I Couldn’t Believe in a God, who…

In my earlier “Key Belief Number Five” http://colinhawkersother.blogspot.com/2011/12/god-made-universe-to-show-extent-of-his.html, I wrote about how God shows His greatness through his creation of the universe. I also said that, for the most part, if you don’t believe in God, then this does not make much of an impression. Further, I said that the bad that people see in the world, develops into a reason for not believing in God. This is typically expressed as “I couldn’t believe in a God who…….”

In some ways, we start with a disadvantage in our childhood. Sunday Schools give or can give the impression of a Father Christmas figure of God. He answers prayers. He loves the world. He does good things. He is someone to whom we can talk. He is the Jesus in the Manger, meek and mild (to quote a Christmas Carol). It is correct that he should be portrayed as such, when we are talking to children, whose grasp of complexity and ambiguity is very limited. But life, as we know, is more complicated than that.  

At some point in their lives, people, as they grow up, have to deal with the ambiguities that are created.  We see and learn how the world really works, what happens in other countries (or our own), in peoples’ lives, and our own immediate families and lives. We resolve these ambiguities by changing our view of the world. In most cases hopefully, we stop believing in things are not true. We no longer believe in Father Christmas. We learn that people lie, car drivers do not always stop at zebra crossings and supermarkets do not always charge the correct prices. We don’t trust politicians and God does not answer our prayers.

Our views are altered and amended. The view we hold of ourselves, our friends, our families and workplace evolve. They may evolve so slowly that we barely notice, until we look back and say to ourselves or friends “Did we really think that?” Sometimes these views change abruptly as some painful truth becomes apparent.

In the same way, earlier views and beliefs about God may be rejected totally, evolve or remain unchanged.

For many, what takes place is a total rejection of earlier beliefs. I have not thought through the various reasons why this might happen. But for many, the rejection is expressed as an inability to believe in a God who causes or allows events to occur which should not happen, at least in terms of the old beliefs. A common ways that this is expressed is “I could not believe in a God who…….”

We might have had a particular view of God. If this view is correct, why does he allow these things to happen? This might be expressed as “If he is a God of Love, why does he allow suffering?” We would like to believe in a God, who does not allow such things to happen, whether these events affect me directly (such as the death of a close family member) or are external to me (such a war in another country). What does not happen is a modifying of the view of what sort of God we are dealing with here.

If there is a God, and there is suffering in the world, then clearly He is a God, who can allow this. This may be important to us. However, the fact that we do not understand this is not essential to its truth. There are many things in the world that that are important and which, we do not understand. This does not mean that they are not true and we have to accept the truth of these, if we wish to continue to function and stay alive.

We have come to think of God in terms that we can approve of. We do this rather than accept the uncomfortable fact that He is whatever He is. Refusing to believe that God is whatever He is a futile exercise. We cannot demand that God conform to an image that we have created or, which was created for us when we were very young.

The Bible makes very few statements along these lines. Rather obscurely, buried in the middle of the Bible, is the Book of Job (immediately before the Psalms). Job is afflicted by God, and although he never directly accuses God, he is confused and puzzled in his heart.

God’s answer is very uncompromising. (Job 38 – 42). You can skip the rest of Job if you want to. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+38&version=NIV God challenges Job to consider whether he really has any idea of who he is dealing with. God does not have to justify himself to Job or to us.

I will finish with a better known bible story, Moses and the burning bush. (Exodus 3.1 – 14). http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+3&version=NIV

Verse 14 is something of a puzzle. “I am what I am”. This is first time in the bible that this expression is used. God says that he is to be called the “I AM”. Very droll, we might think, but it was central for Moses to understand that God is whatever he is and not what Moses or the people of Israel wanted him to be.

God’s existence does not stand or fall on what we think he might be, but by whatever He is.  

God made the Universe to Show the Extent of his Power

I hope that you enjoyed the brief detour into the world of mountain flowers and gentians, in particular, as well as the tents by St. Pauls. Now it is back to the unfolding list of my “Eight Key Beliefs”.  We have reached one on which I touched lightly back in March 2010. It was rather disrespectfully entitled, “A Cosmic Joke”. http://colinhawkersother.blogspot.com/2010/03/cosmic-joke.html

Moving on the “Key Belief Number Five”, you will think that I have only three to go. You may be surprised or disappointed (depending on your point of view) to know that there are at least five to go and maybe more, proving that I am not very good at arithmetic.

