Watch these series of great video by his Youtuber:

1)  Part 1

2)  Part 2

Consider the following question:

1) Can God, who is omnipotent, create a being who is more powerful than himself?

2) Can God, who is omnipresent, send someone away from his presence?

3) Can God, who is omnipotent, create a stone that is too heavy for him to lift?

Enjoy!

This dude is always recycling the nonissues. Is there anyone who can move away from the favor of God? Can you Huxley (by the way I dont want you to do it, because I dont want you to cause your own demise) not using for your sustinance things we creationists believe created by Allah; The God? Thats a better question.

If there is anything greater/more powerful than a "God; I use the Big G for your convenience," then the God that something is greater will not be True God.

God promise not to look at the evildoers in the Day of judgement. A good example in a different way is those who God refuse to accept their prayers and or petitions. Even though He knows about their existence, but He ignores them, becaue of their evil deeds.



The fact that "the stone" is created, then it came about by simple commandment; Be. Now, the stone is nothing but under the Complete Control and Power of the Almighty, All Powerful Omnipotent, Omnipresent, The Irresistable Allah azhawaja, Al Jalawahala The God.

olabowale:

This dude is always recycling the nonissues. Is there anyone who can move away from the favor of God? Can you Huxley (by the way I dont want you to do it, because I dont want you to cause your own demise) not using for your sustinance things we creationists believe created by Allah; The God? Thats a better question.

If there is anything greater/more powerful than a "God; I use the Big G for your convenience," then the God that something is greater will not be True God.

God promise not to look at the evildoers in the Day of judgement. A good example in a different way is those who God refuse to accept their prayers and or petitions. Even though He knows about their existence, but He ignores them, becaue of their evil deeds.



The fact that "the stone" is created, then it came about by simple commandment; Be. Now, the stone is nothing but under the Complete Control and Power of the Almighty, All Powerful Omnipotent, Omnipresent, The Irresistable Allah azhawaja, Al Jalawahala The God.

What the hell is this? Have you lost your mind?

There was NOTHING comprehensible in the above, at all. Bear out my point that religion damages the mind.

The great God of heaven and earth can never be a specimen of scientificl or logical analysis. He CREATED ALL for ALL and He's ALL IN ALL.

trumpeter:

The great God of heaven and earth can never be a specimen of scientificl or logical analysis. He CREATED ALL for ALL and He's ALL IN ALL.

you're making the mistake that Huxley is actually looking for explanations.

What is complexity and how does it come about?

What is a characteristic? Do eternal beings have characteristics like temporal beings do?

I only saw the first part so that is what I am addressing.

@Huxley: « on: Yesterday at 09:58:21 PM »

Watch these series of great video by his Youtuber:

1) Part 1

2) Part 2

Consider the following question:

1) Can God, who is omnipotent, create a being who is more powerful than himself?

2) Can God, who is omnipresent, send someone away from his presence?

3) Can God, who is omnipotent, create a stone that is too heavy for him to lift?

Enjoy!

If I didn't know that you are an old man, I would have thought that you and people who think like you are toddlers.
Do these questions make any sense to you, except that you and your kind have damaged personalities, under baked minds?

Has any thing been produced by mankind, and mankind has not even the ability to lift it, whole or in compartments or in pieces? What about what mankind created that it has failed to keep in its presence; considering that it now has satellites in space? And has man deviced anything that has more power than itself, except that human being is the controller of that very device, in question?

And yet, for us the believers in the Existence of God Who is the Sole Creator, Controller and Omnipowerful, God created man by simply command, "Be!" And you, Huxley, is rattling yourself all over the place, thinking thatthere issomething impossible for God to control? I wish I know how to speak French or tribal language that you belong to. I could have said that it is shame on you. Man, you need a wife to take this free time and excessive energy from you.

I am hoping that you are not one of those africans who are confirmed bachelors, gays.

« #2 on: Today at 01:01:28 AM »
Quote from: olabowale on Today at 12:55:43 AM
This dude is always recycling the nonissues. Is there anyone who can move away from the favor of God? Can you Huxley (by the way I dont want you to do it, because I dont want you to cause your own demise) not using for your sustinance things we creationists believe created by Allah; The God? Thats a better question.

If there is anything greater/more powerful than a "God; I use the Big G for your convenience," then the God that something is greater will not be True God.

God promise not to look at the evildoers in the Day of judgement. A good example in a different way is those who God refuse to accept their prayers and or petitions. Even though He knows about their existence, but He ignores them, becaue of their evil deeds.



The fact that "the stone" is created, then it came about by simple commandment; Be. Now, the stone is nothing but under the Complete Control and Power of the Almighty, All Powerful Omnipotent, Omnipresent, The Irresistable Allah azhawaja, Al Jalawahala The God.


What the hell is this? Have you lost your mind?

There was NOTHING comprehensible in the above, at all. Bear out my point that religion damages the mind.

If I have lost my mind, just imagine what the condition of your mind is! You ask the silliest, childish and uncouth questions when it comes to your Lord God the Creator. There is alot you must learn about comprehension, if my answer is not what you are looking for.

You and your atheist master postulated three questionable ideas. I simply responded that your ideas are silly, considering that God lords over everything. That makes it impossible, since there is no other to lord over anything the way God does; This is why He is the Only God, Lord the Creator, Omnipotent, Omnipresent. Should anything escape His Ability, to Command over it, to Control it, to Sustain it, etc?


Get a grip on reality, man. I can accept silliness of people under 40. But almost 50 is just unacceptable.

And silly Huxley and his atheist boss, used stone in their questionably unintelligent question. I ask, is stone the most dense, greatest mass, heaviest of all things known? What about Mercury, or Au of the same size as a 5 pound stone? Will it not be heavier, weightier than the stone?

Yet human has deviced a way to lift everything, even piece by piece if it is too heavy to do it in one go. Yet the knowledge of human is zero to the knowledge of the Creator.

Hello Mr Olabowale,

Please, can you show why any one of the following questions is silly or illogical?

1) Can God, who is omnipotent, create a being who is more powerful than himself?

2) Can God, who is omnipresent, send someone away from his presence?

3) Can God, who is omnipotent, create a stone that is too heavy for him to lift?



Take question 3) for a start and apply this to humans.

3b) Can humans create objects that are too heavy for humans to lift?

Is there any logical inadequacy with this statement when applied to humans? Is there isn't, why should there be when applied to God?

@Huxley:

3) Can God, who is omnipotent, create a stone that is too heavy for him to lift?



Take question 3) for a start and apply this to humans.

3b) Can humans create objects that are too heavy for humans to lift?

Is there any logical inadequacy with this statement when applied to humans? Is there isn't, why should there be when applied to God?

Since you asked me to follow your process, I will. If we apply creativity of objects; eg mega machineries for mining, etc, we see that as your thought process, is correct, if we isolate the capability to lift, on just one man (maximum 10 times his own weight. I have exagerated here). So the mega equipments, machineries are designed by man, hence man have deviced a way to bring about the said "heavy object" to the places desired, with the aid of lifting equipments, which man has created. man does this by either lifting the object as a single complete finish product or brought in in parts to be assembled.


Now we see that man is smart enough, in his limited knowledge to accomplish a task that seemed impossible just before he designed a "lifting equipment" to lift what you thought was impossible to its place.

Since the knowledge of man is limited, man has limitation. For example, man can not design or make an object as heavy as the "earth" that he lives on. But even the earth is suspended. The suspension is actually "Lift", in another word usage. But the eath is not the only thing suspended or in a state of lift. The Sun is and so are many other and all objects, you know about and yet not know to you in the solar system and galaxies, etc. remember that the astronauts have travelled to the moon and never have seen anything but objects in suspension. Our earth, the place you lift in is suspended.

