I have seen how God uses the same images over and over to remind us that while we are unfaithful, He still has a plan for us, and how He continually points us to Himself. I have grown to see the Bible as less Old and New Testaments, and more God’s testament.
Elie struggles to find trust in God, for he feels his God has abandoned him, allowing his people to live in such pain. Eventually, Elie find that his faith has deteriorated, diminished from his resilient childhood beliefs. Although strongly religious before his journey in the Holocaust, Wiesel went through a dramatic deterioration of faith during the horrific events he experienced in Auschwitz, ultimately leading to his distant relationship with God by the end of the memoir. When he was only a young boy, Elie realized his calling in life was profess his faith in the study of Kabbalah, representing his strong connection with God. Determined to master his faith, Wiesel asks his father, “to find [him] a master who could guide [him] in the study of the Kabbalah” (4).
Is he just a jerk? Is he looking for cruelty towards others in this world? I wish I could answer these questions. Tell me, does any of this seem fair to any degree? Just because someone is different, and going against "god's will," they can not have the same basic rights as everyone else.
How can He let them be elected into office? This feeling has always been present among believers, even in biblical times. Habakkuk was written aproximately between 610 and 605 B.C. fittingly by Habakkuk. He, like all those before and after him, was wondering why God was allowing His chosen people to go through the suffering they were having to endure at the hands of their enemies.
Christ had referred to the Old Testament summary of all the laws of the Bible into two great commandments: "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and your neighbor as yourself'" (Luke 10:27). When asked who was a neighbor, Christ related the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). It was the Good Samaritan who took care of the mugging victim who was a neighbor to the victim. The others who walked by and ignored the victim's plight were not acting as neighbors to him. In the light of all we have seen the Scriptures teach to this point, can we argue that if we were able to save another's life from an attacker by shooting the attacker with our gun that we should "turn the other cheek instead?"
Going through the book and realizing the way Yaconelli spanned out the different thoughts that we are going to feel and believe was incredible. The questions he addressed were words of doubt and concern that I often speak over myself. I personally feel that power of Christ in me and the way He wants to use me, but I often times I don’t think I’m good enough. I feel like I don’t pray enough, I don’t read my Bible enough, I don’t commit enough, all these concerns that make me feel like I’m not able to be used by God’s loving hand. It was comforting to know that in fact my messed up, imperfect; out-of-control life is actually the earmark of true Christianity.
Flaws Within the Flawless As an inherently flawed element, human nature will continuously battle with right and wrong, and failure will persist without guidance. Dostoevski highlights this conclusion in his work The Grand Inquisitor. According to the Grand Inquisitor, the most important aspects of our human nature are the inability to handle freedom and a yearning for a miraculous being. In his approach to governing these aspects, the argument he defends that Christ’s rejection of the temptations has permanently hindered human nature may appear true. However, the Grand Inquisitor’s rejection that the nature of man has potential to change when we accept Christ as our savior highlights the weak link in his argument.
While this was true, at the heart of their desire was rebellion. Both the Lord and Samuel were disheartened at the people's request for a king (1Sam.8:6-8[NIV]). In a Theocracy, God is the ultimate king and ultimate judge, and so to reject God’s governance is to reject God Himself. God’s people wanted the king without the judge. Israel did not request another prophet or judge like Samuel because they desired leadership without accountability.
Not only has God left clear evidence of himself in the world he has made, but this evidence is actually perceived by people: It is “clearly seen” “God has made it plain to them” (v. 19). Most theologians have, therefore, rightly concluded that alongside “special” revelation—God’s acts and their authoritative interpretation in Scripture—we must also place “natural” revelation—God’s disclosure of information about himself in the world. Romans 1 clearly demonstrate that all people have heard God’s revelation of certain truths about himself in the world, and all people have access to that truth. Every person is guilty of rejecting that knowledge of God universally available. God reacts to the human decision to turn from him by consigning people to the consequences of their actions.
If there were no government, there would be absolute chaos, and even more horrible things would go on because there would also be no consequences. Government keeps order and is a good thing to obey, but is there ever a time we should disobey? We should disobey the government when it goes against Gods law. God is the Almighty, and when someone goes against him, the Christians should not follow that example but should create their own.