Do the Good Works of Believers Attract People to Faith in God?

By Brian Lowther

Tourists pass a Gypsy beggar, Venice, 2007. By Ted Pushinsky - Flickr/Renegade98

A Hunch and a Hypothesis

In the Roberta Winter Institute we’ve held a hunch and a hypothesis for quite a while that might just be completely mistaken.

First, the Hunch

Our hunch is that the good works of believers attract people to faith in God.

Shortly before his death, Ralph Winter wrote an essay entitled, The Future of Evangelicals, which appeared in the book MissionShift: Global Mission Issues in the Third Millennium. In this essay he wrote:

…the usual way in which individuals come to faith is primarily by viewing the good works of those who already have faith—that is, by seeing good works that reflect the power and character of God.

Then a little later in the same essay he wrote,

… in order for people to hear and respond to an offer of personal salvation…it is paramount for them to witness the glory of God in believers’ lives—seeing the love and goodness in their lives and deeds, and their changed motives and new intentions. That is the reality which gives them reason to turn away from all evil and against all evil as they seek to be closer to that kind of God and His will in this world.

Is this true?

Do the good works of believers cause people to seek to be closer to God? Many passages seem to suggest as much. Matthew 5:16 comes to mind. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.” Other examples include Mt 15:30-31, Mk 2:12, Lk 5:26; 17:11-16;18:43, Jn 20:30-31.

A historical example comes to mind as well. John Wesley was on board a ship bound for America in 1736. A group of Moravians were also aboard the ship. Over the course of the voyage Wesley came to admire the Moravians’ humility and meekness. One day a life-threatening storm occurred. Waves nearly engulfed the ship and the main mast split into pieces. Everyone screamed out in terror—everyone except the Moravians. The depth of their faith was apparently such that they quietly prayed and sang hymns in the midst of the storm. Wesley took note of that.

How about you?

Did a believer’s good works or admirable character attract you to faith in God?

1. Was it their personal character (love and goodness in their words and conduct)?
2. Was it a transformation (change in motives and behavior)?
3. Was it their good works (generosity or helping the poor, the sick, orphans, widows, etc.)?
4. Or was it something else completely?

In my own story, it was the transformation I witnessed in my father. My dad was a drinker and smoker since his early teens, and a life-long agnostic. He came to faith when he was 44-years-old and immediately quit smoking and drinking, stopped going to bars on the weekend, started treating my mom, my siblings and me differently. It was the epitome of a 180-degree change, a complete reversal in thinking and behavior. It had such a powerful impact on me that within three months—on the day after my 18th birthday—I started following Jesus in a very serious way and have never looked back.

Now, the Hypothesis

Our hypothesis is that innumerable numbers of people would come to faith in Jesus (i.e., evangelism and discipleship would become profoundly more effective and fruitful) if the body of Christ marshaled its resources and significantly helped eradicate the next disease.

This hypothesis comes partly from something Ralph Winter often said, “Historically, the mission enterprise more than any other thing has fallen on the heels of the impact of medical missions.” And it comes partly from the results of the eradication of smallpox in 1979.

In his book Viruses, Plagues and History, author Michael Oldstone called the eradication of smallpox, “one of the greatest accomplishments undertaken and performed for the benefit of mankind anywhere or at any time.” What would be said and believed about Jesus if his followers teamed-up to eradicate the next major disease, let’s say malaria, or AIDS?

Let’s say a bunch of churches, denominations, mission agencies, philanthropists, Christian universities, etc., committed massive amounts of funding, human resources, and collective resolve and together formed the International Coalition for the Eradication of Malaria (for example). How much more would God be glorified if it were clear that it was done for that very reason? I think it would be talked about by nearly every thinking person in the world and in the pages of every newspaper and website.

But, is this true? And if so, would it affect the fruitfulness of evangelism, discipleship, missions, and church-planting?

There exists a fairly similar example right under our noses. The Rotarians have been at the forefront of the Polio Eradication Campaign since its inception in the mid 1980’s. Since that time they’ve contributed countless volunteer hours and over a billion dollars in funding, resulting in a 99% decrease in cases of polio worldwide.

Yet, even though I’m very passionate about the cause of disease eradication, I don’t have a burning desire to join the Rotary Club.

Do you?

Testing Our Hypothesis

I’ve thought about why, and—as embarrassing as this is to admit—I’ve decided it is because polio hasn’t affected me personally.

So, I wondered, what if the Rotary Club had eradicated a disease that affected me personally? Then would I join?

That disease would undoubtedly be pancreatic cancer, which took my beloved grandfather fifteen years ago. It’s the same disease that took Michael Landon, Luciano Pavorotti, and Patrick Swayze. Let’s say—prior to when my grandfather was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer—the Rotary Club set out to eradicate it, and they largely succeeded. If those circumstances were in place, would I be a member of the Rotary Club today?

Would you, if it were a disease that had affected you very personally? Would you donate money? Would you participate in any of their activities or fundraisers? Would you pray about their efforts?

I would. But I don’t think I’d join a local club.

Why Not?

I think it’s because I don’t have a close, personal relationship with anyone in the Rotary Club.

According to Rodney Stark in The Rise of Christianity, people come to faith not because of good works, or doctrine, but because of the faith of multiple people they trust. He says that people overwhelmingly come to faith as a result of relationships.

To quote mission researcher Justin Long, “If a person does not have a relationship with a believer–in fact, several relationships with several believers whom they respect–they will likely not [come to faith].” [1]

This holds true in my story. It wasn’t just because of my dad’s transformation. It was also because of my relationships with my Uncle Mark, my Uncle Mike and my friend Will. All these men were my elders. I respected them. I liked them. It was inevitable.

So much for our hypothesis.

But wait just a minute. Even though something as far-reaching and world-changing as the Rotary Club eradicating pancreatic cancer wouldn’t have caused me to join the Rotary Club, it would have had an impact on me. It would have said something to me about the Rotary Club. It would have resulted in a secret admiration in me for them because of the great service they had done for not only my grandfather and me, but all of mankind. I may have sought out friendships with them.

And given Rodney Stark’s research, if those friendships developed to the point that I knew multiple people in the Rotary Club whom I respected, I probably would have joined the Rotary Club. Think about it. If your three closest friends/mentors were part of the Rotary Club, wouldn’t you be inclined to become a member?

Brian Lowther is the director of the Roberta Winter Institute. 

The point is, missions and disease eradication fit hand and glove, and the opportunities for close cooperation should be fully explored. Because the good works of believers can and do attract people to faith in God…as long as the additional ingredient of social proximity is also in place.

End Note

[1] This quote is from a blog entry that is no longer online.

The Story of the Cosmic Conflict

We have already mentioned the Warfare Worldview many times on this blog. It reframes our view of history and is reflected in our interpretation of current events. But if you are new to this line of thinking you might wonder how different the story of mankind looks through the lens of the Cosmic Conflict.

Citing from John Eldredge, Beth Snodderly, and Ralph Winter, who was intimately, personally acquainted with war, these reflections outline the history of this universal struggle in four acts. But, more importantly, it traces from the beginning, to the present, and beyond, our own role…

"Humanity wasn't created merely as a consequence of Lucifer's sin. We weren't intended only to fight a war. While the warfare theme permeates the Bible, so do other themes such as of love, joy, rest, relationship and righteousness. After all, what would be our role in the 'next' life, when sin and evil are no more, if we are merely infantry for this one?"

The Oscars and Self-Loathing

By Brian Lowther

Have you ever wondered why it is so easy to identify things we don’t like about ourselves? Or why self-loathing is such a natural human pastime? I wonder about this all the time. Human beings would seemingly be so much more fruitful if it weren’t for self-doubt. Granted we might make a lot more missteps, but with no self-doubt, those mistakes wouldn’t define us. In fact, failure wouldn’t bother us at all. Why is a lack of confidence such a pervasive aspect of life for so many of us?

Flickr/Disney | ABC Television Gro

The Oscars

I have a hunch that it has something to do with the Oscars. The Academy Awards ceremony—better known as the Oscars—occurred two weeks ago and for the first time, I attended an Oscar party with my wife and a few friends. I don’t mean that I went to Hollywood and hobnobbed with A-list celebrities. I mean I sat in a living room and watched the television broadcast, a yearly event of which I had watched a total of thirty-eight and-a-half minutes over the course of my lifetime. Apparently, the only thing you do at an Oscar party is watch the program and insult each celebrity’s attire/hairstyle/personality/existence.

My friends—who are ordinarily kind, decent people—channeled Joan Rivers during our Oscar party with their sharply acerbic opinions about fashion and personal appearance. I mentioned how this surprised me to one friend and she said, “Oh that’s just the price of fame. Celebrities expect it.” Another said, “It’s all in good fun. They can’t hear us.” As if to imply, if Scarlett Johansson were in the room, no one would mention how “her new haircut is atrocious and makes her look like Adam Levine.”

Unfortunately, I think we are oblivious to something lurking underneath all of this seemingly innocent criticism.

From Whence Do our Thoughts Originate?

It is generally accepted that we generate our own thoughts. But if that’s true, why can’t we stop them, or even slow them down for more than a few moments? And why do our thoughts continue in such incongruous ways while we’re asleep? And, what about when our basal ganglia are occupied with a routine task—like driving for example—and our prefrontal cortex runs wild with an endless array of unrelated and often opposing ideas? Sometimes they are profound epiphanies, and sometimes they are a lot like the comments my friends made during the Oscar party. “You look terrible today. You’ve accomplished nothing with your life. You might as well get fat and make a global warming documentary.” Would anyone in their right mind intentionally think such self-defeating thoughts? And if not, where do these notions originate?

Take Every Thought Captive

The morning after the Oscars, I was awakened by a Bible verse, which almost never happens. Actually, it was just a phrase from a Bible verse. The verse is 2 Corinthians 10:5. And the phrase is, “Take every thought captive.”

I’ve always understood “take every thought captive” to mean things like, “don’t entertain thoughts of adultery,” for example. But the context of the verse in 2 Corinthians has a warfare feel. In the preceding verses, Paul tells us how to wage war and the kinds of weapons we are to use. Even the phrase “take captive” has connotations of taking enemy soldiers as prisoners of war so those soldiers can no longer inflict damage or casualties. What if the reason Paul used this kind of language was because he wanted to emphasize that at least some of the self-defeating thoughts we experience are suggested by nefarious spiritual agents who are at war against God and his entire creation?

If I were an evil spiritual being, this is precisely what I would do. This is psychological warfare at its best, with all of the expected results of effective airborne leaflet propaganda, e.g., causing enemy soldiers to abandon their duties, prompting surrender, reducing morale, increasing defections, etc.

Can evil spiritual beings really do this? I don’t know. But a few passages hint at an answer. One is 1 Chron. 21:1-4 where Satan provoked David to number Israel. Another is Acts 5:1-5, where Peter says that Satan filled Ananias’ heart causing him to lie to the Holy Spirit. How did Satan do this exactly? Did he whisper insults into David and Ananias’ psyches, capitalizing on some pre-existing neurosis or desire in each man’s heart? Again, I don’t know. But I think it’s worth exploring a bit deeper.

Fighting Back

I think that understanding these things might help us mitigate the damage. My hunch is that when we experience harmful thoughts, we can defeat them and take them captive by simply opposing them with alternative thoughts, thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. (Phil. 4:8) For example, if my thought is “my head is misshapen and looks like a cabbage,” perhaps I can nullify this thought with, “I am God’s possession, his child, his masterpiece, his friend, his temple, his co-laborer, his precious jewel, and my head is perfectly normal for a man of my height and mental acuity.”

Brian Lowther is the director of the Roberta Winter Institute. 

Frontier Ventures Rebrand

Yesterday, we announced the renaming of our parent organization. The Frontier Mission Fellowship (and the U.S. Center for World Mission) will now be known as Frontier Ventures—a new name for a new day. What hasn’t changed is its mission and passion to catalyze breakthrough among the remaining unreached people groups of the world. This is a passion that we share as part of the Frontier Venture family of ministries. Please visit Frontierventures.org/rebrand to read the press release and learn more about the change.