I have already put forward the thought that God created the Universe, firstly because he is a creating God, and secondly as the backdrop or context to Man’s existence. http://colinhawkersother.blogspot.com/2011/10/he-is-creating-and-sharing-god.html

I also put forward the additional reason that God wants to draw Man’s attention to His existence. The Universe is so vast and our understanding and knowledge of it is so small, even if that knowledge is growing every year. It stands to reason that as Man looks out to infinity (and 13 Billion Light Years, and increasing, is nearly infinity*¹), his thoughts are naturally drawn to God, the Creator and Man’s own insignificance.

Actually, not one bit of it. From my (unscientific) research in talking to people who do not believe in God, none are impressed by this argument or thought that the enormity and complexity of the Universe proves that there is some kind of God. I don’t know of anyone who has looked out at the stars or considered some of the facts of the universe and been persuaded, to believe in God, from a position of not believing to God. Now, there probably is such a person, but I have not met them and I suspect that he, she or they are the exception (and anyway, it would spoil the argument that I am building up here).

If this is the case, subject to a few awkward exceptions which I shall ignore, then that leaves only people who believe in God who make the connection and are impressed. And by and large, they are impressed.

As a brief, but not unexpected side-track, I have no thoughts or theories on why might this be the case (assuming that it is the case). But if it is true, then I will further develop the idea, that a person’s knowledge of God comes only via a personal and even direct interaction with Him. (See Balaam’s donkey http://colinhawkersother.blogspot.com/2011/10/balaams-donkey.html)

It is only then then an appreciation of everything that God has done, both in our lives and in the world at large becomes possible.

(However, a side-track within a side-track. People often see what they do not approve of in the world as a reason for not believing in God. I will expand on this at a future date in one of my fillers*².)

At this point, Psalm 8 is worth reading and considering. Here is an easy link for you. It is very short. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%208&version=NIV

This is first psalm that praises God for his creation, and asks the question why God should care for man. A very good question, indeed. The Psalmist can hardly believe the extent of the universe that God has created, compared with the insignificance of Man. But the Psalmist’s starting point is one of belief in God. The extent of what he sees and the place where God has placed Man in relation to this, leaves him staggered and in awe.

So perhaps my title and Core Belief becomes “God made the Universe to Show the Extent of his Power to his People / to those who believe in Him”.

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*¹ People who understand Mathematics need not reply to this piece on nonsense – but you get the point.

*² A filler is one of Grumpy’s brother’s blogs which are not one the “Eight Key Beliefs”.

Tents by St. Pauls

I am writing this in the middle of November. We have just returned to Zurich, after a trip to England for our son’s wedding, having spent 17 days in England. I thought that I might get away from “Key Beliefs” and “Fillers” and write on something topical. It is always interesting to see what particular themes the English newspapers have taken up, to report on the daily comings and goings, repeating what has been said before (when there is not much new), together with the usual English comment and speculation, before they lose interest and move on to the next topic.

One of the topics that ran during this time was the “Occupy” protest on the steps of St. Pauls. After visiting a friend near Blackfriars, I took a stroll past St. Pauls in the mid-afternoon. I was only there for about ten minutes, so can hardly claim that my experience was deep and profound, but I did enjoy the carnival atmosphere, watched a dance routine being rehearsed, saw someone practicing his juggling, and watched the free tea and coffee being dispensed at one of the more industrial sized tents (I regret that I did not have time to partake of this offer), together with a noticeboard, showing the more serious matter of lectures, discussions and talks.

The whole affair was lightly policed, in contrast with the (only slightly) more conspicuous police presence on Paternoster Square, the entrance to the Stock Exchange and at least two U.S. Investment Banks, being the symbol of those general activities against which the “Occupy” participants are protesting.

In all this (civilised) protesting, discussions about Health and Safety and the resignations of various St. Pauls’ staff, there was very little said about God. So I searched for some reference to God in all these reports and statements by St. Pauls’ staff, whether resigning or staying, by protesters, other public people, and clergymen, who might have had something to say on this subject. (*1)

Even the Archbishop of Canterbury seemed unable or unwilling to make any connection with this topic and God, although the Archbishop was reported as being in agreement with the proposal for a tax on Banking (*2). I say “seemed”, as the Archbishop of Canterbury might have made such a connection, but the newspapers, being generally bored with the topic of “God”, may simply have failed to report it.

