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Apr 02, 2013 | Sam Waas

Waas: Can God Make a Mistake?

sam waas

Sam Waas is a novelist and parishioner
at Palmer Memorial, Houston

Can God Make a Mistake?

 

Is it possible for God to make a mistake? I think yes, but only under very special circumstances God may have specifically designated that in the first place.

 

Traditional theology tells us that God, by definition, is infallible, that for God to err alters the very concept of a truly supreme being, and therefore to allow God a mistake is anathema.

 

But God, as Creator, set the rules in the first place. These rules are the basic principles of the Universe, those for matter, energy, and the space-time continuum. And, on a quantum level, include the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and the indeterminate behavior of matter and energy at this quantum level. That is, the Planck level of time, mass, energy, and physical dimensions. For those unfamiliar with the term, German physicist Max Planck theorized (now proven) that energy and matter, if measured to smaller and smaller dimensions, reach a limit (Planck limit) beyond which measurements are impossible. In other words, length and mass and energy are indeterminate at that scale--tiny, submicroscopic and subatomic, billions of times smaller than anything else, but critical to the existence of larger things, such as stars, planets, and people.

 

God, when creating this Universe, placed Himself under The Law, which means that even God is submissive (by divine choice) to the laws of the Universe.

 

This may be an explanation for why God doesn’t intervene in natural disasters, like reaching into the swirl of a tsunami and turning it away from populated areas. God, by placing Himself within the jurisdiction of the very laws of the Universe (and within, in a sacred sense, The Law), cannot break those laws and change physics at a whim. Or, to do so, takes a very special amount of energy and can only be used in extremely vital or critical times. Such as, for example, is the Resurrection.

 

As for human-caused disasters and evil, mainstream theology quite rightly points out that these acts are generated via the free will and freedom of action that God imbued upon humanity. Our mistakes, our sins, for which we are responsible. God chooses not to intervene here because to do so would circumvent the great gift of free will and our own choice of action, wrong as such actions may sometimes be.

A Brief Example of God’s Power

 

That God may not always intervene in human affairs doesn’t mean that He isn’t aware of them, or doesn’t care.

 

In Vedic (Hindi) theology, the god Vishnu (one of the three Hindi gods of the Vedic Trimurti, or trinity, which he shares with Krishna and Shiva) has the role of Sustainer. He keeps the Universe ticking following its creation. This concept of a sustainer is also pervasive in Christian theology, and may in fact be the role of the Holy Spirit in the Holy Trinity, but is perhaps not so clearly described by Christian scholars, as is the personification of Vishnu in Vedic teachings.

 

Returning to conventional physics and its discoveries, the Copenhagen Interpretation (which is the foundation for all modern physics) tells us that, on a small scale (the Planck scale), matter and energy are undefined until observed. That is, the very existence or composition of a particle or energy wave is only determined when we look at it. This indeterminacy of subatomic particles riffles up through into larger objects that we can see, rendering them of indeterminate existence as well. And yes, this theory is disturbing to many, including Einstein, who worried over it and sought an alternate explanation until his death, never resolving it to satisfaction.

 

The idea that objects don’t exist unless they are observed by a sentient entity (humans, ET, Vulcans, etc.) sounds silly, but there is considerable experimental evidence to prove this is true, at least on the subatomic quantum (Planck) level. And perhaps, all these observations (or even non-observations) combine to define and allow the existence of our visible Universe, the one with which we are familiar, the rocks, plants, and people.

 

Einstein is supposed to have playfully posed the issue to physicist Niels Bohr as “Does the Moon exist if you’re not looking at it?” Well, of course it does, at least we hope so. But the pure unadulterated tenet of the Copenhagen Interpretation tells us that the Moon must be observed by a sentient (thinking) being to validate its existence, or otherwise this existence is indeterminate. That the Moon will “disappear” if it isn’t observed.

 

Many theoretical physicists (including Stephen Hawking) tussle with this concept and struggle for a rational, sensible explanation. If objects must be observed in order to exist, how do stars and galaxies then exist if no astronomer is gazing at them via a telescope? But exist they do.

 

Some scientifically oriented theologians have discovered an answer to this conundrum: it is God who observes the Universe at all times, and this observation, this “witness,” sustains its very existence. Therefore, the Moon (and everything else) exists because God is always “looking” at it, always conscious of it.

 

We are told that God is aware of the fall of a mere sparrow, but this is a parable for something far more awe-inspiring, that God is constantly and consciously aware of each individual particle of which the Universe is comprised, that He observes each sub-particle down to the smallest possible size, the Planck length (many billions of times smaller than an inch) and does so for each tick of the shortest possible moment, the Planck time interval (again, many billions of times briefer than a second). In other words, continuous awareness of incomprehensibly small particles throughout the entire Universe, each for equally incomprehensibly short moments. It is by this awareness, this eternal watching, that the Universe is held together and allowed to exist. God is indeed the witness, the Sustainer, the Vishnu for the Universe.

So, Why a Mistake?

 

I’m on thin ice here, and going in the face of conventional theology, but I think that, allowing for the quantum uncertainty of the Universe, it’s possible that God may sometimes make a mistake. Mostly, a mistake of omission rather than commission, but a mistake nonetheless.

The Owner’s Manual Analogy

 

Pick up the owner’s manual for any new car or truck, and I must emphasize new, because those manuals are written in light of the latest environmental and liability concerns, where litigious lawyers lurk underfoot.