For His glory among all peoples,
Brian Lowther
Director, Roberta Winter Institute

Is God Capricious, Mean-minded, and Stupid?

Flickr/Christian Payne

Editorial Note: Famed English comedian, actor, and writer Stephen Fry made recent headlines with his opinions about God. You may remember Fry as Sherlock Holmes’ brother, Mycroft, in the second of the two Robert Downey Jr. films, or perhaps you’ll remember him as half of the comic duo Fry and Laurie. Prince Charles even referred to him as a national treasure. Recently Fry was asked in an interview what he would say if he encountered God at the gates of heaven.

Fry responded, "I'll say, 'Bone cancer in children?  What's that about? How dare you? How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that's not our fault. It's not right. It's utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?’" The video of this segment of his interview has now garnered almost six million views in just a few week’s time.

As a team, here at the RWI, we discussed how we might respond to Mr. Fry and those who share his perspective. Since Fry’s video went viral, scores of Christians have published responses. We’ve read a number of these responses, and many were disappointing to us, mostly boiling down to "Well, I don't believe in that God either," or "It will all come to light in the end." Frankly, we were dissatisfied by how unconvincing Christians can appear in the media when it comes to the problem of evil. We as a group share a certain perspective about the problem of evil (though with plenty of individual variation and nuance) and felt that perspective was under-represented. Below you can read our director’s personal view, framed as his response to Stephen Fry. 

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A Response to Stephen Fry

By Brian Lowther

If I found myself in a conversation with Mr. Fry, and if he asked me how I could believe in a “capricious, mean-spirited, stupid God,” I would simply say, “I think your opinions are perfectly logical. Actually, essentially, I agree with you. I believe that what you’re describing is ‘utterly, utterly evil.’"

“Then, why do you believe there is a God?” Fry would undoubtedly ask.

“Well Stephen, (I assume we’d be on a first name basis) we can agree, if God does exist, he is a highly skilled artist because the universe is quite glorious. But, as you say, if that God exists he must also be a ‘capricious and mean-spirited’ artist and thus unworthy of our devotion because his creation is also very dangerous and terrifying.” C.S. Lewis fans will recognize this line of thinking. [1]

“Then we agree?” Fry might say.

“Not completely.” I would respond. “For me, everything is easier to understand in this world, when I think of it as a world at war, a war between God and Satan.” While you might assume that Fry would laugh at this suggestion or at least point out its absurdity, I think he might sincerely consider it. In the interview, he explains his inclination toward Greek Pantheism of all things.

I’d continue, “Just for fun, let’s assume that Satan does exist and that he and other fallen angels are at war with God and behind much of the evil and suffering in our world. If this were true, then we could expect bone cancer, misery, injustice and pain. We wouldn’t question why bad things would happen to good people. To paraphrase my mentor, Ralph Winter, when we reinstate Satan’s existence as an evil intelligence loose in God’s creation, only then do a lot of things become clear and reasonable. Suffering, in a perverse way, starts to make sense.”

“Ah, you’re describing Dualism,” he might say. “Next to Greek Pantheism, I think that Dualism is the manliest and most sensible creed on the market.” (Fry would surely be able to paraphrase C.S. Lewis as well as I could.) [2]

“Yes, but Dualism has a catch,” I would add. “The essence of Dualism is a war between two equal powers—a good god and a bad god—and thus a never-ending war. It would be easy to trust in the goodness of the good god, but not his power, for he is incapable of defeating the bad god. Christianity, on the other hand is built on two promises, that God is all-good and all-powerful, and that one day the war will end. The ‘bad god,’ Satan, will be conquered.”

If Fry took these ideas seriously, as he might, I would imagine his next question would be, “But Brian (again, first name basis), why would God create Satan in the first place? God may be good, he may be powerful, but surely he isn’t very bright.”

