Why Does God Hide?

images-2Philosophers like to talk about the problem of divine hiddenness. Usually the problem is couched as a threat to God’s existence: If God existed he would make himself obvious. God is not obvious. Therefore, God doesn’t exist. I don’t think the argument succeeds. The fact is that God has revealed himself sufficiently for those who are open to an honest appraisal of the evidence. (The problem isn’t a lack of evidence, rather it is a moral problem—we all have what Thomas Nagel calls “a cosmic authority issue.” Perhaps Christian philosophers could be more creative, more imaginative, when developing theistic arguments. Still, as I’ve discussed elsewhere, the evidence is everywhere.)

Graffiti, Fast Food, and the Defacement of Beauty

images-3The world we inhabit is resplendent with beauty. A morning sunrise dances off the awakening dew. The blue and green of a country landscape speak peace into the soul. The awe-inspiring magnitude of half-dome silences our heavy hearts. Angels dance within the mist of a cascading river. Beauty calls out and demands to be contemplated.

Metaphysical Loneliness, Atheism, and the Face of God

images-4The tragedy and irony of the digital age is that we in the western world are often lonely and isolated. Surrounded by our Facebook posts, tweets, Ipods, Ipads, Nooks, Kindle Fires, smart phones, and now, smart watches, we are ever connected, but rarely connecting. We meticulously manage our social media image, and it is easy to seem as if we have it all together. Look at all those pictures of me with my friends. Look at me at the Grand Canyons, and in Yellowstone, and in Europe. Check out this pic of me Bungee jumping in Australia. Look at my life. Isn’t it great? Aren’t I popular? Isn’t my life grand?

Resting in the Power of God

images-1In my last post, I examined our longing for omnipotence. We long for a God who can make things right, in our lives and in the world. In this post, I want to consider how we can rest in the power of the omnipotent God.

In Scripture, knowledge of God is intimate and personal. Divine omniscience, omnipresence, or omnipotence are not mere abstract properties ascribed to God so that philosophers can find gainful employment working on the knotty puzzles they generate, rather they are intensely personal. The fact that God has the character He has matters to me! 

Our Longing for Omnipotence

imagesIn his book, A Great and Terrible Love,[1] Mark Galli says something I find very interesting about omnipotence. He says that if God were not omnipotent, we’d invent omnipotence and pin the attribute on him. And the reason, he says, is that we long for omnipotence. The more I think about it, the more I think he is onto something. I found this passage in something I wrote years ago, but it illustrates my point (since, after all, we have just celebrated Christmas):