The God Factor
How did we keep our faith?
Since the principle object of faith is God – we have to deal with our concept of God in this question.
And this is the toughest question in the world.
How do we make sense of God?
The accepted concept of God as described by theologians, commonly includes the attributes of omniscience (all-knowing), omnipotence (all-powerful), omnipresence (all-present) and as having an external and necessary existence.
At least this is what I was taught in systematic theology in Bible school.
This inevitably leads to the question how can you love a God who is apparently all powerful, yet didn’t save Candace from the shed that night?
There seems to be a paradox.
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?” ― Epicurus
This is known as the “Epicurean Paradox” or “Riddle of Epicurus” which is viewed by many as “evidence” that disproves the existence of God.
Some feel that God is not only inept and powerless – he is also cruel as described by, Richard Dawkins author of the God Delusion. “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”
Then there are some who make sense of God by finding “a reason” in everything that goes wrong.
This is described by Dean Koontz, author of The Darkest Evening of the Year. “Because God is never cruel, there is a reason for all things. We must know the pain of loss; because if we never knew it, we would have no compassion for others, and we would become monsters of self-regard, creatures of unalloyed self-interest. The terrible pain of loss teaches humility to our prideful kind, has the power to soften uncaring hearts, to make a better person of a good one.”
This would mean that Candace was murdered so that we would be humbled, softened, and become more loving.
That sounds cruel - an ugly concept of God as well.
Yet, all of these ideas of God are common and perpetuated by philosophers, scientists and the church.
So how do I make sense of it? Why do I – after all of it – still have a faith in my loving God?
“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” ― Augustine of Hippo
Since the principle object of faith is God – we have to deal with our concept of God in this question.
And this is the toughest question in the world.
How do we make sense of God?
The accepted concept of God as described by theologians, commonly includes the attributes of omniscience (all-knowing), omnipotence (all-powerful), omnipresence (all-present) and as having an external and necessary existence.
At least this is what I was taught in systematic theology in Bible school.
This inevitably leads to the question how can you love a God who is apparently all powerful, yet didn’t save Candace from the shed that night?
There seems to be a paradox.
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?” ― Epicurus
This is known as the “Epicurean Paradox” or “Riddle of Epicurus” which is viewed by many as “evidence” that disproves the existence of God.
Some feel that God is not only inept and powerless – he is also cruel as described by, Richard Dawkins author of the God Delusion. “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”
Then there are some who make sense of God by finding “a reason” in everything that goes wrong.
This is described by Dean Koontz, author of The Darkest Evening of the Year. “Because God is never cruel, there is a reason for all things. We must know the pain of loss; because if we never knew it, we would have no compassion for others, and we would become monsters of self-regard, creatures of unalloyed self-interest. The terrible pain of loss teaches humility to our prideful kind, has the power to soften uncaring hearts, to make a better person of a good one.”
This would mean that Candace was murdered so that we would be humbled, softened, and become more loving.
That sounds cruel - an ugly concept of God as well.
Yet, all of these ideas of God are common and perpetuated by philosophers, scientists and the church.
So how do I make sense of it? Why do I – after all of it – still have a faith in my loving God?
“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” ― Augustine of Hippo
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