God and Nature Summer 2020
God and the Virus |
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By Lucas Mix
Now is the time to question God’s goodness. As an evolutionary biologist and theologian, I get asked about theodicy at least once a month: how can God be all good and all powerful and allow such things to happen? Evolution involves so much death; could God really be okay with that? I have said that other evils deserve more attention than evolution. Would a good God allow us to kill one another as often as we do? The God I know allowed Cane to kill Abel and Rome to kill Christ. This same God allowed the plagues of Egypt and Covid-19. Christians cannot look aside.
I write to you from my basement apartment, where I have isolated myself. I doubt I have the virus. My symptoms are mild and rarely associated with coronavirus: nausea and sore throat. It is enough, though, when the world seems to be falling apart, with infections rising, with an air of panic going around. It is enough when no one knows how long this will last or how soon a vaccine will be available. It is enough when my parents are at risk and live on the other side of that basement door. It is enough to self-isolate. It is enough to check my temperature twice daily and keep an eye out for other symptoms. I am a biologist, after all.
Now is the time to question God’s goodness. As an evolutionary biologist and theologian, I get asked about theodicy at least once a month: how can God be all good and all powerful and allow such things to happen? Evolution involves so much death; could God really be okay with that? I have said that other evils deserve more attention than evolution. Would a good God allow us to kill one another as often as we do? The God I know allowed Cane to kill Abel and Rome to kill Christ. This same God allowed the plagues of Egypt and Covid-19. Christians cannot look aside.
I write to you from my basement apartment, where I have isolated myself. I doubt I have the virus. My symptoms are mild and rarely associated with coronavirus: nausea and sore throat. It is enough, though, when the world seems to be falling apart, with infections rising, with an air of panic going around. It is enough when no one knows how long this will last or how soon a vaccine will be available. It is enough when my parents are at risk and live on the other side of that basement door. It is enough to self-isolate. It is enough to check my temperature twice daily and keep an eye out for other symptoms. I am a biologist, after all.
"God never asks us to escape from the midst of those who suffer." |
I do not doubt God’s goodness, but I will say this: now is the time to ask. If suffering troubles you, here it is on a global scale. This is the time for God. This is the time for theology that matters. Covid-19 has pushed me well past the point where biology is enough.
Natural Evil
Many theologians call viruses a natural evil. They cause suffering, yet they cannot be blamed on any human sin. Others blame them on the Fall. Adam’s sin spoiled the world and we live with the consequences. Neither of these answers satisfies me. If God made the world, why should it be made so competitive, so harsh. If God allowed it to Fall, this seems truly disproportional to one man’s sin. Viruses and bacteria have killed humans beyond counting, often after violent illness. Whether we say that God made Covid-19 or simply allowed it, much suffering can be laid at God’s feet.
Strangely, I find evolutionary biology helpful. Elliott Sober, a philosopher of evolution, pointed out something important in his book Evidence and Evolution. In making the leap from biological change to Divine design, theologians often miss something. It’s easy to say that evolution creates complexity; it’s hard to say that complexity is good. After all, the coronavirus is quite sophisticated. It has adaptive complexity. Shall we praise the complexity of animal brains, but not viral replication? In the same vein, it’s easy to say that evolution leads to more life; it’s hard to say that more is better. The more humans there are, the more tightly packed together, the more susceptible we are to infection.
Sober argues that we need independent evidence for what God wants. Thus, we can turn to the Bible and see that God wants humans to multiply and cover the face of the earth. If evolution produces that outcome, we can say that it is good, that it is evidence of God’s goodness. If we know already that God hates all parasites, then we can say that evolution is outside of God’s plan, because evolution produces parasites. Personally, I’m unwilling to say that God hates parasites, for I do not think God so weak or negligent to allow them, but that is another article.
The matter we must attend to is independent evidence about what God wants and what God does. Biology can tell us where we are going, but biology alone cannot say where God wants us to go. Biology is not enough. We must have independent evidence of God’s plans so that we can compare biology to them. This is true of evolution and it is true of viruses.
Good Stories
Christians turn to the Bible to learn God’s plans—the types of stories God likes and would have play out in the world. I hope my stories will turn out to be like those stories, strange and scary as they might be. The Bible speaks regularly of plagues and death. Who am I in those stories?
