God The Playwright
I’m currently reading Tim Keller’s The Reason for God, and I came across an awesome quote I wanted to run by you, especially considering recent discussions on the knowability of God.
“When a Russian cosmonaut returned from space and reported that he had not found God, C.S. Lewis responded that this was like Hamlet going into the attic of his castle looking for Shakespeare. If there is a God, he wouldn’t be another object in the universe that could be put in a lab and analyzed with empirical methods. He would relate to us the way a playwright relates to the characters in his play. We (characters) might be able to know quite a lot about the playwright, but only to the degree that the author chooses to put information about himself in the play. Therefore, in no case could we “prove” God’s existence as if he were an object wholly within our universe like oxygen and hydrogen or an island in the Pacific.”
Wow. Is that huge or what? It strikes me that this fits amazingly well with the literary revelation from God (Scripture) and the physical revelation (manifestation) of God in Jesus Christ. What do you guys think? Does this effectively balance the mystery of God with His personal nature? Is it possible to know some attributes and the character of God if He has revealed them to us? Where can we discern those attributes?
Posts
“Does this effectively balance the mystery of God with His personal nature?”
I really liked CS Lewis’ use of the literary to explain this relationship with this revelation of God - it fits quite well…so well I think this is what I will borrow from theologically as an explanation about that mystery.
“Is it possible to know some attributes and the character of God if He has revealed them to us? Where can we discern those attributes?”
I think we start at the teachings and then work from there outwards. We develop an idea from teachings on God (ie: God is merciful) and then we take that idea and try it out (ie: be merciful to others) - and then wait for results. I think our experiences with God have to be put into experience and than adjusted to make our theology.
How merciful is God would be the next quest? We then try out the idea of mercy to see limits and how it can be used (and where it can be used). I think we get glimpses of God’s character and the meaning in those teachings once we put them into play.
For example, for me God seems to be very merciful towards people - I have tested my limits and seen there is still more room for mercy towards most people I know. God is much greater than me - how great his mercy must be!
Amen. It’s killer stuff, isn’t it? I think you’d really like the book as a whole. It’s right up your alley.
Interesting, then, that most playwrights that try to let the actors have a relationship w/ them (i.e. the characters in the play acknowledge the work of the playwright or that they are, in fact, in a play) tend to refer to the playwright with animosity. In fact, the playwright is 90% of the time depicted as being antagonistic or totally beyond any mode of human understanding.
This is probably due to the fact that the person writing the play is, ah, HUMAN, but I still think it’s worth mentioning.
hehe, yeah… I’d say that accurately reflects a significant chunk of the spectrum of opinions on God as well. Like you said, the human aspect is pretty big, but I think you’re really on to something.
sounds like an excellent book! i’ll add it to the list of books to acquire! silly cosmonaut! God is for Kids! (Mark 10:13-16)