What Do We Mean By 'God'?: A Little Book of Guidance by Keith Ward

Author:Keith Ward
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: SPCK
Published: 2015-03-18T16:00:00+00:00

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Does God have a purpose?

We have seen that when Christians speak of God as ‘the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth’, this is picture language which can be conveyed to the youngest or simplest minds. But it also has a much more subtle and profound meaning, which is that the infinite, unlimited reality expressed in our finite universe is an eternal and self-existent being, the source of all other things and unlimited in power and wisdom. It is the source of the rational and ordered laws upon which our universe is founded. So it is right to think of God as that rational consciousness which is the origin and basis of nature. It is right to think of this God with reverence and awe, as being unlimited in power and wisdom.

The argument I have set out here was not, of course, used in that form in the Bible. Nevertheless, those who reflected about God and who wrote about God in the scriptures undoubtedly did see the world of nature as the expression of just such a God of power and wisdom. They did not have the modern scientific world-view. They had not worked out all the implications of the world being the creation of a rational consciousness. But they could see that nature showed the existence and influence of a being of great power and wisdom. They could say: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork.’ They saw that the world depended upon an underlying power for its existence; and they could see something of that power in the events of their daily lives.

It does not take a sophisticated argument to show that God is the creator of heaven and earth. Just the direct and natural perception by the human mind of the beauty and order of things can see the presence and power and wisdom of God continually expressed in the things and happenings of the world. That is an important part of believing in God. But we need also to go on and ask, ‘Is there any purpose in this world?’ There is design and order; the origin of the world does appear to have unlimited power. But is there any reason why the being of God should be expressed in this way at all? Again, it is natural for us to think that there is a purpose. But may we not be simply deluding ourselves?

Why are we here?

Many people have thought that human beings are such very small parts of the universe and human minds so very limited, that any attempt by us to say what the purpose of the whole of the universe might be is unduly arrogant and quite fruitless. We live on a small planet of a small star on the fringe of one of many galaxies. How can such a minute part of the universe make any guess at all about the purpose of the whole thing? Why, indeed, should we think that there is any

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