God is There but He’s Not

Anyway, the preface has a quote from Aldous Huxley that made sense:

God is, but at the same time God is not. The Universe is governed by blind chance and at the same time by a providence with ethical preoccupations. Suffering is gratuitous and pointless, but also valuable and necessary. The universe is an imbecile sadist, but simultaneously, the more benevolent of parents. Everything is rigidly predetermined, but the will if perfectly free. The list of contradictions could be lengthened so as to include all problems that have ever vexed the philosopher and the theologian.

The older I get, the more I think that “God” is what we need to see “God” as for our own peace of mind/justification then what God actually is from a description point of view.

I already feel like I am disconnected from most of humanity – I need to see God as understanding that experience and being with me in that experience in a hopeful way to bridge that disconnect. I can hit myself and my enemies with my own metaphorical thunderbolts, thank you – so the OT vengeance is nothing something I need from God.

What made sense to me about this quote is that God probably present and in control, but only at a high level. The broad plan is in place and unfolding as he would like it to. But in my view, he doesn’t get too involved in the nitty gritties, in that sense, he’s absent.

If I can draw an analogy. I teach a lot of business courses, and I’m seeing a pattern — people up high in organizations need to think at a high level to make significant changes throughout their organizations. For example, they can adopt a transformational leadership style, and that tends to affect people on an emotional level in broad strokes, leading to higher levels of performance on average than other less inspired leadership styles. They can implement systems by applying sound project management and requirements gathering techniques — these things affect a lot of behavior, but the touch of the managers at a high level is generated through their conceptual thinking, not so much their “in the trenches” behavior. Instead you see them defining processes for others to follow. At the nitty gritty level, there is variance, but overall, their conceptual thinking drives the organization toward the goals/objectives they are seeking.

I feel God works in a similar manner. His presence is at the conceptual level, and this drives a lot of outcomes, but his touch isn’t at the level that us regular, average people. At least, that is how I’ve felt throughout my life. Rarely have I felt his intervention, and my mind tends to reject the thinking that he even notices a sparrow falling. I don’t believe get gets that deep into the details. In that sense he’s absent. But present at the conceptual level.

God is There but He’s Not

This also sounds like Schrödinger’s cat. It can be simultaneously both alive and dead until we open the box.

I have found it interesting that there is a spectrum to deism. Some would like to paint deism and God starting everything and then walking away.

Many deists are not quite so black and white. They see God as present in the larger movements of humanity. Some of the American Revolutionaries counted themselves as deists and felt that God was supporting their cause – and maybe even not their cause individually but the cause of freedom more generally and to the degree that the American Revolution aligned with greater freedom God would support it.

I have also observed that deists feel that God can communicate with us through the world that he created for us. Thus every new scientific discovery is uncovering another clue to understanding the creator through understanding His creation.

Anyway, I am in no means an expert. I have just found it interesting to find this variety among deists. They did seem to be fairly against what they describe as “revealed religions” that claim to have special and unverifiable information from God.

I worked in a Jewish school for a few years. The requirement for admission (other than paying the tuition) was that the kid was of Jewish heritage. What brand of Judaism (general categories of Orthodox, Conservative, Reform) the kids followed was of no concern and it didn’t even matter of the kid actually participated in synagogue (although they were all required to participate in the school religious classes). So I know kids that loved bacon and shrimp and did whatever they wanted on Friday/Saturday and I knew kids who dressed in black and white. After a while I came to realize that there are probably as many views on what a Jew is as there are Jews. In my years there I don’t think I ever met two kids who believed the same (some of the older kids were very open about discussing their individual beliefs as were some adults). The range of beliefs was amazing to me – but also that was the best part. No matter what they believed they were welcome at school and were not ostracized even by the most Orthodox (who can be very judgmental). And when one needed help, again no matter the flavor, help was always there – a Jew is a Jew.

I think the same is true about beliefs to some extent among us Deists. We are not organized (there no Deist church to my knowledge, and some Deists are anti-organized religion as you point out) but I believe we recognize there is a spectrum of belief. Personally, I believe for the most part God did start the ball rolling and walked away and let it run (sort of like your washing machine). That doesn’t mean that God didn’t/doesn’t know things were going to happen, in fact things happening are part of the plan. Can God intervene? Probably (I believe yes). Does God intervene? Maybe (I believe rarely). I don’t think there are many Deists that don’t believe God at the very least observes, and perhaps weeps at times.

I think the same is true about beliefs to some extent among us Deists.

Right. I think that some may try to say that if an individual is considering Deism then they would have to give up any idea of God ever intervening or even influencing human events. I was somewhat surprised to find that there is no such line in the sand among Deists.

Mormons tend to think in black and white, all in or all out. I don’t believe most other religions and churches are so black and white in their thinking. Another example is that I know several Catholics who are pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage – and also go to mass weekly. Others, with some exceptions such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, seem to be much more tolerant of diversity of belief.