You should even wonder how the oceans and seas and rivers and streams on the surface of the earth have not spilled into outer space off their assigned places.

I have made all these statements, in order to lead you to the fact that first, God is not limited in power and knowledge and ability like man. Yet man had found ways to show their superiority over and above othr creations, eg animals like Elephants, etc. You see how easy it is for man to lift even elephants.

Finally, God is not limited in any of His qualities. And those qualities we know about Him, and not the end of His qualities. The Angels know greater numbers of qualities that belong to God than us, the humans. Yet God Almighty Himself, Knows His Own qualities more and larger than what the Angels ever will know.


Now, and again, going back to the question of lift; all known and unknown are creations of God. The Heavens are part of these creations. Yet all of them combined in one swift go, are in suspension by God's commandment, alone. The commandment is He, God saying to everything; "Be!"

If you have therefore thought that God is limited and not always capable, like humans, then you are wrong. Gos and human or humans are not alike. Nothing that they have that are exactly alike. Knowledge and capability and Power of God is Limitless, while that of human, humans, etc including Angels, and Jinns are individually and collectively limited.

Maybe what you need to understand is that whatever your mind can come out with as God is not God. The mind can never fully comprehend Him.

Now, as a muslim, I will end my respond to you by suggesting that you read the 112th Chapter of the Qur'aan for a strter. then when your heart ponders enough about your Creator, then go read this Illustrous Book.

olabowale:

@Huxley:
Since you asked me to follow your process, I will. If we apply creativity of objects; eg mega machineries for mining, etc, we see that as your thought process, is correct, if we isolate the capability to lift, on just one man (maximum 10 times his own weight. I have exagerated here). So the mega equipments, machineries are designed by man, hence man have deviced a way to bring about the said "heavy object" to the places desired, with the aid of lifting equipments, which man has created. man does this by either lifting the object as a single complete finish product or brought in in parts to be assembled.


Now we see that man is smart enough, in his limited knowledge to accomplish a task that seemed impossible just before he designed a "lifting equipment" to lift what you thought was impossible to its place.

Since the knowledge of man is limited, man has limitation. For example, man can not design or make an object as heavy as the "earth" that he lives on. But even the earth is suspended. The suspension is actually "Lift", in another word usage. But the eath is not the only thing suspended or in a state of lift. The Sun is and so are many other and all objects, you know about and yet not know to you in the solar system and galaxies, etc. remember that the astronauts have travelled to the moon and never have seen anything but objects in suspension. Our earth, the place you lift in is suspended.

You should even wonder how the oceans and seas and rivers and streams on the surface of the earth have not spilled into outer space off their assigned places.

I have made all these statements, in order to lead you to the fact that first, God is not limited in power and knowledge and ability like man. Yet man had found ways to show their superiority over and above othr creations, eg animals like Elephants, etc. You see how easy it is for man to lift even elephants.

Finally, God is not limited in any of His qualities. And those qualities we know about Him, and not the end of His qualities. The Angels know greater numbers of qualities that belong to God than us, the humans. Yet God Almighty Himself, Knows His Own qualities more and larger than what the Angels ever will know.


Now, and again, going back to the question of lift; all known and unknown are creations of God. The Heavens are part of these creations. Yet all of them combined in one swift go, are in suspension by God's commandment, alone. The commandment is He, God saying to everything; "Be!"

If you have therefore thought that God is limited and not always capable, like humans, then you are wrong. Gos and human or humans are not alike. Nothing that they have that are exactly alike. Knowledge and capability and Power of God is Limitless, while that of human, humans, etc including Angels, and Jinns are individually and collectively limited.

Maybe what you need to understand is that whatever your mind can come out with as God is not God. The mind can never fully comprehend Him.

Now, as a muslim, I will end my respond to you by suggesting that you read the 112th Chapter of the Qur'aan for a strter. then when your heart ponders enough about your Creator, then go read this Illustrous Book.

This is some effort, but you missed the whole point.


I ask again;

Can you, rock by rock, pebble by pebble, grain by grain, create an object that is too heavy or big to lift?



You point out, correctly, that human are limited. Thus humans can create objects that are too heavy for them to lift. Take for instance, the Pyramids on the plains of Egypt. There were created by humans with rudimentary tools and simple muscle power.

Can any humans, then and today, lift any of the pyramids?


Now, you also say God is unlimited, whereas humans are limited, thus

Humans: Can humans create an object that is too heavy for them to lift? Yes, because humans are limited.

God: Can God create an object that is too heavy for him to lift? By counter-analogy, the answer must be NO.

Basically;

Limited humans ------> Yes

Unlimited God ---------> No.


If God cannot do this, then he cannot be omnipotent.

@Huxley: Good day, man. Next is an excerpt of what the atheist said about Omnipotent God. You will see the highlight was ignorantly not considered by the silly explanation of the author, to postulate the nonsensical idea of Atheism. Does God want to prove create a thing that will make Him limited in power like human? The answer is No.

Has God not proven Himself to be in existence and all powerful, yet there are still people who fail to recognize Him in one or both qualities? The answer is obvious, since your very idea is to oppose Him, in at least one case, while you subtly deny Him in the other.

God is Omnipotent
What does it mean to be all-powerful?
By Austin Cline, About.com
Filed In:Does God Exist? > What is God?Atheism Ads
Atheism God

How Great Is Our God

Atheism Religion

Conversations with God

Roman God
Omnipotence, sometimes known as being all-powerful, refers to God’s ability to do absolutely anything God wants. This characteristic is usually treated as implied from God’s characteristic as absolute creator. If God is capable of creating all of existence (whether ex nihilo or ex deo), it is felt that it would be nonsensical to then assert that there are things beyond God’s abilities. Any being capable of creating existence itself must therefore be capable of anything at all — right?

Unfortunately, the most absolute sense of omnipotent has been found to be incoherent. If God were truly omnipotent in an absolute and unlimited sense, then God could be capable of both existing and not existing at the same time, meaning that every form of theism and every form of atheism would be equally justified at all times simultaneously. Such a God could be capable of informing humans of certain requirements for attaining heaven and avoiding hell but actually holding to entirely different requirements without ever actually lying.

Did you mean: what does omnipotent means? Top 2 results shown

God is Omnipotent: What does it mean to be all-powerful?Omnipotence, sometimes known as being all-powerful, refers to God's ability to do absolutely anything God wants. This characteristic is usually treated as ,
atheism.about.com/od/whatisgod/a/omnipotence.htm - 27k - Cached - Similar pages


Omnipotence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJan 7, 2009 , His Omnipotence means power to do all that is intrinsically possible, , So if one does something, actually 'God' is doing it. ,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnipotence - 51k - Cached - Similar pages


Since the Omnipotency is what God wants, rather what people like you may want, it is no surprising from Qur'aanic understanding of God, therefore that He does need a child,male or female, nor was He from a parent or parents.

You will also hear or read the Muslims opposing that God was ever seen, partially or wholly by any human, which is not what the Bible says. The Jews on one hand say that God is not seen, but on the other hand say that Moses say His back, and appeared and walked with Abraham, and later fought with Jacob. The christian carries this idea to the ridiculous level that they say he came as human being and was killed by mob of human beings.

You will then see that radical and unique belief of God's Omnipotency is only born and understood by the Muslims. I am a muslim. So God show His Omnipotency to you, Huxley by restricting Himself from destroying you, right now, until you live out the time He alotted to you. When this time is up, He in His Omnipotent will make you die. But in the maintime, you have all the chances in the world to argue against Him, but also hearing opposing strong views from people. Just maybe, we who believe in Him may sway your heart, by His Mercy from our speech entering your heart.

