That is one hell of a story. I am a bit hurt, and shocked, and bewildered, and distraught, and sad… This is a family that have completely fallen apart because of the choices of this young girl, and the methodology of fundamentalism in the modern world. The poor girl! The poor family!
IMO, Calvinism does not cause this dilemma, christ does. The bible is so full of enigmatic statements that conflict with our moral compass and our understandings of science - it is a polarizing and conflicting force in the lives of all thoughtful persons. We must reconcile seemingly contradictory and opposite views that cannot work from any one single extreme. Fundamentalism poses this threat to the lives of Christians; yet so does liberalism. It cannot be escaped from. We are all victims of the same plot. Jesus said:
This is the plot we battle in; it is an ideological battle which cuts to the very heart of families. We will ultimately cut our member off if it causes us to stumble; or we will reconcile that wounded soul to ourselves… some way… any way! The church (and families) have always gone through this dilemma - Christ himself went through the same dilemma with his siblings. When you look at the great men of God; they all went through the same battle - Cain and Abel; Noah; Abraham; Moses; David; Jesus… the battle of perception and truth! I still don’t know how I will go when I am fully tested. Although my children work together as a unit now; they have not been fully tested by their own unique perceptions. I am slightly concerned when love enters the picture, as was the starting point for Matt Slick’s daughter. My two beautiful daughters will no doubt be confronted by moral choices when cupid strikes.
I don’t know if I have the answers and wisdom to be affective. My view of scripture helps, I think. I believe that God has a message to all christians (children of God) contained in the bible, and that is the primary message; but I also believe that there is a secondary message for all unbelievers, and another message, and another message. God works for the good of his entire creation; and the bible speaks to all of the divisions and schisms of the world. Even God’s creation declares the glory of God, and proclaim his eternal wisdom (Psalms 19:1). God speak to generations and cultures that are far removed from each other; and His message will appear different; but the difference is only superficial. I think this is what Rachel Slick failed to see when she asked: “If God was absolutely moral, because morality was absolute, and if the nature of “right” and “wrong” surpassed space, time, and existence, and if it was as much a fundamental property of reality as math, then why were some things a sin in the Old Testament but not a sin in the New Testament?” Although God’s morality is absolute; it is not a morality which is answerable to the cultural divide throughout “space, time and existence”. God can partake of our wars and hostilities without being conditioned by the morality. It is not that God is ambivalent; God transcends our perception of morality. Death, to God, is not really death; war is not really war; a massacre is not really a massacre - and yet to us it is. God can create a lion or a venus fly-trap or a volcano - nature that is designed to kill - and yet God transcends the nature of “right” and “wrong”; as these moral conditions belong to the earth; and the morality also belong to the earth. Yes, God created these moral conditions and conflicts so that our spiritual man will become refined through the experience of “right” and “wrong”. God does not need these moral enigmas - we do!
There are many passages of scripture that are very troubling and difficult to reconcile. This often leads to a divide between a family, church or nation. We are tested by these very things. Rachel Slick had used this divide, I think, to paint her father as a spiritual prison warden. Perhaps this is true - I cannot say. I see that Rachel was lured by her hormones, and she was experiencing ‘voices in her head’ which told her that she wasn’t really a christian simply because she found a riddle she couldn’t reconcile. I hope, once her hormones have settled she will return to the family she undoubtedly loves. Like most teens, she proclaims the love of her new found freedom. That is human - not slick. She is likely a little naive to the real battles of life. I fear I have been over-protective with my children too. Time will tell.
Absolutely. One of my own personal experiences which I will always be mindful… The abyss owned me; for I was her b****.
Steve