Why Am I a Christian: II. Longing for Goodness

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13)

Let There Be Justice

For as long as I can remember, I have believed in Justice, that good ultimately triumphs over evil. Injustice, real or perceived, was the only cause of suffering in my otherwise sheltered life. But it never occurred to me that materialism, which I took for granted, provides no rational ground for justice. If materialism is true, there is no objective morality, no good nor evil, no justice to speak of whatsoever.

History is filled with records of people unjustly persecuted and killed, of which Jesus and Socrates are two most famous examples in the western world. We read in the Trial of Socrates, “The envy and detraction of the world has been the death of many good men”. And yet, they held fast to their belief in Justice, despite being unjustly condemned to death, and despite evidence to the contrary one might say. In fact, one of Socrates’ arguments for the immortality of the soul and the afterlife is the lack of justice in this life: If Justice is an objective reality, and there is much injustice in this life, then there must be an afterlife where Justice is served and every man is given his due.

If the universal belief in justice is grounded in reason, then materialism is contrary to reason, which is perhaps why materialism has never been a dominant philosophy throughout history.

Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

From a Judeo-Christian perspective, there is a Supreme Lawgiver and Judge, who executes justice among men both in this world and in the world to come. One of my favourite passages in the Bible is Genesis 18 where Abraham challenged divine justice, and bargained for the lives of the people of Sodom, which the Lord was about to destroy, “Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked … Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”.

I’ve never been in a position to challenge divine justice, because most of my sufferings have been caused by my own failings and follies, except on one occasion: I was working part time to pay for my study. One day my boss demanded that I work through lunch break, and when I objected, he scolded me in front of others. I felt angry and sad for being mistreated, but had nobody to turn to, as my coworkers were in the same boat. That evening, I walked out and stood in the open, looking up into the heavens, I asked God why He set such a jerk of a person over me. There was no answer. On my ride home, however, a verse popped into my mind out of nowhere, “All things work together for good to those who love God”.

Human lawgivers deal with good and evil passively, dispensing reward and punishment after the fact. By contrast, the divine Lawgiver creates, renews and restores what is good. He created the world out of nothing; He gave the Law to the people of Israel to teach them how to live a good life while serving God and men; He makes saints out of sinners, good out of evil, life out of death. Like a maestro, who creates beautiful music out of diverse elements of the orchestra, God directs all things, even the sinful acts of men, to work in synergy for the good. Even Death, which is considered the ultimate evil by most men, has been changed into a passway to eternal life, through the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

The Undeniable Miracle

The skeptic philosopher David Hume wrote, “The Christian Religion not only was at first attended with miracles, but even at this day cannot be believed by any reasonable person without one.” Hume asserts that miracle is contrary to reason. As a believer, I would define miracle as a divine act, which is not inherently contrary to reason. For instance, the world itself is a miracle, because the Creation is a divine act, and we cannot say that the Creator acted contrary to reason, though human reason cannot comprehend it. Understood in this way, Hume’s statement on the relation between Christianity and miracle is spot on: Without the miracle of the Resurrection, there would be no Christianity, and, without encountering the risen Christ, no reasonable person would believe it. For encounter with the divine is a miracle by definition.

To be a Christian is to devote oneself to a lifelong pursuit of Goodness, for God alone is Good, and all that is true, good and beautiful comes from Him. The Creation speaks to His glory. Undeniably there is Good in this world, which human beings have not the power to make, not the power to preserve. Goodness, therefore, is an undeniable miracle.

To be a Christian is to engage in an existential struggle, moment by moment, day by day. When we’re oppressed by apparent triumph of evil in the world and in our own lives, it is difficult, if not impossible, to hold fast to Faith and Hope for the Good, and not sink into despair. Thanks be to God, we are not alone, even in the darkest hours. For God has not left us without evidence of His presence, even His Goodness. As Jesus said before His Crucifixion, “Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.”

To everyone who longs for Goodness, the Resurrection is a necessary and undeniable miracle. For through it, we are given evidence that One has the power not only to create the Good, but also to preserve it, that Goodness is not a mere feeling or fancy of the human mind, but the ultimate reality.