Perchance, such a hard heart may soft, and accept guidance. If you do no accept guidance, you will not be the first to refuse. Afterall, Pharaoh refused guidance of God through Moses. We all know what happened to Pharaoh. We have his body as a testement even though you may not accept it.

One thing for sure is that your knowledge is not full. The Egyptians, both Muslims and Christians said this Pharaoh drowned.

olabowale:

@Huxley: Good day, man. Next is an excerpt of what the atheist said about Omnipotent God. You will see the highlight was ignorantly not considered by the silly explanation of the author, to postulate the nonsensical idea of Atheism. Does God want to prove create a thing that will make Him limited in power like human? The answer is No.

Has God not proven Himself to be in existence and all powerful, yet there are still people who fail to recognize Him in one or both qualities? The answer is obvious, since your very idea is to oppose Him, in at least one case, while you subtly deny Him in the other.

God is Omnipotent
What does it mean to be all-powerful?
By Austin Cline, About.com
Filed In:Does God Exist? > What is God?Atheism Ads
Atheism God

How Great Is Our God

Atheism Religion

Conversations with God

Roman God
Omnipotence, sometimes known as being all-powerful, refers to God’s ability to do absolutely anything God wants. This characteristic is usually treated as implied from God’s characteristic as absolute creator. If God is capable of creating all of existence (whether ex nihilo or ex deo), it is felt that it would be nonsensical to then assert that there are things beyond God’s abilities. Any being capable of creating existence itself must therefore be capable of anything at all — right?

Unfortunately, the most absolute sense of omnipotent has been found to be incoherent. If God were truly omnipotent in an absolute and unlimited sense, then God could be capable of both existing and not existing at the same time, meaning that every form of theism and every form of atheism would be equally justified at all times simultaneously. Such a God could be capable of informing humans of certain requirements for attaining heaven and avoiding hell but actually holding to entirely different requirements without ever actually lying.

Did you mean: what does omnipotent means? Top 2 results shown

God is Omnipotent: What does it mean to be all-powerful?Omnipotence, sometimes known as being all-powerful, refers to God's ability to do absolutely anything God wants. This characteristic is usually treated as ,
atheism.about.com/od/whatisgod/a/omnipotence.htm - 27k - Cached - Similar pages


Omnipotence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJan 7, 2009 , His Omnipotence means power to do all that is intrinsically possible, , So if one does something, actually 'God' is doing it. ,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnipotence - 51k - Cached - Similar pages


Since the Omnipotency is what God wants, rather what people like you may want, it is no surprising from Qur'aanic understanding of God, therefore that He does need a child,male or female, nor was He from a parent or parents.

You will also hear or read the Muslims opposing that God was ever seen, partially or wholly by any human, which is not what the Bible says. The Jews on one hand say that God is not seen, but on the other hand say that Moses say His back, and appeared and walked with Abraham, and later fought with Jacob. The christian carries this idea to the ridiculous level that they say he came as human being and was killed by mob of human beings.

You will then see that radical and unique belief of God's Omnipotency is only born and understood by the Muslims. I am a muslim. So God show His Omnipotency to you, Huxley by restricting Himself from destroying you, right now, until you live out the time He alotted to you. When this time is up, He in His Omnipotent will make you die. But in the maintime, you have all the chances in the world to argue against Him, but also hearing opposing strong views from people. Just maybe, we who believe in Him may sway your heart, by His Mercy from our speech entering your heart.

Perchance, such a hard heart may soft, and accept guidance. If you do no accept guidance, you will not be the first to refuse. Afterall, Pharaoh refused guidance of God through Moses. We all know what happened to Pharaoh. We have his body as a testement even though you may not accept it.

One thing for sure is that your knowledge is not full. The Egyptians, both Muslims and Christians said this Pharaoh drowned.

Hello Ola,

You are a disgrace, even to irrationalism. Why are you avoiding the central thrust of the question?

Do you beleive Christianity could have made it this far without the doctrine of hell?  Christianity has to have a hell.  It's the only thing that validates it. I doubt if Christians will really understand the concept of the bibleGod without the concept of hell to keep them in line .Would Christians love and worship the bibleGod  even if they knew 100% there was no hell? I doubt much. How can many Chritians create an "us" and "them" if they didn't have a place for "them" to go to?Also keep in mind that the concept of the bibleGod is not universally accepted by all Christians, Christians don't have a universal definition and conception of the bibleGod or how they believe he should operate. Also keep in mind that the bibleGod like all other Gods heavily depend humans to explain things and do everything for him?

Huxley, I wonder what is the core tf your silly question/argument. Look at the lighlighted sentence. It answer your addresses your intentional misgiving. Read it again. Omnipotence is the ability in full power of God to do what He wants.

The operative word is "want!" Read it again. It was from your atheist definition. Wants and able to do, all the time. I want 50 T USD of my own right now. I am not able to have every penny of it, under my name.

God wanted to create mankind. He did it, immediately He wanted it. Should God create a stone or anything or even walk among humans, so as to cheapen His Majesty and Omnipotence? The answer is no, because He does not want something like that. None of these silly things you can come up with fits Him.

No man can venture to defend the almighty one true and living God. No man can claim to comprehend the mysteries that surrounds his majesty. Even the things that we see physically challenge the intellect of man to it's very boundaries, thus we cannot deceive ourselves that we can stand as advocates for Jehovah, our God who is one. Revelation 10:7 tells us of a time when this great mystery would be revealed to all creation and until then, all man's efforts are just a groping in the dark. . .

olabowale:

Huxley, I wonder what is the core tf your silly question/argument. Look at the lighlighted sentence. It answer your addresses your intentional misgiving. Read it again. Omnipotence is the ability in full power of God to do what He wants.

The operative word is "want!" Read it again. It was from your atheist definition. Wants and able to do, all the time. I want 50 T USD of my own right now. I am not able to have every penny of it, under my name.

God wanted to create mankind. He did it, immediately He wanted it. Should God create a stone or anything or even walk among humans, so as to cheapen His Majesty and Omnipotence? The answer is no, because He does not want something like that. None of these silly things you can come up with fits Him.

Fits who Allah or Jehovah? You deluded slave of Allah.

what happened to the video clip Well, that is just by the way.
I've said it before maybe i should say it again: NO HUMAN MIND CAN COMPREHEND GOD.
He is too big to be conceptualised. Any video clip or whatever is just another persons thought/ignorance
Or was GOD the producer/ director of the VC. Thank God that the VC is no longer available.
Rubbish

kola oloye:

what happened to the video clip Well, that is just by the way.
I've said it before maybe i should say it again: [b]NO HUMAN MIND CAN COMPREHEND GOD.[/b]He is too big to be conceptualised. Any video clip or whatever is just another persons thought/ignorance
Or was GOD the producer/ director of the VC. Thank God that the VC is no longer available.
Rubbish

No human mind can comprehend God yet God heavily depends on humans to explain things and do everything for him? he depends on the human mind, the human conception and understanding to relate with humans, he uses human languages,  writings and some times live in human made suculpture(wooden ark). He depends on humans to tell each other how they are suppose to relate to him and abide by his laws. And yet you come here and tell us that God can not be comprehended with the human mind, is it that God than can not be comprehended with the human mind or some of the stupid laws and actions that humans attribute to their various Gods that need to be explained away with such a lame excuse? God can not be comprehended by the human mind yet all the Gods rely heavily on humans to do everything for them. What a load of hogwash.

The Incomprehensibility of God

The God who has revealed Himself in Scripture tells us that He is going to be “incomprehensible” to us. But does this mean that God is going to be irrational or illogical? No. It means that God is beyond man’s capacity to understand or explain exhaustively. In this sense, God is beyond human reason and logic because He is infinite and we are finite.

