Four days ago, I was watching ANC Channel's Square Off debates on the topic of grounds for disqualification of a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The teams that time were law students from the Ateneo University in the affirmative and the University of the Philippines in the opposing side. Each member of the team is given time to present his or her argument and then a member of the opposing team cross-examines the argument made with yes or no questions.
From what I saw, I think both teams were prepared and confident to take on the other team's arguments. Of course, I was fascinated how one can examine the argument of another and try to get the other person (and of course the members of the jury and the audience) to have a different perspective of the argument made.
The Book of Job was written between 2000 and 1800 B.C. according to Biblical scholars. In it, one would see the trials of Job as he strives to remain faithful to God. He lost his children, his possessions, his own health - all in a short period of time. His three friends tried to bring comfort to him - each considering the question of "Why must we endure suffering when God is powerful enough to do something about it?" I will quote an appended summary of Job in the Tyndale NLT Bible on this, "Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar delivered speeches accounting for Job's misery. Elihu tried to summarize the situation with yet another explanation. All of them failed to provide Job with a satisfactory answer. Finally, God himself spoke directly to Job, asking him a long list of questions that forced him to recognize his finite understanding of life."
Sometimes, God provides us with the answers and sometimes He doesn't, choosing instead to give us leeway to trust in Him. When I hear of arguments made on the reality of God or the Bible, I can't help but think if God were to cross-examine such arguments, He might have sounded like this:
"Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?
Brace yourself like a man,
because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me if you know so much.
Who determined its dimensions
and stretched out the surveying line?
What supports its foundations,
and who laid its cornerstone
as the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
as it burst from the womb,
and as I clothed it with clouds
and wrapped it in thick darkness?
For I locked it behind barred gates,
limiting its shores.
I said, 'This far and no farther will you come.
Here your proud waves must stop!'
Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
to bring an end to the night's wickedness?
As the light approaches,
the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
it is robed in brilliant colors.
The light disturbs the wicked
and stops the arm that is raised in violence.
Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
Have you explored their depths?
Do you know where the gates of death are located?
Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
Do you realize the extent of the earth?
Tell me about it if you know!
Where does the light come from,
and where does darkness go?
Can you take each to its home?
Do you know how to get there?
But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
and you are so very experienced!
Have you visited the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of hail?
(I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war.)
Where is the path to the source of light?
Where is the home of the east wind?
Who created a channel for the torrents of rain?
Who laid out the path for the lightning?
Who makes the rain fall on barren land,
in a desert where no one lives?
Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground
and make the tender grass spring up?
Does the rain have a father?
Who gives birth to the dew?
Who is the mother of the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
For the water turns to ice as hard as rock,
and the surface of the water freezes.
Can you direct the movement of the stars -
binding the cluster of Pleiades
or loosening the cords of Orion?
Can you direct the sequence of the seasons
or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?
Do you know the laws of the universe?
Can you use them to regulate the earth?
Can you shout to the clouds
and make it rain?
Can you make the lightning appear
and cause it to strike as you direct?
Who gives intuition to the heart
and instinct to the mind?
Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
Who can tilt the water jars of heaven
when the parched ground is dry
and the soil has hardened into clods?
Can you stalk a prey for a lioness
and satisfy the young lions' appetites
as they lie in their dens
or crouch in the thicket?
Who provides food for the ravens
when their young cry out to God
and wander about in hunger?"
(Job 38 NLT)
This is not yet the end of His questions. Basically what God was trying to do is test his knowledge of such things that people claim to know. Usually when I read this part of Job, I don't try to answer the questions. But what if this were a real live debate and God asks you the answer to all these questions (and this is just Chapter 38, his line of questioning extends to Chapters 39 to 41).
Job answered God's question, "Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God's critic, but do you have the answers?" with "I am nothing-how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say."
And God had more to say,
"Brace yourself life a man,
because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.
Will you discredit my justice
and condemn me just to prove you are right?
Are you as strong as God?
Can you thunder with a voice like his?
All right, put on your glory and splendor,
your honor and majesty.
Give vent to your anger.
Let it overflow against the proud.
Humiliate the proud with a glance;
walk on the wicked where they stand.
Bury them in the dust.
Imprison them in the world of the dead.
Then even I would praise you,
for your own strength will save you."
We make so much arguments about the reality of God, what if we were to answer his questions in Chapters 38, 39, 40 and 41? That's so much to take in for me. Maybe to someone else no. Who knows? Would you like to try to answer his questions? Test your wisdom and knowledge. See where it takes you. Hopefully it will lead to something spectacular. Or simply to greater trust.
