A GOD OF OUR CHOICE

Although many acknowledge their felt-need for God, god has largely become a matter of choice – which god feels best to us, validates us, and affirms our lifestyles. The question of truth is rarely considered when we go shopping for a god, even when we claim otherwise. One scientist wrote me that:

·       “Nature comes much closer to religion in my rational calculation.”

However, he never explained what had made nature the “rational” choice, but we can surmise several things about this belief. For one thing, nature consists of the entire universe, meaning that the universe is god, and since we are part of this universe, we too are god. Therefore, as god, there is nothing above us that can bring any charge against us. This is the religion of pantheism.

What is rational about equating the entire universe – everything – with god? This had been a more appealing belief when it was generally believed that the universe is eternal and had always existed. However, Big Bang cosmology had put this belief to death. Now it is generally agreed that the universe, matter-space-time, had a beginning, as the Bible had always claimed. Therefore, this fact demands an explanation regarding its origin and the origin of everything in it – hardly what we would demand of an eternal God.

Nature cannot answer any of our questions. If anything, it dictates the heartless law of nature: the survival-of-the-fittest. Do we want to model our lives according to this principle? I don’t think so! Besides, if all that we have is the universe, we only exist for a limited number of years until our bodies become fertilizer for the next round of life – not a very consoling hope or god.

Even if we insist that nature doesn’t dictate any moral behavior, then it is no better than the worship of the sun or the moon. Nor will it give us any meaning, purpose, or direction for our lives.

Besides, a mindless and purposeless god can’t account for what we encounter in this life. Science properly understands that the cause(s) must be greater than the effect. If not, it means that some aspect of the effect is uncaused – a science killer.

Nor can nature account for the existence of nature and all of the immutable and elegant laws of science. Nor can it account for life, freewill, consciousness, the fine-tuning of the universe, or even the existence and activity of the smallest atom. In contrast, the One all-powerful and all-knowing God can account for all.

As scientists continue to search for the single uncaused eternal cause that can explain the origin of everything else, they curiously bypass the Being who has created and sustains all.

In light of all this, we wonder about the appeal of paganism and pantheism and of their gods who do not love us and cannot attend to our many needs. Perhaps they are gods who will gladly surrender before our own likes and desires.