The Disinterested God

Roanoke Times Article #1

(bold indicates section that appears in the Roanoke Times)

How can we believe in a God who seems disinterested in the troubles and horrors present in the world today?

Is God just an evil entity who enjoys ruling over and controlling his weaker and more vulnerable subjects?  Is God nothing more than a bored child on summer break, holding a magnifying glass while burning ants by the power of the sun?   In the least he seems absent and/or disinterested in human suffering.  What does God know of suffering if he seems removed from all of its mess?

(the below section is the continuation of the above article)

But if we hold to the vision of an evil or disinterested God, it reveals that we do have an awareness, some expectations, and legitimate hurts and disappointments with this same God.  If there is no God, then with whom are we angry?

Of course, what is often missed, is that every other human belief system (whether individual or organized) struggles with this same "problem of evil".  The reality is that we all (whether we are aware of them or not) have beliefs that shape and direct our lives.  We all have "faith" in something or someone; even if that someone is ourselves.

However, what kind of "god" are we?  How has a trust in humanity's "innate goodness" worked out?  Even if we, like some, blame religion for all the problems in the world, we don't really solve the "problem of evil" in the world.  If there is no god, this logically means that humanity is then to blame for creating the idea of a god and for all the religions in world history.  Did God cause the financial crisis?  Did God give corrupt and greedy corporate leaders the bonuses they did not deserve while most Americans have suffered greatly through a continually struggling economy?  Does God cause the strife and war in the world?

Often, the reasons we like documentaries, biographies, and tabloids about famous and influential people (who often have accomplished very positive or impressive things) is that we relish finding out that they are just as prone to evil and self-destruction as we are.  So, how has humanity done in controlling and ruling the world over the millenniums?  Are we enlightened and modern humans really doing a better job than the God we say we don't believe in?

What if the God of Christianity does understand what it is to suffer?  What if he does care?  What if by definition he cannot intervene as we would like him to do because he created us as human beings instead of soul-less machines with no real choice?  What if he intervenes and holds back evil much more than we even realize?  What if he really wants us to know a lasting peace, love and joy in this world and the one to come...instead of the empty and fleeting happiness we continually pursue?

How does the “Jesus” of the scriptures actually address these very issues?

We will consider these thoughts more in our next article.