God of the Gaps
A popular argument against God is that of the “god of the gaps.” I haven’t heard it in a while, but I am sure there are some who hold to it.
It says that God doesn’t exist because we now know how X or Y are caused and how they work. It minimizes God to the cause of those things that we have no or insufficient knowledge of. For example, in the past people said it is God who causes the thunder and lightning because it was loud and frightening, but now we know how they are caused, that it isn’t God smiting the earth, so God is obsolete. Consequently, the more we discover about the mechanics of how this world works, the smaller God will become.
However, consider this analogy. Are you really the one driving your car? Using the same logic above, the answer must be no. The engine is making the car move, and the powersteering is steering it, not you. This is obviously nonsense. So is the argument above. God put the mechanisms in place; He created all things in all their complexity; He is above the direct cause of them all.
“But Christoph,” you may say, “if we remove the driver from the car, it won’t go, but why do we need God, you said everything is already in place.” You’re right about the car, but I argue the same for removing God from this world. Colossians 1:17 says about Jesus, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Without God everything would fall apart (alongside a host of other problems, e.g. the absence of reason, logic, absolute moral law, and obviously all of creation).
I hope the car-driver analogy shed some light on the God of the Gaps argument. Feel free to respond below!
Related posts: