Lisa believes that her life has been blessed by God, but still sees so much poverty and suffering in the world. It lead her to ask, “Do I believe God is Good, or do I believe God is just good to me?” Or, as Tony Jones framed it, “Is God’s Goodness Arbitrary?” Tony Jones’ response was “God Is Arbitrary, and That Is Terrifying”. Actually, he says more than that, so be sure to click on the link to read it.
At the heart of the question is a challenge to examine closely what we believe about God. Is God the dispenser of all blessings? And, if so, does that mean that God must also be the source of all suffering? How does God determine who is blessed and who suffers? Or does God determine that at all? And, if you believe God blesses those people who have prayed “hard enough” or “sincerely from the heart,” then how does that settle with what you know about grace?
This is a variation of “why do good things happen to bad people?” and vice versa. I like it because it’s the kind of question someone who is trying to understand the nature (or even existence) of God might ask. It asks “How engaged is God in this world?” and “If God is engaged, help me understand why God’s actions seem arbitrary.” It’s not the kind of question that will be satisfied with clichés but demands a thoughtful (not to mention prayerful), honest answer. Lisa said she didn't know why she believes God is good but points to the Gospel of Jesus as her reason for doing so. It’s just as likely that the question will come from someone who is struggling to make sense of what seem to be arbitrary actions on God’s part in the face of pain, suffering, and death to so many whose “sin” appears to be little more than to be born in an impoverished and/or violent, unsettled time or place. The person may be questioning God’s engagement, or even existence, in light of what they see.
The question is more likely to arise from a deeply personal experience or confusion and frustration from actual events. Each of us who believes in God and Jesus has had to struggle with times when tragic events shook our belief. Or times when God’s blessings don't make sense. I watched my parents die relatively young, never having the opportunity to see a grandchild. I've watched dear people I knew die young and I've prayed enough to realize that God’s healing doesn't happen consistently in hoped-for ways. And I have looked to God and asked “Why?”
On one end of the spectrum of responses is “God doesn't always answer prayers the way we want” or “God’s ways are too mysterious to understand.” That may be true, but it’s not the kind of response that heals a broken heart. On the other end of the spectrum is the response that such things only show that God doesn't exist. Both of these responses begin with the premise that God is all-powerful and controls everything that happens in the world. The first response accepts that premise; the later rejects it.
Others say that maybe God is not all-powerful or engaged in human history. In saying that God’s goodness is arbitrary, Tony Jones offers this explanation:
God’s first act, the act of creation, was an act of self-limitation. It was an act of humility…. God made a creation that is not God — I am not God; you are not God; that tree is not God.
The only way for God to fashion a creation that is other than God is an act of withdrawal, or self-limitation….
Thus, the very nature of the relationship between God and creation hinges upon God’s self-limitation. [Read more in God Is Arbitrary and That Is Terrifying].
The Bible chronicles God’s engagement with us. The experiences of many lead others to believe that God continues to be engaged with us, even in this self-limitation. But our experiences also suggest that this engagement appears to be arbitrary.
Tony Jones concludes his response by saying:
God’s solidarity with us is so important to God that God entered into human history to experience this arbitrariness. The experience of Jesus was moments of closeness to God (baptism, transfiguration) and moments of the absence of God (Garden of Gethsemene, Golgotha)….
Here’s what I know: Based on what I have experienced, God’s activity in human history is arbitrary and unpredictable, which means it’s terrifying. This, I think, is the “fear of the Lord” that is throughout scripture.
And here’s what I believe: In Jesus, God experienced this terror. And that’s what causes me to love Christ in the midst of God’s silence.
How would you respond to the question? Do you agree with Tony Jones that God’s goodness is arbitrary? If not, how do you explain why some people seem to experience God’s blessings while others experience pain and suffering? Do you believe God is all-powerful or that God is self-limiting in creation? What do you think about Tony Jones’ concluding response?
I think the significant word is "seem". Much of the discussion here seems to dwell on the nature of God (implying the answer "yes" to the question. But the word "seem" has a human side as well. Given our limited knowledge, experience, and powers of observation, maybe it just "seems" that God is arbitrarily distributing blessings (and curses as well) but really He isn't but we just can't tell for sure. (Remember "the rain falls on the just and the unjust")
ReplyDeleteConfession: I added "seem" to the question. Tony Jones' response proceeds from the view that God's goodness IS arbitrary (it's worth reading his full response if you haven't). I think we do better starting with the understanding that our understanding of God is not going to be complete and that a lot of what we understand is based in our perceptions (which, in turn, are colored by our experiences and biases). What may be arbitrary to someone may indeed to an incomplete picture.
ReplyDeleteIt is possible that God's actions are indeed arbitrary, though I wrestle with that. Jones' explanation for this based on the idea that God's act of creation is also an act of self-limitation (since that creation is not God) is something worth pondering. As is his view that Jesus is evidence of God's solidarity with us.
What if God made this imperfect creation and by necessity part of ordering it was to create random chance (aka arbitrariness)? Then what if having done that, God reserved the right to intervene, but unlike us was able to see second, third, fourth, etc. order effects of what we prayed for before granting our wishes? What if God’s plan was that in the end all would be redeemed, but to have that plan work, there first had to be random suffering?
ReplyDeleteIf your perspective is just this life, then I guess that all this arbitrary pain is pretty senseless. However, if your perspective is eternal life, then I think that that changes things.
Also, isn’t it odd that when things are going pretty good you never hear about God, but when there’s a disaster then the first thing you hear on the news is that people are praying for the victims and their families?
Maybe Lisa just needs to stop feeling guilty and start figuring out how she can use her gifts to help those less fortunate than herself. I think we need to focus on Luke 12:48, “…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded…”. Maybe that’s the answer to why she got those gifts and not others. Maybe that’s the answer for us, too.
ReplyDeleteDave, you hit on something that's been bouncing around in my head in a little different form (it will probably lead into a question that pops up tomorrow... and another one later that hasn't quite ripened). If all we're focused on is blessings, then we might just miss (a) God's ongoing work in other areas and (b) God's call to us to become a blessing for someone else.
ReplyDeleteOne final thought on this subject: It’s a good thing that God didn’t make us all equal. If we were equal we wouldn’t need each other so much; and therefore we might love each other even less than we do now. Perhaps that’s the biggest benefit of diversity.
ReplyDelete