Questions about Divinity

Many religions invest ultimate power in a all-powerful God. This leads to a problem. If this God is all-powerful, why would he allow ... in the world. Fill in the blank with your favorate concern or injustice. Many people can accept various answers to this dilemma, others can not. They may accept one because they are suppose to, but that is not the same as an answer that really resonates with one's soul.

Perhaps a different question would help those people who are looking for a different answer. What if the 'deity' behind it all was neither all powerful nor pure good. Suddenly the issue of why such bad things happen vanishes. A imperfect, limited divinity would not always know what should be done and would not have total power to make it happen that way.

Divinity would have some power, and could influence some things, but could not just make everything right.

Would such a perspective of Divinity be helpful, upsetting or perhaps both? Helpful in that divinity would look and feel a lot like what happens in real life. There would be less of a gulf between what happens in our life and what we can perceive or feel of the power behind it all. And perhaps some would be comforted by this.

Perhaps others would be upset. They need there to be an ultimate 'power' behind it all. A creator. But does this need for an ultimate power require the power behind it all to be All-Powerful? Could the power behind it all have significant power without being All-Powerful? What if the power behind it all had to work in and through the natural laws of the universe? Perhaps technically it could not be called Creator, but could it not still influence the universe as Designer?

Which view helps people feel whole and interconnected to everything? Which view helps people feel secure and validated? Which system would propose stronger ethics? Which system would be more accepting of scientific theories? Does one view open the system to unknown possibilities of what the human race can achieve? both good and bad? Does one view close the system so that the human race can get so bad or good, within the limits of divine providence? Is it important, needful or healthy for the human race to have an open system?

Could it be said that an all-powerful God closes the human race to a limited potential? Would it be correct to say an imperfect divinity would open the human race to unlimited potential?

Ultimately which system puts more responsibility on the human race? If an all-powerful God establishes and maintains the boundaries of the human race, are we as responsible for what we may become or fail to become as we would be under an divinity that could not control everything we do?

These pages last updated on Dec 12, 2004
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