by Beth Albuery
The extent to which God is responsible for what happens in the universe is determined by the limitations of our belief in God's omnipotence and omniscience. Defined, God’s omnipotence describes his limitless power; a concept which incorporates the belief that God has the power to control what is happening, thus fueling the argument that God is responsible for everything that happens in the universe. His omniscience refers to his unlimited knowledge, a concept which can be married with the idea that if God knew all that what happening in the universe, surely he is responsible for the actions people take.
A Christian literalist and Judeo-Christian would argue that God is responsible for everything that happens in the universe because his omnipotence and omniscience are revealed through the Bible. Genesis 1:1-2 in which God creates the world and controls the chaos in the water clearly depicts God’s limitless power and thus amplifies his omnipotent nature. To emphasize the futility of human beings against the greatness of God’s power, Job 40: 9 quotes: “Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?” This continually emphasized comparison between the greatness of God’s power with that of human beings supports the argument that God is responsible for everything because within his power he is able to bring everything under his control. The title “omnipotence” also conveys to the reader of the Bible that God is present through his creation. The passage of Joshua 10:11b, 13 clearly encompasses this concept; depicting God as not only earth’s creator but also a controller of the weather, the day, the night and the position of the sun: “The LORD threw back huge stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died…And the sun stood still, and the mood stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Judeo-Christians would argue that God’s limitless power renders him responsible for everything within the world; supporting their belief with the passage from Job 36:22 in which his omnipotence is also an indication of his supremacy and greatness compared to people: “See, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him?” Later philosophers concluded that God’s omnipotence was his ability to do anything logically possible, supporting the belief that God is responsible for everything that happens in the world.
If God is both omnipotent and omniscient; “all knowing”, he must be responsible for everything that happens in the world. The Bible depicts God the creator as being omniscient for he is portrayed as being aware of both creation and exactly what was happening within creation. Therefore, if God remains omniscient, he will be fully aware and able to control (omnipotent) everything that happens in the world. Literalists would argue that within the Bible, omniscience is about emphasizing the limitless nature of God’s knowledge of both the act of creation and all that happens within creation; using supporting evidence from Job 38:31-33 in which God’s words highlight the full extent of God’s knowledge, far beyond that of human beings: “Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth?”
An alternative view which rejects the Judeo-Christian belief in God’s omnipotence is the argument that if we look at the problems in the natural world like volcanoes, earthquakes and hurricanes, it is clear that God as the craftsman created an imperfect world. The argument is sustained by the belief that the world could be better than it is if God is omnipotent, therefore God cannot be omnipotent. However, theologians would oppose this argument by pointing out that God's omnipotence made a world that is full of change and follows natural laws and natural disasters, e.g. earthquakes are a result of the world working in a regular way. This change and development within the universe allowed for evolution, births, deaths and for human beings to learn whilst making the world understandable. A theologian would also argue that a natural disaster does not distort the “omnibenevolent” nature of God revealed through the Bible, as natural disasters; for example, earthquakes are only dangerous if you live in an earthquake zone.
Similarly to this argument, people often argue that the “Omni” qualities of God are challenged by the problem of evil; however it was humans (Adam and Eve and their original sin) that brought sin and evil into the perfect world God created and without free will there would not be sin; thus God's “omnibenevolent” quality is clearly depicted within the act of God giving humans free will. Most religious believers would argue that people cause much of the evil and many of the problems in this world, through acts such as murder, rape or even climate change as a result of our ignorance towards global warming. The “free will defense” argues that if an omnipotent God intervenes and always stops people from making wrong decisions, then they will not be exercising their free will.
Christians, Jews and Muslims argue that God is responsible for the fact that there is a universe at all and his “omnipotence” is about saying that he is responsible for everything that comes into existence. God is not responsible for the way in which things behave, for we behave in accordance to the natural laws of science or by our personal decision making/free will. Within his book Creationism and All That, Brain Davies supported his argument by stating: “how the world is, is a scientific matter with scientific answers.”
A person who is strongly opposed to the argument that God is responsible for everything that happens within the world would argue that there is no need to believe in God to explain what happens in the world as science; for example Newton’s law of gravity and the theory of evolution explain the way in which the universe works. Science can increasingly explain why the universe is that particular way, an explanation which God does not provide. A theologian would confront this argument, pointing out that science can only speculate and can in no way explain why the universe exists as there is no logical, nor physical means by which a person could get outside of the universe to investigate the reasoning behind its existence. Richard Dawkins, among other scientists, objects to the belief in a creator God as an explanation for the universe. Within his book River out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life, he argues that “the desire to see purpose everywhere is a natural one in an animal…whose waking thoughts are dominated by its own personal goals."
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