The doctrine of incomprehensibility is the opposite of rationalistic “reductionism,” which reduces God to human categories in order to make Him “manageable,” “coherent,” and “explainable.” Incomprehensibility allows God to be GOD. It reveals that God is infinitely better and greater than man. Thus we can build all the little theoretical molds we want, and we can try to force God into these molds, but in the end God will not “fit.” He will always be beyond our grasp. He is too high for us to scale and too deep for us to fathom. We cannot get God in a box. The finite span of the human mind will never encompass the infinite God of Scripture.

But does this mean that God is “unknowable”? If by “unknowable” we mean the Greek philosophic dichotomy that “man must know either all or nothing,” this is not what Christian theology means by its doctrine of incomprehensibility. We can have a true but finite knowledge of God on a personal and intellectual level because God has revealed Himself. Thus while we cannot fully understand the God who has revealed Himself, yet we can and do know Him. (See Jeremiah 9:23, 24; Daniel 11:32; John 17:3; Galatians 4:8-9; 1 John 4:4-8; 5:18-21).

The doctrine of incomprehensibility means that we can only go so far and no further in our understanding of God because we are limited in three ways.

First, we are limited by the finite capacity of our minds. This is a “problem” that cannot be avoided any more than it can be overcome. So, we might as well as admit that we are not gods. Since we are finite creations of an infinite God, we will never understand it all.

Second, we are also limited by the sinfulness of our minds. Thus we have a moral problem as well as a capacity problem. By nature, we do not want the light of Truth. We prefer the darkness of error (Genesis 6:5; John 3:19-21). Sin and Satan have darkened and blinded our minds lest we see the Truth (Romans 1:28; 2 Corinthians 4:4). Only God’s wondrous grace can overcome our moral aversion to truth and righteousness.

Third, we are limited by revelation. Paul warned the Corinthians “not to go beyond what is written” because it would lead to arrogance (1 Corinthians 4:6). The constraints of revelation are given in order to restrain man’s depraved lust to make gods for himself. We are not free to speculate and come up with our own ideas of God. We are to study the Bible in order to learn God’s ideas about Himself, to think God’s thoughts after Him.

What are the consequences if we reject the doctrine of the incomprehensibility of God? While we might “cheer” at first because this gives a cheap and easy way to resolve the antinomies and paradoxes of Scriptures, it ultimately leads to a rationalistic denial of all Christian doctrine.

Stephen Davis is a good example of this process. He demands a “precise explanation” that is “coherent” to him, or he will not believe. In other words, if he cannot fully understand some aspect of the Christian God, he will throw it out because “man (in this case Davis) is the measure of all things.” This is the basic assumption of secular and religious humanism.

Davis first applies his humanistic assumption to the issues of divine sovereignty and human accountability. He understands that the historic Christian solution beginning from the Apostolic Fathers is that both divine sovereignty and human accountability are true. Christians for two thousand years have also believed that no one is able to reconcile these two ideas. It is a Biblical mystery that demands faith, not explanation. Since those who hold to both doctrines at the same time openly admit that they cannot give a “precise explanation” of how divine sovereignty and human accountability are both true, Davis has no choice but to reject the Christian position that both are true. He must now choose one and reject the other.

But does he now choose God and exalt His glory? No, as a humanist, Davis will always exalt man at the expense of God. When the choice comes down to either God’s being “free” to do as He pleases with what He made, or man’s being “free” to do as he pleases, a humanist will always make man “free” and God “bound.” Thus Davis argues;

Take the person who tries to reconcile divine predestination of all events with human freedom by saying, “Well, I’m talking about a kind of predestination which allows for human freedom.” Until it is explained precisely what this species of predestination is, we will be suspicious that the proposed reconciliation is spurious.

While this is a quick and easy way of philosophically dismissing the position of the early Church and the Reformation, we should warn the reader that having established the precedent that “whatever cannot be precisely explained is spurious,” Davis goes on to apply it to such doctrines as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Similarly, we would be suspicious of a person who tries to explain how an incorporate being can be spatially located somewhere by the use of what this person calls “an aspatial concept of inside of.” Again, until it is explained precisely what this species of “inside of” is, we will reject the proposed reconciliation.

Since no one can “precisely explain” how an “incorporate being,” either the Holy Spirit or a demonic spirit, can exist “inside of” someone, Davis rejects the idea. He also calls into question the omnipresence of God, for who can “precisely explain” howGod is everywhere present? Davis concludes,

If we want to be rational we have no choice but to reject what we judge to be incoherent

We had better consider the way that someone does theology because it sets a precedent that will be relentlessly applied to more and more Christian teaching until nothing is left. While a denial of predestination is exegetically foolhardy, it is not damnable. But it is damnable to deny the essential attributes of God, such as His omnipresence, or the doctrine of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Christians need to understand that they must first look at where a line of reasoning will take them before they unknowingly start down the “primrose path” to apostasy.

Let us now examine some of the Scriptures which clearly teach the doctrine of the incomprehensibility of God. We will begin with the book of Job as it contains the fullest treatment of the doctrine in the Bible.

The Book of Job

This book is the passage of full mention in the Bible concerning the problem of evil. And it is also the passage of full mention on the subject of the incomprehensibility of God. Thus any discussion of the problem of evil must involve an affirmation of the incomprehensibility of God.

In Job the problem of evil is “solved” by the doctrine of the incomprehensibility of God. In other words, Job’s solution was to accept both that God is sovereign and that man is responsible. He did not try to explain this. He simply left such mysteries in the hands of God.

It is interesting to note that when we examined the books that claim to “solve” the problem of evil by reducing the power and knowledge of God, not one of them even mentioned the book of Job. Why is Job ignored? Perhaps they don’t like the answer God gave Job out of the whirlwind, because this answer is the incomprehensibility of God.

Now, we must point out that the problem of evil was not an academic issue for Job. The pain and suffering caused by the death of his children, the theft of his goods, the loss of his health, the ruination of his marriage, and the criticism of his friends, were all real evils to him.

But when Job said that he was willing to receive “evil as well as good from God,” he meant what he said (Job 2:10). He was even willing to worship the God who “took” away his children, wealth, and health, saying:

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).

When his wife told him to curse God for all the evils He had sent their way, Job refused (Job 2:9). In the face of unbelievable pain and suffering, Job exclaimed,

Though He slay me,

I will hope in Him (Job 13:15).

This passage is very important, for in his mind, Job viewed God as his “Slayer.” He did not say that “chance” or “bad luck” or even “the Devil” was the cause of all the evils which came upon him. He always assumed that God was in control of this world. Although the agent who caused the evil may have been the Devil, the Chaldeans, etc., Job bowed before God as the One who sent the evils his way. Yet, he did not “blame” or “curse” God as if He were the agent or cause of these evils.

Job held to two seemingly contradictory doctrines. On the one hand, God was not the author of evil in the sense of being its agent, and He was thus not accountable for it. Therefore God should not be cursed. On the other hand, God is sovereign and He sent all these evils on Job. Thus he states over and over again that it is God who “took” away his children, wealth, health, and happiness (Job 12:9). No other exegetical conclusion is possible. As we shall see, Job could live with two seemingly contradictory doctrines because he had a very deep belief in the incomprehensibility of God.

But how could he endure all these things and believe in God’s sovereignty and not curse God? Why didn’t he give up his belief in God and become an atheist? Why didn’t he trade in his infinite God for a finite god like the gods of the heathen? They were “guilty but forgiven” because they were limited in power and could not know the future. Did Job ever limit his God in these ways? How did he handle it?

Job handled all the evils in life the same way true believers have always handled them. Faith! Mighty faith! Faith that looked to God alone! This was his secret.

