10.23.20 - Jesus and the Image on the Coin, and the Nature of Natural Evil

Also, we have one more session on the atheism and then we're on to a new topic. The next four topics were kind of close so we will vote on just those. I can answer any questions about them Tuesday night, and then Taylor will send out the survey. Your four topics to choose from are: Protestant comparisons/arguments, Book of Revelations, Comparing World Religions, and Prayer & The Mass.

RECAP

Context of Today’s Isaiah Reading

If you recall, the Book of Isaiah is divided into three sections. Today’s reading from Chapter 45 is from Second Isaiah, which was during the Babylonian Exile (mid-500s BC).

Context of today’s reading: Isaiah is talking about Cyrus the Great, the king of the first Persian Empire. Cyrus indeed came and conquered the Babylonians and decreed the return of the Jews to Jerusalem.

Isaiah 45:1,4-6

Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of, to subdue nations before his face, and to turn the backs of kings, and to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut.

For the sake of my servant, Jacob, and of Israel, my chosen one, I have even called you by name, giving you a title, though you knew me not.

I am the LORD and there is no other, there is no God besides me. It is I who arm you, though you know me not, so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun people may know that there is none besides me.

God foretells of Cyrus and what this king would do. In 538 BC, Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and the next year, 537, he authorizes the Jews to return home. He also offers to help them rebuild their Temple.

Q: God refers to Israel as His chosen one. Was Israel God’s chosen one from the beginning of the Bible?

A: No. Before Abraham, the entire world was chosen (first 11 chapters). Then, because of Abraham’s faith, he was chosen. The Jewish people that eventually that came from Abraham were not chosen for themselves. They were chosen for all nations.

Context of this week’s Gospel reading:

After the last 3 parables that Jesus preached to the Jewish religious leaders, the Pharisees are still in denial (at least the one’s being described). They head off to try a different tact. They finally decide to send their disciples (students) to ask him one last question, probably figuring that when they stump Jesus, they can say their students did it. Plus, by sending their students, they wouldn’t risk embarrassing themselves any further.

Matthew 22:15-22 The Riddle of Caesar’s Tax

Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how to entangle Jesus in his words. And they sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with man’s opinion for you do not regard any person's status. Tell us, then, what do you think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

Q: Who were the Herodians?

A: Mostly Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jews who supported Herodian rulers and their customs, which were often introduced from Rome. They claimed the line of Herod should be the accepted rulers of Israel, as opposed to the Pharisees (and most Jews) that the king of Israel could only come from the line of David.

Q: What was the trap?

A: Like most Jews, the Pharisees were (in principle) against paying taxes to Rome. If they could get Jesus to say it was acceptable to pay taxes to Rome, they could use that to destroy Jesus’ credibility. If Jesus said they shouldn’t pay taxes to Rome, the Herodians would turn Jesus in and have him arrested and probably executed.

Matthew continued…

But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the money for paying the tax."

And they brought him a Roman coin.

Jesus said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"

They replied, "Caesar's."

Then he said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left and went away.

Q: Why did Jesus call them hypocrites? (Two reasons, a smaller one and a larger one)

A: Smaller: His questioners were kissing up to him and Jesus knew their only goal was to kill him. Larger: As much as the Pharisees acted indignant about paying Rome taxes, they themselves benefited from the Roman tax. Rome wasn’t stupid. A part of the Roman taxes collected (equal to two day’s work per Jew) went to support the Temple, which made many of the Pharisees wealthy.

Q: What was the coin and inscription?

A: The Roman Senate had declared Tiberius’ father, Augustus, a god. Therefore, the inscription is saying that Tiberius is the son of…

Picture of Tiberius Denarius Denarius Coin (14-37 AD): “Tiberius Augustus Caesar, son of the Divine Augustus”

Q: What is the significance of the translation for the word “image”?

A: It’s the same translation of the word in God uses in Genesis when describing making man in His image and likeness.

Again… Jesus said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"

They replied, "Caesar's."

Then he said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left and went away.

Q: Why were they so amazed? What could Jesus have meant?

The image of Caesar belonged to Caesar, but what image belongs to God? All humans! So, Caesar can have his coin, but all mankind bears the image of God and must therefore give themselves to Him.

The Problem of Evil #2

Last week we tackled the issue of “moral evil” – which is when human beings do bad things to each other. We also defined evil as not an entity in itself, but a lack of love. Hate is not a thing as much as it is the lack of love. Like cold is a lack of heat, darkness is a lack of light, evil is a lack of love. Another example that Augustine compared it to would be a hole in your jacket: the hole is not something but it is lacking something. He also called evil a parasite on good (what we might call a cancer on good).

