Lesson 21: How Does God Operate in this World 3
Bob and Myron were discussing which option is more an impediment to Christian faith: 1) God only rarely intervenes in the natural world or 2) God can not or elects not to intervene at all. Both indicated neither option is very satisfactory.
I think some of the problem is we inevitably frame the problem as if our present scientific laws explain completely how the natural world works and then speak of God’s actions as miracles which break those laws. God remains just a human with super powers. Of course, it is not any more satisfactory to make God an abstraction. One of my scientist friends once suggested we use random dots rather than a name for God and see him operating by chance in a panentheism. A panentheism claims God is known through all things, allowing God to be in and beyond the natural world. In contrast, a pantheism claims God is all things. My friend’s suggestion often provokes my thought, but I have not taken up worshipping the random dots.
Some have tried to avoid the problem with two other approachs.1) The Bigger Picture: Religion offers a bigger picture that finds scientific law very helpful but not the whole story. Science looks at the universe from human perspective which has enabled us to see a pattern and predictability that has brought great benefit to our lives. However, we still have to recognize how limited our minds are when it comes to comprehending what this all means. A simple example often used is defining light as both particle and wave depending on how we measure it. So the laws are very helpful for humans but hardly define God or what is going on completely. This is not much different than God chiding Job in chapters 38 and 39 for thinking he can comprehend what God is doing from merely a human perspective.
2) Process Theology: The natural world is actually in an evolutionary process that is always introducing newness. We can see natural progression that again has greatly benefited us, but we can not predict everything. This kind of thought in the works of Alfred Whitehead, Charles Hartshorne, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, was much the rage a few decades ago. It emphasizes the openness of the future, allowing for singularities, such as resurrection, accommodating passages such as Romans 8: 18-30, Colossians 1: 15-20 and especially Revelation 22’s picture of the ecological kingdom. “Miracle” serves its New Testament function as sign of God’s future fulfillment of his promises.
We can either continue the conversation about how God operates in the natural world or we can move on to ask how we can understand where God is in tremendous human evil, such as the holocaust, the 16,000 people starving daily, and the 180 million people killed in 20th century wars. Who needs God if his chosen people cause or experience such suffering? You make the choice.
Frontline Study is an online discussion of the scriptures, inviting you to share your comments and your reflections on each weekly topic. Simply click on the "Add Reply" text at the top of each post to see what others have posted and to add your thoughts.