Job ultimately accepted the fact that his “reason” was incapable of comprehending the Being and works of God. So, he simply trusted in God that He knew what He was doing. Job did not presume to instruct the Almighty or to be His counselor.

But Job and his friends had to learn the hard way to trust in God and not to lean on their own understanding. At the beginning they still tried to reason it out all by themselves. But after all their discussions, they never solved anything. The book of Job concludes with the solution that Divine revelation is the only way for man to find an answer. This is the enduring message of the Book of Job and God’s eternal answer to the problem of evil.

Several passages in Job deserve close study.

But as for me, I would seek God;

And I would place my cause before God;

Who does great and unsearchable things,

Wonders without number (Job 5:9).

How does Job resolve the fact that God is good and, at the same time, that “He inflicts pain” (Job 5:18)? The answer given in Job 5:9 is that when we try to search out the whys and wherefores of God’s actions, we will always find that His ways are “unsearchable,” i.e., incomprehensible. His “wonders are without number” and cannot be counted and measured by man.

Who does great things, unfathomable,

And wondrous works without number.

Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him;

Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.

Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him?

Who could say to Him, “What art Thou doing?” (Job 9:10-12)

Starting with the doctrine of Creation (verse. 8. Job proceeds to the incomprehensible nature of God and His works. What God does is so “great” that no one can “fathom” its depths. This makes His works “wondrous” or “awe-inspiring.”

Job now proceeds to the fact that we cannot “see” God. Thus we cannot “perceive” His motives or goals. Neither can we “restrain” Him from doing whatever He wants. Thus we have no right to challenge God by demanding, “What art Thou doing?”

Can you discover the depths of God?

Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?

It is high as the heavens, what can you do?

Its measure is longer than the earth,

And broader than the sea.

If He passes by or shuts up,

Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?

For He knows false men,

And He sees iniquity without investigating (Job 11:7-11).

The impact of these rhetorical questions cannot be avoided. No one can “discover the depths of God” for the depths are bottomless. No one can “discover the limits of the Almighty” for He is limitless. The text states that even if we could search out all of creation in terms of its height, depth, length, and breadth, we still could not “discover,” i.e., comprehend, the infinite nature of the Almighty.

This is also applied to the sovereign will of the Almighty. If He wants to “pass by or shut up” something (verse. 10), no one can restrain Him. He will do as He pleases.

God’s omniscience is then defined in terms of an immediate and perfect knowledge of all things including the sins of man (verse. 11). God’s knowledge does not “grow” because He does not have to investigate a matter to learn about it. No, God knows all things “without investigation,” i.e., without waiting until the event and its investigation occurs. The incomprehensibility of God is the context for both God’s sovereignty and God’s omniscience.

Then the Lord answered Job out of

the whirlwind and said,

“Who is this that darkens counsel

By words without knowledge?

Now gird up your loins like a man,

And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth!

Tell Me, if you have understanding,

Who set its measurements, since you know?” (Job 38:1-5)

Job and his friends had sat around discussing the problem of evil in terms of what had come upon Job. On the basis of human reason, they engaged in endless philosophical speculation and, in the end, failed to resolve anything. Although a great deal of heat was generated during their discussions, little light came of it.

At last, God gives a revelation to the problem of evil. The first thing that He does is to dismiss all the conclusions of human “reason” as “words without knowledge” that only “darken counsel.” Paul echoes this thought when he states that the world with all its philosophical wisdom is sheer “foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:18-21).

Then God challenges their ability and capacity to understand the questions and the answers to those questions. In fact, they had asked questions that were “too deep” for them. Not only did they not understand their questions, but even the answers were also beyond their capacity to understand. They were “in over their heads” and did not know it! This is why so many people drown in unbelief. And even when we toss out to them the lifeline of Scripture, they would rather drown in unbelief than accept God’s revelation by faith. For four chapters, God challenges them,

So, you think that you are so smart that nothing is “beyond” you? You don’t even hesitate to tell Me how to run the universe I made! Well, I have a few questions for you. We’ll see if you are as smart as you claim. Since you think that you can comprehend Me, let’s see how well you comprehend the world around you. After all, this should be easy for you since you claim to understand Me!

God then proceeds to put Job and his friends in the “hot seat” and give them “the third degree.” Under divine interrogation, they soon realized that their “reason” and “intuition” were not sufficient. The sovereignty of God was the solution to the problem of evil.

Then Job answered the Lord, and said,

“I know that Thou canst do all things,

And that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted.

Therefore I have declared that which

I did not understand.

Things too wonderful for me,

which I did not know.

Hear, now, and I will speak;

I will ask You, and You instruct me.

Therefore I retract,

And I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:1-4, 6).

Under the rebuke of God for trying by “reason” to solve the problem of evil, Job “repents” and “retracts” all the things he and his friends had said. He now bows before revelation and submits to the Divine glory. He admits that God can do whatever He wants and no one can frustrate or condemn His sovereign will. He admits that such questions are “too wonderful,” i.e., mysterious, for him. He will leave such things to God.

Other Passages

The rest of Scripture follows Job in resolving the problem of evil by submitting to the incomprehensibility of God. Let us examine a few of these passages.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is too high, I cannot attain to it (Psalm 139:6).

In this Psalm, David first introduces the subject of God’s omniscience in verses 1-5, which leads him to the incomprehensibility of God in verse 6. Then he goes on to describe the omnipresence of God in verses 7-12. David did not become depressed over the fact that God’s omniscience and omnipresence are concepts that were “too high” for him to comprehend. The opposite was true. The incomprehensibility of God enhanced his worship. He could worship such a God because He is so wonderful.

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised;

And His greatness is unsearchable (Psalm 145:3).

In the context, David has in mind not only the “greatness” of God’s being, but also of His works. The word “unsearchable” is often translated “unfathomable.” A nautical term, it meant that the plumb line of human reason will never discover a bottom to God in His nature or deeds. The true God has no “bottom” or limit for man to discover. Such a God is alone worthy of our worship.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord

And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?

Do you not know? Have You not heard?

The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the

ends of the earth,

Does not become weary or tired.

His understanding is inscrutable (Isaiah 40:27-28).

The apostate among Israel cherished two vain hopes. First, they hoped that God was limited in His knowledge and thus did not know about their sin. If He did not know about it, they would not get punished for it.

Second, they hoped that if God were not ignorant, at least He would be distracted by far more important things than meting out the justice due to them. If He were going to punish anyone, He would have to begin with people who are really wicked, not them. Or, perhaps, He was just uninterested in them and wouldn’t care.

The prophet Isaiah dashes to the ground all such finite views of God that would see Him as “growing” or “learning.” God is not ignorant, distracted, or uninterested, because the eternal God is the Creator of all things including man. His “understanding” or “knowledge” is not limited in any way by what He has made. It is thus “inscrutable,” i.e., unlimited.

Oh the depths of the riches both of the wisdom

and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are His judgments

and unfathomable His ways!

For who has known the mind of the Lord,

Or who became His counselor?

Or who has first given to Him

that it might be paid back to him again?

For from Him and through Him and to Him

are all things.

To Him be the glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:33-36).

This is one of the most beautiful statements on the incomprehensibility of God in the New Testament. It is brought in by the Apostle Paul as the doxological climax to his discussion of election, predestination, God’s sovereignty, and human responsibility in Romans 8-11. The Apostle Paul calls us to worship a God who is beyond our capacity to comprehend in either His being or works. This God is “unsearchable” and “unfathomable.” No one will ever “know” all the “ins and outs” of the mind of the Lord. If someone could, he would “become His counselor,” for he who can understand God would be greater than God.

