Os Guinness on Covenantal Love, Unspeakable Evil, and Being American Now

The Table Audio w/ Evan Rosa

"I do not know the answer to the problem of evil, but I do know love. That's the key thing. In Jesus, we cannot doubt the love of God for us if we look at the lengths to which He went." Os Guinness is a social critic, author of more than 30 books and counting and yes, as the name suggests, great‑great‑great grandson to the famous Irish brewer of beverages, Arthur Guinness. An Englishman born to medical missionaries in 1940s China, Os was exposed to dire circumstances from a young age. His early experiences formed in him an appreciation for human purpose, and calling the value of freedom for a flourishing society, a response to evil and suffering, and the meaningfulness of the Christian Gospel in contemporary life. In this episode, we discuss his latest thoughts on American public life today, the meaning of love, the human response to unspeakable suffering and evil around the world, and legacy.

Show Notes

• See Os’ Website for more information and content
• 3:04—Begin interview
• 3:50—Are we too aware of suffering in the digital age? How should we
  deal with it?
• 7:32—Christians’ distinctive response to suffering
• 9:00—A selection of Elie Wiesel's Night
• 12:10—Interlude #1
• 13:20—Should we try to explain evil?
• 14:46—Central questions pertaining to the problem of suffering
• 15:20—The God that suffers with us
• 16:50—"'I do not know the answer to the problem of evil, but I do know love.' That's the key thing. In Jesus, we cannot doubt the love of God for us if we look at the lengths to which He went."
• 17:12—"The Second Coming," by W.B. Yeats
• 18:35—How do you explain the centrality of love in Christian theology
• 20:00—Covenantal Love
• 20:45—“Evangelicals today have lost their covenant love loyalty”
• 21:00—The three elements of the Sinai Covenant
• 23:00—The state of covenant loyalty in contemporary America and the
  church
• 25:40—What hope is there in the midst of the chaos of public life?
• 27:55—The failure of the religious right
• 28:20—What policies or philosophies emerge from the Christian love
  commands?
• 28:55—Os mentions his most recent book on freedom: Last Call for Liberty
• 30:29—Is there hope for civility in public life?
• 33:09—Interlude #2
• 34:30—Interview resumes
• 35:00—The crisis of accountability
• 37:00—Legacy, the end of life and end of work
• 38:55—How do we contemplate our own deaths?
• 40:48—End interview, credits

Quotes from Os Guinness

• "'I do not know the answer to the problem of evil, but I do know love.' That's the key thing. In Jesus, we cannot doubt the love of God for us if we look at the lengths to which He went."
• "In suffering, there are two big questions — God's existence and God's character. Is He there? Is He absolutely good? Obviously, for followers of Christ, both those are answered not by a theistic proof. I don't personally put much weight on those...At the end of the day, they're answered in Jesus. If God is the Father of Jesus, and I've come to put my trust in Him, I can trust for His existence and His goodness, although I've never seen the Father."
• "The suffering servant is Jesus. When we see Him on the cross, truly, our God hanging there, we can never go so low in life our Lord has not gone lower to express His love and to save us. That's wonderful."
• "That's Christian realism. If you say, 'Is there anything wrong with the world?' Absolutely. We Christians are realistic. We know there's something deeply wrong with the world. As GK Chesterton said, 'It's me.' We all say the same."
• "Legacy is when the Lord says, 'Well done.'"

Credits

• The Table is sponsored by generous grants from the John Templeton Foundation, Templeton Religion Trust, and The Blankemeyer Foundation
• Theme music is by The Brilliance
• Production and engineering by The Narrativo Group
• Edited and mixed by TJ Hester
• Production Assistance by Laura Crane
• Special thanks to Os Guinness
• Evan Rosa on Twitter
• CCT on Twitter