they love love but in practice are unable to love real people. They may believe in prayer, think it quite a good thing, but be unable to pray believing and so will rarely, if ever, pray at all. I personally have become convinced that many people who believe in Jesus do not actually believe in God. By saying this I do not mean to condemn anyone but to cast light on why the lives of professed believers go as they do, and often quite contrary even to what they sincerely intend.5
Either God is God or He is not. Either the Bible is His Word or it is not. But if the Bible is truth (as it and Christian leaders claim it to be), then it would seem consistent that our experiences should more closely line up with that truth than what they have. If they do not, then a common-sense deduction would conclude one of three things:
There is either a problem with the truth;
There is a problem with our understanding of the truth; or
There is possibly a problem with our experience as it relates to the truth.
And in that line of questioning, I wonder if it is possible that our present perception may be the ultimate reality but not necessarily the ultimate truth. So what does that mean?
As human beings, we often place absolute borders on understood truths, but think about it—truth is often relative and changes with additional discovery, both in science and theology. It doesn’t mean that the truth ever changed, but our understanding takes on additional perspective with the enlightenment of new discovery. As an example, for millennia, human understanding was that there are approximately 6,500 stars visible from Earth with the human eye. That fact never changed, and it is “truth.” However, with the invention of the telescope, we discovered these 6,500 stars were only the tip of the scientific iceberg—there are millions upon millions!
The same is true theologically, as people often put boundaries upon God based solely on what they can see, have seen, or haven’t seen.
There are people who have pushed to see past the metaphorical 6,500-star boundary and are questioning if there is more beyond what we have traditionally seen. They’re asking, “If there is more, how do we obtain a clearer view, even if it means pressing past the comfortable boundaries of previously considered limitations?”
TRUTH AND ULTIMATE TRUTH
It is human nature to conclude that our experience is the ultimate truth, and then try to make our faith exist within the confines of our experience. Furthermore, we attempt to find others within the educated Christianity think-tank to agree with our position and legitimize it with logic and resolve, based upon our understanding of what appears to be the common experience.
But the problem with this type of rationale is that our interpretation of Scripture will always be based upon—and subject to—our positive or negative experiences. As a result, in sharing with others, your faith in your experience is not enough to contradict or convince someone else beyond their own experience. And logically so. Many reading this book have reiterated the common quotation: “A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument,” but the truth of that statement is, that knife cuts both ways.
What happens when their experience contradicts your experience? Who then is right? Where then is the truth to be derived when experientially, both of you view your truth from the perspective of your own situation, even if you are on opposite ends of a spectrum? We forget that our truth may be circumstantial and contradictory to their circumstantially derived truth, particularly if we cannot tangibly quantify, reveal, express, or convey it.
If we look at Christianity from their perspective, you tell them that God is love and the Bible is truth. When their loved one died or they have experienced severe abuse and prayed for it to end or they have served in humanitarian efforts overseas and have seen starvation and death firsthand—when their experience contradicts a part of what you just told them was truth (from the perspective of your own truth), and you then make an excuse for their contradictory experience, at that point, they have to deduce that maybe there is more to truth than what you told them, or that maybe there isn’t truth at
all.
The problem with this entire line of thinking is that our faith becomes based upon ourselves rather than in God. In essence, we have faith in faith rather than faith in God. For a multitude of reasons, we have conveniently thrown out the scripture(s) that does not line up with our experience (or lack thereof), rather than attempting to find out where our experience lacks in our connection to the biblical promise, or we’ve simply given up altogether.
When Jesus says, “Greater things shall you do because I go to the Father,” or “These things will follow them who believe,” if we base the legitimacy of those sayings solely upon our inexperiences, I question if we are not guilty of adding to or taking away from the Word of God.
SO WHY ASK WHY?
I raise these questions and scenarios not to tell anyone what to think, but rather to attempt to get us to think. I believe most of us have had doubts and questions in some capacity as we look to circumstances that seem to not line up with biblical teachings and the logical question of why arises. Our answer or conclusion to that why question can have a significant impact on how we conduct our lives from that day forward. It is that same question that has led many scientists to claim they’re agnostic or atheist, and it has significantly impacted the lives of many who were raised in church but grew out of faith because of their perceived inconsistencies of the greatest fairy tale ever written.
If the answer to the question of why ultimately points to God’s failure to live up to His end of the bargain, we will process and respond a specific way and our justifications will logically make sense to us. As our faith and subscription to it changes, we’ll say:
Well, I tried that, and it didn’t work that way for me, so God must have meant something different by that.
I guess I’m the exception to the rule of God’s love, and I must not merit His love based upon my failure to live up to His expectation.
Or: there is no God because I was left hanging.
I just wonder if there is more to this scenario as we look at everything from a different perspective. Maybe it’s possible that there are additional factors playing into the scenario that have, unbeknownst to us, dictated our results—perhaps something that we did not see or did not even know existed. As my father, Larry Davis, says, “Many times what we experience or perceive is based upon historical biases and not necessarily spiritual discernment, and as a result, they are easy to criticize because they are different.”
Is it possible that in our ignorance we missed a key factor for our success and the Word of God was truth in spite of our experiences (or inexperience altogether) relationally to it?
What if we have convinced ourselves out of a breakthrough and lifestyle that God intended for us because something intentionally derailed our pursuit of absolute truth?
What if we settled for subscriptions to partial truths and wavering faith?
Or worse yet: what if we gave up on faith altogether?