The immediate occasion of this doxology to the incomprehensible God is his discussion of the inclusion of the Gentiles into the covenant of grace and the exclusion of Israel. Paul states that God’s election is based on His grace and not on some condition of man such as race or parentage (Romans 11:6-7).

But what about all the “whys,” “hows,” and “wherefores” that naturally arise? Paul does not claim to know all the answers. He knows only what has been revealed. Thus he can now freely worship God because he leaves such mysteries in the hands of his Creator:

The love of Christ which surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3:19).

Paul prays that the saints might “comprehend” and “know” the love of Christ (vv. 18-19). But while they can have a finite but true knowledge of such things, they cannot exhaustively comprehend the Lord Jesus Christ or His love. Christ is God as well as man. He is infinite in His being and love. We will never be able to understand the “whys,” “hows,” and “wherefores” of His love for sinners.

Let us point out that if we begin with the rationalistic assumption that everything must either be “precisely explained” or we must reject it, then we must reject the love of Christ because it “surpasses comprehension.” God’s election and love are so joined in Scripture that they either stand or fall together.

The peace of God which surpasses all comprehension (Philippians 4:7).

Who can “precisely explain” how the peace of God can “indwell” us and gives us comfort? Who can make “coherent” the ways of the Spirit of God? Is not the work of God in the soul like the wind which comes and goes without our permission or knowledge (John 3:8?

If we are limited to what can be “precisely explained” and “made coherent,” then we will have to reject the peace of God as well as the love of Christ! But if we accept the incomprehensibility of God, we can have both His peace and His love. By this faith we can live without fear, being confident in His sovereign love and power.

Conclusion

From just these few passages of Scripture it is abundantly clear that the Christian doctrine of the incomprehensibility of God is a revealed truth. It follows naturally after the doctrine of creation and forms the context of all the other attributes of God.

It is also clear that the authors of Scripture were not embarrassed by the incomprehensibility of God but proud of it. They did not apologize for it but boasted of it. They did not agonize over it but rejoiced in it. They were not driven away from God by it but were drawn nigh unto God because of it. They did not curse God but fell at His feet in wonder, awe, and praise.

Janssen:

The Incomprehensibility of God

The God who has revealed Himself in Scripture tells us that He is going to be “incomprehensible” to us. But does this mean that God is going to be irrational or illogical? No. It means that God is beyond man’s capacity to understand or explain exhaustively. In this sense, God is beyond human reason and logic because He is infinite and we are finite.

The doctrine of incomprehensibility is the opposite of rationalistic “reductionism,” which reduces God to human categories in order to make Him “manageable,” “coherent,” and “explainable.” Incomprehensibility allows God to be GOD. It reveals that God is infinitely better and greater than man. Thus we can build all the little theoretical molds we want, and we can try to force God into these molds, but in the end God will not “fit.” He will always be beyond our grasp. He is too high for us to scale and too deep for us to fathom. We cannot get God in a box. The finite span of the human mind will never encompass the infinite God of Scripture.

But does this mean that God is “unknowable”? If by “unknowable” we mean the Greek philosophic dichotomy that “man must know either all or nothing,” this is not what Christian theology means by its doctrine of incomprehensibility. We can have a true but finite knowledge of God on a personal and intellectual level because God has revealed Himself. Thus while we cannot fully understand the God who has revealed Himself, yet we can and do know Him. (See Jeremiah 9:23, 24; Daniel 11:32; John 17:3; Galatians 4:8-9; 1 John 4:4-8; 5:18-21).

The doctrine of incomprehensibility means that we can only go so far and no further in our understanding of God because we are limited in three ways.

First, we are limited by the finite capacity of our minds. This is a “problem” that cannot be avoided any more than it can be overcome. So, we might as well as admit that we are not gods. Since we are finite creations of an infinite God, we will never understand it all.

Second, we are also limited by the sinfulness of our minds. Thus we have a moral problem as well as a capacity problem. By nature, we do not want the light of Truth. We prefer the darkness of error (Genesis 6:5; John 3:19-21). Sin and Satan have darkened and blinded our minds lest we see the Truth (Romans 1:28; 2 Corinthians 4:4). Only God’s wondrous grace can overcome our moral aversion to truth and righteousness.

Third, we are limited by revelation. Paul warned the Corinthians “not to go beyond what is written” because it would lead to arrogance (1 Corinthians 4:6). The constraints of revelation are given in order to restrain man’s depraved lust to make gods for himself. We are not free to speculate and come up with our own ideas of God. We are to study the Bible in order to learn God’s ideas about Himself, to think God’s thoughts after Him.

What are the consequences if we reject the doctrine of the incomprehensibility of God? While we might “cheer” at first because this gives a cheap and easy way to resolve the antinomies and paradoxes of Scriptures, it ultimately leads to a rationalistic denial of all Christian doctrine.

Stephen Davis is a good example of this process. He demands a “precise explanation” that is “coherent” to him, or he will not believe. In other words, if he cannot fully understand some aspect of the Christian God, he will throw it out because “man (in this case Davis) is the measure of all things.” This is the basic assumption of secular and religious humanism.

Davis first applies his humanistic assumption to the issues of divine sovereignty and human accountability. He understands that the historic Christian solution beginning from the Apostolic Fathers is that both divine sovereignty and human accountability are true. Christians for two thousand years have also believed that no one is able to reconcile these two ideas. It is a Biblical mystery that demands faith, not explanation. Since those who hold to both doctrines at the same time openly admit that they cannot give a “precise explanation” of how divine sovereignty and human accountability are both true, Davis has no choice but to reject the Christian position that both are true. He must now choose one and reject the other.

But does he now choose God and exalt His glory? No, as a humanist, Davis will always exalt man at the expense of God. When the choice comes down to either God’s being “free” to do as He pleases with what He made, or man’s being “free” to do as he pleases, a humanist will always make man “free” and God “bound.” Thus Davis argues;

Take the person who tries to reconcile divine predestination of all events with human freedom by saying, “Well, I’m talking about a kind of predestination which allows for human freedom.” Until it is explained precisely what this species of predestination is, we will be suspicious that the proposed reconciliation is spurious.

While this is a quick and easy way of philosophically dismissing the position of the early Church and the Reformation, we should warn the reader that having established the precedent that “whatever cannot be precisely explained is spurious,” Davis goes on to apply it to such doctrines as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Similarly, we would be suspicious of a person who tries to explain how an incorporate being can be spatially located somewhere by the use of what this person calls “an aspatial concept of inside of.” Again, until it is explained precisely what this species of “inside of” is, we will reject the proposed reconciliation.

Since no one can “precisely explain” how an “incorporate being,” either the Holy Spirit or a demonic spirit, can exist “inside of” someone, Davis rejects the idea. He also calls into question the omnipresence of God, for who can “precisely explain” howGod is everywhere present? Davis concludes,

If we want to be rational we have no choice but to reject what we judge to be incoherent

We had better consider the way that someone does theology because it sets a precedent that will be relentlessly applied to more and more Christian teaching until nothing is left. While a denial of predestination is exegetically foolhardy, it is not damnable. But it is damnable to deny the essential attributes of God, such as His omnipresence, or the doctrine of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Christians need to understand that they must first look at where a line of reasoning will take them before they unknowingly start down the “primrose path” to apostasy.

Let us now examine some of the Scriptures which clearly teach the doctrine of the incomprehensibility of God. We will begin with the book of Job as it contains the fullest treatment of the doctrine in the Bible.

The Book of Job

This book is the passage of full mention in the Bible concerning the problem of evil. And it is also the passage of full mention on the subject of the incomprehensibility of God. Thus any discussion of the problem of evil must involve an affirmation of the incomprehensibility of God.

In Job the problem of evil is “solved” by the doctrine of the incomprehensibility of God. In other words, Job’s solution was to accept both that God is sovereign and that man is responsible. He did not try to explain this. He simply left such mysteries in the hands of God.

