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Kerley
It is the Christian understanding that “long ago, at many times and in many ways,” God spoketoHispeople throughtheprophets (Heb 1:1 ESV), and that He has in fact spoken to His people though two distinct mediums; through general revelation in nature, and through special revelation in the Bible. But it was from the book of nature found in general revelation that God defends Himself against Job’s questioning.
Nature is a most powerful teacher. Job writes; “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?” (Job 12:7-10). Interesting to notice this is an allinclusive declaration, no one is left out; the beast, the birds, the fish, even the plants and bushes are held accountable; everybody knows that the Lord has done this. As readers we get to eavesdrop on the conversation between Job and his friends. It is a repeating cycle of Job complaining, then one of his friends trying to defend God and at the same time convince Job to repent, then the cycle starts all over again. And the cycle goes on….. just like that for 34 chapters! Thirty-four chapters!
Finally, God puts a stop to it in a powerful way saying to Job beginning in the 38th chapter; “dress for action like a man: I will question you, and you will make it known to me.” Can you imagine? This is serious. Job has provoked God to respond because at the heart of his argument, Job is questioning the character and foundational attributes of God like justice and mercy. Understandably, God responds in a powerful way by building His own apologetic for Himself. In other words, God is playing the role of apologist by preparing, and then delivering an apologia to defend Himself against Job’s acquisitions. But notice what God uses as evidence to support His argument? Nature. Throughout chapter 38-41 God calls upon Job to consider the evidence provided by creation. At its core this is what apologetics does. It looks at God’s general revelation from nature, then the evidence from nature is utilized to craft a defense for the existence of God, and ultimately the truthfulness of Christianity.
Listen to the “great cloud of witnesses” from nature that God calls to testify on His behalf: From the cosmos God calls forth Orion and Pleiades, and all the constellations of stars to testify on His behalf. Regarding the earth, God calls on its measurements, and its cornerstones; He calls upon its seas and its rivers. And its great expanse.
From the atmosphere God calls as witnesses to His divine nature; light and darkness; wind, dew, and hail. Frost and ice; rain and snow; clouds and lightening. He calls forth the testimony of the grain of the fields; the Lotus plants and the grass. He calls the willow trees and cedars. From the animal kingdom God calls to bear witnesses, the hawk and the horse; the eagle and the lion; the mountain goat, the donkey, and the wild ox; the raven, the ostrich, and the locust. He calls forward Behemoth, and He calls Leviathan.
But, in the middle of all this, in chapter 38 something almost goes unnoticed. In verse 36, in that short little verse, God calls upon Job to use his God-givenwisdomandunderstanding to reason from the evidence presented by nature’s “great cloud of witnesses,” that God exists, and is sovereign. God asks Job if he knows; “Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or given understanding to the mind?” God is asking Job if he knows where the capacity of the human mind came from; how we think, how we use logic and reason. There is intent on the part of God to make these things known about Himself. And it is because of God’sintentionalityto“show”usthese things that we call God’s intentionality; revelation. But it seems to me, if at a minimum, God holds people accountable for not clearly recognizing His existence through the evidence presented in nature, (Rom 1:19ff), then there is something important for all of us to learn here. And perhaps it is this: to utilize the things that have been created, including observations in nature, discoveries from science, the records of history, and to utilize the logic and reasoning capacity of our minds. God blessed us with a particular mental capacity so that we could dig deeper, ask ultimate questions, see the handiwork of God in the things that have been created, and prepare a defense for anyone who asks us the reason for the hope that they see within us.
The beloved Christian minister Virgil Trout once wrote, if Christianity “is true, it will not be harmed by careful examination. The Christian invitation is one which is directed to your heart and your head.” As Christians we are called to do no less; to honor God, as God, using the gift of our minds, so that our hearts will not be darkened, but that we might be further filled with the light of Christ, and shine forth as credible witnesses to His love; “in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.” That is what Christian apologetics is all about; loving the Lord our God with all our minds. Otherwise, we are “without excuse.”
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Ty B. Kerley, (DMin. candidate, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is an ordained minister who teaches Christian apologetics, and relief preaches in Southern Oklahoma. Ty and his wife Vicki are members of the Waurika church of Christ, and live in Ardmore.