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Have you heard the phrase, “God is in Control?” I have. You can see the posts on social media. "It's in God's hands," some say. You would think this is a reasonable belief by Christians who believe in an almighty God who is able to protect His family better than the best earthly father.
But when bodies pile up, hospital beds are full, and millions of people just lost their jobs, you might think everything is out of control.
They reported their findings to
the Angel of God in the birch grove: “We have looked over the whole earth and
all is well. Everything’s under control.” Zechariah 1:11
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Governments and public health officials were unprepared for
the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. The virus raged out of control for
months. This post is not about blame. I am writing about the belief, "God is in control," which is not evident.
Some opine that God works through leaders—even through those
whose moral character is lacking. Strangely, you see many leaders unsure
of what to do and reacting with threats against opposing leaders. They really
don’t seem to control what is needed to win foreign wars, end substance abuse, control
the spread of disease, or obtain and direct enough resources to deal with
crises. The idea that God exerts control through leaders is not obvious.
God working through leaders doesn't pass a common-sense test.
Besides that, what on earth does "working through" mean? Do the leaders have any free will? Do the purveyors of such ideas believe leaders are puppets on God's stage? Surely we would have fewer natural and human-made disasters if God were working through leaders.
I’m focusing here on religious beliefs about the power of
God or gods to control anything on earth. I live in a nation where most religious people
are Christians so, I will stick with Christianity and let others deal with
beliefs in their religion. You might ask why bother? That is a good question.
My reason to bother is one of curiosity when I see various posts on social
media sites aimed at comforting people when bad things happen. I don’t bother
with theological treatises because those esoteric articles don’t have a
proximal impact on ordinary folks who often get their theology from a preacher
or a favourite website.
One more note. I should be clear about the concept of control. I am using control in the way most people use it. I try to avoid playing a language game of fuzzy meanings. Control means the power to have an effect. Full control means what a person does determines an outcome. If I flip a switch and a light comes on, I controlled the light.
I can meaningfully talk about partial control. That is, if leaders agree and constantly tell people that maintaining six feet of distance and washing hands will reduce the number of virus infections and such behaviour is reasonably linked to a reduction in the rate of infections then the leaders influenced the behaviour of crowds and had an effect on infections and life.
When people say "God is in control" they ought to mean God acts and there is an observable effect. If God is in control of a virus it ought to mean God can start and stop a virus. Frankly, it is not evident that a divine being controlled the Covid-19 virus. Too many Christians suffered and died.
Was God in control of various wars? People have opinions, but how would anyone know the outcome was God's outcome? Besides thinking of outcomes, do you really think God controlled how many people would die in the war? Religious opinions may offer some comfort but why trust religious leaders on their notions of what God does and does not control in terms of wars and similar conflicts?
Focus on the Family Interview with Dr. Francis Collins
During an interview with Dr. Collins, Director of the
National Institutes of Health (US), conservative host Jim Daly reminded the audience, “God is in Control.”
“…I think the bottom line
message is we need to be informed and take this virus seriously and do
everything we can to protect ourselves from getting sick. But, don’t give in to
fear. God is in control.” Jim Daly (March
19, 2020)
As an aside, check out the whole interview if you are
interested in the interplay between faith and science. Dr. Collins is a savvy
scientist who identifies as a Christian.
Tony Compolo explains why God is Not in
Control
In a 2018 post, Tony Compolo, Sociology
Professor, gives his idea about why God is not in control.
I am not
questioning the extent of God’s power. I believe that God has chosen not to be
in control of everything going on in this world. In Christ, we find a God who
deliberately gave up power to control everything in order to save the world
through sacrificial love (Philippians 2). If God exercised total control over
everything we do, we could not love God because love always requires the lover
to freely choose to love. God relinquished power in order to give us the
freedom to love. No one is coerced into loving God. Love cannot be coerced. God
did not create us to be puppets… (Compolo,
2018 June 30)
Dr. Compolo was a great speaker who tells poignant
tales that provoke thinking. He seems to really care about people. Consider reading his post.
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Mark Driscoll’s Twist
In a creative twist, American preacher
Mark Driscoll declares, “God is in Control of who is in Control” (Driscoll).
I get the stories he tells but sometimes official leaders don’t seem to be in
control of much. In March 2020, leaders could not even get face masks to
healthcare workers. The evidence we have isn’t very convincing that God is
controlling world leaders. And why should we think Mark has any special insight?
Dr. Cheryl Bridges Johns Challenges the Belief “God is in
Control”
Dr. Cheryl Bridges Johns , is a Pentecostal author and speaker. She challenged that assumption of God’s
Control on a public Facebook post. Following is part of what she wrote.
“God is not
in control. He has given humanity free will and will never violate that
freedom. We can testify, “God is in the midst of every crisis and working for
the good. God is actively present. God will never abandon us. God is faithful.
If we trust him, God works all things together for our good and for his glory.
We join with the dying words of John Wesley, ‘Best of all, God is with us.’”
(Johns, 2020, March 26).
There are a lot of components to Johns's post. Some statements are rather bold like her belief in free will and God
never violating that freedom. And I am wondering about how comforting it is to
have God present yet unwilling to control things that can hurt us and our
children. It takes a lot of trust to believe all things will be good sometime
in the future.
What about the doctrine of the Sovereignty of God?
Notice the explanation of Sovereignty in theopedia and the concept "control."
The Sovereignty of God is the biblical teaching that all things are under God's rule and control, and that nothing happens without His direction or permission. God works not just some things but all things according to the counsel of His own will (see Eph. 1:11). His purposes are all-inclusive and never thwarted (see Isa. 46:11); nothing takes Him by surprise. The sovereignty of God is not merely that God has the power and right to govern all things, but that He does so, always and without exception. In other words, God is not merely sovereign de jure (in principle), but sovereign de facto (in practice).