EXCUSES FOR THE UNEXPLAINABLE
Christians frequently chalk up the unexplainable to it simply being the will of an omniscient God. I don’t completely disregard this perspective but I do question the black-and-white consistency (or inconsistency) of it. I just don’t believe that it is that cut-and-dried of a process when explaining away our lack of understanding.
As a former detective, my law-enforcement training tells me that one must consider the totality of the circumstances in order to make a final decision on a topic of guilt, innocence, participation, compliance, or accessory. And, truth be told, in the minds and hearts of people, God has been on trial since day one for His participation, or lack thereof, in their pain.
This places the burden of proof on those of us who confess God to be whom the Bible says He is. That becomes problematic when a great many Christians have had an experience with God that leaves them wondering what to believe. We are tasked with convincing others that God is real, relevant, and relational. But how can we convince those we encounter that God exists, His Word is true, and that He loves us if we’re not sure ourselves?
If there is more to experience in our relationship and walk with God (which I’m convinced there is), until we can recreate our experience in the lives of others or change the contradictory experience of someone else, we will likely forever be at differing ends of a strictly philosophical argument. It’s one thing to tell someone what you believe; it’s something totally different to show them why you believe it.
I believe God intends for us to show He exists and loves by our actions. I would even go so far as to say I believe that this—the love of God—is what we were created to experience and walk in daily, not as the periodic exception, but as the norm. I believe that this is the truth the Bible alludes to. For centuries we have questioned and excused away, but we are now tapping into it and will continue to develop, grow, and experience!
We are seeking a truth that convinces beyond reasonable doubt. A truth that leaves us not wondering if God exists, but convinced that He does. A truth that forces us to weigh the evidence and decide whether or not we are going to serve Him.
CHAPTER TWO
The Catalyst
“It was not by accident that the greatest thinkers of all ages were deeply religious souls.”
—Max Planck (1858–1947), German physicist, noted for his work on quantum theory
I’ve always been a deep thinker, fascinated with the complexities of such a massive God, especially if He were indeed responsible for the creation of all that we see in our physical universe. Not only am I amazed at the natural miracles of such an advanced and extensive creation, but I am equally amazed by the unnatural, unexplainable miracles that I have observed over the course of my life.
Recognizing that experience is not the absolute litmus test for truth, I also cannot deny that some of what I have experienced in my life defies explanation and contradicts what others may hold as truth based upon their own experiences or lack thereof. My own experiences and diversity of circumstances have undeniably lent perspective to my processing of who God is, what truth really is, and why circumstances often happen the way they do—just like your experiences have done for you.
I realize that many people reading this book may not even believe there is a God, much less that He has any interaction with us, His creation. But I cannot deny that I have experienced things that defy logical explanation. Nevertheless, I am convinced, through firsthand experiences, that God still performs miracles and uses people as His conduit for these miracles.
In that vein, I would like to share a few stories—events I have personally seen with my own eyes and experienced. They may challenge what you believe to even be possible.
STRANGER THAN FICTION
I have friends from different backgrounds, as I’m sure you do. Depending on their belief systems and level of exposure to unexplainable happenings, some have used titles to describe me that range from “prophetic” to “psychic.” No matter where you connect from a religious perspective, some of the unexplainable things that I have experienced have revolved around having impossible and unexplainable clarity about events that, by all natural means, I could have no earthly ability to know anything about. Thanks to divine intervention, I have seen and heard things that defy explanation outside of something supernatural.
On one occasion, I was at church preparing for a service when I had a moment of clarity—I knew from experience God was speaking to me. A close friend’s daughter was in the hospital in another state. As I was sitting in my office, in my mind I saw her daughter in the hospital in a life-threatening situation and I heard very clearly what was happening with her.
I immediately called my friend and asked her if what I had just seen and heard was even possible, and her response was, “Oh, God, Aaron! Don’t say that. I just left her and am down the hall.”
I told her to go check on her daughter quickly. When she did, she discovered that her daughter’s life was immediately in jeopardy and exactly what I had just told her that I had seen was true.* Th
e doctors rushed to work and confirmed that her daughter would have died in minutes had I not made that phone call. Was that just a lucky hunch? Or was it more?
At times, I have seen things similar to this, things that I would have no natural knowledge of. I have conveyed to the people I am speaking with the names of the people they had lunch with, where they met, what they were wearing, and the content of their conversation. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s as if I’m seeing and hearing a movie playing out in my mind’s eye.
In another example, not long ago, I was in Myrtle Beach for multiple speaking engagements with a ministry partner and a local youth pastor who had recently developed shingles on his face was escorting us. In between events, we stopped at a local mall to get something to eat, and the youth pastor, who had been complaining of severe pain all day, once again made reference to the level of pain he was experiencing in his left eye. After further inquiry into why he was hurting, the man relayed that the shingles on his face had spread into his eye—a worst-case scenario. In many cases, shingles in the eye can cause blindness but nearly always causes excruciating pain.
The youth pastor indicated that he had been in severe pain for weeks and at times it was unbearable, if he even remotely touched the area. Standing there in the middle of the mall, my ministry partner Clint asked him if we could pray for him. I could tell by his body language that he was reluctant for us to pray. Maybe it was embarrassment from being in such a public environment. Maybe it was simply him thinking, I’m a youth pastor and I’m in extreme pain–don’t you think I have already prayed about this? But he graciously complied to allow us to pray.