On the other hand, God teaches us that He is love, goodness, mercy, and justice. That makes these things who God is, or his attributes.

Next we will discuss the other kind of evil – natural evil. But before we do, let’s look at the word that describes what we are doing...

Natural Evil

Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, hurricanes, and so forth are often considered evil because of all the suffering they cause. Because they don’t involve human free will, they are termed natural evils.

One can certainly debate whether these meet one’s definition of evil, but it is definitely convenient for nonbelievers because they can pin them on God, since God certainly had a choice in the matter.

Why does God allow these horrible things to happen?

What is God’s role in them? I have 8 comments on this. You can choose whatever you like best (if any).

1. Christianity/Catholicism teaches that, before the Fall, there existed harmony between man, animals and nature. After the Fall, the Lord said, "Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field” (Gen3:17-18).

God was not ordering the corruption of creation but lamenting the consequence of corruption and death that evil brings. Therefore, the Fall not only affected the lives of humans, but also brought disorder into the natural world. That is the teaching of the Catholic Church.

2. If you haven't noticed, there is no perfect harmony in the universe. But from nature's point of view, that's part of the cycle of life. Forest fires are needed to burn up plant debris and dead trees to make way for young healthy trees and vegetation to thrive. Hurricanes help to balance global heat and replenish barrier islands. When you think about it, natural disasters are natural; they are only "disasters" for humans.

Secularists tend to be more worried about nature than humans, so this should make them happy. As for Christians, perfect harmony in all things will come at the end of time or in heaven, whichever comes first.

3. Humans have climbed high on their technological horses once every couple of generations since the Tower of Babel. Natural disasters have an incredibly humbling effect on humans, perhaps because we are reminded that we don’t control everything, and, in fact, they are quite tiny compared to God's creation (nature). Perhaps there is a message here.

4. Humans are the only beings aware of their impending death. What better way can God get our attention about the fact that this life is temporary and we have a job to do before it's over? Instead, man runs and hides from death, sees therapists, and tries to stop the aging process. Perhaps natural disasters help keep death front and center. For Christians, death should not be a huge problem, except for missing our loved ones for a while. However, atheists believe this is the end of everything. But since atheists believe we are just accidents of nature in an accidental universe with no purpose or significance to speak of, they need to just relax and accept the meaninglessness of it all.

5. This life is only our temporary home. When we “graduate” from here, we will go to our permanent home in heaven. That's the goal. If innocent people die in natural disasters, they get to graduate early. They are the lucky ones, especially since God is perfectly just and therefore the right thing will happen no matter what. As for the rest of us who must live out our lives here dealing with worldly realities, it presents us the chance to step up and practice the compassion God it trying to teach us.

6. If God did stop natural disasters, should He try and maintain some of them that good for the ecology and just stop the ones that affect humans? For a tsunami, should he wait until people clear the area? Should he just let small fires break out in forests so as to clear them out just a little at a time? What if God does such a good job of forest management that a few hundred Forest Service workers are laid off? Will we blame God for that? If God did stop some of the natural disasters, would we really be satisfied? Or would we soon want to know why He allowed smaller storms that caused accidents? Would the media start asking why He doesn’t stop all accidents? Or all sicknesses, even colds? In fact, now that you mention it, why does God allow obesity? Or addictions? Or why did He allow my car to break down in the middle of the highway? Why should people drown just because they don't know how to swim? Finally, why should anyone be allowed to die before the age of 10? Or 30. Or 90? Or, why stop at 90?

The book of Job kind of answers this question: “God is God and we aren't.” The meaning of this is that we just aren't going to know everything in this lifetime.

7. CS Lewis said: "God whispers to us in our pleasures and shouts at us in our pain." This is not a statement about God but about us. The fact of human nature is that Man has a huge tendency to tune out the large, difficult issues of purpose, faith, and humility when all is well. Why do we need to contemplate our mortality or God when we have health, youth, and contentment from this world? We wouldn’t.

Unfortunately, it is hardships, adversity, and suffering that lead many people to God. That's not his preference, but like a parent who welcomes the return of a child, God will take it if it's the only way. The fact that God also came here to share in our suffering says a lot; it shows he’s paying attention and gets it. Furthermore, He used the suffering we put on Him and turned it into something good for us. That’s the love of a parent.

8. Secularists and atheists – who say there can be no God because God wouldn’t allow such horrible wrongs happen to good people – are expressing an fascinating indignation about something being right or wrong. In the secularist-atheist world, there is no such thing as right or wrong, there are only relatively meaningless personal opinions, since for them there is no other judgment higher than humans.

As we said earlier, they need to just relax and accept the meaninglessness of it all.