We'll explore questions like: Does God need our worship? Are some sins worse than others? How does spirituality affect mental health? Can science and religion coexist? Where do we see evidence of God? And why would a good God allow for evil?
We'll provide perspectives and insights on these questions, emphasizing that our answers are not meant to be definitive, but rather to encourage thoughtful consideration and invite the presence of the Holy Spirit as we seek understanding through grace and faith.
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Episode notes
This is episode pulls together several videos with answers to questions. Check out the whole series about tough questions of faith.
In this episode:
(00:00) Asking tough questions about Christianity
(03:28) Does God need our worship?
(07:27) Are some sins worse than others?
(10:04) How does spirituality affect my mental health?
(13:09) Can science and religion co-exist?
(16:20) Where do you see evidence of God?
(19:24) Why is there evil?
(23:20) More about Compass
Compass is a production of United Methodist Communications.
Related episodes
- Discovering evidence of the Divine with Mark Feldmeir
- Does the Bible contradict itself?
- What makes United Methodists different?
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This episode posted on November 15, 2023
Episode Transcript:
Ryan Dunn:
Hey. Welcome back to The Compass Podcast. A special space where we identify, we dissect, we we photobomb the every Day with movements of the divine. I'm reverend Ryan Dunn, one of the cohosts and producers of Compass. I also work as a minister of online engagement for something called Rethink Church. Now Rethink Church's name is a confusing one because it's not an actual church, to be Be honest. It's an online portal for providing information and invitation for connecting people to Local churches. In this role, I help to develop digital content that's meant to help people connect Julie, and to provide some information about faith communities.
Ryan Dunn:
This podcast is one of those digital contents, so you're in the fold. Also though, I recently participated in a series of videos for Rethink Church's YouTube channel. In the series, Our short responses to deep questions people often ask about Christian faith. They're questions like, are some sins worse than others? And can science and religion coexist? Well, cohost Michelle Maldonado is engaged in some recovery, so we wanna send good Healing vibes to her. And while she's out, it seems like we had an opportunity to bring some more of those questions over to Compass because there's a good chance that you have wonderings and thoughts about those questions as well. So in this episode of Compass, We're providing perspectives on some tough questions about faith. The answers that we supply Aren't meant to be definitive. Like, we said it that settles it kind of answers.
Ryan Dunn:
Rather, they are perspectives for consideration As you ponder these questions on your own, and hopefully, you invite the Holy Spirit to guide you towards some understanding through grace and faith. If you're watching the video versions of this podcast, you'll get the added benefit of like seeing me talk in front of a cool neo classical churchy backdrop. If you're just doing the audio, you should know that me talking on the backdrop and some added text on screen are what you're missing, And that you can head over to the Rethink Church page at rethinkchurch.org and find all of the videos there. Anyways, Here's what we'll address in this episode of Compass. 1st, does God need our worship? Second, Are some sins worse than others? 3rd, how does spirituality affect mental health? 4th, can science and religion coexist? 5th, where do you see evidence of god? 6th, how could a good god allow for evil? You'll find a couple more videos on the actual videos page, but I feel like they're topics that we've already addressed elsewhere on this podcast. And hey. If Compass is valuable to you, you can share it. The best way is to drop a rating or review on a podcast listening platform like Apple Podcasts, or you can also do that on Spotify mobile.
Ryan Dunn:
So thanks a ton for that. Alright. Let's get to our first question. In this video, we're addressing the question, Does God need our worship? I'm reverend Ryan Dunn, and I'm happy to offer a few thoughts. On the most basic level, the simple answer is no. God does not need our Worship. If we consider God to be all powerful and all knowing, then God is not dependent on human worship or really any other human action. So You might be wondering then why worship is so important to communities of faith.
Ryan Dunn:
And I wanna compare it to practicing gratitude. Now worship is a lot more than gratitude. It's not just about us saying thanks to some kind of cosmic provider, But the analogy with expressing gratitude still works. We know it's good to express gratitude. Right? It's not necessary, But it is good. It's good because it establishes some kinship and respect between the giver and the receiver. Right? When we tell someone thank you, we're letting them know that we value them and their actions and that we recognize our value to them. There's a kinship and community established in that.