 

Flip it open and start reading at the beginning. After the first page that lists the vehicle specifications, such as curb weight, fuel capacity, and engine displacement, what do you get?

Warnings. Page upon page of warnings. Do not drive without checking mirrors. Do not drive without seat belts. Do not race the engine. Do not jam on the brakes. Do not turn without signaling. I’d guess that easily the first half of any new auto user’s manual is jam packed with “do nots” and other dire warnings. And like product warnings for prescription drugs, it’s enough to make you want to opt out entirely.

 

It’s only after you venture beyond these cautionary pages that you finally discover instructions for why you bought the car in the first place: how to set the air conditioning, how to use the stereo, how to open the moonroof. These are positive instructions but you’ve got to wade through all the caveats and warnings before you ever find something that’s not posed as a threat. And this reminds me of the Bible.

 

The great bulk of the Old Testament is about negatives and warnings. Most of the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) is written as “thou shalt not...” and the majority of the prophets predict terrible consequences should the people stray a step from God’s very severe commandments. We’re also given graphic examples of what peril disobedience can bring.

 

Even if the accounts are to be taken literally, however, I don’t think that God ordered the total destruction of cities, demanding that every man, woman, and child be slain. We’re all agreed that God wouldn’t wish that. But these things were still done in the Name of God, nevertheless. And eagerly, too, with minds purposeful to the bloody task.

Taking the Lord’s Name in Vain

 

Many people misunderstand this commandment, to not take the Lord’s Name in vain. They think it’s about everyday cursing, like blurting “Goddammit!” if you hit your finger with a hammer. But curses are mostly venial (minor) sins. Taking God’s Name in vain is a mortal sin (after all, it’s one of the Big Ten). So why is it important?

 

To take God’s Name in vain means to use the power of God for your own purposes, to circumvent and misdirect this great authority and privilege. When you call upon that immense power, when you invoke the sacred Name of God, you’d better be doing so for reasons that are sanctioned by God and fall within The Law.

 

Jihadists and other zealots who murder people whom they call infidels “in the Name of the Lord” are committing a mortal sin. Not only are the murders wrong per se, but also classifying Christians or Jews as infidels is incorrect. All three religions, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, are children of Father Abraham and therefore not infidels, but kinfolk sheltered under the Almighty’s tent.

 

Televangelists who beg for donations to “God’s church” then spend the money on private jets and vacations in the Bahamas also commit this mortal sin. We can find other examples of this sin all around us. And this is what taking the Lord’s Name in vain is all about.

 

Of course, those Biblical warriors and conquerors who murdered thousands in the Name of the Lord weren’t doing so with adverse intent. They genuinely believed that their marching orders included population pogroms. Whether they therefore committed sins, I’ll leave to the theological historians. The Biblical warriors may simply have not read the fine print, I think.

 

But you can’t blame these early leaders, really. Every society around them was similarly primitive in its rules, and all they had to work from was the first half of the Biblical owner’s manual, the cautionary, negative section. Sure, there are positive and more peaceful prophecies and admonitions peppered all through the Old Testament, but the focus of it is mostly negative, harsh, and unyielding. Vengeance, war, subjugation of neighboring tribes, and quick, merciless action.

 

Maybe, just maybe, God erred by omission. Maybe God assumed too much from His people, that they would glean the higher aspects of God’s commandments and that humans would eventually move forward into more positive behavior.

 

More likely it was human selfishness and vanity that blocked the truth, and I’ll allow that explanation for those who don’t think that God may have left some things undone. Undone, that is, until Jesus Christ and His ministry.

Jesus Christ Rewrote the User’s Manual

 

Not until we come upon the Logos (the actual words of Christ as depicted in the Gospels) do we finally appreciate the positive aspects of God’s Law as fully revealed.

 

Jesus specifically addresses Talion Law (eye for an eye), which had governed society for thousands of years. And in a single phrase, He renders it obsolete; telling us to love our enemies, do good to those who wish us ill.

 

Even when questioned about the greatest of the Laws, He chooses a rare set of positive commandments (not thou shalt not but thou shall), and provides the great Summary of the Law: Love the Lord thy God, and love your neighbor as yourself.

 

In a flash, in just a few words, Jesus posits the central commandments of His ministry and rewrites the entire Judaic Code in a new way.

Why Jesus Christ was Needed

 

Christ came for a reason. He was needed. If not for His appearance and ministry, Judaic history (and the history of the world) would have proceeded to follow the set lines of vengeance and unyielding authority that it had been plodding along for centuries.

 

But it was necessary for Jesus Christ intervene, to redefine The Law in a positive way. He told us to skip ahead in the owner’s manual, to concentrate on the newer instructions.

 

Now, whether God was capable of error by originally providing a set of instructions that is too negative, or whether humans erred by misinterpreting these precepts, I’ll leave this for you to decide.

 

What I do know for certain is that Jesus Christ came to renew, redefine, and reinterpret those rules. And that we Christians have this thrilling “Great News” to guide and lead us. Ironically, it’s from the Old Testament, Isaiah 43:19, that we are told “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth…”

 

And that new thing is Jesus Christ.

 

- Sam Waas is a writer and parishioner at Palmer, Houston. He is a mystery novelist, with work available on Amazon here.