Q&A With Fr. Sebastian Athappilly
Q: How do you think bringing God into the picture changes the way we understand human history? In what ways might an understanding of history with God at the centre of the historical process differ from a purely secular and materialistic understanding of history?
A: Bringing God into the picture will definitely change our worldview, for then we will see the world from the perspective of God. A worldview devoid of God is necessarily devoid of any transcendence, a worldview in which the world is seen purely in terms of the confines of history, time and space.
Knowing that there is God can prompt me to turn to Him and pray to Him. To know God as our loving partner strengthens us in facing challenges in our lives. Having God at the centre of everything shifts the centre of gravity from this world to a life beyond, to the Hereafter. This has consequences for life in this world in the field of morality and psychology, for instance. The moral consequences can be imagined in terms of the results of a licentious life, which allows one to do what one wants to do, irrespective of how it affects the others. There is here nothing to worry about a possible sanction from God! Faith in God, on the contrary, works as restraining factor in committing crimes. In the field of psychology, one may not face frustration in the face of negative and disheartening experiences, if one has the faith in God as the one who can help; conversely, if there is no faith in God, one could be easily a victim of frustration in such situations.
Faith in God has also consequences for interpersonal relationships and society. The readiness to forgive and offer reconciliation comes from faith in God more than from atheism. So, too, a life of honesty and justice cannot be the outcome of atheistic world-view, precisely because it lacks the rationale for such a behaviour, whereas faith in God does not allow one to be unjust and dishonest. Moreover, if at all this happens, the faith in God disturbs one’s conscience and urges one to repent and leave the wicked ways.
Faith in God is also helpful in facing death better than no faith in God precisely because for the believer this life does not absolutely end with death. These are some of the practical differences.
A worldview that eliminates any idea of God is incapable of promoting love, truth and justice from inside the heart of a person, at least at a heroic level. Further, an ideology that is purely secular and materialistic has no potential to offer any consolation to those who suffer. Its only offer is death as the supposed end to all suffering! Such an ideology is also unfair in the sense that it makes no difference between the good and the wicked, the just and the unjust. The only sanction left is the sanction meted out in this world by human hands. But this is not, as experience teaches us, taking place always and everywhere and adequately.
Q: Some people may admit to the reality of God but might contend that God simply created the world and after that He is not involved in it at all. They may point to the existence of tremendous evil in the world and explain this by saying that God has left the world to its own devices and has chosen not to be bothered about it or intervene in its working, giving man full freedom to do what he wants. God, they may say, has chosen to be uninvolved in the world after creating it and is not concerned with what happens with and to His creatures. How would you respond to this sort of view?
A: Advocate of the theory of evolution Charles Darwin, for instance, admits a Creator God, but a ‘God’ who is supposedly not interested or involved in this world. Some philosophers may accept this view. However, what is important for me is not the claims of philosophy but of revelation and faith (theology). Based on Christian faith, I cannot accept such a view as right. God the Creator is, according to my faith, very much interested and involved in this world and its affairs. He respects human freedom and does not interfere with human decisions. Yet, He intervenes here by way of loving persuasion. This happens through the inner voice of the conscience, through some other people, through holy scriptures, through certain events, etc.. God also intervenes at times with nature’s course in response to prayer. This is called miraculous intervention—for instance, the case of certain healings. In the Bible, various instances are mentioned as extraordinary natural phenomena as deeds of wonder. Jesus performed many such deeds of wonder and might in order to help people.
God’s involvement in this world is, however, not restricted to miraculous deeds. It also present in the ordinary course of happenings in nature. That there are new births and new growth is a manifestation of God’s love and concern for the world. We cannot therefore speak of an apathetic God.
Q: People talk about ‘feeling the presence of God’. What do you understand by that? How, in tangible terms, can one realise that God is present with us and that we have not been left alone to face the world?
A: Feeling the presence of God and experiencing it are two different things. You might sometimes experience the presence of God but might not feel it, which is something linked to the emotions or sentiments. At times, you might also feel God’s presence in this way. But at times you might not feel or even experience God’s presence at the empirical or “objective” level. As long as we are on this earth it is not guaranteed that we will always feel God’s presence. Precisely that is why we are asked to believe in His presence.
In tangible terms, we may not also always realise that God has not left us alone to face the world. But there can be moments of such realisation. In many of my crises or problems I have, fortunately, experienced this. I have also heard first-hand reports from friends and relatives of similar experiences. This extends from situations involving physical, financial or material problems to spiritual crises.
Q: An atheist might say to a theist, “You claim that God is intimately concerned about the world and human beings. If that were indeed true, why does He not appear to do anything about the severe multiple crises that humankind and the world are facing today? Why does He appear silent and indifferent?”
How, as a theist, do you see the role and presence of God in the midst of all the crises the present world is beset with? How do you think God is active in the midst of this?
A: One thing to remember here is that evil or misery in the ultimate sense is losing the final destiny of eternal life. This can happen only if someone willfully rejects God.
Now, about your point about the state of affairs today, it is true that we face severe multiple crises. This is true also of the past and the future as well. But it is simply not true that God has never acted to help when people were in trouble. God has indeed done many marvellous things in the crises of the people who have let Him act in their lives. The Bible is full of reports about such experiences. There are, however, cases, also in the Bible, where people were not immediately helped even though they relied on God and called Him for help—but yet, they were helped later, at an appointed time. The Book of Job in the Bible is a reminder that even just people can be afflicted by misery in this world. But it also teaches that misery can be turned into joy. From the Christian perspective, the history of Jesus Christ is the climax of this message.
There are some crises that are the handiwork of humans themselves, such as wars, murder and corruption. We cannot expect God to interfere here. Certain types of sufferings are caused by human malice, such as hunger, drought and ecological crises owing to the arms race and greed. What God has done in this regard is that He has endowed humans with conscience and freedom. Humans have to use their will and goodwill to remedy this and should not expect God to overpower the evils caused by the abuse of human liberty.
There are also sufferings independent of human responsibility—for instance, certain natural calamities. God lets these things happen as part of His plan for this world, knowing that this would not be absolute evil. He also motivates people to help those who are affected. In fact, in view of the suffering caused by human malice, atheism has in itself no solution to the evils and miseries in the world; rather, it can also be part of the problem itself. Theism has, on the contrary, within it the motivation and rationale to be part of the solution by urging humanitarian deeds out of love for the fellow human beings as the expression of the love of and for God.
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