My thoughts on Coincidences...
My brother is currently doing an internship (in Hawaii) and while he is gone he has been blogging...he is a pretty good writer and seems to lay out his thoughts very well. Recently he blogged about the idea of coincidences...and it seems that in Christian circles many people don't believe that they exist. Anyway I posted a comment on his blog (found here, the Coincidences blog is here), and then he did a follow up blog titled coincidences part 2 (found here)and I really wanted to post a follow up in response to his thoughts, so that's what I am doing. I want to preface this with a statement, I am by no means bashing (or attempting to bash these beliefs or statements, only to respond to them). I may end up posting a couple different posts to thoroughly explain myself, however I haven't decided on that for sure. Here goes...
When I started to really build a relationship with Jesus (not merely religion anymore) things started happening in my life that never before happened. Allot of things sort of fell into place so to speak. But this wasn't just bingo follow Jesus and have a great life, this was a relationship. As a result of my relationship with Him I would daily surrender to Him, I would pray that He would guide my path, and I would trust him. It was during this time that I decided that I no longer believed in coincidences. It was not because it was the 'in' thing to do, it wasn't because I heard of others that I heard had stopped believing in coincidences, and it wasn't because I found it in the Bible. Rather it was because I had found that since I had surrendered my life to Christ it was like someone else was pulling the strings or planning things out (pretty novel since I had surrendered and asked for God's guidance, huh?).
A couple instances that my brother used were from a book by Rob Bell were he was questioning certain things, here is an excerpt from his blog...
"In the Nooma "Rhythm" Rob Bell is talking about how one of his friendswas pulling into a store parking lot, and someone pulled out of a front row spot just as the friend was pulling in. "This just proves," thefriend said, "that God loves me." Another person was talkingabout two sick people and how one of them was healed and was rid of their sickness and how it just proves the God cares for us. "But," RobBell says, "I'm standing there thinking about, What about the second person. Why didn't God heal them!" A third person needed an item in a store and it just happened to be onsale and the third person says, "This just proves that God really is there for me." "If God is so powerful and loving that he canopen up a parking spot or put an item on sale for us," Rob says, "thenwhy isn't He solving more important things, like earthquakes andhurricanes."
Here are my responses, not to go back and forth but to explain why I believe these could be real examples (since similar things happened to me that I also attributed to God). As far as finding parking spots, this sort of thing would happen to me also, sometimes I would be coming home late from church after praying with some people and I would have had prior appointments that I promised to be at, at a certain time. Pulling in to a parking spot only to find someone backing out to leave, to me was God's grace. The sick person who was healed was part of God's ordained plan, maybe someone was saved as a result or that person became a missionary, and as a college student I didn't have money to throw around. When I went to the store and found the book on sale I had hoped to buy for my friend, only to find out it was now the exact amount I had in my pocket was God's way of saying to me that He was in control of my life.
Rob brings up some points, why wasn't the other person saved, and why can't God find better things to do that save parking spots...unfortunately they are misguided at best. I don't know why God didn't save the other person, and don't find it productive to question God (not to say I don't). However, to suggest that I am not the apple of God's eye or that I am not the most important thing to Him is very offensive. Remember, He would leave the 99 to find the one...besides, hear me clearly, HE IS WORKING ON THE IMPORTANT THINGS AS WELL to suggest God is neglecting the important things in order to save my parking spot is to suggest He lacks the competence to be God!
Moving on from here, because while I have my disagreements with Rob this is not about him, it's about the idea of coincidences, and following up on my brothers posts...I want to respond to the part 2 post...Since Ant (as I affectionately call him) said this 'I believe that thinking that all coincidence is God-ordained is ridiculous.' Maybe we need to look at what a coincidence is, here is what Websters says...
Websters as Main Entry: co·in·ci·dence
Pronunciation: kO-'in(t)-s&-d&n(t)s, -s&-"den(t)s
Function: noun
1 : the act or condition of coinciding : CORRESPONDENCE
2 : the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection; also : any of these occurrences
Based on this definition I believe it is totally conceivable and probably that all (appearances of ) coincidences are God-ordained! Why? Glad you asked...if a coincidence is an occurrences of events happening at the same time by accident but seem to have a connection doesn't it beg the question of how? Maybe, just maybe God is up there putting things in place and guiding the life of one who is totally surrendered to Him? Could it be that God is so sovereign that He puts things into motion to accomplish His will in our lives? I mean really, isn't that what we have asked Him to do? Is it so surreal to believe that He would answer our prayers, especially when they align with His will? Now let's respond to points 1-4.