One story from the New Testament that has been used in these discussions is that of Jesus and the money changers in the Temple (*3), although I do not remember what the context was. This was put forward as demonstrating that Jesus would have supported the protest.

I might have understood this point if the protest was against the entrance fee for a visitor to St. Pauls (although I am personally neutral on the subject) and that the Church had made St. Pauls, a place of worship, into a place of commerce. Also, if the stock exchange had set up business there, then the analogy might work. But at the moment, I am struggling to see who exactly the protesters think Jesus would eject from St. Pauls. The people who collect the money from visitors at the door perhaps?

There were other sub-stories, not least of which was that “Health and Safety” was given for closing the church. A very secular reason, the facts of which I found hard to get, but I think that I am right in saying that if you were just a visitor, who had come to look around, then it wasn’t safe. However, if you had come to worship, then it was safe. In a funny sort of religious way, this might make sense.

Overall though, the main point that I am missing is on what basis do the Clergy side with the protesters. There was, as far as I know, no appeal to the Bible or to God. Perhaps the clergy in question are not sure of their spiritual grounds (or perhaps it doesn’t matter anymore). After all one could look pretty stupid these days saying that “This is wrong, because God / the Bible says so”. I couldn’t help feeling that the whole statement from a Church viewpoint could have been more powerful, if God had been brought into the discussion, however unfashionable that might be.
So all in all, a jolly secular affair.

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Note 1 – I have avoided references to “The Church”, as I am not sure who speaks for it.
Note 2 - Guardian website on 2 November, reporting on an article in the Financial Times.
Note 3 – Mentioned in all three Gospels (Mt 21.12; Luke 19.45; Mk 11.15). http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2021&version=NIV

An Unseen Gentian

I wrote a blog a few weeks ago, “He is a creating and sharing God”. (11 October) http://colinhawkersother.blogspot.com/2011/10/he-is-creating-and-sharing-god.html

I put forward the idea that God is a creating God. He created all things, including Time, the Universe and everything in it. God created all this as a backdrop or context to Man’s existence. But I also suggested that God could have created and enjoyed the Universe, without it having to serve as a stage for Man’s existence. God can create and enjoy this creation without having any further purpose than the act of creation itself.

Having said all that, both alternatives are completely sensible. My personal starting point originally, was that that the Universe has no purpose in God’s eyes other than to be the context in which His relationship with Man is played out. The Bible is silent on this subject, or at least could probably be used to argue either view.

I had to think hard on whether God enjoys his creation for its own sake. I know the Creation for God was a trivial matter, but it still seems to me to be pretty marvellous.

In June 2003, my Hazel and I, being inexperienced hikers walked over the Julier Pass (2,300 metres / 7,500 feet). The temperature in the valley was 30 degrees, but unknown to us, the pass was still covered in deep snow. We kept going and are still here to tell the story. At the top, was part of a rock, peeking through the snow, with perhaps no more than a few square feet showing.

People generally admire the resilience of nature, but it can still be truly awesome to see something totally unexpected and out of place. In this square metre piece of rock, was a tiny gentian (a small lovely delicate deep blue flower).

But what is the point of this, you ask. It was completely possible that we were the only people to pass this point during that day, and the only people to see the Gentian. The Gentian was a beautiful work of God, and I guess, at that moment, created only for my benefit and that of Hazel. (I tend to be the one who says “Oh look at that pretty flower. Isn’t it amazing? Whatever is it doing here?” and “How long do you think it will survive?” and it is Hazel who knows that it is a Gentian).

Suppose for a moment, that we had not passed by. There would have been no one to enjoy it. I expect that there were thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Gentians blooming, at that moment, with no one to enjoy them (quite sad, really isn’t it).

I am indebted to my friend Richard Reincke for reminding me of the famous poem by Bishop Berkeley, about the tree existing at all times, as God was always there to see it. In the case of the Julier Pass, God would be the only person to see and enjoy all the gentians blossoming on the mountain top. I am prepared to stick my head out here, and assert that God does enjoy his gentians and other parts of Creation that are never seen, and which must make up 99.9999% of creation. Stars and Star systems are born and die, with no one to see them, except God himself.

God would have good reason to enjoy his own creation. It is pretty impressive.

God Made Man for Man to Discover Him

I am back to the “Key Eight Beliefs” again. I am sorry about the side tracks, but I can’t resist it. Anyway, we are on to Belief Number Four, in case you had lost track.

