WHY BAD THINGS HAPPEN
INTRODUCTION
Why do bad things happen? Where is God when it seems like our life has been placed on the quickly eroding rooftop of hell itself-with flickering flames licking the bottom of our feet? Is He really there? Does He really care? Has God turned away His ears from the cries of the impoverished babies of the third world countries in the midst of civil war? Has He turned His face away from the father who is forced to tell his daughter that her mother was just diagnosed with a disease that will lead to her soon demise? Where is God when the mother of seven children learns that her husband and all of her kids died in an automobile accident just a few miles from their home? Or what about the church minister who returned from vacation to find the church building and all of his parishioners swept away in a freak tornado? Does God hears the desperate cries of the father of five as he his forced to take his family to the streets after being unsuspectingly laid off from his well paying job? Is God at all moved by the broken child who is daily abused by her stepfather while her mother-the only relative that really loves her-is dying of cancer?
From those extremely impoverished at the point of death to the Christian missionary men and women wrongfully imprisoned and tortured, they all want to know one thing: how can a loving God allow His people to be stricken and incapacitated with grief and suffering? Undoubtedly, these are valid questions, and most people have asked them at some point in their life. In this article I will attempt to examine this issue more closely to bring clarity to these questions.
WHY, GOD, WHY?
In my later teenage years, I attended a not-so-Christian party with some of my friends. Among those attending was a young man that went to my high school. To make a long story short, this teenage boy had recently faced the unsuspected death of his father. His father was the owner of our local drug store; in fact he owned the only drug store in the small community of less than two thousand. One evening, the boy's father had just finished closing the store and sat down to have a few alcoholic drinks in the stores backroom. A half-hour or so later he decided to go home. It was at this one pivotal moment in time that would change his life and his family's lives forever. As he traveled home in a stupor he crossed the median and hit another vehicle head on; he killed the woman driver instantly. A few years after this incident, the boy's father was having increased difficulty dealing with his dark sins. No legal trouble ever surfaced over the matter except for a D.U. I. (Driving Under the Influence) charge, but his painful past would not let him enter the future. The devil had told him he was a failure and an alcoholic murderer, and he eventually committed suicide.
As I sat at this party not finding anything productive to do, I struck up a conversation with the now drunk teenage boy who had faced a very harsh reality so soon in life. I talked to him briefly and inevitably the subject of God came up. During our conversation he made a comment like this: "I just don't understand why God did this to me. I mean if He is such a good God and all powerful, why could He not, why would He have not stopped this from happening?" I believe many people have questions like this. This article will be dedicated to answering this young man's question, even though I have not seen him in over ten years. My only regret is that I did not have any answers for him at that time.
IT'S NOT MY FAULT!
From briefly examining this young man's life, I came to understand that there are two views that most people tend to construct during a crisis. The first one is to blame God. In the psychological world this is what is called externalization-blaming everyone else except yourself or the one at fault. It is exactly what the word infers-to look to the outside instead of the inside. A master "externalizer" would be a defense attorney; a profession that is paid to find some other outside source to blame other than the person they are defending. A classic case of externalization or blame shifting is when God confronted Adam and Eve in Genesis three. When God asked why they disobeyed His rule they each blamed someone or something else. Adam blamed the woman and the woman blamed the serpent for their moral failures and disobedience to God's will.
And [God] said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." And the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." Genesis 3:11-13 NKJV
I once encountered a young man in prison who believed that God had essentially planned and made him commit a horrendous crime against a child. There is, in fact, a very well educated group of so-called Christian scholars that would believe this inmate's reasoning to be true; they are known as determinists. They believe that God has determined everyone's destiny and each incident in their daily lives until they reach that entropic climax-whether good or bad. This way of thinking, however, is blatantly blasphemous toward God, and highly externalized. Although there are certain scriptures that would seem to support this ideology they are misinterpreted based on the nature and essence of God (Rom. 8:28-30). Proponents of this erroneous theology interpret Scripture without compiling all of the evidence for and against it in the Bible.
