(May 14, 2012 at 6:59 pm)Markos Wrote: There are two words that you use, Tobie, that I would want to examine quite carefully: "interference" and "natural". These two words come with significant baggage. First, the notion of "interference" suggests that God is in some sense detached or uninvolved in so-called "natural" processes. Second, the category "natural" is presumably used in opposition to something like "supernatural" or "spiritual", suggesting that reality is made up of two quite distinct, even separate, levels. From my (Christian) perspective, I would want to reject both of those uses of language.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Quoted for truth! Well said, Markos!
God does not "intervene," a term which inherently assumes that there is a world of events independent of God's sustaining power and providence. The idea that God got things running then just stood back or engaged himself elsewhere is a deistic view that is inconsistent with—nay, inconceivable on a biblical world view. "As suggested by Richard Bube, if God were to unplug himself in that way from the cosmos, we and everything else in the cosmos would simply cease to exist. ... [God] is thoroughly involved in the operations and functions of the world" (John Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One [InterVarsity Press, 2009], 20).
Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when
called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.
(Oscar Wilde)
called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.
(Oscar Wilde)