Belief Number Three put forward the “controversial” (see note 1) view that God created the Universe and Man, because…well…that is the sort of thing that He does. What is special about Man is another subject and seems to have its own purpose.

We think of ourselves as special, both as a species and individually. We regard ourselves as superior to the animals. We are each the centre of our own universe. If not exactly in control of our environment, we certainly regard ourselves as having some kind of influence here. People have shown that they have no need to have a God to explain what they see in the physical world around us.

All of which makes you think that God must have missed a trick here somewhere. He goes to all the trouble of creating the most incredible universe (Psalm 19 v1 to 6 – “The heavens declare the glory of God”) and we ignore him. We even say that He does not exist. I know that many might say that God has already shown his presence by the extent and beauty of the universe. However, the point is that there are no posters in the sky saying “God – this way”. There are (mostly) no voices saying “Hello, this is God speaking”. No obvious and conclusive proof.

Of course, if you believe in God, then it seems so obvious. The magnificence of everything that we see around us in nature and what we learn from others about the universe “proves He exists”. But if you do not believe in God, then all this proves nothing.

God’s presence, even his existence, is cloaked in mystery. God seems to conceal himself in the universe, hiding himself from us. It is like one of those “Where’s Wally” jigsaw puzzles. Even his existence is a subject of debate. He teases us.

So why is He so difficult to find? Is it deliberate?

I remember, in my mid-20s, being at a playground. A friend was supervising some children who were playing. A little boy was chasing a girl and my friend said; “The boy chases the girl, until the girl catches him”. “I don’t understand. That should be the other around”, came the reply. “You’ll understand one day”. She was understandably very puzzled.

The answer, of course, is that God’s hiding is deliberate. We are intended to look for him and if we look for him, we will find him. If we don’t want to look for him or find him, then we will not be disappointed.

Why would be we look for him? Perhaps we have a need, we are scared, worried, wondering (“God - are you really there?), because we are made that way, or as the source of an answer or perhaps as a last resort, because we do not understand the world.

Going back to my title, and fourth key belief, Man was made for this purpose, which is to find God. Just as God wants to share himself with us, so we must find Him. He does not force himself on us, which is something of a mystery, but wants us to discover him.
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Note 1: As everything in the news these days is “Controversial”, I thought that I would throw this in, although I don’t know what it means.

Balaam’s Donkey

You’ve got to admire a farm animal that stands up for itself. After all the years of being told to do this and do that, and being expected to follow obediently, it is something of a welcome relief to say “No More. This really is one step too far and I am not going to do this.”

It would need something pretty drastic to make a farm animal take this step. It’s not going to be just any old act of rebellion. “Let’s go to the shops today to get the milk” is not a suitable cause of rebellion. The consequences will be drastic, so it had better be worth it.

We need to specific now. I am talking about a donkey, not just any old farm animal. Not a cow (and I like cows) and certainly not a chicken. I am not sure about a pig. Pigs get a bad press, which is unfair, because they are kind of cuddly, really, in a piggy sort of way. But let’s stick to the donkey.

I was trying to think about whether an act of rebellion would be pre-meditated. “Today, I am going to rebel” or whether it would be just be the spontaneous accumulation of the petty and daily accumulation of injustice and nonsense, which, given the right occasion, flares up into the unexpected and unpredictable.

At this point, you need to get out your bible, and look up Numbers 22. (For those of you unfamiliar with the geography of the Bible, it is the fourth book in the Old Testament i.e. pretty early on. To make it easy for you, I have supplied you with an internet link. You need to read verses 21 to 35, although you can read the whole chapter if you want to.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=numbers%2022&version=NIV

The donkey is on her way with the master, going to a meeting. The master’s name is Balaam. All is fine, until the donkey lies down in the road and refuses to move. Balaam is naturally furious at this. The meeting is important, and there is no reason for the delay.

He beats the donkey, as that’s what we do to donkeys when they don’t move and we are having a bit of a temper. (It’s what I do to IKEA furniture when it won’t assemble properly.) There is not much thinking going on here in Balaam’s mind, such as, “I wonder what the problem is. Perhaps she is not well. What can she see what I can’t?” (which would have been an intelligent question in the circumstances). No – he just carries on beating her.

The whole story, of which verses 21 – 35 is just one part, spans three Chapters in total, and has a number of points, which I do not intend to go into. In this part, the familiar servant, the donkey, fails to perform as normal.