A good example of externalization may be found by examining the lives of incarcerated individuals. Most people in state and federal prisons are used to blaming someone other then themselves. Even modern day psychology has introduced the theory that a person's childhood is the prime factor for a person's criminal activity. Sadly, this view does not completely allow these confused men and women the opportunity to release what they have done to the Lord; they continuously blame another person for their illegal and immoral activity. In their mind they do not need to take responsibility because someone else made them do it. Surely, a person's upbringing did play a major role in who they became as an adult, but that does not lessen the fact that each person is responsible for their own choices. There are many stories where people have overcome the odds and chose another direction in life, other than living a life of crime. The person that has chosen to do so is usually not blaming someone else, but is taking full responsibility for their past actions and every present opportunity to choose the good over the evil.
When situations grow into despair and despondency, almost all people will look to God. Some blame God for their troubles whether they know they are doing it or not, while a small-and I mean small-percentage actually view God as a concerned and loving God that can only get their attention through drastic circumstances. Now, before you turn this article off in your mind, you should know that I do not believe that God sends sickness, disease, despair or distress on anyone; I do however, believe that God can and does use these methods when they come at us-and they will come-to draw us closer to Him in some way.[1] After all, in order for someone to send something to another they must first possess the thing they are sending. Since God is holy He does not possess these evil attributes. Invariably then, the question arises as to why God allows these situations to come at us. I believe Dr. Gregory Boyd describes this very well in his book, Letters to a Skeptic:
It seems to me...that if God is going to give free wills to His creatures, He has to allow for the possibility of them misusing that freedom, even if this means hurting others. To be significantly free is to be morally responsible to each other. What is the freedom to love or not love unless it is freedom to enrich of harm another? God structured things this way because the alternative would be to have a race of robots who can't genuinely love---but that's hardly worth creating isn't it?[2]
What Dr. Boyd is saying is that in order to have freedom, true freedom, there must be inclusiveness to choice among human beings (Josh. 24:15). Certainly, God could have created a world where everything was ran by Him on puppet strings, but that would not bring what He desired. What does God desire? God wants true worship and fellowship from the heart-for us to love Him, like He loved us (2 Cor. 5:18). In order to meet this requirement there must be a genuinely freewill heart reflection toward God. For example, I cannot tell my twin sons that I love them and that they must love me or they will not eat. That is not love by either party. I must give them a choice to love, and they must choose to love without any strings being attached. This, however, does not mean that they will automatically choose to love me because I have given them the choice. Risking the fact that they may not choose to love me, however, is more sensible-much more-than the alternative of making them love me. This is precisely why God has given every human being a choice to love and follow Him or choose their own direction in life-no matter how preposterous that choice may seem (Deut. 30:19).[3]
So inevitably, with the inclusion of choice comes the eventual uprising of the wrong one-the human selection of evil and cursing instead of blessing and liberty. With the wrong choice come problems, failures, tribulations, sickness, disease and despair (Ps. 107:17). God knew that Adam and Eve would eventually fail and succumb to the temptations of the serpent, but God already had a foolproof plan in His mind before they ever appeared on earth. He would send Himself to take on the form of a man to die for the entire world-to bring justification, and one-day final peace and victory (John 3:16; Rev. 12). God devised a plan to make humans righteous through the shedding of His own perfect and innocent blood (Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 1:7). All who place their faith in Christ's work on the cross shall leave this temporal world-with all its cursing, pain and sorrow for an eternal heavenly home in paradise (Rom. 3:28). Whatever sufferings we have faced in this life do not compare to what Christ suffered. Any temporary pains will soon be forgotten once the believer walks through those pearly gates in God's magnificent abode.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 2 Corinthians 4:17 NKJV
GOD'S INVOLVEMENT IN NATURAL DISASTERS
There are certainly cases where the people involved in calamitous circumstances are not at fault. For instance, the young man whose father committed suicide was not at fault, but his father was; admittedly, it started with the sin of alcoholism and progressed until he took his own life. There are other cases, however, where people were not directly connected to tragic events.
