Jesus Cropped from the Picture

The Second Cropping Tool: Rationalism

When tragedy strikes, Christians can be embittered toward God rather than realizing the source of evil is from the enemy. If God is viewed as a loving Father, who exempts his people from every source of pain and suffering, it is no wonder that many become disillusioned and leave the faith. For those oriented to Rationalism, God makes no Rationalistic sense.

But those unencumbered by the limits of Rationalism, fully aware of the dynamics of the Kingdom, can find themselves better-equipped to face trials with confidence and joy (James 1.2-4).

The Truth of the Bible Thankfully, the Bible is not limited to Rationalistic thinking. While the Bible is always true and sometimes uses propositional statements, it is far too deep and meaningful to be constrained by analytical approaches alone . It does speak to an analytic mind, but is not limited by reason or logic. In the Bible, not every issue has a clear answer. In fact, many questions will remain unclear until they will are disclosed in the future. The book of Job reveals no answers to a Rationalistic, cause-and-effect mind. God makes it clear that not all suffering is caused by the suffering person, or by anyone else, for that matter. There may be no apparent reason at all. Life (as interpreted by the Bible) can be deceptive and ambiguous; sacred yet mysterious; where the false masquerades as truth, and things are not always as they seem.

Rather than placing facts at the center, Scripture places the sovereign God at the center, with people and facts under the rule of God . Christ is the central

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