You can read a lot more about the sovereignty of God online. For example, Jack Wellman is a pastor of a Brethren Church and offers a view of Divine Sovereignty.
"Sovereignty is the state of being supreme in power, status, and authority over all subjects and nothing can happen outside of the sovereign one’s will that is not part of their will, therefore the one who is sovereign has unlimited power and is independent of their subjects and can act regardless of the will of those who are reigned over"
Who Makes Sense?
Drs. Compolo and Johns may be up against
some long-held beliefs about God’s power over nature. God may not be in
control, but lots of people believed God could and would control the cosmos, disasters, the outcomes of wars, and even finding a parking place!
For centuries Christians believed God
created the heavens and the earth and all life on the earth. That’s quite a bit
of control! Of course, some Christians still deny the naturalistic origins of the
universe and the evolution of life. But others reframe the whole business of
origins by saying something like God is the source of life and the one who
maintains the universe. That’s a slick way of reframing an old literal belief
in creation as a metaphorical creation—God created a process--or something
like that.
Closer to the supernatural interventions
changing life on earth are those biblical texts about God destroying his
creation with a flood (Genesis 6-8), sending plagues on the Egyptians to set
his people free (Exodus 7), causing the sun and moon to stand still while the
Israelites did battle (Joshua 10), and sending fire down to light up a soaking
wet altar to prove his power (1 Kings 18:38). These are amazing stories, right?
And remember those stories from childhood
about Jesus being born of a woman who didn’t have sex, reworking chemistry to
change water into wine, controlling a storm so the waves calmed down, and
violating the natural order of things through healing, raising the dead, and
going up into the sky? That sounds like a lot of control over nature, right?
It’s a pity God did not include an FAQ in the
Bible.
G W Sutton suttong.com
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Reframing God’s Power
All of the biblical stories have been
interpreted in many ways. For years Christians believed God was a very powerful
being who controlled the universe, the weather, disasters, and so forth. The
insurance industry phrase, “acts of god” didn’t appear out of nowhere. But the brute
facts are that horrible accidents maim Christians and non-Christians alike.
Children die from disease. Hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes are
uncontrolled death wielding menaces around the world. Tiny viruses create panic
as they invade humans and produce misery, pain, and death.
Philosophy isn't much good when people are hurting. However, one way Christian philosophers have dealt with God's sovereignty and the problem of evil is to say evil is the result of man's sin. And affirming that people have free will.
However, these beliefs in human freedom and the origin of evil do not resolve the paradox of a powerful God existing while people are suffering. Christians are left trusting that God is loving and suffering has meaning. Furthermore, the free will discussion does not apply to us when natural disasters happen. For example, humans are not the proximal causal agents in tornadoes or hurricanes. We have a range of choices in how we prepare for natural disasters and react to them but we do not yet control them. Free will arguments are distractions in this context. (Read more at Intervarsity).
It looks like Compolo, Johns, and
others offer a better theology—"God is not in control.”
I’ll not pretend to be a religious scholar. I’m a psychologist. Among
other things, I am curious about the ways people cope with trauma. Perhaps just
thinking about God is a comfort.
Believing God is in control might be helpful
until a loved one dies, or you end up wondering if you are going to live. At
such times other beliefs might become more helpful like beliefs in an afterlife
or rejoining family and friends who have passed on. Such beliefs are not evident, but they appear to bring comfort. After all, no one returns to say "I got it wrong about the afterlife."
Perhaps just appreciating the presence of others helps seeing God metaphorically speaking in the godly love of carers.
As a psychotherapist, it was not uncommon for me to hear Christians in trouble ask "Why?" or "Why did God let this happen?" I focused on exploring their hurt and their helplessness. Feeling abandoned by God is reasonable as we see in Job's troubles. But we also see Jesus dealing with the same estrangement in the crucifixion story. I think psychotherapists, pastors, and good friends have the opportunity to extend the love of God toward those in pain as long as the helper overflows with love. From my perspective, there is no sound philosophical answer to the problem of evil.
Nonliteral interpretations of biblical texts can be helpful to those who comprehend metaphors. But there are pragmatic answers that respond to people in need. Faith and hope are meaningful components of a meaningful life but love reigns supreme (Paul).
I suggest the theological sidestep of declaring God's sovereignty and the presence of evil to be a mystery offers no hope. Most mysteries can be solved. The problem of evil is not solvable. Trying to solve such "mysteries" is a hopeless distraction from embracing life at it is and trying to move forward.
Saying something is a mystery is often a pretentious unverifiable statement that shrouds ignorance in nothingness. Let's be honest. If we don't know the answer, let's say so. If something seems like a mystery to you then state that as your opinion. Declaring something is a mystery is a rude and shoddy attempt to cut off heartfelt challenges to flimsy beliefs.
Control is a fleeting notion. Even those in charge of great wealth and
military power can experience considerable limitations in what they can accomplish.
Leaders and nations come and go.
In real life, we humans have varying degrees of control over our lives and those we parent and supervise.
I make no claims about the nature of God's power or interventions.
My beliefs about human nature are that we are neither fully free nor fully determined. We make some decisions and we are influenced by other people and our surroundings.
Behaviour is a function of people interacting with their environments.
So, my very dear friends, when you see people reducing God to
something they can use or control, get out of their company as fast as you
can.
Paul (1 Corinthians 10:14)
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The previous post was March 2020 Revised 24 November 2020