Many have wondered about God's role in the tragic consequences of natural disasters. Dr. H. Norman Wright, in his book, Why Did This Happen To Me?, makes an impressive observation:
Recognition of God's self-imposed limitation is the most difficult concept to grasp. Many ardent Christians will have difficulty with this viewpoint. But I am convinced that when God created the world, He set laws in motion which He even chooses to honor. The problem for us is that these laws intersect our lives in the most sensitive areas-in our suffering and misfortune.[4]
H. Norman Wright understands that God has set certain laws in motion that He has sworn to keep intact until the earth passes away (Matt. 5:40). When God originally placed these laws for human existence there were no anomalies that adversely affected the earth's atmosphere and weather conditions. But as sin was introduced on earth so were the problems of irregular air pressure, jet streams, tides and so forth. Many have theorized that human choices directly affected the earth's ozone which eventually caused unnatural catastrophes. Somewhere along the line people are the result of sickness, disease and even so-called natural disasters. It all stems from Adam and Eve's disobedience in the Garden of Eden. It is connected to the fact that people have a will and God will not invade that liberty for the sake of love. So, is God to be blamed for these calamitous hurricanes, typhoons, and tsunamis? If blame should be accredited to God, it would only be from the standpoint that God loved so much that He decided to give us the freedom to screw up the environment. But even that is ludicrous. I know that someone may cite the scripture that speaks of God controlling the whirlwinds, but even proper Scripture interpretation techniques will discredit the idea that God moves each and every whirlwind as they come around (Nah. 1:3). It may mean that God controls them by setting the governing laws of the winds from the beginning of time. Because I am not a Christian Meteorologist I will leave any further comments to the professionals.[5]
The wind blows where it wishes... John 3:8 NKJV
Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, "It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites." 2 Samuel 21:1 NKJV
YOU SEE A PROBLEM, I SEE PRAISE!
In my own life I have come to a clear understanding that God uses certain misfortunate circumstances to get our attention. For a few individuals this may have never happened; there are some that are "born in the church" with no unrighteous flaws, but for the rest of us, we needed a slight prod in the right direction.
It was when I studied the miracles of Jesus that I was reminded of the fact that God uses despair, and despondency to draw us closer to Him. After all, that is the big picture. In John 4:46-54, a certain nobleman is very distraught over his son's severe illness-one that had his son sick to point of death. The nobleman, instead of shaking his fist to the heavens in anger, actually set out on a two-day journey to find the miracle worker he had heard about-Jesus of Nazareth. Long story short, Jesus spoke a word and the son was miraculously healed-but this was not the real miracle. While Jesus gave the son back his temporal life, He gave the entire family eternal life. Undoubtedly, this would not have happened if the young son had not been in this dreadful condition.
And he himself [the nobleman] believed, and his whole household. John 4:53 NKJV
While some people would view a detrimental disease or accident as an insurmountable foe worthy of contemplative depression, gloom and misery, this is not how God perceives it. His desire is that we look beyond ourselves to reach out to a God who has the ability to give life-eternal life. Someday, there will come a time when human strength will fail; there will come a time when a person's intellect and graduate degrees will not get them any further than a cute picture on the wall; there will come a time when position or title will not persuade anyone; finally, there will come a time when man must look beyond himself to obtain life eternal. God allows tribulations and trials to bring people to look for that thing that is beyond themselves-He wants people to understand that life is short, like a vapor even (Jam. 4:14). Admittedly, when a person comes to the point of death they must realize that they are powerless to control anything. Hopefully, it comes before this, but many times it does not.
As humans, we never want disappointment, discouragement, despair, disease or disaster. Humans want happiness; they want to buy a ten-dollar book and systematically solve all the worlds' problems in seven steps or less to achieve the "good life." What many fail to realize is that it is the bad as well as the good that complete the big picture. Even in nature it is essential to have the sunshine AND the storms-growth cannot exist otherwise (Ecc. 3:1). Sadly, most humans live for today; their viewpoints on life are severely limited to what is going on at the present time. God, however, looks at our lives through a macroscopic lens with the ability to view the complete, eternal picture.