1. I agree as a Christian we need to show people the light...The light of Christ Jesus...as un-biased as we can.
2. Not only is it not illogical to hold to a belief that coincidences do not exist (to the Christian who has surrendered his life to follow Christ) but it is to some, illogical to not to believe it. To believe in the Bible as the sovereign Word of God and to hold that God Himself is all knowing, all powerful and omnipotent, how can we then not believe that He would place in motion, things large and small to accomplish His divine will? To believe anything else would be borderline blasphemous.
3. Agreed.
4. This point I disagree with completely, see my blog so far. But also because the will of the one who is completely surrendered to Christ is one that is laid down at His feet. At this point while we still have free will, we have given that to Christ to do with what He pleases. At this point, He is in control, and at this point He is going to ordain the footsteps of that Christian in order to accomplish His will. This is how it has been done throughout the Bible, all the main characters are examples of people who have given themselves to God (/Christ) and have only accomplished great things through surrendering, not by any talent/gifts of their own. These people tell us that in their stories.
In addition to this, I think part of God's love language to us is/can be the little things done in our life. This could be something small as getting us through a parking lot faster, or it can be something much larger, but to discount the simple coincidence is to discount one way God can show His love to us. To say that coincidences are/can be just that, is to limit God yet again. I find it incredible the way's we limit a limitless God because of the lack of our own understandings. While I was in college I tried to take all my preconceptions about God and throw them out the window. I tried to look at everything and ask myself "Why couldn't that be God? Is there something that conflicts with what I know of the Bible that would lead me to believe otherwise?" I tell you what, it wouldn't be a bad idea for us to forget who others say God is and to actually find out for ourselves who God is. Not only who He is in the Bible/world today, but to who God is to you! I pray that every person find out who God is to them and don't let anyone take away the things God has told you or shown you about Himself.
The last thing I want to say is this (and this may be why I post more on these thoughts) I think the major problem with discounting the belief that there are no coincidences is this: there is to much emphasis put on free will and not nearly enough emphasis put on God's sovereignty! The reason I have not decided whether to write more on this topic or not is because I for one will admit that I am no expert on His sovereignty, so that topic is quite a bunch to bite off. However I do understand why it trumps/negates the free will argument (and in some instances trumps/negates free will itself...or appears to, see pharoh arguments).
I will end this blog with this, I appreciate the dialogs and love my brother, but on this topic he is wrong
(I say that in good humor Ant)
P.S. Mom, you cannot possibly agree with me whole-heartedley and with him at the same time (since you wrote, and I quote 'Well said, and with passion! I agree whole-heartedly!') so if you agree with me you must go back and modify your comments to him. Otherwise you need to state your disagreements, which will also be wrong
When I started to really build a relationship with Jesus (not merely religion anymore) things started happening in my life that never before happened. Allot of things sort of fell into place so to speak. But this wasn't just bingo follow Jesus and have a great life, this was a relationship. As a result of my relationship with Him I would daily surrender to Him, I would pray that He would guide my path, and I would trust him. It was during this time that I decided that I no longer believed in coincidences. It was not because it was the 'in' thing to do, it wasn't because I heard of others that I heard had stopped believing in coincidences, and it wasn't because I found it in the Bible. Rather it was because I had found that since I had surrendered my life to Christ it was like someone else was pulling the strings or planning things out (pretty novel since I had surrendered and asked for God's guidance, huh?).
A couple instances that my brother used were from a book by Rob Bell were he was questioning certain things, here is an excerpt from his blog...
"In the Nooma "Rhythm" Rob Bell is talking about how one of his friendswas pulling into a store parking lot, and someone pulled out of a front row spot just as the friend was pulling in. "This just proves," thefriend said, "that God loves me." Another person was talkingabout two sick people and how one of them was healed and was rid of their sickness and how it just proves the God cares for us. "But," RobBell says, "I'm standing there thinking about, What about the second person. Why didn't God heal them!" A third person needed an item in a store and it just happened to be onsale and the third person says, "This just proves that God really is there for me." "If God is so powerful and loving that he canopen up a parking spot or put an item on sale for us," Rob says, "thenwhy isn't He solving more important things, like earthquakes andhurricanes."
Here are my responses, not to go back and forth but to explain why I believe these could be real examples (since similar things happened to me that I also attributed to God). As far as finding parking spots, this sort of thing would happen to me also, sometimes I would be coming home late from church after praying with some people and I would have had prior appointments that I promised to be at, at a certain time. Pulling in to a parking spot only to find someone backing out to leave, to me was God's grace. The sick person who was healed was part of God's ordained plan, maybe someone was saved as a result or that person became a missionary, and as a college student I didn't have money to throw around. When I went to the store and found the book on sale I had hoped to buy for my friend, only to find out it was now the exact amount I had in my pocket was God's way of saying to me that He was in control of my life.