A simple reading of this section shows that God was bringing Balaam to a stop, in order to speak to him. Balaam was not paying attention, but his donkey was. He had decided that he would go to this meeting, come what may; that was where he was going and nothing was going to stop him. A great deal depended on that meeting. Do you know the feeling?

But God had other intentions.

A reading between the lines of the previous section shows that Balaam knew that he should not be on that road. If he did not know, then he should have known. His donkey lying down annoyed him even more, but he knew in his heart that he was going in the wrong direction, and it took the donkey to lie down and speak for the message to get through.

The common place world, in which we live, provides God with plenty of opportunities to speak to us, of things that we know and of things that we should think about. God made the world like that. Mostly we like to think that God gives us positive experiences, of things that go well. But if we are not listening, then, as with Balaam and his donkey, many times these are negative, of things that go badly. These are not punishment from an angry and revengeful God, but as reminders and instructions / guidance from a loving, if uncompromising, Father.

Keep listening.

He is a Creating and Sharing God

After a brief detour around the Book of Nahum, it is back to my “Eight Things that I Believe”. Remember – You are only allowed a maximum of twelve beliefs.

We are on to my Number Three. In number two, my “Belief” was that God made Man for his pleasure and purposes. I successfully evaded the question of what that purpose might be. Evasion is one of my core competencies. (“I’ll deal with that question at the end, if I may.”)

I am starting to have something of a problem. As I work through this list of eight items, or think ahead, I come across other important beliefs that warrant a place in the list. I am alright so far, as I am only up to ten (only you don’t know what they are yet).

“Belief Number Three” was originally to have been God’s purpose in making man. This is a pretty crucial subject, but I tripped myself on the question of why God embarked on this journey at all. Therefore, I am just going to have to add this to my list and see if I can deal with this now.

God’s overall purpose in starting the whole story (as per Genesis 1, for example) is not, as far as I can tell, set out anywhere. I am very happy to be contradicted on this point, and feel that I must be wrong and have missed something. (Who am I kidding? I will probably be very miffed when someone shows me the errors of my ways.)

I don’t know what theories people have and this is unusual for me. I normally undertake an informal survey, but not on this occasion. People must get fed up with me asking intrusive questions about religion and God. Even my second source, the 39 articles, has nothing to say on this subject. As a result, I will list some of the sillier ideas that have been put forward, without making any comment.

He was lonely and wanted some company
He likes to show off
He wants to be loved (a bit like the first one really)
He was bored

There is always the possibility that He didn’t have a purpose. He did it one moment, just to see what would happen. However, if that were the case, this blog would be totally undermined, and that is not fair.

It is time for me to get off the fence, and state my views on why God created the Universe and Man.

He likes to creates things
He wants to share himself

I carried out a Google Search on “Why did God create the Universe?” Nine of the first ten hits answered the question “Did God create the Universe?” and other one “Why did God NOT create the universe?” I am not sure what conclusions I should draw about Google from this. Perhaps the question “Why” is too difficult or just not asked very often.

The first serious hit on the Google search was about number 55, by Stafford Betty, a professor of religious studies. Stafford Betty puts forward the idea that God created the universe because he that is what he does. He is a creating God. (In my first blog in this series, I omitted this as a characteristic of God). He gives the analogy that a great composer, who composes music because it is something that flows from him. I’ll go for this reason. He created the Universe because he is a creating God. It is in his nature.

It is also possible that he created the Universe just as context for his creation of Man. The thought here is that the whole universe has only one purpose for God, which is to provide a backdrop for Man to live his life and for Man to appreciate the power of God. This alternative is an entirely credible conclusion from what I can see. The creation story in Genesis 1 could be interpreted in either way. However, if I have to decide for myself, one way or another, I will settle for the thought that God enjoys his creation for its own sake.

This still leaves us with the question why God made Man. Again, the Bible gives few clear answers, but perhaps a number of clues. The nearest that I can get to this, is that he wants to share himself and Man is the target of that sharing. Why God should want to do this is another question? (Questions within questions – will they never stop?). I can get no further than it is in His nature. For the same reason that He creates, He wants to share himself. It is in the nature of God himself to do these things.

There was still Time to Change

I have decided to take a short break from “The Eight Things that I Believe” (or was it nine?).

A few weeks ago, I made an excursion through the Minor Prophets. These make up the last 12 books of the Old Testament, and have a motley collection of themes. Most people ignore them, because they are at the back of the Old Testament, and don’t seem so important.