What humans regard as a disaster, God might view as a blessing; all of this, of course, is only understandable by the person who sees the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10). A good example of this is a person looking on at the start of a parade line thinking that the fire truck means someone's house or a building is on fire. They quickly surmise that somewhere something very bad is happening; but, in actuality, it is simply the beginning of a very striking and pleasurable parade full of larger-than-life balloons and abundant attractions. The person viewing the first vehicle in the parade could not see the entire picture, only the events frame-by-frame as they were happening. This is exactly what faith is; it is placing our belief and trust in a God who knows the future to take care of our present to ensure our eternal existence in heaven; it is believing that although we can only see each parade entrant as it comes around the corner, God sees it all and knows every detail before it was even built to be in the parade.
I THOUGHT I HAD PROBLEMS
When I think of trials and tribulations, wrongful accusations, famines, hate, murderous intentions, pride, and other misfortunes, I think of the patriarch Joseph in the book of Genesis (Chapters. 37-50). Joseph had everything going for him: prestige, a beautiful robe, favor from his father, and even a heavenly gift to interpret dreams. But one day it all came to an abrupt end. Suddenly, without Joseph knowing it, his brothers became filled with rage and jealousy because of his abundant blessings and childish boasting. Joseph found himself cast into a pit, left to die by his own brothers. Then his bothers decided to sell him as a slave. Eventually he ended up working in Egypt under a powerful ruler, but there he was falsely accused and sentenced to a life of incarceration in a dungeon-like prison.
I think if I were Joseph, I would have questioned whether God was in my life. Think about what you would do if this actually happened to you? What if you were cast into a pit, sold as a slave, hated by your own family, became a slave among idolatrous pagans, then wrongfully charged with rape? It would be hard to imagine that God had things under control, but just read what Joseph said to his brothers in the end:
Then his [Joseph's] brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, "Behold, we are your servants." Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive... Genesis 50:18-20
The story did not end with Joseph rotting away in some dark penitentiary. It just so happened that through several strange events, God's favor was shown in Joseph's life as he ended up being exalted to the second highest position in Egypt. During this time, Joseph acted as a minister of domestic affairs to Pharaoh and advised him to store up food for the coming famine that would sweep through the land like ravaging locusts. As this plan unfolded, Joseph's family-including the brothers that hated him to murder-had come to Egypt to look for food. It was then that Joseph made it known to them that while they did much evil to him, God actually used the suffering of one man for everyone's benefit. Doesn't this sound familiar? This is exactly what happened to Jesus for the benefit for mankind; the difference being that Joseph had faults and Jesus did not; Jesus was God incarnate and Joseph was, well, he was just Joseph (Jhn 1:14; Phil. 2:8). Joseph did, however, have dreams. He knew that God was up to something and he never blamed God for his circumstances. In the end, it was Joseph that was exalted because he remained faithful to God.
THE BLESSING OF CORRECTION
It is impossible to survey every component connected to human suffering and tribulations in an article like this. There is, however, another element that should be discussed before it is completed. I have already insinuated that God uses tribulations for our benefit, but He also corrects us through them. That is, of course, only true if a person is a child of God (Heb. 12:7). God describes His care through correction very well when He uses the illustration of Himself being a Father to many sons and daughters. One of the jobs of a father, a good father, is that he will correct his children (Pro. 22:15). Why do fathers do this? They do it to keep their children from straying away from what is right; they do it for the child's own protection.
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? ...Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:7, 11 NKJV
When I read this scripture passage, I think of how I correct my own children. At some point, nearly every father has told his child not to touch the range top (that's a stove for y'all southerners.) But why does he do this? He does it to keep the child out of danger. When the child disobeys the boundary lines, he will get punished; and while the child thinks that he is going through the worst pain imaginable, it is nothing compared to the reality of touching his baby-soft skin to the door of a 450-degree oven. The father corrects his child because he loves him and doesn't want him to get burned. The child thinks that his dad is unnecessarily punishing him-after all, he was still a few inches away from the oven. The father, unlike the adolescent, knows the possible consequences if his child touches the hot oven; the child is limited to his own experiences and lives only for that moment in time. If, however, the child persists in trying to touch the oven, the father will have no choice but to allow him to experience the intense pain. The father allows this to avoid a more serious consequence.