If you are like me, you want the stories to end with a happily ever after, but such stories are rare in scripture. The early books of the Old Testament have a few. Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, after being tested hideously, reach an old age with wealth and countless progeny. King David ends well, though you may wonder if he should. Christians have these stories and I do not doubt God favors them… some of the time.
More often, though, Christian stories end with trouble. Can anyone say that Noah’s age and offspring were compensation for what he went through? His drinking was wrong, but understandable. Can anyone say that Job ended well, or that his new family was compensation for losing the first one? I cannot. The prosperity gospel may be attractive, but it’s hard to align with most of the Old Testament.
The New Testament is even worse. At best we can say that Jesus and his disciples live happily ever after in heaven; they did not on earth. We do no justice to saint or story by making them fairy tales. The reward must be found in the doing, in the transformation of this life. It cannot be solely in another. The kingdom of heaven must come near, if it is to come at all. Martyrdom seems the proper end for Christians, either the quick death of Stephen of the lifetime service of John. A Christian life makes all things new. And a Christian death gives witness to God’s transformative love.
What, then are God’s plans truly like? If we look to the independent evidence of scripture, we must say that God values faith, hope, and love amidst trials: the love of neighbor that springs up in bad times, continues through good times, and perseveres when times turn bad again. Biblical stories highlight virtues of the moment: a self-giving love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. This love surprises us by nourishing new life from the ashes.
I do not know where all the suffering comes from, but I do know this. God never asks us to escape from the midst of those who suffer. Instead we are tasked to live with the suffering and with the sufferers. Suffering is always part of the story. It is not, however, the point of the story. The point is grace: to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before God. I give thanks that I can do these things… every once in a while. These things make for a good story, and not just a story with a good ending. God is with us not only at the end, but at the beginning, and along the way.
Sheltering in Place
As I have read the Bible, the biological stories trouble me far less than they might. Evolution and parasites look a lot more like scripture than fairy tales. They look like living creatures struggling to survive in a strange and difficult world. They look like opportunities for grace. So, I question this awful, awe-filled, awesome story that God wrote. I would not have written it this way. I will complain tonight when I say my prayers. I will ask God to save me and those I love. I will ask for health and wealth and, if at all possible, a happy ending. But first I will ask for grace in the moment. I will ask who I can love in the midst of hate, who I can heal in the midst of plague, who I can be for when all are against me.
I could not have made up redemption and reconciliation. The biologist in me claims that all is futile selfishness, competition, and entropy. The theologian sees something more. I live in awe of the virus and the civilization that harbors it. I see the faith of pastors, keeping their communities together. I see hope of individuals and companies shifting with unimaginable speed to change the economy and serve those in need. I see the love of health care workers going forth to care for the sick and the suffering. I see so many who risk their happily ever afters for the sake of neighbor. In it all, I see God transforming the world, in the moment.
Now is the time to question God. Strangely, I find this answer satisfies me, though it may only be for the moment. The moment is enough.
Lucas Mix studies the intersection of biology, philosophy, and theology. A writer, speaker, professor, and Episcopalian priest, he has affiliations at Harvard, the Ronin Institute, and the Society of Ordained Scientists. He is currently project co-ordinator at Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science, supporting churches and Christian leaders using the best of science and theology. Lucas blogs on faith, science and popular culture.
Natural Evil
Many theologians call viruses a natural evil. They cause suffering, yet they cannot be blamed on any human sin. Others blame them on the Fall. Adam’s sin spoiled the world and we live with the consequences. Neither of these answers satisfies me. If God made the world, why should it be made so competitive, so harsh. If God allowed it to Fall, this seems truly disproportional to one man’s sin. Viruses and bacteria have killed humans beyond counting, often after violent illness. Whether we say that God made Covid-19 or simply allowed it, much suffering can be laid at God’s feet.
Strangely, I find evolutionary biology helpful. Elliott Sober, a philosopher of evolution, pointed out something important in his book Evidence and Evolution. In making the leap from biological change to Divine design, theologians often miss something. It’s easy to say that evolution creates complexity; it’s hard to say that complexity is good. After all, the coronavirus is quite sophisticated. It has adaptive complexity. Shall we praise the complexity of animal brains, but not viral replication? In the same vein, it’s easy to say that evolution leads to more life; it’s hard to say that more is better. The more humans there are, the more tightly packed together, the more susceptible we are to infection.