(They are “Minor”, because they are shorter than the “Majors”. There is no musical differentiation on major and minor keys, intended here.)

Individually they have some good stories and interesting lessons. The most famous one is probably the Book of Jonah, who was “swallowed by a whale”. Actually it wasn’t a whale, but a large fish, but who cares.

I would have liked to say that, in reading the Minor Prophets, I was particularly struck by some or other point. However, on this occasion, this would not be true. It was only some days after I had completed my meanderings through these twelve books that it occurred to me that the prophecy of Nahum (7th of the 12) was unusually uncompromising in its telling, even by the bloodthirsty standards of the Old Testament.

Like the story of Jonah (the 5th minor prophet), it is about the forthcoming destruction of the city of Nineveh (in what is now Northern Iraq). In the book of Jonah, however, the forthcoming destruction did not happen. The Book of Jonah was set some time earlier than the Book of Nahum and the two books are completely contrasting.

The Book of Jonah has a number of themes. One of them concerns Jonah’s announcement to the people of Nineveh of their impending destruction because of their evil. The city’s response is immediate. The inhabitants are appalled by their own acts, and go out of their way to demonstrate this before God. Those of you who have read the Book will know that God himself changes his intentions and spares them (classically called “A Happy Ending”).

But my original purpose in starting this blog was not so much to talk about the book of Jonah (book 5), but to contrast this to the Book of Nahum (book 7).

The Book of Nahum, set some time later, prophecies the complete destruction of Nineveh, (which took place in 612 BC). The prophet recounts the evil carried out by this city during the course of its brief reign as the leading city of the region (which I do not intend to go into here) and announces its imminent destruction.

This prophecy was not a warning. It was a statement of God’s intent, of (future) fact. There was no opportunity now for the City to change its way and to turn to God. It was too late for that. The decision was made.

Embedded in the storyline of Nahum are words of comfort to the people of Israel. Israel had suffered at the hands of this empire, and now this was going to be over. God reminded Israel of his love for them, while at the same time, reminding them of their obligations to serve Him. (This also could the subject of another blog, but not this time, folks).

The message of Nahum was clearly not for the people of Nineveh. They were not listening. They had had their moment and now it was over. The message was for God’s people (as a sign of his love) and for those for whom there was (or is) still an opportunity to change.

There comes a moment for individuals, for organisations, countries, when the clock has stopped and judgement (in whatever form) comes. But until that moment comes, there is still time to change.

If we are asking the question “Is this God’s judgement on us?”, then the book of Nahum shows us that the answer is probably no. If God’s judgement had come, we would have known about it. It would all be over. If God is calling people to return to Him, then there is still time, but that period will, at some point, come to an end.

His Own Pleasure and Purpose

When I did my original “List of Nine Items” for Ian Chambers, this was the first item on the list. I don’t know why I placed it first. It was not necessarily because I thought that it was the most important. It was just the first one that came into my head.

One could argue for ever about whether one belief is more important than another. However, as they are all part of the “Nine Items”, they are equally important. As “The Existence and Nature of God” came first, this one is second, merely as an arithmetical necessity.

Before we go on, I should mention that to get this far, you should have read Part 1 (link).
http://colinhawkersother.blogspot.com/2011/09/existence-and-nature-of-god.html
If you find that blog offensive and disagree with it violently, then you will enjoy this even less, and you should probably do something else.

Prayers are often phrased in the following way. They are requests to God to do something for us, our friends, our country perhaps, or the world as a whole. I do not make this statement to criticise it. My view at this point is largely neutral. However, it is my starting point that we are concerned largely with ourselves, even in our Religion.

All this is very natural. It is often good and right as well.

How does this sit with the fact that it was God who made man (and time, the earth and the Universe etc) and not the other way around (despite what some may say*)?

I could pose the question in a different way: “Did God create me for my benefit?” or “Did God create me for His benefit?" My original hypothesis is that we start by believing the former, i.e. that our creation was for our benefit. This universe is about me.

The theme in the Bible of God’s chosen people (whether the people of Israel in the Old Testament or the Church of the New Testament) places great emphasis on the importance of “us”. It also places even greater emphasis on God’s dealings with us, of what he requires from us.

God’s dealings with us also point us in the same direction. Life is not a trouble free existence and God is not a Father Christmas, bringing us endless presents. But I am only telling you this stuff now that you already know.

