The following is from Anthony Esolen one of the assistant editors of Tpuchstone magazine from back in June and (as usual raises some very good questions:
June 28, 2007
Deus Absconditus
Why, if God wants us to have faith in Him, does He play hide-and-seek with us, asking us to find what we do not see, and even requiring us to toss our lives away for a promise, a hope in light on the other side of what sometimes seems impenetrable darkness? Now I could venture many answers to the question, answers that spring from the Love that God has revealed Himself to be, and from what it means for us to bear the image and likeness of that Love. For there is something dangerous about Love -- and it may be that our answering love for a God we do not (and, given the structure of our beings, could not) immediately see, is a powerful reflection of God's own self-giving in creation, brooding over the nothingness and bringing forth light.
But then another question comes to mind: would it really be any better for us if God made His presence more easily known? The dark angels knew of His existence, and fell. Satan is faithless, and no atheist. Take this story, for example. Click here for the rest of the story
http://merecomments.typepad.com/merecomments/2007/06/deus-absconditu.html
2 comments:
This reminds me of a line by the Roman poet Ovid describing Apollo as he looked upon the maiden Daphne...
Si qua latent, meliora putat.
If anything lay hidden, he thought those parts even better.
This line can also be used in defence of less nudity in films. It also spawns another interesting line of thought...isn't it curious how issues of love and the romantic are paralleled in talk of God? The lyrics of many love songs could easily be addressed to God.
One of the added pluses of having augustaquinanselm posting is the opportunity to learn latin. Now we just knew how to pronounce it..
I agree that there are numerous instances love/romantic talk of God in scripture but I must say that I am uneasy with the eroticizing language in much of todays modern Christian music. I am familiar with the frequent use by our Lord of the marriage covenant metaphor but still much of the current music seems to me to cross a line, in much the same way as the "Superman Prayer" crosses a line of prayer for anyone older than 2nd grade.
But I am also interested in everyone's take on the second part of this particular blog. Where the woman is repeatedly healed and yet fails to understand, or refuses to, that God can do as He pleases. Or as the blog says it, that: "She was healed despite the fact that she did not believe."
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