Fire From Heaven and Broken Promises

Imagine two people making promises to you. The promises are basically the same: "Do this for me, and I will..." One promises to give you one million dollars. The other promises to give you a new house.

You do the deed, and go to the first person for the promised reward. Their response is something like this: "sorry, I don't have that money to give you right now," or "you have to wait until you die (wink, wink) to get that reward," or "sorry, that was a metaphor...the million dollars actually represents treasures of joy, happiness and fulfillment for doing what I want you to do," or "yeh, that promise was for someone else, not you. You just misinterpreted my words on that one."

You go to the second person for the promised reward. They give you keys to a new house; not a mansion, just a basic 3-bed, 2-bath ranch. But, at least, they kept the promise. No tricks, no excuses, no blaming you for misunderstanding.

I have seen so many Christians try to excuse their God from failing to make the promises He makes in the Bible. They even go so far as to say that the Bible really is not their sacred book, their Source for their belief. Of course, if you ask them to explain where their thinking and doctrine about God come from, their response is to accuse you of being unintelligent, belligerent, or simplistic.

But, the simple and plain truth is, that in the Bible, which is the Source of Christian doctrine and belief - whether certain Christians like it or not - are a truckload of promises that have not been kept, are not kept, and will never be kept (if God remains consistent with himself up to this point).

Which, fundamentally, makes God either (1) a liar, or (2) the Bible is really an evil, deceptive and destructive Source for doctrine, or (3) there is no God at all, and the Bible is - again - a powerfully destructive book because it appeals to people's hopes, dreams, aspirations, and faith...and it does not deliver because their is no Divine Being to back it up.

Now, what of this other person who made the promise and kept it? Who might that other person be? The Devil? Secularism? Science? Atheism? Hmmm...

Apart from the Devil (who probably does not exist, since there is no God), the others present a very attractive alternative to the Christian God. Why? Because at least they deliver. No, they do not deliver a mansion. Nor do they deliver the neat, perfect doctrinaire answer that ninety-nine percent of Christians like to believe their God offers (and can be summed up so easily in the "Statement of Doctrine" found in most, if not all, churches). But (and excuse my metaphor) it is the key to a new house. It is something.

In 1 Kings 18, there is a great story of the prophet Elijah confronting Ahab, the King of Israel who has turned to Baal worship. Elijah challenges Baal to prove himself in competition with God. Elijah dares for two bulls to be place on altars...the Baal prophets will pray to their God, Elijah will pray to his God (who he and the Bible claim is the one, true God). The Baal prophets pray and pray and pray. Nothing happens. Elijah mocks them. Nothing happens.

Then Elijah prays, and of course God answers by fire from heaven, consuming Elijah's bull, the altar, and the bull and altar used by the Baal prophets.

Elijah makes this great challenge to set up the whole deal: "let the god who answers by fire, let him be God!"

Remember Promise Keepers, that huge evangelical men's ministry stadium show that was hugely popular several years ago?

Promise Keeper? God? Not hardly! The so-called God of the Bible has been silent for a long, long, long time. Many hundreds of thousands of millions of faithful have prayed and prayed and prayed...and fasted...and prayed. No fire from heaven. No whisper in the wind. No million dollars. No key to a new house.

Nothing. If the god who answers by fire is truly God...then I think the atheists have made their point.