Why God should go to what seems to have been a great deal of trouble is not clear. The Westminster Shorter Catechism has a stab at this and says: “Man’s chief end is to know him and glorify him forever”. This is quite a leap.

So what is that purpose? This is a sensible question. The central point is that God made all this, everything that we see, touch, hear, think etc. for his pleasure and purpose. What my thoughts, ideas and speculation on what this purpose might be, will have to be saved for another day.


* For a heavyweight rebuttal of some of the arguments that God does not exist, you could worse than read: http://www.brainwaves.org.uk/reports/lion_bw_report_018.shtml

Existence and Nature of God

It was Ian Chambers to whom I first sent my “List of Nine Things in which I Believe”. He was suitably encouraging, but observed amongst other things, that (i) there were actually only eight items on the list and (ii) there was nothing on the nature or existence of God. He assumed that this was because I took the statement for granted.

He was correct, but I also agreed that it needed to be on the list, as it was “kind of important”. (This in itself is a “kind of “English understatement.)

I am told that the statement “I believe that God exists”, requires me to say what I mean by God. I am not very good at this intellectual or philosophical stuff. As a result, there will be a huge amount of plagiarism in this and a large number of statements which will be challengeable by people more articulate than me and accusations of “Shout loudly; Argument weak”, all of which, most likely, will be correct.

But this is my blog, so who cares. Grumpy and his brother have never been famous for rigour, just uninformed prejudice, together with 98% of the rest of the population.

So I will start with a quote from Richard Dawkins’ “The God Delusion”, where God is said to be ‘a superhuman intelligence, who deliberately designed and created the universe and everything in it, including us”. Actually I must confess I have not read the book. Furthermore I have lifted it from a quote from someone else’s article. However, the point is that this starting point does OK for me, as I am a man of very little intellectual rigour.

Next step is to expand on this, and to give God (and I will refer to him as “him”, in the masculine, out of intellectual laziness) a number of characteristics. I cannot prove any of them, but I am sure that they cannot be disproved either by endless arguments in smoke-filled college rooms.

He is the only God. There are no others. To put it another way, there is only one of him.

He is eternal and outside space and time. He has always existed and always will.

He created time, the universe and all that is in it. He sustains, guides and controls it. He created the Universe out of nothing. He creates order out of chaos.

He is a hidden God, who reveals himself as he chooses.

He is good. He is a moral God (included in the first of the Church of England’s “39 Articles”, which come highly recommended).

He cares and loves those who turn to Him and trust in Him.

There are many other characteristics that are ascribed to Him. Please do not be annoyed or angry with me, but I am not always sure that I can remember them or know what these all mean. I leave it to you to add to this list, and improve on this.

I want to be a Screwdriver

Do you ever have one of those random conversations, where you end up on a topic, with no particular recollection of how you got there? This occurred to me over Christmas, when talking to Louise. As in the film “Inception”, “In a dream, you never ask how you got to this point.” Perhaps most of my conversations are like this.

Anyway, this particular conversation alighted on the point of why God ever bothered to create this world and in particular, us. In the usual man-centred view, we think about “us” or “me”. We think in terms of what God does for us or should do for us, and ask why things happen to us. The thought of what God gets from this, leaves us scratching our heads, either at the question itself (“What sort of question is that?”) or leaving us perplexed as to a plausible answer. (An acceptable and realistic response is certainly “I don’t know”.)

Nevertheless, you may have your own answer. The nearest that I could come up with was a mixture of Old Testament, when, for example, God talks about “Making a Nation for my own Name” and the “New Testament”, as it describes the (spiritual) Church (being the totality of all those who trust God, and not to be confused with the organisations that go by the same name).

The theory that we talked about was that God has a role for us in this “Building” and that this role is pre-defined. In the initial drawings and specifications for God’s “Spiritual Building”, there are hundreds and thousands of different parts, all important, but not all visible. The parts that visible are the most noteworthy. “Perhaps I can apply for the post of a Prophet; a minor one would be alright”.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. God writes the specifications and the parts, and allots us roles within this. We cannot all be Great Doors, or Magnificent Windows. We do not get a vote. Of course, we can choose not to follow the route, to object to it, to be puzzled by it, to doubt it.

But if I could apply for a role, I would be a screwdriver. Pretty small and insignificant in the overall scheme of things, but occasionally very useful in some specialised way. It spends most of its time doing nothing, just being a screwdriver, waiting to be used to do what it does best; screwing in screws.