This is a good illustration of the way God operates with His children (those who place their faith and trust in Him). He always gives us the proper instructions in righteous living, but if we continue to rebel against Him, He will allow us to go through the fire. He does it to bring us back to the right path.
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. Psalm 119:67 NKJV
In Psalm 23, one of the most beloved passages in the Bible, God reveals Himself as Jehovah-Rohi, the LORD our Shepherd. In this passage there are some awesome pictures of God' s great love for His people. He is called the provider, the feeder, the protector and the guide for the needful sheep. But one element that is not really understood is the correction that the shepherd gives the sheep. In this passage, the psalmist mentions the "rod and staff" that brings comfort. God revealed Himself as the Great Shepherd because the Israelites knew this occupation very well; most of Israel's patriarchs were shepherds at one time (i.e. Abel, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, & David).
The two most prevalent tools that a shepherd might employ would be the rod and the staff. Even those who are not familiar with shepherding understand the purpose of a staff. A staff assists a person when they are walking; it is a tool to help maintain balance in uneven terrain. The shepherd's staff was slightly different than an ordinary staff, however, in that it was a straight stick with a crook at one end. This enabled the shepherd to rescue the sheep in hard to reach areas. The other tool, the rod, it less understood. The rod had two primary functions. With the rod the shepherd could defend the sheep from wolves or other predators just by throwing it at them. Some shepherds were so good with the rod that they could throw it at an invading predator that was several yards away and hit it with great accuracy. Others simply used the rod to "club" the enemy until its death- locking jaws would release its unsuspecting victim.[6] In addition to the rod being an instrument for defense it had another vital purpose. If the sheep continued to wander away from the flock into danger the shepherd would use the rod to break the sheep's tiny leg. Now I know that this sounds extremely harsh, but the big picture must be analyzed before any rash conclusions can be drawn. It must be understood that sheep are extremely co-dependant; they cannot find food or water without help; they cannot defend themselves; they are even afraid of running water. If the sheep wanders from the flock it is sure to meet a quick demise. This is why the shepherd is so adamant about keeping the sheep safe and secure. The shepherd would break the sheep's leg with the rod to temporarily keep it from wandering away. In the sheep's case, it was extremely necessary-it was either a broken leg or death.
A beautiful picture of God's care for us is seen in the way a shepherd corrects the sheep. After the shepherd breaks the sheep's leg he takes the sheep and puts him over his shoulders. The sheep learns that the shepherd is there to help him not to hurt him. While the sheep's leg is healing, the shepherd personally feeds and waters the sheep providing for its every need. During this process the shepherd and the sheep become very close. When the sheep's leg finally heals he never wanders away from the shepherd again. The same is true with the way God deals with us. Sometimes God will allow us go through trials and adversities to get our attention by breaking our will. But while it seems as though He is abusing us it is for our own good. Just like the sheep, we cannot see that God was protecting us from a very real danger-we only sense the pain of a now problem. It is, however, God's intention to get us out of now and into faith-to view circumstances with spiritual understanding instead of a sensual worldview.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want...Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:1, & 4
Interestingly, the Hebrew word for "rod" (nacham) actually conveys the thought of repentance. The New Spirit-Filled Life Bible gives an outstanding definition of this shrouded word:
To comfort, console, extend compassion, sigh with the one who is grieving; to repent. Nacham originally may have meant "to breathe intensely because of deep emotion." In some references, the word is translated "repent," the idea being that regret causes deep sighing.[7]
When the shepherd broke the sheep's leg it learned obedience and repented from its previous way of life; no longer does the sheep wander away from the shepherd. The word "repent" simply means to have a sorrowful spirit and to change direction. It means that a person has had a change of heart, which in turn changes their actions. They are no longer concerned with fulfilling every sensual desire and want, but are focused on the eternal picture and what God desires. Sometimes it takes the breaking of a person's will before they realize the danger they were in. When God allows us to go through something very painful it may mean that He is drawing us to Himself to keep us from a more dangerous situation-the worst case being hell. Regardless of whatever painful situation you find yourself in, realize that you are alive to meet another day; understand that God desires you to have a personal relationship with Him. He wants you to come to Him-the One who alone can provide for all of our needs (Matt. 6:33).
