On sunday, the disciple class I am a part of had a discussion about whether or not God changes. The discussion reminded me of an email conversation I had with a friend awhile back.
The basic question is this: Does God change?
But that questions quickly leads to others: If God can change does that mean God's not perfect, not all knowing? Can perfection be improved upon?
Does God change? Has God always been the same? Many people read the stories from the Old Testament and sometimes feel like they are reading stories about a God that is different from the New Testament. I often hear people characterize God as vindictive and judgmental in the Old Testament but as loving and forgiving in the New Testament. Sometimes the apparent difference can be so drastic that it can feel like we are reading about two different Gods.
In fact, this apparent difference is so strong that in the 2nd Century a theologian names Marcion decided that the God of th Old Testament was not the same as the God of the New testament. As a result he proposed that the entire Old testament be thrown out and we should only read the new Testament. This suggestion lead to the more orthodox church fathers coming together and stating that the books of the Old testament were in fact part of Christian scriptures. Yet, to many, it seems that God has changed and perhaps even learned from God's earlier interaction with humanity.
Let's assume for a minute that God has in fact changed. If that's the case, does that mean that God is not all knowing? Does that mean that God is all-powerful but with limited knowledge and understanding? Does that mean God makes mistakes and we as humans are subject to this all powerful God that hasn't really figured out what God's doing? That's a rather fightening thought. But can God change and still be all knowing? Can God change and yet still be perfect? I'm not trying to polarize the issue but it seems to me that if we are going to claim that God changes then we must be willing to claim that God is not all knowing or perfect.
Some have argued that God's tactics have changed over the course of human history but that God in God's self, that the nature of God, has not changed. Some argue that God used the discipline and interaction with humanity that was appropriate for what humanity as a whole was capable of understanding. So, the arguement goes, have we grown as a race, such that we were able to understand love and forgiveness at the time of Christ's ministry on earth but we were not able to it understand prior to that? Some have compared humanity to the life cycle of an individual human, that humanity as a whole has been able to comprehend things at different levels through out history and that our changing understanding necessarily affects our relationship with God. So when we were ready and able to understand forgiveness, God showed forgiveness.
Yet others have argues that God, and God's tactics have remained the same throughout the course of human history but that human perception has changed. Some argue that we are now able to understanding the love and forgiveness of God that has been there all along. Note that there is a subtle yet important difference between this belief and the one in the previous paragraph. In the previous paragraph the belief is that God's interaction changes based on our ability to understand. The perspective in this paragraph is that God's interaction with humanity does not change but our changing understanding allows us to better understand God, so God has not changed, we have.
It is an interesting question. Regardless of which way you answer it, it has large consequences for your faith. The teachings of the church claim that God does not change. God is. It's as simple as that, God does not change. God is the same now as God was at the beginning of creation, and will be the same at the end of time. However, the church does recognize that our understanding of God has changed through out history, but it has changed most profounding in the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The person of Jesus Christ is considered to be God revealing God's self to humanity. With this new revelation of God we come to understand God in new ways.
But what do you think? Do you think the church's teaching is a satisfactory answer? Or does that seem insufficient? What do you think?
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I believe our perception of God has changed and that God is the same and will always been the same. Like you said, "God is." We have been granted new access to a view of God. God controls this as well. The writers of the new testament saw God in a different light than the writers of old testament through seeing God in human flesh. We shouldn't box God up and say that God didn't know how things were going to change and therefore had to change based on human action. Maybe in 1000 or a million years we will be able to see God in a different light once we are granted that access, a new perception of God that might make us take another look at how we view God through the lense of the new testament.
ReplyDelete"...However, the church does recognize that our understanding of God has changed through out history,..."
ReplyDeleteMy question: Is this a good thing or a bad thing? If the word of God stays the same, how come as time progresses views within the church change so much? Why are certain things (within some denominations) acceptable now that were not before?
Randomguy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment and question. When I mentioned that the church recognizes our understanding of God has changed, the comment was in reference to the way the church’s understanding of God changed with the coming of Christ. Christ, God in human form, revealed God to humanity in a way humanity had never experiences before.
Yet as you point out, the church’s understanding of God has changed even after the coming of Christ. The bible is the word of God and as such it is inspired by God. The Holy Spirit inspired its writing and that same Holy Spirit inspires its reading as well. Jewish tradition holds that every letter, every punctuation mark, every white space on the page, each one has 47 different layers of meaning. Sometimes, the Holy Spirit inspires us with a new interpretation of the word of God, allowing us new insights. Sometimes the Holy Spirit helps us to see a new layer of meaning.
That being said, I don’t believe that every new interpretation of scripture is accurate or inspired by God. We are all human and have our own biases. Sometimes we hear what we want to hear rather than letting scripture challenge us. Allowing scripture to challenge us helps keep us grounded in our faith.
As we all seek to be faithful and grow in God, we will have differences of opinion. When we do, we should keep in mind that we are all trying our best to be faithful. Through dialogue and conversation we can learn and grow together.
There are a couple of scriptures that talk about this clearly. Malachi 3:6-- For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. James 1:17--Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
ReplyDeleteI heard in November that there is more in the Bible about the temple destruction in 586 BC than for any other topic, including the life of Christ on Earth. I thought to myself, "God wants me to know that my default setting is evil." He wants us to understand the seriousness of His people not following Him. I do believe He's the same God (OT/NT and that He doesn't change), but I only believe it because the Bible is clear on it. In our day, Christians would prefer a different God from the OT, perhaps!
Thanks for your blog. Really enjoying it.