The Absence of Magic
In Which GN Ponders the Mechanistic Nature of The Universe:
Observation of the world around me tells me a couple of things. First of all, whoever created (presumably God) all this is pretty amazing. I think it takes a monumental act of faith to believe that it all just evolved without any kind of higher being. Secondly, this world runs almost exclusively according to natural laws set in motion at the beginning of time.
Drop a cup and it will fall to the ground 100% of the time. Step out in front of a speeding semi truck and you'll end up dead 100% of the time. The Bible states the importance of natural laws when it points out that what a man sows he will reap. It states the same type of thing, in various ways, throughout the book.
But the Bible says some other things too. It tells us to "pray without ceasing". It tells us to have faith that through the resurrection God will disrupt natural laws. It also tells us to seek His will and guidance in our decisions. But if we are to seek His will, if prayer changes things, what happens to those natural laws?
I've come to the conclusion that God doesn't give a shit about where I work, where I live, what kind of car I drive or any of that situational stuff. He doesn't care about what I am but who I am.
There are some implications to holding this type of view. If this view of God is true, then we ought to stop seeking His will for specific situations. If we are engaged in the process of sanctification - striving to be who he wants us to be - then we should feel free to do anything that is in our minds to do. Of course, His general will for us still holds true. For example, we aren't free to murder our next door neighbor so we can marry his wife.
We can stop worrying about His specific will for us and work instead on being who he wants us to be. We can stop expecting that he'll help us out of a bad situation since he's more interested in how it develops our character than in addressing it. We can stop searching for signs that tell us that God wants us to do such and such and instead work on achieving it in the real world with the skills and gifts given to us.
You might say, "The bible gives numerous instances where God intervened in the natural order of things to work His will. How can you say He doesn't do so now?"
I imagine that God does work supernaturally in this day and age, but it appears to be a very rare event. One of the things that makes the Bible so special is that it is the story of exceptional events. It was specifically written to tell us of supernatural events throughout history, but that doesn't mean those types of events are the norm.
There are some problems with this view of God though. What happens to a "personal relationship" with Jesus when it seems that He holds the world (and you) at arms length? Where does prayer fit into this whole thing? If natural laws hold sway, is there really such a thing as providence?
Needless to say, I'm feeling very discouraged right now and it's possible my thinking is being influenced by my feelings. It's possible that God is much more active than I give him credit. There's someplace in the Bible that talks about how his eye is on the sparrow. Well, I've seen plenty of sparrows get hit by cars. If God is really all that active and involved in the world outside of those natural laws He's established, then I'm not seeing it.
I'd love to be wrong about this, but I can't see any other logical way to explain it. If you can prove to me otherwise, then go for it... I dare you. In fact, I double dog dare you.
Observation of the world around me tells me a couple of things. First of all, whoever created (presumably God) all this is pretty amazing. I think it takes a monumental act of faith to believe that it all just evolved without any kind of higher being. Secondly, this world runs almost exclusively according to natural laws set in motion at the beginning of time.
Drop a cup and it will fall to the ground 100% of the time. Step out in front of a speeding semi truck and you'll end up dead 100% of the time. The Bible states the importance of natural laws when it points out that what a man sows he will reap. It states the same type of thing, in various ways, throughout the book.
But the Bible says some other things too. It tells us to "pray without ceasing". It tells us to have faith that through the resurrection God will disrupt natural laws. It also tells us to seek His will and guidance in our decisions. But if we are to seek His will, if prayer changes things, what happens to those natural laws?
I've come to the conclusion that God doesn't give a shit about where I work, where I live, what kind of car I drive or any of that situational stuff. He doesn't care about what I am but who I am.
There are some implications to holding this type of view. If this view of God is true, then we ought to stop seeking His will for specific situations. If we are engaged in the process of sanctification - striving to be who he wants us to be - then we should feel free to do anything that is in our minds to do. Of course, His general will for us still holds true. For example, we aren't free to murder our next door neighbor so we can marry his wife.
We can stop worrying about His specific will for us and work instead on being who he wants us to be. We can stop expecting that he'll help us out of a bad situation since he's more interested in how it develops our character than in addressing it. We can stop searching for signs that tell us that God wants us to do such and such and instead work on achieving it in the real world with the skills and gifts given to us.
You might say, "The bible gives numerous instances where God intervened in the natural order of things to work His will. How can you say He doesn't do so now?"
I imagine that God does work supernaturally in this day and age, but it appears to be a very rare event. One of the things that makes the Bible so special is that it is the story of exceptional events. It was specifically written to tell us of supernatural events throughout history, but that doesn't mean those types of events are the norm.
There are some problems with this view of God though. What happens to a "personal relationship" with Jesus when it seems that He holds the world (and you) at arms length? Where does prayer fit into this whole thing? If natural laws hold sway, is there really such a thing as providence?
Needless to say, I'm feeling very discouraged right now and it's possible my thinking is being influenced by my feelings. It's possible that God is much more active than I give him credit. There's someplace in the Bible that talks about how his eye is on the sparrow. Well, I've seen plenty of sparrows get hit by cars. If God is really all that active and involved in the world outside of those natural laws He's established, then I'm not seeing it.
I'd love to be wrong about this, but I can't see any other logical way to explain it. If you can prove to me otherwise, then go for it... I dare you. In fact, I double dog dare you.
This entry was posted
on Friday, July 01, 2005 at 2:46 PM.
You can skip to the end and leave a response.
» Post a Comment