Ryan Dunn:
We're bonded together through expressing gratitude. And the very act of cultivating gratitude Helps put our hearts and minds in proper perspective. If you were to stop this video and list out 5 things you're grateful for right now, Your mindset is likely to shift a little bit. Where once maybe you were seeing scarcity and competition, then you might be seeing provision and connection. Gratitude helps our perspective of the world around us. Worship accomplishes those same actions. It establishes us in kinship and connection to both god and to our fellow members in the community of faith. Part of our human nature is that we love things like singing together and cheering and ritual together.
Ryan Dunn:
And those rituals can vary from the cheers that we holler together at sporting events to even adding lyrics to sweet Caroline. So good. So good. So good. Even the joining in movements of a responsive prayer, we establish community and trust through all of those actions. Worship is a set of rituals, all of which serve to bring us into kinship with our community of faith And with the higher power who is the object of our worship. Now often worship involves us not only turning our attention to a higher power, But also involves us taking a look at the world around us. In the communities of faith that I've been a part of, our worship services often feature acts Acts of confession and repentance.
Ryan Dunn:
These are instances when we safely admit that we have not been in right relationship with the world around us and with our God. When we receive communion, we join our voices together in a liturgy that says, I have ignored the cry of the needy. I've not loved my neighbor as myself. There's an adjustment of perspective through the worship experience. Just like practicing gratitude helps shape our perspective. Worship can help us recognize the movements of the divine throughout our weeks, which often inspires our sense of gratitude. And worship is a tremendous reminder that we're not walking through life alone. Just as we have other people with us to do things like Sing songs and pray and make confessions in our services of worship.
Ryan Dunn:
We have like minded people looking to interact with the world with the same perspectives. Worship can be a form of a reset button for our perspectives because it realigns us towards a healthier view of self in the world. So, no, God does not really need our worship in a sense. But in order for God's work to be accomplished in the world, Then communities of faith need to gather in worship for realignment and connection. In this video, we're addressing the question, are some sins worse than others? I'm reverend Ryan Dunn, and I'll offer this. My sins are worse than yours. I'm admitting this through the lens of Matthew 7. You're probably familiar with this lesson where Jesus was talking about People judging one another.
Ryan Dunn:
In the lesson, he said something like this. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye but do not notice the log in your own eye. Or how can you say to your neighbor, let me take the speck out of your eye while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite. 1st, take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye. When we get into the business of trying to rate or build like a hierarchy of sin, often what we're doing is trying to make ourselves feel a bit better. It's that game of saying, well, I might do x, but at least I don't do y like they do. Jesus' suggestion is to assess and remove the sin of our own lives Before we get too wrapped up in assessing the sin that might or might not be present in the lives of others, in addressing sin directly, Jesus elsewhere says this. Therefore, I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, But blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven.
Ryan Dunn:
Whoever speaks a word against the son of man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come. I think it's important that Jesus states that People can be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy except for that exception of blaspheming the holy spirit. It would seem and that all sins, but for this one exception, are on the same level in the end, meaning they're all on the level of god's grace. It seems that the one exception is a rejection of that grace. There are all kinds of interpretations about what it means to blaspheme the holy spirit. One interpretation suggests that the Holy Spirit is the presence of God which communicates God's love and forgiveness to believers. Refusing to accept God's grace and forgiveness can be interpreted as rejecting the spirit's work. So in a way, The only sin that is unforgivable is the sin of saying, I refuse forgiveness.
Ryan Dunn:
In any case, It seems to lend truth to the statement that we can't change the fact that god loves us. All we can do is choose how we respond to that love. Okay. In this video, we're addressing the question, how How does spirituality affect mental health? I'm reverend Ryan Dunn here to share a few thoughts about the correlation between Spirituality, spiritual practice, and mental wellness. There are all kinds of stats linking spirituality with improved mental wellness. Frontiers in psychology reported on a 2020 study that related religiosity with reduced rates in suicide and substance abuse. The study suggests spirituality helps individuals find a sense of purpose and meaning in life. It provides a clarity and purpose, which in turn provides motivation and direction, reducing feelings of emptiness and increasing overall life satisfaction.
