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Q.
Is God “in control”?
Many people are terrorized by the thought of a universe in which God is
not in control. But the truth is that if God is in control, I could do a better job!
The universe is the arena of interaction between a God who is totally free
and a humanity that God has created totally free. The problem is that if we’re
free, that means we’re responsible. And since we don’t always do a good job
with responsibility, we tend to rationalize and justify our irresponsibility. It’s
better if it’s out of our hands—if God is in control.
I believe that God has a vision for creation and that when we humans
align ourselves with that vision we experience the consequences of living in
synch with God. When we try to do it our own way, we experience the con-
sequences of living out of our grossly limited perceptions. Either way, God
continues to be with us and to provide revelations of the divine vision.
I’ve reared three sons and am participating in the rearing of eight grand-
children. All of them, thankfully, have passed through the “terrible twos”—
that year of wrestling with autonomy: “I do it myself!” “Me do it! Me do it!”
They outgrow that somewhere around their midthirties.
In the evolution of the human race, we’re still in our “terrible twos”! God
have mercy!
Scriptural References
Genesis 45:4–5; 50:20; Matthew 27:46; Romans 8:28; 16:20; 1 Corinthians
1:18–30; John 14:7–9; Hebrews 1:3
Suggested Additional Sources for Reading
- Gregory Boyd, God of the Possible: A Biblical Introduction to the Open View of
God (Baker Books, 2000). - Gregory Boyd, Is God to Blame? (InterVarsity Press, 2003).
- Lee C. Camp, Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World
(Brazos, 2008). - Douglas John Hall, The Cross in Our Context: Jesus and the Suffering World
(Fortress Press, 2003). - Harold S. Kushner, When Bad Things Happen to Good People (Anchor, 2004).
- Jurgen Moltmann, The Cruci ed God (Fortress Press, 1993).
- Elie Weisel, Night (Sparknotes, 2002).
- N. T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God (InterVarsity Press, 2009).
- Slavoj Žižek and John Milbank, The Monstrosity of Christ (MIT Press,
2009).