When Christians emphasize the deep spiritual meaning or transformative power of human suffering, they unwittingly transgress the authority of the scriptural God. Yes, you heard correctly—no need to rewind the tape. For those baptized into the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Lord’s instruction, not human experience, must serve as our only reference point for understanding the world.

Unlike so many human traditions filled with stories of heroes both victorious and tragic, uniquely, the biblical tale collects a group of anti-heroes around their unseen God, a protagonist who is repeatedly abused, ignored, defied, betrayed, cheated on, used, taken for granted, and acted against with extreme prejudice and violence, culminating in the execution of his son. 

In a world of human stories preoccupied with human suffering, human victims, and human heroes—the Bible presents an epic saga across the ages in which human beings, without exception, are the villains, and the invisible God of Scripture is repeatedly the only victim. When we accept this teaching, its judgment provides hope because it opens our eyes to the true nature of our relationship with those around us. 

Richard and I discuss Luke 3:15-18 (Episode 474)