Sober argues that we need independent evidence for what God wants. Thus, we can turn to the Bible and see that God wants humans to multiply and cover the face of the earth. If evolution produces that outcome, we can say that it is good, that it is evidence of God’s goodness. If we know already that God hates all parasites, then we can say that evolution is outside of God’s plan, because evolution produces parasites. Personally, I’m unwilling to say that God hates parasites, for I do not think God so weak or negligent to allow them, but that is another article.
The matter we must attend to is independent evidence about what God wants and what God does. Biology can tell us where we are going, but biology alone cannot say where God wants us to go. Biology is not enough. We must have independent evidence of God’s plans so that we can compare biology to them. This is true of evolution and it is true of viruses.
Good Stories
Christians turn to the Bible to learn God’s plans—the types of stories God likes and would have play out in the world. I hope my stories will turn out to be like those stories, strange and scary as they might be. The Bible speaks regularly of plagues and death. Who am I in those stories?
If you are like me, you want the stories to end with a happily ever after, but such stories are rare in scripture. The early books of the Old Testament have a few. Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, after being tested hideously, reach an old age with wealth and countless progeny. King David ends well, though you may wonder if he should. Christians have these stories and I do not doubt God favors them… some of the time.
More often, though, Christian stories end with trouble. Can anyone say that Noah’s age and offspring were compensation for what he went through? His drinking was wrong, but understandable. Can anyone say that Job ended well, or that his new family was compensation for losing the first one? I cannot. The prosperity gospel may be attractive, but it’s hard to align with most of the Old Testament.
The New Testament is even worse. At best we can say that Jesus and his disciples live happily ever after in heaven; they did not on earth. We do no justice to saint or story by making them fairy tales. The reward must be found in the doing, in the transformation of this life. It cannot be solely in another. The kingdom of heaven must come near, if it is to come at all. Martyrdom seems the proper end for Christians, either the quick death of Stephen of the lifetime service of John. A Christian life makes all things new. And a Christian death gives witness to God’s transformative love.
What, then are God’s plans truly like? If we look to the independent evidence of scripture, we must say that God values faith, hope, and love amidst trials: the love of neighbor that springs up in bad times, continues through good times, and perseveres when times turn bad again. Biblical stories highlight virtues of the moment: a self-giving love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. This love surprises us by nourishing new life from the ashes.
I do not know where all the suffering comes from, but I do know this. God never asks us to escape from the midst of those who suffer. Instead we are tasked to live with the suffering and with the sufferers. Suffering is always part of the story. It is not, however, the point of the story. The point is grace: to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before God. I give thanks that I can do these things… every once in a while. These things make for a good story, and not just a story with a good ending. God is with us not only at the end, but at the beginning, and along the way.
Sheltering in Place
As I have read the Bible, the biological stories trouble me far less than they might. Evolution and parasites look a lot more like scripture than fairy tales. They look like living creatures struggling to survive in a strange and difficult world. They look like opportunities for grace. So, I question this awful, awe-filled, awesome story that God wrote. I would not have written it this way. I will complain tonight when I say my prayers. I will ask God to save me and those I love. I will ask for health and wealth and, if at all possible, a happy ending. But first I will ask for grace in the moment. I will ask who I can love in the midst of hate, who I can heal in the midst of plague, who I can be for when all are against me.
I could not have made up redemption and reconciliation. The biologist in me claims that all is futile selfishness, competition, and entropy. The theologian sees something more. I live in awe of the virus and the civilization that harbors it. I see the faith of pastors, keeping their communities together. I see hope of individuals and companies shifting with unimaginable speed to change the economy and serve those in need. I see the love of health care workers going forth to care for the sick and the suffering. I see so many who risk their happily ever afters for the sake of neighbor. In it all, I see God transforming the world, in the moment.
Now is the time to question God. Strangely, I find this answer satisfies me, though it may only be for the moment. The moment is enough.
Lucas Mix studies the intersection of biology, philosophy, and theology. A writer, speaker, professor, and Episcopalian priest, he has affiliations at Harvard, the Ronin Institute, and the Society of Ordained Scientists. He is currently project co-ordinator at Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science, supporting churches and Christian leaders using the best of science and theology. Lucas blogs on faith, science and popular culture.