Ryan Dunn:
People who experience grief and loss often find comfort and solace in spirituality and religion. Believing in a higher power or connecting with the universe Helps individuals navigate through difficult emotions and find acceptance. Spirituality offers a perspective that our current circumstances are not permanent, and that leads to a sense of hope that things can really work out in the end. A large part of these positive Statistics stems out of the ability of spirituality to make us feel connected. Spiritual people are often not lonely people. The ritual of spiritual practice often connects us to community. When we engage in a spiritual practice like Ignatian examine, which is a form of contemplative prayer, We feel a sense that we're participating in something alongside other people. Even though we might be alone as we're doing the contemplative prayer, There's still an understanding that millions of people have been sharing in this same practice over the years.
Ryan Dunn:
Spirituality also provides commonality amongst different people. I feel immediate kinship when someone tells me they're also a united methodist or That they do contemplative Christian practices or even that they have a favorite bible verse. Those are all things we hold in common. By the way, my favorite bible verse is first John 416. Look it up. Another connecting factor in spirituality is the way in which it connects us to a higher power. Through spiritual practice, we get reminders that we are never really alone. Spirituality and particularly prayer Gives us an outlet for our fears and stressors and hang ups and our celebrations too.
Ryan Dunn:
We're sharing ourselves with God. And Oftentimes, as we pray, we encounter a sense that god has something to say or or whisper or impart to us In return and that can be an invitation to maybe disrupt the humdrum of the day with a little spiritual practice of celebration right now. It's really simple. Just formulate a mental list of 5 things that you're grateful for right now, and let that become your prayer. And see if maybe you don't feel a little more connected The god and the world around you in the process. In this video, we're addressing the question, can science and religion coexist? I'm reverend Ryan Dunn, And I'm willing to tell you what I think while acknowledging that my education and background has leaned towards the religious side of things a bit more than To the scientific side. But even from my perspective, I'm not really sure how and why science and religion have become so confrontational. The 2 disciplines seek answers to different questions.
Ryan Dunn:
Science is very much about studying the natural world and putting trust into empirical Evidence and testing out theses and then drawing conclusions based on said evidence and tests, science dives deep into the how of existence. How does the universe work? Religion dives into questions of meaning, purpose, morality, and spirituality. We use tools like scripture, tradition, and personal experience and reason to flesh out our questions of faith. We also learn to accept a degree of mystery, especially when it comes to the spiritual. To me, religion is more Focused on questions of why than on questions of how. That being said, science and religion are fundamentally different approaches To addressing fundamentally different questions. To oversimplify, science is mainly concerned with how, And religion is mainly concerned with why. Again, that's not a universality, but it does lay out an idea that these 2 disciplines are fundamentally asking different questions.
Ryan Dunn:
Conflict arises when 1 group of people says that because of my religion, your science must be false, Or because of my science, your religion must be false. The truth is that it's a relatively small number of people in the scientific community Who would make such a claim? And it's actually a small number of people in the religious community who would make a similar exclusive claim. A majority of religious people really have no issue reconciling science and their faith because they feel okay with this split between the why And the how. Now a fair many people are likely saying science says that the earth was created over 1000000 of years, And then humans and life as we know it evolved over several 1000000 more years. But the Bible says God made it all happen in 6 days. For me, this is not an issue because, again, science is describing the how, and scripture describes the why. I don't support using scripture as a scientific document, nor do I support using science as a system of belief. For those who can't hold these disciplines separate, Then science and religion will feel at odds with one another.
Ryan Dunn:
So, ultimately, whether science and religion can coexist depends On the specific interpretations, beliefs, and attitudes of individuals and communities. Many people, though, find that science and religion Can complement each other and offer different perspectives on the world and our human experience. In this video, we're addressing the question, where do you see evidence of God? I'm reverend Ryan Dunn, and I'm happy to talk a little bit about where I see god at work. 1st, though, I think we need to address a little clarification. I I think there's a difference between seeing evidence of god in action and evidence of the existence of god. I'm not sure we'll ever be able to offer scientifically proven evidence regarding the existence of God. Ultimately, that is an act of faith. And you can see more about science and religion in another video that we did, which we'll link to.