Rob brings up some points, why wasn't the other person saved, and why can't God find better things to do that save parking spots...unfortunately they are misguided at best. I don't know why God didn't save the other person, and don't find it productive to question God (not to say I don't). However, to suggest that I am not the apple of God's eye or that I am not the most important thing to Him is very offensive. Remember, He would leave the 99 to find the one...besides, hear me clearly, HE IS WORKING ON THE IMPORTANT THINGS AS WELL to suggest God is neglecting the important things in order to save my parking spot is to suggest He lacks the competence to be God!
Moving on from here, because while I have my disagreements with Rob this is not about him, it's about the idea of coincidences, and following up on my brothers posts...I want to respond to the part 2 post...Since Ant (as I affectionately call him) said this 'I believe that thinking that all coincidence is God-ordained is ridiculous.' Maybe we need to look at what a coincidence is, here is what Websters says...
Websters as Main Entry: co·in·ci·dence
Pronunciation: kO-'in(t)-s&-d&n(t)s, -s&-"den(t)s
Function: noun
1 : the act or condition of coinciding : CORRESPONDENCE
2 : the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection; also : any of these occurrences
Based on this definition I believe it is totally conceivable and probably that all (appearances of ) coincidences are God-ordained! Why? Glad you asked...if a coincidence is an occurrences of events happening at the same time by accident but seem to have a connection doesn't it beg the question of how? Maybe, just maybe God is up there putting things in place and guiding the life of one who is totally surrendered to Him? Could it be that God is so sovereign that He puts things into motion to accomplish His will in our lives? I mean really, isn't that what we have asked Him to do? Is it so surreal to believe that He would answer our prayers, especially when they align with His will? Now let's respond to points 1-4.
1. I agree as a Christian we need to show people the light...The light of Christ Jesus...as un-biased as we can.
2. Not only is it not illogical to hold to a belief that coincidences do not exist (to the Christian who has surrendered his life to follow Christ) but it is to some, illogical to not to believe it. To believe in the Bible as the sovereign Word of God and to hold that God Himself is all knowing, all powerful and omnipotent, how can we then not believe that He would place in motion, things large and small to accomplish His divine will? To believe anything else would be borderline blasphemous.
3. Agreed.
4. This point I disagree with completely, see my blog so far. But also because the will of the one who is completely surrendered to Christ is one that is laid down at His feet. At this point while we still have free will, we have given that to Christ to do with what He pleases. At this point, He is in control, and at this point He is going to ordain the footsteps of that Christian in order to accomplish His will. This is how it has been done throughout the Bible, all the main characters are examples of people who have given themselves to God (/Christ) and have only accomplished great things through surrendering, not by any talent/gifts of their own. These people tell us that in their stories.
In addition to this, I think part of God's love language to us is/can be the little things done in our life. This could be something small as getting us through a parking lot faster, or it can be something much larger, but to discount the simple coincidence is to discount one way God can show His love to us. To say that coincidences are/can be just that, is to limit God yet again. I find it incredible the way's we limit a limitless God because of the lack of our own understandings. While I was in college I tried to take all my preconceptions about God and throw them out the window. I tried to look at everything and ask myself "Why couldn't that be God? Is there something that conflicts with what I know of the Bible that would lead me to believe otherwise?" I tell you what, it wouldn't be a bad idea for us to forget who others say God is and to actually find out for ourselves who God is. Not only who He is in the Bible/world today, but to who God is to you! I pray that every person find out who God is to them and don't let anyone take away the things God has told you or shown you about Himself.
The last thing I want to say is this (and this may be why I post more on these thoughts) I think the major problem with discounting the belief that there are no coincidences is this: there is to much emphasis put on free will and not nearly enough emphasis put on God's sovereignty! The reason I have not decided whether to write more on this topic or not is because I for one will admit that I am no expert on His sovereignty, so that topic is quite a bunch to bite off. However I do understand why it trumps/negates the free will argument (and in some instances trumps/negates free will itself...or appears to, see pharoh arguments).
I will end this blog with this, I appreciate the dialogs and love my brother, but on this topic he is wrong
(I say that in good humor Ant)P.S. Mom, you cannot possibly agree with me whole-heartedley and with him at the same time (since you wrote, and I quote 'Well said, and with passion! I agree whole-heartedly!') so if you agree with me you must go back and modify your comments to him. Otherwise you need to state your disagreements, which will also be wrong
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