Sometimes we run across an interesting observation and critique that the Restoration in Joseph Smith's day (1820's-1840's) is utterly unlike anything God would actually do. The question is asked why did God wait so long to restore the Truth? If God always has prophets to guide the Church, why have an apostasy for almost 2,000 years?! Why let so many souls live without the Gospel?
In thinking on this, I mused to some friends that if this is a proper approach, we could always ask why did Jesus wait so loooooooong to be born on earth?! Why wait until the Meridian of Time and let 2000 years of history go by? Why let so many souls perish before the atonement occurred? Why not just do it right from the very start and show up on the very FIRST day and perform the Atonement then?
A very dear friend of mine, Ted Jones (a phenomenal researcher) actually found this to be
De Lubac, Henri, Catholicism. Why did God wait so long to send His Son:
Celsus, Contra Celsum 4.7; “But what is fundamentally objectionable in all of this is the particularism attributed to God by Christians. Why was it only ‘after such a long age’ that it occurred to God to redirect the human race? ‘Did he not care before?’ Also, why should God, after such a ‘long slumber,’ have sent some one ‘into one corner?’ [contra Celsum 6.78; cf. 4.36; 5.50: ‘one corner in the land of Judaea’]. He ought to have breathed [his spirit] into many bodies in the same way and sent them all over the world. The comic poet wrote that Zeus woke up and sent Hermes to the Athenians and Spartans because he wanted to raise a laugh in the theatre. Yet do you not think it is more ludicrous to make the Son of God to be sent to the Jews?’ [contra Celsum 6.78].”
“[Origen] grants that God does indeed intend that ‘this world as God’s work [should] be made complete and perfect in all its parts…. We should agree that in this point [Celsus] was right.’ But then comes the decisive difference: ‘…God does not take care, as Celsus imagines, only of the universe as a whole, but in addition to that He takes particular care of every rational being’ [contra Celsum 4.99]” (Frans Jozef van Beeck, S.J., God Encountered: A Contemporary Catholic Systematic Theology, Volume One: Understanding the Christian Faith (Harper and Row, 1989), I.114-115)
3rd century anti-Christian Porphyry; fragments 81, 82
Ambrose, Epistle 18.27;
Chrysostom, In Rom, homily 5.5; asked why did Christ not come sooner [Hom on Colossians 4; in LFC 14 (1843): 181-334; LNPF 13 (1890): 257-321] (Quasten, Patrology, 3.449).
Justin, Apology 1.46.1;
Irenaeus, AH 4.38;
Theodoret, On Providence 10; In Psalmen 2 (246 ff. with extracts 38, 39)
Augustine (251-2).
Eusebius says the human race could not have received the teaching (that is why God waited so long) [History of the Church 1.2.16, 21-23].
Gregory of Nyssa asks “Why did God postpone his blessing? Why did he not cut short the subsequent progress of vice right at the beginning?’ [Adv Apollinaris 53; Oratio 29, catechetica magna] (262-3, with note 55).
Ep to Diognetus in Quasten, 1. 249-50: (ca 200 AD). Diognetus had asked why Christ had not come sooner [Ep. Diog 1; translation ANL 1; FOTC 1; ACW 6]
Justin, in Thompson;
Augustine in Ralph Turner;
Augustine CD 10.32, in Wilken;
Luther, in Grislis;
Origen in Watson;
Ambrosiaster in Tavard.
Julian also).
William of Auverne asks: Why did Christ wait so long? (Henri de Lubac, Catholicism (San Francisco: Ignatius Books, 1988): 421): ‘But why did God leave the divine cult imperfect and wanting for so many thousands of years? Why did he not take thought sooner for his glory and for our salvation?
One answer to such questions is this: if but a small fraction of the peoples of the world, the Jewish race alone, was capable of understanding, in the most simple and elementary way, wherein lay the perfection of the divine cult, and if to do even this they needed the persuasion of miracles, and something of the compelling power of many great afflictions, not to mention the help gained from knowledge handed on by their ancestors; surely the whole world and society of mankind was far more incapable of attaining to the required perfection in so great a matter. And so God permitted his cult to be imperfect until the fullness of time was come (Gal 4), just as he permits children to be immature and the seed of plants and of animals to be small, till by gradual growth they reach their full and perfect stature.
To go further, the fundamental meaning of the question we are answering is this: why are we born as infants, instead of as fully developed and mature men? Why do certain animals lay eggs instead of bringing to birth fully developed offspring? When God’s cult, the true religion, was first established in the world, it existed rather in the manner of a seed or an infant, because the community of mankind itself was immature and unfitted for anything more advanced’ [On the Sacrament of the Eucharist, chapter 2]
John Wesley, in William Ragsdale Cannon, The Theology of John Wesley, with special reference to the doctrine of justification (New York 1946): 159-60; “….There are many things of which [man] is ignorant [Sermon lxix.3.2]. Why did God keep his Son for so long a time apart from the world; and, when he came, why did he come only to the Jews [sermon lxix. 3. 3]? Why is the New Zealander or the Hottentot cut off from the truths of the gospel /sermon lxix 3.1/? These problems we cannot solve, for the answer to them lies in the unsearchable wisdom of God [sermon lxix.3.2]. But rather than raise these problems as objections to the Christian revelation, we should accept them as lessons of humility, trust, and patience [sermon lxix. 3. 4]”.
Arnobius, in McDonald: 76; The credibility of a religion must not be determined by its age, but by its divinity [Adv Gentes 2.71]”
Leo the Great: The atonement was ordained from foundation of earth; ‘it is cause of salvation for all’. ‘Those who believed its promise received no less than those who witnessed its fulfillment’ [3rd Sermon for Christmas 4]” (426-7).
Interesting thoughts.
Being in the church we know of the pre-existence. The D&C explains that we are eternal beings. And as such we were all different. That is the answer to the question.
This could only be a consideration if we were invented at birth all the same.
Joseph Smith is said to have stated that only on this planet and with the Jews at that time would Jesus have been murdered.
Because the vast majority of people coming to this earth were among the most unrighteous spirits, God needed to make lots of times and places where such spirits could reside.
But he also has some few elect that he feels this planet is the best growing ground for. So he has made times (though they be few) and places (though they be few) where he could place these elect.
There is also the fact that some of us may need more time in the spirit world to repent or learn than others. Also many opportunities for preaching service were provided by the resurrection being so long away.
Jesus Christ's atonement was effective long before it physically happened (in fact back to Adam), due to the time-eternity factor. Thus Abraham and Enoch etc could not only obtain a forgiveness of sins but then become santified by the Spirit (which required the atonement done to occur).
Without sanctification Enoch couldn't have translated the city of Zion (for example).
We note the time-eternity factor in such things as Christ coming and eating with a body in Genesis chapter 18 and the Brother of Jared's view of Christ's flesh finger.
Posted by: DougT | October 13, 2009 at 06:48 PM
Doug Said: "Jesus Christ's atonement was effective long before it physically happened (in fact back to Adam)"
But What about before Adam? Death came into the world by Adam, but clearly things died before Adam. I submit both Adam's fall and Christ's atonement stretch both direction beyond this world.
-David
Posted by: David Littlefield | October 24, 2009 at 12:17 AM
David,
Tad Callister in his book "The Infinite Atonement" pointed to D&C 93:38 to make the case that the Atonement's power was present in the pre-mortal existence:
"Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became AGAIN, in their INFANT STATE, innocent before God."
Posted by: WalkerW | October 24, 2009 at 10:26 PM