In order to understand most of what I write here, it important to have an understanding of some fundamental beliefs that serve to create them. None of them are “contrary” to the Bible’s teachings, but I do think they are a bit more broad in scope and offer a wider view of God and the nature of God than, at least, I was taught as a kid in Sunday school.
Before I begin, I want to say the following:
I think we struggle to understand God because we are trying to find him by weeding him out of our complex, complicated, intertwined, and interdependent world that is full of (not only God, but) technologies, philosophies, cultural norms, modern and ancient ideologies, the amalgamation of trillions of human free will choices, and of course… randomness. Finding God in today’s world is like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles, or finding a miniature Waldo in a silo full of candy canes. BUUUT… since God is and always has been… it stands to reason that we don’t have to find him here, we can suss him out in simpler times. So, I do this exercise.
Seeking God in simpler times…
Whether you believe in the Big Bang being 14.3 Billion years ago, or 6,000 years ago, there was a time where there was nothing. As the Bible (and science) describe it, the beginning was a time where all that existed was a chaotic soup of nothingness. Then, there was the moment when that chaos began to find order. Big Bang says energy was released, the Bible says “light”… so… same difference. At that point, the “nothing soup” began organizing itself into particles and elements and atoms and molecules that would make up matter. And the energy helped create the forces that would hold and form and shape that matter into clouds, then waters, then celestial bodies then organic lifeforms with later iterations having varied levels of consciousness. Again, no dispute by the science nor theology. (maybe a difference in how long this took… but the order is the same.) But it’s here… that I stop and consider God.
Did God create it all?
Simple answer? Yes. Why simple?
Because you, nor anyone you know, has the answer to WHAT was the impetus or the catalyst that created something from nothing. Many might call it universal randomness (because they have no other terms to use), but even if that’s the case, I ask, “who/what/which entity/under what authority/to what end/why was it initiated?” And to this, the only answers ANYONE can give are conjecture, logic gymnastics, and guessing games. So, until I have a better, more demonstrable answer… my answer is: A force that I do not understand and cannot explain. And that… is the beginning of my understanding of God. A force that I do not understand and cannot explain.
So then, what/who is God if we can’t understand him
If God IS the source/initiator/catalyst that brought order from chaos, then God IS (at least) those forces themselves AND is responsible for (and inherently present within) all things created since. That means that since the dawn of time God is the cause of (and continues to be inherent in) all energy (both potential and kinetic), all movement thereafter, all motion and momentum, every action and reaction, every cause and effect, all attraction and repulsion, all connection and division, and all consequence then and thereafter.
Said another way: Every element that ever combined with another element to create a molecule is because God created the forces/laws/rules by which that could happen. Every element that is unable to combine with another is because God created the forces/laws/rules by which that could not happen. Every cloud of cosmic dust that formed in a gravitational vacuum and was pressurized and heated to create the beginnings of planets was because God “willed” it (a.k.a. created the rules by which) it could happen at all. Ordering the dust into planets, which would form atmospheres, at distances that are conducive to biological life, with the necessary compounds and life-giving resources to make that happen… all a function of order.
^^^ This is how I conceive of God at the most basic level and it drives everything else. God is the creator. God is still creating. God is inherent in all things because God is everywhere, all the time. God is omnipresent because he is present in every cell of my body, in every electron in every rock, and he is the reason why apples fall from trees and don’t float. Important note: It’s important to realize that as citizens of an ordered universe, we take that order for granted. Rarely do we stop to consider why fingers don’t occasionally become seashells and trees don’t meow. He created order, he is order, and all that he created retains order. The existence and continued existence of anything is proof in and of itself of the power of that force and its continued influence.)
Personal Note: If nothing else on this site, or that you ever read, sticks with you… I hope its a reflection on what I just called out. I hope you remember how infinitisimally small the chances are that any of this even COULD exist. How many billions of billions of events had to take place just so life could exist, and to get to the point where we are capable of the type of reflection it takes to feel grateful about the cosmic impossibility of this moment and all others. But that being said…
How does this understanding of God relate to the things I deal with every day?
If you accept any of the above, I acknowledge that knowing “what to do with this info” is the far bigger challenge. We’ve all seen that the world is harsh and feels big, lonely, confusing, and meaningless; bad things happen to good people, good things happen to bad people, natural disasters and diseases take people too soon… so where is God in that? Where is he when I need him? Because of the complexity added here I have to answer in a few parts:
PART 1. WHAT IS GOOD AND EVIL, REALLY?
I’ve heard the “If He’s all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving, he wouldn’t allow bad things to happen.” But the argument is flawed. You have to acknowledge that God created this ordered, naturally birthing, growing and eventually dying universe, with a touch of chaos to ensure that it worked just as it does. And inherent in that is some life, some growth, some breakage, some building, some destruction, and yes, even some death. Planets are formed and die to become stars and supernovas. Plants grow, seed and die to create forests. Animals are born, breed, eat and die to balance whole ecosystems…
Those things are right or wrong. They aren’t good or bad. They just are. In fact, I’d even argue if you challenge your meaning of “good” to mean “right” in the sense of being “a correct consequence after a series of actions” then you might even say… those things are good.
