“Daddy, make it all go away!” Those can be some of the most heartbreaking words a parent can hear. The words can come through the tears of a love struck drama queen or can be the cry of a deeper, more seriously damaged soul. Either way, when those words are spoken, it leaves the hearer heartbroken and helpless. There is nothing that can be done to erase painful events from our minds. Nothing will truly “make it go away.” That is, possibly until now.
On Monday, the UK Daily Mail published an article detailing a “breakthrough” in the use of beta-blockers. Beta-blockers are currently widely prescribed to heart patients. It seems that new experiments by Dutch researchers are showing that they can also be used to erase painful memories. “In theory, it could eradicate memories of traumatic events that happened years ago. It might also help patients overcome phobias, obsessions, eating disorders and even sexual hang-ups.” Welcome to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World—enjoy your Soma.
As medical technology continues to transcend ethical boundaries, it becomes less and less productive to ask what is possible. With each passing day, possibilities are becoming reality. The more pressing question to ask is what is acceptable. In 1 Corinthians 6:12, Paul wrote, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable.” Arguing the ethics of a medical treatment is a tricky and often unproductive task. Disregarding the question of ethics, even if destroying bad memories was an ethical practice, would it be profitable? The answer to that can only come from a more fundamental question—why does God allow bad things to happen to people in the first place? Once again, we are faced with the question of theodicy—if God is all-powerful and good, why do bad things happen?
John Piper tackles the topic in his book, Spectacular Sins: And Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ
If we can take a pill that will wipe away our painful memories, that will also wipe away the wonderful opportunity for God to show His glory. It will remove the opportunity to show overcoming strength that only comes from the grace of God, through the person and work of Jesus Christ. In that same book, Piper went on to say, “Maintaining the joy of faith in the face of horrific evil does not happen by coasting. It happens by conquering.”
Jesus did not die to ignore sin. He came to atone for it. Taking a pill to erase painful memories is in effect, ignoring evil. Evil is not to be ignored and forgotten with a pill. It is to be atoned for with the blood of Jesus. God is glorified in the overcoming, not the forgetting.
Philippians 4:11-13
On Monday, the UK Daily Mail published an article detailing a “breakthrough” in the use of beta-blockers. Beta-blockers are currently widely prescribed to heart patients. It seems that new experiments by Dutch researchers are showing that they can also be used to erase painful memories. “In theory, it could eradicate memories of traumatic events that happened years ago. It might also help patients overcome phobias, obsessions, eating disorders and even sexual hang-ups.” Welcome to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World—enjoy your Soma.
As medical technology continues to transcend ethical boundaries, it becomes less and less productive to ask what is possible. With each passing day, possibilities are becoming reality. The more pressing question to ask is what is acceptable. In 1 Corinthians 6:12, Paul wrote, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable.” Arguing the ethics of a medical treatment is a tricky and often unproductive task. Disregarding the question of ethics, even if destroying bad memories was an ethical practice, would it be profitable? The answer to that can only come from a more fundamental question—why does God allow bad things to happen to people in the first place? Once again, we are faced with the question of theodicy—if God is all-powerful and good, why do bad things happen?
John Piper tackles the topic in his book, Spectacular Sins: And Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ
Tragedies and calamities and horrific suffering and sinful atrocities should not take Christians off guard. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). They are foreseen by God, and he foretold them for us to know. God sees them coming and does not intend to stop them. Therefore, it appears that they somehow fit into his purposes.A comprehensive answer to the question of theodicy is far beyond the scope of this post. But the conclusion can be summed up in Romans 8:28. If that verse is true (and it is), then all of the things we experience in life will work together for good—no matter how painful and evil the experience may be at the time. In His all-powerful strength and His all-knowing mind, nothing escapes His plan. Everything is being used to accomplish His plan. In some small part of that, all of our memories and experiences are also part of that plan. All of them are being used to formulate and build and mold us into the people God intends us to be. Far from implying that all of those experiences are good, this view of God’s plan shows us that He uses those experiences in our lives to bring Him glory. His glory is magnified as we allow those heartbreaking memories to bring us to more and more dependence on Christ. The more we can’t handle ourselves, the more we realize that Jesus is the only One who can. So, instead of the deep impassioned cry, “Daddy, make it all go away,” our cry will be, “Lord, make it all work for your glory.”
If we can take a pill that will wipe away our painful memories, that will also wipe away the wonderful opportunity for God to show His glory. It will remove the opportunity to show overcoming strength that only comes from the grace of God, through the person and work of Jesus Christ. In that same book, Piper went on to say, “Maintaining the joy of faith in the face of horrific evil does not happen by coasting. It happens by conquering.”
Jesus did not die to ignore sin. He came to atone for it. Taking a pill to erase painful memories is in effect, ignoring evil. Evil is not to be ignored and forgotten with a pill. It is to be atoned for with the blood of Jesus. God is glorified in the overcoming, not the forgetting.
Philippians 4:11-13
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