Limited God Factor
It seems I am rewriting this blog a thousand times.
Over the years, I've heard a great deal of anger directed to God - from people assuming that he is all powerful and in control. A lot of this comes from very dedicated and educated believers.
They wonder why I'm not angry.... Where was God when Candace was in the shed?
I don't hold God responsible.
I hold our imaginations as responsible.
There were two different sets of imaginations that collided 34 years ago when Candace disappeared on her way home from school. We as a family had used our imagination to plan a perfect weekend. Candace was expecting to spend time with her best friend. She had planned the week-end party for weeks.
Just down the street there was another imagination planning something entirely different – one filled with perverted sexual desire. I don’t’ even want to enter into the workings of that imagination – and give it a reality. I find it offensive, abhorrent and disgusting. I don’t think there are enough words in my vocabulary to express my distaste of the musings of such an imagination.
These two imaginations collided – and we were the ones blindsided!
In this clash, we were forced to deal with the result, destruction and tragedy of the working out of this evil imagination.
Does that make us stupid? Perhaps. Could we have anticipated it?
In reality it makes us normal and good family going about their lives in a responsible way. It makes the other evil. It is the result of a wicked imagination.
The problem for us, is that in reacting to a negative imagination we are tempted to access that part of our imagination. To protect ourselves we find ourselves anticipating how someone who has a wicked imagination is going to act, and for that we have to enter into that part of our imagination as well. Perverted imaginations begets more perverted imaginations. But as humans, we have two imaginations – the imagination of God to create goodness, and the imagination of the wicked snake as described in Genesis.
The difference with a holy God – is that he has only one imagination. He doesn’t have access to the snake imagination - the snake that entered into the Garden of Eden. God is limited by his holiness that can't be compromised. Was he blindsided by a snake too?
I don't think we have the ability to truly comprehend this dynamic, - which make it mysterious and wonderful and frightening.
When God first saw the workings of mankind's evil imagination, he regretted even making us. From what I read in the rest of the Bible – there have been many times when he was tempted to wipe out his entire creation to stop these infected imaginations.
Having been blindsided, my instinct was to hide our children – and my husband - under the bed and build a fierce wall around our house. I was also tempted to enter into a war of imaginations with the purpose to eliminate all sexual offenders. This kind of imagining can become wickedly obsessive.
Or I could follow God’s example – remove myself as much as I can from the negative imagination and exercise my imagination to pursue goodness.
I think it is called "overcoming evil with good." Romans 12:1
There is free choice – which means we can choose which imagination we will exercise.
The bonus is that God is on the side of goodness. His imagination is holy, good and loving. He will match his goodness with ours.
About the question - why did we keep our faith in God? - it is not hard to love, adore and have faith in a God, who might be limited, but who is good.
He says that he didn't eliminate us - the entire creation because of love. I would rather align myself with a "good" God - than an all powerful "evil" God.
I remember the first time, I was actually able to convince someone that I loved a limited but holy God. She looked at me with huge eyes. "That's a scary concept... - a limited God?"
I agree.
Limited - but in a good way.
We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. – Kurt Vonnegut
Over the years, I've heard a great deal of anger directed to God - from people assuming that he is all powerful and in control. A lot of this comes from very dedicated and educated believers.
They wonder why I'm not angry.... Where was God when Candace was in the shed?
I don't hold God responsible.
I hold our imaginations as responsible.
There were two different sets of imaginations that collided 34 years ago when Candace disappeared on her way home from school. We as a family had used our imagination to plan a perfect weekend. Candace was expecting to spend time with her best friend. She had planned the week-end party for weeks.
Just down the street there was another imagination planning something entirely different – one filled with perverted sexual desire. I don’t’ even want to enter into the workings of that imagination – and give it a reality. I find it offensive, abhorrent and disgusting. I don’t think there are enough words in my vocabulary to express my distaste of the musings of such an imagination.
These two imaginations collided – and we were the ones blindsided!
In this clash, we were forced to deal with the result, destruction and tragedy of the working out of this evil imagination.
Does that make us stupid? Perhaps. Could we have anticipated it?
In reality it makes us normal and good family going about their lives in a responsible way. It makes the other evil. It is the result of a wicked imagination.
The problem for us, is that in reacting to a negative imagination we are tempted to access that part of our imagination. To protect ourselves we find ourselves anticipating how someone who has a wicked imagination is going to act, and for that we have to enter into that part of our imagination as well. Perverted imaginations begets more perverted imaginations. But as humans, we have two imaginations – the imagination of God to create goodness, and the imagination of the wicked snake as described in Genesis.
The difference with a holy God – is that he has only one imagination. He doesn’t have access to the snake imagination - the snake that entered into the Garden of Eden. God is limited by his holiness that can't be compromised. Was he blindsided by a snake too?
I don't think we have the ability to truly comprehend this dynamic, - which make it mysterious and wonderful and frightening.
When God first saw the workings of mankind's evil imagination, he regretted even making us. From what I read in the rest of the Bible – there have been many times when he was tempted to wipe out his entire creation to stop these infected imaginations.
Having been blindsided, my instinct was to hide our children – and my husband - under the bed and build a fierce wall around our house. I was also tempted to enter into a war of imaginations with the purpose to eliminate all sexual offenders. This kind of imagining can become wickedly obsessive.
Or I could follow God’s example – remove myself as much as I can from the negative imagination and exercise my imagination to pursue goodness.
I think it is called "overcoming evil with good." Romans 12:1
There is free choice – which means we can choose which imagination we will exercise.
The bonus is that God is on the side of goodness. His imagination is holy, good and loving. He will match his goodness with ours.
About the question - why did we keep our faith in God? - it is not hard to love, adore and have faith in a God, who might be limited, but who is good.
He says that he didn't eliminate us - the entire creation because of love. I would rather align myself with a "good" God - than an all powerful "evil" God.
I remember the first time, I was actually able to convince someone that I loved a limited but holy God. She looked at me with huge eyes. "That's a scary concept... - a limited God?"
I agree.
Limited - but in a good way.
We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. – Kurt Vonnegut
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