Michael Hewat: Good God - the debate rages on

Stephen Fry argues against the idea of a loving god on the series The Meaning of Life.

Opinion

While non-believers claim to see reason, Christians see reason to celebrate.

One of the most watched YouTube clips this year is from Gay Byrne's interview with Stephen Fry for an Irish TV series, The Meaning of Life. The clip was uploaded three days before the screening of the episode, and in that time alone drew more than two million online viewings.

In the interview, Fry rages against the God he doesn't believe in, confident that even if he is wrong about his non-existence, he is nevertheless right about his nature: he must be utterly evil, capricious and monstrous, an utter maniac, totally selfish.

Fry's arguments against God are nothing new. They are a humanist's response to the problem of evil and suffering in the world, built on the premise that human reasoning is the final court of appeal.

Taking God on is nothing new either. The biblical Job was bold enough to do so. God, in his grace, did not take offence; he simply pointed out that Job spoke as a man, with very limited knowledge or understanding. In other words, human reason isn't the highest court of appeal. God is.

What Job demanded in the face of his intense suffering was not for God to justify himself, but for God to speak and make himself known. When he does, Job is overwhelmed and humbled: I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

Central to the Easter message is God speaking and making himself known - in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Whereas humanism appeals to reason in grappling with theodicy, Christian faith seeks understanding through the revelation of God in history. That revelation, recorded in the Bible, begins with the problem of evil, suffering and death, locating their origins not in God but in humanity. They do not spring from God's nature, but from humanity's rebellion against God, which is predicated on the mistaken notion that humans know better than God what's good for them (and the creation). Humanism is the apotheosis of this hubris, making humans good and God evil. So, Fry says that he will say to God, "How dare you. How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that's not our fault? It's not right. It's utterly, utterly evil". But, according to the biblical revelation, it is our fault; it is Fry who is not right, and he will never get right unless he gets right with God.

Fry is not alone in this. We're all in it together, which is why Easter is so important. God could easily have eliminated evil from the world simply by eliminating humans. Instead, he chose to deal with the root cause - sin. He did so by sending his own sinless son Jesus Christ into the world to take upon himself the sins of the whole world. Sin was given full rein, reaping its full fruit - death. Jesus died in our place, as the representative of all humanity.

Even reason should concede that this was not the act of an evil, capricious, monstrous, selfish deity. Rather, it was the ultimate act of love by a self-giving God, the God "who so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life".

Had Jesus' death been the end of the story it would have been pointless - another random act by a capricious God. It was not. Jesus was raised from death on the third day after his crucifixion, a sure proof - for those who believe the eyewitness testimonies - of his uniqueness as God's son, and that sin and death had been defeated. The biblical revelation is that all who accept that Jesus died for their sins will share in his victory over death - they too will have eternal life, a life free from sin, suffering, evil and death.

Whereas Fry looks at the world and says no to God - in the name of reason - the Christian faith looks to God and says yes to the world, with good reason. This is the joyful hope which Easter celebrates.

Michael Hewat is vicar of the West Hamilton Community Church, Railside Place, Hamilton.