Recently I posted a chart about various models of dealing with "Theodicy" (the problem of how evil and God can co-exist in the same reality). Someone asked me if I had read the 2009 book by New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman on Theodicy entitled "God's Problem". Now I have read a couple of Ehrman books on Biblical studies, and heave seen several of his debates, lectures, and interviews (including him talking about his deconversion and the problem of suffering). But I have never read this book, although I have heard him sum it up several times in his videos on YouTube.
Ehrman's book and his talks strike me as having very similar themes to other books I have read, particularly by Evangelicals who have lost their faith. As a former Evangelical, I have experienced much of what Ehrman (and others like him) have experienced, except that it turned me to a broader and deeper faith in Christ rather than abandoning Christ. While I disagree with Ehrman on several core ideas, from the Divinity of Christ to the basic reliability of Scripture, I do find him to be a rational, honest, and well-intentioned thinker who is pursuing the truth as best he can. Erman’s story, as I understand it, points out several gaping holes (or persistent heresies) in American Evangelicalism:
1. The distortion of certainty and inerrancy: Evangelicalism peddles certain knowledge about God and God’s will based on a supposedly perfect book without any flaws or mistakes. And the moment any Evangelical takes their head out of the bubble to see there are flaws and mistakes and debates regarding Scripture and our interpretation of it, it blows their minds. And God forbid they learn how to read the Bible in the original languages. True story: In undergrad the textual apparatus in the Greek NT caused half of the students in my class to drop the course because they couldn’t handle textual variants! Anyway: Certainty and inerrancy are perfect ways to cause anyone with any questions to abandon the faith. Much better to go with Bishop Butler who said “probability is the very guide of life”. There is no such thing as certainty, only degrees of probability accepted by faith. And while the Scriptures are not inerrant, they are reliable to show the overwhelming probability that God is real and has acted decisively in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ to bring salvation to the cosmos.
2. The distortion of Divine Providence: Along with certainty and inerrancy, Evangelicals have a very high doctrine of Providence. After all: How else could God supposedly deliver to us a perfect book with certain knowledge, if not by absolute control of the universe? The problem is, of course, awful things happen all the time (hence the problem of Theodicy). If one has an overly strong view of Providence, this means that one cannot blame God for this, but rather is forced to blame the victim. Perhaps they were not good enough, or did not have enough faith, or were predestined for ruin: So God gave them what they deserve! The problem, of course, is that when you take your head out of the bubble, it becomes clear this makes God into a Devil who tortures those not worthy of Divine favor. As a result, many either abandon the faith (as Ehrman did, shown in the various “black box” options on my chart). While others lapse into a very narcissistic vision of Providence where they constantly claim Jeremiah 29.11, and thank God for the healing of their cat, and the blessing of finding a parking place at the mall, while the world burns down around them.
3. The bifurcation of humanity in a "culture war": To maintain group identity, it is immensely helpful to have a common enemy. So Evangelicals often push the logic of “election” and “city on a hill” to the extreme of viewing themselves as God’s chosen remnant of purity in a degraded and debauched culture, that they have to wage spiritual war against, so that some may be “saved”. This culture war’s bifurcated mindset of “us versus them”, “good versus evil”, “remnant versus the world” is a modern day revival of ancient Donatism. And not only that, it is exhausting and insincere. Because once someone pulls their head out of the bubble, they easily see that Evangelical culture is as hypocritical, sinful, and oppressive as any other culture (and moreso than many). Seeing the hypocrisy and hatred drives the young and sensitive out the door quicker than you can say “heresy!” Sociological study after study, and book after book by people like Ehrman, show this trend. It is perhaps the most emotionally powerful reason why I left Evangelicalism.
4. Reducing the cross to merely a personal transaction: All this leads to what I consider to be the most important theological failing of Evangelicalism, even if it is not the most visible or prominent. This is the theological failing that is most out of line with the core insight of Evangelical spirituality: The importance of Jesus. If there is ONE thing I hold on to from being Evangelical, it is the life transforming power of a passionate relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, knowing he died to forgive my sins, and rose to give me new life. Evangelicalism is awesome at applying Jesus to our individual lives as our “personal” Lord and Savior. Ironically, however, they tend to be awful at portraying Jesus as Savior of the World, and tend to make what happened on the cross only apply to our personal salvation. They often fail to connect Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection to our socio-cultural life and to Providence in the cosmos. If they did, they might notice the following: First, Jesus was murdered by the religious establishment of his day, so we ought to be reticent to side with any group in the “culture war” of power politics, lest we become one of the crucifiers, rather than being on the side of the crucified. Second, Jesus took into Godself the sins of the WORLD, not just the sins of individuals. Jesus is the ultimate answer to Theodicy and Providence, because the fact is that God has ceded much control to freedom and indeterminacy so that Love is possible in the world. But the result is a creation filled with suffering and pain and death. But God takes that into Godself personally in the person of Jesus, facing it as a human being, and not as a demigod. The cross is the ultimate sign of Divine Solidarity with us in suffering, and the resurrection is the ultimate sign of hope that death and evil do not have the last word. The Last Word is the First Word, who is incarnate in Jesus. And that Word is Life and Love.
I think it is hard for Ehrman to look past these distortions he was raised in, so he has abandoned the Faith (although I do not believe Jesus has abandoned Ehrman!). And I think there are much better solutions to the problem of Theodicy, and have written at length about them. Perhaps it was easier for me to spot and debunk these facets of Evangelicalism because I was not raised in Church. I was converted at age 18, and left around age 30. It was relatively easy for me to convert out because I converted in. I learned some good things about Jesus and the Bible and the Holy Spirit. But there were many flaws and a need to find a broader and deeper encounter with Christ. At best, Evangelicalism helps introduce people to Jesus and invites them into a deeper journey. At worst, Evangelicalism can become a mass production plant for skeptics and atheists, which frequently takes the wrong side in culture wars.
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