How many times have you heard that “God works in ways that we don’t always understand” or even worse “God is beyond human comprehension” ? I have heard it this statement uttered by Theists many many times and it was even presented to me in school as a solution for the problem of evil by our teacher.
I am always disappointed when I hear this response because it is quite the conversation stopper but to a certain degree I feel sympathy for those people who say it and actually if you hold to a belief in God it’s only logical that we can’t comprehend God.
Just think about what God is: All knowing, all powerful, omni-benevolent . How can one possibly get his mind around who exactly this “God” is supposed to be? I personally can’t imagine what this being must be like.
I do however think, that this circumstance that we find ourselves in creates a serious problem for Theism in general.
We’ve also heard it said by Theists that God works in their life. God gives them strength. He helps them get up in the morning, he gives them motivation etc. .
I have one serious question though: How do you know it isGod who is working in your life? Theists might often say, that he revealed himself in a very powerful experience, which gives them certainty that God exists.
When it comes to those experiences I don’t doubt for a second, that a given person did have that experience. How do you know it came from God, as opposed to a sufficiently powerful entity, or a very powerful entity?
You see very very powerful and all powerful look very much alike. How could God possibly demonstrate that he’s all powerful? If I were to encounter such an entity I could never be sure it’s actually God. He could maybe create stuff out of nothing but I would always be compelled to ask “How about that? Can you do that as well?” which would go on for eternity because I don’t see any way how God could possibly demonstrate that he can do everything or at least everything that is logically possible.
By God’s own nature, how is it possible to demonstrate, that you possess all power or all knowledge? If it is not possible to show us us finite beings, who would have wait for eternity to make sure that he knows the future, that he does possess all knowledge then how we can we be sure it’s God who we have before us?
No matter how much effort is given I don’t see how that is demonstrable.
To be clear it may be the case, that an all powerful all knowing God exists and he could give us powerful revelation. But in the end how can we be sure that it is an all powerful entity and an all knowing entity we are speaking of, without seeing a demonstration of all the power God possesses, which is infinite and without seeing a demonstration of all knowledge he posseses, which is infinite as well? If we cannot be sure and I contest that we can’t then how can God demonstrate the infinite to us mere humans?
That’s my question.
Goodbye from yours truly,
Rene von Boenninghausen @Renevelation
Tarsier Renevelations 