Ryan Dunn:
It's important to note that the perception of evidence for god is subjective, and it's influenced by our individual beliefs, cultural backgrounds, Personal experiences in our worldview. Different people may interpret the same experiences or observations differently, leading to a variety of beliefs About the existence of a higher power. Here, we're addressing more how you might rekindle an awareness of God's movement in life In those instances when you're feeling forgotten, overlooked, or like god just isn't there, here's what I believe. God loves us enough to pursue us, and god loves us enough not to stalk us. This means that if we're waiting for god to blow us over with a demonstration of divine power, we might be left waiting for a while simply because We haven't allowed ourselves the moments in which to reflect on god's movement and both the subtle and startling ways that god has been at work in the world around us. Instead, we need to offer ourselves the opportunities to Hit a spiritual reset and reflect on the points at which god has been active. There are all kinds of ways to do this. Some people have real watershed moments while reading the bible.
Ryan Dunn:
Going so far as feeling like God is speaking specifically to them as they read. I find it useful to carve out space in which I'm actively listening to God. For me, this is different than simple prayer. It involves less of my concentrating on words and more on opening myself up to an awareness. I often use questions adapted from an ancient contemplative practice called Ignatian examine. My questions for awareness go like this. What instance am I most grateful for? What instance am I least grateful for? When did I feel most alive today? When did I feel life drained out of me? These questions not only helped me become a little bit more grateful And conscientious of how I can extend love, they help awaken in me an awareness of leading and movement. I hope this helps you feel a little more connected and aware too.
Ryan Dunn:
You can hit us up with more questions at the link in the description, And we'll be back with more soon. In this video, we're addressing the question, why would a good god allow for the existence of evil? I'm reverend Ryan Dunn. And, yeah, I'm gonna take a stab at offering a response to this question. I'll admit, I gotta ask this question during my ordination interviews, Which is part of the approval process in the United Methodist Church, and I broke into a sweat, then stammered off some kind of answer about free will and And god loving us enough to allow us to air, it made my interviewers laugh. Not because the answer was so incoherent, but More because people have been wrestling with this question for millennia. And there's a diversity of answers, but none are really more authoritative than the others. So I can only offer my own perspective on how a god who is defined by love allows for the harm and destruction of evil. If god was all good and all powerful, wouldn't god stop the harm? And by not doing so, does that mean that god either can't stop the harm, so So God is not all powerful or God won't stop the harm.
Ryan Dunn:
So God is not all good. Perhaps In order to understand this, we need to extend the all descriptors of God. God is also all loving and all Over time, an all loving god creates in genuine freedom, and this freedom is what allows for the possibility of evil actions. That being said, god's ultimate aim based in love is the restoration of a creation that exists in unity and love. Because this reality is based in love, it can't really be coerced or forced. We can't force others to love. In church world, we talk about humans being made in the image of God. As such, we are invited to cooperate With God's movements of love, justice, and healing in the midst of a broken world.
Ryan Dunn:
And this includes addressing the causes of evil, Working towards social justice and offering compassion and care to those affected by evil. Furthermore, we have a challenge to identify And root out the evil within ourselves. So our response to evil can sometimes come in the form of accepting personal responsibility And undertaking ethical living as a response. Just as we are individually in process of becoming our best selves, Humanity and creation are moving towards their best states. Evil is not directly caused by god, but emerges as a result of the freedom and self determination of creatures in an evolving world. The ultimate Christian hope is that God will ultimately set things right and bring about a new heaven and earth where evil will be eradicated. But, again, humanity has responsibility in ushering in this time through rooting out systems and attitudes of evil. This is a very long view of good overcoming evil, and that's why we remember that God is also all over time.
Ryan Dunn:
As Christians, part of our hope in resurrection is that we will also take part in the renewed creation. Once again, I'm sweating. I feel like I've just stammered something that is less than perfect, but that in and of itself can be an expression of our developing world. There's still a lot more to learn about God and God's movement in the world. If you're interested in learning more, You can hit us up with more questions at the link in the description, and we'll be back with more soon. Okay. That's a lot to slog through, friend. But if you're hungry for more compass, I think you should check out episode 120 with reverend Mark Feldmeier.
Ryan Dunn:
It's called discovering evidence of the divine. Another Good follow-up episode that I think you'll enjoy is number 117, does the bible contradict itself with reverend Josh Scott. We'll be back in another For 2 weeks with a fresh episode of Compass. Compass is a production of United Methodist Communications. You can find out all about it and see notes and other episodes at umc.org/compass. I'll talk to you in a couple weeks.