NO TEST, NO TEST-IMONY
So many people today have very powerful testimonies because they have been through some very painful events in their life. They have compassion on certain individuals because they have walked where they walked. Some people would have never volunteered to reach out to drug addicts, women contemplating abortion, prisoners, prostitutes or even those caught up in IRS evasion had they not been there themselves.
Many people would have never dreamed that they would be reaching out to those they minister to on a daily basis, had God not allowed them to have been in those shoes themselves. I'm sure Chuck Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship, never in his wildest dreams thought he would be ministering to thousands of inmates across the country when he was a top-notch politician under Richard Nixon. I'm sure John Newton would have never composed the famous hymn "Amazing Grace" had he not been a slave ship captain forgiven of many atrocities. The Word of God says that individuals go through tribulations to comfort those who will eventually go through the same; it is to show that God is able to comfort and save:
God...who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation... 2 Corinthians 1:4, 6 NKJV
CONCLUSION
God has many reasons for allowing us to go through tests, trials and pain. To some, God is simply a terrible tyrant who is ready to smite humans at every available opportunity. There are others, however, that understand that God is yearning to be reconciled to His creation and will use any means available to break a person's will to provoke them to come back to Him. Many people curse God for allowing them to face the many pains that they encounter in this life. Sadly, they will realize that God was trying to keep them from a greater danger-an eternity in hell fire and brimstone. But then it will be too late.
Question: If you were a father that knew your child would end up being burned in the hottest fire imaginable would you not do everything you could, short of incarcerating him and his will, to stop it?
Don't answer me, talk to God.
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Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Psalm 107:17
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. I Corintians 10:13 NKJV
For God does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men. Lamentation 3:33 NKJV
It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. Psalm 119:71 NKJV
When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice...He will not forsake you... Deuteronomy 4:30, 31 NKJV
[1] In Matthew chapter 7, the winds, rain and peril came to both the man who built his house on the rock and the one who built his house on the sand. The trials and pain will come to everyone, but it will be who you depend on that determines where you will be when it is all said and done. If you put your faith in Christ (the Rock) you will come out just fine, but if you trust in yourself or another (dust or sand) you will end up demolished.
[2] Boyd, Gregory. Letters to a Skeptic (Colorado Springs, CO. Ó2004 Cook Communications) p. 23.
[3] It might be like a church receiving a $1000 donation and having a letter attached to it that said they were only free to use $10 of it as they would like. The remaining $990 must be used as the donor wishes. This is not no-strings attached donation. In fact, if I were that pastor I'm not too sure that I would want that money.
[4] Wright, H. Norman. Why Did This Happen To Me? (Ann Arbor, MI. Vine Books Ó1999) p. 140.
[5] It may be politically incorrect and extremely uncompassionate to say that certain individuals who live in catastrophe prone areas should share blame for any adverse consequences due to natural disasters. After all, did they not know that these areas are susceptible to natural disasters? California has fires and earthquakes; the Gulf Coast has hurricanes; Kansas has tornados; Colorado has avalanches. If you don't want to deal with it, get out! (That is, of course, if you are able and willing to leave.)
[6] Towns, Elmer. Praying the 23rd Psalm.(Ventura, CA. Regal Books Ó2001) p. 102.
[7] Hayford, Jack. New Spirit-Filled Life Bible (Nashville, TN. Thomas Nelson Ó2002) p. 703.