From what I saw, I think both teams were prepared and confident to take on the other team's arguments. Of course, I was fascinated how one can examine the argument of another and try to get the other person (and of course the members of the jury and the audience) to have a different perspective of the argument made.
The Book of Job was written between 2000 and 1800 B.C. according to Biblical scholars. In it, one would see the trials of Job as he strives to remain faithful to God. He lost his children, his possessions, his own health - all in a short period of time. His three friends tried to bring comfort to him - each considering the question of "Why must we endure suffering when God is powerful enough to do something about it?" I will quote an appended summary of Job in the Tyndale NLT Bible on this, "Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar delivered speeches accounting for Job's misery. Elihu tried to summarize the situation with yet another explanation. All of them failed to provide Job with a satisfactory answer. Finally, God himself spoke directly to Job, asking him a long list of questions that forced him to recognize his finite understanding of life."
Sometimes, God provides us with the answers and sometimes He doesn't, choosing instead to give us leeway to trust in Him. When I hear of arguments made on the reality of God or the Bible, I can't help but think if God were to cross-examine such arguments, He might have sounded like this:
"Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?
Brace yourself like a man,
because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me if you know so much.
Who determined its dimensions
and stretched out the surveying line?
What supports its foundations,
and who laid its cornerstone
as the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
as it burst from the womb,
and as I clothed it with clouds
and wrapped it in thick darkness?
For I locked it behind barred gates,
limiting its shores.
I said, 'This far and no farther will you come.
Here your proud waves must stop!'
Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
to bring an end to the night's wickedness?
As the light approaches,
the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
it is robed in brilliant colors.
The light disturbs the wicked
and stops the arm that is raised in violence.
Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
Have you explored their depths?
Do you know where the gates of death are located?
Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
Do you realize the extent of the earth?
Tell me about it if you know!
Where does the light come from,
and where does darkness go?
Can you take each to its home?
Do you know how to get there?
But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
and you are so very experienced!
Have you visited the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of hail?
(I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war.)
Where is the path to the source of light?
Where is the home of the east wind?
Who created a channel for the torrents of rain?
Who laid out the path for the lightning?
Who makes the rain fall on barren land,
in a desert where no one lives?
Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground
and make the tender grass spring up?
Does the rain have a father?
Who gives birth to the dew?
Who is the mother of the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
For the water turns to ice as hard as rock,
and the surface of the water freezes.
Can you direct the movement of the stars -
binding the cluster of Pleiades
or loosening the cords of Orion?
Can you direct the sequence of the seasons
or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?
Do you know the laws of the universe?
Can you use them to regulate the earth?
Can you shout to the clouds
and make it rain?
Can you make the lightning appear
and cause it to strike as you direct?
Who gives intuition to the heart
and instinct to the mind?
Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
Who can tilt the water jars of heaven
when the parched ground is dry
and the soil has hardened into clods?
Can you stalk a prey for a lioness
and satisfy the young lions' appetites
as they lie in their dens
or crouch in the thicket?
Who provides food for the ravens
when their young cry out to God
and wander about in hunger?"
(Job 38 NLT)
This is not yet the end of His questions. Basically what God was trying to do is test his knowledge of such things that people claim to know. Usually when I read this part of Job, I don't try to answer the questions. But what if this were a real live debate and God asks you the answer to all these questions (and this is just Chapter 38, his line of questioning extends to Chapters 39 to 41).
Job answered God's question, "Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God's critic, but do you have the answers?" with "I am nothing-how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say."
And God had more to say,
"Brace yourself life a man,
because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.
Will you discredit my justice
and condemn me just to prove you are right?
Are you as strong as God?
Can you thunder with a voice like his?
All right, put on your glory and splendor,
your honor and majesty.
Give vent to your anger.
Let it overflow against the proud.
Humiliate the proud with a glance;
walk on the wicked where they stand.
Bury them in the dust.
Imprison them in the world of the dead.
Then even I would praise you,
for your own strength will save you."
We make so much arguments about the reality of God, what if we were to answer his questions in Chapters 38, 39, 40 and 41? That's so much to take in for me. Maybe to someone else no. Who knows? Would you like to try to answer his questions? Test your wisdom and knowledge. See where it takes you. Hopefully it will lead to something spectacular. Or simply to greater trust.
Blessings and peace.
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