I would respond, “Why did God create you in the first place?” I picture Fry glancing at me slyly as he pondered the inherent humor of God creating him, Stephen Fry, solely to point out God’s lack of intelligence.

“To do evil?” I would ask.

“Of course not,” he would certainly reply.

“Can you do evil?”

“Yes,” would have to be his answer.

“God didn’t create Satan to do evil either.” I would offer. “Satan was good when he was created, and went wrong.”

“But why did Satan go wrong?” he might ask. Not in a simplistic way, but in a way as to question why God would allow such a thing, given the possible repercussions.

“Well, a simple answer might be, because he could.”

“But why would God allow Satan that freedom?”

“I think God gave Satan that freedom, and gives all of us that freedom because he wants our authentic love, and you can’t have authentic love without freedom. Take the story of a young man who got down on one knee to propose to his girlfriend, but before she could answer he pulled out a pistol and said, ‘You better say yes, or else.’ [3] Now, of course the young woman said yes, but was this authentic love? Or was it simply fear? When you take away freedom it always destroys love.”

“That’s all well and good,” Fry might say,  “but that doesn’t exactly answer why God allows Satan so much freedom. God could have set parameters around him, which would prohibit his most dastardly deeds. Maybe not chicken-pox, but certainly bone cancer.”

“Let’s put it this way,” I’d say. “Imagine that you are God.”

“Oh, I like where this is headed.” He’d respond.

“And imagine that you are trying to decide the kind of world you’d like to create. You could create a world entirely populated by dogs. And each of those dogs would love you, like all dogs love their owners. They would fetch sticks for you. They would provide companionship. They would bark at your mailman. But would that be enough? A dog world might be nice, but not compared to a planet full of humans who would love you. Humans—at their best—can love in a much deeper, more intimate, more profound way than any dog. Plus, dogs…”

“Actually I prefer cats,” Fry might interject.

“Okay, cats. Cats are not generally capable of nuclear fission, or Shakespearian poetry or even making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But humans are. Humans are capable of enormous good. Now imagine that kind of love and goodness multiplied by a hundred, or a thousand, or a million. Maybe that approaches the angelic capacity for love and goodness.

However, there is a proportional flipside to all this love and goodness. Dogs—or cats in your case—are marvelous companions, but they can bite and scratch and require constant cleanup. Similar issues apply with humans. As much as another human being can love you, and enhance your happiness and make life seem complete, they can also make your life a living hell. Now multiply that by a hundred, or a thousand, or a million and maybe that approaches the angelic capacity for harm and evil. 

If you don’t like that analogy, how about transportation? A skateboard is a good mode of transportation, but a bike is, in many ways, better, safer, faster, etc. A car is better still and a train is better than that. But perhaps the best form of transportation is a plane, for its speed, safety, cost per mile, etc. But the flip side is the proportional amount of injury, destruction and death that can result if something goes wrong.

The point is, if you put parameters around a person or an angel’s capacity for evil, you would consequently put parameters around that person or that angel’s capacity for love and goodness. Who in their right mind would limit how much love they could receive from their parent, or their child or their spouse?”

“But if this is all true, why doesn’t God save us from all this misery and simply wipe Satan out of existence?” Fry might ask.

“Every Christian I know believes that one day, he will,” I’d answer.

“Then what on earth is he waiting for?” Fry would ask. “And before you answer, please, please don’t explain that God is waiting, not because he is slow to act, but because he is patient. I don’t want to hear that God is waiting because he doesn’t want anyone to perish but to come to repentance and faith. And the reason I won’t allow this explanation is because every day 350,000 babies are born. That’s 350,000 new human lifetimes added every day that God has to wait out to see if they’ll come to repentance and faith. As long as humans continue to procreate, it will never end.”

“Okay, that’s fair,” I’d admit. “I like to think of the earth as a stage and the entire universe is intently watching the drama unfold. Satan is causing all kinds of havoc and destruction just waiting to see if God will strike him down. Because if God strikes him down, Satan wins. If God strikes him down, the whole universe will see that he isn’t a god of love and freedom; he’s a god of coercion and force.”