It is interesting to note that when we examined the books that claim to “solve” the problem of evil by reducing the power and knowledge of God, not one of them even mentioned the book of Job. Why is Job ignored? Perhaps they don’t like the answer God gave Job out of the whirlwind, because this answer is the incomprehensibility of God.

Now, we must point out that the problem of evil was not an academic issue for Job. The pain and suffering caused by the death of his children, the theft of his goods, the loss of his health, the ruination of his marriage, and the criticism of his friends, were all real evils to him.

But when Job said that he was willing to receive “evil as well as good from God,” he meant what he said (Job 2:10). He was even willing to worship the God who “took” away his children, wealth, and health, saying:

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).

When his wife told him to curse God for all the evils He had sent their way, Job refused (Job 2:9). In the face of unbelievable pain and suffering, Job exclaimed,

Though He slay me,

I will hope in Him (Job 13:15).

This passage is very important, for in his mind, Job viewed God as his “Slayer.” He did not say that “chance” or “bad luck” or even “the Devil” was the cause of all the evils which came upon him. He always assumed that God was in control of this world. Although the agent who caused the evil may have been the Devil, the Chaldeans, etc., Job bowed before God as the One who sent the evils his way. Yet, he did not “blame” or “curse” God as if He were the agent or cause of these evils.

Job held to two seemingly contradictory doctrines. On the one hand, God was not the author of evil in the sense of being its agent, and He was thus not accountable for it. Therefore God should not be cursed. On the other hand, God is sovereign and He sent all these evils on Job. Thus he states over and over again that it is God who “took” away his children, wealth, health, and happiness (Job 12:9). No other exegetical conclusion is possible. As we shall see, Job could live with two seemingly contradictory doctrines because he had a very deep belief in the incomprehensibility of God.

But how could he endure all these things and believe in God’s sovereignty and not curse God? Why didn’t he give up his belief in God and become an atheist? Why didn’t he trade in his infinite God for a finite god like the gods of the heathen? They were “guilty but forgiven” because they were limited in power and could not know the future. Did Job ever limit his God in these ways? How did he handle it?

Job handled all the evils in life the same way true believers have always handled them. Faith! Mighty faith! Faith that looked to God alone! This was his secret.

Job ultimately accepted the fact that his “reason” was incapable of comprehending the Being and works of God. So, he simply trusted in God that He knew what He was doing. Job did not presume to instruct the Almighty or to be His counselor.

But Job and his friends had to learn the hard way to trust in God and not to lean on their own understanding. At the beginning they still tried to reason it out all by themselves. But after all their discussions, they never solved anything. The book of Job concludes with the solution that Divine revelation is the only way for man to find an answer. This is the enduring message of the Book of Job and God’s eternal answer to the problem of evil.

Several passages in Job deserve close study.

But as for me, I would seek God;

And I would place my cause before God;

Who does great and unsearchable things,

Wonders without number (Job 5:9).

How does Job resolve the fact that God is good and, at the same time, that “He inflicts pain” (Job 5:18)? The answer given in Job 5:9 is that when we try to search out the whys and wherefores of God’s actions, we will always find that His ways are “unsearchable,” i.e., incomprehensible. His “wonders are without number” and cannot be counted and measured by man.

Who does great things, unfathomable,

And wondrous works without number.

Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him;

Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.

Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him?

Who could say to Him, “What art Thou doing?” (Job 9:10-12)

Starting with the doctrine of Creation (verse. 8. Job proceeds to the incomprehensible nature of God and His works. What God does is so “great” that no one can “fathom” its depths. This makes His works “wondrous” or “awe-inspiring.”

Job now proceeds to the fact that we cannot “see” God. Thus we cannot “perceive” His motives or goals. Neither can we “restrain” Him from doing whatever He wants. Thus we have no right to challenge God by demanding, “What art Thou doing?”

Can you discover the depths of God?

Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?

It is high as the heavens, what can you do?

Its measure is longer than the earth,

And broader than the sea.

If He passes by or shuts up,

Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?

For He knows false men,

And He sees iniquity without investigating (Job 11:7-11).

The impact of these rhetorical questions cannot be avoided. No one can “discover the depths of God” for the depths are bottomless. No one can “discover the limits of the Almighty” for He is limitless. The text states that even if we could search out all of creation in terms of its height, depth, length, and breadth, we still could not “discover,” i.e., comprehend, the infinite nature of the Almighty.

This is also applied to the sovereign will of the Almighty. If He wants to “pass by or shut up” something (verse. 10), no one can restrain Him. He will do as He pleases.

God’s omniscience is then defined in terms of an immediate and perfect knowledge of all things including the sins of man (verse. 11). God’s knowledge does not “grow” because He does not have to investigate a matter to learn about it. No, God knows all things “without investigation,” i.e., without waiting until the event and its investigation occurs. The incomprehensibility of God is the context for both God’s sovereignty and God’s omniscience.

Then the Lord answered Job out of

the whirlwind and said,

“Who is this that darkens counsel

By words without knowledge?

Now gird up your loins like a man,

And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth!

Tell Me, if you have understanding,

Who set its measurements, since you know?” (Job 38:1-5)

Job and his friends had sat around discussing the problem of evil in terms of what had come upon Job. On the basis of human reason, they engaged in endless philosophical speculation and, in the end, failed to resolve anything. Although a great deal of heat was generated during their discussions, little light came of it.

At last, God gives a revelation to the problem of evil. The first thing that He does is to dismiss all the conclusions of human “reason” as “words without knowledge” that only “darken counsel.” Paul echoes this thought when he states that the world with all its philosophical wisdom is sheer “foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:18-21).

Then God challenges their ability and capacity to understand the questions and the answers to those questions. In fact, they had asked questions that were “too deep” for them. Not only did they not understand their questions, but even the answers were also beyond their capacity to understand. They were “in over their heads” and did not know it! This is why so many people drown in unbelief. And even when we toss out to them the lifeline of Scripture, they would rather drown in unbelief than accept God’s revelation by faith. For four chapters, God challenges them,

So, you think that you are so smart that nothing is “beyond” you? You don’t even hesitate to tell Me how to run the universe I made! Well, I have a few questions for you. We’ll see if you are as smart as you claim. Since you think that you can comprehend Me, let’s see how well you comprehend the world around you. After all, this should be easy for you since you claim to understand Me!

God then proceeds to put Job and his friends in the “hot seat” and give them “the third degree.” Under divine interrogation, they soon realized that their “reason” and “intuition” were not sufficient. The sovereignty of God was the solution to the problem of evil.

Then Job answered the Lord, and said,

“I know that Thou canst do all things,

And that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted.

Therefore I have declared that which

I did not understand.

Things too wonderful for me,

which I did not know.

Hear, now, and I will speak;

I will ask You, and You instruct me.

Therefore I retract,

And I repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:1-4, 6).

Under the rebuke of God for trying by “reason” to solve the problem of evil, Job “repents” and “retracts” all the things he and his friends had said. He now bows before revelation and submits to the Divine glory. He admits that God can do whatever He wants and no one can frustrate or condemn His sovereign will. He admits that such questions are “too wonderful,” i.e., mysterious, for him. He will leave such things to God.

Other Passages

The rest of Scripture follows Job in resolving the problem of evil by submitting to the incomprehensibility of God. Let us examine a few of these passages.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is too high, I cannot attain to it (Psalm 139:6).

In this Psalm, David first introduces the subject of God’s omniscience in verses 1-5, which leads him to the incomprehensibility of God in verse 6. Then he goes on to describe the omnipresence of God in verses 7-12. David did not become depressed over the fact that God’s omniscience and omnipresence are concepts that were “too high” for him to comprehend. The opposite was true. The incomprehensibility of God enhanced his worship. He could worship such a God because He is so wonderful.

