"I don't doubt God because I don't have all the answers about Him, rather I would have reason to doubt God if I did have all the answers about Him."
During one of our discussions after Sunday service, Phil Seymour expressed this thought, and I organized it into a quote. Think about it for a while. Comments?
-Max
July 29, 2006
A Time to Think...
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6 comments:
Is there a way to rephrase the first line to avoid the double negative? I like the thought but I have to put my brain in 4-wheel drive.
Thanks for posting that Max. Whenever I spend time in thought about the infinite God we serve it always fills me with wonder and makes me feel so small. What would life be like without that sense of wonder? Probably quite dull!
Our God is truly an awesome God!
~Sally
Aaron,
But isn't that one of the purposes of a good quote? :) However, perhaps the first part could improved in this way:
"I don't doubt God because I lack answers..."
A good quote should put your spirit in 4-wheel drive, not your brain. The syntax should never interfere with the significance.
I think the problem lies in working around the negative concept of doubt instead of the positive concept of trust. How about:
"I don't trust God because I can explain Him: I trust God because I can't explain Him."
I would have to say that a good quote would put both your spirit and your mind (if that distinction can be drawn) on 4-wheel drive.
I agree, syntax should never interfere with the significance of a quote. However, sometimes the uncommon syntax is what makes you do a double take, and ponder the meaning.
I like your version, however I don't think it was exactly the idea we were trying to convey. It is not so much being able to explain or not explain, it is more the idea of having some comprehension, but not full comprehension. Here is another version:
I don't trust God because I can fully explain Him, rather I would have reason to doubt God if I could fully explain Him.
Of course, another way of saying it would be this:
"My trust in God is not a result of having comprehensive knowledge about God and His activities. In fact, since God, by the biblical definition, is an infinite being and I am only a finite being, if I did have comprehensive knowledge about God, I would have adequate reason to doubt His existence."
Yet that doesn't quite have the same ring. Don't you agree? :)
No, it sure doesn't. It's not a quote anymore, it's an essay.
"If I knew everything about God I wouldn't need to trust Him anymore."
What does Phil think of all this? :)
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