“But God will strike him down,” Fry would respond. “You said that yourself, ‘one day the war will end. Satan will be conquered.’”

“Right, but, I wonder if he will be conquered in a way we’ve never imagined,” I’d reply. “Jesus never did things quite the way the people of his day expected, especially his disciples. In fact, you could argue that Jesus ‘conquered’ his enemies in a completely counter-intuitive manner – by dying for them. Perhaps God is waiting for the moment in history when he doesn’t have to use his power and force to conquer Satan. Perhaps the war will end, when Satan is fully and finally exposed as a fraud.” [4]

“But hasn’t he already been exposed?” Fry might ask.

“If he were already exposed,” I would answer, “we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You wouldn’t be blaming God for bone cancer, misery, injustice and pain. No one would raise their fist to the sky and ask, ‘Why God, why?’”

“And what changes when we stop asking those questions?” Fry might ask.

I’d respond, “When enough people acknowledge that Satan is the source of evil, not God, and stand up to fight every evil with everything in our command, I think a tipping point will occur. Perhaps that’s when Christ will return to this war-torn world and Satan and all his minions will realize that the tide has turned, their war will soon be lost, and they will be crushed under the weight of their own hopelessness, consumed by a ‘lake of burning fire’ from within.” [5]

“So,” Fry might ask, “God is just sitting up there in heaven, passively waiting for all this to play out?”

“No,” I’d respond. “I don’t think God is passive. I think he is constantly at work generating life, beauty, perfection, order and all other things that demonstrate his character of love and goodness, or as the Bible puts it, bringing his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. And I think he’s influencing every free will in the universe to participate in that process.”

“Until Satan is fully exposed?” Fry might clarify. “That’s the end of the story?”

“Oh, no. That’s just the beginning,” I’d respond. “Once it becomes clear that Satan’s kingdom is unsustainable and self-destructive, no person or angel will ever follow Satan’s path again, not because of fear that God will punish them if they do, but because Satan’s road is exposed as a dead end. [6] Then the story can really begin, and heaven can be a place of never-ending peace.”

“I sense that we are now taking great liberties with traditional Christian theology,” Fry may respond.

“To a degree we are,” I’d answer. “But I think it’s worth pondering more deeply. Don't you?”

“Oh, this is all just too much,” Fry might say, as we walked off into the sunset discussing the unfathomable complexity of life.

Brian Lowther is the director
of the Roberta Winter Institute. 

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Endnotes

     [1] Adapted from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
     [2] Ibid
     [3] Adapted from: http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/prayerandcounseling/Jennings_Inner_Healling08.aspx
     [4] Adapted from: http://www.godscharacter.com/index.php/revelation/revelation-6/revelation-6-the-5th-seal-theodicy-101
     [5] For more on this, visit: http://www.godscharacter.com/index.php/articles/god-blog/225-our-god-is-a-consuming-fire
     [6] Paraphrased from: http://godscharacter.com/index.php/revelation/revelation-6/revelation-6-don-t-trust-every-rider-on-a-white-horse

From a World-Renowned Mission Strategist to a Disease-Eradication Activist

Ralph D. Winter speaking at the dedication of the Ralph D. Winter Library at Olivet University in July, 2007

As we continue on our website tour, this week we're highlighting The "Why" of the RWI, which recounts the fascinating story of how a world-renowned mission strategist became a disease-eradication activist.

Around the late 1990s, Ralph Winter began to realize that the Good News being shared around the world was being followed up with some very bad news. God loves you, we preached, and Jesus died to save you, but He also gave your child brain cancer and may inflict pain on you to deepen your spiritual life.

Winter was deeply concerned by this distorted witness, distorted theology, and distorted view of God in the church. "If we continued to explain that a mysterious good hides behind all suffering, if we continued to take the Biblical phrase 'all things work together for good' to mean that God . . . is somehow the author of the evil itself, we would continue to see the Christian faith blossom around the world today only to watch it fade tomorrow."

Find out how he decided to pull back the curtain on the puppet show and reveal suffering and disease for what they really were—tools of a jealous and vicious opponent to God.