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”.