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised;

And His greatness is unsearchable (Psalm 145:3).

In the context, David has in mind not only the “greatness” of God’s being, but also of His works. The word “unsearchable” is often translated “unfathomable.” A nautical term, it meant that the plumb line of human reason will never discover a bottom to God in His nature or deeds. The true God has no “bottom” or limit for man to discover. Such a God is alone worthy of our worship.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord

And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?

Do you not know? Have You not heard?

The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the

ends of the earth,

Does not become weary or tired.

His understanding is inscrutable (Isaiah 40:27-28).

The apostate among Israel cherished two vain hopes. First, they hoped that God was limited in His knowledge and thus did not know about their sin. If He did not know about it, they would not get punished for it.

Second, they hoped that if God were not ignorant, at least He would be distracted by far more important things than meting out the justice due to them. If He were going to punish anyone, He would have to begin with people who are really wicked, not them. Or, perhaps, He was just uninterested in them and wouldn’t care.

The prophet Isaiah dashes to the ground all such finite views of God that would see Him as “growing” or “learning.” God is not ignorant, distracted, or uninterested, because the eternal God is the Creator of all things including man. His “understanding” or “knowledge” is not limited in any way by what He has made. It is thus “inscrutable,” i.e., unlimited.

Oh the depths of the riches both of the wisdom

and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are His judgments

and unfathomable His ways!

For who has known the mind of the Lord,

Or who became His counselor?

Or who has first given to Him

that it might be paid back to him again?

For from Him and through Him and to Him

are all things.

To Him be the glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:33-36).

This is one of the most beautiful statements on the incomprehensibility of God in the New Testament. It is brought in by the Apostle Paul as the doxological climax to his discussion of election, predestination, God’s sovereignty, and human responsibility in Romans 8-11. The Apostle Paul calls us to worship a God who is beyond our capacity to comprehend in either His being or works. This God is “unsearchable” and “unfathomable.” No one will ever “know” all the “ins and outs” of the mind of the Lord. If someone could, he would “become His counselor,” for he who can understand God would be greater than God.

The immediate occasion of this doxology to the incomprehensible God is his discussion of the inclusion of the Gentiles into the covenant of grace and the exclusion of Israel. Paul states that God’s election is based on His grace and not on some condition of man such as race or parentage (Romans 11:6-7).

But what about all the “whys,” “hows,” and “wherefores” that naturally arise? Paul does not claim to know all the answers. He knows only what has been revealed. Thus he can now freely worship God because he leaves such mysteries in the hands of his Creator:

The love of Christ which surpasses knowledge (Ephesians 3:19).

Paul prays that the saints might “comprehend” and “know” the love of Christ (vv. 18-19). But while they can have a finite but true knowledge of such things, they cannot exhaustively comprehend the Lord Jesus Christ or His love. Christ is God as well as man. He is infinite in His being and love. We will never be able to understand the “whys,” “hows,” and “wherefores” of His love for sinners.

Let us point out that if we begin with the rationalistic assumption that everything must either be “precisely explained” or we must reject it, then we must reject the love of Christ because it “surpasses comprehension.” God’s election and love are so joined in Scripture that they either stand or fall together.

The peace of God which surpasses all comprehension (Philippians 4:7).

Who can “precisely explain” how the peace of God can “indwell” us and gives us comfort? Who can make “coherent” the ways of the Spirit of God? Is not the work of God in the soul like the wind which comes and goes without our permission or knowledge (John 3:8?

If we are limited to what can be “precisely explained” and “made coherent,” then we will have to reject the peace of God as well as the love of Christ! But if we accept the incomprehensibility of God, we can have both His peace and His love. By this faith we can live without fear, being confident in His sovereign love and power.

Conclusion

From just these few passages of Scripture it is abundantly clear that the Christian doctrine of the incomprehensibility of God is a revealed truth. It follows naturally after the doctrine of creation and forms the context of all the other attributes of God.

It is also clear that the authors of Scripture were not embarrassed by the incomprehensibility of God but proud of it. They did not apologize for it but boasted of it. They did not agonize over it but rejoiced in it. They were not driven away from God by it but were drawn nigh unto God because of it. They did not curse God but fell at His feet in wonder, awe, and praise.

The only thing you succeeded in doing here is using human, language, logic and explanation to tell people that they can not understand God, all these writing, logic and explanations are yours or that of the writer. Anyway since men created God they will then have to keep explaining and telling people about him. He never seems to be able to do anything himself, he even needs people to talk on his behalf.

Militancy is the difference between what was historically known as “atheism” and the modern movement of “antitheism.” The atheists of the old school took a rather relaxed, passive attitude toward God and the Bible. They felt that if people were foolish enough to believe in religion, that was their problem. These atheists did not feel the need to read through the Bible, desperately seeking contradictions or errors. They did not sit up night after night feverishly trying to formulate attacks against religion. They simply ignored religion.

The situation abrubtly changed after Hegel (1770-1831). Atheists became anti-theists as they were now actively “against” God, seeking to wage war on God and on those who believed in Him. Thus the pure atheism of nonbelief gave way to a crusade of anti-theism. No longer did they simply not believe in God. They now hated God and wished to destroy all faith, love and obedience directed to Him.

Hegel and those who followed him, such as Feuerbach, Neitszche, Marx, etc., believed that God had to be pushed aside in order for man to be free to be his own god. The only way for man to ascend the throne of divinity was for God to step down. It was not simply that God did not exist; God must not and ought not exist.
Thus modern atheists deny God’s existence because they actually hate God. They hate Him because this God demands they serve Him and fulfill the destiny He has decreed for them. This God gives man a revealed law which dictates what is right and wrong. God thus robs man of the freedom of being and choosing whatever he wants. God is viewed as the enemy that must be destroyed in order for man to reach his full potential. Instead of God being the measure of all things, man must be the measure of all things.
The only way atheists can strike a blow directly against God is to deny His existence. Is it any wonder then that the modern anti-theists’ champion is Prometheus who said, “I hate all the gods,” who said he would rather suffer death than be the servant of the gods. Prometheus did not deny that the gods existed. His was the rebel cry, “I will not serve you. I will not acknowledge your authority over me. I deny your very existence, for I will not bow down to you.”

Prometheus’ hatred of God and all He stands for is the soul and substance of modern anti-theism. This is why the name “Prometheus Books” was chosen for the major publisher of infidel literature.
So tell me, are you not "Promethus"?

Revelation 22:11-15
11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

bindex:

. . .Anyway since men created God they will then have to keep explaining and telling people about him. He never seems to be able to do anything himself, he even needs people to talk on his behalf.

All the speech that men have managed to device cannot create life, much less seek to explain the mysteries of the one, true and living creator of this system of things. Only a priviledged few can claim to have expressly heard from this awesome spirit being, and I dare say that most of these are the faithful men that their names have been passed on to us by both religion and secular history.

This spirit personality had never relied on men to defend him at any point in time in human history and I doubt if that scenario has been altered, not minding the vain attempts of religious personalities self acclaimed authorities who have only succeeded in constructing walls of divisiveness and incoherence among the many peoples of the world.

This being has appointed the times as they should unfold, and they are indeed unfolding before our very eyes, and they shall continue to unfold until the mystery which he spoke of shall be finished, when all shall come to witness a vindication of his word, even that which he has spoken to faithful men over the entire span of recorded history.

Thankfully, irrespective of what the world may accept, all will witness this vindication, every man, woman and child who has ever lived on this earth will be witness to the culmination of this system, I believe then, we will all come to know who created what. . .