But, it’s important to remember we are a generation who are insulated from “actual” life or suffering. We are among the first generations to (rarely) see real famine. To not kill our own food. To have to pull a tooth out if it hurts. We need to be able to open our eyes to the fact that we are skewed in our perspective if we want to see God as he is.
Two more quick, current examples:
Example 1: If you see a bunny and a snake in your backyard and they are fighting, and the bunny wins and kills the snake, you cheer. If the snake wins, you feel sad for the bunny. Why? Because it’s cute. You’ve ascribed good to one and not the other. But if you were to learn that the snake was engaging to try and feed (or save) its babies… it’s a different story.
Example 2: Tsunamis, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, and eruptions were part of the chaotic power that helped form the Earth we love to IG pics with so dearly now. Before humans their existence wasn’t devastating or tragic or (most importantly)… personal. The fact that humans are in the way now IS devastating and tragic, but only in our own eyes because of our involvement.
TL;DR: Said another way, oftentimes we are those who ascribe “good, bad, evil” to natural events because we view them through personal perspectives, not universal perspectives.
BUT… there really are situations that are evil… I don’t deny that at all… so let’s talk about it…
PART 2. HOW DOES FREE WILL AFFECT THIS
Here is a reality that I think both Christians and Atheists alike can agree on. Humans have free will. No contention there. And human choices (consistent with all other laws of the universe) have consequences; some good, some bad, some neutral. But those consequences add up and grow exponentially, affecting a wider and wider grouping of later events, at times even to the point of changing the future of humanity.
(NOTE: I won’t dive into predetermination now, but I will in future blogs)
But here’s the thing… Humans, since the beginning of time, have been a contradictory species. We are self-serving, but we need community. We want others to love us, but we don’t always want to love others. We are living tension. We want what we can’t have, and then are unsatisfied if we get it. And this quality (without proper guidance) makes us… intolerable. We hurt others for personal gain. We hurt ourselves long-term for short-term personal gain. It’s cliche but… hurt people, hurt people. And that’s just where “evil” stems from.
PART 3. THE RESOLUTION
So, if we’re taking the 30,000 foot zoom out of the universe, it’s laws, it’s truths, it’s consequences… it’s not that God makes bad things to happen… it’s that he created an ordered universe with a touch of chaos, which created beings whose consciousness is free to do as God himself did and create. The problem is, we aren’t good creators. (yet.) And it is now our duty, as the enlightened people who can see the truth of it all, to make good decisions, just as the creator of the universe did. We are called to accept the universe for what it is, to work within the confines that were created for it, and now to choose the greater good more often than the personal good, to continue directing God’s creation into the ways he would most approve of with the tools we were given.
Now for the million dollar question: Is God intentional; does he consciously, purposefully intervene in the world to affect certain outcomes? (Now or previously)
Committing to my earlier statements meant this question came up a lot. It’s (fairly) easy to indulge in a concept of God as a creator, as the energy present in all things. Even to acknowledge him like a watchmaker who makes the intricate pieces and then lets them run. But that opens up nagging questions like: did he do it on purpose? Does he care about his creation? Is he actively involved in the ongoing nature of his creation. And this next part may be my most subtle leap yet.
Yes, he cares. Yes, he is involved. But not in explicit ways. The nature of God, as we’ve discussed is not to be THE thing, but to a PART of the thing. Just as you are not your hands or your nose or even your brain… you are the composite of unseen, incalculable, inconceivable electrical impulses which make up your being. (Or soul?) God is also not the direct, explicit movement of time, space or matter to change the course of history… rather (knowing humans continue to have free will and are likely to choose this that or the other) he deals in the inner workings, internal perspectives, inspirations and insights… whispering to our subconscious and showing us what we need to see to make decisions which can (and will) alter them for the better if we so choose. It’s also important to extrapolate that this concept can be executed across groups, across individuals with more influence than others, within chaotic systems, within technology, or in myriad different ways that could make the recipient aware of the insight, and even with quite some weight or force, without “actually” physically intervening. Even compelling/suggest some other person to act physically is well within this realm of this while still remaining inexplicit. I often consider that this is what the phenomenon of “angels” may stem from.
It should also be noted that if God WERE to get directly involved and manually change the course of history (societally or individually), that would be contradictory to a God who built a self-organized universe and then given its inhabitants free will.
I acknowledge that many people feel that God has personally come and saved or touched their lives. And I understand because he did mine, too. But I think we all know that God is not opaque. We cannot put a high five hand out, and get a slap back… He exists in between the lines. He is seen through what he creates. And yes, he showed up, but in his character, it is through how he expresses himself inside you through insights, strength, peace and love. And through how can say this same expression in the lives of others.
Ok… all this makes sense but… “But this doesn’t jive with what I’ve learned my whole life in church.”
Here’s where it gets tricky… I, personally, believe it does… just from a different angle. And the point of this blog is to dive into that.
I heard once that “God is the name of the blanket we throw over mystery to give it shape” and I think the Bible is just that. I believe humanity was given a story it was able to understand at that time in that place by those people, but it was only one layer of the sheet. And like papier mache, the more sheets we put on, the more form we will define.
My goal is to take this base and lay it in, on, and around other secular, philosophical and spiritual traditions to find God right where we’ve been looking at him all along, only with more form and (hopefully) more modern clarity than before.
Oh, and if YOU have questions that keep you from believing any of the above… send them to me via email and I’ll (attempt to) answer them here.